I do not own Gundam Wing.  This fan fiction has no commercial value and I am not making any kind of profit or income off of this.  

Chapter 24

Preventer Headquarters

            The cool muzzle of the pistol drilled into the flesh of his face. He knew instantly who was on the other side of that gun, even before the familiar voice informed him he was under arrest.

            “Wufei, let him go.” The commanding timbre of Relena’s voice resonated from somewhere behind him.

            “I am disappointed in you.”

            “I didn’t have a choice, Wufei.  Let Trowa go.  You know what they’ll do if you arrest him.”

            “Relena...” The word dribbled impotently from his lips, his hands still hovering in a gesture of surrender.

            “Trowa, I’m sorry.  I appreciate everything you tried to do, but…just go.”  She was still standing behind him, but he could see her in his mind if he closed his eyes and feel the prick of goose bumps along his forearm at the chill in her voice. 

“Tell Heero…tell Heero I love him and I’m sorry.”  He expected the sound of tears to accompany her speech, but there were none.  His stomach churned with a stormy sense of foreboding.

“Please Wufei. We have to go talk to Une so we can stop this.”

            “I knew it had to be Yuy out there.”  The gun was lifted from his temple, but he could still feel it pressing in and branding his skin with the mark of failure. 

“I’ll let him go, but you are going to put an end to this,” Wufei said and grabbed her arm.  “I’m sure you can find your own way out, Barton.” 

Trowa lowered his hands, and then bent to pick up his discarded weapon.  He stood at the security checkpoint, mere yards away from a successful mission, watching them inch further and further down the hall.  He rubbed his face where the pistol had tried to show him defeat and narrowed his eyes into an emerald glare.

            “This is going to put me behind schedule.” He turned his gaze up towards the ceiling, his eyes scanning the surface, searching….  He walked a few feet and found what he was looking for – the grate to an air vent.  A gunshot sparked the hinge on the piece of metal.  It swung down, leaving a gaping hole amidst the white tiles.  He leapt with the grace of an acrobat into the air, catching his hands on the side of the opening and pulling himself up into the air duct.  He closed the gnarled grate up behind him and wired it shut, extracting a small set of tools from his jacket before leaving it behind to embark on his descent into the dark and narrow path.  At least he knew where they were headed.

            *                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *

Cromwell Airspace

Zechs threw his weight into the Tomcat’s thruster bar, forcing the fighter plane into a hard right turn.  The control panels continued to flash and scream their warnings, shouting at him that the enemies had locked his plane in their sights and were ready to fire.  Ignoring the raging panic of the red lights, Zechs instead gave his attention to the fuel gauge which now teetered precariously just above the empty mark, dangerously low.  He had completed his part of the mission, destroyed Cromwell’s deserted twin base in Hidelburg.  The journey alone had eaten up most of his fuel reserves, the remainder being quickly spent as he darted back and forth across the sky, engaging the Preventer squadrons in an exhausting life or death game of cat and mouse.  He was shooting to down the aircrafts, but spare the lives of the men inside.  The Preventers were shooting to kill.

“I can’t keep this up,” he spat aloud, dodging yet another round of fire and blinking his sore and tired eyes against the fatigue that loomed every bit as threateningly as the remaining planes that swarmed around him.  The radar bleeped and Zechs could see Duo and Heero in the distance, entangled in their own lethal dances.  Knowing that neither he nor his plane would last more than a few minutes, the platinum-haired pilot once again banked the Tomcat and waited for his opportunity to strike; they had to give zero-three all the precious minutes they possibly could.  This operation was all about time.

If Barton was on schedule, then a few minutes was all that would be necessary.  If Trowa had fallen behind, or worse… well, Zechs wasn’t going to allow himself to think about that.  Breathing deeply and narrowing his eyes, the former Lightening Baron coolly sized up his situation: He had one missile remaining under the left wing, though he had lost the gatling gun sometime ago, and very little ammunition still in the right with no more missiles on that side.  Then, of course, who could forget the three Preventer planes moving into formation right in front of him, screeching through the sky like giant raptors hunting their prey. 

Zechs hunkered down over the controls – this would be the last chance he would have to accelerate and still have enough fuel to make it back to the Arctic Base with the others.  His gloved fingers curled around the thruster as he eased it forward, deliberately placing himself right into the aggressors’ flight path. 

“Just keep that formation,” he instructed his opposition icily while he barreled towards them.  “Come on, don’t move,” he hissed as the warnings lit up and blared around him.  The planes were closing the distance, and Zechs began a calculated count-down of his own: “Three-two-one…”  He broke from the straight line, wheeling his plane in a tight arc around his pursuers.  Just the right trajectory and… Fire! 

The final missile was launched, roaring mercilessly towards its targets and hitting its marks; first grazing the nearest plane’s tail rudder, then exploding into the rear engine of the next.  The final plane, having no time to react, flew headlong into the flaming debris and caught fire.

He pushed up his visor and watched all three of the pilots eject from their ailing crafts, colorful parachutes blooming into the sky carrying them gently to the ground.  Zechs pushed lightly against the controls in order to move towards where zero-two and zero-one now flew side by side, having made short work of their respective adversaries.  But something… something wasn’t right.  The Tomcat’s pilot glanced over his shoulder, noticing the angry trail of smoke snaking out of the left engine.  If they were attacked again, he would have to retreat.  A growl escaped from his throat moments before he swore aloud, hammering the plane’s dashboard with his fist.  And on the control panel the countdown continued.

Seven minutes, twenty-four seconds and change.  The countdown rolled by quickly in a whirl of fluorescent green while Duo Maxwell shook his head and watched the last of the Preventer jets plunge towards the earth, flames still lapping at the sky out of the wounded wings and engines.  That group of fighters was supposed to have been the organization’s elite, their best-trained pilots.  ‘The only thing that made this even remotely tricky was that they outnumbered us ten-to-one,’ Duo smirked to himself, having single-handedly downed his portion of the two squadrons in less than ten minutes.  ‘They don’t have a clue who they’re dealing with.’  Even still, the last encounter had all but depleted his ammunition.  It was hard to swallow, but if Cromwell sent up more reinforcements…  

Six minutes, thirty-two seconds – that’s how much longer they had to hold out.  Duo looked up to find Heero’s plane moving smoothly alongside his.  “We’re almost there, buddy,” he said reassuringly, though the other pilot couldn’t hear him.  Six minutes and four seconds.  Duo’s eyes wandered out to the horizon. “Damn, he’s been hit!”

            From across the hazy battlefield, thousands of feet above the earth, Zechs’ fighter came limping into view.  It no longer glided gracefully across the sky, but bucked and lolled, spewing smoke from a sputtering engine while the man inside struggled to keep it on course and in the air.  Five minutes and fifty-two seconds.  The control panel beeped and Duo held his breath: A squadron of six planes was approaching from the east.

Heero cast a glance over his shoulder, catching Duo’s eye.  A quick motion of his arm, and the braided pilot nodded, shooting off to the southeast while Heero moved to the northeast in order to meet the oncoming fighters.  Zechs was between them, straight on to the east, and Heero only hoped that his rival-turned-ally from so long ago could hold out the precious last minutes Trowa needed to get far enough away from thebase. 

They came into sight, and Heero rolled his plane to the left, dodging enemy missiles.  This machine was so much more agile and responsive than his gundam, he noted while he arced in front of the Preventers, pushing forward in a burst of speed and watching them follow closely behind.  His console warned that he was locked in their targets, and he dove towards the ground, maneuvering his sleek fighter beneath his pursuers.  The red light vanished, and he quickly flattened out again.  Now they were in his sights.  As he locked in one of the enemy fighters the glaring green monitor blinked at him – five minutes and seven seconds to go. 

Zechs was battling the machine; he couldn’t keep it under control.  He swirled in the air a moment before leveling out, avoiding a fresh barrage of enemy fire, but he had little ammunition left and less fuel.  The burst of speed to get him out of danger would cost his retreat.  His console blared a pitched and glowing symphony of warnings and red letters indicating all three had him locked on target.  An instant later, one of his pursuers was smashed from the sky in a blinding flash of light.  Duo had taken care of his targets and then moved to where Zechs floundered, just barely managing to out-maneuver the Preventers.  They had started this mission together, and that’s how they would finish it.

 Duo fired his last missile at one of the two remaining planes, but missed.  Even still, the Preventer force gave up on the disabled aircraft and pursued their more agile opponent, thus moving far away from Zechs’s distressed plane.  All Zechs could do was watch as Duo expertly eluded the pair of fighters, and moved them into position allowing Heero to take the final shot that would down them both.  As the pair of Tomcats moved victoriously to his side, an ominous beep echoed dimly through the cockpit.  No, it was no enemy missile lock, and the fuel tank wasn’t empty.  Yet.  No, this time the beep was alerting them of new reinforcements from the Preventer base.  Three more squadrons had shot up and loomed on the horizon, like envoys of death. 

            There was nothing left but to retreat.  They could not engage the enemy, not unless they wanted to die.  Four minutes and thirteen seconds flashed on the clock.  It would be nothing short of a miracle if Trowa had gotten her out in time. 

            *                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *

Preventer Headquarters

            They arrived in the main control room, she had not resisted Wufei’s lead, which led him to believe that perhaps the reason Trowa had handcuffed her was because she didn’t want to go.  This relieved him somewhat as the thought that she would try to escape was dishonorable.  They had come to an understanding over the years, and through time she had earned some of his grudging respect.  It would seriously undermine that respect and trust to think she had wanted to run away from what he deemed to be her responsibilities and consequences of her actions.

            Colonel Une looked up at their entrance and blinked rapidly several times, as if trying to figure out why Relena would be there.  Wufei made a motion with his head and the colonel quickly broke from the small assembly that had gathered around the comlink table manned by Private Wes and made her way over to them.

            “We know who is out there,” Wufei said, his eyes narrowed at his superior.

            Une’s eyelids fluttered closed at the silent message.  “Tell me it’s not…”

            “It is. I found her with Barton. He was trying to liberate her.”

            Relena’s voice spoke up then, low and eerily steady, sounding as if she was the one in command. “I want to keep this under wraps, Colonel. I’ll pay the consequences, and I accept full responsibility. It is my fault alone.”

            “Relena, they may have blown up one of our military bases.”

            She shook her head. “No, I can’t believe that.”

            “We can’t confirm it, but it appears to be what happened.”

Relena’s head lowered to the floor.  Her entire body visibly sagged - a flickering candle extinguished by a tidal wave, leaving amidst its beastial waters a standing corpse, a foreign traveler in the land of the living.  The words of the others in the room echoed hollowly in her ears.

“We can perhaps go lenient on them if they’d turn themselves in.  But they refuse all radio transmissions.”

             The pitch-blackness of despair parted for a moment, a bodiless whisper dredging from its crippling depths.  “We can contact them on Heero’s frequency.” She raised her head with some effort and turned a vacant stare towards Wufei.  “Let me talk to them.”

            She told him the necessary information and he moved to relay it to the communications officer in charge of the comlink.  Relena observed quietly as the connection was made and Une hailed Heero through her headset.

            “Zero one, do you copy?”

            Her eyes flitted to Relena and she moved her head slightly from side to side indicating that there was no response. 

            “Pilot zero one.  I know you can hear me.  The prisoner is still in confinement.  Repeat: the prisoner is still in confinement.”  There was a loud crackle, causing Une’s neck to spasm mildly.  She blinked as the connection reverted back to bare silence.

            Private Wes’s voice broke the stillness of the room.  “Colonel, the enemy is trying to establish visual contact, should I accept?”

            “NO!” Relena yelled to the officer.  Her eyes were on fire, all thought suffocated from her mind by the clouds of smoke and desperation.

            “Go ahead,” Une answered with a nod of her head.  She turned to the large monitor at the front of the room, as if waiting to make virtual eye contact once more with Heero Yuy.

            She fought to breathe and stammered out. “Wha-what? You can’t!”

            “Relena, he’s in too deep.”

            The gun itched in the waistband of her pants.  Her palms grew moist as the ice in her veins began to melt.  “Stop it! I don’t believe he killed anyone, he promised.  It has to be a mistake.”  Her fingers tingled, and the flesh of her stomach crawled, begging for relief.  She couldn’t let this happen…he would be finished, ruined, in the same situation she now faced.  It is I who can destroy you, now.

            “Connection established, I’m going to try to bring him up on the main screen, but this is….”

            Gunshots thundered; lightning struck the comlink, exploding it with a loud popping sound and bathing Private Wes in a torrent of electrical sparks. He screamed, but was drowned out by the white and black rainstorm shushing on the main monitor. 

The Preventer force present turned a menacing eye, hands fluttering to their weapons, then faltered and stared at the supposedly pacifist princess holding a smoking gun to their colonel’s head.

            “Call off the attack.”  She almost didn’t recognize the hoarse sound as her own voice.

            “Relena…”

            “Now!”

            Une straightened her shoulders. “Give the order to retreat.”

            “How?” Private Wes’s response came out as a high-pitched whine.

            “Use the god damned telegraph!”

            “Yes ma’am!”

            In a low voice, the colonel tried to reason with her captor.  “Relena, I can sympathize, but this is a mistake.”

            “Maybe so, but I can’t let him do this.  Promise me you won’t go after him.”

            She turned her head stiffly and met Relena’s pain-soaked eyes. “As your hostage, or your friend?”

            “The order to retreat has been sent.  The squad leaders have responded back and they are returning to base.” The communications officer called out.

            Relena lowered the gun.  “As my friend. You knew I could never…” Her hand trembled slightly, and her chest constricted…she needed to get out of there.  She needed to breathe.  Her grip tightened on the weapon in her hand.

            “I will do what I can, but….”

            Relena nodded, and at least appeared to visibly relax.  She held the gun out in the palm of a quaking hand. 

I don’t need your pity.

“Thank you.  May I make one more request?” 

This is my battle that I have to fight on my own.

            Colonel Une frowned and reached out for the weapon.  The tremor in Relena’s hand stilled. 

…Always too weak to do what I should. 

She closed her fist around the gun and stepped back.  “If I promise not to escape, will you promise not to stop me?” She took another step back, and another, inching away from Une.

In her mind, she heard him whisper. “Stay.”

            The colonel frowned.  “Stop you from wha…Relena!”  She yelled at the girl’s retreating back. 

I can’t.

            *                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *

Cromwell Airspace

            He had been watching with disgust the clock count down too slowly, the Preventer squadrons approaching too quickly.  Three and a half minutes, he estimated, they would be short three and a half minutes.  His fingers curled into fists around his controls.

            “NO!” He shouted at his monitor.  “This is… this is UNACCEPTABLE!”  He ran the calculations through his head again: insufficient fuel, inadequate ammunition, no matter how he figured it, it wouldn’t work.  They had to retreat. 

            Through the singing of the radar beeps from his console, he failed to hear the first hail on his wartime frequency.  A frequency only a few people knew, and none should be calling.

            But a moment later, he heard the second hail: “Pilot zero one.  I know you can hear me.  The prisoner is still in confinement.  Repeat the prisoner is still in confinement.”

            *                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *

Preventer Headquarter

Control Room

            “Go after her!”  A gunshot followed Relena out the door, but she was already speeding down the hallway, the doors and offices a blur in her peripheral vision as she ran towards a destination that even she wasn’t sure of.  Relena’s heartbeat pounded in her ears, resounding like the chime of clock.  With each beat, she knew that she was getting closer, closer to the final beat.  Would her captors realize soon enough that the way out she sought had nothing to do with breaking free of her cell in the Preventer Headquarters.  No, they couldn’t know that the bounds she meant to break were much more permanent. 

            Wufei was the first one into the hallway, giving chase to the fugitive Princess.  “Why is she running?”  He wondered as he continued down the corridor, gaining ground. A shot rang out and he dove to the floor, but it was just a stray bullet that lodged in the wall.  She wasn’t looking as she shot behind her; she was just hoping to slow her pursuers.  Pulling himself up off of the floor, Wufei continued his sprint through the maze of hallways.

“She’s going the wrong way,” Trowa mused in confusion as he changed direction to attempt to follow Relena from his position in the air ducts.  He had witnessed the entire scene in the control room, and his instinct told him that the young woman he was supposed to be fighting for was now desperate.  He crawled along as quickly as possible, no longer caring what noise he made as the aluminum passage echoed and groaned with his movement.  “Relena, where are you go-…?”

            She reached her arm back and fired again, never allowing her pace to slow.  Think, I need to think!  A room, her brain screamed as she fought for air, nearly out of breath from running.  Find a room.  As she rounded the next corner, she saw one that was open. Mechanically, she shot the keypad control, forcing the door to close while she dove underneath it just in time to lock herself in. 

Relena attempted to get to her feet, but instead collapsed in front of an office chair in the conference room she had entered.  She laid the gun beside her and closed her eyes, feeling the cool of the tile floor against her burning cheek.  The sensation calmed her and slowly she sat up, resting her head on the seat of the chair.  She felt the overwhelming urge to cry, but couldn’t.  Her tears were gone; she had none left. 

“There is nothing left,” the former queen remarked definitively.

            She had failed him. The one she had been trying so hard to protect.  He had fought again, probably killed again – because of her.  His future was in jeopardy, his heart in ruins.  And it was all her fault. 

            “I’m going to die,” she told herself in a whisper and looked down at the gun.  Relena picked it up gingerly, holding it at arm’s length, marveling at how deadly such a small thing could be.  “I am…  Going.  To.  Die.”  Her hand began to tremble, and she brought it down to her side, all the while gripping the cold metal in her shaking fingers.

            “Give me the courage…”

            There was the sound of hurried footsteps again, this time headed back towards the control room. 

“Give me the strength…”

She could hear a few words of frustration uttered from the agents that had been pursuing her, and the rumbling of the air conditioner coming to life. 

“To end his suffering…”

She blocked out the noise as she focused all of herself on a simple prayer.

“By ending my own.”   

            ***************

AN: You can’t kill me….because then you won’t know what happened.  ^__^  Besides, I checked with TWO betareaders who said that the rest that is currently written does NOT belong in this chapter, and so it HAD to be shuffled to 25.  I tried, they vetoed.  **puts hands in the air** It’s not my fault!!!!

BTW – a special thank you this time out to Stella for helping me with the fighter plane sequences that just weren’t working this time around.  J