Author's Note:
I don't know what took me so long to write a Gundam Wing fic, but it's probably because it's a series that has intimidated me for so long, in addition to the fact that there are so many great fics out there (especially by my inspirations Zapenstap, Crystal Delphina, Cypraeidae, Petalled, and Cupid's a Death God) that have managed to do it justice.
So now, I'm testing the waters and seeing how this will go. I have an idea in my head which is based on true events, and I hope that I somehow manage to do this right.
I do hope you leave reviews when you're done reading this chapter, so I can learn from all your comments and suggestions.
Thanks, and enjoy. :)
Disclaimer:
Gundam Wing AC is owned by Katsuyuki Sumizawa, Sunrise, and other related parties.
Lunar Ember Presents
A Gundam Wing AC Fan Fiction
Death and Taxes
Chapter 1: Shots Fired
She woke up with a gasp. For a moment she thought she could smell gunpowder and sweat and she almost choked on it.
"Alex!"
"Miss Relena, calm down!"
Her eyes flew open. She squinted and blinked, and slowly, the face of a young nurse standing over her came into view. Rearing in her confusion, she stared at her before slowly looking around to see where she was.
She was in a private hospital room. The blinds were shut, and in a corner sat two Preventer agents, one of whom stood up to leave the room, probably to report that she had awoken.
"How long have I been out?"
"Just more than an hour," the nurse replied. "You had a mild head injury, but the bullet just grazed you."
Relena suddenly felt conscious of her wounds upon their mention, and a sharp pain shot up her left arm as she felt for the bandages. They probably had to stitch me up, she thought. Another patch was placed right above her eyebrows, and although the gash it covered didn't throb as much, she knew that it would be bothersome once the anesthesia wore off.
A crisp knock almost made her jump.
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal Lady Une. She gave her an appraising look before commanding the remaining agent and the nurse to leave the room.
Once they were alone, the Preventers Director genuinely smiled. "I'm glad you're okay, Relena."
"Yes, I'm fine, but I'm worried about Agent Alex. He's the one who shielded me from the bullets." Her voice trembled against her will, and she cleared her throat to hide her rising fear. "How is he?"
The sudden darkening of Une's face made her feel cold all over.
"He's alive," she replied, but before Relena could heave a sigh of relief, the older woman added. "Barely."
"What do you mean?"
"He took three bullets for you. One shattered his right knee, and at his age, we're not sure if we can repair the damage enough to at least get him to stand up. The fall down the National Library's steps didn't help either. His brain injury was much worse than yours, and he's been put in induced coma."
Relena processed the information in silence. Agent Alex Ahlström was a veteran of the Eve Wars, a man in his late forties who was married to his job. He hadn't been assigned as her Head of Security and bodyguard long – only since this entire embezzlement hoolaboo started – but he had been kind to her and acted much like a protective father, telling her when her skirt was too short and reminding her to eat right during her long nights in the office. She had missed such affections and quickly warmed up to him, and now that his life was hanging by a thread, she felt both guilt and anger.
"Don't worry. We'll find out who's behind this," Une said, as if reading her thoughts.
"I know." The whirlpool of emotions emptied into a void, and now a strange calm fell upon her. "They probably think that I'm starting to know too much. If we find who's been embezzling the funds that were supposedly for the development of agriculture on L2, we'll catch who's been trying to kill me." She sat up, her mind in full gear. "I need to see Alex before heading out."
"No."
"What?"
"You can visit him, but you're not heading out just yet. The doctors say that you should stay the night. You had a concussion, and mild as it may be, they need to monitor you."
Relena glanced at the clock. It was a few minutes before ten in the evening. "Fine then. Tomorrow." At least she'll have more time to spend with Alex. "Sally can monitor me if she wants, but I'll need to make a statement to the press in person. I can't do it remotely, or our enemies will think that they've managed to frighten me, and I just like talking where it's safe."
"I knew you'd say that. We've already made security arrangements. A helicopter will be picking you up and bringing you directly to the Complex. You can meet the press there." Une gave her a small apologetic smile. "Unfortunately, you can't go home just yet. You'll need to stay in the safe house for the time being, where we can keep you properly guarded."
It wouldn't be her first time in the Preventer safe house. In truth it was a nice place, although the thick walls and the minimal windows made her feel suffocated. She wasn't one to complain, though. After all, she was the Foreign Minister whose life was once again in danger.
"Lastly –" the Preventers Director paused, as if considering what to say next. "Lastly, with Agent Ahlström out of commission, we've assigned a new head for your security team."
Although she hated the idea of having somebody else get in the line of fire for her, she knew it was necessary. Besides, if she were to get to the bottom of this scandal, she needed protection.
"Who'll be assigned to me?"
Right on cue, a knock came from the door. Une nodded curtly. "Enter."
Relena thought that her concussion was making her see things. It's been three years after all; three long years and lonely years that she had not seen his shadow. But the unruly hair that swayed to the burst of air conditioning as he came in was real. The Prussian blue eyes that bore into hers were real.
"Heero."
He stared at her wordlessly, and for all her oratory skills, she couldn't for the life of her say anything else. She hadn't even been considering seeing him, much less having him duty-bound to always stay by her side.
"Agent Yuy has been briefed of the situation, but I assume that you have more to discuss," Une said after awkwardly clearing her throat. "I'll leave the both of you for now."
She barely acknowledged her when she left. Neither did Heero – he had never been one to salute authority, nor was he someone who preferred working with a group, thus it came as a surprise that he arrived in full Preventer uniform.
"It suits you," she said, her formal-sounding compliment belying her stirred-up emotions. "Are you really working with them now? Because the last time – "
Relena cut herself short. The last time she saw him was during her oath-taking as Foreign Minister, where she spied him in the crowd in plain clothes, watching her. As she continued speaking, she threw a questioning glance at Duo who was then requested to join her retinue. The former Deathscythe pilot followed the line of her gaze and nodded back at her, tapping the barely seen communicator in his ear, indicating that he was part of her security, too, albeit incognito.
She later learned that a threat to her life had pulled Heero out of the woodwork, but true to form, he disappeared right after her safety was ensured.
That was three years ago. She could remember only a few times she saw him before that.
"I do hope that one day you'll visit not just because somebody is trying to kill me, but because you actually want to see me," she chided as she watched him pull a chair to her bedside. Totally ignoring her comment, he took an apple from the fruit basket that sat nearby and started peeling it with his Preventer-issue combat knife.
"You should eat," he muttered. "You're looking wan."
She stared at him in disbelief. She didn't know if the situation was absurd or romantic – here she was in a hospital after surviving an assassination attempt that hurt someone she cared for, and Heero suddenly appears after years of absence, pushing to the surface feelings she had fought so hard to bury. Now here he was at her bedside, cutting up an apple with a knife from his boot as if nothing had happened and they've just seen each other yesterday.
Relena suddenly wanted to cry. Then she wanted to shove the apple to his face. But as she stared at the offered piece that sat on the tip of his knife, only a question escaped her lips:
"Will you stay this time?"
Her words came out sounding like a professional inquiry and she was glad that they did, because the last thing she felt at that moment was professional.
He looked at her with unreadable eyes and nudged the apple piece closer.
"Eat."
With a sigh, Relena took the fruit and nibbled on it. Yes, she should eat. She should eat and get better and get back at those who hurt Alex and who betrayed her and the colonies by stealing from the people's treasury. There was no time to think about anything else, even if he stayed close to her that night.
Relena knew that everything she had experienced in her twenty-four years was more than what most would go through in a lifetime. Many called her strong and some even called her emotionless, but neither was true. The reality was that during the war and everything else after, she was more often than not frightened: she was frightened when she lost her father, when they crowned her Queen of the World, when Heero said his farewell before facing her brother, when they all looked to her to rebuild their lives. It would probably surprise many that what always made her conquer her fears was more than just pride or courage – it was anger fuelled by injustice. And it was the same anger that she felt as she gazed at Alex Ahlström through the window of his room the following morning, watching as doctors and nurses worked on him.
"This is my fault," she whispered.
Heero's voice was deep and smooth behind her. "It isn't."
"I should have been more careful," she continued, feeling tears form in her eyes. "I knew I would be trampling on the toes of powerful people when I discovered the scandal, but I didn't take extra precaution. Now – "
She bit her lips. She wouldn't cry. Foreign Ministers don't cry.
"He was doing his job, and he did it well. Now it's time for you to do yours."
She turned to look at him. His gaze held her, quiet and honest, and she knew that he was right.
Roughly wiping her eyes with her palms, she swallowed back her sobs and stood to her full height.
"How many hours do we have before the press con?"
"Two."
"Good. I need to speak with Lady Une."
A Preventer agent met them outside the ICU, saying that the Director had called for a meeting. Impeccable timing, Relena thought as they rode the elevator that brought them up a few floors. She needed to focus what's to be done. Worrying about Alex solved nothing, and thinking about Heero was not helping any.
They alighted and walked through a quieter corridor that led to one of the doctors' lounges. An agent stood in attention by the door and saluted as they entered.
The cozy room was a mess. As it was made to be the temporary base of operations while Relena was in the hospital, there were laptops and Manila folders on every possible surface. She heard Heero snort as she saw Duo on one of the couches playing with his game console. Wufei seemed to be engrossed in several reports, while Lady Une motioned the new arrivals towards her as she spoke with someone over the video phone.
"Sit," she commanded. "I'll just put them on holo-display."
Heero passed behind Duo's couch, reached out, and pressed the off button on his console. Relena tried to stifle a giggle at the latter's loud protests, focusing instead on the 3D images of Milliardo and Noin as Une powered up the projector.
"You gave us a scare, Relena!" Noin's sister-like tone was something she had missed. "Your brother and I took the first shuttle available to leave Mars when the report came."
"I'm sorry to have made you worry – "
"We'll be arriving in two days," Milliardo interrupted. She didn't miss the guarded look he gave Heero. "You need to be well protected."
"Let's deal with the pleasantries later. We all need to be on the same page right now." Une stood up and started pacing. "Chang, were your sweepers able to locate those behind yesterday's shooting?"
The Chinese man shook his head. "Whoever did this was good. They made a clean getaway."
"So we can't link the incident to those behind the funding scam."
"Not yet, but we have something that could probably help." He produced a thumb drive. "We found this in the area where one of the shooters was positioned. The data needs to be decrypted, though." He turned to Duo and tossed it to him. "That's your job."
Duo caught it, his earlier frustration towards Heero forgotten. "How tight is it?"
"Pretty tight," nodded Wufei. "It may take you a week or so."
The brown-haired man snorted. "I can probably decrypt this with my toes while sleeping."
"Get on it right after this meeting, Maxwell," Une sat down. "As for the embezzlement issue -"
"Yeah. That. It's been sort of confusing me, so let's start from the top," Duo said, avoiding Une's stern gaze at being interrupted. "Lena here found out that money that was supposed to go to development of hybrid crops in L2 isn't going to where they're supposed to go, right?"
Relena nodded. "I realized it during one of my visits. The Farmers' Union told me that they were still using seeds that have little yield and die easily, even after I've ordered more funds to be siphoned to agricultural research. Apparently, none of the budget reached them."
"If we're talking about money and farming, that would put L2 Finance Secretary Bloomberg, Agricultural Secretary Nielson, Undersecretary Ogata, and Representative Kraz in the spotlight."
"Yes."
Duo whistled. "Big people."
"With the exception of Bloomberg," Heero piped in. "I already did a background check on him. He's clean."
"So that leaves us with Ogata, Nielson, and Kraz."
Noin's voice cracked as the signal slightly wavered. "The shooting happened just when you've started keeping an eye on them. Someone probably took notice, panicked, and attempted to silence Relena."
"It'll take more than that to silence me."
"Hopefully not another agent."
Relena turned sharply towards Wufei and was about to retort when Heero spoke. "Back off, Wufei. Now's not the time."
The Chinese agent huffed in his seat. Relena glanced at her companion in silent gratitude, but his gaze was already on Une.
"If you children are done arguing, we could probably start putting eyes and ears in the L2," the Director sighed, rubbing at her temples. "We need Barton. Chang –"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Go with Po and pick up Barton. His troupe is in Geneva. Get him, brief him, and send him in right away. And give Yuy a few of your sweepers to assist with Relena's security. Preventer visibility may make these terrorists think twice about doing anything stupid."
"Understood," Wufei's voice was strained, but whatever dissension he had about handing some of his men to Heero for her protection, he didn't speak it.
"Zechs," Une continued. "Contact Quatre and explain the situation to him. His position may get us information about these officials. Yuy – "
"The Foreign Minister's security retinue has been dispatched on the helipad and at the Complex. Everything is secure."
"Good. Keep your eyes peeled and report any developments to me right away." She closed her folder with a snap and stood. "That's all for today. Now get to work."
Relena could already see press people milling about the garden of the ESUN Complex as the helicopter made its final approach. She also spied Wufei's sweepers in full Preventer field uniform. K-9 units moved around the perimeter, passing several members of her retinue who stood in strategic locations.
This is too much for security, she thought, but then again, Heero was not one to make compromises when it came to her safety.
The man in question sat beside her, adjusting his aviation headset and speaking in low tones. The pilot acknowledged him with a thumbs-up sign, and she felt the aircraft slowly make its descent.
For the first time since last night, Relena allowed herself to appreciate the sight of him. Heero had always had a rough aura when they were young, but now it was replaced by a refined sort of lethal grace which revealed itself even in the most minimal movements. Where lesser men struggled to look good in a nondescript agency-provided black suit, he did it without effort; his quiet confidence more than made up for how oddly it fit in some places. In fact, he even looked better than most of the celebrities on the red carpet of some awards night show she saw on television a week ago, and the dark clothing only accentuated his deep blue eyes, which were now looking straight at her.
"Is anything wrong?" She heard his voice crackle into her headset. Ruffled, she shook her head and looked away, hoping that he didn't see the blush on her cheeks.
"Don't worry," he continued as they landed. "You'll be okay."
And all of a sudden, she was. The fact that he was with her now seemed to make things a little easier.
The reporters and journalists were all over her once she finished making her statement, questioning her about her injuries and who she thought was behind the shooting. As she had discussed with Lady Une before she took the podium, she gave no mention of the embezzlement scandal: the Director needed to keep it under wraps so the Preventers can move in secret as much as they wanted, while she needed to keep the people's trust on their relatively young government.
As she was about to leave, a voice called out her name. She didn't know why or how she heard it over the noise, but she did, and she turned towards it. A man about her age wearing glasses waved frantically at her, and when she met his gaze, he lifted a hand to his ear, mimicking a phone receiver. By this time Heero had followed her line of sight, and blatantly placed himself between her and the man.
It was then that it happened.
A single shot cracked through the air like lightning. Chaos ensued; some people scampered away, some fell to the ground, and there was screaming. Wufei's sweepers and her personal guards ran to where the shot came from, and it was only then that she realized that she was crouched low on the ground, her body held against Heero's and her face pressed against his shoulder. His pistol was in his hand, and vaguely, she heard him question her if she was okay. When she nodded, he pulled her up and pushed her towards the main building.
She couldn't say anything as they fled, not even when she saw the man who had called her name lying face-down on the ground.
To be continued.
