Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Cult Characteristic ❯ Chapter 18 ( Chapter 18 )

EIGHTEEN

Noin kept the gun trailed on the dark, shadowed corners of the building, aware of the breathing heat at her back, desperately pleased she knew the man it belonged to. Had she had to do this alone she was not sure she would have succeeded. In fact, she knew she would not have. Together, she and Milliardo had a chance, but individually…they were great agents, but Preventers was designed to keep people out; it was still a mystery how anyone had got in undetected.

"Ready?"

"Ready," Noin replied, and sensing the split second shift in her partner's position, she spun around the corner, gun trained on the spot slightly above Milliardo's right shoulder, aware of his own gun pointing to the left.

They moved hard and fast, smashing through the front doors and down the main corridor. They had expected resistance at the door, but by the time they reached the seemingly endless rows of empty office chairs they knew something was wrong. Noin looked around the empty rooms, stared at the blinking red lights on the answering machines and was reminded of a heart monitor, still beeping, but strangely silent. It was unnerving.

"Where is everyone?"

"They must have moved them after Une made the call…" Milliardo sounded slightly worried, which meant he was actually close to panicking. Noin had not seen him that worried since the Libra…She did not feel that boded well for the rest of their operation and wished, not for the first time, that they had Heero with them. Or Quatre.

"Direction?" Noin watched his face for signs of change, ideas, and hence didn't miss the slight flash of something sinister in the eyes, the way the chin rose that smallest smidgen and the mind focused on a point beyond the wall at the far end of the room.

"The Chapel."

They were moving before Noin had time to process the response. So it was she found herself, gun once again raised protectively over Milliardo's shoulder even as the prince of Sanc used his own body to shield her, rushing through ghostly halls toward…the Chapel.

If this case could get any weirder Noin imagined she would have a heart attack. Still, based on everything else it was the logical location. The closest one could come to the touch of immortality would be a church, after all, and if you could convince Death to join you there, all the better. It made sense. Sick sense, but sense nonetheless.

It wasn't, however, until they reached the Chapel doors that it truly sunk in; the magnitude of a case that began before the Preventers was ever formed. That began, in fact, before the war that had made Preventers necessary; had, in fact, been one of the key causes of the war. It wasn't until Noin was standing there, Milliardo at her side, gun limp in hand, staring at the fresco's of the Gundam's spread out across the doorway, that it truly sank in. These people weren't just greedy. They truly believed they were right, and this belief was no different to her own belief that the Gundam's and Relena could put an end to the war. No different at all. The thought sickened her.

Just as they raised their guns together, the Chapel doors swung open, revealing a hazy, incense filled door shaped rectangle. It was nearly impossible to see through. A figure came into focus, striding through the fog, dressed in a black cowl, hood drawn up over the face, hands clasped in front. Noin knew, beneath the hood, the figure was smiling.

"Welcome. We have been waiting."

Milliardo tensed, finger twitching on the trigger, but he did not shoot, and Noin knew why. While she could not see them, the small red dot hovering over her heart was proof enough the figure was not alone. They had walked into a trap. An odd, unexpected and wholly predictable trap that made her feel thrice a fool as she lowered her gun and passed it over to the suddenly outstretched hands.

The figure moved back away from them and motioned that they should enter further. They did slowly, only to find the door was guarded by a smoke veil of incense that did not permeate the rest of the small religious center. Within it was clear, light filtering through the large stained glass windows and splattering a wash of colour over the figures huddles on the altar.

Noin's gaze met Une's, where she sat at the front of the hostages, a robed figure at either side and she felt her stomach drop. They had no control, and there was little chance of the wresting control back from the several-dozen strong force of occultists scattered throughout the wings. The look in Une's eyes told her she knew the same; had known it the moment she made the call. Yet she had still made it…

Milliardo was ushered away from the other hostages, forced to sit among the pews. No doubt they thought him the most dangerous of those assembled. Little did they know what Une was truly capable of. Noin almost wished she would switch personalities, just one last time. Noin herself moved to Une's side, sitting languidly before a black-robed figure, doing her best to seem as unthreatening and stupid as possible. Just another sidekick…She was, for the first time, grateful her reputation did not precede her.

The robed figures seemed satisfied, and turned away.

"I was hoping you wouldn't come…"

Noin stared at Une in shock, watching from the corner of her eye as the robed figures turned once again to face them. It took several minutes to realize her commander had not spoken in English, and a few more for her brain to supply a translation to the Russian. Noin had not heard the old Earth rustic language spoken since Treize's death; especially not from Une's lips!

"Then why tell us what was happening?" Noin asked again, watching the robed figures. There was little response, but there was a tension in the air that spoke volumes. They had no idea what was being said, or near enough to it. Russian, like most of the Baltic languages, was dying, and for once she was glad of it.

"For the same reason they wanted me to tell you," Une replied, inclining her head in the direction of the occultists.

Noin was amazed at the response. It certainly wasn't what she had expected. Noin had assumed Une made the call in the hopes Heero and the other Gundam Pilots would come to the rescue; they were better at this sort of operation, having played dirty enough in the war to understand you couldn't just walk in the front door, no matter how appealing it might seem.

"I don't understand…"

Une smiled, that soft `I know exactly what you're thinking' smile. She was almost too understanding, too aware of the faults of each individual.

"They're waiting."

Noin rolled her eyes. That much was obvious! Everyone in the damn room knew they were waiting for…Noin's mind froze, puzzle pieces slipping into place and she glared at Une. They were waiting for Death; for Duo Maxwell. But why would Une be expecting, even hoping for the same? Duo was better kept as far away as possible, especially in the frame of mind Noin imagined him to be in. Then again, Une had no idea what had transpired on L2.

"Duo and Heero are unconscious after Duo tried to kill them both self destructing his Gundam."

Une's eyes barely registered any surprise. A small moment of doubt flashed across the delicate features before composure was completely regained, along with unfaltering loyalty to a cause. Noin had seen it before and was aware that is the situation went on any longer she just might get her wish. Une was on the verge of switching.

"He will come."

Noin gaped. So Une hadn't seen the shape the two young men were in, wasn't `unconscious' enough of an indication? Mind snapping through the possibilities, Noin realized Une had not flinched at the mention of a Gundam. She had been informed of the existence of a new kind of Mobile Suit, but not that they had suspected it was a Gundam. Suspicion flared. Une saw it, laughed and quelled it.

"A little birdie told me."

Noin spluttered a moment, wondering what kind of answer that was, when it hit her. The right kind of answer. There was one little bird who had played a central role to the whole scenario. A little bird named Fiona.

"She knew…and she told you! You knew from the very beginning!"

"Yes, I knew there was a Gundam, and I suspected Maxwell would steal it, just as he stole his original suit. After speaking with Fiona it became obvious to me the only way to ensure this case was solved and put behind us, completely and irrevocably, would be to let Maxwell finish what he started. That's why I know, just like Fiona knew; he will come."

Noin wasn't sure how to answer that, so she sat back on her elbows, focused on the door, and waited. Silence descended on the Chapel.

*

Wufei wiped the blade clean and hurried forward, a quick glance at his watch telling him he was still on time but that any further delay would see Trowa reach the target before him, without backup. That would be unacceptable. No one else was to be injured on this mission; not if Wufei could prevent it.

So he rushed forward, feet not quite silent as he raced the clock, sword moving without thought as figures leaped into his path. He cared not if they were innocent of the situation, they were attacking him and that was reason enough to be rid of them. In times such as this, it did not pay to be chivalrous. Justice would be served.

They were at the Devourjac manor. The few leads they had picked up on around the town had pointed to several sightings in the area of the now ruined mansion. Only two wings of the house remained standing, so Trowa had entered from one end while Wufei took the other. Whoever found her was to page the other and wait five minutes. If they didn't arrive, they weren't going to and they would act accordingly. Trowa had paged Wufei three minutes ago. The problem was that while Trowa's end of the manor had been relatively clear, with only Rose's lackey's around to guard her, the other wing was filled with pilfering junkies; the dregs of L2 society who, while not really deserving of their fate, were asking for it nonetheless.

Finally reaching the end of the wing, Wufei entered Trowa's end. The change was immediate. The shadows did not move here. There was an eerie quiet; the soft groan of planks threatening to collapse, of walls ready to give in. The murmur of voices not so far away. Wufei followed the directions Trowa paged him until he finally entered a corridor with a slender shape molded against the wall at the far end. A white hand flashed and Wufei halted obediently, eyes taking in the situation. Between them an open door spilled golden light and from within came the muffled voices that were filtering throughout the wing. Two voices, Wufei realized quickly, and both female. That, in itself, was not that odd. What was odd was that one voice was much more frightened than the other, and that the fear belonged to Rose Devourjac. The other…It couldn't be. Wufei understood perfectly why Trowa had been more than happy to wait for backup.

With hand signals they communicated the plan. Basic really; charge through the door was guns drawn, one go right the other left and shoot anything that moves against them. Typical Preventer maneuver…sort of.

Wufei took a deep breath, settling his katana back into the shoulder harness he wore on missions and pulling the gun loose from his hip. He had avoided using it thus far because he had not wanted to alert Rose of their presence. He did not want to know what Trowa had used to dispatch anyone he had found. Some things were better left unshared. Let Quatre know such things…

They charged through the gateway of spilled yellow light into the torch lit room beyond. Wufei rolled past the bullet that smashed into the frame and came to his feet with his gun trailed on the two slender figures in the center of the room. Trowa had fired his gun as soon as he heard a shot go off, but at least one of the women had been expecting it, and had moved out of reach, her own gun trailed not on them but on Rose Devourjac.

Had it been physically possible, Wufei knew his jaw would have hit the floor. As it was he forced it shut into a grim line and glared.

"What, you're not happy to see me?"

"What are you doing here?" Wufei demanded, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Relena was involved, there was no reason to suspect…

"Two days ago several million credits disappeared from a bank account I was `watching'. When Miss Relena took a shuttle to L2 not long after, and I realized Rose Devourjac had likewise left for L2 the day before, well…What was a girl to think other than that something was going on?"

"Always following the action behind the scenes…" Trowa noted softly and the woman smiled.

"Well, I am a Catalonia."

And that it seemed was all the explanation they were going to get. Wufei holstered his gun and moved forward to ensure Rose was properly secured, not that he had expected Dorothy Catalonia to do a poor job. Quite the contrary; he expected to find the girl's hands practically blue and ready to fall off from lack of circulation! Dorothy was not exactly known for kindness.

"We have to go."

"Where?" Dorothy was watching them with no hostility, only curiosity in her gaze. It fascinated Wufei that she didn't even need to ask `why' which would have been his own first question had he been in her position. But then, he doubted Dorothy was as in the dark as she appeared. No, anyone who had spent as long as she had around Relena and Milliardo was likely to see a lot more than your average person in any given situation.

"Preventers is under attack," Wufei replied and nodded in Rose's direction.

"Ah, ransom. Lovely. Very well…" Dorothy sounded resigned and Wufei prepared himself to tell her she was not coming with them. "I suppose I will have to catch up later. I have a hospital to visit."

Wufei couldn't help it, he gaped. What the hell was going on? Where had Dorothy been the past six months anyway? What was she doing? What did she know? What didn't she know? It was impossible to tell.

"There is a crashed Leo outside. I doubt very much it got in its current condition without the help of a very powerful mobile suit, which is no longer in the area. I am assuming it is now in the care of a certain Sweeper Ship currently docked at the main service entry of the colony," Dorothy halted only to take a breath. "Considering there is no pilot, dead or alive, in said Leo suit I can only assume the pilot was Mr. Yuy. As the Sweeper's now have the other suit, I can only assume its pilot was Mr. Maxwell. I am so pleased to hear he is no longer missing and would like to give him a belated welcome home present. Hence, I must assume they are both at the hospital, along with…Mr. Winner, I presume?"

Even Trowa looked startled. This woman should be working for Une, but was probably much better placed wherever she was. Relena had made an intelligent move when she practically conscripted Dorothy top her cause during the war.

Shaking off his shock, Wufei just nodded before hauling a completely unresponsive Rose Devourjac from the room, Trowa not far behind. As the climbed into the car they had brought with them they saw a small blue hatch leaving the mansion and shook their heads in wonder.

Silently, Wufei thanked the Queen of Schemes and wished her the best of luck.