Part IRain was never considered unusual in the humid outskirts of New Orleans, but it was rarely welcome when one was trying to find a place to hide. On this particularly dreary evening, five young men were rushing to find shelter against the downpour. Against the better judgment of the supposed leader, the four other men followed the directions of the slender brunette, right inside the old white wooden porch of a large manor.
“Tell me again, why the hell did we agree to this mission?” One of the young men, a violet-eyed beauty with a chestnut braid swinging near to his calves muttered, annoyed. The leader, a cobalt blue eyed man with sharp boyish features, merely grunted, running a hand through his damp hair.
“We accepted this mission, as we do with all our missions, because it is our job to keep the people of the earth safe from hostiles, Duo. You know that.” The reply sounded rehearsed. Duo rolled his eyes, shaking his soaking braid. A slightly smaller blonde male with large, expressive cornflower blue eyes gave Duo a gentle smile, flicking rainwater from his beige poncho.
“It’s okay, Duo. The rain can’t last forever, and at least Heero found this lovely estate for us. Perhaps the owners might allow us to spend the night, or if they perhaps might be compassionate towards the Rebels, might even allow us the use of their home as a safe house for the remainder of the mission.” The blonde, Quatre, offered, placing a loving hand on Duo’s shoulder. Duo grinned.
The two other young men, a black haired youth with dark, almond shaped eyes and the tallest of the group, another brunette and the only green eyed among them, refrained from inputting, but instead looked about at the surroundings. The grounds were spacious, but slightly unkempt. Large cypress and willow trees slouched around the perimeter, their enormous branches dragging the muddy road. The grand brick and wrought iron gate barricading the property was foreboding, almost as if the very bricks were warning visitors to turn tail and run. Trowa, the tallest of the five, didn’t like the feeling of just standing outside the large manor; the thought of going inside was more than a little uncomfortable.
Heero, the leader, strode forward, away from his companions, and knocked sharply on the impressive black oak double doors. It took a lot of willpower for Trowa not to tell Heero this was a bad idea, and that the five of them should retreat now before there was an answer. Perhaps they could just follow the road and find a motel in town.
The black haired youth scowled at the surroundings, shaking his head.
“Heero, I don’t think this is a good idea. We shouldn’t have even had to be here this long, this mission wasn’t supposed to take more than a few hours. Plus, knowing our chances, there could be an Oz general in there.” Wufei said, crossing his arms. Heero glared at Wufei and knocked again.
“I agree this mission hasn’t gone as planned, but we have to do something. I won’t let my team stand around and get pneumonia while we think of a plan.” Heero said, knocking for a third time. “For all we know, this place could be abandoned. If there are any enemies on the premises, we’re all well armed and quick on our feet.” Just as Heero was about to knock again, one of the large doors creaked open, bidding the strangers inside.
Heero peered inside the dark entryway, pushing on the door to open it further.
“Is there anyone there?” Heero called out. No one answered. Shrugging, Heero motioned for his teammates to follow him inside. Duo hurried in, followed by a smiling Quatre. Wufei smirked and went inside. Trowa turned to look out at the road once more, his gut feeling telling him this was a very bad idea. “Come on, Trowa, don’t take all night.” Swallowing his hesitation, Trowa entered the house, closing the door behind him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On To Part II Back to the Library
