"Not only do you have plenty of food and weapons, but you also have quite an eclectic music selection!" mocked Duo with a chuckle as he flipped though a large case of CD's Katja had pulled out of the truck, while sitting with his feet dangling over the edge of the gate of her Gundam. Meanwhile Katja struggled as she tried to stow her lock box behind the chair in the cockpit.
The cave was echoing with oldies like Lead Zeppelin, The Doors, Smashing Pumpkins, and Metallica, and with Katja so involved with her lock box that she did not hear Duo's comment. The Guardian Angel was equipped with a three CD changer/burner and speakers that poured out the sound as smooth as water.
"There," said Katja with a sigh of relief from inside the cockpit. "I didn't realize that box was so awkward," she finished as she dropped down next to him, then looked over his arm to see where he had stopped.
Seeing something that she wanted for later use, Katja reached over and pulled out a white CD that had "Godsmack Alive VS" written on it in her chicken scratch.
Duo looked up at her intrusion.
"What's that?" he asked as his eyes followed the disc travel from the page to a CD case, she had pulled from her back pocket, in her other hand.
Katja's eyes glanced upward from the CD to Duo and smiled.
"I'd better get going," she said as she made to get up, CD still in hand.
Duo placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed lightly. Katja paused in her movements and looked back at Duo. Their eyes met and stayed together.
"Be careful," he said, the worried look in his eyes matched the tone in his voice.
The corner of her mouth rose ever so slightly and her eyes softened. She leaned forward, lightly kissed him on the cheek, and then sat back again. "Don't worry about me," she nearly whispered with her face a few inched from his. She then got up and went to the cockpit, leaving Duo slightly stunned.
She's never done that before, he thought as he looked at her puzzled. Of course neither have I, he snickered with at the thought of the way he let his mask of indifference fall to reveal to her how he really felt. Duo shrugged his shoulders, and feeling a little lighter in the heart he hopped up with the case of disks and handed them to Katja before she sat down in the control chair. After she took the case, Duo stood in the doorway, watching her get things situated. Her hands seemed to have minds of their own as they traveled around the cockpit to the different buttons and controls with a grace that only comes form a long time of familiarity.
She was born to be a pilot, he thought as he watched her.
Katja rose out of the chair and made to get out of the cockpit. Duo graciously moved out of the way and let her out.
Katja walked over to the edge of the gait.
"Going down?" she asked a she pulled down the handle to a tether.
He stepped forward and took the handle from her in response. Then wrapped his arm around her waist, she his neck, they both jumped off the edge of the gait, and glided to the ground.
They held on for a second once they hit the ground but let go of each other slowly, as if in a trance. Once her arms were free, Katja pulled out a remote that resembled a car alarm remote, and with the push of a button the gate closed.
"I've got to get myself one of those," joked Duo.
They both chuckled and walked out of the cave to the truck.
There Katja plugged the laptop into a cigarette lighter plug and turned it on.
"TRANSMISSION COMMENCING" read the screen.
Neither of them spoke. Katja patiently waited for the computer to give the next command and Duo watched intently.
"PLEASE INSERT DISK"
Katja pulled out the disk she took from the CD case and put it in the drive.
As the computer began to read the disk you could hear the eerie mix of a child's toy piano and the fading in of drums followed by the faint vocal wailing of a woman.
"VIRUS LOADED AND IS BEING TRANSMITTED" read the screen.
Katja sat in the driver's seat still and silent, listening to the music. Then the song suddenly stopped and changed to another, which started out strong and shocking.
"ENTER MESSAGE."
Katja straightened up and began to type fast and feverishly, then with the snap of the return key she was finished and the message was on its way.
"Master Trez, a message for you," informed the guard.
"Thank you," answered Trez calmly.
He sat at his computer in the same room where he and Katja ha their discussion, and hit the receive button on his keyboard.
The music of the second song blared on his computer and throughout the mansion on every speaker.
He tried to turn down the volume but the controls wouldn't respond.
After that failed a message popped up on the screen.
The song continued, he knew exactly who had sent the message. Trez jumped from his chair and rushed to the door where a guard waited with his hands over his ears.
"Double the guards at the wall! Let nothing through!" he shouted to the guard. He was barely heard over the music. He then rushed to the security control room.
"Watch for any vehicle that could be used to enter the grounds," he shouted at the officer.
"Yes, sir!" the officer shouted back.
Katja was well on her way, flying down the road in the truck covered with explosives.
She had waited for Duo to take off for space in his Gundam. Then left to remind some one of the dangerous consequences they could meet for their mistake. She reached over and tapped a few keys.
'Hope they didn't want their eardrums,' she thought as she raised the volume by twenty decibels. The music was already too loud to bear at the mansion and the people inside couldn't get out because of a malfunction in their door locks.
Katja smiled at the thought of the soldiers running around like frightened ants, trying to stop the music or escape.
She was within sight of the grounds. She checked to make sure the transmission was still hidden. It was. As an added surprise Katja adjusted the program, then aimed the truck at the ten-foot cast-iron gates, which, with the help of her program, were wide open.
She turned on the cruise control and rigged the steering wheel so it wouldn't turn off the straightaway, unplugged the laptop, opened the door and waited. Ten feet from the gate she jumped out of the door, laptop in hand.
The music was unbearable. Grown men were crying with agony from the noise.
Trez had gone to the back of the mansion to the kitchen, the only place with few speakers. He had sat down at the breakfast table and tried to think what would happen, when the music suddenly stopped.
Surprised, he jumped up and looked out into the hall.
There was a sudden crash in the front of the house, then the sound of a great explosion that blew him back in to the kitchen and out a nearby window.
Katja had watched the roof get blown off the front half of the mansion and then casually walked away a little dusty.
"That will teach you to kill members of my family, Trez," She said as she turned back to the fiery rubble that she had caused. She then turned and disappeared into the woods.
