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"That Which Mends"Written By: SkyLark Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, or its characters. I just love playing with them. Pairings: 2x1x2, past 2xOC, 5xOC, 3x4 Warnings: Angst, Violence, Sap, Lemons/Limes, AU Archives: http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/SkyLark/gwSkyLark.htm
and http://www.mizunoamy.bravepages.com/skylark/skylarkfics.html Summary: Heero is a straight A student studying Psychology and finds his world turned upside down when he attends a Frat party.
"That Which Mends" [It's a messed up world, what do you get? -Lyrics to 'Messed Up World (F'd Up World)' performed by Pretty Reckless] Chapter 35
[Flashback]
"Thank you for your detailed account of the work put into the led up to recovery mission, Agent Rock," the head board director said sincerely at the end of Winner's long recanting of Wufei's preparation tactics of the fateful night that had gone terribly wrong.
Unbeknownst to him, Quatre had been able to go on record with the same testimony that Anna had just given. Only now, that report would stick since there was no conflict of interest on his part that would toss his statements out.
Lady Une did her best not to smile in her knowing that Winner had just regained the ground Anna most likely assumed she had lost in the hearing. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she held back the giggle that almost bubbled from her.
The graying moderator opened his folded hands, asking, "Would you not agree that perhaps another day or two would have saved Agent Talon's life? By then, it would have been revealed that there was no certain schedule in timing of this guards' shift turnovers and you would have been able to go in on a night when you wouldn't have been taken by surprise." Shaking his head, Winner stated clearly, "No. Those guards deviated by coming back earlier than they should have. We could have sat back for another week, another month and nothing would have prepared us for that." He tilted his head, inquiring, "You have heard the term SNAFU, right? It was made specifically for moments that should have run smoothly but go to hell."
Middie's teeth dug into her tongue to restrain her urge to laugh at the undignified expressions on the directors' faces at having their intelligence and ability to understand military jargon so plainly challenged. It was a most unexpected move from the normally meek public relations representative.
"Yes, we all know what that term means. That was not what was being addressed," the blonde young woman of the panel fired back with a bit more of a snap in her retort than she meant and physically retracted back into her chair, bowing her head when the man at the center of the line glared at her.
Clearing his throat, the middle-aged man in charge focused back on the Preventer across from him. "You witnessed Agent Talon's shooting first-hand," he commented, shifting gears to get the attention drawn back to the matter at hand... and to throw Winner off balance for attempting to make a mockery of the inquisition. "Tell us what you saw and heard before and after Agent Wolf fired on her."
Instantly thrown back into those dark images, Rock's aquamarine eyes grew and his already pale skin turned an even whiter hue.
With a deep breath, he answered quietly, "Mer-Agent Talon, Agent Scythe and I were clearing the rows of shipping crates when we were discovered thanks to those guards who came back earlier than they should have. Since we had the prisoners to worry about, we had to get them away to safety while drawing the lookouts' fire onto us and taking out as many of them as we could."
His gaze haunted, Quatre continued, "Once we knew we had cleared the areas that we were stationed at, we closed into the heart of the dock to back up Agents Wolf and Fire since we knew a handful of our shooters had taken off to get to them. We just charged ahead, not thinking about what was ahead of us because we needed to remove the threats before our teammates were overwhelmed."
Unable to go on, he gulped and shook his head as his vision cleared to return to the present as he scanned his audience's blank faces.
"Meiran never announced herself before she came into Wufei's view," Agent Rock frowned deeply. "Everything was happening so fast, none of us were thinking to do that. If she had-"
The tall man at the far end of the other side of the table cut him off, pressing, "Are you really accusing Agent Talon for her own death because she didn't call ahead to say who she was?"
Panning his eyes over the directors, he sighed, "For
just a second, try to put yourself Agent Wolf's shoes. It was dark
and the rain that was coming down wasn't helping with his visibility.
The gunfire echoes made it near impossible to determine what direction
a shot was coming from, so all he had to rely on was what he knew
to be right in front of him." The emotions catching up with him, his eyes shimmered
as he shrugged, "Agent Wolf was acting on instinct. He wasn't
only worried about his own safety, but Anna's and Trowa's as well
when he took that shot. He did exactly what he was supposed to do
with what he had. So, again I'm telling you that yes, I would have
done the same exact thing... and I know wherever she is, Meiran would
agree." And with this being the first big offensive since Meiran died... well, there were expected to be nerves. But that was easily the case for Wufei most of all, though the team leader was doing a pretty good job of masking his concern when Winner returned to the pack and informed, "All clear. Nothing's moving inside and there's not a single light to be found.."
"Good," Chang nodded firmly with a quiet sigh of relief at that.
Facing his teammates in their matching black-clad and vested persons, he pulled the collar of his turtle up to the top of his neck and said, "Once we're in, fan out and take it a room at a time so we don't have any surprises. We take our target alive at all costs, unless our position is compromised and it comes to it being between him or any of us."
Shrouding their wrists and throats with their long-sleeved turtlenecks so that only their faces along with the bold, white letters that read 'PREVENTER' across their vests were plainly seen, his officers nodded.
His instinct for the take-down kicking in, Agent Wolf ordered, "Move in."
* * * *
Lying flat on his back in the bed of his guest room, Heero stared up at the ceiling above him. He glanced over at the digital clock on the nightstand by his head for the umpteenth time since he had tried to fall asleep.
1:09 a.m.
If his earlier calculations were right, the Preventers must have reached Sweeney's home by then. And that meant they would be storming down on him, if they weren't already in the middle of their mission right then. And whatever that siege would mean for all of them was still a great unknown.
Sighing deeply, the scholar closed his eyes and folded his hands together on his chest as he did everything he could to try and settle his thoughts so he could say goodbye to the world and not have to worry any more that night.
'Everything is going to be fine,' Yuy told himself silently. 'He- They're all going to be fine...' But there was no amount of convincing himself to relax that would settle him enough into sleep.
* * * *
Together, the team quickly and silently rushed across the eight yards of the field where they had hidden their vehicle as a safe distance as to not alert their suspect. Ascending the steep hill that the house was perched on they removed their pistols from their holsters as they slowed to a stop at the bottom of the front porch, attaching their snap on flashlights to the top of their weapons.
Her impressed cohorts nodded and climbed the stairs with Wufei at the front, lifting their feet over the snare on their way for the door.
Panning the inside of the awning overhead with his lamp, Barton froze with wide eyes and let out a sharp 'psst' to draw the others' attention to where his beam was shining... on the hidden digital camera that was pointing right at them in the doorway.
Under his breath, Chang hissed, "So much for a quiet entry." That said, he spun on his heels and sent a powerful kick into the heavy front door by its doorknob.
Splintering and falling away, the barrier crashed to the floor inside and the agents aimed their pistols with both hands and made a 'V' with Wufei and Duo at the head with Trowa and Quatre on either end.
~ ~ ~ ~
The second they were in the house, Anna rolled her long sleeves back and removed her vest as fast as she could. Leaping over the trip wire, she followed its path until it disappeared between a couple of boards in the porch.
Teeth gritting, the redhead removed a hammer from her belt that she used to slam into the rickety wood panels that were a few feet away until she made a hole that loosened up the boards enough that she could peel them back for a good view of what lay beneath.
Back inside, the 'V' that the Preventers had made was fanned out as the teammates spread out at either side of themselves to search through every room they encountered.
"Living room's clear," Duo announced quietly into the small microphone by his mouth after running over the empty living room. More whispered proclamations of 'Clear' sounded from each officer in their assessing the home from top-to-bottom while they pressed deeper and deeper into the house. They moved fast and efficiently, as they always operated in these missions. Everyone knew their parts and went into autopilot in securing the area before they progressed.
~ ~ ~ ~
Outside, Anna grunted as she lowered herself into the hollow interior of the wooden porch. As soon as her feet touched the ground, they began to sink into the mud that had built of from several nights of rain. Crouching down onto her knees, she freed her flashlight and searched the space until it settled on a long block of explosives that were stacked on top of one another.
Lowering her flashlight as her eyes grew and jaw fell open, the weapons expert breathed, "Fuck me."
Quickly turning on her mouthpiece, she warned, "Get a move on, gang. Sweeney isn't looking to be taken alive. There's enough C-4 down here to take out the entire house and half of the hill we're standing on."
~ ~ ~ ~
Wufei came to an abrupt halt mid-step when the transmission came through his earpiece. At that same time, there was a rustling overhead that included a few heavy footsteps running to the right of the house on the second floor.
Meeting the anxious gazes of his teammates, he's own eyes narrowed at the sound. "Plan B. Move."
Not needing to be told twice, the pack split up. Barton ran through to the back of the house, gripping the strap of his rifle that was strung across his back. Abandoning the painstakingly careful push into the residence, Agent Wolf led the charge through the first floor and up the tall master staircase.
~ ~ ~ ~
Beneath the porch, Anna shed her mouthpiece and wiped her soiled hands together as she told herself quietly, "Alright. Now to follow this spider web to its source." Shaking her wrists out to loosen her joints, she shrugged, "It's just a really intense version of Jenga. Nothing to be worried about."
Pinching the long line of trip wire between her right hand's pointer finger and thumb, the weapons expert ran along it towards the stack of C-4 blocks that were stacked atop one another like a short brick wall.
All the while, she kept a light enough hold as to not disturb the trigger and send the entire stack of explosives off. Once she was at the 'wall', she took slow and gently measures to shift the block aside and took one brick at a time from the middle without making the others above or around it crumble. Little by little, she made progress to get deeper into the pile to where the trigger was concealed.
~ ~ ~ ~
The first to reach the second floor was Wufei. And nearly immediately, he was greeted by three shots that rang out to just miss him when he ducked into a doorway. Growling, he raised his pistol to aim it down the hall from where the bullets came and returned fire with three shots of his own so that they pierced the door that his assailant had slammed shut.
Staying low, Quatre and Duo flew into the hallway and tucked themselves into other doorways for shelter mere seconds before the next round of pops cracked through the sealed off room. Pinned down, all that the agents could do was shoot back whenever there was a lull, hoping that they might get lucky and hit their attacker.
~ ~ ~ ~
Two rows deep into Downs' hunt for the detonator, one of the block at the top of the stack fell off balance and began to wiggle free before she was ready. Spotting the movement, she gasped and caught the brick just as it began to fall. She caught it mere inches above the trip wire and let out a long sigh. Gingerly lowering it to the ground, she said, "Not on my watch. I'm not in the mood to die tonight."
~ ~ ~ ~
Rising his voice, Chang shouted down the hallway, "Preventers! You're firing on federal agents, asshole! Come out with your hands up before we come in for you!" His warning was returned with another hail of bullets that he and his friends had to duck from. Snorting, the team leader muttered, "Well, now that the formalities are out of the way..." Bending around the doorway, he returned fire with the others following suit.
~ ~ ~ ~
Her face damp with sweat, Anna continued to move away the blocks of C-4 as she sung quietly to the tune of a classical childhood song to keep herself calm while ignoring the blasts from inside the house. "The itsy, bitsy spider bit off more than he could chew. Down came Preventers to stomp him into glue. Up went the snare the little bastard wove in vain..."
The redhead paused when she came to find the end of the thin rope wrapped around the center of a block in the middle of the 'wall' against the muddy ground with just enough room from the hole she made to reach a hand in and grab it. Smirking as she shone her flash light on her target, she finished singing, "And the itsy, bitsy spider won't fuck with us again."
Very gingerly, Agent Fire removed her hold on the trip wire and studied the screw that the end of the line was tied around. Because of the elements that it had been exposed to, that round metal was corroding at its edges. "Amateur piece of work," she mused quietly. "But enough to get the job done if we didn't see the trap."
With her free hand, she covered her mouth in deep thought as to how to proceed. "As long as you've had been down here, the trigger must be compromised like the outside fitting... If I pull the plug out fast and straight so I don't touch the walls inside with that detonator..." while she spoke, her fingers fell away from her face and reached inside the hole in the pile she had made to dig her fingernails into the rungs of the screw.
~ ~ ~ ~
On the second floor, the trio of agents that were mere feet from their goal were still hunkered in the splinted frames that they had dove behind. Then, the return fire from the bedroom that was only closed off by a series of shattered boards fell silent.
Instead of breathing in relief, Wufei's eyes grew with a sharp gasp when there was a loud creaking from inside. "He's going to try to trigger those explosives," he breathed in realization. He yelled to his teammates, "Go!" Taking the helm, he surged ahead of the others and knocked away what was left of the shambled door with his friends right behind.
~ ~ ~ ~
Letting out a long breath, Anna held her nerve and with one swift pull, she removed the long needle behind the screw to yank it out straight as a board as to not agitate the explosive. Holding the detonator up before her eyes, she smirked, "Got'cha."
~ ~ ~ ~
Pistols lifted and search beams panning the bedroom, Wufei, Duo and Quatre poured into the bedroom, finding their enemy half-hanging out the window facing the front of the house. "Damn it!" Maxwell hissed, knowing that they were seconds away from being blown away if the librarian got a round off into the porch before they could stop him.
"I'll see you all in hell!" Sweeney half-bellowed-half-laughed madly as he aimed a shotgun for the front porch with an eye closed to secure his aim on the patio floor where the stack of C-4 lay below.
Just as he could feel the trigger he began to squeeze lock home, the high-pierced whizz of a fine bullet from the ground caught the end of his long barrel to knock the weapon from his hands. Crying out in pain and surprise, the librarian watched his shotgun fall to the ground.
Fifty yards away, Trowa stepped out from the cover of the trees surrounding the residence. His sniper riffle smoking from the shot he had taken, the tall agent gave the man hanging from the window a smug grin.
There was no time for Gary Sweeney to absorb what had just happened. In the next blink of an eye, he was grabbed and hauled inside by Duo as the braided agent grunted, "Get in here, asshole."
Spinning around, the librarian suddenly found himself face-to-face with Wufei. The last thing he saw then was the glaring agent's fist as it flew and filled his vision just before the whole world went black.
* * * *
Over an hour later, Heero all but jumped out of his skin from the light cat nap he'd fallen into when his cell phone, which he had left on overnight in a rare exception from the norm, buzzed at its receiving a new text message. Springing upright, he scrambled in his reaching over to the nightstand and turning on the screen to read the simple message he opened.
'Mission was a success. Everyone is back safe and sound. Try to get some sleep now. Good night. Lady Une.'
Collapsing back onto the bed with a deep sigh of relief, the scholar dry washed his face. Quickly typing a 'Thank you. Good night,' response back to the Commander, he replaced his phone on the nightstand and finally felt himself fall at ease for the first time since when he first woke up that prior morning...
...and yet, that text wasn't enough to calm Yuy enough to rest. He needed to see with his own eyes that his friends were alright.
And so, pushing himself back up, the intern climbed to his feet.
* * * *
"Got it. I'll be in touch first thing Monday morning, when your supervisors are available to discuss Sweeney's handling. Thank you," Middie said into her phone. Disconnecting the call, she released a sigh and turned to face her agents with a tired, but warm smile.
She cleared her throat and said in little more than a breath, "I cannot tell you enough just how damned proud I am of all of you. And I'll be sure to extend that sentiment to Heero for his efforts as well when we meet again. The utmost praise to Agent Wolf for his command in both focusing on our suspect and laying out two brilliant strategies that made this take-down the resounding accomplishment that it was."
At her side, Treize draped an arm around the small of her back and nodded vehemently to the team that they had assembled together.
When her brown eyes looked to the redhead that was painted with mud splatters from her face to her feet, she giggled, "I suggest that you hit the shower before you leave, Agent Fire. That's not a very good look for you." Saluting with two fingers against her smeared forehead to the tune of her teammates' snickers, Anna smirked, "Yes, ma'am." Her comrades squeezed her shoulders and pecked her cheeks or temple in gratitude for keeping them safe.
"You're dismissed," the Commander concluded.
* * * *
Heero was pacing the floor of Duo's living room when the front door opened about thirty minutes later. He spun around as the braided agent entered.
As he closed his complex behind him and their eyes met, that electric energy that was still flooding Maxwell hit a pulsating intensity when their gazes met.
Time froze for the pair, the conflicting feelings within themselves colliding to the point that neither of them cared about the consequences of whatever was about to unfold.
Far too relieved and filled with a desire to confirm for himself that the Preventer was alright, the scholar's defenses slipped away at the seams. Driven by sheer need and raw emotions that overwhelmed him, the officer could no longer hold back the primal urges that he had neglected since they began staying under the same roof.
TBC |
