Steganography
Summary: The year is AC 197 and it was after the greatest war that the Earth and the colonies in their desire to live peacefully formed the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, an assembly of democrats with the power to rule and duty to promote peace… And to accomplish that duty, they created the Preventers, a group of agents to accomplish this goal but unfortunately, having considerable time doing so. Enter Duo Maxwell. He's sexy. He's arrogant but most of all, damn good in what he does the best - being death. Was it just coincidence or fate? AU can contain shounen-ai.
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam wing, its characters and some other excerpts familiar to the original storyline. I'm just a fan who likes to make up stories around them. I'm poor.
He scanned the surrounding area with interest. At the right side of the room, sat a man and a women surrounded by a couple of bags and a crying baby. Their rumpled appearances hinted them as travelers probably making a last minute stop before going to a motel for the night. To the left part of the café sat three more people, talking and laughing while alternately, eating from their plates. From their black leather to their silver chains and youthful appearance, they look every bit like teenagers who just came out from a bar or a party. Finally, just behind him, was a man in his forties nursing a drink as he stares wistfully at the window. Though, what could he have been remembering to have brought him too much pain, he didn't know and frankly didn't want to know.
Just one fact stands out: The people in the area seem to be unexpectedly varied - not the usual array of customers that he would have expected at this time of the night. Weird but not unpleasant. This was L2 after all. Nights like this are rare but treasured in this type of colony.
Then again, the café seems to be filled much less from what he was used to. Even the few patrons who managed to stay here at this hour, he hadn't seen before. Though, come to think of it, it was rather late even for him. In fact, he was pretty sure that if it wasn't for his appointment, he wouldn't even consider going here himself.
And there she was.
A blue-haired woman in full garb entered, scanning the room before allowing a waitress to direct her towards the more private area of the café where he was sitting. From her features, he assumed that she was more or less in her late 20s.
"Agent Death?" she asked once she was within distance. No smile. No hesitation. "My name is Noin. Lucrezia Noin. I'm a recruitment officer for the Preventers - Earth side." She lifted her hand to shake. "Commander Une spoke to you on the phone?"
He stood, taking the proffered hand. "Yes. I remember. You said you wanted to meet with me?"
Noin nodded, signaling the waitress to leave them. She sat down.
"Yes and I don't believe in wasting time so I'm going to go ahead and tell you why I asked you to come." she said, sternly.
He nodded, taking his seat opposite that of Noin. The waitress bowed giving them both menus before leaving.
"Of course. What exactly do you need me to meet you for?" he asked.
"Your qualifications are excellent." Noin began. "It is in our belief that you will be a great asset for an upcoming mission on earth. However, no mention was made anything about you, where you lived or what you did before AC 195."
She slid a small manila brown envelope towards him. "Care to explain that before anything else?" she asked as he opened the envelope to reveal a copy of his resume and portfolio.
He paused looking at the papers. The baby by the right area of the café continued to cry but other than that the area was quiet.
"I had an accident." he said finally. "I was on coma for one year and woke up without memory. They told me that I was lucky to be found, if at all, by one of the salvage ships leaving L2...with a standard military bracelet no less that has my name engraved on it."
Noin looked at him grimly. "And what made you decide you wanted to be a Preventer? With this kind of past, the Preventers will be taking a risk just to employ you…much less for a more confidential and controversial assignment." She frowned. "- even with the achievements you manage to acquire after AC 195 as a Preventer agent here in L2."
He sighed, running his hand over his long chestnut hair. What else is new?
"Yes, I realized that. But you have to understand, the Preventers' primary goal is to protect the peace, something which I believe in." He looked at the woman intently. "I don't know why but even with little to no memory of my past, I believe that this is something I'm supposed to be doing. I want to help, Ms. Noin. That's why I become... a Preventer."
They stared at each other and for a moment, Duo could not help but feel hesitant.
Would the woman overlook his qualifications because of his unknown past? he couldn't help but wonder. Will she accept it? Turn it down? For a work with this level of responsibility, it was definitely understandable. He could hardly expect the Preventers task force in charge of security in both the Earth and the colonies to be lax at choosing their agents. Especially on more important assignments.
Finally, Noin smiled and he was able to breathe more easily.
"Then welcome to the team, Mr. Maxwell." she said, picking up her menu.
He grinned, fingering his own menu. "Just Duo, Ma'am." He leaned forward. "Now, tell me. What exactly do you need me to do?"