Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 115 ( Chapter 115 )

Please see previous chapters for disclaimer, notes etc.

 

"Chimaera"

 

October. 2003 ShenLong

 

Chapter 115

 

The sound of the alarms going off jolted Nurse Brown and Sally into action. They shot forwards, scanning the monitors and noting the readings. Trowa was pushed out of the way and left to watch the drama unfolding on the screen as Nurse Brown wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Duo's bicep and began to take his blood pressure. Sally checked the fetal monitor and cursed under her breath before grasping Duo's wrist and checking his pulse rate. Her eyes narrowed as she counted off the beats per minute.

 

"Pressure has increased," said the nurse as she released the air from the cuff and reached for the thermometer.

 

"Pulse is elevated. What's the pressure reading?" asked Sally.

 

"One hundred and sixty two over eighty five."

 

"Shit!"

 

"Temperature is thirty eight Celsius."

 

"Bring me the ultrasound now," said Sally and then turned her attention to the frightened young man. "Duo? How bad is the contraction?"

 

"Hurts more than the others did but it's easing off a little now," Duo whispered. "Sally? What's happening?"

 

"Take it easy, Duo. It's all this drama going on, the shock of what is happening is causing your body to release hormones into your system and in turn those hormones are triggering labor. I will need to give you another dose of the Ritodrine [1] to try and stop them; obviously the first dose wasn't strong enough. Firstly though I want to check the baby again." Sally turned to the nurse who had brought the ultrasound machine over to the bed and took the gel bottle. "The fetal monitor is showing that the baby's heart rate is going up, that usually indicates some distress. I want to see what exactly is happening inside and that the baby is still safe enough and not under any undue pressure."

 

Duo obediently raised the gown again for Sally to spread the gel on his abdomen. He didn't need to voice his fears, they showed clear enough in his eyes.

 

Sally was worried. The Ritodrine usually helped to stop the premature labor contractions but like all the other tocolytics [2] it was generally only effective in stopping labor for 24 to 48 hours. With all the advances in medical science they were still to develop a drug that could and would effectively stop premature labor. All Sally could really do was try to delay Duo's labor long enough for Heero to finish his assignment and get to the hospital. With the continued worry and stress Duo was currently going through she didn't hold much hope in the drug's effects. Human hormones were pretty powerful things.

 

Gently Sally ran the sound head over Duo's abdomen, the image appearing on the screen. The baby appeared to be okay at this stage, a little stressed but not in any immediate danger. Sally's main concern was the pressure the baby's head would undoubtedly soon be applying to Duo's deformed 'cervix'. Given Duo's unusual anatomy, any strong pressure on that small opening could be disastrous. With a worried frown she passed the sound head back to Nurse Brown and wiped Duo's abdomen off.

 

"Shall I fetch another ampoule of the Ritodrine?" asked the nurse as she turned off the equipment.

 

"Yes, please," replied Sally and then turned her attention to the pregnant man. "Duo? Listen to me. I'm going to give you another shot of the Ritodrine, hopefully it will slow these contractions down. I won't lie to you, all this stress and excitement is adding to the problem. Your body is reacting and releasing hormones into your blood stream which in turn have triggered your labor. I know you're worried but you have to calm down, it's imperative that you don't put any more stress on yourself."

 

"The baby?" Duo asked with a quaver in his voice.

 

"At this stage the baby is a little stressed but not unduly so. If we can keep you calm and let the drug work then the pressure on the baby will also ease. I know it isn't easy when all this shit is going down but if you don't calm down then I'll have no choice other than to turn off that television; either that or perform an emergency C-section."

 

"I'm trying to remain calm, honest I am but..."

 

"I know, Duo. We're all worried but it's not going to do either you or the baby any good if you keep letting yourself react like this." Sally really didn't want to carry through on her threat, Duo would most likely fret even more if he didn't know what was going on. The doctor found herself caught between a rock and a hard place. Wufei was also out there risking his life and Sally had her own concerns for the Chinese man's safety. Silently she cursed the terrorists and their lousy timing.

 

"Oh God! NO!!!" Trowa's cries drew them both from their conversation and thoughts, immediately their eyes turned back to the small television screen where a body was beginning to fall from the Glasshouse.

 

* * *

 

[Inside the Glasshouse]

 

The tranquilizer was rapidly taking effect on Jackson and the terrorist fought to remain upright and in control; unfortunately it appeared to be a battle he was losing - rather quickly. His arm flailed as he felt his balance slipping and his hand locked tighter onto the blonde in an attempt to stop himself from falling. The man he was clutching wriggled and squirmed, trying to free himself and the actions caused Jackson to clamp his hand even tighter as his balance deserted him and he began to fall. The knife still buried in his gut burned with a ferocious pain, adding to the terrorist's dilemma but there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it; stopping himself from falling to his death was his main priority right now.

 

The cold air from outside kissed Jackson's sweating skin and the man knew he was about to fall. His hand tightened its hold on Winner. If he was going to go down then he was going to take this pain in the ass with him. There was the cold rush of air and the feeling of space as everything appeared to go into slow motion. Jackson felt himself falling, an insane laugh passing his lips as he knew he was taking the blonde businessman with him; then there was a sudden jerk and the feeling of being suspended.

 

"HEERO!" yelled Quatre as he fought to free himself from the steel hold of the terrorist who seemed determined to drag him to his death. Quatre wasn't weak by any means and still worked out, keeping his body well muscled; but he was no match for the sheer weight of the man called Jackson. With the terrorist's hand locked onto his shirt and upper arm, Quatre was powerless to stop the momentum of the falling man or free himself. The broken window yawned before him and Quatre felt himself being pulled inexorably towards it. The cool air washed over him as Quatre struggled one last time. Movement from the corner of his eye caught Quatre's attention and just as he felt the pull of gravity dragging him through the broken window so a hand locked itself securely around his wrist and stopped the plunge to mother earth.

 

The sudden jerk and cessation of his downward plunge forced Quatre's body to slam against the side of the building, knocking the wind out of his lungs along with cracking a couple of ribs; not to mention the glass shards that pierced his skin. Desperately sucking air back into his painful body, Quatre looked up into a pair of determined cobalt eyes. "Heero..." he whispered.

 

As Jackson began to fall and drag Quatre with him, Heero lunged forwards, oblivious to the pain from the bullet wound to his thigh. The grappling hook was dispatched and just as Quatre began to fall through the broken glass, Heero made one last, super human effort, diving to his stomach and latching onto Quatre's wrist. He locked his fingers around that wrist and felt himself being pulled along the floor. His feet scrambled, desperate to find a hold, hook onto anything that would stop him from being pulled out of the window as well by the weight of the two men. Just as his head and shoulders found the ledge of the broken window, so he was pulled up short. The resulting tug on his arm from the two men he was supporting almost pulled the joint from its socket but Heero grit his teeth and hung on.

 

Inside the air conditioning duct, Wufei watched the drama unfolding before him. He'd fired off the dart and succeeded in hitting the target but didn't expect what happened next. He stared in horror as Jackson grabbed Quatre and dragged the blonde with him through the window. As Yuy dived to save the former Sandrock pilot so Wufei was dropping out from inside the duct, his legs running before he hit the ground. Wufei's eyes also tracked the grappling hook as Heero tossed it behind him and latched onto Winner. The hook caught on the leg of the large conference table and Wufei watched as the rope suddenly snapped tight and the table moved a couple of inches.

 

The Chinese agent raced towards the rope and hook, noting the metal slipping slightly on the smooth wood of the table leg and then lodging securely. Chang let a small sigh of relief escape his lips and then held is breath as his eyes widened.

 

The table began to move.

 

The table was a solid affair but the weight of three men was more than it could support and it succumbed to that pull, the legs beginning to slide, inch by inch across the floor.

 

"Grab it!" yelled Chang to the group of delegates who were all sitting in mute shock as the events unfolded around them.

 

Major Klein was the first to spring into action, Corporal Weeks behind him seconds later. The two men grabbed the table and braced their legs, feet digging into the floor as they pushed their body weight against the table.

 

Wufei was quickly across the floor to the window where Heero lay, his upper torso hanging out, arm stretched to the limit. "Hang on, Yuy," he said as he assessed the situation. Relief flooded him when he spied Quatre dangling by his arm, Heero's hand securely locked around the blonde's wrist. Chang could also see the figure of Jackson, grimly hanging onto Winner's shoulder and arm. Having taken in all the current information, Wufei quickly told Heero what he was going to do.

 

Turning back to the assembled group that appeared to be a little more alert now, Wufei gave his orders. "You, you and you," he began, pointing to three of the senators, "get over here and secure this table. Use your body weight and anything else you have to stop it from moving any further."

 

"Now hang on a minute. Who the hell do you think you are to be giving us orders..."

 

Wufei turned his obsidian eyes towards the senator that had spoken and his lip curled in distaste. "I'm Preventer Agent Fire and that is my partner Agent Day hanging out that window attempting to prevent the death of one Quatre Winner; who also happens to be a friend of mine. Now shut the fuck up, shift your ass and do as I tell you. Trust me when I say I can be far worse than these terrorists," Wufei growled.

 

The senator promptly shut up and along with the other two senators, scrambled to the edge of the table and took up residence, forcing the table to remain where it was and freeing up the Major and Corporal for other things.

 

"Good," snapped Wufei and then turned his attention to the military. "Major, I need you and the Corporal to grab the rope, Lieutenant, you too."

 

The three military men quickly secured the rope.

 

Wufei looked around the room. "Shit!"

 

"What is it?" asked the Major.

 

"I need something to put over the ledge, there's a ton of broken glass there and when we pull them back up and in it's going to cut them to ribbons."

 

"Fuck!"

 

"Will this help?"

 

Wufei turned to where the General was holding out a large piece of cloth. "It might," he replied as he took the cloth.

 

"It's a table cloth," offered the General. "Here, let me help."

 

Chang and the General moved back to the window and tried to figure out the best way to get the cloth over the shattered glass.

 

"Chang?" muttered Heero. "My grip is slipping. Need to hurry this up."

 

"I know," replied Wufei. "There's a shitload of broken glass here, Yuy, and we need to get something to cover it over before we can pull you back in, Winner too. If we don't then the glass is going to cut you up."

 

"There won't be anything to cut up if you don't move it," Heero replied through gritted teeth. His arm ached and burned, the muscles pulled to their limits as he fought to retain his hold on Quatre. Below him the teal eyes of the blonde held a calm trust in them and that made Heero even more determined not to let go.

 

Quatre's body was screaming in pain. His arm currently supporting Jackson's weight felt as if it had been pulled from his body. His other arm was almost numb from the vice grip that Heero held it in. He sent a silent prayer to Allah that when the end came it would be quick. Below him Jackson's body lurched as the terrorist swung is other arm up in an attempt to take a firmer hold on Quatre and the blonde felt the searing pain of muscles stretched beyond their limit. "Hurry," he whispered through clenched teeth as his ribs protested the movements.

 

Wufei worked as quickly as he could, shoving and tucking the cloth over the glass shards and doing his best to minimize the possible damage. Having done the best he could, Wufei turned back to the three men on the rope. "Pull!" he yelled and then turned back to the open window, digging his feet in and bracing himself to assist with hauling Heero, Quatre and Jackson back up and into the room.

 

The Major, Corporal and Lieutenant took a firm hold on the rope and began to pull back on it. The grappling hook released its hold on the table leg as the slack in the rope increased. One of the senators dived forwards and grabbed the hook, looking around for anywhere else he could secure it as a back up measure. There was only the door frame but there wasn't enough slack in the rope yet for him to be able to reach it.

 

Grimly Heero hung on. He felt the bite of the glass as he was steadily pulled back into the room. His arm scraped on the edge of the broken window, his leg where the bullet wound was bled profusely and every nerve in his body cried out in agony. Suddenly Quatre began to jerk and Heero felt his grip slip. His eyes focused beyond the red haze of pain in an attempt to see what Quatre was doing.

 

The drug was coursing through Jackson's body now, his control over his muscles slipping rapidly. He felt his fingers beginning to lose their hold on the blonde. Desperately he tried to shake the effects off and grappled with his other hand to try and secure himself. As he did so he caused both himself and Quatre to swing slightly and bump against the side of the building.

 

As the drug penetrated deeper so Jackson's body began to react further, sliding towards oblivion, muscles beginning to relax even as the brain fought to stave off the effects. "No!" cried Jackson as his hand slipped. Terror shot through him, adrenaline pumped and for a moment Jackson was able to recover his control; unfortunately the control lasted only a few seconds, the more he moved the faster the drug went through his body. His fingers began to become lax, his grip slipped again.

 

With Jackson's frantic scrabbling to keep his hold on Quatre, the blonde felt his own grip with Heero beginning to slip. The movement of the terrorist jolted and jarred Quatre's already battered body, the light breeze that blew around them lent momentum to Jackson's efforts and succeeded in causing Quatre to bang against the side of the building again. He groaned as the air left his lungs once more.

 

"Help me," came Jackson's plea as his grip loosened a little more.

 

Quatre looked down at the terrorist and saw the fear in his eyes. Regardless of what the man had done it wasn't in Quatre's nature to simply ignore him and let him die. Despite his feelings of disgust he let his hand try to grab onto Jackson which wasn't easy as the terrorist was latched onto his arm. The grip loosened a bit and Quatre felt the slide of fingers as the man slipped. Automatically Quatre tried to grab for him but found himself being swung out, away from the building. With the steady upward haul from those inside the building combined with Jackson's struggling to hang on to him, Quatre began to swing like a pendulum. Too late he realized he was about to crash against the side of the building again and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop it.

 

Quatre did his best to brace for the impact, his feet and legs, along with Jackson's lower torso collided with another pane of glass and this time the glass shattered. Pain lanced through Quatre's body from the multitude of small cuts inflicted on him by the shattering glass but it was nothing compared to the pain in his arm as Jackson's hold faltered. The hand left him, grabbed again, jolted, released, jerked and then finally let go.

 

Jackson tried desperately to regain his slipping hold on the blonde but the swinging of their bodies and the effects of the drug in his system prevented his neural messages from getting through to the respective limbs. Glass shattered around them as they hit the side of the building and a large piece sliced through Jackson's arm. The pain wasn't as intense as it could have been given the drug in his body but the damage was. The sharp glass cut through fabric, skin and muscle, severing the muscles and therefore disabling Jackson's grip on the blonde.

 

As the realization hit him so Jackson's hand released its grip, unresponsive fingers twitched and then Jackson was falling through the air. His disbelieving eyes looked up and he caught one last glimpse of Winner and the boy that had dropped from the air conditioning duct. / Never underestimate your enemy./ The words the boy had stated flashed through Jackson's mind as he plummeted towards the ground.

 

* * *

 

[Outside the Glasshouse]

 

Une trained the binoculars on the broken window of the twelfth floor and held her breath. Several minutes had passed since her last transmission to the two agents with nothing down the com line since. Suddenly there was a commotion and she caught the cry before it could leave her throat.

 

Biting her lip she could do nothing but watch as the figure of a man, she presumed to be Jackson, appeared at the broken window. The man staggered as if drunk and Une knew he had to be feeling the effects of the darts the agents were ordered to use to subdue the terrorists. It would seem her agents had disabled their targets but she hesitated on contacting them or sending in 'F Troop' until she had confirmation from the agents themselves.

 

Une continued to watch as the figure stumbled and then seemed to be grasping at something before starting to fall out of the window. "Shit!" she cried as she watched a second figure join the first in the fall, the blonde hair telling her it was Quatre Winner, the view through the binoculars confirming the identity. Her heart was racing when the pair suddenly jerked to an abrupt halt and simply swung from the broken window. Trailing the binoculars up a little further she saw the reason for the sudden stop. Agent Day was half in and half out of the window, his hand firmly clasped around Quatre Winner's wrist.

 

Instantly Une swung into action.

 

"Winter!" she barked and the agent snapped to attention.

 

All of the assembled agents had been watching the drama unfold but weren't privy to a pair of binoculars each so they had to rely on their own eyesight and the reports from their commanding officer to keep them informed. Hearing Une's order, the group immediately came to attention, their eyes scanning around and ready for action.

 

"Yes, Commander?" Winter said as he approached the commander and stood awaiting orders.

 

"I take it you've seen what's happening?"

 

Winter nodded.

 

"Right. I haven't received anything from the agents over the com link but judging by what is happening now I think it's safe to assume that both Fire and Day have disabled the terrorists. It is obvious that they need assistance up there, gather the agents and head in pronto. Be careful as we do not have anything to confirm or deny the presence of traps set. Avoid the elevators, take the stairs but sweep the area before proceeding. Understood?"

 

"Yes, Commander."

 

"Good luck and be as quick as you can. I don't think I need to stress the importance of success here."

 

"No, Commander." Winter turned on his heel and jogged back to the assembled agents. "Grab your gear and haul ass. We're going in. I'll brief you all on the way." Winter snatched up his own pack and strode alongside Agent Snow as they moved towards the entry to the Glasshouse. Snow was an expert in explosives, not only their construction but their disarmament as well. "Got your shit?"

 

Snow nodded the affirmative.

 

"Good. This place could be hot wired. No idea if it is, where the traps could be set or what sort."

 

"Okay," grunted Snow.

 

"We also have to get in there as fast as possible. Stairs only, twelfth floor."

 

"Roger that."

 

The troop burst into the building, Winter having summarized that it was highly unlikely the ground floor was booby trapped, after all, the building's inhabitants had all been evacuated that way and no one had triggered off any sort of device. Winter gave the agents a briefing, stressing the importance of vigilance and speed. While he was filling in the agents, Snow had approached the stairwell and was scanning it with the specialized instruments. Nothing showed up. Carefully he pushed open the doors and scanned again. Still nothing. Snow poked his head inside.

 

The stairwell was empty.

 

The heat sensors, infra red sensor and scanner showed no evidence of any form of explosive device or anything else for that matter. "All clear," he called back to Winter and then entered the stairwell.

 

"Ground floor level, secure," said Winter down his com unit as he dispatched his agents into the stairwell. "Proceeding to level one."

 

"Good luck," came Une's reply.

 

The unit crackled and then went silent. Une turned her attention back to the building where the figures were still dangling out of the window. "Hold on, Yuy," she whispered.

 

"Ma'am?"

 

Une turned to see a young police officer standing beside her. "Yes?" she asked, irritated.

 

"My Captain asked me to come over and see if the police could be of any assistance to you."

 

Une thought on that for a moment. Her agents were doing all they could so there really wasn't anything more the police could do, then her eyes narrowed in on the reporters. "Ah, fuck!"

 

"Pardon, ma'am?" The officer looked a little shocked to hear such language from the woman before him.

 

Une suddenly realized that the reporters were filming the events as they unfolded. Yes, she'd had them warned regarding crossing the boundaries of journalism but with them going live, the damage was already done and even if the journalists were prosecuted the images had already been transmitted.

 

She also realized that with the news being reported live the chances were Sally, Barton and Maxwell would also be witnessing the events unfolding first hand. Une felt as if iced water had been poured down her spine. "Officer? There is something the police can do..."

 

~ * ~

 

tbc........

 

[1] RITODRINE (Yutopar®) can help to stop a premature labor that occurs after the 20th week of pregnancy. Generic ritodrine injections are available.

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,8222%7CRitodrine+Inj ection,00.html

 

[2] Drugs called tocolytics, which include magnesium sulfate, terbutaline, the asthma drug Brethine, ritodrine, ethanol, nifedipine and indomethacin, are routinely used to try to stop premature labor.

http://www.mercola.com/2003/apr/23/premature_births.htm