Title: The Agency: Meeting of Souls 7/??
Author: Karina
Pairings 13x6 [eventual, 5xS [established, 3x4, Others undecided at this time.
Archive: Gundam Wing Universe Extreme Alternate Universe setting. Unbetaed, Aussie spelling, not much else in the early chapters though it will involve murder, stalking and possibly some colourful language down the track. Some Out Of Character depictions are unavoidable considering the alternate universe setting.
Rating: M [In Australia that would be mature adult 15+ Not sure with the new rating system. Rated for murder and violence as well as adult concepts.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. That's about as plain as you could say it.
Summary: The world took a very different turn with the acknowledgement and training of select psychic individuals enlisted in elite fields such as law enforcement and politics. A grading system for the strength of psionic abilities was developed and those who were the top of the elite have been dubbed Prime Talents and are highly sought after. Elite institutions have been developed to mark, train and employ individuals with useable psionic talents. The colonies of canon Gundam Wing do exist in this fic and were founded before the psionic system was founded.
//…// Thoughts
+/.../+ Telepathy
Chapter Seven
// I could cheerfully curse the inventor of the video surveillance camera with a pox of boils upon his bum. If the inventor had known of the hours we have to sit here watching the feed fast forward, I'm sure he would have been reasonable and changed his mind about the whole thing. Hour after hour, camera by camera, there is nothing but empty hallways or crowded streets. //
Treize glared at the flickering screen and the empty, dimly lit hallway. They were up to viewing the early morning hours of the night their victim met his fate, and he wished himself anywhere but locked in this small room with three sweaty men. Reviewing video footage was so entertaining he had to admit even a crowded ballroom had it advantages over his current environment. That did not say much, as he loathed the aristocratic functions and deals done under cover of false smiles. Politics and big business were not up with his favoured pastimes.
//As boring as this is I know I would not have stayed sane if I had followed the family plan and become a politician. Time honoured tradition as it is, and I know the world needs them, but I am really not suited to the profession. No one ever understands a good politician's intention…// He covered the smirk behind his fingers, resting his head in his cupped palms, eyes never leaving the screen. //What guff. Utter twaddle. I no more believe my uncle's speech now than I did when he first made it to me. No, I was not cut out to deal with that deception and game playing day after day. I would have ended up starting wars rather than keep them from happening. For a telepath it would have been all too easy to know exactly what to say, and to whom, to get the ball rolling. Frightening really.//
It was amazing the strides made toward unification and peace which had taken place over the last thirty years. Three decades equated to slightly more than a single generation. He knew the history only too well, considering his relations, including his parents, had been involved in the landmark decisions that had shaped the current world order. Thirty years of peace had changed the world, and he admitted he was proud of his extended family's role in those changes.
//How could anyone expect the new generation to find themselves in the same manner as those who came before? It is a new world order, and the old guard will have to become accustomed to their children breaking out of the mould that shaped them. War is almost a thing of the past, and there is not the need for child after child to dedicate their lives to politics to find a way to gain that stability. They should have seen it coming. I may have been one of the first, but I certainly was not the last, to look for a future outside of political circles.//
The addition of telepaths on the personal staff of the world leaders and leading politicians had paved the way for peace. Initially it was fashionable to be known to have a psi active aide; it was even seen as a political statement toward recognition of a minority group. To balance what some considered unfair advantage, other telepaths and empaths had been employed by opposing parties, in the event the psychic's talent might be used.
//Ironic. Keeping up with the Jones', and playing with new toys drove the advance of the peace we know today. //
It was amazing how the political practices of the past had changed with the advent of Psychics onto the world stage. Fear the aides of politicians in vital talks might be telepaths, and capable of reading the deceptions and truths of the opposing side, kept such deceptions down to a minimum. Talks that had circled and gone nowhere for months, even years, suddenly found direction. Concerns holding up the peace process had been revealed to be trivial, and in some rare cases, attacks were thwarted before they could be carried out. Psychics found they had become mankind's best hope for peace.
// To think it was Telepaths and high level Empaths who made the breakthrough that had eluded generations. Mind readers. Charlatans and frauds they were called for hundreds of years. // Behind his curled fingers he smiled, eyes still on the flickering monitor, but the amusement was not reflected in his eyes. // It is amazing how little a body can lie when the secretary or personal assistant, or even the politician himself, can detect those lies. //
More and more over the last decade, with the advances in technology being made, politicians were employing the use of mechanical shields designed to set up an interference through which most telepaths could not read. Some politicians had no need of mechanical aids, as they had naturally strong mental shields. In either case a telepath or empathy could usually pick up at least some hint of the intentions of the participants from their aides. It was generally considered to be impossible to have a full staff proof against Psychic investigation, and recently empaths, more than telepaths, had been employed to sit in on high level discussions.
Empaths were used to read the subjects body reflection of the minds tendency toward truth or lie. Often that was all that was required to keep a negotiation progressing smoothly. Telepaths in the World Governments employ were generally not required to pry into the lives of party members or their staff. In all but the rarest of cases the task for the telepath, especially if he was a dual talent telepathic empath, was to monitor ongoing negotiations and sense the psychic atmosphere of a room. Catching stray thoughts and overcharged emotions could lead to avoiding unnecessary complications, especially in areas of ethnic contention.
//Human barometers. //
He had escaped becoming a politician, or being employed by a politician as a resident telepathic aide, the two fates his relatives would have considered acceptable for a Kushrenada son. No doubt they would be unamused to learn he had, on more than one occasion, had a hand in the removal of corrupt politicians and persons bent on bringing disruption to important proceedings. It was to the rarer talents such as himself, in the employ of private agencies of the like of The Agency, the ESUN government turned to, when they needed delicate matters attended.
He might not be employed by a politician, but he did his share of dabbling in political waters, and always on covert operations. He hated the necessity of such work, but he loathed with a passion being used as a barometer. He had been required to sit in on conventions, sporting events and public meetings to monitor the fluctuating emotional levels, and to determine the flavour of those emotions. With his timely warning trouble had been avoided on a number of occasions, the most prominent being the World Cup the previous year, when soccer fans had come close to clashing in a riot. He had pinpointed the main agitators and enabled their discreet removal to take place.
A useful side effect of using psychics to monitor conventions had been the eradication of generic food menu's offered to convention goers. Many of the aggravations at conventions had been avoided by the simple expedient of altering the diet of those who attended, and his stomach had thanked him for the change. It was amazing how a person's contentment with a decent meal, and maybe a glass of wine or two, was proven to be more approachable and less prone to agitation.
Clairvoyants, telepaths and empaths had been included in the law enforcements rosters after trial periods. These periods had proven the worth of the psychics, and there had been a marked reduction in the crime rates throughout the ESUN. Be it vandalism for vandalisms sake, theft, murder, robberies or riots, there was no longer any doubt of the benefits of Psi potential.
Beside him Otto stirred, and his chair creaked beneath his weight. The man looked to be on the edge of stating, yet again, that the tapes would reveal nothing. They had already been reviewed, after all, and he was probably right, but they had not been reviewed by either the Agency or by the ESUN security division. No doubt Otto would be insulted that his staff were discounted in this murder hunt, but he was not concerned with the man's delicate sensibilities.
//He's not a Psi, but he is using a shield unit. Interesting.//
Yuy was a statue beside Chang, intent on the monitor in front of him. Treize wondered what his enhanced senses made of the tapes, and if perhaps he saw more than any of the unaltered men in the room. His very existence would not have been possible without the introduction of Psi into the day to day living of the Earth Sphere.
With politicians made aware of the inclinations and machinations of their opposite numbers, more work and less dancing around a subject had become the norm. Politicians knew who of their numbers would be inclined to back certain bills, and where the greatest opposition to proposals would lie. The end result had been the near total abolition of war. There were still instances of conflict, but generally there were less trouble spot's in the world. Most outbreaks of dissention were dealt with quickly and efficiently, to the benefit of all parties and little loss of population or resources. The side result of the reduction in hostilities, and increase in peace, had been the opening up of long delayed programs.
Less war's resulted in less expenditure on defence systems and armies. The defence budgets of the world nations had been turned to the concerns of feeding and housing the world's burgeoning population. The exploration of space to establish suitable residences for the increasing population had taken up many of the world's best minds and engineers. Funds had been channelled into improving the conditions on the older Colonies, and had seen the birth of the new colony cluster now under construction in orbit over Mars.
With the new Mars colonies opening, an event expected to take place in a little over a year, the opportunity for an expansion onto the planet would be considered. Designs for great domed cities and sealed pastures to feed the local populations, were already being brought forward for discussion at Council of Representative meetings. Private investment had been investigating the benefits of opening up Mars as well, and saw the advantages of meeting the needs of expanding humanity. With no wars to control the population, many countries were finding it difficult to cater to the needs of their people.
With the ever increasing population, and the emergence and acceptance of psychic talents, the government looked for the means of improving the human condition. Stronger, faster humans, who might require less fuel to run their bodies, and were more suited to long haul space flights were considered required to further expand human interests into outer space. At this time the designer genetic program was still experimental, and none of the few modified humans would see the inside of a space ship. Other work had been found for them, and Yuy had been assigned to the ESUN Security Agency.
//And what does this extremely expensive prodigy end up doing? Watching boring security feed, of course.// Treize resisted the urge to stretch, though if he did not indulge in a good stretch soon he was sure his body would constrict into a series of knots. // It is patently obvious someone has managed to access the camera feeds. I would guess it would be a loop channelled into the feed. We are watching reruns of empty hallways for no reason. The tapes will need to be dispatched to a digital laboratory to find the splice, so we can at least determine what time the feed was interrupted.//
Wu Fei, he noted, was scowling at the screens, his dark eyes flicking repeatedly from one to the other, not content to watch his own boring view of the hallway. No doubt his partner too had decided this was a waste of time, and they would need to take the tapes to a laboratory for detailed analysis. If the Security Chief for the University was inclined to quibble about it they could bring the full force of both The Agency and the ESUN Security Agency down on him.
Personally he thought the man had reacted reasonably to their invasion of his territory. He appeared to be sensible, and understood the level of threat to the students involved in this investigation, and Treize doubted they would have any trouble with him. Those photographs in his office suggested Otto was accustomed to working at the highest level of security, and cooperating with the worlds best security consultants. It was already clear to him certain precautions would be required to be initiated, and if the man objected they could always have their Commander intercede on their behalf.
//Approaching Une for anything would not be my preferred option at this point in time. The less I have to do with her until I can establish full control of my shields the better.//
He had a headache. Again.
Yuy stirred and leaned forward, eyeing the screen directly in front of him with an intensity that bordered on obsessive. The man's genetic modifications had been enhanced by extensive training and conditioning, and while entirely human Heero Yuy was, in many ways, both more and less than human. To know you existed because the Powers That Be required you to have this exact set of genetic characteristics was not something Treize would have liked to know. He would not have liked his every genetic marker planned before conception. It was his personal view that such manipulation smacked of pre ordered slavery.
Owing to his ties to the political elite, Treize knew there were plans to have another, larger group of children enhanced and reared to work within the ESUN Security Agency. Enhanced agents gave the Security Agency an edge in dealing with potentially delicate and explosive situations. It had become acceptable practice to team a couple of genetically enhanced agents with a select combination of Psychics, to produce a formidable team.
In recent time the Security Agency had made increasing use of the Psi assistance available from the Agency. Over the past decade it seemed to have become their standard practice to maintain the growing order of peace in the Earth Sphere. Advances in technology, made with the end of constant conflict were not to be denied, and eventually the aim was to bring the world's population to consider itself one nation. At this time there were individual governments and, in his view, a stable check and balance system in place. Some councillors had proposed dissolving national borders, and bringing the Earth under one centralized government.
//One nation working for the good of all, Earth born or Colony born. It could be made to work, and eventually I can see the One Nation becoming a reality, but for it to work certain organizations need to be kept under control. The single most important step to the peace is to keep the leaders honest. Unfortunately it is becoming increasingly difficult, with the advances in technology aimed at countering Psi ability. Ah, naughty me. Technology is working toward complimenting psychic ability, not thwarting it. //
More empty tape, the same view of the hallway and the same view of the stairwell. He leaned back and sighed softly as the disk completed its recording, and Otto leaned forward to load the machine with the feed from another camera covering the hallway and another time frame. They were nearly done, and it had thus far been a colossal waste of time. He could have left this duty quite happily to Chang and Yuy while he took advantage of the psychic dampeners and worked on his shields.
//As more Psychics enter the field of politics and take active parts, keeping the politics and politicians honest, there are more and more moves to even the playing fields. It is being driven by those who can not afford the services of high talent psi's, who see themselves at a disadvantage, and they are right. They do have a disadvantage, and I can't see a way around it, and refuse to consider the notion of psychics working for nothing. We might as well become slaves if they can order us around without paying a price that reflects the importance of our work. God. That makes us sound like mercenaries out for all they can get. //
Treize settled back and resisted the urge to roll his eyes as the footage came on screen. If nothing else the boredom gave him opportunity to think, though the thinking was serving only to give him a headache and see how rotten apples were polluting the barrel.
//If you can't have a psychic working for you, the next best thing is to be able to counter their abilities, cancelling out their advantage. They fail to see and understand a decent empath can make as much sense of, or more, than a telepath can from reading their thoughts. Humans just are not designed to keep their thoughts contained and separated from the physical form. What you think is reflected in the body, and an empath can pick up on that. Politicians are being taught to shield their minds, and while some are good at it, too many are woeful at this time. It takes a great deal of training to train a mind to shield and not leak. //
Onscreen now was the same hallway seen from a different angle, covering the shadowed approach to the dorm suite. The same empty hallway full of shadows and decoration he had spent too long observing. If one of the others did not come out and say it shortly then he would. He could be doing other, more useful things.
//The invention of neural inhibitors is more of a worry, as it is far more effective at keeping a telepath at bay. We can break through them, but it generally results in damage to the subject, and an ethical Psi will avoid that at all costs. The problem is not all telepaths are as ethical as they should be. Neural nets can't stop the body reaction to thoughts though… at least they have not figured out how to deceive their own bodies as yet. No doubt there is some brilliant young thing working on just that. They are demanding more Psychics, even breeding for psi talent, and at the same time they are countering our effectiveness. If they do not devise a reasonable system of checks and balances they will find the system breaking down. It is inevitable it will happen. More skirmishes will take place between discontent parties, and eventually we will find the good done over the last generations being countered. I for one do not want to see the days of constant conflict for power return.//
Yuy abruptly leaned close to one screen and stabbed a finger at the display. "There. There is evidence of a splice in that footage. Someone interrupted the security feed. Rewind it."
The security chief obliged, leaning forward to run his fingers over the control keys. A quick play of blunt square fingers over sensitized keys, and the picture on the screen ran in reverse.
"Enough." Yuy raised a hand. "Now watch."
Treize, suddenly alert, focused on the footage of the empty hallway, looking for the tell tale signs of a splice and totally missed it. Yuy was looking at them all expectantly, but Treize could see neither Chang nor Otto appeared to have noted whatever alerted the ESUN Agent.
"I saw nothing." Chang glanced at Treize who shrugged, indicating he also had missed the decisive moment. "Are you certain?"
"Of course I am certain. Rewind it. Look again."
Otto reached for the controls once again. "I'll run it at half the normal frame speed. That should pick up any inconsistencies."
Treize focused on the screen, looking for anything that might indicate the crucial moment. The chief touched the play button, reduced the playback speed to half and stared intently at the screen. Treize caught the flicker of shadow at the exact moment Otto's finger stabbed at the pause key. Yuy nodded slightly to indicate they had the right frame, and Treize was once again amazed at the enhancements of the Agent.
Only Yuy's genetically enhanced vision had allowed him to catch the momentary interference at the fast forwarded rate. Even at normal playback speed there had been little chance of catching the exact frame, but at half speed that flicker of shadow could be detected. There was now no denying the security system had been compromised, and very expertly too. From the scowl on Otto's face he knew the implications only too well, and he was not a happy man.
//I can well imagine what is going through that head now. //
The Security Chief's neural shield made it impossible for Treize, in his present condition, to glean much from that mind. Considering his position it was natural Otto would have some protection, considering he worked in an environment full of Psi active students. For his personal protection from curious teenagers, and to protect the security protocols of the university, it stood to reason he would be well protected. They were guarding the future leaders of the human race at Tsuberov, and the rich and famous demanded their offspring be given the best.
By reflex more than intent Treize flicked a questing tendril of thought at the shielded mind, automatically testing for resistance and quality in the protection the shield unit provided. The result surprised him, and he covered his momentary reaction at his finding by running his hand through his hair, shielding his face from the other men in the room. Considering his position one would expect the security chief to be shielded, but the 'feel' of this shield was unlike anything Treize had encountered in use before.
He had detected the mild interference he expected to find, but there was something more underlying that interference which surprised him. He detected what he considered to be an anomaly only because he tried the probe against the shield at the exact moment Otto reacted to Yuy's comment. Impossibly Otto's mind had gone blank. Totally blank. In that instant the interference set up by the shield unit had been laid bare to his scrutiny, and he knew only too well the human mind was never ever quiet.
The human mind always had a rumble of activity about it that could be likened to a sub vocal murmur, heard at the very edge of hearing. This murmur was the representation of the subconscious thoughts of the mind, which worked on multiple levels and was never idle, not even in sleep. Under the discovery of the splice in the surveillance tapes that background noise had ceased, totally dropping off the telepaths awareness, and by its very absence gaining his attention. Even now, seconds after the discovery, Otto's thoughts remained silent as he continued to glare at the screen.
"It will be required for us to take the full catalogue of tapes to the laboratory for processing. We may be able to determine other points where interference may have been incurred to the security system. I believe it would be prudent to examine the records from the last three months." Yuy settled back in his seat with a quick glance at the security chief, showing no satisfaction at picking up on details the others missed.
"Three months? Why so far?" The man arched an eyebrow in surprise, tilting his head to face Yuy.
Treize blinked at the sudden reawakening of the man's thought processes. The muted rumble of subconscious thought was back. After a moments consideration he extended his awareness over that rumble, seeking something to confirm his suspicions the Security Chief was far more than he had first assumed.
"The students have been absent from the campus for a month, I believe. I suspect we may find evidence of observation involving your security feed before they departed for the colonies. I expect to find more than one instance of a very skilful splice into your system."
Heero's voice was on the edge of his awareness, but he ignored it in favour of his search. That rumble was more rhythmical than he expected a human mind to produce. It was regular, not the rather erratic flitting of thought from subject to subject, random memory to sudden inspiration he was accustomed to detecting, even under the effects of mechanical shields. No, this rumble was entirely mechanical in nature.
The Agency kept up to date on the latest advances in neural technology, and was aware of the varied research fields currently under investigation. Treize had read a number of reports on new shield configurations and the expectations of their designers, and he was almost certain of what he had discovered. At some time in the recent past, and it had to be recent, as the Agency was not yet notified of the successful release of the hardware, Heinrich Otto had undergone surgery. A neural unit had been implanted into the man's mind, which would proof him against casual telepathic scanning and probably up to a level four probe, if the design specifications had been adhered to. Just how good the shield was would be open to debate and time and testing.
The technology to create these experimental neural shield implants was, as he recalled, quite expensive, and their use was projected to be by the world's elite. The wealthiest and most influential persons alone would be able to afford the shields, until technology took another leap forward and their protection was deemed obsolete. Their greatest asset was the difficulty in detecting the presence of the shields.
As he recalled, the units set up a discharge of electrical impulses similar to the electrical impulses in the brain. In effect they faked the workings of the subconscious mind. The discharge was the result of complex neural relays implanted into the wearer's brain. A casually scanning telepath would detect what he presumed to be subconscious thought; when in fact it was low level electrical discharge.
According to the summary Treize had read the wearer could, with sufficient training, meld his thoughts into that background noise, simulating the natural human mind and allow a scanning telepath to learn what he wanted him to know. If the telepath was lazy, or of a low level, he might well be fooled into thinking he had scanned the inner thoughts of the subject.
The implant was powered by the electrical discharges common to the human brain. The more activity in the brain, the greater the level of electrical discharges would be produced, and the more noise a telepath would detect. Few things could give away the presence of the implant, and most low level telepaths would not have detected that tell tale freezing of the thought processes as Treize had. It was a design flaw with the neural unit he was not about to reveal to anyone. Otto had recovered himself from the initial shock quickly, scant seconds having passed since Yuy had alerted them. This unit was going to be a problem for lesser talents to foil in the line of their duties.
//A Security Chief responsible for the children of the ESUN's wealthiest and most influential people might be considered a good candidate for the surgery but… I don't believe the surgical costs involved would be justifiable by the University Board of Governors. Not that kind of cost. If not the University then who, and why would they deem it prudent to implant Otto?//
"I suppose, but I would have thought two months would be sufficient to establish if there was a pattern to this splicing."
"We have no real indication of how long a Stalker might have been watching your Mr. Winner." Yuy returned.
//I think it would be prudent to check on the Chief's past. Off hand I can think of a score of people in far more sensitive positions who would be eligible for that kind of surgery. Who would have paid for it//
Again he detected the cessation of the mechanical rumblings marking Otto's mental state. The fault was quit noticeable once you realized it existed, Treize mused. He had missed whatever in the comment by Yuy had affected the Security Chief, and he dragged his thoughts away from speculating to pay attention to the conversation.
"Stalker?"
//Ah. Yes, well we had not mentioned our suspicions, had we?// Treize winced mentally, keeping a mildly curious look firmly in place, and allowing no hint of his discovery to leak through his own shields.
The man's mind was rumbling again as he focused on Yuy. A large hand motioned toward the screen, and then flipped in the air in what Treize believed to be the general direction of the dormitory block.
Chang entered the conversation before Otto could continue. "Going back over the security feed for a period of time might give us some indication of other instances where the feed may have been tampered with. We have no idea if the Stalker has been accessing the dormitory for an extended period of time, or if this is a new development."
Otto literally growled, a low rumbling in his deep chest as he glared between the two, focusing first on Chang and then on Yuy. He was obviously not the least bit amused.
"Stalker? I was under the impression we were investigating a murder. No mention of a Stalker has been made to me before now. I have to ask what leads you to suspect one is involved in this case."
Treize sighed and pressed his finger tips to his temples, narrowing his eyes at the sharp flare of pain. Otto was obviously new to the neural implant, and had little skill in using it. Treize estimated he could not have been in possession of it for more than two or three weeks, to be so inadequate at containing his reactions. That gave him a time frame from which to work in tracing the surgical unit responsible for the implant. The piercing stab of Otto's alarm came across with such intensity he could not doubt the reaction was genuine, and he was thankful the man was quick to regain control. Given a month or two longer it would be no easy task to detect the implant, and what would be genuine thought and what was deception.
"At this time we can not say with certainty a Stalker is involved in the murder, but it is possible." Yuy met the intense gaze without flinching. "Our investigations at this time leave us fairly certain there are at least two individuals involved in this matter, and there may be a third party. We have the victim, of course, and his killer. There are suggestions a Stalker may have been active, and he may prove to be the killer. It is early in our investigation, and I must inform you we will need access to Ms Bloom again in the future for detailed questioning."
Confusion was clear in the emotions Treize was sampling from the Chief, detecting bemusement and no small amount of alarm. Understandable reactions of course, given the seriousness of the situation, but the man seemed to be taking this talk of a Stalker personally. There was an intensity there that seemed odd, and was yet another indication Treize needed to pay more attention to the man.
"Catherine? Well… of course, but why? I know she found the body during her morning roster, and she reported it immediately. I had a quick look around the rooms and could see nothing obviously untoward. Of what possible assistance could she be?"
"It is merely a precaution we guarantee access to her should our investigations lead to further enquiries being necessary." Trieze murmured.
He caught the eye of both young men, who understood immediately he did not want anyone learning Ms Bloom had actually interrupted something. At this stage he wanted no one to know he had discovered her memories had been altered. Since Otto wore an extremely expensive, and very new neural unit, he was wary of the circumstances leading to the necessity for such a unit.
"Standard procedure." Yuy confirmed for Otto's benefit, and glanced again at the screens. "My immediate concern is sending these records to the laboratories. We need to determine when this interference with your security system may have started. It may have been a single isolated instance, or it may go back months. We also might need to requisition more of your recordings. No doubt you understand with the Winner Heir involved in this matter there is no room for error."
"Of course. There is no room for error at all." Otto agreed his tone of voice thoughtful, and Treize caught the muted rumble of the neural implant rise appreciably. A great deal of thought was going on in that dark curly head. "As for Ms Bloom, I assure you she will be available should you wish to speak with her again."
"The security tapes." Chang gently reminded him.
"Yes. I will have the originals sent to the Agency. Or do you wish them sent to the ESUN Security Agencies laboratories, unless you wish to wait for them to be readied?"
"Yes." Treize caught Yuy's impatience and thought to get on with the investigation, and jumped in before he could refuse to wait. "I can wait for the tapes to be readied if you have other pressing matters to attend to, Mr. Yuy."
Wu Fei arched an eyebrow turning a curious eye to Treize, but made no comment. Yuy himself considered the Prime talent for a moment before he shrugged, indicating he was quite prepared to wait. Treize caught the glint in those blue eyes, suggesting he was going to be questioned in private as to why they should not leave the job to a courier.
Otto nodded, reaching for the controls of the digital consol. "I hope you don't need to go back anymore than three months. The standard practice is to erase the records and reuse the disks after a three month period. With the new study term commencing tomorrow, that erasure is due to take place next week."
"I must request you delay such procedures until further notice." Yuy frowned. "Even one extra month may give us some clues."
Otto heaved himself to his feet after ejecting the disks from the viewer. "Then I will arrange for the three months recordings to be packaged. Perhaps while you are waiting, gentlemen, you would appreciate a cup of tea or coffee?" He moved to the door and paused, one hand on the knob. "My office is available if you wish to wait there."
Before anyone could respond in the affirmative or negative a pager bleeped. For a moment the four men all felt for their units, and Otto waggled a finger indicating it was him. Relaxing back into his seat Treize watched as the Security Chief flicked the device to read and stiffened, looking up toward the clock on the overhead display. He grunted softly and tucked away his pager, before glancing at the three men watching him.
"Sorry, it is later than I thought. We have a bus load of students at the outer gate, and I need to be in the detail to see them safely inside and settled. I will give the instruction for the disks you requested to be packaged and brought to you as I leave."
Yuy inclined his head and with a final nod Otto hurried out the door. Heero sighed and stood, stretching slowly and with a great deal of pleasure, suggesting he was as cramped and uncomfortable as Treize. Wu Fei stood and watched as Treize almost glided to the door, peered through the glass insert and then slipped silently into the hallway.
"Treize? Where are you going?"
The Prime flashed a charming smile over his shoulder and kept going, ignoring his partner's irate growl. Yuy frowned and turned an enquiring look on Chang.
"I have no idea." Chang scowled at the closed door and hesitated, then made his decision. "He's an odd one, but I have learned to trust his instincts. He has a bee in his bonnet about something and he will share… Just not here and now, I think. I've found it does not pay to let Mr. Curiosity out of my sight for long. Coming?"
t.b.c
Karina Robertson 2006
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Treize Kushrenada : Level 10 Sending/Receiving Telepath + Receiving and Projecting Empath at Level 10. Prime rated. Agency Operative contracted term of 5 years with 2 years remaining. [25yrs of age Training facility: Psychic Institute Munich Division.
Chang Wu Fei: Level 9 Telekinetic + Receiving Telepath Level 5. Agency Operative contracted term of 10 years with 8 years remaining[22yrs of age Training facility:Psychic Institute Luxemburg Division.
Heero Yuy: ESUN Security Agency Elite Operative. Government sanctioned Genetic enhancements performed by Romefeller Genetic Laboratory, Tokyo for adult service as Security Enhanced Operative. No Psychic Talent. Genetic induced enhancements include enhanced Strength, Hearing, Speed and Olfactory senses. Assigned regularly to liaison with The Agency's psychic agents. [21 / 22 years old
Catherine Bloom: Tsuberov University Security Agent and House Keeper. No Psionic talent. Staff member at Tsuberov for 5 year period. Fitted with Neural shield implant against telepathic intrusion. [25 yrs of age.
Heinrich Otto: Tsuberov University Security Chief. No Psionic talent. Staff Member at Tsuberov for five years. Fitted with a Neural shield implant against telepathic intrusion. Former employment, Sanc Imperial Guard. [35 years of age.
