Chapter Eleven: Seducing is an Art Form

 

            *Pacing back and forth, Darien couldn’t wait. Shin was supposed to be returning any moment with the money from the Swedish bank accounts he had set up. All of the laundered money would be enough to finally pay for the last three nuclear warheads in existence. The negotiations with the Russians had gone quite well, and as soon as Darien had the cash, the warheads would be his. Five billion dollars had taken Darien a good many years to raise, but now that he had the money, nothing would stop him.

With the warheads he would be able to threaten Earth and the colonies into submission to his rule. No one would be willing to jeopardize the fate of Earth, and destroying one colony would ultimately effect the others as well, whether it be directly because of debris, or because of the indirect effect the lack of trade would have on the economy. He smiled evilly, thinking of the power he would have once Shin returned. Then he would be able to track Shade down. And once that was done… she would be his forever more.

>>>)(<<<

            “This is it? This is the club Specters? It doesn’t look like much to me.” Duo muttered a they reached the door to the club.

            “Appearances can be very deceiving Duo.” Shade whispered back.

            “I don’t see how…” They had just entered the main clubroom, and Duo stood stunned.

            “This place is disgusting!” Wufei snarled. A woman came strolling up to them.

            “Mistress Shade! Darien’s looking for you!” She squealed, the smell of alcohol heavily wafting off her breath.

            “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. Do you know where I can find him?” She replied, not in the least affected by the girl’s behavior. To her it was merely another usual scene. The others, however, were very much turned off by the gross manner in which the girl and the others conducted themselves. Hiiro still wasn’t used to it, and he had lived with these people for three weeks.

            “Darien? He’s in his office I guess.” The girl tittered, then tipped over and collapsed, throwing up the contents of her stomach on the floor in front of them.

            “Woman, have you no shame?” Wufei asked, nose high in the air.

            “What’s shame?” The girl managed to spit out in between the lurches her stomach was taking.

            “Shade. This is horrible. And you lived here for how long?” Quatre asked, eyes slightly glazed over with a coating of unfallen tears.

            “I’ve lived here for six, almost seven years.” She answered him, her eyes searching for something. “Ok. I there’s Shin right there. He’s going to Darien’s office, which means that s where Darien is.”

            “He’s carrying something. We had better move.” Trowa added.

            “Right. Wufei, come with me. Once I go in there, Darien will kick Shin out. At that point, your free to take Shin out. Watch it with him though, he’s the one who trained me for the first two years, he’s good. The rest of you can just look around for that secret room with the computer. Anyone object?” When no one answered, they silently split to go about their business. Hiiro stopped as he began walking away and, keeping his back towards her, he spoke to Shade.

            “We fight for something greater than us. Don’t think you’ve lost anything in vain.” She turned and looked at his back.

            “I know. Thank you, and good luck.” With that, she slipped away, taking Wufei with her. Quickly reaching Darien’s office door, Wufei hid in the shadows and she knocked. The door flung open and Shin rushed her inside.

            “Shade!” Darien boomed.

            “Oh Darien!” She ran up to him and flung her arms around him. “You’re alive! It worked! Thank the stars nothing happened to you my love!” She cooed breathlessly.

            “Sh- Shade?” Darien was at a loss. She had turned him up three days ago and run away. Now she was back, and was she professing her undying love as well? “Shin, out!” Darien order.” Inwardly Shade smiled. They were falling into place exactly.

            “Oh Darien! I was so worried he might have killed you before I got to him!” She went on playing her part.

            “He who? What’s this about?”

            “Darien, baby! You see, last time when you and I had that fight, I was staging it. Hiiro Yui was in the air vent above us, with a gun trained on you. I made you move so he couldn’t get a clear shot. I’m sorry abut pretending not to want you- it was a lie.” Darien’s eyes rose. What? She had saved his life by faking not wanting him? Then, what about…

            “What about disappearing for three days?” He asked skeptically.

            “Oh Darien! As soon as I left your office, I followed Hiiro out. I tracked him for an entire day and a half, killed him, and then it took me another day and a half to get back to you. I’m sorry for leaving you for so long.”

            “Hiiro Yui is dead?” Darien asked, still unsure of what was going on.

            “Yes. I’m afraid I was jealous of him taking my spot as your favorite, especially when I knew he wanted you dead. I finished the job.”

            “Oh, my dear.” Darien spoke softly, enveloping her into a large hug. “You are mine. Mine.” He said.

            “And I’m so glad!” Shade went on.

            “Baby.” Darien kissed her cheek, then both her hands. Serena moved in to kiss him. Since she couldn’t reach his mouth, she settled for trailing kisses up and down his neck, gently pulling at it at the same time. She chose her move correctly. Darien moaned heavily and moved in even closer to her.

            “Shade. Mine. I want you. Give yourself to me.” He commanded.

            “Darien. If you want me, go ahead and take me.” She giggled slightly, nerves fluttering around in her stomach. It was her job to comply to his request, her mission. And she would live up to Hiiro’s spotless record. She would never fail a mission.

>>>)(<<<

            Wufei heard Shade’s opening line: “Oh Darien, you’re alive! It worked! Thank the stars nothing happened to you my love.” After that he tried to tune out the sickeningly sweet voice Shade was using and instead concentrate on Darien’s voice. When finally Darien commanded Shin out, Wufei readied himself. The man name Shin was coming.

            “Damned man. What does he need all of that money for anyway?” Shin muttered to himself as he walked out of the room. He had been with Darien from the day the idea of the  Specters had been conceived, but something was going on. Darien wasn’t telling him everything.

            “What is Darien planning to do that I don’t know about?” Shin continued to murmur.

            “Shin.” Wufei spoke. He had heard the man’s questions, but found it hard to believe that this Shin would not know what was going on in the club when he was so closely tied to Darien. Shin whipped around to face the boy shaded in the darkness.

            “Boy! What are you doing here?” Shin barked. Wufei narrowed his eyes.

            “Tell me what Darien plans to do with that money.” Wufei commanded.

            “Boy! How dare you speak about your Father in that manner! I will have to punish you for taking such a tone with me as well. What is your name boy?”

            “I never give my name to the enemy.” Wufei smirked, then knotted his brow and frowned. “Now what does Darien want with all of that money?”

            “How dare you!” Shin cried, obviously enraged by Wufei’s mannerisms.

            “Fine. Don’t tell me. Your death make little difference to me.” Wufei brandished his katana, allowing the light to gleam off of the highly polished metal blade. Shin’s eyebrows raised and he backed away from Wufei slightly.

            “You wish for a fight? Very well boy, I will give you your fight. Shall we forgo the swords and use our hands?” Shin suggested.

            “To kill you with the katana would be justified. However, I will fight you bare handed to prove to you I am your superior in martial arts.” Wufei deciphered.

            “Very well then. Fight!”  Wufei let Shin circle him slowly, then without warning, Shin attacked. Punch after punch was thrown by Shin. Shin was fast, but Wufei was faster. Each punch was either blocked or countered. Soon Shin was breathing heavier and Wufei could make out tiny trickles of sweat pouring down Shin’s face, and dripping into his eyes.

            “Ready to give old man?” Wufei taunted him.

            “Fight!” Shin yelled again. This time Shin threw a combination of kicks and punches. A few hit their marks, causing Wufei to become slightly ticked off. After the third punch hit its mark under his right eye, Wufei went on the offense. Ducking under Shin’s punches, he came up right in Shin’s face and punched him hard in the stomach. Taking hold of Shin’s neck, he throttled the martial arts trainer till his face began turning blue. Then Wufei dropped him and drew his katana once more. Looking down at Shin’s bloodied nose and lip, he smirked.

            “Last chance. What is Darien going to do with the money you just brought him.”

            “He’s going to buy a bunch of new video games for the kid’s game room as far as I know.”

            “Don’t play games. What is he going to buy?” Wufei snapped, holding the katana closer to the man’s neck. Shin could feel the cool metal of the blade begin to heat from touching his hot, sweaty skin. This kid wasn’t joking around. Where had he come from. He was one of the best martial arts fighters he had ever met- save Darien, Shade, and Hiiro. And if Shade could beat Darien, who was able to beat Shin himself, and Shade and Hiiro couldn’t defeat each other, what did that mean for this man’s level of skill?

            “I don’t know what he wants with it. He’s been saving for almost eight years, but I have no idea why. It’s probably not for anything good, I’ll give you that.” Shin spat out.

            “You’re Darien’s best friend and confident, yet you don’t know?” Wufei countered.

            “Shade is Darien’s confident, and she would have told me if Darien was doing something wrong. Even as a mercenary Shade has the best morals I’ve ever met anyone with.”

            “I know for a fact Shade does not know.” Wufei pressed the katana in closer, drawing a thin trickle of red liquid from Shin’s neck. “Last chance. What is Darien going to do with the money?”

            “I don’t know.” Now Shin was scared. This kid was very serious. Wufei looked at Shin and saw the white in his eyes. This man really had no clue. Well then, it wasn’t just to kill him. But still, he needed him out of the way…

            “Alright old man, I believe you. But I can’t just let you go around warning everyone I’m here. This is what you deserve.” With that, Wufei took the katana from the  man’s neck, but at the same time brought his other hand up behind Shin and hit him in the back of the neck, knocking him out. Nodding at his work, Wufei proceeded to drag Shin’s motionless body into the dark doorway of another room and shut the door behind him. He then left in search of either Quatre, Trowa, or Hiiro to help them find the hidden room.

>>>)(<<<

 Duo was thrilled because he had to do no work, just observe the trainees in the training room to make sure they weren’t alerted about the infiltration. As he sat watching the boys, he got bored easily. The training was interesting, but Duo already knew all of the moves. There were no girls to watch and drool over, and nothing to eat. He was  yawning and just about ready to fall asleep when he heard a voice.

“Maxwell! It would be a bad idea to fall asleep on the job.”

“Hey Wu-man! I was just going to rest my eyes, that’s all. Shin taken care of?”

“Idiot braided boy! Don’t call me Wu-man!” With that, Wufei picked up his katana and began advancing on Duo slowly.

“I’m sorry! I Forgot!” Duo laughed nervously.

“And now I’m going to make sure you don’t forget again!” Wufei charged. Well, Duo thought, at least he was bored any more.

            The three other boys had decided to begin by combing the walls for secret passageways. Each taking a wall, they agreed to follow it to the fourth wall, which held the door to the stairs of the training room where Duo was and Darien’s office, where Shade was.

Quatre took the wall that had the entrance door. Beginning from the left to the right, he felt up and down the wall, looking for a hidden switch, a button, something that would lead to the secret computer room.

“Hey sweetheart. Looking for someone to touch? Come touch me baby!” A southern accented voice drawled silkily into his ear. Quatre stood up quickly, shocked at the suggestion the woman behind him had just made. His cheeks turned scarlet at an incredibly rapid pace.

“Um, uh, no thank you Miss. I’m looking for something else.” Quatre stuttered as he turned back to searching the wall.

“You mean like a man? I’m sure I can find one for you around here somewhere…” The woman giggled.

“No!” Quatre stood, once again shocked by the disgusting implication that he might want a one-night stand with a man. Or a woman. He wasn’t like that! He had manners, morals; ones that told him he needed to be married before he even considered going to bed with a woman! It was just the way he had been raised, end of story.

“Come on baby. I’m ready to go right now. Don’t you want to…”

“Miss!” Quatre yelled, losing his patience. His cheeks could only get so red. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested. Thank you, and good bye.” The woman, pouting heavily, turned on her heel and stomped off. Quatre breathed in deeply, then went back to looking for the secret room.

Trowa himself was going over the wall in much the same way Quatre was. Going from the left to the right, he felt up and down the wall, hoping his hands would trip a hidden switch. He heard Quatre in the background call out ‘Miss!’, but when it subsided, he thought nothing of it and continued on with his work. Then someone whispered in his ear.

“Hey, hey buddy, come here.” Trowa turned impassively to look at the man who spoke. He reeked heavily of some foul odor, and his hair was to his shoulders, greasy and hanging in his face. He was still beckoning for Trowa to come closer, but Trowa decided to ignore him.

“Hey boy!” This time the man came up to him. “Looking for a high? I got some coke… got some weed and a little bit of…”

“No.” Trowa cut the boy off. No wonder the boy looked so bad. He was a druggie.

“Come on! Ever used before? I’ll give you a free sample since you’re new to the scene. Come on!”

“No.” Trowa stayed firm. He wasn’t one to get into drugs. He had seen the effects on people, knew the effects on the health of a person who used, and really couldn’t stand the smell.

“Come on! At least buy a pack of cigarettes or a cigar or two? Classic Cuban cigars…”

“No. Leave. Now.” Trowa raised his voice slightly, then went back to checking the wall.

“Just one…” Trowa took out his gun.

“No. Leave. Or I’ll shoot.” He threatened the druggie. The boy immediately backed away, holding his hand sup in the air.

“Hey, chill man. I’m gone.” With that, the boy melded into the clouds of smoke and crowds of people, away from Trowa. Trowa shook his head and then went back to his job.

Hiiro was searching for the computer room on the right wall of the room. Scanning it with his hands in a grid pattern, he found it to be completely blank. There was nothing anywhere. It was frustrating him greatly. Every second more that they spent looking for the hidden room was a second longer Shade was trapped in that office, seducing Darien; giving up her innocence bit by bit. It physically hurt him to think of the idea. His heart pounded four times as fast and torn at his chest. His stomach wanted to reject the food he had eaten the night before and his mind was slightly muddled. He was close to blowing his mission simply because he couldn’t get his mind together over a simple girl. No, she wasn’t just a simple girl to him, and that was the problem. She was a loyal, strong, beautiful woman who had managed to catch his eye, and his heart. Damn these emotions. They were annoying to have to deal with during a mission. But they were so nice to have at other times…

Wait. What was that? He ran his hand back over to the spot he had just passed. The bump in the wall stuck out. Then, as fast as he his hopes had gone up, they dwindled. It was merely an electrical outlet for the stereo. Then, why was the plug that plugged into it going up instead of down across the floor? Hiiro tugged the wire gently to see where it lead to, and he was surprised when the back of the stage where the sound booth was opened into a small room. It was the room. He quickly dashed inside and shut the door behind him. The computer they had been searching for so diligently was right in front of him. All he had to do was hack into the main hard drive and that was it, he would have the plans.

Wasting no time, Hiiro sat at the computer and began typing to break the encryption code. The computer itself was an incredibly old one. No wonder it hadn’t been connected to the other Darien had, it was so old the software was no longer compatible with the newer models. It was perfect to run an illegal operation from because it was impossible to be traced.

Within the first ten minutes of sitting at the computer, Hiiro had managed to hack into the encrypted files and down load the information to a disk. So Darien had been planning to blackmail the Earth and Colonies into submission with the threat of nuclear war. Not only was that against the law, but it was completely insane. How did he think he was going to pull it off? There were so many flaws in his plans it was incredibly. The people would not have stood for it. They would have revolted, killed him, and then the fragile peace would be shattered to little shards all over again. Darien was a sick bastard. But that didn’t matter. Now that he had the information to convict Darien, all that mattered was making it to Serena in enough time to prevent Darien from finally attaining his lust filled fantasies.

>>>)(<<<

            “Oh Shade.” Darien spoke into her hair. She moved in closer.

            “Darien, did I ever tell you how long I’ve felt this way for you? Since the first day I met you when I was ten, I’ve been so madly in love with you that I had a  hard time just breathing around you. I was always so…”

            “Baby, baby, why didn’t you tell me this before? I would have taken you so much earlier.” He nipped at her ear and then kissed her neck. She couldn’t help the moan that slipped out of her mouth. It was pure biological fact that she couldn’t help it. Darien covered her mouth with a kiss heated with passion. He added more and more until finally he couldn’t give any loner and he had to break for breath. Looking her over, his forehead furrowed.

            “Baby, maybe we should wait. You’re still so young, and just knowing I have you can hold me over…” Shade frowned. Darien was backing out? She had to keep him busy until the others had completed their mission! She would never jeopardize them for her own selfish wants to be as far away from Darien as possible. She had to finish the job.

            “Oh Dare honey. I’m so ready for you right now though. You see, once you start, you can’t just stop. It’s not very polite.” She cooed silkily. Pulling the hair tie from her long blonde hair, the bun fell away to the cataract of sun kissed spun gold. She removed her leather jacket and slipped off her army boots. Then, swaying her hips in the fashion of a model on the catwalk, she walked over to him and sat in his lap. Without hesitation, she pulled his head down for a kiss.

            “Oh Shade. But…”

            “No buts. Just take me.” She whispered, trying to hide to fear and disgust in her voice.

            “As you wish…”

>>>)(<<<

            “I have the disk. The room is behind the sound booth.” Hiiro spoke to the others. They had all met in the training room, and once they had calmed Wufei and Duo down, they were able to conduct an impromptu meeting on where they should go from this point in the game of cat and mouse.

            “Good.” Quatre sighed in relief.

            “Shade?” Trowa questioned.

            “Well, she’s probably still up there with Darien.” Duo answered for him.

            “The woman has done her job, it’s time to pull her out. Yui, go get her.” Wufei commanded.

            “That sounds like a good idea,. but you need to get to Preventers and tell them to send a squad here. They can apprehend Darien.” Quatre agreed.

            “Fine. I’m leaving right now.” Wufei nodded and then stood and raced out of the room.

            “Then we will have to wait until Wufei gets back with the Preventers to get Shade, because if we get her out before then, Darien might be able to escape.” Trowa reasoned.

            “Trowa! Are suggesting we leave her in there? We’re the Gundam pilots, you don’t think we can’t handle one man like Darien?” Duo shouted accusatorily.

            “No, I think we could handle him. I don’t think we could handle all of the people in this club. Think about it. The, how many is it, one hundred martial arts trainees, not to mention to the rest of those druggies out there dancing. They’re all loyal to Darien, and if Darien has even a slight chance to ask for help, we can’t hold them all off. We need to wait.”

 

            “Trowa. Isn’t there another way to do this?” Quatre pleaded.

            “No.” All head turned to look at Hiiro, who had spoken.  “Trowa is right. We need to wait for Wufei.”

            “But Hiiro…”

            “No. We wait.” Hiiro stayed firm. It shot through him like a ripping bullet what he was suggesting, but he knew it was better for everyone to just wait. So he knew. But he also knew what was happening up the stairs next to them as they planned, and it stung like salt on an open wound.*

 

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