Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 117 ( Chapter 117 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Please see previous chapters for notes, disclaimer etc.
 
 
"Chimaera"
 
October. 2003 ShenLong
 
 
 
Chapter 117
 
As Jackson fell through the air so he waited for his life to flash before his eyes, after all, that's what was supposed to happen, wasn't it? The tranquilizer in his system had numbed the pain in his gut from the knife along with any pain from the injuries caused by the glass. His mind wandered, wondering how his plan had managed to go so wrong. He'd spent months figuring it out, planning the details and recruiting the others. The conference meeting had seemed the ideal place to put his plan into action, he'd been certain the government would bow to his demands once they knew who he held hostage.
 
But he'd been wrong.
 
He hadn't counted on someone coming through the air conditioning duct.
 
/ Never underestimate your enemy. / The words of the boy passed fleetingly through his mind as the air rushed past him and the ground grew ever closer. He'd been outsmarted by a kid. Now that hurt.
 
/ Not as much as the ground will when you meet it, / his subconscious supplied.
 
A mere boy. They had sent a young boy to do a man's job. There was something familiar about the young man's face though, Jackson had seen him somewhere before. The thought tickled at the back of his mind and then suddenly a memory burst forth.
 
Moon base.
 
The kid had been one of those Gundam pilots. Now he remembered. He'd met the boy before on the Moon base when they had those mad scientists there building some new types of mobile suits; the Mercurius and Vayeate or something like that.
 
Fitting he supposed that a former Gundam Pilot and terrorist like he himself was now would take him out.
 
A small smirk crossed Jackson's face as the earth finally greeted him.
 
***
 
[Outside the Glasshouse]
 
Une sprinted across the forecourt of the Glasshouse, the medic panting behind her. Running from other directions she could see the police and a couple of Preventer agents she'd had stationed around the building. Converging on the point of impact, Une pulled up short and took a shuddering breath before turning away and trying to hang onto the contents of her stomach.
 
"Sweet Jesus," said the medic as he pushed past the Commander and approached the body on the ground. "What a mess."
 
The police and Preventer agents also arrived and immediately surrounded the area.
 
"Commander, are you all right?" asked a voice to Une's left.
 
She turned around to face one of the police officers and nodded. "I'll be fine," she replied, swallowing down the bile in her throat and forcing her body to obey. She glanced around and noticed with wry amusement that both her agents were busy throwing up into one of the garden beds. It made her feel a little better. Pulling herself together she addressed the police officer, figuring that her agents weren't going to be of much use at the moment. "Officer, would you mind having some of your men stationed around to prevent anyone other than authorized personnel from coming close?"
 
"Yes, ma'am." The officer rounded up his men and positioned them as requested.
 
Une approached her agents and told them to return to their former positions, once they'd cleaned themselves up, then she took a deep breath and walked over to the medic and what remained of Jackson.
 
It wasn't a pretty sight. Jackson had hit the ground with quite a force, but that was to be expected when you fell twelve floors. Une was no medic but she had seen enough in the wars to have some idea of injuries and judging by her brief glance at Jackson, the man had suffered several when he'd been brought to an abrupt halt by the concrete. Limbs lay at twisted angles, the force of the impact had also partially split the man's abdomen open and Une could see the glistening of intestines. There was also a large pooling of blood around what remained of Jackson's head. "Well?" she demanded, looking at the medic who was completing his examination.
 
"Dead," replied the medic.
 
"No shit, Sherlock. I can see that," Une replied sarcastically.
 
The medic sighed, took one look at Une's face and decided to quit with any further humor attempts. "Multiple abrasions, knife wound to the upper abdomen with the knife still there. Several fractures, arms, legs, pelvis, back and skull; actually it would be more appropriate to say that the skull is completely crushed." The medic took a look at Une's face and quickly continued. "Most likely internal damage as well as major blood loss from connecting with the concrete. I'd say death was instant."
 
"Too good for him if you ask me," muttered Une under her breath.
 
The medic wisely kept silent.
 
"Okay. Once you have finished your examination we will let the police in to finish off their side of the job then have the body removed to the Preventer morgue. I want our team to do the autopsy and we will send the police through a copy of that report for their files."
 
"Right. I'll call for the meat wagon then; ah, the ambulance I mean," the medic was quick to change his words when he saw the look on the Commander's face.
 
"You do that. I'll inform the police." Une turned on her heel and approached the officer to give permission for the police to do their part of the job once the Preventer medic was finished.
 
She'd gotten no further than two steps when her cell 'phone began to ring.
 
***
 
[Preventer Hospital]
 
Trowa and Duo sat in stunned silence for a moment as the words from the television hit home.
 
"F-Falling?" Trowa swallowed. "Who's falling? Duo?"
 
Duo was equally shocked but reached for his friend and wrapped his arms around the shaking shoulders as best he could. "I don't know, Trowa," he replied honestly. / Please don't let it be Quatre, oh god, not Quatre... /
 
Nurse Brown was at the bedside in an instant, she'd also heard the news report. "Now then, we don't know what's going on and you know these journalists, they love to sensationalize anything and everything. Calm down the two of you and listen to me."
 
Both men felt compelled to listen to the nurse, the tone of her voice demanded that they did.
 
"There's nothing to say that both your partners aren't all right. I know this is a worrying time for the both of you but going on what I know of your husbands in the short time I've known them, it is going to take more than these want to be terrorists to keep them out of the ball park. Now, relax, the two of you, I'm going to page Doctor Po and have her come in to check you, Duo. I don't like the way your readings are continuing to rise. The fetal monitor is also showing an increase in stress so I want to be sure. I'll ask her to contact whoever is in the field and find out exactly what is going on. Understood?"
 
"Yes," both men replied meekly.
 
"Good. I'll be right back, the 'phone for paging is just outside the door." Nurse Brown turned and left to page Sally.
 
"She's right, you know. Heero and Quatre will come back to us safe and sound," said Duo softly.
 
"But... How can you say that? I don't think I could go on if Quatre's..."
 
"Hush. Heero won't let him fall, I know he won't. Believe in him, Tro."
 
"How can you be so sure? Heero is strong, I know that, but even he has his limits."
 
"I have to believe it. Heero has too much to live for," Duo's voice became a whisper as he rubbed his belly.
 
Taking a shuddering breath, Trowa brought himself back under control. The television had gone silent, no picture and no verbal commentary, but neither man cared at that stage. Duo began to feel uncomfortable again and shifted slightly as the familiar cramping of a contraction began to make itself known. He let a soft moan escape and instantly Trowa was on alert.
 
"Duo?"
 
"It's okay, just another contraction," Duo replied through gritted teeth. This one was stronger than before. Squeezing his eyes shut he tried to remember some of the meditation techniques Wufei had taught him during the war.
 
Trowa eyed the monitoring equipment and his heart jumped when he saw the readings. "No, you're not all right. I'm going to get the nurse." Duo's hand on his arm stopped Trowa from getting up.
 
"No," he hissed through clenched teeth. "It will pass in a moment. Want Heero."
 
Trowa sat back down, the worry etched into his face as he gripped Duo's hand in his own. "Breathe, Duo. Gentle breaths, concentrate on something calm and serene," he offered, not knowing what else to say. "Picture a wooded forest, sunlight streaming through the boughs to dapple on the ground. A gentle breeze is blowing and there's the sound of spring water running near by, trickling over the rocky stream bed and running through small waterfalls..."
 
"Stop it, will you."
 
"Huh? I thought that's what you were supposed to do, relax and think of quiet places," replied Trowa.
 
"All this talk of running water is making me want to pee."
 
"Oh, sorry."
 
* * *
 
[In the Corridor]
 
Nurse Brown was worried. Not your average worry but flat out, 'something's going to happen' panic worry. Duo's blood pressure was building and she didn't like the increased fetal heart rate either. It was obvious the drugs were not doing the job properly and Duo's contractions would return in full force - and soon.
 
She pressed the number for Sally's pager and waited as the thing beeped to register her call, then she hung up and waited for the doctor to contact her back. It didn't take long.
 
"Margaret?"
 
"Sally, I need you back here right away."
 
"Status?"
 
"Blood pressure is rising also the fetal heart rate is increasing. Anything on the husbands?"
 
"Negative. All I can tell you is that Yuy has Winner and one of the terrorists in a vice grip, attempts are being made to pull them back into the building."
 
"Shit!"
 
"Margaret!" Sally was quite shocked to hear the expletive from the nurse's mouth.
 
"Sorry. Can you contact the Commander or whoever is in charge and get an update? The news report has just said someone has fallen."
 
"Fuck!"
 
"Doctor Po!"
 
"Errr, sorry? Look, I'm on my way back now. Going by what you say I think we need to get Duo prepped and into surgery now, we can't delay this much longer or it could be fatal for him and the baby. I'll make the call on my way back and see what Une can tell me, meanwhile, keep Duo as calm as possible. Theater is prepped and ready to go, I've called in staff to take care of casualties from the hostage situation."
 
"Okay. ETA?"
 
Sally looked at her watch. "I'll be with you in a couple of minutes."
 
"Right." Nurse Brown hung up and rubbed her temples. This was turning out to be one hell of a day.
 
Sally shoved the pager into her pocket as she hung up the internal 'phone. Grabbing her cell 'phone, she hit Une's number and took off down the hallway at a run. The call connected and Une's voice came down the line a few seconds later.
 
"Une."
 
"Une, it's Sally again. I heard someone fell."
 
"Yes, they did."
 
The tone of Une's voice did nothing to calm Sally's fears. "Who the hell was it? I don't need to remind you I have a pregnant man in labor here who is now out of his mind with worry."
 
"Jackson."
 
Sally gave a sigh of relief.
 
"He's dead.""Good," hissed Sally as she skidded around the corner then continued to run.
 
"Yuy is still holding onto Winner but I haven't had an update from Chang as yet. I will contact you immediately I know anything and let you know the full status."
 
"Thanks."
 
"How are Barton and Maxwell now?"
 
"Not good. Duo's vitals are increasing and I'm not happy about that. There's also fetal stress so I think it's a safe bet that I'm going to have to deliver the baby very shortly."
 
"Roger that. I'll do my best to get Yuy there as quickly as I can."
 
"Thanks. Po out." Sally put the cell 'phone back into her pocket and rounded the corner to the isolation unit. Catching her breath she slowed to a fast walk, slid her card through the electronic lock and burst through the doors, striding quickly to Duo's room where she found two agitated men and one nurse on tenterhooks awaiting her.
 
"I've just been in contact with Une and the person that fell was the terrorist, Jackson. Heero and Quatre are being pulled back inside the building," Sally said as she scanned over the monitoring equipment. She'd decided it was easier to just come straight out with the facts.
 
"Thank god," muttered the nurse.
 
Trowa let the tears he'd been holding slide freely down his cheeks. "Quatre," he whispered softly.
 
Duo simply fell back into the pillows, a sigh escaping his lips as he closed his eyes and sent a silent prayer of gratitude.
 
Checking the equipment, Sally's lips pursed. "Duo? Have you had any further contractions?"
 
"Uh... Yeah. Just the one since you've been gone."
 
"How bad was it?"
 
"Oh, you know..." Duo was doing his best to avoid directly answering the questions. He was playing for time and hoping that Heero would be here soon.
 
"No, I don't know," said Sally as she narrowed her eyes.
 
"It wasn't very mild from what I could tell," piped up Trowa and got a death glare from Duo.
 
"I see. Look, Duo. I know you want to wait for Heero to get here before we take you down to the theater, but I think you need to face the fact that we may have to take you through before that happens."
 
"NO!"
 
"Duo, be reasonable," began Sally.
 
"NO! I won't go without Heero. He's the baby's father and he should be here for the birth." Duo stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest and gave a defiant stare.
 
"I'm afraid you may not have much say in the matter. Heero will be here as soon as he can but if these contractions start up again, which I'm suspecting they already have, then we really don't have much choice." Sally checked the blood pressure readings again.
 
"I'm not going anywhere until Heero is - ahhhh...." Duo didn't get to finish his sentence, a contraction began and built in strength, leaving the long haired man clutching his abdomen and moaning loudly.
 
"Dammit!" snapped Sally as she did her best to calm the young man. "We need to get you down to theater now."
 
"Not, going..." Duo hissed out. "Want Heero."
 
"Duo, be reasonable." Trowa tried to get through to his friend.
 
"No, not without Heero," Duo sobbed and then curled in on himself, hugging his belly and riding out the pain.
 
The other three could only sit by and watch as Duo bore the contraction and then went limp as it finally eased off. Leaving Trowa to soothe the pregnant man, Sally pulled Nurse Brown to the side.
 
"We have to get him to surgery soon, too many more of those contractions and his insides are going to begin to tear."
 
The nurse nodded in agreement.
 
"See if he will let you or Trowa prep him for the C-section, I'm going to contact G and let him know I will be performing the surgery on my own, I'll need him to supervise the casualties coming in from the Glasshouse."
 
"Good luck," said the nurse and went back to the bed and Duo.
 
Stepping out into the corridor, Sally made her call to G. Hanging up she stood and rested her forehead against the cool wall, closing her eyes for a moment. "Why is life so difficult?" she muttered under her breath. In her pocket, her cell 'phone went off and she pulled it free, noting Une's number as the caller ID.
 
* * *
 
[Inside the Stairwell]
 
"Clear," called Snow and headed up the next set of stairs. They were now approaching the twelfth floor and so far all was clear. Reaching the doors that would take them out of the stairwell and into the corridors of the twelfth floor, Snow paused again. He scanned the door and noted there was a slight increase in the reading at the base of the door. Scratching his head, he scanned again.
 
"What's up?" asked Winter.
 
"Not getting a clear reading," replied Snow. "I think there might be a trap on the other side."
 
"Roger. What can we do about it?"
 
"Here, hold this." Snow passed his scanner over and lowered his pack to the ground. He rummaged inside and came out with a dental mirror.
 
"What the?" asked Winter.
 
"Watch," grinned Snow and very carefully eased the doors open a fraction, just enough to push the mirror through.
 
"Smart bastard," muttered Winter.
 
"It's called self preservation," replied Snow. "Ah, what do we have here then?"
 
"What is it?"
 
"Trap." Snow moved the mirror carefully up and down the small gap in the door. "Pass me the slim, long nosed pliers. They're in the side of the pack."
 
Winter rummaged around and found the tool, handing it to the agent. "What sort of trap?"
 
Snow ignored his commanding officer for the moment and slipped the pliers through the gap. "Gotcha," he muttered and then stood up. "Should be secure now." Snow carefully opened the door and when nothing went 'boom' he pushed it open fully and stepped through, Winter right behind him.
 
"Nasty little thing," said Snow as he bent to examine the crude bomb that had been set at the base of the door. "They set this up here and then wired it to the door. Anyone coming through from inside the stairs would open the door, pull the wire which in turn would pull the pin from the detonator and 'bang'. Crude but effective."
 
Winter blew a sigh of relief. "Come on, the conference room is down here."
 
The rest of the agents spilled out into the hall way and followed their commander. Reaching the door to the conference room, Snow checked again but found nothing out of the ordinary on his scanners. "All clear," he said.
 
"Good, let's get in there and help out." Winter grabbed his com unit and pressed the talk button. "Agent Winter. F Troop has arrived and we're about to enter the conference room."
 
* * *
 
[Inside the Glasshouse]
 
Quatre watched with a mixture of horror and relief as Jackson finally let go and fell. He saw the man hit the ground and shut his eyes, raising his face to point upwards before opening them again and staring at Heero.
 
"I've got you," said Heero through gritted teeth.
 
"Thank you," replied Quatre and then felt a jerk as he was pulled a little further upwards.
 
"Pull," called Wufei as he knelt beside Heero and did his best to stop the broken glass from injuring his partner.
 
The men on the rope pulled, easing the two boys back inside the room. Heero could feel the bite of the glass as his upper body slid backwards and he bit his lip, hoping it would all be over soon. Beside him, Wufei was pushing more broken glass out of the way and trying to keep a barrier between the glass and his skin with the tablecloth. Just as his shoulders and upper arms were pulled back inside the room he felt a searing pain in his bicep and his grip on Quatre faltered.
 
Quatre was steadily being brought towards the ledge of the broken window. He could see the pain in Heero's eyes and feel the winces as Heero's body was dragged through the broken glass. A sharp gasp from Heero's mouth was the only warning Quatre had before Heero's grip on his wrist suddenly went lax. Just as he started to slip from Heero's grasp so another hand clamped itself around his arm and he turned his head slightly to see Wufei, lips set in grim determination holding him tightly.
 
Major Klein raced forwards as he saw what was happening. The others kept the rope taut as the Major lunged for Heero and Wufei. The big man grabbed Wufei around the waist, holding his belt and heaving the agent up and backwards, effectively hauling Quatre with the Chinese man. General Gordon was quickly beside them and as the Major pulled Wufei up so the General grabbed Quatre's shoulders and hefted him into the room; beside them Heero wriggled back inside aided by the pull on the rope.
 
For a moment the five simply sat or sprawled on the floor catching their breath and letting the adrenaline settle in their respective systems when the door to the room burst open and several Preventer agents flooded in.
 
Wufei looked tiredly at them. "About time the cavalry got here."
 
~ * ~
 
tbc....