Gundam Wing: Genesis Part 5
Duo and Quatre wore identical glares as they stared through the two-way glass at the prisoner. Quatre, for one, was in an extremely bad mood- not only had Trowa left that morning, but to then be told that he wasn't allowed in on the interrogation because he wasn't a Preventer... Asshole betrays my program, pulls a gun on my best friend and I can't question him?! The Hell I can't!
Duo snagged the small blond by the back of his shirt yet again as Quatre tried to make a break for the door that connected the two rooms. It wasn't that he was happy with the situation, either- it was more a matter that getting that angry wasn't going to get him anywhere.
Besides, Wufei was handling the show, and he was wearing an earpiece that allowed the spectators to pass questions to him. That much, he reasoned, was acceptable... for now.
"Duo! Let me go- I'm not going to just si..."
Duo heaved a sigh as he practically tossed his friend back into his seat. "Yes, you are. Relax- Wufei's in there."
Quatre glared at the braided man, but Duo ignored it. Face it, Blondie- we're stuck out here.
He returned his attention to the interrogation in process, and shook his head- Wufei was simply too good at his job. It was a beautifully terrible sight.
~*~
James Millston was sweating behind his blindfold. He was completely disoriented by now, and scared. He hadn't managed to get himself killed. These men scare me- hell, they'd scare anyone! But I was dumb and I got caught... As if Madeleine would help me out! Damned bitch of a girl...
It certainly didn't help that Wufei never made a sound when he moved- Millston had no way of knowing where the Preventer was until he spoke, right at the bound man's ear, "So... where is Madeleine Dumoulin?"
Wufei smiled as the man jumped. As a respectable Preventer, it was too easy to forget how invigorating it could be to scare the crap out of someone using... less conventional means. He was very lucky that Sally was busy elsewhere- he knew she had made up her errand, too. Damn- I've got good taste in women!
Millston tried to calm his furiously beating heart. "I refuse to talk to you!"
Wufei let out a low laugh as he slowly walked all the way around his prisoner, stopping again and leaning closer to him. "You don't get it, do you? Do you think the Preventers don't know who I am? They do- and they've left me in charge of you, nonetheless. You will talk to me, or I will make you talk." The last sentence was delivered with calm certainty, as though stating a simple, well-known fact.
Wufei smirked as his earpiece crackled. "Looking good, Wu-man! You're getting him!" He should be happy Duo isn't in here...
Millston trembled slightly, unable to control it. "It's not like she won't know in another week..."
Wufei smacked the man on the back of the head, causing him to cry out in shock and fright. The Preventer smiled. "Of course she will! That's not what I asked- where is she?"
Millston's hands clenched onto the arms of his chair. "I won't tell you. Go to hell."
Wufei's smile evaporated from his face in a blink as his hand flew out and grabbed the other man by the hair, yanking his head back as he changed his position again, just enough to disorient the man further. "I've been there, asshole, helping to save worthless cretins like yourself! You don't understand, do you? You have no idea what you're forcing on the rest of the world!"
Millston forced out a nervous chuckle. "Quite the contrary- I am helping to deliver everyone! People will see us as saviours! And Madeleine will lead us all!"
Wufei Chang felt his rage burning deep inside and slapped his captive hard, snapping the man's head to the side. He was gratified to see the small trickle of blood coming from the man's now broken lip. "You know- my superior isn't here right now. No one would know that you weren't resisting me if I decided to beat it out of you- it would be your word against mine..."
Millston squirmed as that low voice practically purred the words into his ear, a vice-like hand clamping onto his arm, manipulating a pressure point with practised skill. He felt a spasm of panic as he lost all feeling in his arm. The madman! He can't... can he? Even if he was a Gundam pilot... He managed not to scream, "God- don't! You can't... no, don't!"
Wufei's lip curled in a sneer. Not only was the man a fanatical idiot, he was weak and stupid, to boot! His grip tightened. "Why should I? You've given me no reason not to..." Just a little more pressure will break the bone. By Nataku- this is sick...
"Please... it hurts, please don't..." Millston began to thrash in Wufei's grip as real fear set in. He was closeted with one of the most feared terrorists of all time, and the man seemed perfectly ready to ignore all Preventer protocol in order to break him. Literally, if necessary. Lena, this is all your fault! Damn you!
Wufei twisted his thumb suddenly, and Millston screamed as pain shot up his previously numb arm for a mere second, only to be replaced by the aching numbness in the next. The Chinese Preventer asked again, in his low, reasonable voice, "Where is Madeleine Dumoulin? This can end if you just tell me."
Millston was freely sweating by now, despite the coolness of the air. "She's... you'll never find her..."
Wufei repeated the movement and grimaced as the man screamed again. He didn't like doing this- he wasn't half as good at it as Maxwell or Barton were- but it had to be done. "Why not? Is she at a hidden base? Where is it?"
Millston tried to breath deeply and center himself, but it wasn't working- his brain was replaying the shooting pains through his arm, ghosting them through his entire body. He'll do it! Dear God, he will! I can't... I just can't... "Many bases... building suits..."
Wufei ignored the sounds of congratulations coming from his earpiece. "How many? Just tell me and this will all be over..."
"Fourteen... Earth... mountains..."
"And Madeleine? Where is she?" Wufei asked gently.
"Move around... never in one place for too long... hurts, please..."
Wufei's hand tightened one last time, and he cringed again as his captive began to shake and shiver. "One more question. How much does she know?"
Millston hated himself at that moment, even more than he hated the man who was questioning him. He didn't have it in him to hide anything! "Basics, but no more. Information security... too good... names... Genesis shield weight... developing plans for new suits already..."
None of this surprised Wufei in the least. "And how close to ready are those suits?"
Millston trembled in his grasp, barely even noticing as he slowly released him, restoring feeling to the now numb arm. "Close... no gundanium... still needs Genesis..."
Wufei took pity on the man- a sharp tap to his neck, and Millston was once again senseless, as before.
He looked up and into the two-way mirror for the first time. "It's enough to start with, guys. I don't think he'll know too much more than that."
Quatre's voice came over the room's speakers. "We still don't have a fix on Dumoulin..."
Wufei interrupted him, "No- we don't, but it's possible that he doesn't know. If I were her... I wouldn't tell my inside man where I was. Too risky."
Duo cut in. "Yeah- he's a gomer, man. Her own family, too... What a bitch!"
Wufei let other Preventers in to take charge of the prisoner and joined the other two in the room next door. He collapsed into a seat and stared at his hands for a few moments. "I didn't do any real damage to him- it was all pressure point manipulation. If anything, he'll have a few bruises to deal with."
Duo snorted. "He's lucky Heero's gone..."
The other two winced at the very thought- the Japanese man had been more than ready to kill when he walked in to find the scientist pointing a gun as his lover. It had taken all four of the others to hold him back long enough for uniformed Preventers to get Millston out of the room.
Wufei pinned the braided man with a searching look. "We're going to be looking on our side, but am I wrong to assume that Shinigami still has his own methods of searching?"
Duo and Quatre both smiled. The blond replied for both of them, "We both do, in fact. Fourteen bases, in mountain locations on Earth... It sounds a little sketchy, but we'll look into it."
Duo's grin faded a little, making it obvious that he was already forming a plan in his head. "I've got a few contacts... Don't know if it'll pan out, but it's worth a try."
Wufei stood and gave the interrogation room one last look. His face was blank as he turned back to his friends. "Okay, then. Let's get to work."
~*~
Sirius carefully didn't allow his nerves to show- Madeleine had summoned him back to her current base. That meant one of two things- one- that he was a dead man, or two- that she had changed her MO... again. Either way, it was not going to be pleasant.
He walked into the room, shivering from the cold outside... And stopped short. She was wearing black leather. She knew how it affected him when she did that!
Madeleine Dumoulin gave her lieutenant a bright smile. "Good news, Sirius. Winner silenced our snitch for us. He's been caught."
Sirius felt a flash of cold at her words- it didn't bother her at all? "He will tell them everything he knows, Madeleine. How can you be so calm about it?"
She laughed and stood- he was hard-pressed not to drool at the way the leather suit clung to her body and outlined every sensuous curve. "He knows little enough that it won't matter. Poor Uncle! Au revoir!"
He gulped, for once not feeling the same lusty madness her presence usually inspired in him. Her uncle! A member of her own family... and she doesn't care! He forced out a smile. "What can I do for you, Madeleine? You called me here for a reason."
With that, she was all business again. "I have received word that the Genesis hearing has changed status- it will be held next week in a closed session at the Senate in New Port City, chances are, with a full Preventer regiment doing the security. That will be a problem."
Sirius nodded his understanding.
Madeleine smiled. "I don't care how many people it takes- Winner will be there, and he'll bring the project with him. I don't need anyone in the briefing- that is already covered. I need you to get the disks from him. The project disks."
The bald man blanched slightly. "You do realize that he will be protected, too. And he was a gundam pilot. I'm not sure..."
Madeleine's smile grew sweeter, and Sirius felt a chill run down his spine. "You can still do it, can't you? Because if you don't... Well... I'd be terribly disappointed." Blood red fingernails tapped on the table with staccato sharpness. "Do you want to disappoint me again?"
Blood red nails. That was one of her secrets- Madeleine was full of secrets. But he didn't know the composition of the poison in her nail polish. It was only active when it was wet, and it killed almost immediately- he had seen it once. He had been forced to listen to the man's screams and watch the convulsions as the fast poison worked. He had even heard snippets from the autopsy report later- most of the man's inner organs had simply looked... fried.
Sirius made himself smile apologetically. "Of course I don't! I'll get them for you- no need to worry, ma chère."
Madeleine's smile brightened. "I can always count on you! I know you won't let me down!"
Sirius suddenly had his arms full with a red-headed, leather clad woman and, beneath his growing arousal as she kissed him, he felt a deep sense of dread. How the hell was he going to pull this one off?
~*~
Trowa frowned at the screen. "Fourteen bases in the mountains on Earth? That's not much to go on, Cat."
The blond frowned with his own frustration. "I know, but it's all the man knows. And it's a start. Can you have Heero check into it through his sources?"
The green-eyed man gave his lover an encouraging, if small, smile. "I'll ask." The smile faded. "If I can manage to put up with him..."
Quatre's face darkened. "Trowa, you need to back off..."
The circus performer stared back at him. "I can't get it out of my head, Cat. The look in his eyes- they used to look at me like that, before they..." He stopped abruptly.
Quatre gulped. He had wondered at why his lover reacted quite so strongly- not that they didn't all care about one another and look out for each other, but Trowa had looked ready to kill! But if this was the case... "Duo took care of it, and you know that Heero loves him, so let it go! I know they hurt you, but Heero is not one of those men!"
Trowa forced himself to nod agreement. "I'm trying, Quatre. Hey- I love you!"
The blond smiled and reached out to touch the screen, where Trowa's face was. "I love you, too. Miss you already."
Trowa's green eyes flashed mischievously. "Me, too. But you're not going to believe what Heero gave me when we got here..."
Quatre grinned. "If it's anything like what Duo gave me..." Both men laughed.
The other couple had given them copies of the security camera recording.
Trowa's quirked an eyebrow. "They probably have more copies somewhere, you know."
Quatre grinned. "Hn- I hope they enjoy them! Trowa- you guys be careful out there!"
The smile was gone, and green eyes burned into his face with alarming intensity. "You, as well. Dumoulin will be after you when you go to Earth. It scares me."
Quatre retained his smile. "I know- I'm already planning against that. We'll be fine, I promise."
Trowa kissed his fingers and pressed them to the screen. "Later, Love. Barton out."
Quatre pressed his own hand to the screen where Trowa's had been as the screen went blank. "Later, Trowa," he whispered to the darkened screen.
~*~
Trowa found Heero fifteen minutes later- the Japanese man was high up on the catwalks, peering into a shapeless hulk that was to become a gundam with a frown on his face. The green-eyed man called, "Heero?"
Heero straightened slowly, making a quick note on the notepad in his hands before turning. "Hn?"
Typical Heero- Trowa suppressed a grin. "Message from Quatre. We've got to talk."
The Japanese man simply nodded as they floated back down to the ground level and he handed his notes off to the Manguanac technician at the hulk's foot. "Call me in before installing the navigational computers."
The man smiled. "Will do, sir." He turned back to his work, and Heero followed his friend out of the hangar without a word.
The work was coming along nicely. Rashid had left with the basic plans early on the first day of their new project, leaving Abdul in charge of organizing any other information they were going to need. The result was that Heero and Trowa had found the beginnings of the machines they were so familiar with, already built upon their arrival. The more delicate computer work was left until the two pilots were there, though.
Trowa closed the door behind them and took a seat facing the other pilot. "Interrogation's over. The guy didn't know much- just that there are fourteen bases, all on Earth, located in the mountains."
Heero shrugged. "Enough to start with." He reached for his ever-present laptop and opened it.
Trowa continued, "They're already planning something for when they go to Earth. He wouldn't tell me what."
Heero grunted. "Better that way- we'll both worry if we know what risks they're taking."
The green-eyed man simply watched as the Japanese in front of him booted up the computer and, with a few commands, patched into his network. Now what? He's back to not talking again...
Trowa made several attempts at speaking before his throat obeyed his commands. "What would you do?"
Heero was silent for a few moments. "Give her what she wants, or at least appear to."
Trowa cocked his head. "I don't understand."
The Japanese finally looked up with a ghost of a smile on his face. "She wants Genesis- so let her have it."
~*~
Sally Po looked drawn and worried on Lady Une's viewscreen. The Lady felt a great sense of pity for her and tried to let her know with a light smile. "How is it going?"
Sally shook her head. "You've got Wufei's report. Not much, but I know Quatre's people are looking- probably Duo and Heero's, too. We'll find them."
Lady Une frowned. "Eventually, yes. In the meantime, she's out there and planning something else. I don't know what."
Sally rubbed her temples. "What kind of security is planned for the presentation?"
Une stared into space, reciting it off like a schoolchild. "Full battalion at the Senate, plainclothes all over town, all major entryways under heavy surveillance. Full company guarding Relena and her comrades, another squad on hand for Quatre, when he shows up."
Sally nodded thoughtfully. "Add more people- detailed to Maxwell. From what I understand, the two of them have been put on mutual protective detail by their respective lovers."
That brought a light smile to Une's face. She could only imagine what had been said! "I suppose that security clearance for Duo is on order, as well, then."
That much was a mere formality. Not only did they trust the ex-pilot with the information in question, but it would make no difference to him whether he was approved for it or not. No amount of subterfuge or secrecy would keep him from it, either, if he wanted it. "Definitely."
Une clasped her hands tightly as she got to the real purpose of her call. "Any news from the other two yet?"
Sally frowned. "Quatre spoke to them- everything is on schedule, or so he says. They're going quiet on us again, Une."
The Preventer General smirked. "And won't Wufei tell you what we want to know?"
Sally's face spread into a smirk of her own. "He might need a little... persuading." The two women shared a smile of understanding.
Sally saluted sharply. "Message received, Ma'am. Po out."
Une laughed as she cut the communication on her side. "Interrogation tactics- ha! Hope she has fun, at least. I wonder if he'll tell her anything."
She rearranged her features as her phone rang again- she would file that thought away and mull over it later... in private.
~*~
Wufei smirked. "I already said no, woman! What is there about that word that you don't understand?"
Sally tried to frown at the half-naked Chinese man sitting across from her on the bed- it was terribly difficult to stay angry at a man who looked that good without his shirt on! "I'm asking for this information as your superior officer, Chang!"
Wufei quirked an eyebrow. "Is that so? And is it normal procedure for a superior officer to tear her subordinate's shirt off and kiss him when asking for a status report? Have I been missing something?" His hands strayed to his belt buckle, and Sally's eyes were immediately distracted away from his face as he slowly undid the buckle and popped the button of his slacks. "Am I supposed to strip for Lady Une, as well?"
Sally practically growled as she launched herself across the bed and tackled the smirking pilot. "Only if you want to royally piss me off, Wufei!" She kissed him hard, pressing him back onto the comforter as she straddled across his hips.
Pulling back to stare down into his glittering dark eyes, she smiled at him sweetly. "I just want to know what you have planned, love. I know they've told you..." She began to kiss her way down his chest, sighing into his skin as she felt her hair falling free over her shoulders and onto his chest. "You know you can trust me, Wufei..." Her tongue trailed a slick path towards his navel as her hands raked down over him.
Wufei gulped for air- this wasn't wholly unexpected. In fact- he knew she wasn't expecting him to say anything. It just made it possible to tell Lady Une that she had tried everything. "Need to know, onna... gave my word... Ahh..."
She had wrestled his pants off and was teasing the tip of his erection with her tongue, kissing it in a series of small nips and licks that made him squirm and groan as his hands buried themselves in her hair, trying to press her closer to him. Sally laughed as she managed to pull back from him completely, unbuttoning her blouse as she moved. "I need to know, babe... Come on- tell me..." Another lick.
Wufei growled. "I'll show you what you need!" His hands closed around her shoulders with the sort of strength that still made Sally shiver with passion, and he pulled her up to eye level before rolling them over and crushing her lips with his own. Breaking away as soon as he was fairly certain she had forgotten all about her questions, he whispered into her ear, "You need to be fucked until you scream."
Sally could do no more than moan as he kissed her again- her clothes were completely gone, and she had no idea how he managed to do it. His hands moving over her skin- everywhere he touched felt like it was on fire. She saw stars as his fingers plunged into her, teasing, even as he swallowed her broken moans and cries in a hot kiss.
Wufei couldn't help it as he looked down at the panting woman beneath him. "So... have anything to ask me now?"
Sally whimpered as he rubbed his hardness between her thighs. "Yeah- are you gonna make love to me already?"
He laughed. "I never thought you'd ask." She moaned as she felt his body tense and then thrust into her hard.
Wufei threw his head back as her heat enveloped him completely. "Yes! So hot..."
She was panting as he began a steady, building rhythm. "Wu...fei... Yes- more!"
"Sally..." He cried out to her as he felt her legs closing around his waist, building pressure in his mind and body. She was calling to him, panting and moaning his name as he abandoned his control completely, thrusting into her, mating her...
He screamed her name as he felt the world explode around him and his mind was burned white with searing pleasure, thrusting one last time before his body emptied its essence into Sally's willing heat. Wufei had just enough energy left to catch himself on his forearms as he collapsed down.
Still breathing hard, he brushed a strawberry blonde lock out of Sally's eyes and kissed her gently, moaning into her lips as he felt her hands on his ass, rubbing and massaging him. He pulled back and pressed his lips to her forehead. "You know I trust you, Sally."
She smiled. "I know- I had to try, though. Wouldn't want to disappoint Une."
Wufei chuckled as he dipped his head to plant a kiss between her breasts. "Never!" He turned his head and flicked his tongue over one of Sally's nipples. "Hope I didn't disappoint you, either." His lips engulfed the bud of flesh and he sucked gently.
She giggled and gasped at the sensation. "I might require... mmm... a repeat performance... to evaluate properly..."
Wufei grinned and gently closed his teeth around the bud and pulled. He released her slowly, letting her flesh slip from between his lips. "Ninmu... ryoukai."
Sally lost the ability to think yet again as he kissed his way down her body and slipped between her legs again to taste her. Her last conscious thought was- Glad I don't have to report this to Une... Oh God...
~*~
Lady Une frowned as she watched the arriving dignitaries of the Winner group. Sally had reported back to her the next morning with nothing more than a bright blush and a direct quote. "You can trust us, and we trust you, but no one can trust anyone else. Please believe that I would tell you if I could, and trust me, okay?"
A useless answer. A completely useless answer! What was I expecting, anyway? Oh well- I hope they enjoyed it, damn them! Judging by Sally's blush and Wufei's annoying smirk, they had enjoyed it completely.
Her sharp eyes fixed on the other two gundam pilots present- both Quatre and Duo wore open jackets- in Duo's case, a long black duster-style coat- she smiled. They were no doubt well-armed beneath their deceptively tame surfaces. It was stupid to worry about them so much! She knew from experience just how good they were at their job, after all; hadn't they spent the better part of a year humiliating OZ over and over again? Even after she threatened to blow up a Colony...
Une's eyes trained over the crowd of onlookers- Dumoulin no doubt had people there watching all this fanfare. Damn Relena for all this! We should have them in a protected area already, but no! They're right out in the open!
Quatre himself made a break from the press- she noticed how both Duo and Wufei were at his side, placing themselves between him and the crowd. Good. Her phone beeped.
Une toggled the speaker. "Yes?"
A disembodied voice replied, "Mr. Winner and Mr. Maxwell are waiting for you downstairs. We've put them in a secure conference facility for now."
Une straightened her jacket. "I'll be right there."
~*~
Sirius smiled at Madeleine's image on his viewscreen. "They're here, chérie. Impressive security, but I'm calling this a go."
She smiled at him brightly. "I have faith in you, Sirius. You will succeed- I know it."
He smiled to hide his concern. He had recognized the other two immediately- Quatre Winner was protected by some of his fellow pilots. This was going to be messier than he thought. "Yes, I will. Have the champagne ready."
She blew him a kiss. "I will. The hearing begins tomorrow- you should wait on it until the hearing is over."
Sirius smiled. "It's already planned, Madeleine. Don't worry."
She favoured him with one last smile. "I won't. Au revoir, mon cher."
Madeleine Dumoulin relaxed back in her chair as she typed another number in, tapping her fingernails impatiently as she waited for her correspondent to pick up. He thinks I don't know- how funny! Quatre Winner, Chang Wufei, Duo Maxwell... I wonder if he really stands a chance...
The person on the other end of the line frowned at Madeleine. "What do you want?"
Madeleine smiled evilly. "I'm just making sure you haven't forgotten our little... arrangement."
It pleased her immensely to see the man pale. "I... have not forgotten. Damn you, Madeleine! You would ruin my life..."
She smiled sweetly. "You should have thought of it before you slept with me, darling. Not to mention all those others..."
The man's eyes flared angrily. "You told me you destroyed those photos..."
She winked at him. "Destroy the only things that make sure I own you? I don't think so, cher. I have two sets of copies," she lifted envelopes off her desk, "one for your wife and the other addressed to Relena Peacecraft. Which should I send first?"
He shook with impotent rage. "Damn you- you will have your information! Never call me again, you hear?"
She smiled again. "We'll see." She cut the connection.
Madeleine took a dainty sip of her tea as she jotted down some notes to herself to send the photos, regardless. He had insulted her- nobody insulted her and was allowed to get away with it!
Smiling to herself, she typed in another phone number and sat back to wait for her target to pick up. Blackmail was an old habit of Madeleine's, and she was very good at it. It always paid to have a back-up plan.
~*~
Duo was bored- there was no other word for it. He knew that an attack was coming, but it was ludicrous to think that it would happen during the very presentation...
They had to finish giving the information away before they were expendable, after all. But that the presentation was taking three days to make... Or rather, the presentation itself took a day and a half. The rest of the time was reserved for the unending debate they were now stuck in. Thankfully, all he had to do was watch his friend's back. Quatre had to do the real work!
His eyes drifted back over the assembled Senators, and he bit his lip in frustration- These conceited, arrogant shits! How dare they talk to Quatre like this...
Senator Korin was currently speaking- from what was once referred to as England, he was one of the biggest opponents to the Mars project. "This is all well and good, Master Winner, but the cost," he gave a dramatic sigh, "Could that money not be used closer to home in a far more constructive way?"
Quatre's smile didn't falter. "It is true, sir, that this will be expensive, but I would draw your attention to the fact that your government proposed this venture, and my group has managed to bring down the production costs dramatically already. As much as this money might make a difference in the short term here on Earth and in the Sphere, this project will, in the long term, be a far more productive use of the allotted money."
Korin raised an eyebrow. "Truly? And how do you see that, young man?"
Quatre threw Duo a calming look as he took a sip of water- the braided man had been more than ready to stand up and shut up some of these bureaucrats on several occasions already. "In order to construct the Mars Colony, we have to build the parts locally and ship them there. We can use the building and maintenance process to jumpstart certain local economies- the amount of money pouring into some areas as a result of this will turn them around completely! Until the terraforming project is successful, we'll also have to ship foodstuffs on a regular basis- yet another industry that will feel the impact of our project. Not to mention the sizeable scientific gains..."
Relena jumped in to the debate evenly. "If I may, I would also like to remind the group of the symbolic meaning of the Mars Project. A Brand New Start- don't those words mean anything anymore?"
Another Senator, Jacqueline Drew, from the United States stood to address the assembly. "A 'Brand New Start' all the way on Mars won't change the facts of life on this planet, Chancellor. We must be aware of the fact that this project will consume trillions, possibly with no returns, while people here on Earth starve and live in hovels..."
Nikolai Yuranov from Lithuania shook his head as he stood. "You say that because there is a growing problem in the United States, Ma'am, where it has been unknown for centuries! Where was your concern when our countries were suffering? Now that we have the chance to make a historic move out of our own Sphere, you would waste this chance? I think Mr. Winner is right- it might cause some initial, short term problems, but the long-term benefits cannot be met in any other way."
Ms. Drew's reply was inaudible beneath the applause, and she sat back down with a scowl. In a way, the United States had paved the way for this to happen- the countries of Europe, Africa and Asia had been the small players- there were no longer going to accept that! And from their perspective- when you hit rock bottom, there was no other way you could go but up.
Quatre felt a vague sense of fear as he saw Duo stiffen- the braided pilot was clearly scanning the room for threats. He could see Wufei doing the same from his position at the back of the room. Only a natural reaction, when so many people are shouting at each other. It would be a perfect opportunity to take a chance at me... though I doubt I'm really the objective.
Relena waited for the din to recede before she spoke again. "Ladies and gentlemen, I think we've had enough of this debate! I'm presenting the question to you for a vote- We have a proposed plan for the Mars project... are we going to do it, or not? The vote will be revealed in twenty minutes, but I wish to remind you all- thanks to the Genesis project, life on Mars is a real possibility! If we pass it up... Well, are we being to timid to take the chance?"
Duo was on his feet already as Quatre finally made his way down from the platform and over to him. He handed the other pilot a cup of strong coffee without comment, and Quatre accepted it with a tired smile. He took a sip.
Recovering a little, the blond turned curious eyes on his friend. "Do you think it stands a chance?"
Duo was already nodding. "As long as this Dumoulin thing doesn't blow up in our faces, yeah. You looked good up there, Winner!"
Quatre accepted the compliment with a smile. "You tensed up back there... any signs of an attacker yet?"
Duo shook his head. "No- they were all up and yelling, though. If you were the prime target and they had been able to get someone in here, it would have been the perfect opportunity."
"You still should have asked before you gave that stuff to Heero to look after," Quatre chided gently.
Duo gave a lazy smile. "Hey- you guys agreed in retrospect, so what's the big deal? It's safer there than it is here, and this is a perfect opportunity to buy us some time."
Quatre shrugged. "I hope you're right, Duo."
Wufei's slightly mocking tones brought their heads around. "Stop second-guessing the plan, Winner. Too late for that now."
The blond still looked worried. "Don't you think it's obvious? I mean, Dumoulin isn't stupid..."
Wufei rolled his eyes. "Would you fall for it?"
Quatre sniffed. "Of course not! I know..."
Duo smacked him on the shoulder. "Yeah, but if you didn't? Our security has been flawless, man- there's no way she could know!"
They lapsed into silence.
~*~
The vote was in- Lady Une was wringing her hands under the table as she leaned forward to hear what the speaker said-
The man knew that every face in the room was directed toward him, every ear straining to hear what he would say, and he reveled in the power of the feeling. With deliberate slowness, he took a deep breath. "Ladies and gentlemen, a vote has been reached on the issue of building the Mars Genesis Project. The votes are in."
There was a pregnant pause, wherein you could feel the heavy tension in the room, like the buzzing of electricity. He finally opened his mouth again. "Three hundred seventy six votes for, two hundred ninety seven against. The proposed plan has been passed by this Senate."
The room burst with noise as applause broke out everywhere. Quatre's shoulders sagged in momentary relief- they had done it! Allah help us- make this all worthwhile! We've come so far... The fact that the mission had been approved was a huge step forward, but the numbers were disturbing. Relena's coalition was barely holding, under the stress of such a huge undertaking, and if someone wanted to destroy it, there was no better time...
The blond smiled brightly for the cameras as he was surrounded by congratulations, hand shakes, pats on the back... He could see the almost homicidal looks on both Duo and Wufei's faces as he was literally surrounded and mobbed by well-wishers, and he squeezed the braided man's arm in a sign that everything was okay.
For now, at least, they were in the clear.
~*~
Heero felt a wave of relief as the news report came in- not only had Genesis passed its hearing, but no one had attacked the others yet. He was still vaguely upset at the way the plan had come together- that Duo and Quatre would put their lives in danger to protect flawed information... Granted, it was a brilliant plan- it would look bad if they just let it get stolen, but still...
They were taking unnecessary risks, and he couldn't be there to protect the man he loved.
He let out a low laugh as he watched Duo move on the screen- he had a vague idea of what the braided pilot was hiding under that coat, in terms of weaponry. Duo had a talent for concealing weapons and other things on his person that was unequalled, and it comforted his lover to know that anyone dumb enough to pick a fight with the God of Death would meet with an extremely untimely end. He, for one, had no doubts about his lover's skill.
He stood and quickly went on his way to find Trowa. If they had been right, the attack would happen very soon. He wasn't going to face not being there for his lover and his friend alone. If there was one thing he had learned in the past five years, it was that being alone sucked. Big time.
~*~
Relena and Une couldn't miss the tension in the three pilots, and they were frankly amazed that no one else seemed to notice. Not that it was at all obvious- they were acting, if anything, even more relaxed and jovial than normal- but the women could tell that whatever was planned would happen very soon, and it bothered them not to know what the pilots had devised. Especially since it was probably rather dangerous. Relena, in particular, was extremely worried. They were, after all, in her palace, and if it got nasty...
She stopped the thought right there. No matter how little you think of any of them, they are not careless and they know what they're doing! In a way, she was happy that Heero had not been included in the party- she hadn't wanted to see him with the Deathscythe pilot again, and she didn't want to think about the awful truth...
It had been bad enough that he had seen her in that God-awful pink bathrobe- she couldn't bear to think about what he must have thought of her...
"Relena, are you alright?"
She turned automatically towards Dorothy's voice and felt her smile lighting up, despite herself. This whole party- if such it could be called- had been Dorothy's idea, as a celebration of the success of Relena's initiative. The blonde girl had been trying so hard to show her support...
Relena smiled brightly. "Just a little distracted, Dorothy. This," she gestured at the party around them, "is wonderful."
Dorothy's eyes narrowed a little. "But you're worried about whatever seems to be biting our pilot friends in the ass, correct?"
Relena laughed a little as she tried not to smile and failed. Dorothy could read her so well- why did she bother to fight it? "As usual, my dear, you are right. They won't tell what they have planned."
Dorothy's hand found Relena's and squeezed gently as a show of support. "They will handle whatever it is, Relena. Don't worry."
Both girls turned to watch the three pilots as they moved through the talking mass of people. Even Relena's untrained eye recognized the loose three-man formation the pilots were managing to maintain, even with the press of people, the way they seemed in constant communication with each other. She wondered just what they could have planned...
Five heads came up in alarm as Wufei stiffened quite suddenly.
Lady Une was already moving as she watched the three pilots making some sort of silent communication- she followed behind them as they expertly made their way out of the ballroom with alarming speed. What the hell is this? Jesus, if they'd just tell me...
~*~
Wufei tensed as the alarm sounded in his earpiece- someone had hit the trip-line in their suite of rooms. He had immediate eye contact with both Duo and Quatre as they read the silent words his body language conveyed. He felt a smile matching Duo's tagging at his lips as they turned as a unit to make their way from the room- the plan was progressing just as they had foreseen it. He allowed his grin to grow as they fell into position, pulling hidden weapons from their jackets and nodding to each other in confirmation of the next phase. It never failed to amaze him, just how good the blond Arab was at operational planning.
Now he just had to hope that their luck held. It was one thing to predict an enemy's movements, but quite another to actually take said enemy on in a small enclosure.
All this for a decoy! This had better work... Wufei gave another nod and made sure he had both pilots' attention. He held up three fingers on his left hand, his eyes locked with those of his comrades as he made the silent, steady gestures. Three, two, one.
Duo kicked the door of their suite in and dove in in a well-controlled roll, rising in a low crouch with his weapon held at ready. With a grim smile and a feeling of excitement, Wufei followed him in.
Quatre felt strangely like laughing as he followed the other two in. Showtime. Gunfire exploded in the small room.
~*~
Sirius knew, instinctively, that something was wrong. It had been too easy to get in to the Palace and to find the pilots' rooms. There hadn't been any guards in the way, no obvious security measures... It didn't add up- his adversaries were not stupid men! There had to be some catch...
All the same, he quickly searched out the disks he needed while two men watched the doors. If it was a trap, the best he could do was hope that he'd be able to outsmart them...
He was facing the wrong way as something kicked the door in- he felt a flash of panic as he realized that nobody had heard anything approaching- even with his back turned, he had no doubt of who had just barged in. The sharp report of an automatic pistol confirmed his fears- the pilots were back!
He spun quickly, bringing his own gun up as he took in the scene in front of him- the braided pilot had taken his man down easily even before he rose into the protective crouch he could just make out through the open doorway between them. Another figure- another gun fired. Sirius grabbed the disks in front of him quickly and stuffed them into his vest as he released the safety on his weapon. All he had to do was to get past them, now...
He could tell by the sound of the guns firing- his men were down. He was alone to get past these three. Dammit! He nearly yelped as a body flew at him out of nowhere, an ugly knife slashing at his arm as he barely managed to get out of the way. He grabbed the attacker's wrist and wrenched the attached arm in what he knew was a terribly painful move, his own gun now poised at his victim's temple.
He looked down and felt a grin blossoming over his face. He had caught none other than Quatre Winner, himself!
He me the eyes of the braided pilot as the man came into the room, his gun trained unerringly on Sirius' head. "Drop that gun! I just want the disks- don't make me kill your friend!"
The confused and angry look on the long-haired man's face gave him a momentary flash of confidence. This might just work!
~*~
Une cursed as a hand grabbed her and swung her roughly into a side doorway. "Just what the hell do you think you're..." Her words trailed off as she realized that none other than Chang Wufei had grabbed hold of her. "What the hell is going on, Chang?! I order you to tell me!"
Wufei chuckled and pointed down at the two bodies on the floor next to him. "They're after the disks, not Quatre. Relax- Winner and Maxwell are finishing the mission right now."
"What mission!? Dammit, Wufei..."
He cut her off sharply, "We'll be happy to explain as soon as this part of it's over, okay? Dammit, why can't you trust us?"
They both turned as they heard rapidly approaching footsteps- two blonde forms darted past them in a dead run, and both felt their stomachs dropping into their toes. "Relena... oh shit!"
Wufei took off after the two with Une on his heels.
~*~
Duo tried not to cringe at the sight of the large man holding a gun on his friend- it was a position they had been in countless times before, but it never failed to frighten him, even now, when it was all planned out. He could only hope that Wufei would be alright, keeping Une and her Preventers away.
Sirius' voice was a low growl. "Drop that gun! I just want the disks- don't make me kill your friend!" Duo froze as he saw Quatre go stock still. Heero and Trowa are gonna kill us for this...
Duo didn't lower his weapon. "We won't tell you where the disks are!"
Sirius laughed unamusedly. "I already have them, Maxwell. And now I'm heading out that door and taking Blondie here with me to make sure you don't shoot..."
He stopped short as he watched a crazed grin spread over the braided man's face. What could possibly be funny about this? But Sirius' eyes widened in disbelief as his opponent reached into his breast pocket and pulled out two laser disks, identical to the ones in his pocket. "You mean these? Huh- if you really think we'd be dumb enough to leave the real one just sitting in here... Dude- I thought you knew who we are!"
Sirius felt his insides twist- was it a bluff? Probably. It certainly could be. But if it's the truth... why else would he be carrying them around personally? Jesus... He locked eyes with the amused violet ones of his adversary. "Right- you really expect me to believe that? Drop it unless you want me to kill your friend!"
The smile slid from Duo's face in a chilling gesture. "Try it and I destroy these disks. Do you want to see if I'm joking?"
Sirius weighed his options- if the braided man was lying to him, he was taking one hell of a big chance with his friend's life. Even for gundam pilots. And yet...
Duo didn't allow himself to watch as Quatre slowly drew out the syringe in his pocket and uncapped it. All he had to do was keep the guy talking for another few moments and...
The door of the suite burst open, and Duo cursed loudly as he head a feminine shriek of dismay-
Sirius saw his opening and took it. Slamming the pistol butt into Quatre's temple, he didn't stop to watch as the young blond crumbled to the ground, instead training his gun on the newcomer and squeezing off a round-
Duo launched himself into the air and straight into Dorothy Catalonia, barely managing to knock her out of the bullet's way. He landed with a jarring thud, his mind reeling as he realized that Quatre was down-
A heavy boot slammed into his chest and again into his forehead, and Duo grimaced as he cried out in shock. Sirius wrestled the disks from Duo's now limp grasp and shot towards the door- there was another woman blocking his path, but he roughly backhanded her and kept running, not looking back at who he hit...
Wufei swore madly as he saw the hulking form running in the distance. Still running, he squeezed off a few shots, his mind reeling. God- I'm gonna be a dead man... He chased the man off through the hallway-
As he turned another corner, he swore in every language he could think of. There was no sign of his target. The man had gotten away.
~*~
Une skidded to a halt by the door to Quatre Winner's room. Something had gone badly wrong- she knew it in her soul, and she was fairly certain she knew why...
Yes- Relena was out cold against the wall, and Dorothy was struggling to revive the unconscious form of one Duo Maxwell. Her eyes shot across the room- a small trickle of blood was working its way down Quatre's face from his temple, but he appeared to still be breathing...
She spun, bringing her gun up again as Wufei darted into the room and straight to Quatre's side with a cry of dismay. She holstered the pistol quickly. "Did you catch..."
"No! He got away, now help me, dammit!" Une moved automatically to obey the order- she had never heard Wufei sound quite so angry before, and she didn't want to even think of disobeying him...
She silently moved to his side as he laid Quatre out flat on his back and quickly checked him over- both breathed a sigh of relief as they realized that he was fine, apart from the knock to the head. Une stood to radio for Preventer back-up as Wufei moved over to where Dorothy was still struggling with Duo, who seemed to be waking, albeit terribly slowly.
"Shh- don't try to move too quickly, Maxwell," Wufei advised, gently pressing his friend back onto the floor as nimble fingers trailed over the other man, checking for additional injuries. He winced in sympathy as his fingers brushed something that made Duo cry out- he pulled his hand back and was horrified to find that there was blood on his fingers. "Duo..."
The braided man tried to laugh, but grimaced at the pain in his aching chest. "Didn't really get me, Wu... Not serious. We... Jesus, we fucked up."
Wufei's intense dark stare softened as he brushed the bangs back from Duo's eyes for a moment. "You're alive- that's all that counts right now. Now shut up." Both smiled at the familiar put-down. It had become their way of telling each other they cared.
Dorothy was already on her knees at Relena's side, cradling the Chancellor as tears threatened to break through. Relena... I don't know what happened here, but I think we just might have made things worse. Oh God!
Wufei turned to her with barely concealed rage. "Is the Chancellor okay?"
Dorothy shook her head. "She's still out. Chang, we didn't mean to..."
"THE HELL, YOU DIDN'T! How many times do we have to tell you that we have it under control!" Wufei exploded angrily, his eyes flashing with rage. "Another couple seconds and we would have had him..."
"That's enough, Chang," Une interrupted. "Yes- they made a mistake, but we have three men down right now and yelling isn't going to help them!"
Wufei recoiled from her retort as though stung, but held his tongue. She had a point. Shouldering Dorothy out of the way, he lifted Relena in his arms and carried her over to the bed, where he set her down carefully. He frowned as he examined the bruise forming at her temple, straightening with a look on his face that no one dared to comment on. "She'll be fine when she wakes up."
Quatre moaned as he came to- his head was pounding as though Duo were playing his antique rock music at top volume and it hurt to move... Memory of the incident flooded his mind and he snapped erect, grimacing at the pain, but bravely blocking it from his mind. "The disks... did we get him?" His eyes sought out his comrades...
He felt his heart sink as he took in Wufei's dejected stance and Duo's still unsteady and incoherent sprawl on the floor. Please Allah- don't tell me this failed... Trowa, I wish you were here...
He got unsteadily to his feet, blatantly ignoring Lady Une's attempts to help him, and stumbled to where the braided man lay, biting his lip as a Preventer medic cleaned out his gunshot wound to the shoulder. His legs gave out and he found himself sitting face to face with Duo Maxwell. "Are you okay?" he asked, his eyes radiating concern.
Duo gave him a bland smile. "Fine- just got scratched. But he got away..."
Quatre's hand flew to his mouth. "He has the disks..."
To his great surprise, Duo didn't seem at all affected by the idea. "Yeah, he does. Dammit- we almost had him! Another moment and..."
"I'm so sorry!" Dorothy whispered. "We didn't know..."
Wufei turned hard eyes on the girl. "That won't change anything now, onna."
Duo grimaced as the noise levels in the room reverberated in his head. "Enough! Look- we need..." He tried to move his shoulder as the medic finished bandaging it and winced slightly, then slowly got to his feet. "We need a secure facility, and then we gotta call the others- they'll want to know."
Wufei fixed his friend with curious eyes. Duo was too calm about this, far too calm. Why do I feel like the last person to ever know what the hell is going on? Duo met his gaze and gave him a small smile.
The Chinese Preventer felt some of his anger at their failure burning off at the look. Duo clearly had something up his sleeve, but if this meant what he thought it meant, he was going to beat the American black and blue for scaring him like this...
Leaving Relena and Dorothy to the Preventer team, Une followed the three young men out. It was time for them to answer some questions- and she wanted the real answers, for once.
~*~
Sally Po, back at the Research Facility, paled as she took in Quatre and Duo's battered states. Things had clearly not gone as planned! "What the hell happened over there?"
Duo grimaced. "I'd much prefer to explain it once. We're trying to get Heero and Trowa online- do you mind waiting?"
Sally shook her head, staring at the three and getting even more confused by the moment. The mission had not been a complete success, then, but... Wufei simply looked confused, while Quatre stared at his American friend, as though expecting Duo to perform a miracle and make it all right, and Duo himself wore a completely blank expression that gave nothing away. What the hell was it with them, anyway!
She gulped furiously as Heero and Trowa came online- she could see rage glowing clearly in both faces, and the accompanying pallor of her own boyfriend. But before even Heero could get a word in, Duo spoke up, "It's not his fault- Relena and Dorothy burst in and blew it all to hell."
Heero's face was a study in controlled anger. "Team Status report."
Quatre sighed. "I was knocked out by the bad guy, but he shot at and grazed Duo, then beat him up before grabbing the disks and running. We're both going to be fine."
Sally and Une both paled as they realized what those disks contained. "But... oh God- they have the full schematics to Genesis now," Sally muttered, her eyes going wide. "You actually had the real thing on you?!"
Quatre glared at the woman- they had had a rough enough day, already! "You need real bait to catch a bear, Sally! That's how the game is played!" Everyone stopped in shock, though, as they realized that two among them were laughing. Eyes widened even further when they realized- it was Heero and Duo! Wufei whirled on his braided friend angrily. "This isn't funny, Maxwell..."
"Oh- but it is, Wu... Aw, man!" Duo grimaced as the fire in his ribs got worse, and he stopped laughing. "Heero and I have to come clean about something."
Quatre's expression slowly became a smile as he realized just what his friend was trying to say. He leaned forward and squeezed the braided man's arm in sudden glee. "Where are the disks, Duo?"
Trowa's eyes went wide as he came to the same conclusion- he smiled.
Heero cleared his throat, drawing all their stares. "Duo and I... we talked about information security. Yes, we needed real bait to catch Dumoulin's agents. But I had a thought..." He held up a series of disks in his hands. "What would happen if we gave them the old information, from before you figured out how it reacted to radiation and ozone?"
Sally burst out laughing.
Lady Une looked incredulous. "Let me get this straight- those disks you had on you, Maxwell- they were decoys?"
Duo nodded, but was too tired and achy to smile. "Those disks do contain the chemical readouts for Genesis, but it's the unstable version. I gave the real disks to Heero before he left."
Quatre laughed, and moaned as his head began pounding again. "How? Both of us had to be there to open the safe..."
Duo lifted an eyebrow and Quatre quickly shut his mouth. And don't I look stupid! Asking the master thief how he managed to get past security! Duh!
Wufei was furious. "You nearly got yourself killed to protect bad intel?! What the hell is your problem?"
Duo cracked a grin. "They wouldn't have believed it otherwise, Fei. It had to look real!"
Une shot a glare at the braided man. "That was a pointless risk, Maxwell! You should have informed us!"
Heero's glare made it perfectly clear that the next person to yell at the braided young man was going to be sorry for it. "We couldn't and it's over. Hell- we were supposed to catch him, anyway! This was a contingency plan!"
Trowa asked, "What about Relena and Dorothy? Should we tell them?"
Une slammed her hand on the table, making the two injured pilots in the room with her wince and their respective lovers glare. "Damn you all- of course we're telling her! She has a right to know!"
Trowa spoke again, in his calm voice, "Lady, it is clear that there's a leak somewhere in her Senate or organization. She might have a right to know, but telling anyone outside of this group presents a huge risk. I think we've taken enough risks for one day."
Duo gave his friend a grateful look.
Wufei nodded his agreement. "It will not be lying to tell her that those disks contained the schematics for Genesis- they do. Are we all agreed on that?"
The five pilots all nodded, the two Preventer chiefs reluctantly giving their agreement as well.
Wufei grunted as he sat forward in his chair. "Good, then. Barton, Yuy, Sally, if you don't mind, we have two pilots to medicate now."
Heero nodded, but his eyes sought out Duo's one last time and he smiled for his lover. "Agreed. Take care, everyone. Yuy out." His screen winked back to darkness.
Trowa gave them all a smile. "No more risks, okay? Be safe. Out."
Sally frowned, but she nodded. "I don't like it, but I'll go along with it. Be careful, you idiots!" She waited for three contrite nods before she smiled and blew a kiss to Wufei. Her image winked out.
Une opened her mouth to begin another lecture, but Wufei held up one hand in a gesture of denial. "Just because Barton and Yuy aren't here doesn't mean that you can lecture us any more, Lady. My friends are hurt and exhausted, and I'm taking them away from here to rest. I'm sure your rant can wait until morning. Good night."
She stared at the door open-mouthed as it shut behind three stumbling pilots. Fine- have it your way. But the secrets stop now! That was far too close for comfort!
She stood and shut down the monitor absently before she turned on her heel and walked out. She couldn't help the fear that gripped her- it was evident that the pilots did not trust either the Preventers or Relena's people as full partners in this mission- even more evident that Sally would side with her boyfriend, if there was ever cause to have to chose sides in this.
As much as she was prepared to trust these boys, the fact that she had absolutely no control over what they were doing was more than just disturbing. If it ever leaked out, it was criminal.
Stopping outside Quatre's old room, she sighed as she leaned her forehead against the doorframe. She could only hope that this was one big nightmare, and she was going to wake up soon.
TBC...
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