Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Fallen Angels, Broken Hearts ❯ Ch 12 ( Chapter 12 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Heero had stalked out of the safe house to the underground garage. He opened the door to his black Ford Mustang GT and slid into the leather seat. He jammed the key in the ignition and revved the engine. Flooring the gas he peeled out of the garage and up onto the street. The roads were clear around 3am so he just let himself fly. Where was he going? He didn't know, but knew it would be away from the safe house and away from the hurt he had glimpsed in her eyes.
An hour later he found himself at the transport station buying a ticket on the flight he thought would take him to Kara. He needed to find her and make sure she was alright.
Why? Why had he said those things to her? He hadn't meant them, of course not, but how was she to know that?
Heero mentally kicked himself as he found his seat and situated himself for the long flight to the colonies. He had found her as he was angrily returning from his call, and all he had felt was anger that she was jeopardizing her health by being out of bed, and a confusing turmoil of emotions following on anger's heels. He hadn't really known what to say, and had found the words slipping out of his mouth like betraying daggers, unwillingly stabbing her in the heart. If she had felt anything for him before that, well, she certainly didn't now. He had made sure of that. God, he'd really screwed that one over. And, despite her seeming calm when she'd walked out, Lou had been seething fury at him. The best thing he could have done at that moment was leave, before Lou lost that self-control and reamed him halfway to the colonies and back.

A woman in a bright pink jumpsuit jogged by the safe house, as she did everyday. She thought it was a lovely house and was so glad someone had finally moved into it. It had stood vacant for so long. She was afraid though, that it wouldn't be occupied much longer. Those people didn't seem like the type who would stay somewhere very long. They looked ready to leave, she hadn't even seen a moving van ever stop at that house. No, those people were restless souls, ready to leave, but not to flee, she felt. No they would stand their ground and fight until every enemy was dead, or they themselves had forfeited their lives. She did feel bad for the woman she had seen pregnant entering the house. That girl was young, and she knew her life would be a short one if her views on running didn't change. She shook her head and jogged on, turning up her music as she jogged once more around the block.
Inside the house, Ryo had actually begun crying when Solo had been handed to her. She blubbered something about him being so beautiful and her little miracle. Lou said it was just the hormones and she'd be fine when she caught the distressed look from Duo. After ten minutes of being in the room, Lou ordered Li back to bed.
"We don't need you stressing yourself, or chance our little nephew catching anything." she had said.
Li only sighed and allowed herself to be wheeled back into her room with Cody. She refused any help getting into bed and Ray stopped insisting he help her after she sent him a glare. She laid back on the pillow and sighed once again.

One month later, against both Ryo and Lou's wishes, Li was up and at it again. As soon as she'd begun feeling better she'd began complaining about not being allowed out of bed and treated like an invalid when she was perfectly fine. The doctor had finally been forced to back down, and Li left her bed. After a short stay, Li decided to leave the safe house.
"Li, no!" Ryo shouted when she heard the news. "You can't leave!"
Li held her hands up in defense, giving a slight smile, "No worries, sis, I'm not leaving for good like last time. I just need to get out into the fresh air for a while. I'm not going to do anything stupid, and I'll lay low, kay?" She was already packed and was wearing dark pants and a frayed jean jacket over a black spaghetti strap.
Ryo eyed her warily. "You have to call me as soon as you get to where ever it is you are going. Otherwise I'm calling you every thirty minutes." She crossed her arms.
Li sighed, trying to look annoyed. "Alright, alright, geez. What are you my mother?"
About that time Duo walked in with a crying Solo in his arms. "Ryo, honey, I've tried everything. He just won't stop crying..." He looked at her exasperated.
She rolled her eyes. "Give him here." She looked at Li. "I may not be you mother, but someone's got to look out for you. Lord knows you hardly look after yourself." She took Solo from Duo and kissed his nose. "Hey little guy, what's wrong? Why won't you smile for Daddy? You want to say hello to Aunt Li?" He only continued to cry.
She gave Li a faked mean look, "See? He's sad that you're leaving, and now you've made him cry."
Li rolled her eyes.
"At least say good-bye to him. Tell him you'll be back," She looked at her sister, pleading, herself needing reassuring as well.
Li sighed and held out her arms. When her nephew was handed over to her, she smiled.
He stopped crying as she rocked him back and forth. He gurgled up at her happily.
Ryo smiled at her sister. She would be a good parent one day.

Heero's cell phone rang, causing him to jump out of his thoughts and scramble to locate it before he crashed his car. "Hello?"
Lou's brisk voice came over the phone, "Li is leaving. Again. She's so stubborn, but she's promised Ryo she'll be back this time, so at least that’s something . . . anyway, aren't you going to say goodbye to her?"
"She wouldn't want to speak to me. She and I have hardly spoken over the last month..." He sighed. He wished they had, but she was so cold on the phone now.
"It'll never hurt to try," Lou said.
"I know, but I'm afraid I ruined it by saying those things to her." He trailed off, wincing.
"Well, at least you know you were in the wrong on that one," Lou replied smugly.
"She won't listen if I try to tell her though. I hurt her deeply, Lou..."
"Of course you did. How could anyone hear those things and not be hurt?" Lou sighed, deciding not to pour any more salt on the wound.
Heero sighed.
"Quite being a baby and talk to her. Or something. She still loves you." Lou sounded very motherly, almost like she was talking to a hormonal teenager.
The cloud over his parade seemed to stop raining for a moment. "She does?"
Lou then rolled her eyes, somehow an audible movement. "Heero Yuy, you are denser than a cement block coated in mercury."
"How do you know? Has she said anything? She's the one who broke it off, not me!" He sounded beyond confused.
"You are also woman illiterate. She broke it off because you were getting too close and she realized if it went on any longer she wouldn't be able to imagine a life without you. What better way to remedy that than to go off and completely leave you behind? It is basic logic."
This left him dumbstruck. Was that really it? He thought she wanted to be closer. He was left confused.
Lou sighed. "Are you telling me you've been blaming her for this the entire time?"
"No! I... er..." He could not find the words. He had been blaming her. He never thought about it, but he had.
"Stop lying, find Kara, drag her back here so we can keep and eye on her, then work things out with Li, please." There was a dark snicker, "And if all else fails and gets boring, we can watch Ryo kill Kara with her bare hands, or something of the like. Like gladiators."
He frowned atthe phoneunhappily, "I'd appreciate it if you acted a little more concerned about my girlfriends well being. "
"Too bad, because right now your girlfriend is at the bottom of my list of concerns, and the most pressing of my problems. So deal with it."
"Leigh Lou-"
"Heero Yuy. I promise you, if you weren't so infatuated and if we didn't care so much about you Ryo, Duo, and I would have taken her out a long time ago. Just bring her back, preferably hog-tied, and come make Li smile. Or relax. Or something."
She started to hang up, then paused. "And Heero?"
"Yes?"
"If you can't manage to at least do that, then stay out of the way, because you'll only make things worse."

Ryo sighed as she watched Li pick up her bag and turn to the door. She rushed forward and hugged her sister tightly around the waist, just as Li's hand hit the doorknob. "Promise me you'll come back safer than you did last time," she almost whispered into Li's back.
Li let out a long sigh, wincing slightly at the pressure Ryo was putting on her ribs. "I can't promise you that, Ryo, but you know I'll try."
"That's not good enough." Ryo replied stubbornly, refusing to relinquish her grip on her sister.
"Ryo." Lou glared at the out of bed patient of sorts. "Your sister will be fine, like every other time she has made me believe she is a robot with super human powers beyond all normal control. You have to trust her and have faith in that. Go back to bed. Now."
Her look told Li to promise her sister because both knew otherwise Ryo would never let go. Li complied.
Satisfied with her sister's word, Ryo let go of Li. "Don't forget, call me as soon as you can. No more of this 'where are you' crap."
Li managed a smile, "No worries. I'm over that, now. Besides, you'll be safer knowing how to get a hold of me."
Ryo smile was tight lipped. She nodded and turned away.
Li sighed at her sisters rebuke and headed towards her car. She had been hurt, and she had run away from the pain. She had no excuse, no explanation to make her sister feel better. She hated herself for being so weak, for dealing with countless physical wounds without complaint, but her heart gets hurt and she collapses. Pathetic.

She walked slowly away from the door, feeling like a small child again. She knew Li wasn't leaving for good, only a trip. She sighed. Then why was her chest tightening like this was the last time she'd ever see her again?

It was around three in the morning when Duo woke her up by pressing a hand to her mouth and shaking her lightly. He immediately turned and took Solo from the crib, pressing him into her arms. "I need you to get out of the house," he whispered in her ear.
"What's going on?" she stared into his eyes.
"Someone is breaking in and they are armed. If you can't get out, hide." There were shots from the other end of the house. "Go. Now!" He hissed, grabbing the hand guns out of the drawer and handing her one.
Ryo rolled off the bed in her oversized T-shirt hugging Solo to her and carrying the gun with her free arm. Thank god he was still little enough for her to hold him in one arm.
Glancing out the window, she saw many more bodies out in the yard, trying to conceal themselves. This wasn't a break in, it was an ambush.
She pressed her shoulder into the wall on the east side of the room, causing it to swing open when she took her weight off. Hurrying down the steps she looked back only once to see Duo closing off the passageway, hiding it seamlessly into the wall again. She stopped when she was between floors. She couldn't leave the passage. It exited in two places, outside and into the kitchen. Neither of those she knew would be a good idea. She was trapped.
Looking down, Ryo smiled slightly as she saw Solo sleeping peacefully, even as the gunshots came closer. The walls were of a steel alloy that muffled sound so the person in the passage could not be heard. Who knew it would help keep a baby asleep as well? The dim lighting suddenly flickered and died. There was a crash from above and a gunshot. They seemed so far away. Her heart began to beat quickly and she found herself reminding her to breathe.
She felt vibrations against her arm. Carefully, without jostling Solo, she searched through the blanket he was wrapped in. Duo had hidden her phone with him. She answered it.
"Hello?" she whispered.
"Ryo?" Li's voice came through the ear piece. "Why are you whispering?"
"Li, I'm in the passage that comes from mine and Duo's room. We are being attacked," her voice rose only slightly.
"Are you all right? Where is everyone else? Do you have Solo?"
The crashing became louder from upstairs; Ryo found herself staring in the direction of the hidden door, wishing she could see.
"Ryo? Are you still there?"
She shook her head, bringing herself out of a daze. “Yeah Li, I'm here. Solo is with me. I think everyone else is fighting. Liandrin, I'm scared."
"Stay calm, Ryo, they can't find you, remember? I helped design that safe house. Heero... and I made sure the passages were undetectable."
She nodded, "I know." There was a crash against the door, which echoed in the hallway. A sliver of light appeared; the door was open. "Li. Li I think they may have found the door. I don't know how, but..." She stopped as the door swung open and a silhouette appeared in the rectangle of light.
It was a woman, she walked slowly down the steps as the lights flickered back on.
"Oh my god..." Ryo whispered. Kara smiled at her. "You bitch." she hissed at the woman.
"Ryo, who is it?"
A man hurried down the steps, uncomfortably due to his bulky muscle. "This the one we want?" Kara nodded and he reached for Ryo.
"Li, don't co-" the line went dead as Kara snatched the phone from Ryo's hand and slammed it shut. She dropped it on the step and crunched it beneath her foot.
"That was a very dumb thing to do, Maxwell. You will ruin everything with that large mouth of yours." She walked past her and waved back at the man, "Bring her, but make sure she and that newborn brat stay quiet."
The man smiled and grabbed Ryo by the neck, forcing her against the wall with one hand. With the other he pressed a cloth to her face. She struggled and held her breath until finally she had to breathe again. Within moments she slumped against the wall. In the struggle, Solo awoke and began to protest the movement. Another cloth was pressed to his face for mere seconds before he too was still. The man grabbed Ryo by the waist and carried her over his shoulder while cradling Solo in his other arm. As he walked out of the passage, the ambush began to retreat.

Li snapped her phone shut so hard that she thought there would be repercussions later, but that hardly mattered now. Ryo was in trouble, and it was caused by someone she knew. No matter how she wracked her brains for a possible perpetrator, she drew a blank. Nothing.
She bullied the flight personnel into letting her onto the next available transport without reservations, finally pulling her ID on them and scaring them half to death. It ended with an unfortunate bystander being left on the colony to find another flight and an edgy Li fiddling with her necklace as she watched space pass them by. She hadn't been able to convince them to allow her to bring any weapons, so she'd dumped hers and planned on visiting her personal stash before taking further action once she stepped off the ship.

Li bit her lip angrily. The employee was just doing his job. She would resist the urge to hit him.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but as I said before, we don't have any cars. You won't find any taxis either." He explained again, as if she hadn't heard it the first time. He was pale, so he must have picked up a little on her mood.
"And may I ask why?" She controlled her voice rather well, considering the circumstances. At least, she thought.
"There's a universal peace conference being hosted, along with a public fair and carnival. The colony's packed, and we're fresh out of cars as a result. You'd only get stuck in traffic, anyway."
When he mentioned a carnival, she thought of Trowa, and for the first time since Ryo's call she wondered if he and the others were okay. She'd assume they were better off than Ryo, and focus on her priorities.
She dismissed herself more politely than she'd entered, "Never mind, then, I'll walk." And, contrasting her words, she ran.

"Target spotted, over." The words hissed faintly out of the walkie-talkie at her hip. She grabbed it. "Where?"
"Main shopping center. Middle of the crowds, staying pretty well hidden. Look left."
She squinted, then let out a breath of air. "I see her."
"We'll follow. You know what to do."
"Of course." Kara stood up from her seat and stretched, hiding the walkie-talkie in her purse as she did, along with her gun. Then she set out into the mobs of people that were bunched in gobs in the streets of the city.

Li rushed through the midst of the partiers, ignoring the general hubbub. She needed to get to her guns, and quick. She was already taking a risk as it was, but as she saw it, she had no choice. She knew Ryo had said not to come, but then again Ryo knew Li too well to think she would listen. So ignoring her sister on that point would not make her feel a shred of guilt, if it meant getting her sister and making her safe once more.
She was beginning to feel her muscles get a little tired, but that was to be expected. She'd been running as fast as she could for the last hour, across the city, trying to stay in the crowd but not lose speed at the same time. It was hard work, but just the same, she was almost there.
She paused for a moment to catch her breath and get her bearings. Then she straightened, focusing on the sounds around her. She thought she'd heard her name.
"Li! Li Kamiya!"
Li turned and found the source. It was Kara, running toward her through the crowd, all smiles, so much like a good friend spotting another. Her head spun as she thought this, and she swallowed, reminding herself that she still had some injuries to deal with.
Wait, like an old friend? That wasn't right. That was wrong, way wrong. She glanced back at Kara, who was mere feet from her, and it clicked. Kara didn't have time to catch the change, she was too busy gloating her victory, or she would have seen the glint in Li's eyes as she realized the truth.
Without having time to think about it, but knowing she couldn't hurt her in the crowd, Li dropped and spun, swinging her leg out and catching Kara in the knees, knocking her off her feet to smack into the pavement. Then she was off like a shot, losing herself in the crowd.
Kara could not have been the only one, there had to be others around. Li hoped they were cautious enough not to make a move in the midst of so much celebrating, but she wouldn't count on it.

Kara jumped up quickly and swore so loud that those near her gave her looks and moved away. That BITCH. She thought she'd had her. Obviously not, but she wouldn't get away.
"PSHHHH . . . You okay?" Came the hiss of the walkie-talkie in her purse.
"Yeah, are you still tracking her?"
"Of course." He proceeded to tell her directions. "We'll give you one more shot, and if you fail, we'll finish the job, so no worries, neh?"
"Shut up."

Li had already seen at least one more person, up on the roof. She'd immediately skirted the building. Now she was in a less crowded area, which was dangerous but necessary. The building she was looking for was less than a mile away. She was about to turn a corner when Kara came from behind a building in front of her and raised her gun. Li stopped, heart beating fast.
Kara smiled, "Miss me?" And fired.
Li was in the middle of ducking back around the last corner (because she wasn't stupid enough to stay and listen to Kara's little speech) when the bullet hit her arm. She faltered once, then kept on running, but this time toward the masses. She'd given up on reaching her guns. Now she just needed to survive.
With one hand she applied pressure to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding as she ran. Up ahead she could see the beginnings of the big crowds. She might make it.

"Get her, you idiots, get her!" Kara practically screamed into the walkie-talkie.
There was no reply, as the sniper closest was concentrating.
He watched the slim figure retreat towards the crowds and let out all the air he'd been holding as he held her in his sights. His finger pulled the trigger in the quiet, and the silence was barely shattered by the muffled sound of the bullet leaving the barrel. The impact seemed loudest, a gut wrenching sound, a sound he'd come to quite enjoy. She collapsed, still.

"Gotcha, bitch!" Kara cheered in the alleyway. She'd been able to see the success of Kevin’s rifle, and she did a little dance of victory. In the end, she always won. She glanced back at the body and paused, "Shit."
Some of the crowd had seen it happen, and now people were screaming and generally freaking out. The nobler few were trying to restore order.
"PSHHHHHHHH . . . we were successful, Kara, but this will cause quite a stir. She's been taken out right on the front lawn of the peace conference, and we can't get to the body with this much attention."
She shrugged, still happy, "Doesn't matter. She's got to be dead."
"Don't take a chance. Go check."
She sighed and put a little whine in her voice. "Oh, fine . . . " She slipped herself into the crowd and pushed her way nearer, finally kneeling down next to the body. She looked at the man next to her, putting as much fear into her voice as she could, "Is anyone here a doctor?"
He shook his head, "Someone went to get help. There'll be one soon."
"We should try to identify her." Before someone could protest, she reached into Li's jacket pocket and pulled out her wallet. Opening it, she rifled through it for a few moments before handing the man the ID. He looked it over and didn't notice her slipping Li's newly snatched necklace into a little baggie and hiding it into her bag. After all, she'd just bought the purse and she didn't want it to get bloody. After a second of thought she grinned, and, acting on sudden impulse, she reached out and sheared off a lock of brunette hair with her knife, shielding her actions with her body and making sure the slice was from a bottom layer. The moment was priceless, and her heart jumped with pleasure as she cradled her token of victory.
She reached over and felt for a pulse in her neck. She was thorough, and when she wasdone she glanced up at the man.
"Anything?" He asked hopefully.
"No." She said mournfully. As if. Then she stood up, pleading sickness, and walked away, hiding a smile.
"Mission accomplished."

Things came into a blurry focus as Ryo opened her eyes. A harsh light made her squint and hold one hand up. She heard the clinking of metal on metal. Her eyes reopened and she noticed the metal cuffs around her wrists She sat up quickly causing her entire head to swim to the point that she felt nauseated. She sat with her head between her knees for several minutes.
The door opened and Kara walked in, smirking with a look of "I-know-something-you-don't." She walked over to Ryo and leaned over her. "Poor Mommy can't handle a little chloroform any more?"
She glared up at her, "You wait until Li gets here. She will wipe that disgusting smirk off your face."
Straightening, she laughed. "Oh my dear, dear child, your sister is not coming. You see, I ran into her on her way here." She seems to have had an unfortunate accident." She pulled a silver chain from beneath her shirt. Ryo squinted at it then gasped.
"How the did you get that?" she hissed.
"Such foul language from such a pretty mouth, and in front the child as well," she motioned to Solo in a wooden crib across the concrete floor.
"I don't know how you got that but you take that off, now."
Kara fingered it and gave a cackling laugh. "No one minds. Li sure won't, for you see, she's dead. How else would I have gotten this lovely trinket?"
"You stole it off her neck, duh. Li doesn't die like other people." Ryo nails dug into her hands.
Now thoroughly enjoying this, Kara squatted to Ryo's eye level. "I assure you she does. How else would I have gotten this?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small box which she handed to Ryo.
"What is this? This isn't Li's."
"Open it, you blonde idiot," she was beginning to get frustrated.
Pursing her lips, Ryo opened the lid slowly. Inside was a lock of hair, straight and brown tied with a small band. She stared at it for a good two minutes.
"Believe me now?" Kara smiled wickedly.
At the sound of Kara's voice, the box slipped from Ryo's hands and clattered to the ground. Kara swiftly picked up the box and hair that had fallen out. She stood and walked from the room, leaving Ryo in a silent shock of reality.