Chapter 2
Heero's ready to punch someone by the time the board finally lets her leave the room. Sally Po and Agent Parks are outside, awaiting their turns to be questioned. Heero wants to reassure them both that she's fine, but Sally at least won't be fooled for a second. Heero doesn't think that Parks would be, either. Her shoulders are still tight with anger, and the scowl on her face must be something fierce. She practically stomps over to them.
Sally winces, while Agent Parks looks at Heero sympathetically. "That bad, huh?" Sally asks.
Heero forces herself to take a slow, deep breath, trying to let go of her anger. "That bad," she confirms.
Agent Parks sort of slumps against the wall at this confirmation. Heero's not worried about him, though. He's had a week to heal, and while he's obviously not back to his full strength yet, Parks looks well on his way. Besides, she thinks that Agent Parks is made of sterner stuff than that bunch of bureaucrats behind the door.
Heero can't tell him the questioning is nothing to worry about, though, since even she's mentally exhausted right now.
"Agent Yuy," Parks says after a moment, straightening up from the wall, "I want to thank you for saving my life." He smiles. "Hell, my wife wants to hold a parade in your honor, I think."
Sally chuckles, but Heero shifts, uncomfortable. All she did was her job. Still, she understands being grateful to someone who saves your ass when you really need it, so Heero nods at him in acknowledgement. "You're welcome."
Heero doesn't know if Agent Parks wants to say anything else, because he's called in front of the board before it becomes an issue. "Tell them to get you a chair if you need one," she advises just before he opens the door. "Medically, you have a reason to ask."
He shrugs. "Should be fine, but we'll see. Maybe I'll ask for one anyways just to annoy them."
Heero knew he'd be fine. With that last comment, he walks inside. Sally barely waits until the door closes behind him before she grimaces and gestures silently down the hallway. Heero's brows furrow as she follows. "I wondered why you were here so early," she says to the older woman. "Your own interview can't be scheduled for this soon after mine."
"Actually," Sally responds, her voice very wry, "mine was officially supposed to start ten minutes ago. I knew they'd be way behind, though, you're right. I came early to talk with you."
They stop just a little ways down the hall. Technically, Agent Parks' interview could be over at any minute, though Heero doubts it. Either way, Sally should at least appear to be available at a moment's notice to give them her testimony. Heero and Sally lean against opposite walls so that they both have a clear line of sight down the hallway. "What's wrong, Sally?"
The older woman pinches the bridge of her nose between two fingers. "You're not going to believe this," she says. That's not a good start to the conversation. "There have been some rumors going around about you."
Heero snorts. "Of course there are," she agrees. She even heard some of them as she was coming into the building.
But Sally shakes her head. "No, not that." She chews briefly on her lip. "There's rumors about you… and Agent Parks."
Maybe it's her hesitation in the middle of the sentence, but Heero doesn't even have to ask Sally for further clarification before she understands. And Heero thought she was angry before. It's nothing compared to how pissed off she's becoming now. "That's ridiculous," Heero says, snorting in contempt.
Leaving out that Heero would never fraternize with another agent, Parks is happily married. The man has pictures of his kids displayed in his office. Heero's disgusted that others would actually believe that the man would cheat on his wife.
"It's because he's the only other witness," Heero says. It's not a question.
Sally sighs heavily. "Yes," she agrees. "They can't discredit his actions, since he was obviously wounded, so they're undermining his reputation. Also, if the board believes that you two are sleeping together, then they'll think you collaborated together on your story."
"This is so stupid," Heero says, grinding her teeth together out of sheer frustration. "This whole mission has been one fuck-up after another."
Sally folds her arms across her chest. She looks about as happy about all of this as Heero is. "Tell me about it."
Heero feels guilty, even though she knows it's not her fault that some of the other agents are spreading rumors about her and Parks. Then suddenly something from earlier clicks in her mind, and Heero groans out loud. "That's what they liked earlier." At Sally's questioning look, Heero explains. "I told the board that Agent Parks and I were alone together when everyone split up, and that I prioritized seeing to his wound before continuing to search for the others."
Scowling herself now, Sally says, "And of course that's the logical response in that situation, but the board might not see it that way."
"If I ever find out who started this investigation, they're going to regret it," Heero vows. It's especially aggravating to her that she can't track down someone who didn't leave a trail, whether paper or electronic. Heero could find out who it was if she was allowed to interrogate every officer in Preventers, but she already knows how well that suggestion would go down with Internal Affairs. Besides, the damage has already been done.
Heero bets that Agent Parks' wife won't want to thank her anymore once the woman hears about these rumors. Heero's just so annoyed by all of this. Not shocked, not really, but genuinely hurt. Heero's an exemplary agent, probably the best. She'd never have sex with a coworker, and use that as a way to cheat an inquiry. Especially not a married coworker. Do the other agents she works with on a daily basis really think that Heero would do something like this?
Apparently, yes. That knowledge is a sour aftertaste in the back of her throat. Heero's never looked at being a woman as a detriment while working for Preventers, especially since the whole organization was founded by Une, Sally, and Noin - three of the toughest women Heero knows. And yet, Heero's sure this sort of rumor wouldn't have started up in the first place if she wasn't a woman.
"I'd tell you that threatening another agent is against Preventers policy, but I guess that's not an issue for you right now," Sally says. They share a small smile, even though nothing's really funny at the moment. "I know this sucks, Heero, but hang in there. No one who actually knows you is going to believe those rumors."
The problem is that not a lot of people know Heero personally. Still, Sally's right. Once the board has heard everyone's statements, it shouldn't take them too long to come to a decision. Either way, at least Heero shouldn't have to see the inside of this building again until then.
She sighs. "I'm leaving," Heero announces. There's really no point in her staying here any longer.
"Oh," Sally says, "Une mentioned wanting to see you after you were done, actually."
Heero just wants to leave the building, go to the gym, and pound on something for a while. Maybe just go for a really long run. Instead, she nods goodbye to Sally and makes for the elevator that goes up to Une's office. Although Heero's certainly not expecting good news, what with the way her last couple of weeks has turned out, she's still curious what Une wants to see her about after Heero has just left her appointment with the Board of Professional Review.
