Operation: Hurricane

Chapter Three

"He's also one of the bastards responsible for giving us those damned implants!"

Zechs' eyes narrowed as he gave a brief glance to Lange, who gave a single nod of his head, confirming her accusation. His gaze settled back on Trinity as he took a step away from her. "Tempest, stand down," he said, the general addressing the soldier in front of him. He looked over to his son and his friends, ignoring the glare she gave him as she reluctantly complied. "Upstairs… all of you."

Michael nodded, silently ushering his friends out of the kitchen, shooting them both a quick 'I'll tell you in a minute' glare before he turned his eyes back to his parents as he followed. He gave them a copy of his mother's glare, silencing them from any questions until they were in his room. He held a hand up as he shut the door. "You guys have heard of the Preventer Storm… You just met Tempest…"

Casey just stared at him as Lucas slid quietly into Michael's desk chair. Casey folded his arms. Never mind that his best friend had kept the fact secret that his mother was a damned Stormer and gundam pilot. Of course, that sort of explained why she allowed Michael to hack into the police station computers. But still… what the hell just happened? "Why the hell did she want to kill my dad?"

"She said he was responsible for some implants…" Lucas leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "The Stormers are rumored to be telepathic and have a… an unusual connection to their gundams…" Lucas couldn't say he was really surprised at the news. He had known something was… a little off about 'Momma Trin'. He'd see her space out for several moments, a faraway look in her eyes, and then suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. Other times, he'd see the soldier in her eyes, just like the one downstairs. Yeah, he was a little miffed that his best friend kept such a large secret, but he understood why. "Does this mean that your aunts Kalli and Izreina…?"

Michael nodded. "…are Lightning and Thunder… Years ago the three of them were subject to an experimental project to turn them into ultimate weapons… A computer device, about the size of the button on your shirt, was surgically implanted into the base of their brains allowing them to connect to the minds of others and to certain computer systems." His eyes met the glare of Casey's. "Do you know what kind of work your dad did during the war?"

Casey shook his head as he sat down on the side of Michael's neatly made bed. "No… but sometimes I overhear him talking to Mom, something about someone named 'Lowe'… and his distaste about what the guy has done… It's never anything specific."

"Odin Lowe was the creator of the project. The guy was concerned about only one thing… how much people were willing to pay for the next, greatest weapon. Machines can only do so much, but the destruction that those devices can cause is next to unfathomable." Michael leaned against the door, his arms folded. "The Preventers have a list of scientists and doctors that worked on the project, but they've had no luck in finding any of them. Six years, they've been looking…"

Casey's eyes closed a moment as he took in a deep breath. He let it out in a long sigh as his eyes opened, staring down at the carpet. His dad had been gone for a majority of his life; his mother hadn't even known where he was. And that look that he gave Casey… he was sure he read it accurately… She has every right to shoot me...

"Does the project… have anything to do with Kiera's disappearance?" Lucas asked tentatively, looking back to Michael. The soldier's glare as she looked at the missing persons report, he'd noticed. He had also noticed the silent exchange she and Michael had had at the table.

Michael took a hesitant breath, closing his eyes, the knot in his stomach returning. "For the past four nights, Mom's been experiencing… a recurring dream… She's certain it's a mental call for help. The only way that could happen is if the sender has the device implanted… There haven't been too many details, Mom's been taking an experimental drug that nullifies the device's effect… but this call has been pushing through the drug, so it's incredibly strong… She made the decision last night to discontinue the drug so that she could intercept the vision without… complication… I really don't think she's entirely sure… but she thinks Kiera's the sender…" He hadn't wanted to believe that, hadn't wanted to even think it.

"What kind of complication has she been having?" Lucas met Michael's eyes as he opened them.

"Seizures… During the dream, Mom goes into these convulsions… And last night, she was screaming… The Preventer's medical director thinks it's a side effect of the inhibitor drugs fighting against the intrusion…"

"But you don't think so…" His remark wasn't a question.

Michael shook his head. "Mom thinks the sender's experiencing them… Maybe the body resisting the device… She said Aunt Kalli experienced minor seizures when her device was first implanted… Nothing as severe as what's been happening, though…"

"It can't be Kiera, Michael… Why would anyone do that to a kid?"

Michael's gaze intensified as he met with Lucas', the Yuy glare in full effect. "Aunt Kal and Aunt Iz were only sixteen when it was done to them… These kinds of people don't give a shit how old their subjects are, as long as they perform as they are expected to… Aunt Kal and Aunt Iz were almost killed because they were recorded as 'failed subjects'… A program was included in the devices to ensure that the weapon followed the orders of its masters without fail. During a training exercise, that part of their devices was damaged and they were no longer under control…" Michael shook his head, closing his eyes for a long moment, feeling the knot tighten. "Doing this to soldiers is one thing..."

Casey had remained silent during the entire conversation. His hands clenched into fists as they rested on his knees. He wanted to run downstairs to confront his father, beg him to say he had no part in any of this. But he couldn't convince himself that the possibility wasn't there. And if he had been involved in the project, he understood 'Momma Trin's' reaction upon seeing him. "Would your mom really have killed Dad?"

"In all honesty…," Michael paused as he looked over to Casey. "…I'm surprised she even offered him a chance to defend himself…"

The soldier glared at the man still standing in the doorway as Zechs pried her fingers from around the gun. He took the weapon from her, placing it on the counter several feet away before he guided her into the chair she previously sat in. "What the hell is going on, Trinity?"

She didn't respond to him, her eyes never leaving Lange as his shoulders relaxed. He had offered her no resistance, no defense. He had been perfectly willing to let her kill him. She let her eyes fall away from him as the soldier subsided within her. He had been willing to accept his sentence for the crime committed against her and her counterparts. He knew he had done wrong, and that silent apology was acceptable.

"Miss Yuy…," Lange started, taking a tentative step further into the kitchen. He stopped as her eyes were once again on him, but the soldier was gone. The woman now regarding him was completely different, and she was shaking.

"You had the dream again?" Zechs kneeled in front of her, taking both her hands in his, forcing her eyes to lock with his.

"More like a revelation…," she whispered, not trusting her voice. "I know who it is… I know who's trying to reach me…" She gave a small glance over to Michael's laptop that still sat on the table by her side. Her eyes then lifted back to Lange. "Who else did my father… did Lowe… sell the Psi Project to?" She had to fight to keep her face straight. She hadn't meant to say 'father'. That man had never been a father. And she'll be damned if she let anyone outside of family know, especially those that worked for him. But it slipped, she blamed her current state.

"Odin Lowe was your father?" His eyes widened only briefly before he shut them, bowing his head slightly. "I'm sorry… What he was… what he did… what we did to you…" When he opened his eyes again, she looked away. He knew she was ashamed to have called him father. And he didn't blame her.

Zechs opened the lid to Michael's laptop and pressed the button to pull it out of sleep mode. He tapped the table, impatiently, waiting for the screen to load. His eyes narrowed as the police report filled the screen. "This is… not good…" He looked back up to Trinity as her eyes met his. "You're sure?"

"Why are the Preventers involved in her case? Do they already know something?" She held a breath as she could finally sense his thoughts. And her eyes widened with what they were telling her. Treize Kushrenada… "You can't be fucking serious…" His silence was more than enough of a reply. "Oh damn… this just keeps getting better and better," she commented, dryly. Her eyes shot back to Lange as the soldier returned. "Who else did Lowe sell the project to?"

Lange watched the exchange between the two and couldn't quite hide his curiosity at what they were talking about. He didn't say anything about it though, and glad he didn't as the soldier faced him again. "I don't know. I never dealt with that side of things. And he never spoke of it. I only know who we were dealing with at the time. And that's only because Barton was constantly observing. He was interested in every aspect of the project." He stared at the tiled floor for a long moment. "Whoever else he dealt with; I didn't think they'd ever be able to do much with it. We… lost four… test subjects….," he forced the words, he hadn't wanted to call them that, but that's what they were. "…before the three of you… I didn't want to do that to you, you girls were so young then… Lowe… insisted…" He paused again, and she knew exactly what he meant.

"He knew we would survive because we were taught to survive…" She gave Zechs a look full of worry as she glanced at the girl's picture on the screen. "We were soldiers… but she…" She shook her head as she looked back to Lange. "What caused the deaths of the first subjects?" Her face softened as she watched him sag into a chair at the opposite end of the table. She knew the topic pained him, she could sense it now, and it was written all over his face. He really was remorseful about what his part was in the project.

He sighed for a moment. When he walked in the door a few moments ago, his only intention was to meet his son's friend's mother. He knew from the moment their eyes met that the conversation, if she let him live long enough, would turn here. He remembered every part of that nightmare, and watching four men die without a means to prevent it, and knowing he caused it… He looked back up to her. "The first and second… their bodies rejected the device, treated it like the foreign object it was... high temperature, convulsions… the devices were never even activated. It was Lowe's decision to… to kill them… since we couldn't exactly remove the devices and start over… The third… he didn't even survive the surgery." He ran a hand over his face, pausing as he closed his eyes, fighting to keep the memories from replaying. "The last… was almost a success… but…" He inhaled deeply, releasing it in a long sigh. "The sudden intrusion into his mind when the device was activated… it drove him to insanity… Suicide…" He shook his head, forcing the memories back into their dark corner. What the man had done to himself… it hadn't been pretty. Lange buried his head in his hands as he attempted to compose himself.

Trinity suddenly felt a wave a nausea pour over her as she closed her eyes, forcing her mental walls up as she resisted the urge to vomit. Much as he had tried to bury the memories, she caught a glimpse of them. It was no wonder Lange had been ready for her to kill him. She couldn't imagine the guilt that had been buried within him for all these years. "Caleb," she said softly as her eyes opened, meeting his as his hands lowered. "What would have happened to the first two if Lowe hadn't killed them?"

He sighed again as he looked at the tile floor. "Their high temperatures were already causing brain damage… I can only imagine what kind of hallucinations they were experiencing… The convulsions would have gotten more violent… They would have died anyway… just more slowly and more painfully." He leaned back in his chair. "If anything, Lowe did them a favor by ending it quickly…"

She closed her eyes again, tightly. Damn it… We have to find out where Kiera is… TONIGHT… She felt the agreement of her counterparts and opened her eyes to meet Zechs' again, and she saw the same fear in his eyes that she had. She sensed that her friend, Izreina, had more that she wanted to tell Trinity, but she didn't. She wanted Izreina to talk to her, but her counterpart closed herself up. You've got enough to worry about, she had said. But Trinity knew, and she muttered another unspoken curse.

"Open your eyes, Miss Jameson…"

His words were slurred, but clear, and she obeyed the voice. She was certain she had the dream again, she felt it. She could feel her wrists and ankles becoming raw where they struggled against the straps that bound her. Her eyes, panic within them, met his. Or rather, only one of his green eyes, as the other lid remained closed. The entire side of his face seemed to sag, seemed to be paralyzed, clearly visible as only one corner of his lips turned up in a smile. It only made him seem even more frightening.

"There's a good girl…" His words were still slurred, and she was convinced, by the look of him, he had suffered some sort of stroke. He let one hand trace the side of her face, and he gave a hoarse chuckle as she trembled. "There's no reason to be frightened. These are only here for your protection." He tapped his finger on one of the leather straps. "Your seizures have been rather violent lately, don't want you hurting yourself."

My protection… right… Her mouth formed the words, but she felt no vibration in her throat to indicate they'd been voiced. But she was certain her thought reached him, as his creepy half-smile grew into a downright half-grin. Her eyes grew wide. What have you done…?

"Curiosity can be a dangerous thing, Miss Jameson… what's the old saying? Curiosity killed the cat?" He chuckled again. "Oh, don't worry. I've no intention on killing you, you've been quite helpful." He gave a nod of his head as she felt someone undoing the straps at her ankles. "And your seizures have subsided, so we feel rather safe taking these off, have those leather burns treated and wrapped."

What do you want with me? She quit trying to voice her words, she knew it was useless. She had no voice anymore, but she utilized her new mental speech rather expertly. She felt relief at having the bonds removed, wanted to jump off that bed and bolt for the door, no matter what he would do to stop her. But any urge was quickly quelled. Her mind wanted to do one thing, but her body wouldn't cooperate.

"You seem to be adapting to your new abilities quite well… You'll soon find out you're capable of much more than mind speech… I'll admit you weren't my intended candidate, but after you were caught snooping, I could hardly pass up the opportunity…" He held up a small clear box, that he apparently carried with him at all times. Inside was a small round object, something mechanical, but she couldn't see it clearly. "This is what's called a psi device… gives you rather extraordinary mental abilities…"

Intended…? Psi device…? She gasped as her mind read in his several of the possibilities. Who was this guy? Was he mad? What kind of person would want to hurt people like that? And why the hell would they MAKE people do that?

"I've been watching your classmates rather closely… Several of them have potential… But only a few have my interest… The three of them seem to work rather well together, and I'm anxious to see what they're capable of…" An aide handed him a tablet computer and after a moment, he showed her the student profile. "I've got to tell you, though… it's this boy's mother is who I'm really interested in finding …"

Michael…! She gasped again, her eyes wide as she looked at the image on the screen. Narrowed eyes turned to him as he lowered the tablet. You won't touch him!

"Know him, rather well, don't you?" He smiled again. "I wouldn't worry about him. He's in Preventer hands, at the moment… which doesn't surprise me; his mother is rather infamous in their ranks… Besides, you've already made contact with her… The monitors have recorded a second presence during your sleep at times…" He worked at the tablet for a few moments before showing some sort of graph to her that he knew she wouldn't have a damn clue how to read.

The Preventers… His mother? She thought for several silent moments. Michael had once told her about his father, who was a well-kept secret. Milliardo Peacecraft, he was second in command in the Preventer ranks. But never, had he mentioned that his mother was one. He had trusted her enough to spill the secret of his father, but then what the hell kind of person was his mother? This guy said she made contact with her, so the presence in her dreams, the only thing that kept her safe… Miss Yuy?

The man grinned that damned grin again. "Trinity Yuy is someone very important to me…"

His words seemed to carry a hidden meaning, hinting this man was definitely not someone she wanted to cross. But, she couldn't let him use her to hurt Michael's mother, no matter who he said she was.

"Just… when you go to sleep… when you meet her tonight…" That grin lingered as he leaned back in his chair, his tablet in his lap. "…tell the one called 'Tempest' that Sarris sends his love…" His aide pushed his wheelchair out of the room as another put her to sleep again.