24-Sep-2001
Title: Chasing the Crown, an Extended Family Fic
ExFam Authors:
RavynFyre - ravynfyre@hotmail.com
von - sablexo1@yahoo.com
bonnejeanne - bonnejeanne@yahoo.com
*Special Guest Writer! Nixie the Pixie!*
Nixers - Nixerchan@aol.com
Category: yaoi, AU
Rating: NC-17 for now, that will change
Pairings: 1+2+5, 3+4
Spoilers: Series, Endless Waltz, Mission: Arcadia
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing characters and universe are the property of the copyright owners.
Kenny, Duan, Wufan, Tryan, Carter, Jack and the Ripper, and everything relating to Rip & Jack's universe are ours. No money being made here.
Feedback: Any and all comments, feedback, critiques welcome, be they short or long.
Please feel free to direct feedback to any or all of the authors!
WARNINGS: AU (Alternate Universe), Original Characters, LEMON in some sections. Kiddie-Angst.
Sallah awoke from her nap, feeling refreshed and peaceful. She had been dreaming of the night when Wufan had been conceived. Usually her dreams took her beyond that point and to the moment she saw the small, dark-eyed baby who had been placed in her arms, but this time was different. Instead, she had dreamed that her lover had been trying to speak to her and that she couldn't understand what he was attempting to tell her. The dream had ended with the sound of Wufan's voice in her ear, telling her to wake up.
Sallah sat up. She realized that she was alone, then remembered the outing. She stood and got dressed, brushing her hair out and recalling the night out with her new friends. Looking out of the window and over the grounds, she discovered that it was later than she had previously thought.
The door of the suite opened and Wufei stepped inside, his eyes seeking her immediately. She knew in that moment that something was terribly wrong.
"Wufei?" Sallah said, crossing the distance between them.
Wufei's dark eyes were full of pain but his face was devoid of expression. "Sallah, something bad has happened. Marcus McCormick attacked Relena at the spaceport. We went there to try and assist in rescuing her. It was a ruse. He outmaneuvered us and has taken Mei and the boys, all but Tryan."
For a few moments, Sallah stood, taking in the information. "Taken them where?" she asked, "Did he hurt them?"
"It was a well-planned trap, almost it seems a long planned one, somehow. He was able to override the lockdown codes and ground the other ships at the port. He's taken them into Space. Quatre says, the Moon. Mei could be hurt," he said, trying to control the wince. "'Fan would not suffer that, nor Kenny, or any of the boys. But we do not know for sure."
Sallah looked down as a thousand thoughts moved through her mind. A very real part of her wanted to scream and not stop, but she steeled her resolve as her hands formed into tight fists. "This is it... isn't it, Wufei? The reason Wufan is here," she managed.
Wufei moved closer to her, looking at her face directly. "Truthfully? I do not know. It could be. I do know this: this is the reason *I* am here, and Heero, and Duo, Quatre and Trowa. We will find them. I promise you this. On my honor and my life. And remember this - Wufan is not an ordinary child. And he is not alone. They will defend each other. And they are smart and resourceful. We will find them."
Sallah nodded, only half hearing the words of consolation. "Yes," she said, "I know you will. I know." Reaching out, she hugged Wufei suddenly, feeling her resolve begin to crack.
Wufei put his arms around Sallah and held her tightly for a long moment.
Sallah allowed herself a measure of Wufei's strength as she felt water stream down her face. Then, taking a deep breath, she moved back, slightly. "I'll be alright, Wufei. You and the others do what you have to do. I'll make contact with Lady Une and see if I can be of some assistance. I don't think I can just sit here and do nothing. You said that Relena has been attacked too? Is she all right?"
He nodded. "Banged up, but she is strong. And I don't expect you to stay here. You must help." He reached into his waistband and pulled out a small notebook. "And keep this for Wufan, he will want it when he returns."
Sallah looked down and took her son's notebook. Without reading it, she held on to it, tightly. "He left this behind. It had to be important," Sallah said.
"McCormick is an evil man, without courage," Wufei said. "He used Relena to lure us, and Mei to lead the boys. But he does not understand what he is dealing with. We will teach him." He hugged her tightly once more, then stepped back. "Come, I will take you to Lady Une."
Sallah nodded. She grabbed her bag and tucked the notebook inside. Looking back at Wufei, she smiled as she caught herself about to ask if Wufan had lost his glasses in the confusion. Instead, she took another breath and went with Wufei to find Lady Une.
As they reached the first floor of the mansion, a woman came hurrying towards them, stopping when she recognized who was ahead.
Locking eyes with the young woman at Wufei's side, Sally said simply, "I heard. I had to come. I'm here to bring you to the command center, if you want to come." Then she hesitated and said softly, "I am so sorry..."
Without hesitation, Sallah moved closer to Sally and hugged her. "It's ok, Sally. Everything will work out. Yes, I'd like to go to the command center now."
Sally held the other woman for a long moment and then stepped back. She looked at Wufei with a touch of guilt in her eyes, but then patted Sallah reassuringly. "Try not to worry too much," she said. "You can trust them. They do not fail."
Wufei bowed to Sally briefly, and then touched her arm. It was the only thing he could do, locked in his own discipline as he was at this moment. To let her know he did not blame her for anything her husband had done.
"Sallah, I will keep in contact with you," he said, and then kissed her on the cheek briefly, brushing her hair back.
"That will be fine, Wufei. Please let the others know I'm thinking about them as well," Sallah said, with small smile.
Wufei bowed in acknowledgement. The next moment he was gone.
Sallah watched as Wufei disappeared down the corridor, then she took Sally Po's hand and squeezed it gently. "Let's go and I hope you don't mind me screaming out of the window on the way there," she said.
"I promise," Sally answered, squeezing back. Then she pulled the other woman down the hall towards her transportation.
Meanwhile, Lady Une had chased the last of the Preventers from her office and allowed herself to sink into her chair. Turning it towards the big window, she dropped her head, allowing what was there to come. Holding her head in her hands, she saw the picture of Mariemeia in her mind. "Oh Mei," she said softly, feeling a type of loss she had never felt in her life. Even when she was given the news that Treize had died, the feeling was different. Raising her head, Une wiped water from her eyes, realizing in that moment, what it felt like to be a parent.
Taking a deep breath, she thought of what she would like to do to Marcus McCormick, then realized that it paled in comparison to simply seeing Mariemeia back and well. Turning back to her desk, she saw the plans and reports before her. "You are sooo dead, McCormick," she muttered to herself. "Just stay well, Mei. We're coming to get you. I don't have this damned job for nothing."
"Officer Billings!" Lady Une screamed, hearing shuffling feet outside her door as a flustered Preventer scrambled to get the door opened.
"Ma'am?" Billings responded, a little winded.
"I'd like a pot of hot water and some strong tea," Lady Une directed.
Billings blinked, then saluted and closed the door. Maybe this job is getting easier, he thought, moving to see to the Commander's wishes.
As Duo and Heero left, and Wufei disappeared, Quatre turned to Trowa and the young boy cradled in his arms. "Time for us to see what we can bring to the party," he said, touching Tryan's cheek gently, with a kind smile.
He reached into a pocket and pulled out his own communicator. "I need a fast car available at the south gate of the new wing at Noventa Field, in five minutes," he said. "This is Quatre Raberba Winner."
"Yes, sir," was the reply. "Will that be all, sir?"
"Yes, thank you," Quatre answered politely, taking Trowa's hand and heading for the south gate. Then he punched another channel and in a moment, a bearded face and deep voice answered.
"Master Quatre."
"It's come sooner than I thought, Rashid," the blond said. "Where can I meet you?"
"We've been assembling at a private commercial spaceport about fifteen miles from Noventa," the man answered. "Here is the location...."
"Thank you, Rashid, I'm very grateful," Quatre answered warmly.
"Please don't mention it, Master Quatre. Will you be alone?"
"No," the blond Arabian answered. "I'm bringing Trowa, and a young friend. We'll be there soon."
Tryan looked over at Trowa. "He's cool.. like Carter, and nice too," he said.
"Yes, he is," Trowa responded.
"He's rich?" Tryan asked.
Trowa nodded.
"You love him?" was Tryan's next question.
Trowa smiled, looking down at Tryan. "Yes," he responded.
"You guys lovers like Heero and Duo?"
Trowa glanced at Quatre and shook his head. Once again, he was reminded of the candor of children.
"Umm, you don't have to answer that," Tryan said, realizing he was pushing it.
Quatre blushed and tried to control a smile. "It's ok, Tryan," he said. He looked at Trowa and then said, "The answer is yes."
Tryan smiled. "Oh good," he said. "Can I drive?"
"Not today," Trowa answered, with a slight chuckle.
Tryan shrugged. "Ya don't ask, ya don't get," he said. He then thought of his brothers and sighed deeply, leaning against Trowa's shoulder and falling quiet.
At the south gate, a sleek expensive car was waiting, motor running and keys in the ignition. Quatre nodded to Trowa to take the wheel, and tucked Tryan between them on the front seat. The trip to the private space port was marked by some of the fastest driving Tryan had ever witnessed.
Arriving, Quatre pointed Trowa to a large private hangar and their car was waved inside. The moment the car stopped, they were surrounded by a crowd of friendly young men in various garments including vests, loose pants, sashes, and a plethora of red fez caps.
Tryan looked out the windows wide-eyed at all of the men in colorful clothing. "Is this a parade?" he asked.
Quatre laughed. Jumping out of the car, he picked up Tryan and waved to the men gathered around. "No, Tryan," he said. "This is the Maganac Corps! This is my adopted family..."
"Master Quatre, how did you manage to shrink the Gundam pilot to this handy size?" one of them asked in a cheerful voice as the men inspected Tryan curiously. Then Trowa stepped out of the car. "Oh! You duplicated him and *then* shrunk him down! Very clever!"
Tryan's smile spread across his face as he looked at the man. These were his kind of people. "I'm Tryan," he announced. "Formerly of the Traveling Carnivalle," he added, bowing. "Master Quatre used circus magic!"
The men laughed and applauded. "You must be related to Abdula!" a young man with a pair of round sunglasses perched on his nose said. "He's always 'tryin'' something or other!"
The men all laughed heartily including the mentioned Abdula. "Yeah I guess that makes us relatives all right," he said, and plucked Tryan from Quatre's arms. "Another circus performer! I see we're going to have to throw a party sometime in the near future, so you can show us your stuff!"
"Can Trowa come too?!" Tryan asked, excitedly. "And when we rescue my brothers, can they come as well?"
At the mention of Trowa, several of the men put on fake expressions of doubt, but someone said, "Of course, because if we say no, he'll probably just shoot us full of bullets!"
Trowa merely nodded and bowed deeply.
A tall, massively built man with dark hair and beard stepped up to the young man holding Tryan. He looked at the boy kindly.
"So it's your brothers we are going to rescue, hmm? A matter of family. In that case, you can be sure Master Quatre will make sure the mission is a success and we will all help. I think we'd best make you a member of the Maganac Corps, that way your brothers will be our brothers, little one."
Tryan's eyes grew round and he nodded. "Um, can you take a girl, too? We gotta rescue Mei and she's like a sister. She's small, if that helps. She's very smart too."
The tall man rubbed his chin consideringly. "Well, we've never done that before, but seeing as it's Master Quatre, and you, who are asking, we'll make an exception this one time. My name is Rashid, young master, and you can ask me if you need anything."
Tryan thought about it for a moment. "Okay, thank you," he said. "I'm Tryan. You don't have to call me master if you don't want, though. Do you ride horses?"
Rashid smiled and one of the other young men called out, "Like the wind, young master Tryan!"
"Horses bred in the desert are the fastest horses anywhere, did you know that, young master?" Rashid said.
Tryan nodded. "I read about it, at least. I'd like to ride one sometime. Thank you, Rashid and Master Quatre," he said, bowing slightly to Quatre.
"Oh not you too!" Quatre chuckled softly. He looked at Rashid and said, "There's going to be fighting, Rashid. As much as I hate it, I don't think we have a choice."
"I understand, Master," Rashid said. He gestured, and some of the men rolled away the doors hanging over several large enclosures. Behind them were a number of mobile suits painted in white, brown and tan. "We've been getting ready for you. Let's all sit down and you can tell us about the mission."
Quatre nodded, turning to meet Trowa's eyes with a slight question, as if asking if this was all ok.
Trowa nodded, glancing over at Tryan and seeing the obvious enjoyment in the child's face. "Sounds good," he said, moving to Quatre's side.
"Hey Trowa! Mobile suits!" Tryan said, impressed.
"You bet," Trowa replied. "And when you're a little older... maybe," he said, anticipating the next question from the little one.
Tryan giggled, then focused his attention back on the suits for the moment.
"Come, young master," a young man named Auda said. "You can come help us get some refreshment together before the real work starts."
"Okay," Tryan replied, following Auda.
Wufei stood with his hands behind his back, waiting with thinly veiled impatience. He noted the expression on Heero's face, then Duo's. Something interesting was going on.
"You weren't kidding about that finding us quickly thing, huh?" Duo asked as they jogged up.
Wufei simply shook his head. "Your errand was... fruitful?"
"He was a little slow, but I think he'll get better with some practice," Heero said, simply.
Duo snorted and elbowed Heero lightly before the faint smirk he'd been wearing for the last few minutes slipped from his face. "J's alive. Marcus is working for him."
Wufei froze, and then looked from one to the other. Seeing no indication that this was some kind of sick joke, he allowed himself a scowl. "Only for the moment," he growled. His impatience seemed to increase. "You have more to do here?"
"They're packing up HellsBane for me now," Duo replied with a shake of his head and a surreptitious glance towards Heero.
"HellsBane... good," Heero said, then winked at Duo.
Wufei's eyebrow rose but he refrained from comment on the name. "If that is a no, then come. Heero, you need to come now."
Heero looked at Wufei curiously. "What's happened? Sallah?" he asked.
"Sallah is with Sally and Lady Une," Wufei answered. "She knows. She is of course upset, but she is dealing with it. Nothing has happened other than what you already know. Now are you coming?" he said, barely keeping the snap out of his voice.
"Hai," Heero said, crisply. "Where are we going or should I not ask?"
"Just come on," Wufei said. He turned and headed towards where Duo had parked the small black chopper on the docks. He snapped his fingers for the keys as he climbed into the cockpit.
With a curious expression, Duo dug them out of his pocket and flipped them towards the Chinese pilot before climbing in the back. "The Three Musketeers ride again?"
Wufei took off with enough gas to drop their stomachs to their knees. With no small children in the vehicle, he reverted to his more accustomed style of flying - hell bent for the horizon.
"Try Seven Samurai minus four," Heero called back to Duo, enjoying the ride.
In a short time, both the pilots recognized the landscape below as they slowed and circled. This time Wufei did not bother to land outside the grounds. He brought the chopper down on the lawn of Treize's Estate, answering all security challenges with a quickly snapped set of Preventer priority codes. Wisely, the guards didn't even think to give him any trouble.
He jumped out of the copter and led the way without a backwards look.
"Can this day get any weirder?" Duo whispered to Heero as they followed behind Wufei.
"Not that I can see," Heero replied. "And I thought he was too direct. Of course, this could be another aspect of his directness."
Wufei led the two pilots to the cottage as before and down into the underground entrance. Without waiting, he called ahead as they passed the security door. "Treize!"
Heero looked at Duo with a frown, wondering what was going on.
Treize materialized beside them all, a faintly amused half smile hovering around the corners of his mouth as he wisely didn't comment on how quickly Wufei had completed his errand. He was well acquainted with the young man's flying technique.
"This way," he said, leading them all down a new corridor to a large bay door, much like the one on the Sweepers compound, but obviously much newer. Punching in a code beside the doorway, he stepped back and watched the massive doors slide open, revealing a darkened cavern beyond.
Heero folded his arms across his chest, turning his attention towards Treize. He'd been in this place before.
"What did you do?" he asked, quietly.
"Prepared for the future," Treize replied just as quietly as he strode into the darkness. "You don't send the best soldiers into combat with a pocket knife and a prayer."
In rapid succession, work lights flooded the entire bay with a wash of bright light, illuminating the silent sentinel waiting patiently within, white wings carefully enshrouding its crouched form.
Heero blinked at the sudden flood of light. As his eyes adjusted, he saw what the light revealed. He was silent for a long moment, poised between moving to the great machine and the man responsible for its recreation. "Hn," he remarked, then looked back at Treize, shaking his head, slowly. "But it was completely destroyed," he said. "I... felt it die," Heero added, the last word quiet.
"Not completely," Treize corrected, "The cockpit system needed minimal repairs to bring it back online. A few of the other systems were salvageable. What wasn't... was rebuilt." He stared quietly up at the giant for a long moment before glancing at Heero from the corner of his eyes. "Something of a redemption... And I promise, there are no unholy surprises hidden in this one."
Duo sidled up close behind Heero, resting a hand upon the small of Heero's back reassuringly as he recalled his lover's words not so long ago about hearing... feeling Zero still. "It's a good suit," he murmured to Heero, having known exactly what Heero had been trying to say back at Howard's.
Heero turned to look at Duo, then to Treize and Wufei. Turning back to the suit, he closed his eyes for a moment. Opening them, he dashed towards the machine, scaling it.
The cool feel of the Gundanium against his fingertips was settling. Heero reached for and found the places that were supposed to be there. Climbing around and into the cockpit, Heero sat down and began the sequence to resurrect the winged machine.
A high-pitched sound and a familiar golden glow answered his touch. He *felt* Wing Zero once again cradling his thoughts and realized that yes, it was real.
"It's a better destiny than flying into the sun," Wufei murmured softly.
"All systems go," Heero said, checking his screens.
"Even weapons?" Duo called up with something of a secretive grin.
Inside the cockpit, Heero chuckled. He touched the comm, while activating more of the secondary systems. "Time to stand," he said. Moments later, the ornate white wings unfolded and the great machine rose to its feet. The 'eyes' of the machine pulsed on and Heero nodded his approval.
"Ready for weapons test," he said, alerting the onlookers. "And flight test."
Treize's faint smile widened a fraction as he gently tapped a small panel on the wall beside where he stood, and a set of massive doors set into the ceiling of the bay slowly opened to reveal the sky beyond.
"Back in a few," Heero said, guiding Zero out of the bay and up towards the heavens.
Charting a small area, he took the mobile suit through its paces. Executing as many aerial maneuvers as he could think of, Heero reacquainted himself with the suit's abilities and his own as well. When he was satisfied with the flight maneuvers, he picked out targets to lock on and test the system with.
"Ok," he said, softly. "Who are we?"
Closing his eyes, he activated the systems and took out the targets. Everything seemed to be as seamless as he could have hoped for.
"We've got something very important to do," he said, heading back towards Treize's bay. "I promise to look after you and you do the same," he added, then shook his head. "Yuy, you are losing it."
The warm golden glow enveloped him.
/We are not malfunctioning. We are functioning correctly./
Heero nodded to himself. "Roger that," he said. "We are functioning correctly," he said, alerting the others of his arrival.
Slowly, he sat the mobile suit back down in the bay. For a moment, Heero bowed his head, then powered Zero down. A short while later, he leapt down to the bay floor and stood looking at Treize, Wufei and Duo. "We're back online," he said.
Duo quirked up a brow, but didn't comment on the odd... air of completeness about his partner. He simply nodded to Heero and then tossed Treize and Wufei each a grateful look.
"We've probably got a ride to catch," he observed.
Wufei nodded. Where Heero seemed to have acquired an air of completeness, Wufei now seemed to have the feeling of someone who had been discharging duties one by one, freeing him slowly.
"Lady Une will be expecting you to check in at the Preventers' MS port," he said calmly. "I've been told transport to space is being arranged. Quatre has sent word that he has engaged support troops. Communications with moon base were shut down when Preventer channels were scrambled, and has not been re-established. Une is attempting to correlate data and find any possible location for a hidden base there, but the Preventer's systems are only partially restored. The choice is going to be - go up blind or try and put together a strategy with little or no information."
"If McCormick has gone through all of this trouble, I don't think we'll be able to get a jump on him. Whatever is going to happen, they'll be waiting for us," Heero said.
"Actually, they may not wait," Wufei answered. "I don't believe all this was simply to cover McCormick's getaway. There's another plan in motion, we just haven't seen enough of it to know what it means yet."
He turned and looked away from the others for a moment. "The only thing we can do is do what we believe to be right. There never is any other choice, in the end."
"Hai," Heero responded.
"Your ride is there," Wufei said, jerking his head at Wing Zero. He turned to Duo and tossed the keys at him. "And there's yours."
Heero moved to Treize. Looking up at the ginger haired man, he extended his hand. "Thank you," he said, simply.
Treize took Heero's hand into his own firm grasp, shaking his head softly. "Thank You," he replied.
"We'll get Mei back," Heero said. "She needs you." He then turned and walked back to where Duo was standing with Wufei.
"Let's go kick some ass," Duo said with the faintest of grins.
Heero nodded, then looked up at Wufei. "Now I understand why Duo was upset with your plan," he said, looking into the dark eyes.
Wufei shrugged slightly. "None of that matters any more. The only thing that does matter is right now."
"Later," Heero said, giving Wufei's arm a squeeze and Duo a pat on the rear.
"See ya on the pad," Duo replied, tossing a faint leer at his partner.
"Hai," Heero called back, climbing back into his mobile suit. Moments later, he was airborne and heading to the port.
Duo turned towards Wufei, expression fading into seriousness again. "You weren't there for most of it, I think, and I don't know how much you know. J's built a new suit, with a fucked up version of the Zero system in it that basically turns the pilot into an extension of itself, and no one's been able to pilot it for more than a few minutes at a time without going apeshit. Carter told Tryan that It was after Kenny. Just so we're all on the same page, here. Don't get dead," he said, reaching out to grasp Wufei's arm quickly.
Wufei's jaw clenched at the information but he did not respond verbally to it, simply nodded curtly. "I won't," he said. "You either."
A ghost of a smile slipped over Duo's lips before he nodded and then released Wufei's arm with a final squeeze. Nodding at Treize, he turned on his heel and sprinted back towards the corridor and the exit to the courtyard, calling, "That goes for you, too, Khushrenada," over his shoulder as he vanished.
Treize eyed Wufei blandly for a moment before closing the overhead doors. "Shall we?"
Wufei simply raised an eyebrow. "The stealth shuttle is still in its bay, and all systems are functional. I pulled as many of the satellite codes off the Preventer's system as I could before it went down. It should be enough to get us to the dark side."
As the doors overhead settled closed with a reassuring clang, Treize motioned for Wufei to join him. "Then let's go get our children, Wufei."
As they landed at the Preventer's private airfield and space strip, Noin hopped out of the small, fast copter and led the way to the special hangar where the Tallgeese was kept under top security. "Wanna fill me in on what all of this is about?" she fired at the tall blond as she walked.
"Most of this mess seems to be around Sally's husband," Zechs said. "Or at least the logical parts of it," he added a little dryly. "He seemed to have been involved in the Preventers from the ground up and just used every scrap of that clearance and knowledge."
Passing out of the range of the helicopters slowing blades, Zechs straightened slightly and sped his pace a little towards the hangar. The guards at the door straightened immediately, showing both familiarity and deference to Preventer Fire before even glancing at Zechs. The dark-haired agent keyed a quick sequence on first the gate then on the locked pad beside the massive double doors. Inside the machine loomed amidst the scaffolding of the hangar.
"My sister was just bait it seems," he continued. "He took the children that the pilots had adopted - either he wants them for some reason, or trying to further draw the pilots. Beyond that," he shook his head.
"Hmm," Noin murmured, dropping a pace or so behind his long strides as she mulled it over. "Awful lot of gaps there. And Marcus wasn't a Preventer from the ground up - that dubious honor is confined to me, Sally and Lady Une. But he certainly did manage to get his hooks into every part of the communications system. So he was using Miss Relena as bait. And he's kidnapped children?? I don't like the way this whole things smells, Zechs."
"I can't say I do either," Zechs said, stopping a ways back from the prototype Gundam. After a moment and a few considered and summarily dismissed explanations he shook his head, "As for the gaps, they are on about the same level of common reality as five children appearing who look identical to the pilots... in short fairly out of bounds."
Noin shrugged it off. "Should make an interesting report when it's said and done," she said, with a slight smile. "You're going to need some way to get into space, right? And I need to check on those damn technicians to see if they are making progress with my Taurus suits. What do you think you'll need?"
Zechs frowned slightly, "Diagnostic equipment that hasn't been under Preventer requisition. No need to risk death twice so soon. The boosters might not be necessary. Do we have any available carriers?"
"An hour ago I would have said yes," the dark-haired agent said wryly. "It depends on how thorough he was. But I'll manage something. I'd be very surprised if he could have tampered with Tallgeese. I've kept it locked up under my personal code - not a Preventer code. I've kept her serviced and ready. And no one has been allowed in here since the end of the Barton incident. Go ahead and check it out - I used my old code from Victoria."
"I apologize.. I don't doubt you in the slightest," Zechs said favoring her with a wan smile. "I'm still reeling a little. Today's fiasco must have taken months of preparation on his part, or we're dealing with a genius. Either way has me second guessing."
"Marcus is no genius, I'll put my money on the months of lying like a snake in the grass," Noin snorted softly. "I'll be back in a bit, with your diagnostics and some kind of transport, even if I have to highjack one at gunpoint."
The mental image that accompanied the last declaration drew a chuckle from the taller man. "In that case, I wonder which would headline," he said fondly. "Nevertheless, good luck."
Noin tossed a jaunty salute to the blond and set off at a brisk pace to accomplish her immediate mission.
TBC
End of Part 51
Please feel free to direct feedback to any or all of the authors!
ravynfyre@hotmail.com,
sablexo1@yahoo.com,
bonnejeanne@yahoo.com, Nixerchan@aol.com.