Morning arrived too soon for Nicole Gardien. Today was the first meeting of the joint team, was that the right word to use? She would call them a task force as this wasn't a full on peacekeeping mission if it felt more like that. Maybe just calling it an investigation team would be the best idea. "I really need to get around to reading the profiles of the team members. Luckily, I'll have some time before the meeting begins. We're lucky that everyone agreed on a neutral location."
After a much needed shower and a proper breakfast, Nicole gathered everything she would need at the meeting. It was short drive to the meeting hall where the team would meet for the first time. She saw several members of the UN Peacekeeping Force wearing their Blue Berets, (it was the nickname for the Peace Force), talking with the members of the National Police who were assigned to this mission. Already she could see tension building. Hopefully she could ease bring the two forces together.
A short time later the two groups gathered in the meeting room. It was impressive with two crystal chandeliers and large open windows providing plenty of light. Replicas of famous paintings hung on the wall. In the center a huge long table had been set up. There were plenty of seats for everyone considering this was a small organized mission. Members of the National Police sat on the right side and the UN Peacekeeping forces on the left. There was a single chair set up on the far end for the liaison to sit. It would be up to Nicole to ensure that the two groups worked together.
Taking a deep breath she spoke first. "Bonjour tout le monde. Je suis heureux de vous voir. Je pense que, ensemble, nous pouvons réaliser nos objectifs grâce à la paix et à la coopération." She repeated her greeting in English for any member who didn't know the language. The feeling of animosity went down a smidge. "I understand that everyone here is a bit on edge. So I ask that Captain Raymond Tremaine of the National Police and Peacekeeper Force Leader Alana Decker to explain what the goals are and how we can work together."
Captain Tremaine stood up and reiterated the goals of this team. One, determine once and for all, if President Hollande had been telling the truth about his and the Cabinets lack of knowledge, on Paris's heroes. If it was proven they had no knowledge then they would move onto goal two. Determine if there was a conspiracy going on and who was involved. Lastly, gather information on the heroes, then capture them, and finally interrogate them to find out who they really were and their goals. If possible, they also wanted to capture the "villain" and do the same to him.
"I understand that many of my fellow officers are indebted to the heroes, but I assure you that we can handle this problem ourselves. All the goals I have listed have nothing to do with any mandates of the goals of your team Ms. Decker. President Hollande can trust us to handle internal security matters," stated Captain Tremaine in calm voice that also held a bit of disdain in it. The middle age balding cop looked across to his counterpart with a challenging look.
If the younger petite woman felt intimidated she didn't show it. Standing confidently she replied in a respectable tone. "Captain Tremaine, our presence here is not in any form to show disrespect to you or your fellow police members. We are here to help complete ongoing peace building operations. The only thing that has changed is that the UN Security Council believes that they need to expand our orders."
"Since when are you Blue Berets involved investigating governments?" one officer barked out. Captain Tremaine went to reprimand him, only for an angry response from one of the peacekeepers. "The Security Council would not have approved of creating this joint team if your country wasn't a security risk!"
"Are you saying we asked for a terrorist attack?!"
"Of course not. No one deserves that. I'm merely pointing out that your reputation needs a boost."
"Oh and what about you Peacekeepers? Blue Berets, you should be renamed the black berets for all the rumors and under handed s…."
"ENOUGH!" Nicole shouted startling everyone. She glared at all of them forcing everyone to sit down. Only the leaders were left standing waiting to see what she would do. It was her duty as special liaison to ensure clear communication from both sides. She looked at each member of the team making sure they sat up straight and listened.
She reached in her briefcase and took something out. It was several pieces of paper folded together. She cracked the paper before rolling it out. As it rolled pop ups of the entire city started appearing until all of Paris stood before them. Some of the parts of the city had been circled in blue, indicating areas still in need of help. Red circles indicated areas of potential interest. Half blue and half red circles dotted the city in several locations. "This map represent all of Paris. What happened here was terrible, worse a leader of a country, didn't have access to all the information he needed. The Security Council order this discreet investigation to prevent another disaster. All of us here want the same thing. To ensure the continuous peace and security of this city as well as the country at large. By joining forces not only do we have two pairs of eyes on every matter, we increase the chances of this mission being accomplished in a short amount of time."
Captain Tremaine and Ms. Decker nodded in agreement. Each of them wanted to succeed with this peace/security mission. Settling back down the meeting finally got underway without interruptions or potshots taken at one another. The last of the animosity disappeared as the two leaders worked out plans together.
Nicole Gairden paid close attention, offering her advice and making suggestions to the plan. A few members of the Peacekeeping Force had come to offer assistance to finish fixing up the damages from the attacks. It would not look out of place for a few police officers and one or two Blue Beret guards to be walking around making sure everything was returning to normal. It was also a great chance to get information on Ladybug and Chat Noir.
Captain Tremaine assured that his police would investigate the members of the Cabinet and the Ministries. Afterwards they would bring their findings and go over them with the UN members who would take a second look on the findings. Together they could determine what their next step would be.
Joint teams would be sent to find out how information had been restricted only to the city. If there was a conspiracy ongoing they would put an end to it. Both leaders asked if Ms. Gairden would help them. They needed someone to investigate the Mayor of Paris. He was under suspicion because of his ties to Ladybug and Chat Noir. He was also the only one in Paris that had the power needed to cover up something this huge. The Special Liaison agreed to take the mission and promised to follow any leads that came up. Another meeting was scheduled in a few days to see how far they had progressed. The investigation could officially begin!
Arranging a meeting with Mayor Bourgeois for the afternoon, the secret agent came up with a plausible and workable cover story so not to arise the suspicion of the mayor. It would help give her access she needed for the investigation. It would also give her chance to talk with the Deputy Mayor Anne Hidalgo, (the real current mayor of Paris) about her boss. Since the Council was not meeting today, the meeting was scheduled to take place at the mayor's hotel, the Le Grand Paris.
Ms. Gardien was greeted at the hotel by the doorman as a butler escorted her to Mayor Bourgeois private suite. For the meeting she had chosen to wear a neutral tan jacket over a white blouse with a knee length skirt, ivory tights and low brown heels. Her jewelry was a simple silver pendent and earrings. It was important that she look professional as a member of the UN, but at the same time down play her real intentions by not looking as a threat to the mayor's power.
A few minutes later she arrived at his private office. "Mr. Bourgeois, may introduce Ms. Gardien, Special Liaison of the UN," the butler announced. Mayor Bourgeois acknowledged her and gave her a firm handshake which she returned in kind. She took a seat across from him as the doors closed. "Greetings Ms. Gardien. It is my extreme pleasure to welcome you to the Le Grand Paris. It is a great honor to meet a member of such an important international organization."
"How charming, it is my great honor to meet with you Mayor Bourgeois. It is not every day one meets a genuine and great leader such as yourself. The way you have kept this city going after such a travesty is impressive. Your example has helped the residents of the city return feel safe to resume a normal life."
Mayor Bourgeois preened in delight. He puffed out his chest a little and adjusted his sash. He loved being complimented. Trying to act humble he leaned forward on his desk. "I pride myself on being a good leader. It takes a strong will and discipline to ensure to keep Paris in order. I must admit I'm surprise that the UN felt it necessary to send a liaison such as yourself here."
Running a finger through her blond wig, Ms. Gardien smiled at him. She assured him that he had nothing to worry about. Her presence here was nothing more than a formality. Once the Peacekeeper Force was finished she be returning with them. "To be honest I was sent here for another reason. As you know, France is one of the permanent members of the Security Council. After seeing how well your country has dealt with the terrorist attack, my superiors thought this would be the perfect opportunity to launch a new initiative."
Before he could further ask about the initiative, the doors to the office were flung open as a loud scream of "DADDY!" accompanied it. Stomping into the room in a fuss was his daughter Chloe. "I need to talk to you right now!" the teenager shouted even louder than before. She rudely shoved past the seated guest before standing in front of the desk.
Looking a little embarrassed, the mayor attempted to take control of the situation. "Chloe, you know you're not supposed to interrupt any meetings I have here. Whatever you need can wait until this is over."
Chloe rolled her eyes and huffed. She muttered under breath how her problems took precedence over any stupid meeting with someone with no fashion sense. Standing her ground she refused to leave. "I'm not leaving until you hear me out." The blond was about to start gesticulating when Ms. Gardien cleared her throat.
"Mayor Bourgeois, please excuse me if I'm not using proper manners, but is it not customary for a person to be introduced properly to anyone who attends a meeting? If I understand correctly, family matters should be held in private not in front of guests."
The mayor nodded and introduce his daughter to his guest. Chloe begrudgingly returned the introduction. After that was done he politely asked his daughter to apologize to his guest which she did. Ms. Gardien accepted the apology and explained that in America it was not polite to mutter or make rude comments about one's clothing. Nor was it proper for a child to be interrupting a meeting between adults. Chloe appeared upset that someone was correcting her behavior. Her father asked her to leave once again and this time she did.
"I'm sorry about that, my daughter usually is more conscious of etiquette in these situations."
"It is not my place to judge your family members Mayor Bourgeois. I only ask that in the future, during any meeting that we not be interrupted by what appears to be a private manner." In her head the liaison wanted to tell him exactly what she thought about the rude behavior only it wasn't proper manners in France to do so. Instead she got to the point of the meeting.
She explained that the Peacekeepers Force was undergoing serious changes as was the Security Council in hopes to deal with the international crises that were growing by the day. Because of the changes in the next few years; a new generation of peacekeepers would be needed to uphold the ideals and improve successful missions. Her hope was to speak at schools to encourage students to think about this as a possible career for them after they had complete their education. She also wanted an opportunity to speak with members of the Paris's municipal council to see if they were interested in joining the UN once the changes were completed.
While it wasn't traditional for decisions to be made during a meeting, the mayor agreed to her request to make up for the bad manners of his daughter. He promised to arrange her plans and would get back to her in a day or two. The meeting ended with a proper handshake and goodbyes. Once she was gone, the Mayor headed to his daughter's room to speak to her about her inappropriate behavior.
Meanwhile, when Ms. Gardien/Peace Keeper got back to her hotel room she removed her jewelry and took out her computer from her suitcase. The earrings were highly sensitive recording device that picked up on conversations going on in other rooms. Her pendent was a specialized camera that could take pictures in different EM spectrums. Combined with her perfect memory it would take little time to find out if the mayor was hiding anything. "Time to find out what secrets your hiding mayor. I can't wait to see and hear what you do when you think no one is watching."
The next day at Collège Françoise Dupont, Marinette arrived early for a change. Both she and Chat Noir had agreed that they needed a good night's rest if they wanted to be on the top of their game if Hawkmoth sent another Akuma to attack during their relief efforts. They could afford the break anyways now that the cleanup and repairs were near completion thanks to a new infusion of Peacekeepers aiding the efforts.
"Hey girl, you're early for a change," Alya told her best friend as Marinette slid into her seat. "I didn't think I see you up this early. Did you come early to talk to Adrien?"
Marinette's face flushed profusely. "Alya! Please stop teasing me."
Alya laughed at her friend's whining. "You just make it to easy. Seriously girl, why are you here early? You're almost always late despite living just a block from the school."
"I got a good night's sleep for a change and decided to come in early. I don't want Ms. Bustier to lecture me again about tardiness." She smiled and pulled out her sketchpad from her book bag. "I also wanted to show you my finished design for the unconventional fashion contest. Take a look."
It was an impressive design for something that wouldn't be made out of normal materials save for the muslin needed to hold it all together. Marinette had decided to use items, used in designing and making clothes, as her materials.
Instead of a dress, she had decided to go with a jump suit, to stand out from other designers. The legs of the jumpsuit would be made with a combination of different size needles with spools of thread to make a unique pattern. The pattern would be repeated with scissor handles and colored pencils on the quarter length sleeves. The hip and collar of the suit would be decorated with pincushions to give dimension and texture to the suit. The top of the suit would be made out of tape measure strips turned backwards to give it a clean and polished look. Overall it was an impressive job for an amateur designer first time working with none fabric materials.
"I can't wait to see this jumpsuit Marinette. It's sure to win the contest. Do you need any help getting the supplies?"
Marinette didn't get the chance to reply because two shadows fell over the best friends. It was Chloe and Sabrina ready to dish out their usual cruelty. "Are you kidding me? That design is even more pathetic then your usual ugly garments." Chloe stated. "Are you too poor to afford real clothes?"
"Maybe she should start wearing bread instead of clothes!" Sabrina added gleefully. "Then you can have a snack whenever you wanted." By this time most of the class had arrived and were trying to stay out of Chloe's way. None of them liked Chloe's cruelty, yet standing up to her usually ended up with them suffering even worse than the original victim.
Marinette trembled trying to keep her temper in check. "The contest is to see how far a designer can push themselves when faced with unusual client request. It's supposed to look like that."
"What a ridiculous notion. No one with any good fashion sense would think about asking for something like that. No model would even be caught wearing that at any fashion show, especially not my Adriekens."
"I wouldn't be wearing what?" a voice asked. Everyone's eyes latched onto Adrien, who had just entered the classroom with Nino. The boys had been having a discussion but stopped once they heard Chloe use her pet name for him.
Chloe launched herself at Adrien pushing Nino aside. Batting her eyes she told him all about Marinette's awful design and what a joke it was. Gently dislodging the blond he responded to her. "I heard about that contest. My father is going to be one of the judges. He says it's the best way to find real talent because a true designer can make anything look great."
Chloe started to backtrack talking about how his father had such an expert eye when Ms. Bustier came in. "Alright everyone take your seats. I have a few announcements to make and I need your full attention." Adrien slid into his seat and gave Marinette a reassuring smile that made the girl blush even harder. Wondering why she always got so nervous around him Adrien turned his attention to the teacher.
Ms. Bustier checked her clipboard before proceeding with her announcements. She reminded everyone that there would be a drill tomorrow to practice the new procedure from attacks at the school and for evacuation. Her next announcement talked about how a few rooms would be closed for the next few days, including the library and the science lab, as crews would be working in them to update them and link up the new security system. Her last announcement perked the student's interests.
"Two days from now, we'll have a special guest visitor talking to the different classes. This visitor is a member of the UN Peacekeepers. She'll be talking about the future of the Peacekeepers and answer any questions you might have if you chose to volunteer for the group after you completed your schooling." She gave the class a sharp look. Her body language indicate that they needed to take this visit very seriously. "This guest is a very important person. I want you all on your best behavior and give the respect the speaker deserves. Am I clear?"
The class responded with a positive yes knowing that detention would be the least of their worries if they did something disrespectful to the guest speaker. As the class got underway Chloe rolled her eyes muttering to Sabrina about how awful the speaker would be.
Marinette was intrigued by the upcoming speaker. Honestly, she had never thought about being a peacekeeper before. Now that she was Ladybug, perhaps she could learn a few things that would help her make a difference as just her. She didn't know that Adrien was also thinking the same thing. It would be great if he could do something important as himself then as Chat Noir.
In their hidden bags, the Kwamiis thought about the announcement too. Plagg wondered if the speaker would bring cheese. He always wanted to try American cheese to see if it tasted just as good as Camembert. On the other hand, Tikki wanted to learn more about these peacekeepers and if their job was similar to a Miraculous Holder.
While Adrien and Marinette were stuck at school, Nicole/Peace Keeper was getting a tour of City Hall by Deputy Mayor Hidalgo who was quiet a lovely woman. "Thank you again Deputy Mayor Hidalgo for the tour. I'm sure that you have more important matters to be attending to right now."
"It is no trouble at all Ms. Gardien. The Council is not meeting until tomorrow. I'm already prepared for it so you have no reason to worry. Is there any place that you really wanted to see?" Deputy Mayor Hidalgo asked. She was a highly accomplished woman and her political career spoke for itself. For the meeting tomorrow she was prepared to fight further for her ban on diesel engines cars on Parisian streets.
The duo paused before some of the famous artwork that hung in the building. Truly the painters had created magnificent works of art to be enjoyed. "I must admit I'm a minor historian Deputy Mayor Hidalgo. I understand that it took nineteen years to reconstruct the building after it was nearly burnt to the ground in eighteen seventy one. It took two years to get the materials and budget to start fixing up the building. Do you know if there are any secret rooms or passages that might have been created during the reconstruction?"
"Why does everyone imagine that about old buildings? Well, if there are I haven't found one yet. It would be a great find if there was something like that would be discovered." The Deputy Mayor turned back the young woman and asked again if there was a certain place she wanted to see.
The Special Liaison nodded explaining that she would love to view the Council's meeting hall and stop by some of the offices. It was common knowledge that many councilmembers would work at city hall as they prepared for an official meeting. The DM was more than happy to show her the places she mentioned.
While the DM showed her around Ms. Gardien would occasionally stop in the halls and take a closer look at the details before continuing the tour. I hope she never learns that I was comparing public records on the building to see if there are hidden rooms and passages, Nicole/Peace Keeper thought to herself. She rather liked the middle age woman and could tell she's be a great mayor if she ever needed to take over.
After reviewing the data she had collected the other day she had discovered something that was slightly disturbing. Photos of Mayor Bourgeois desk had reveled at least two false bottom drawers. One of them held a secret stash of Scottish Whiskey, a favorite foreign drink, among the elite. The other drawer was by far more interesting. There had been several different files in there. While her camera had been unable to capture the paperwork inside the files, three of them had intriguing labels. A file marked LB & CN, another with Chloe's name and the word happiness on it, and lastly a file marked simply "PTGPIPBAMN." "He really needs to use less obvious anagrams if wants to keep things private."
"I'm sorry Ms. Gardiner, did you say something?" DM Hidalgo asked. They had just finished touring the meeting hall.
"Pardon my faux fa, I was lost in my private thoughts. I said that your hybrid council is very similar to the Security Council. It will make my job so much easier to do. Now shall we get to the offices wing? I am eager to meet your fellow colleagues."
That was an extremely close call. I need to keep focused on what I'm saying out loud while my brain works through my private thoughts. Another slip up could draw suspicion to me and I can't afford that. Okay I'll need a distraction at one point so I can check the offices and see if the Mayor's hiding anything in his. I'm not going to have a lot of time so this better count.
Meeting different council members from the different arrondissement turned out to be a very pleasant occasion. Many of the members that lived in the tenth to the thirteenth expressed their thanks to her and her Peace Keepers by giving her the kiss ritual. It was making her feel uncomfortable, but she didn't want to sound rude.
After finishing her talk with the members of the effected arrondissements, (while also getting information about the mayor through passive questioning), Nicole's hand slipped quickly into her jackets and pressed the extra button inside. The lights turned off leaving them in the dark because the curtains had somehow been shut tight keep the place in the darkness. The people in the building started yelling in a panic. The ladies agreed to split up to check on the council members and find a solution to the problem.
"Finally, I really hate acting like a spy. Sometimes doing the right thing can put you in these awkward situations," Nicole Gardien/ Peace Keeper whispered to herself. The watch she had been wearing started to glow; lighting her way to the Mayor's private office. It was an old lock so it didn't take long to get inside. "Fifteen minutes tops is more than enough time to do a quick search."
She pulled out a few seemingly normal items from her purse; a hand mirror, a phone, and a pen. Easily dismissed objects. Grabbing the mirror, she used her glowing watch to aim the light off the mirror to the different walls in the office. Bingo! Her earlier efforts on locating hidden passageways had turned up a secret escape route that started in the office, on the left side of the room, then went down and opened up in the garden. Using the phone she sent out an EM pulse in the room to knock out the electronics, including the one securing a hidden compartment on the top of the desk. Reaching inside, the secret agent smiled.
"So you do have something to hide. Lists of names of members in the Cabinet who owe you are favor, some bank records, and private contracts with the media. Better copy it all quick." Using her pen she traced every bit of information on the papers with the pen, which stored it away in the memory drive inside it.
"Okay seven minutes to clean up the room and get back to where I need to be. I need to verify my findings and talk with Captain Tremaine about what he has to say." Setting everything back where it belonged, she collected her stuff and made her way back to the meeting point. Her distraction would be coming to an end and hopefully no one would discover what had caused it.
Two days later everyone in Ms. Bustier's class, except for Chloe and Sabrina, had arrived early to class and many were wearing much nicer clothes than usual. Nathanial had combed back his hair so it didn't fall into his eyes and Kim smelled of cologne. Alix had even put on make-up! It was really strange.
"I can't believe that one visitor could make all our classmates show up so nice! It's really strange, but kinda exciting," Marinette told Alya. The teen designer giggled looking at Alya's tamed curls. "How long did it take you to use the straightener?"
Alya stuck her tongue out at her best friend. "My mom got me up extra early to help me with this," indicating her straight locks and how they had been molded around her face to give her a clean look. "I told her I was hoping to interview the speaker and she informed me that if I was going to be talking to a member of the UN, I better look the part of a real reporter." She started tugging on the collar of her freshly ironed hand me down suit she had gotten from her dad.
"This thing itches like crazy. Maybe you can fix that later."
Marinette told her maybe. Between her "extracurricular" activities, class president, and working both in the bakery and on her design, she was a bit swamped at the moment. Taking a quick glance at the boy, Marinette had a dreamy look on her face as she admired Adrien's custom made semiformal outfit. His jacket had been replaced by a tux jacket, his shirt was cream colored with stylized symbol of Gabriel Agreste's business, and wearing dress pants, that actually were made of denim. "What a handsome boy."
Adrien turned around not quite hearing what Marinette said. "What did you say Marinette?"
"I said…what do… you clothes… eep handsome… ah!" the blushing sputtering teen girl just sank beneath her desk unable to communicate further. She gave a pleading look to Alya, "Please fix this!"
Adrien had a very puzzled expression on his face. What did he do that caused that reaction in Marinette every time they spoke? Alya rolled her eyes a bit about the boy's naïve knowledge about girls. Beside Adrien Nino just shrugged his shoulders indicating he couldn't help here.
"Marinette said she loved how handsome your clothes are. After all she's a designer and it's always fun to look at another person's design and wonder if you can something similar or better than what you see."
"Oh I get it now. Yeah my father's designs for me are always custom made. Thanks for the compliment Marinette." The girl had managed to get back in her seat and nodded her head.
The tardy bell rung as everyone sat straight up. The door flew open and in walked Chloe wearing an outlandish designer dress. It was tight yellow spaghetti strap dress that hugged her body and showed off her figure leaving next to no imagination. For accessories, she was wearing huge diamond earrings and necklace. On her head was a red fedora that sat delicately on her head not messing with her perfect hair. You could hear her yellow and orange heeled sandals as she marched to her seat. Following behind her was Sabrina carrying a jacket that was supposed to go with the dress. "Oh don't hold back on your applause. I think I look magnificent. Don't I Sabrina?"
"Yes Chloe, no one will be able to look at anything except you in the room!" Sabrina praised. That was the point. Chloe didn't want to waste her precious time with Adrien by having to sit through an entire period listening to some nobody.
"Chloe! What is the meaning of this?" Ms. Bustier demanded. She had entered the room moments ago asking the students to help set up for the speaker. Seeing the effort everyone had taken to look respectful and behave properly made her heart fill with joy. Hopefully there wouldn't be any problems like last time. She didn't think she could handle another Akuma in her classroom. As the students got to work that's when the Mayor's daughter was exposed in her inappropriate outfit.
Chloe rolled her eyes before responding, "What are you talking about Ms. Bustier? I haven't done anything except come to class." She saw the teacher looking at her dress. "I didn't know you liked designer clothes Ms. Bustier. This one is a favorite of mine. It really shows off my perfect body."
"Ms. Bourgeois, what did I tell you two days ago during my announcements?"
"You said that someone from the UN was coming to give us a lecture and that we needed to look our best. That's why I chose this outfit." The teacher took a few deep breaths before speaking again. "Ms. Bourgeois, I said that I wanted you and your classmates behave and respectful of our guest. You're dress is not appropriate. Glancing at the clock, she didn't have time to send Chloe to Mr. Damocles and finish prepping the room.
"Sabrina, give Chloe the jacket please. Chloe, you are to remain seated at all times and cannot ask any questions. After the lecture is done, you are going to go to Mr. Damocles office to talk to him about your clothing." The teacher held up her hand and told her if she mentioned her father once more she be serving detention today.
Everything was set up just in time. Two Peacekeepers, a man and a woman, flanked a well-dressed woman, who wore a badge stating her name and position as Special Liaison. She gave off a warm aura and spoke kindly to the teacher thanking her for letting her come on here on such short notice. Taking her place in front of the class Ms. Gardien introduced herself and her colleagues.
"It is such an honor and privilege to speak to you knowing that you'll be changing the world in new few decades. I hope the legacy my generation leaves behind, will not be of war and terror, but hope and peace."
Placing something on the easel she began her speech. "I don't know if you children here know what the United Nations is and what we do so I'll give you a brief overview." She flipped open the first page of her presentation. It was a short history about the founding of the UN in October 1945 in response to the ending of WWII. The five forming members, including France, to prevent wars and help countries in need. These needs include human rights all the way to protecting the environment while creating a social economic for an effected region.
"The UN has five primary bodies: The General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, The International Court of Justice, and the one I work for the Security Council. All five of these bodies work together alongside with several different organizations to promote peace and help the world not fall apart."
Pausing for a moment to make sure she had their attention she flipped to another page discussing the role of the Security Council and how missions were decided before getting to her main point about the Peacekeepers.
"A Peacekeepers job is challenging one. Not only do they have to help aid and protect people who have suffered greatly, they must work with what government is left while making suggestions to help with getting trouble zones get back on their feet.
Peacekeeping is founded on three principles. One, consent of different parties. Not only must the UN come to an agreement the different factions of the conflict, they also must agree to work together. My job as a Special Liaison, is to work as mediator between the groups and help form compromises, so that the peace missions can continue to operate smoothly."
The next point she discussed was remaining impartial to the conflict around them. No matter what they thought or how they felt, a peacekeeper needed to keep a clear head and focus on the mission. The last point was not to use any force of any kind unless it was self-defense or making sure the mission mandate wasn't violated.
With the help of her assistance she described some of the expanding duties of a peacekeeper, such as disarming mines and to help with facilitating the creation of elections. The main goal of every mission was to create peace, building a trust between groups so that the conflict didn't resume. Sometimes they had to help enforce the peace to resolve a conflict.
Gesturing to her two guest, Ms. Gardien asked them to explain about how to become a peacemaker, what missions had they been on, and what was a considered a successful mission.
While her colleagues were talking, it gave the secret agent a bit of time to relax before finishing up the presentation. She decided to observe the class for a few minutes. Most of them did appear to be interested or at least being polite enough to listen to the speakers. One student, a girl with red hair and glasses, had her camera out videotaping the whole thing. It took a moment for Ms. Gardien to place her.
"So that's you blogger Alya. Is she planning to post this online? Hopefully it gets the right attention." Continuing her observations, she saw potential in each student. The two shy ones wouldn't be good in the field, but perhaps could help with the recruitment process. The boys would make excellent Peaceofficers.
Then her eyes locked on two students. A girl with bluish black pigtails and the blond haired boy who sat in front of her. Again a sense of familiarity filled her mind. Inside her pocket, the charm warmed up at the same time, unknown to the wielders, their Kwamiis felt a vaguely familiar sensation in their heads.
A small headache was forming in their heads and the three humans. All of them had their head resting in their hands. About a minute passed and the sensation was gone.
"What just happened? Could I be getting a stress headache?" Marinette whispered to herself. Once again she felt as if someone was watching her. She glanced at her bag hoping Tikki was okay.
Adrien tried to brush off the small headache. If someone was attempting to read his mind, it didn't work. He hadn't felt something brushing through his thoughts, just a slight pain. He hoped Plagg had an explanation for what happened
Ms. Gardien was giving her final statements now. "Peacekeeping is not easy and you're not always going to be successful. This job can bring out the best in people and the worst in them. The Security Council is reforming the rules for recruitment, training, and deployment. With this changing world our organization has to attempt and be ready to serve justice to everyone, including putting peacekeepers who broke rules and did horrid things, on trial."
"Not only will our recruitment officers have to meet tougher requirements, background checks and a psychological evaluations will become mandatory. All volunteers will be undergoing a new training program to help prevent future culture shocks and learn how to defend yourself from unwanted attention. Deployment of the Peacekeeping Force will be specialized to help provide the right people to ensure success of the mission.
As we speak the Security Council is drafting a new conduct and discipline policy to ensure the safety of every member of the Peacekeeping Force. This will also help with bringing justice to any victims of corrupt incidents. Thank you once again for listening to my presentation I hope that I have inspired some of you to join us one day."
It took twenty minutes to answer all questions and pass out information brochures. Marinette and Adrien appeared lost in there copies. Nicole/Peace Keeper looked at them for a few minutes then left with her group to give another presentation in a different classroom. Whatever happened in that room, would have to wait until later to figure it out.
Later that day, about an hour before dinner time, the joint team met up again after three and half days apart. In this short amount of time, they had gathered a great deal of information that would help focus the mission. No one in the city suspected anything, such as an international investigation, was happening in their city.
This time the meeting started on a more pleasant note. Everyone on the joint team appeared to very kind towards each other. That gave the secret agent hope that this meeting would run smoothly. "Alright, everyone quiet down. This joint team meeting is very important. If it's alright with everyone, I would like to hear about the peacebuilding efforts before we talk about the investigation."
Ms. Decker nodded and started to read the reports out loud. "Peacebuilding efforts are nearly complete. The restoration efforts in the tenth and eleventh arrondissements have been completed. The theater should be up and running in a few days. The twelfth just needs a few more things done and that aspect of the mission will be complete."
Everyone cheered upon hearing that news. Completing the repairs was a great occasion to celebrate. The city's residents were sure to be more relaxed with the last of the attack visibly gone. During their efforts they had managed to get a lot of information on Ladybug and Chat Noir.
Listening to the eye witness reports helped confirm the reports the Security Council had received. Ms. Gardien/Peace Keeper also learned a few things. The heroes seemed to have a time limit of how long they could hold a transformation. The pictures of the partners showed them using special powers, ones that couldn't exactly be explained right away.
Many eyewitness gave character descriptions praising them. Chat Noir was seen a funny, helpful, and very charming young man who went out of his way to make sure both citizens and his lady were safe. Ladybug characteristics were smart, brave, selfless girl. Without her the people turned into Akumas wouldn't be returned to normal and the damage wouldn't be cleaned up.
"Hmm very telling. Thank you for the reports. While they are strongly indicating that these heroes genuinely care for the city, looking beyond the surface is still important. Also we're lacking in information about the character Hawkmoth I believe." She turned to Captain Tremaine and asked what his officers had found.
Captain Tremaine reported that through their efforts, and with the help of the Peacekeepers Force, they were able to verify that the President was telling the truth about no knowing what was going on. The Ministries had also been investigate. Especially the leaders of the Ministries of: Finance and Public Accounts, Interior, and Culture and Communications. While the leaders of the Ministries had been cleared, they were still some suspicion of other top ranking members in each one that was under investigation for some unusual activity from them.
"Does any of this fit in with what you learned about the Mayor and his council during your investigation. Any evidence you have was obtained by my orders; if you're concerned about that."
"It was very awkward situation no doubt. What I uncovered though has convinced me that this security investigation was needed." The special liaison showed them pictures and copies of the files she took. She also played the audio she recovered. Each piece of evidence she presented showed that Mayor Bourgeois had been in touch with some of the ministries suspects and that he gathered a lot of information on the heroes. The audio had picked up conversations in the hotel about the staff wondering why their boss was acting very strange as of late.
"While I wasn't able to access the files in his home office, I do know that his anagram folder stands for, "Plans to gain power in Paris by any means necessary." Clearly he is trying to hide something, but what I can't say for certain. The secret passage in his office is troubling, but I'm not sure he's aware it exists."
"I hate to believe that Mayor Bourgeois is conspiring with members of the ministries for a yet determine purpose, but your evidence is compelling. As for the heroes your right about finding out as much as we can about them. I don't believe in magic despite the many eyewitness testimonies telling me it does exist."
"If they have some advance technology that allows them do the things they do, isn't our responsibility to learn about it and what threat it possess to international security?" Ms. Decker added.
"Agreed, here's my suggestion. Captain Tremaine, some of your officers should continue to investigate the conspiracy we uncovered to gather enough evidence for an arrest. The rest of them can join you in interviewing the list of Akuma victims we've obtained. Ms. Decker the same goes for you. Divide the team up to complete peace building and anyone with special talents assist with this task. Is that okay with everyone?" They all nodded in agreement. It was time to start zeroing in on their suspects and get to the truth of the matter.
