Woke Up One Morning... Part 53
Wincing as I continue to walk down the hall, I hiss in pain and pause to rub my right leg within its brace. Heero stops immediately to turn and frown in worry, "Are you alright?"
"Yea," I answer with a forced smile. "Feeling a bit of the effects from running on this earlier now that the adrenaline's worn off. The brace helped take some of the impact, but I still took a lot of it." When the concern on my husband's face only deepens, I sigh, "If it will make you feel better, I'll ask the nursing staff for some pain meds to take the edge off."
Just as expected, that more than appeases 'Ro and he smiles, "That would make me feel better, thank you." Quickly wrapping his arms around my waist, he easily lifts me in the warped gravity and holds me out towards the conveyor belt. Rolling my eyes, I humor him once again and grab the next hand grip to be carried down the hall with my partner right behind me.
Much as I normally hate being babied, I have to admit I kind of like it when it's coming from Heero. Luckily, my back is to him right now that he can't see my smile to take it as encouragement.
A guy has to keep somewhat of his independence, you know.
* * * * * *
When we meet up with Lady Une in the medical wing of the ship, there is little said between us other than what is needed to find one of the trusted nurses that has been looking after Ivanov. Nodding to the Commander, my husband and I leave her behind to follow the young woman in scrubs to one of the rooms hidden in the back of the whole ward.
Her head of red hair lowering, the nurse points out the closed door and takes her leave with a quick and polite parting phrase. Clearly, she really does not want to be around for whatever may happen with our questioning.
Since I am not really sure what Heero and I are going to have to do to get what we need out of our prisoner, I can't say that I blame her for leaving so quickly.
Just standing before the door for a moment, I take a deep breath as I face 'Ro and ask, "Ready?" He answers in a simple nod, face cold and blank of any emotion.
I turn to press my hand against the door and push it open easily. Stepping inside, I take in the too-white walls of the relatively small room meant for one patient. That said patient is lying in the bed with his top half propped up, his arms hooked to an IV and a beeping heart monitor.
When my eyes meet his cool gaze, his pulse quickens the slightest bit as his eyes narrow heatedly at me and my partner.
That less-than-pleased to see us response was expected. After all, Heero and I denied him his attempt to avoid the fate that has caught up with him.
Grinning, I approach the white-blanketed bed and pull up a chair by Ivanov's head. "Can't say I'm any happier to see you," I greet curtly. "But, here we are. Guess we're all just going to have to accept that." Those piercing eyes snap at me and that mouth curls back in a silent snarl.
Heero positions himself to stand at the foot of the bed, arms folded and keeping a close eye while staying in striking range in case our captive should suddenly try anything.
"Sorry to have ruined your plan to escape the justice system, but life isn't exactly fair sometimes," he says without any real sympathy in his voice. Both the glare and snarl are directed in his direction now.
I recline back in my chair and nod, "Just like it hadn't been fair to the agents you killed when you attacked Preventer headquarters. You ruined many lives that day... robbed children of their parents, parents of their kids, spouses of their loved ones."
Leaning forward as Ivanov's eyes peer back at me from their corners, I smirk darkly. In little more than a whisper, I growl, "And you are going to be spending many years in a cell smaller than this to think about that."
His eyes widening and blinking at that, Ivanov searches my face as well as Heero's while his heart rate spikes for a moment. Snorting, my husband shakes his head, "You didn't really think that anyone is going to push for the death sentence after your little stunt, do you?
"Death will be far too swift and easy on you for all that you did. You wanted to make yourself a martyr to your fellow terrorists, but they'll get to see what kind of life is really waiting for people like you."
Ivanov's neck moves in a rough swallow, but the beeping from the machine calms back down. A cloud goes over his eyes as he stares out, appearing to not be paying any attention to us anymore.
Still leaning forward, I add, "And life in those maximum security prisons is not the cake walk that convicts of more petty crimes face. You'll be guarded by former Preventers and other military men who have no trouble making the lives of monsters like you a living hell while everyone else looks the other way."
Pushing myself back into my chair, I shrug, "But there is one way you can get some kind of satisfaction out of all of this." Despite his best effort to keep appearing angry or even uninterested, the slight pick up in his heartbeat gives away his want to hear more.
"We want the name of the person responsible for the attack on the Assembly," 'Ro orders. "The name of the man who is also the reason why you are here now instead of running your underground chemical business."
No immediate answer comes, not even so much as a blink. This is his last chance to win over us by withholding something that we want. And so, I press on by playing on his pride.
Smirking, I tell him, "See, we know how men like you work. You sell weapons as powerful as the Glycaminum that you had produced knowing ful well that your clients would be too afraid to use it at all in the end. But what they do with the stuff doesn't matter when you're the one making a mint off of the sale. You control everyone linked to you by fear- whether it be fear of the weapon or fear of you. "
Against what I am hoping his better judgment would have had him do, Ivanov actually does crack the tiniest of proud smiles at that. From the corner of my eye, I can see Heero's face reddening in rage that the bastard would be that happy with himself. Hell, I'm having a hard time containing myself.
Slowly taking a deep breath to calm myself, I rise to my feet and bend at the waist to breathe in his ear, "Well someone didn't care who the hell you were, or what you could do. Someone was desperate enough, wanted badly enough to use what you gave them that they went and threw you under the bus. Your whole organization would have been unknown to the Preventers, or any law enforcement for that matter had it not been for that idiot."
I throw a little hissed emphasis on that last word, since it came from our prisoner, himself.
"Yet, here you sit," Heero smirks in amusement. "And wherever they are, they're probably laughing at you right this moment." Nice touch from my partner, leaving out the fact that we're two of the few who knows he is even alive. Tilting his head, he asks, "You're not going to let them get away with that, now are you?"
Finally... that cloud lifts over Ivanov's blank eyes as they thin in a fiery glare. Fists clenching tightly at his sides as he continues to look forward without really seeing, he growls lowly, "No."
Snapping his head to meet my gaze, he nods firmly, "I will tell you who it was." A finger raising before I can get too excited, he demands, "Under one condition."
I'm about to snap that he has no place to call any shots when his lips curl up in a menacing smile. "I want him to be assigned to the same prison where I will be sent... so that I may thank him for all of this, personally, should our paths cross again."
Well now... that actually is something that I wouldn't mind agreeing to. Sometimes you have to let the rodents work out their own problems between them.
The side of my own mouth tugs up as I promise simply, "Done."
* * * * * *
At the end of our meeting with Ivanov, Heero and I step our of the medical ward to give Une the name of our new suspect. Quietly, we begin discussing our next course of action when the sound of footsteps rounding the corner has us all ending our talk quickly.
Making his way into view, Scott Daily is as pale as can be and looking very much as though he is about to be sick. Seeing the three of us a few feet ahead, he freezes in an instant, eyes widening. "So, Ivanov is alive, then?" he whispers more out of confirmation than in question.
Stunned, my back straightens stiffly along with Heero and Une.
Daily raises his hands at our states of alarm, reassuring in a rush, "It was just a thought I came to on my own and told no one else. I also understand your reasoning for keeping this a secret."
Approaching us slowly, he swallows and confides quietly, "There is something that has been quite troubling to me that I need to talk all of you about."
* * * * * *
Early afternoon the following day, I am sitting in the secretarial office of the local Senator. C40 is actually quite beautiful this time of year. Never been to the Colony before today.
At the ring of her phone, the receptionist picks up the receiver and greets, "Yes, Senator?"
She pauses then smiles, "Very well, sir. I will send him in." Lowering the receiver, the blonde young woman grins kindly to me, "Senator Laux is ready to meet with you, Agent Yuy-Maxwell."
I return her smile and bow my head with a polite, "Thank you." Getting to my feet and adjusting to the brace as it sets in, I move for the closed door to the right of her desk. At the buzz, it opens to me when I near so that I can enter without having to pause for a moment.
Blue and gold are the main color schemes inside the office. From the ceiling to the carpet, those are the dominate hues. The walls are covered with placards of medals won in the service, certificates of merit in the political world and other awards.
Seated at the elaborate oak desk, carved with images of griffins at its sides, Senator Pete Laux smiles widely and stands up. His gray hair shines in the sunlight pouring through the window behind his tall, lanky frame. The laugh lines move along his face as he greets, "Agent Yuy-Maxwell. I must say it is a pleasure to finally meet you."
Holding out his hand, he nods, "Since knowing the identity of you and your fellow former-Gundam pilots when I was inducted into the Assembly, I must say that it is still amazing to me how as such young men you managed to end the wars. Everyone still living since then owes you all a great debt for your service."
As I shake his hand, I raise my other and smirk, "Aw, no need for that. We were just doing what we had to, same as anyone else would have done if they were in our places." Pulling my hand back, I tell him, "I appreciate your meeting with me on short notice."
"Of course," the Senator grins. "Please, have a seat," he offers and gestures to my brace. "I can see that you could stand to take some weight off of your leg, there."
Chuckling, I gladly take up the plush chair before his desk and shrug, "Hazards like this come with the territory of working with the Preventers. At least my earning this wasn't in vain since we managed to catch the bad guy."
Laux sighs, "Indeed. Good news travels very quickly in the Assembly when it involves the man responsible for attacking them. I know that I speak on behalf of everyone on the board when I extend the deepest thanks to you and all of the Preventers for your tireless effort to apprehend Ivanov."
Nonchalantly flipping his hand in the air, he states, "Though it would have been nice to have had the chance to see him receive the justice he deserved, it is more than a relief to know that he is no longer a threat."
I bite my bottom lip and smirk, "Oh, I'll bet that you in particular are relieved as hell to have him out of the picture."
Blinking in confusion, the Senator frowns deeply. "I am afraid I don't understand what you mean by that."
With a smile I inform him, "I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but Ivanov is alive." His clear blue eyes widening and skin paling, Pete's jaw drops. Folding my arms behind my head, I add, "And he had quite a bit to say about his dealings with you."
Shaking his head as his hands begin to tremble on his desk, Pete breathes, "T-there must be some mistake. I was told that..."
"Yea, Scott Daily mentioned how you were the first on the board to call for information on Ivanov's condition after the news of his capture spread. In fact, you called several times as we all waited to find that out," I comment.
Raising an eyebrow, I add, "You had assumed that he wouldn't think anything of it. Unfortunately for you, Scott is a very smart man and there was enough in your tone and insistence for answers that tipped him off that something was wrong."
I lower my arms to my sides and continue, "So, I did my own homework on you. It took quite a bit of hacking into secured military satellites that even the Assembly do not have access to. Much to my amazement, I came across pictures of you meeting with Leonard Halstein only a week before he blew himself into a smear outside of the Assembly's main gathering hall."
With a sharp back of a laugh, I exclaim, "And it got even better when I found out that you only knew how to get a hold of him through his ties to the man you had made a substantial payment to for the same chemical used in the hit!"
The skin of Laux's face almost turns green as his mouth opens and closes without a sound. My eyes narrowing, I lunge forward and slam a fist on his desk. "You needed a seat opened in the Assembly after you had been looked over in the original selection process!" I scream in his face, finally able to let out the rage that has been boiling inside of me.
"You son of a bitch, if you had just waited a few more months, did you know that additional seats were going to be added?!" I yell at the stunned man. "You're a Senator... a representative of the people and a defender of the peace, for Christ's sake! Why?! Why the fuck would you have done such a thing?!"
Fully shaking now, Pete takes a moment to collect himself.
Then, I can see the wheels in his head turning when he gasps and his eyes widen again. "Y-you said that you were the one who researched this information?" he asks in little more than a whisper, the desperation pouring from his eyes.
My own eyes narrowing further, I hiss, "That's what I told you."
That glimmer of hope grows as he breathes, "And you are here alone."
Spreading my arms our, I turn and laugh, "Who the hell else do you see?!"
"Well, then," Laux begins, suddenly gaining more of that confidence I had seen when I first walked into the room. Keeping his voice low, he warns, "Then I suggest, for the sake of your dear home Colony that you forget all about this."
Surprised by this sudden turn in the conversation, it's my turn to blink. "Do you really think that it would stand a chance at receiving the aid it needs if I, an avid supporter, were taken away for such a heinous act?" he smirks. "You wouldn't even live long enough to see it receive any support."
That smirk grows into a grin as he vows, "If I stay on the board, I promise that I will have those other representatives crying, begging for the opportunity to extend their hands to the people of L2."
Sitting back in his chair, he questions, "In the end we would both have what we want. For me, I would keep my freedom and for you, you would at last see your kind flourish with the same privileges that the rest of the Colonies and the Earth take for granted."
Unable to breathe for a moment to take all of that in, I stammer quietly, "Y-you really would do that?"
"You have my word," he reassures, not a hint of hesitation or dishonesty in his tone.
A soft snicker bubbles from my chest that grows into a louder snicker... then an outright round of laughter that has Pete looking a bit on edge over how to read my reaction. Shaking my head, I unbutton the top of my uniform shirt and tell him, "You know, I only came in here alone to try and get a confession from you."
To his widening eyes, I expose my chest to where the wire that I am wearing is taped. "And now, you can add attempted bribery of a law enforcer to your list of charges," I sneer just before the door behind me is forced open by my partner.
Jumping to his feet, the startled Senator watches as Heero keeps his pistol and heated glare trained on him. "Hands behind your head," he orders in a growl that leaves absolutely no room for argument under the threat of bodily harm.
Not wasting a second, Pete obeys as the realization of his situation takes hold. Frowning deeply, he stares out ahead with the dread sinking into his features.
Wufei entered the room and walks around my husband with a pair of handcuffs in hand. As he moves for the Senator, I tell our shell-shocked captive, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used as evidence against you in a court of law..."
And with every word that comes thereafter, I can finally breathe in relief knowing that this hellish nightmare is really over.
TBC...
Back to SkyLark's Fanfictions Page