Honor and Justice

Chapter 7

By Aryn

Mei laid flat out on her stomach and scanned the large building at the bottom of the hill.

"Well?" Arys said next to her.

"Nothing yet. But they look well prepared." Mei answered. "How's the group Heero was watching?"

"He only counted five people so he and Wufei went to...greet them." Arys replied.

Mei smiled in understanding and swept the landscape before finding the two boys. Heero had used a silencer on his gun and shot two of the OZ soldiers before they even knew the guys were there.

"They're not made of Gundanium." Mei noted.

"OZ probably didn't think it was necessary for an Op like this." Arys replied, pulling her own binoculars out.

Mei watched as Wufei pulled his katana out and engaged two of the other soldiers while Heero had a fire-fight with the third. It amazed Mei to think that just last night, this man was the who had handled her child with such gentleness. Now he was wielding a sword with deadly grace. Mei watched as he ran one of his opponents through and began fighting full force on the next. By the time Heero had shot his opponent, Wufei's slumped to the ground.

"Mission accomplished." Arys said.

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"I still think Nari should be the one doing this." Duo grumbled into his microphone.

"Duo, shut up." Nari's voice came back to him.

"Just get in and finish setting the explosives." Quatre's voice said over the comm.

Nari leaned back in her chair and watched the viewscreen in front of her that allowed her to see what Duo and Quatre were seeing. It also acted as an open communication between all three of them. It should have been all four of them, but they were missing a team member. Trowa was no where to be found. He was suppose to be the one that sat at the computer. Nari hated to be left out of the action. But she hated not knowing were Trowa was even more.

Something on Duo's screen caught her attention and she immediately came to her senses.

"Duo, go back two air vents." she told him. Obediently he did so.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"What's that thing in the middle of the room?" Nari asked.

"I haven't a clue. Want me to check it out?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"What is it Nari?" Quatre asked, listening into the conversation.

"I don't really know. It looks suspiciously like a status tube though." she explained.

"Well, I'm done and on my way back." Quatre told her.

"I'm looking forward to it." she answered him.

"Don't go anywhere Quatre." Duo told him. "I think Nari is right, it is a stasis tube."

Nari looked closely at the screen as Duo pulled back a covering from the clear tube.

"Oh no." Nari breathed.

"I don't believe this." Duo said.

"What is it?" Quatre asked, picking up his pace.

"It's Trowa." Nari answered.

"Trowa?" Quatre exclaimed.

"If this is Trowa," Duo said, "then who's the guy that's with us?"

"Javin." Nari replied, everything coming together.

"Nari, get out there now." Quatre ordered her, as he broke into a run to reach Duo. "Abort the mission till we deal with this problem."

"I'll see you in two days." Nari said using the code. Two days meant two hours and only Quatre and Nari knew the code. Nari stood up, pulled out her pistol and shot the viewscreen, destroying the surveillance equipment. Grabbing her sword, she headed out of the hotel room. As she opened the door, "Trowa" was standing there, leaning on Obsidious.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

"What do you want Javin?" she challenged.

Javin lifted his sword and held it to her throat. "I want you to continue with this mission. I want that building destroyed."

"There's nothing OZ related in that building is there?" she asked, attempting to gain some time for Quatre and Duo to get out.

"No, nothing." Javin replied. "Except it now has three Gundam pilots, which will be swiftly dealt with." Javin moved forward, pushing Nari back into the room.

Javin noticed the destroyed computer and smiled at Nari.

"I see you haven't forgotten everything I taught you. I'm so proud." he told her sarcastically. "But this does make things slightly more difficult."

Javin lowered the sword slightly and reached behind his back. As he did so, Nari drew her sword and knock Obsidious' blade away from her. Javin automatically began attacking her furiously. It was everything she had to block his blows. Due to the Gundanium, he had extra speed and strength on his side. It didn't take long for Javin to grow tired of the deadly dance. Taking a step back, he revealed what he originally had behind him. Nari's breath caught in her throat. It was a detonator.

"I suppose it would be too much to ask," Javin said to her, "to drop your sword."

"Wait..." Nari replied weakly.

"I thought so." Javin replied, pushing the button. The explosion of the warehouse shook the room as well as Nari's resolve.

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Arys and Mei had all the equipment packed and ready to go by the time Heero and Wufei had returned to their look out point.

"Ready to go?" Arys asked Heero.

He answered with a nod of his head.

"If you would like to enjoy a night out before we leave tomorrow, I would love to show you around the colony." Mei offered. Arys and Heero looked at her slightly startled.

"I used to live here." she explained.

Heero caught a spark of interest in Arys' eyes and couldn't refuse her.

"What time?" he asked Mei.

"Meet me in the hotel lobby at five." she told them.

"Great, see ya then." Arys said following Heero down the slope.

Mei turned to Wufei, who had just finished cleaning his sword.

"Will you be coming too, Mr. Chang?" she asked, hoping that he would accompany her.

"Do I have a choice?" he replied.

Mei sighed inwardly. He was down to business as usual. Nothing remained of the kindness he had shown towards her the night before. This wasn't the first time that he had shown kindness and then within in the next breath turned back into his arrogant self. She had spent the last two weeks guessing when his mood would change. She should have been used to it by now, but never the less, it still frustrated her.

"Well, man," she emphasized, mocking his use of woman when he would sometimes refer to her, "You always have a choice. If you want to come, show up at five. If you don't want to come, please, don't force yourself to go." Mei slung her bag over her shoulder, pulled her baseball cap down over her forehead and stalked off.

Wufei watched her go. Sometimes she just annoyed him with her indifference and irreverence. And yet, sometimes she just was...well, wonderful. One of these days, he was either going to kiss her or kill her, which ever one came first. Upset with his feelings and the disrespectful treatment she had just given him, he slammed his sword into it's case.

"Infuriating woman."

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Duo and Quatre stumbled up the rocky slope that was near the back of the warehouse, carrying what looked to be a casket.

"We have to hurry up." Quatre panted.

"Why? Nari disconnected the bombs." Duo replied.

"But we don't know if Javin set up more." Quatre told him.

They reached the top of the hill and set the status tube down gently on the ground. Duo wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. Just then the complete warehouse exploded in flames. Quatre and Duo just watched as the debris and shrapnel shower down a few feet around them. Duo turned to Quatre.

"I think I'll listen to you more often."