Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Deception - COMPLETE	By : kizukatana Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 11937 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and make no money on anything I write

Chapter List
- 22
- 23
- 24
Author's note - So this chapter... might be this long because... I dated a Navy Seal... or because my dad was a Marine... or because... I seem to feel the need to explain how every little thing happens? BUT THERE IS SEX IN THE NEXT CHAPTER (I swear to god). Thanks to Bri for helping me figure out Gaara's dad, and basically beta-ing the whole monstrous chapter.
Part 2
-xXx-
Sasuke looked at the information that Suigetsu had procured for him. He thanked god that the government insisted on documenting everything. The detailed notes and communication reports would make it much easier to disrupt what the CIA was planning to do to Naruto, and know exactly how close to finding Naruto they were.
Shisui had a map out, studying the area around Suna where the Kazekage's compound was located. He had been released from the hospital the day before, but already was able to walk without issue.
Itachi had been annoyed that Shisui was insisting on going with Sasuke, but given Shisui's abilities with a gun as well as his experience reading situations like this, there really was no way to tell him not to go unless Sasuke himself didn't go. Which was not going to happen in this lifetime. Itachi would stay behind with Jiraya to try to get the CIA to back down, while also handling any publicity that Sasuke's sudden absence stirred up.
They weren't going to get involved in taking down the Suna government. They were only trying to find Naruto and get him out before the CIA caught up with him. All evidence suggested that the CIA didn't know that Gaara was Kazekage Sabaku's son, which meant that their assessment of the risks of the operation were likely off. At least, that was what they were all hoping.
"They are planning to take Naruto and Gaara down at a warehouse in downtown Suna in four days. Evidently they have a source who told them that this is the location Sasori uses to pick up and drop off shipments, and is likely the rendezvous place where they will meet him when the operation is complete," Suigetsu said.
Assuming they make it out alive. Sasuke suppressed the unhelpful thought. Given that Gaara likely had extensive inside information on the compound, Sasuke would only be in the way if he tried to intervene in whatever they had planned. He had to stay focused on just keeping Naruto out of the hands of the CIA until Jiraya and Itachi could work their influence.
"Then we either need to head them off before they get to the warehouse, or we need to take out whoever the CIA is sending to greet them," Shisui said matter-of-factly.
Suigetsu's fingers were flying over the keyboard. "I can find out who they're sending and how many. The report here says it is unlikely that both Naruto and Gaara will make it out of the compound alive, given the General's security forces and general fucked up neuroses about his personal safety."
"Then they probably aren't sending more than one or two snipers. They'll want to keep the operation small if the whole point is to hide any CIA involvement in this," Shisui said, looking up from his maps.
Suigetsu paused. "Sasuke… you said there was a doctor who was willing to come in case they need medical attention?"
Sasuke nodded curtly.
"Tell her to do some research on poisons before she packs her kit. Evidently General Kazekage's security forces are known for coating their bullets and knives with it, to increase the probability of taking out a target even if they don't manage to get in a clean shot. It's slow acting to give them time to interrogate any prisoners, but still lethal."
"Fuck," Sasuke breathed. If they waited to meet Naruto and Gaara at the warehouse, they might be too late to help. But if they tried to intercept them between the compound and the meeting point, they might miss them altogether. He really wished that Naruto wasn't so fucking paranoid about electronic surveillance. Then he could call him or send him an e-mail and everything would be so much simpler. He was going to have a word with his blond when he finally got his hands on him.
Actually, there were a lot of things he was going to do to Naruto when he finally got his hands on him.
-xXx-
Naruto and Gaara were both feeling the altitude as they made their way up the forested side of the mountain. Gaara had explained that the mountains acted like a rain barrier in the area. The western side had all the moisture from the sea, but the altitude of the mountains forced the air to rise high enough that it dropped all its moisture, leaving a barren wasteland to the east where General Kazekage's compound was located. Along with the deposits of oil and gold that had made him wealthy
By approaching from the forested side, they would be much more difficult to detect by the Mountain Guard. They were dressed in forest camouflage, but would change to desert cammies before they began their descent. They reached an area that Gaara had remembered exploring as a child, with a small cave where they could store a larger pack with food, water, changes of civilian clothes, and two sets of travel documents for the journey home. If all went well, they would be coming back the way they entered. Of course, in case things didn't go well, they also had a different set of travel documents tucked in the much smaller packs they would be carrying with them, along with extra rounds of ammo and three vials of what Gaara had explained was antidote to the poison that many of the guards treated their weapons with, courtesy of Temari's visit to the fan shop.
They each had four weapons on them, all well-suited for silent kills. A gun with silencer, a tranquilizer dart air gun, a garrote, and a double-edged knife that could be wielded in close combat or thrown. Gaara had strapped a sniper rifle case to his back.
While Naruto certainly had more experience in cities, both men were sufficiently versed in stealth to move in absolute silence as they made their way through the forest. Gaara pulled out his compass pointing to the four positions he would be taking out. Naruto nodded sharply, his own compass still holstered, and they headed off in opposite directions. They would meet on the other side of the lake-bed when they had taken out the Mountain Guard. They would begin their attacks as soon as they heard the guards radio in their status. That would give them maximum time before the breach was noticed.
Naruto headed off to the right as Gaara went left. Speed and stealth were both of the essence, and there would be no room for error. Naruto drew a steadying breath, reminding himself that this was the easy part.
He slowed his pace as he heard the sounds someone walking through the leaves. Pressing himself against a tree, he waited until he had marked the position of both members of the first pair that he was to take out. One was eating rice from a small steel container while the other was checking his watch. "Time to check in," the one with the watch said. He walked closer to the side of the ridge that faced the compound to likely get a better signal. The one eating gave a slight grunt and didn't respond, his eyes scanning the slope behind them. Neither noticed Naruto approach.
Naruto pulled out his dart gun. For this part of the mission, they would use heavy tranquilizers rather than bullets wherever possible. The amount of drug in the darts made the effect almost instantaneous if delivered to the carotid artery, and would last about six hours. By that time, it would be over, one way or another. It also helped that the tranquilizer used was a favorite of Mu's forces and would help to establish his involvement in the assassination of General Kazekage.
While the dart gun was not as silent as Naruto's other weapons, the pairs here were far enough apart that he could get two clean shots off with no risk of one of them sending out an alarm or being overheard by the next group. He had twenty minutes to make it to the other side of the ridge a mile away, with six more enemies between him and his destination. He silently released the safety, and took aim.
Eighteen minutes later, he was crouched behind a boulder on the far side of the ridge waiting for Gaara when he felt the nose of a gun dig into his flesh just behind his ear.
He blew out a breath, as he flipped the man over his shoulder and grabbed the gun, not surprised to see it was Gaara. They grinned at each other for a moment, their sense of accomplishment rising up before they both focused on phase two: The Perimeter Guard.
Naruto reached down, offering his hand to Gaara. The man didn't hesitate before clasping Naruto's forearm and pulling himself up. "Ready for the fun part?" Naruto asked, feeling the adrenaline starting to surge through his body, combining with nerves in a heady combination. Surprisingly, Gaara didn't release Naruto's arm but instead pulled him close so their shoulders bumped against each other. Naruto's eyebrows rose up in surprise at the contact.
"Let's do this," was all the redhead said. Their eyes locked for a moment, both fully knowing the risks they were facing. The complete faith that each had in the other, the willingness to face these odds together flowed between them. Then Naruto grinned.
"Hell, yeah," Naruto said cockily.
He pulled out a small infra-red device, pointing it down into the valley. The air in the mountains was cool, but in the valley it was at least twenty degrees hotter. Naruto nodded at the reading. "It's about 101 degrees on the floor. I'll need to descend in less than thirty minutes to make it to the base before the temperature starts dropping as the sun sets.
Naruto quickly set up his rappel rope. The fastest way down a mountain was straight off a cliff. This was the steepest part of the valley's edge. It wasn't that much different from scaling down the outside of a tall building, which Naruto had done many times. They quickly changed out of the heavy, forest cammies into the tan, lightweight desert cammies with a Kevlar vest beneath it. Naruto tied a tan bandana across his face. If they made it out of this alive, it would be essential that no one knew who had been behind this.
Gaara scouted out a flat rock to set up his sniper rifle while Naruto pulled on his climbing gloves and hooked the GriGri rappel hook to his belt. The tan rope was anchored with a simple sling that they placed around a large boulder to avoid the sound of an anchor being driven into the rocks, which could carry into the lake-bed and alert the guards. Once he reached the end of the rope, Naruto would have to descend the rest of the way strictly by climbing. It would be low light with no safety, but the slope flattened a bit towards the base of the mountain, making it possible.
Without hesitation, Naruto let himself over the edge of the cliff in a slow controlled slide. His camouflaged clothing and even pace of descent would make him basically invisible unless someone was looking directly at him with binoculars from the compound. The temperature of the lake-bed floor would be close enough to body temperature at this time of day that the infra-red sensors would not pick him up either.
Luckily, there were too many animals that lived in the area for the base to have set up motion sensors. That would have complicated things significantly.
Gaara would take out the members of the perimeter guard that he could from a distance, starting with anyone outside the building who might hear Naruto's approach or see him in the low light outside the flood-lit area at the base of the compound. Gaara would then make the call as to whether to try for any of the interior-stationed guards. Bullet-proof glass was only impervious to certain types of bullets. Not military grade sniper rifle rounds. But the sound of it cracking the heavy glass would likely be heard, setting off the alarm. He would only fire inside if necessary, otherwise he would simply follow Naruto's path down the rope and across the lake-bed while Naruto disabled the infra-red detector.
The sun had set, giving an advantage to Gaara who was able to see into the lighted windows easier that their occupants were able to see out. Additionally, Temari's information let him know exactly where each of the perimeter guards would be stationed. He looked through the scope on his rifle, briefly focusing on the flag that hung from the pole on top of the building, gauging the wind. There was almost none that night. It was a perfect night for a sniper.
Naruto didn't hesitate when his feet touched the sloping rock at the end of the rope. He released the clip from his belt and immediately began his descent the rest of the way down the incline, ignoring the fatigue of his muscles as he mentally counted down the minutes passing.
When he finally reached the sandy floor of the ravine, he turned and headed in a smooth, steady run towards the compound, careful to not run too fast and cause his body temperature to spike. The darkness was complete, not even the moon was out, and the only thing that would give him away was his heat signature. Gaara had remembered as a child the window of time each evening and morning where the temperature surrounding the compound was roughly body temperature. In the darkness, Naruto was effectively invisible for the next fifteen minutes.
In nine minutes, Naruto had reached the perimeter of the compound. Two guards were slumped in a corner by the side entrance Gaara had told him about. He quickly stripped them both, pulling on one of the uniforms and leaving the other ready for Gaara when he came down. Blending in by wearing the guard's uniform could buy them critical seconds if they were discovered.
Removing the lanyard from around one of the dead men's throat's that held an entrance keycard, Naruto grabbed their weapons and walked quickly to the entryway, swiping the card and entering the building. So far, no alarms had been triggered.
Naruto pulled out his knife. Inside, even the sound of a silencer would be enough to give him away. Gaara had told him of the positions of the Perimeter Guard who were not in line of sight from Gaara's position that Naruto would have to deal with first. There would be six, assuming that Gaara could take the three stationed at the western windows when he entered.
Naruto had only found the first two when an alarm sounded. Fuck. He wondered what had set it off. There was the sound of feet running.
Naruto saw a door with a swipe bar by it that looked the same as the one at the side entrance. Praying for a bit of luck, he swiped the guard's key card, and breathed a sigh of relief as a green light flashed and the door opened.
He ducked inside and closed the door, noting that the room appeared to be some sort of supply room. He held completely still as the sound of feet passed by his hiding spot, with no signs of slowing. It was too soon for Gaara to have made it down the mountain to the compound, so he didn't worry about his friend just yet. It was his own ass he had to look out for right now.
He quickly checked the amount of ammunition and condition of the fully automatic weapons he had taken from the two outside guards, knowing that the purpose of the mission had now shifted from stealth to speed. According to Gaara, there would be at least fifty-six armed guards inside the compound, more than half of them belonging to the elite Interior Guard. If all had gone according to their original plan, they would only have had to take out sixteen. The alarm going off meant Plan A had blown up. Now... assuming they were able to get to Gaara's father before reinforcements arrived from the barracks on the other side of the compound, they might have to take on all of them. Plans B through F were all pretty risky. The odds of success had just dropped dramatically.
Naruto drew a breath. Assuming it was one of Gaara's shots that had set off the alarm, the forces would all be rushing toward the western side of the compound where the attack was coming from. If Naruto's entrance had not yet been noticed, he could sweep in from behind and do some serious damage. But he'd have to have a fallback place where he and Gaara could meet up that fell along Gaara's original entry path.
It was probably NOT safe to assume that the key Naruto had would give him access to all the rooms in the compound, but there weren't a lot of options. Naruto scanned the contents of the shelves. A box caught his eye, and he smiled. Stun grenades. Perfect. He stuffed as many as he could into his pack, released the safety on one of the two stolen guns he was carrying, and stepped back out into the hallway.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
By his count, assuming that Gaara had noticed the alarm go off as soon as it happened, Naruto had at least twenty minutes left before Gaara could reach him. That meant he needed to disable the heat sensor and take out as many Perimeter Guards as he could in that time on the off chance that the alarm wouldn't automatically signal for reinforcements from the Interior Guard or the military barracks. And not get himself killed in the process.
If they had already called for reinforcements… Naruto shrugged. Then he and Gaara were just screwed.
Naruto walked rapidly down the hallway. His guard uniform wouldn't be of much use since he didn't speak the language or look like a native Sunan. But it would buy him a second or two, which he used to his full advantage with the first three guards he encountered on his way to the monitoring room.
He swiped his badge in the door slot and - not even bothering to look in the room - rolled in two compression grenades and closed the door. Gaara had already told him there were usually at least six guards inside. When he next opened the door, they were all on the ground unconscious. He took out the tranquilizer gun and made sure they would stay that way until he and Gaara were cleared, and quickly found the switch that Gaara had described that shut off the heat monitoring of the surrounding area. The floor of the lakebed would have cooled to below body temperature by now, meaning Gaara would be visible if he had already made the descent down the cliff.
Knowing it probably wouldn't matter at this point but trying his luck anyway, he also turned off the alarm that was sounding. By now the bodies of the perimeter guard that were stationed outside the rear entrances would already have been discovered, so there was no trying to cover this up as a 'false alarm', but possibly some of the troops would get confused or at least slowed down.
Naruto glanced at the monitors that were showing each of the areas of the compound. It looked like Gaara's father had already been evacuated to his 'safe room', which Gaara had said was basically impenetrable without a special access card and code, neither of which they had. They had known it was likely to happen unless everything had gone perfectly, which - of course - had been only slightly less probably than Santa arriving with his sleigh to help them escape. The General had only four guards with him in that room, which was good news. If they ever made it that far.
In the meantime, Naruto was able to pinpoint where the two largest groupings of the Perimeter guard had moved. They would have to find one of the senior-ranking Interior Guards later to get an access key to the safe room, but that was later. The guards seemed to be focused on the side entrance opposite of the one he had entered. One of the guards that Gaara had taken out must have been able to get out a warning or somehow trigger the alarm.
Naruto used the security monitors to scan the corridors between him and that location, trying to remember which rooms and ducts would be his best route of escape based on the blueprint Gaara had sketched for him earlier.
Naruto considered the odds that he or Gaara would make it back to the security room to make use of the monitors, vs the odds that the Kazekage's forces would use them against them instead. It wasn't hard math, and he opened fire into the monitors, shattering them and eliminating the possibility of their motions being tracked.
He glanced at his watch. Eight minutes before Gaara would arrive as back-up. He re-packed his dart gun, pulled out the automatic and took off down the hall.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Thanks to the stun grenades, Naruto had cleared the two main areas with minimal casualties. If the size of the Perimeter Guard hadn't been increased since Gaara's time, Naruto estimated that they had incapacitated more than eighty percent of it. He had killed as few as possible, but it had been impossible to avoid all casualties. Considering it was basically a coup in progress, though, he estimated that they were still coming out ahead. He decided that - with the bulk of the Perimeter Guard taken care of - he would switch back to his semi-automatic with the silencer, and try to make his way toward where the first station of the Interior Guard would be located and try his luck without drawing them all down on himself. Assuming they hadn't already been sent as back-up.
He jumped when an air conditioning vent from the ceiling crashed down less than a foot away from him, but grinned in relief when he saw the familiar green eyes looking out from above a tan headscarf.
Naruto looked quickly up and down the hallway to see if the sound had alerted anyone else to their presence. "So… Plan A pretty much went to hell as soon as I got in, but so far I've been able to take out most of the Perimeter Guard. By my count there should only be three left, unless you got them on your way in. But then we have the Interior Guard to deal with. And the General has already been moved to the safe room. He's there with four guards."
Gaara nodded, not surprised that Naruto had been so efficient. "I got the rest of the perimeter Guard on my way in. The Interior Guard also sent a little welcome party for me. I took out five of them," Gaara brushed over his sleeve where a deep cut through the fabric of his desert cammies was already soaked with blood. He hadn't taken the time to change when he had raced into the compound, not sure how long Naruto would be able to hold out on his own. Naruto was good, but… the odds were heavily stacked against them at this point. Gaara opened one of the vials of antidote, hoping it would return the feeling to his arm before they had to engage any more of the guards.
Naruto opened his mouth to ask Gaara where he thought they should go next, given that they now needed to find someone with access to the safe room to take as hostage or they would be unable to reach Gaara's father. But before he could, three guards came around the corner.
Naruto fired three precision shots in rapid succession, and the guards hit the ground before Gaara had finished swallowing the liquid.
"So far, so good," Naruto said, cockily. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the sound of running boots thundered down the hall.
Naruto looked up to see the number of soldiers entering the hall and began to curse as he and Gaara both started firing, running backwards to find shelter in a doorway. Naruto lobbed a couple of stun grenades and he and Gaara turned and ran like hell.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Naruto and Gaara sat back-to back, panting and bleeding behind one of the few remaining pillars in the central room that they had finally found themselves trapped in. Gaara had been shot in his left arm, and they both had been cut from flying debris as a hail of machine-gun bullets had torn through the walls and glass that they had tried to hide behind. A bullet had grazed Naruto's thigh, but the bleeding didn't seem too bad. He had been shot in the chest as well, but luckily the Kevlar vest he had worn had stopped the bullet. His chest still felt like it had been kicked by a fucking horse. Naruto didn't know what other injuries Gaara had sustained beside the arm wound, but he knew they were both at their limit. Exhausted, their heads rested against each other, the motion of their breathing causing their backs to slide against each other subtlety. It wouldn't be long now. They were out of bullets. They were out of grenades. They were out of time.
They had made a good run of it. They had used up all of the compression grenades and emptied all their clips, but in the end there had just been too many of them. Reinforcements from both the Interior Guard and the military barracks had been called. Naruto felt Gaara press something into the palm of his hand, and his fingers closed around it, realizing it was a vial of the antidote. Considering how many wounds they both had on their bodies, and the fact that they were about to be either summarily shot or tortured and then shot, Naruto thought it was a bit like putting a Band-Aid on an amputated limb. But he accepted it anyway, feeling Gaara's head tilt back as presumably the redhead drank his own drought. Naruto shrugged, and did the same.
Part of him briefly wondered if a quick death by poison would be preferable to what was likely going to happen to them as a prisoner of a completely sadistic warlord that he had been caught trying to overthrow. But if Gaara was going to stick it out, then he would, too. It wouldn't be the worst thing they'd ever faced together. It made him a bit sad, though, to think it would be the last.
And Sasuke...Naruto felt his gut tighten as unbidden images of Sasuke that flashed across his mind. Naruto had never thought he would experience a relationship as intense as the one he'd had with Sasuke. He felt a flash of regret that he would never get to see him again, even from afar. He wondered briefly how far the man would go politically, wishing he would have been able to at least read about it. But at the end of it all, he was still glad. He had gotten the chance to be with someone like Sasuke, even if it was only for a short while. And he was grateful that Sasuke would never know what had happened to him… wouldn't be waiting for news and upset when none ever came. Sasuke had moved on, and for the first time since Naruto had found out about it he was honestly glad for it.
A woman's voice carried across to them, saying words that Naruto couldn't understand. Her tone was hard and cold and unyielding. Gaara tensed behind him, and Naruto felt his friend's fingers grip Naruto's wrist in a quick squeeze, their signal to wait and stand down.
Gaara responded to the woman, his voice gruff and guttural. Then slowly, he stood, tugging on Naruto to do the same. Together they stepped out from behind the pillar, their hands over their heads, weapons on the ground. Naruto's eyes widened as he took in what had to be over a hundred soldiers with fully automatic weapons trained on them. But what really gave him pause was the woman who stood out front, her own gun leveled directly at Gaara's head, her teal eyes cold and deadly. It was the woman from the shop.
She slowly walked forward, until all that the soldiers accompanying her could see was her back. Then slowly, her lips curved into a small smile at Gaara, and her eyes softened and took on a look of anticipation and excitement. Instantly, the cold mask of command was back in place and she was shouting orders to the troops behind her, pointing to outside where Naruto could hear additional gunfire.
Evidently they were not the only ones attacking the compound tonight. Mu must have decided to make his move. It would be the perfect cover. Gaara's presence would be assumed to be part of the broader attack. The CIA had unknowingly played Mu straight into their hands. All they had to do was make it out of here alive.
The woman issued a sharp order, and soldiers stepped forward and quickly stripped Naruto and Gaara of all weapons and bound their hands behind them. Temari held out her hand to one of the guards, and their packs were given to her. She looked through the contents briefly before slinging both packs over one shoulder.
She gestured with her gun for Naruto and Gaara to precede her, and they were marched at gunpoint down the corridor that Naruto recognized as leading to the General's safe room. The impenetrable room that Gaara had said they would be unable to access without inside help.
And suddenly, Naruto had to fight down the urge to throw back his head and laugh. Yes, the warlord had indeed underestimated his daughter.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
They reached a heavy steel door, and Temari swiped a special red access card, and entered a code. The door opened. She turned to the twenty guards who had escorted them here and issued a sharp command, and the troops stood back as she leveled her gun at Gaara and Naruto once again and motioned with a sharp jerk that they were to enter the room before her.
As soon as they had entered the room, guards that had escorted them dispersed, likely going to join their comrades in repelling Mu's forces. Naruto was glad that he had disabled the security cameras in the guard room before coming here. It would make it much less likely that reinforcements would be sent. There were only six guards plus Gaara's father that they would need to take out. Naruto noticed that Temari had set their packs down, but kept her weapon out.
Naruto turned with some curiosity to see the man that had tried to kill his friend. He was in his early fifties, with no grey showing in his auburn hair. His dark eyes were cold and hard, the eyes of a man used to issuing death. He looked at Temari, his eyes showing the smallest hint of pride at her appearance with the two prisoners. He began to speak, but Naruto had no idea what was being said. Gaara watched with close attention, his eyes never leaving his father's face.
"Daughter," the warlord said, looking at her with satisfaction. "I take it these two are the ones who were causing such a disturbance. I am pleased that you were able to capture them before they distracted us from the rest of Mu's forces. Now we can focus our efforts at rebuffing his pathetic attempt at invading our territory. But I don't understand why you brought them here rather than simply taking them to interrogation."
"Father," Temari said, her voice cool but respectful. "I believe that the identity of these particular men will be of interest to you. They have something to say that I determined would be best that you heard directly, and in relative privacy."
The Kazekage frowned at her words, clearly sensing that something was different from the simple sabotage force from Mu that he had expected. He narrowed his eyes at his daughter, trying to identify what it was about her that was off. Surely she was not making him nervous. He owned her, controlled her. She was formidable, but only to his enemies, she belonged to him. He did not fear her. His eyes strayed to where her weapon was still raised.
Naruto focused on standing absolutely still while his fingers slowly worked over the bindings on his wrists, looking for a way to free himself. He didn't know if the woman was going to release them or simply not fight back when they released themselves. In any case, he'd feel better with his hands free and able to defend himself. Though hands vs fully automatic weapons were still pretty shitty odds. But they were better than no hands vs. fully automatic weapons.
Gaara looked impassively at the man who had ruthlessly destroyed his life and put him through three years of a nightmarish hell that he still had not completely crawled his way out of. It struck him how much older his father looked. The hair show little greying yet, but the lines around his father's face were deeply etched with suspicion, paranoia, and corruption. He was much weaker than the monster he had remembered cowering from as a child.
But there was no mistaking the cold, dead look in those eyes he remembered so well then night he had been taking from his bedroom. He had cried for his teddy bear, knowing he couldn't sleep without it. He had learned that there were things so much worse to cry about than the loss of a toy.
Strangely enough, he felt oddly calm facing this man. He wondered what his father would make of it when he learned his true identity. He shifted his gaze briefly to where Temari was standing, her face expressionless as she held her gun steady. Gaara felt a surge of pride at his sister. She was strong. Their father had not been able to break her.
Her eyes met his and held for a moment. Without breaking her gaze with Gaara, she opened fire, killing the six guards in the room before they even had a chance to lift their weapons.
Naruto had worked his hands free and reached and grabbed a weapon from one of the fallen guards. He turned to release Gaara from his bindings, but the redhead had already freed himself. Unlike Naruto, though he stood weaponless in front of his father.
"Temari. What is the meaning of this? You know what the penalty of defying me is."
To his credit, the General didn't even flinch. He looked Temari squarely in the eye. He didn't even seem to notice the fact that he now had two guns trained on him.
Temari smiled. The hair on Naruto's arms stood on end.
"Father. I thought it would be appropriate if you greeted your youngest son home without your guards to interfere," her voice was deceptively soft.
The Kazekage paused, his gaze flickering to where Naruto and Gaara stood. Naruto wondered if the General had finally begun to sense the deadly aura that was flowing from Gaara.
"Who are you?" the General said, his face showing uncertainty for the first time since they had entered the room.
Gaara slowly walked towards his father. The man's eyes followed his path warily. Gaara walked until he stood directly before his father, then slowly pulled down the cloth that covered his face.
"Don't you recognize your own son, Father?"
The Kazekage's eyes widened, and he shook his head slightly. "No. You're dead. I received confirmation."
The Kazekage's hand shot out to where a gun was resting on a table next to him, but he never reached it.
He screamed, clutching his knee where blood was now pooling through his pants. Temari stood calmly, her pistol leveled at the Kazekage's other knee.
"You will not harm him a second time, Father."
"How?" Gaara's father's hands clenched around his wound, sweat broken out on his brown but his eyes remained fixed on Gaara's face. "How did you survive? They sent me confirmation that you were dead."
Gaara turned back to look at Naruto, knowing that his friend could not understand the words that were spoken. "My father seems to be asking how we met. Shall I tell him?"
Temari's eyes flickered back towards Naruto, her curiosity showing, but she returned her focus on her father and making sure he made no further movements. She knew that Gaara needed closure on this, and she would ensure that he had the time to do it. Realizing that Naruto didn't speak their language, she said in perfect English. "We might not have much time. By now, the guards in the control room will know that my father is being held at gunpoint. The doors are strong, but they will only hold for so long."
Naruto grinned beneath his mask. "Well… I think I might have, um… broken your control room. All the monitors are dead. And so is the control box for recording the video feed. Unless there is a secondary system somewhere."
Temari smiled. "The secondary system is in here. We have quite a bit of time, then."
General Kazekage paled at this, but did not otherwise show fear. He snarled at Naruto, his voice thickly accented. "Who are you? What is your business here?"
Naruto just shrugged, "I'm with Gaara." He would leave it up to Gaara how much to disclose to this man.
Gaara looked at his father silently for a moment. "I don't know what to say to a man who so feared a seven-year-old child that he sold him into slavery, ordering him to be raped for three years before finally being allowed to die at the age of ten." Gaara spoke in English so Naruto would be able to understand.
Temari's hand tightened on the gun, and for a second Naruto thought she was going to shoot the General where he sat. It was with visible effort that she held back and loosened her grip slightly.
"And now, I have returned. And Father..," Gaara leaned down, until his face was level with the Kazekage's, their eyes locked. "... you should have killed me when you had the chance."
A shudder ran through the man's frame at the soft, emotionless words.
Kazekage Sabaku stared at Gaara for a moment. "I paid to have you executed. Cleanly, as befitting for one of my lineage. Never would I sell a child of mine into slavery."
Gaara's eyes flashed. "That's a lie," he said softly, his voice almost calm. But then, "You LIE!" Gaara's hand moved faster than Naruto could see. A knife that he had concealed in his head wrap was instantly pressed against the Kazekage's throat. Gaara tugged the scarf fully free from his head, allowing it to drift slowly to the ground. "Look at my face," he hissed.
The warlord's eyes drifted up to the tattoo on the side of Gaara's forehead, and his eyes widened. "No," he whispered the denial, recognizing the brand as one used by one of the major slave syndicates in the region. And the specific symbol that was tattooed on Gaara marked him as a sex slave.
"They shipped me to an owner in New York who… specialized in children. He planned to kill me when I turned ten, since I would be… too old for the tastes of his clients. And more dangerous to manage." Gaara's face flashed in disgust before returning to his icy demeanor. "They had taken me out back behind the alley. They were about to kill me when one of their clients called and said he wanted one more… turn." Gaara's face was cold, devoid of all emotion. His voice soft but glacial. "They took me back inside to wait for him. He...," Gaara tilted his head to Naruto though never took his eyes off his fathers. He was careful to not use Naruto's name. "... was sleeping in that alley that night. He'd heard what they said and realized what they were going to do to me. A year younger than me, but he climbed up the fire escape and removed the grate that held the bars to my window in place. They had me shackled to the bed, but he knew how to pick locks."
Gaara went still for a moment, remembering the utter disbelief when the small, bright blond boy had smashed the window in the room he had been held prisoner in for three years, and proceeded to release the bindings that had held him. They had fled through the streets of New York together, living out of dumpsters, afraid to visit even the homeless shelters lest they be found by the monsters that searched for them.
But they had become strong. The streets had been a harsh classroom, but knowing each other's goals, they had slowly worked their way up through various gangs and crime syndicates. Building their skills. Surviving on their own terms.
Gaara drew a breath, looking at his father. Who was only a man, after all. Not the monster he had imagined him to be in his youth.
"Gaara…"
"Do not speak my name," Gaara hissed, the blade digging to the man's throat, drawing a thin trickle of blood.
To his credit, the General's eyes did not falter. "Very well. You hold all the cards now." He stared into Gaara's eyes unflinchingly. "But the man that I hired to kill you was ordered to do it cleanly. I would never have sold a child of mine into slavery. It is not befitting of our lineage."
Gaara's voice was ice. "You never considered me a child of yours. Ever since mother died."
The older man gaze was locked on Gaara, and for just a moment, Naruto thought he saw regret flash through the man's eyes. "I never viewed you as anything except my son." The softness was gone from his eyes then, replaced by the fanaticism of a man driven to rule by suppressing all others. A man who eliminated anyone, friend, ally or even family that he viewed as a potential threat to his power. "But that meant it was my duty to take responsibility for your existence. You were too dangerous to the stability of the government. Already some of my security advisors were talking about what a strong leader you would make. Suna has always had enemies at her throat. I have kept this land from being taken over and our people killed. But in order to do that, one must rule with an iron fist. I could not show weakness, even for my own son."
"I. Was. A. Child!" Gaara's voice cut like a whip. "What kind of threat did you see me being?"
The

general said nothing for a moment, his eyes shifting slightly, as though looking for enemies that were not there. Gaara recognized the light of madness in his father's eyes that he had not been able to see as a child. "You were even able to turn your sister against me." His gaze sharpened once more focusing on Gaara. "You are just as dangerous as I always knew you would be. Tonight only proves I was right about what you are."
"Don't attempt to justify your actions now. You made me what I am."
"It was not my intention to have you suffer like that. The men I paid were told to kill you and leave your body in the desert where it wouldn't be found. One of my top lieutenants said he personally witnessed your death."
"Who." Temari's voice was cold.
Their father paused. "Shukaku."
Gaara remembered the man well. His first...customer. Gaara's blade returned more forcefully against his father's throat. "Where is he?"
"Dead," Temari said. "Father decided that he was gaining too much influence amongst the guards, and had him killed for treason."
Gaara looked at his father, unsure what to make of the fact that - while his father had ordered him killed - he hadn't intended for him to suffer to the extent that he had. And the man who had been responsible… was already dead.
"I guess that just goes to show that you can't trust anyone, can you Father?" Gaara said, his voice slightly mocking.
"So now what will you do? Kill me and take power for yourself?"
"No. I will kill you. And Kankuro will take power," Gaara said calmly.
"And where is my elder son? We could have made this one final family reunion. Of traitors," The Kazekage's eyes shifted back to Temari.
"Kankuro doesn't know about any of this. As far as he knows, Gaara died fifteen years ago. He is on his way back to help fend off Mu's minor incursion into our territory."
The General thought for a moment, taking it all in. "Then there will be no chance for anyone to stand against him. My death will be blamed on Mu, and everyone will rally behind Kankuro. Our borders will stand. It will remain Sabaku territory."
A look of acceptance and almost… peace crossed the older man's face. He looked Gaara directly in the eyes, pride showing. He smiled slightly. Then, faster than any of them expected, the man drew a small gun from his chair and aimed it at Temari. The sound of a shot echoed through the small room.
Gaara watched as his father's body slumped back in his chair, his hand resting limply on a map of Kazenokuni spread out on his desk. A small bleeding hole directly between the warlord's unseeing eyes. Slowly, Gaara lowered the gun he had used to finally kill his father.
Naruto looked at the weapon held in Gaara's hand blankly. "When did you pick that up?"
Gaara didn't take his eyes from the body of his father.
"When you were busy unbinding your wrists."
Temari and Naruto walked forward to stand next to Gaara. They gazed at the body of the man who had caused so much suffering.
"Soo…." Naruto began. "I guess you decided to go with the gunshot wound to the head after all." Gaara didn't move. "Are you... ok?"
Gaara was silent for a moment, honestly not sure what he was feeling anymore. The man he had thought to have been a monster his entire life, who he was so sure had sent him into that hell all those years ago...
Temari let out a soft sound, pulling Gaara in and holding him tightly. Naruto tensed when he noticed how Gaara stiffened at the initial contact, wondering if he would pull away. Slowly, awkwardly, Gaara's arms lifted and closed around his sister.
Naruto could hear the soft sounds of Temari sobbing, and was shocked to find his own eyes filling then overflowing at the sight of his friend embracing his sister. He turned away and stepped back to give the siblings a bit of privacy, and was startled by the gentle brush of fingers against his arm.
"Thank you for saving my little brother," Temari embraced Naruto briefly before releasing him.
"Now," she said, clearly gathering herself. "I need to get you both bandaged up enough to make it out of the country without bleeding to death despite the borders being closed, get my other brother back to officially take over the government, and make sure Mu's forces get sent back home with their tail between their legs.
Gaara smiled. He loved his sister.
-xXx-
Sasuke sat at the desk in his hotel room in Athens, surfing his laptop for any news at all coming out of Kazenokuni while he waited for Shisui or Suigetsu to call him. Greece turned out to be the closest that he and Sakura could get to Kazenokuni without a visa. Shisui had gone on ahead with false documents to get to the rendezvous point that Naruto had with Sasori in Suna. If Naruto took that route, Shisui would eliminate the CIA hit man and get Naruto and Gaara out of the country and meet up with Sakura and Sasuke.
Sasuke had wanted to go with, but Shisui and Itachi had convinced him that it was too risky. Sasuke wasn't trained for the kind of action that was likely to go down. And if he got caught traveling with false documents, it would cause major problems for him politically. But what finally convinced Sasuke was the simple fact that they simply had no idea what route Naruto and Gaara were going to take out of the country. Once the coup started, the borders would be locked down, and if Gaara and Naruto made it out a different way, there would be no chance for Sasuke to get to them in time and warn them not to make contact with the CIA if they were all still trapped in Kazenokuni.
Suigetsu had stayed back in New York where he had all his equipment, and he was constantly monitoring the CIA communications for any news, but so far they seemed as in the dark as to what was happening as Sasuke was. He also had Suigetsu monitor the airline, passenger ship and train manifests to see if any of the aliases that Naruto and Gaara had passports under showed up.
Someone knocked on his door. Sasuke went and looked out, not surprised to see Sakura standing there. "Did you hear the news?" She asked, her face tight with worry.
"What news?"
"My friend, Kiba, just told me he heard all the borders were shut down six hours ago. There has been a media crack-down, so no reports made it into the news until now." At Sasuke's pointed look she explained. A little. "He does… business… in Suna." Kiba had contacts in the opium trade and Suna was a major stop along the drug route. He would have gotten word before the 'official' sources came out. She walked over and refreshed one of the pages Sasuke had been surfing looking for any reports on Suna.
"Reports are still unconfirmed at this point, but it appears that the leader of one of the most influential military factions in Kazenokuni, General Kazekage Sabaku, has been killed in an attack on his military compound north of the city of Suna. The forces are believed to belong to Mu Tsuchikage, the leader of a neighboring territory. The borders to the country have been sealed. There has been no official statement from the Sabaku family, but it is believed that the daughter, Temari Sabaku, has taken control of the military in her father's place and is supporting her brother as the new leader of Suna."
Satellite images of muzzle flashes of gunfire in the mountains surrounding Suna were shown in the background
"Dobe," Sasuke breathed out. "You'd better know what the fuck you're doing."
Sasuke's phone rang, and he answered before it finished its first ring. "Tell me you found him."
Suigetsu's sigh reached him. "It's no fun when you expect me to work a miracle. But yes. Someone using one of their fake passports just booked two train tickets from Istanbul to Paris. They paid in cash. The CIA haven't picked it up because they've been monitoring the major commercial travel routes."
Sasuke rubbed the bridge of his nose, exhaustion making his mind slow. He felt like he hadn't had a good night's sleep since Naruto had left. "What does that mean, Sui?"
"They are tracking passenger lists on commercial airlines, Eurorail, that kind of thing. Since he hasn't shown up on any of those, they still think Naruto is stuck in Kazenokuni or dead."
"So what did Naruto book if it's off their radar? Did he buy two tickets or one?"
"Two… one under Gaara's alias and one under his own. It's some sort of tour. One of those fancy trains that tries to recreate the experience of the Orient Express. They follow roughly the same route from Istanbul to Paris. He purchased the ticket in cash in person from Istanbul an hour ago."
"When does it leave Istanbul?" His eyes met Sakura's gaze and nodded sharply, signaling that Naruto and Gaara appeared to have both made it out. She nearly sagged with relief.
"Tomorrow, 4pm local time."
"What's its first stop?"
"Bucharest. And before you asked, I already bought you and Sakura tickets. If you leave for the airport now, you should be able to make it. You can obtain an expedited visa to Turkey at the port of entry. There should be no problems getting the visa given your existing reservation with the tour, as well as your personal connections. Jiraya will put in some calls. You'll arrive in Paris six days after you board in Istanbul. That should give Jiraya time to get the CIA to call off their dogs. Especially with the files I just sent him." Suigetsu snickered. That never boded well.
Sasuke paused. "Do I even want to know?"
Suigetsu laughed. "No. You really don't."
Sasuke hung up and looked over at Sakura. "Pack your bag. We're leaving for Turkey. Evidently Naruto and Gaara have decided to escape by slow-moving luxury train from Istanbul to Paris."
"What?" Sakura asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.
Sasuke smirked. Evidently he wasn't the only one who was suffering from brain fatigue.
"We're going to take a little ride the goddam Orient Express with two men who just singlehandedly overthrew a warlord."
-xXx-xXx-
to be continued!
and... the train ride from Istanbul to Bucharest is about 19 hours. I wonder what on EARTH Naruto and Sasuke could possibly do to pass the time? hmmmmmmm. I think Sasuke has ideas ;-)
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Deception - COMPLETE