Author's Note: MY RETURN TO WRITING!! I HAVEN'T PUBLISHED IN SOO LONG! (or it seems like it) anyway….This is based on the movie The Usual Suspects so just remember that I don't own it. I have no clue as to how to spell Hilde's last name, so deal with it. I'm not done with the story, I have six completed chapters thus far, but I won't be posting them all at once. Hah! Oh, and you'll love what I have happen to Relena… well.. you'll love it if you hate her, if you like Relena, then deal with it!! You'll have to be dealing with a lot, now won't you? On to the fic…
Fic: The Usual Suspects
By: Maxwell-Yuy
The Usual Suspects: Chapter OnePresent Day
Preventers Station
"Commander Zechs, you can't interrogate this boy. He's protected by powers high above you and I. He has total immunity. Last night we got a call from the Mayor, this morning a call from the Governor. I'm betting the Prince of Darkness himself has this boy under his wing."
Stopping his brisk walk down the hallway, Zechs turned to face Noin. "Noin, we have an entire abandoned colony up in flames and drifting slowly out of orbit. There are thirty-two bodies lying in the coroner's office and maybe more to come. We've got one person in critical condition at the hospital on L-4. This boy is the only real survivor. I read his testimony twice on the way over here and he's leaving something out. If this was an arms deal, where are the guns? I need to know what really happened. I need to know that Heero Yuy is really dead."
He whirled about and marched determinedly towards his temporary office which was really just a small room crowded with papers that interns used to store all of the memos that the officer's didn't want to handle. Noin ran to catch up, "but Zechs… He's not that stupid. He'll know that any interrogation room will be wired. He won't talk. We couldn't get anything from him all night and his bail posts in two hours, three tops!"
They were in the office now, and Zechs looked around, clearly disgusted with the disarray. His eyes suddenly flashed. "How about right in here? This room obviously has no real use. It won't intimidate him."
***
Present Day
L-4 Hospital Burn Ward
"Hi, I'm Dr. Sally Po. I hear you have an interest in one of my patients, am I right?" The bleached white look of the hospital made the doctor look almost sickly pale as she extended her hand in greeting. Howard took the hand, noting the fatigue in her eyes – colony doctors tended to be overworked and underpaid.
The older man, pleasantly surprised by the firmness of the doctor's grip, smiled. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am interested in one of your patients. You have a burn victim in your ward, and I need to ask her a few questions." When the doctor just stared at him, Howard blushed and fumbled with his words. "Oh, I'm sorry." He pulled out his ID, "I'm Howard. I'm a Preventers agent. This burn victim of yours is a witness to a crime, and we need all the information we can get." His smile grew even more as the doctor verified his ID and beckoned him to follow her.
Taking him into a restricted area, Sally handed Howard a change of clothing and a facemask. "Burn victims are very susceptible to infection. You'll need to be disinfected before you enter." As Howard changed into the highly unfashionable blue hospital staff garments, Sally continued. "We've got a positive ID on the patient. She's one Hilde Schbeiker."
Howard emerged, "I want guards at her door," he said. "She's dangerous. Either that, or the people who did this will attack her if they find out she's still alive." He looked down at Hilde, covered from head to toe in bandages. What little skin showed was red and bubbled from the burning. He didn't think she'd make it, or even want to. As he made note of her condition, she began mumbling incoherently. "Can you make her shut up?" Howard asked after a moment or two of Hilde becoming louder and louder. She was almost screaming now, a wild look in her eyes. Howard backed away and grabbed his cell phone as nurses ran to tend to her.
"…understaaand! K-k-k-kkilng, kling mny men! I zaw--" Suddenly she screamed clearly, "Kaiser Ghede!!"
Howard, who was on the line with the Preventers trying to get a hold of any agent to report to, stopped mid sentence. "No Shit," he said in awe. "What was that again?"
"Kaiser Ghede! Kaiser Ghede! Kaiser Ghede!" Hilde's screams got weaker as she went on, but the urgency was evident in her eyes.
The cell phone caught Howard's attention again. "What? Oh, never mind. Scratch that... Find me Zechs Marquise."
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