FIFTY-SEVEN
Duo returned to the hospital the same way he left, in an ambulance with sirens blaring. Upon pulling into the emergency bay, he was met by the emergency room personnel who were perplexed that there was no patient, and they seemed more than a little irritated that he had commandeered an ambulance for his personal use. On the way to Hilde's room, he sent Angela a message ordering her to give the hospital a hefty donation for the trouble.
His bodyguards followed him to Hilde's room where he was annoyed to find Sean Murphy waiting. The sector chief stood when Duo entered. "She hasn't awakened."
"I did what you asked," Duo told him. "Richter will be at the council meeting. I don't know in what shape or what capacity, but he will be there. Right now he is singing an opera for the Preventers and the Earth Sphere United Nation authorities, so I'm guessing that the colony you go to sleep to tonight will not be the same one you wake up to in the morning."
Murphy grinned. "That will be a welcome change. I don't know how to thank you, Maxwell. Thanks hardly seems enough for all that you've done this last year."
"You don't have to thank me. This is my colony, too."
Murphy then left Duo alone with Hilde. Before sitting on the chair that Murphy had vacated, Duo turned off his phone so that he would not be disturbed as he sat with her. She woke later when the doctor came in to check her wound, but she was groggy and probably didn't hear as he pronounced it free of infection. She had fallen back asleep before the doctor instructed the nurse to change the dosage of the pain medication so that she could fully awaken.
Hilde finally awoke around dinner time and when she tried to stretch, she winced and then blew out her breath.
"I forgot what happened," she told Duo who had jumped from the chair to help her sit up in bed. "I don't suppose there is something to eat, and maybe some coffee?"
Duo pressed the button to summon the nurse. "How are you feeling?"
"Still a little tired and a lot hungry." She reached out to take his hand. "How are you, Duo? You look ragged."
He hadn't changed, showered or shaved since leaving the decontamination center at the spaceport. "I had the shit scared out of me," he told her. He had been sure that he would not be able to save Hilde from falling victim to Lina Richter's insanity. Even remembering the woman aiming the gun at her made him shudder.
She reached up to caress his cheek. "I'm sorry Duo. I was afraid you were going to see me die."
"It's over," he said as he leaned down to lightly kiss her lips. "Let's just put this ugly mess behind us." Even as he said it, Duo worried that they would never be able to put it behind them.
The nurse walked in then carrying a tray, and when Hilde pushed Duo back, he laughed as she eagerly held out her good arm for the tray. "I smell coffee."
Duo helped the nurse by pulling the swivel table to the bed on which she set the tray that she uncovered for her. "We have a delicious meal for you today," she announced.
"I don't see gelatin," Hilde remarked as she looked over the appetizing array of foods. It didn't look like a typical hospital meal.
"The meal was sent over an hour ago from a restaurant." The nurse handed Hilde an envelope that she opened to draw out a card.
Looking at the meal, Duo recognized the dishes, so he was not surprised when Hilde handed him the card and saw that the staff at Le Beau Papillon had signed it. He could not imagine how they were feeling. Fiona Malone had never shown them the side of her that had taken advantage of a man that loved her and disposed of their child so that he could never find it. To them she had been a fair employer, and if Duo had not seen her darker side, he would be grieving today and angered that the Teutons had taken away another outer sector person trying to improve their lives. Rogelio had heard enough of Madame Chantal's true nature in what she had said to Duo to make sense of what had happened, and while he doubted Rogelio had told them what he had overheard, he was probably keeping the staff calm until they would have a chance to learn the truth.
Hilde started her meal by draining her coffee as the nurse noted her vitals before leaving. Duo picked at her meal but did not speak as she ate, and she did not say anything either until she had enough to satisfy her hunger.
Then she asked, "Why were you at my mother's house? What made you go there?"
He felt like a fool admitting, "I confronted Fiona Malone at the restaurant."
"Duo! We agreed not to do that."
"We also agreed that you would not speak to Werner Richter, and yet you did."
"That had nothing to do with how I ended up with Lina. She ambushed me outside the government building."
"And if I hadn't spoken to Fiona Malone, I wouldn't have followed her to your mother's house."
"How did you know I spoke to Werner?" she asked, her brows furrowed.
"He called me looking for you. By that time, I was already inside the gate at the Schbeiker estate. He found your phone on the street."
Hilde sighed deeply. "Lina tossed it out the window of the car when it rang and I was about to answer it. I didn't know what to think, but it did not occur to me that she might be dangerous."
"I don't think anybody knew she was that dangerous."
Hilde stared silently at the tray of food for a moment before she said, "I remembered what happened the night they killed your father. Lina must have always planned for me to remember what happened because Dr. Koenig entrusted her with a phrase that would bring back my memory. My mother had a gun that night when she confronted my … your father. I don't know if she found it in is study or whether she brought it in with her. I think she intended to kill him to keep him from exposing the lie of their marriage, but Fiona took the gun from her when she couldn't do it and she shot him. He was going to destroy the business she had made with the money Lina paid her to dispose of you."
His mother had already told him how she had profited from losing him in the system so that his father could not find him. And he knew that she had started her career as a restaurateur in the outer sector with a small, successful café. She must have been furious when he threatened the life she had made for herself.
"When she only wounded him, Lina took the gun and killed him before she could shoot him again. I think Lina wanted to be the one to end his life since he had denied her his love." Hilde shook her head and forced out a bitter laugh. "I thought I had lousy parents who were too self-absorbed to care about me. It turns out I didn't even have real parents. Otto Schbeiker wasn't my father and Ingrid never felt as if she were my mother."
Duo reached out to grasp her hand. "We can't let the past ruin our future." He entwined their fingers. "We have a future together, the future my father wanted for us."
"There were times that I hated Otto Schbeiker, and yet he was the only one who cared about me and what I wanted to do. He could have prevented me from leaving the colony to fight, and he could have forced me to leave you when we returned to the colony together, but he did not."
As she blinked back tears, he leaned in to kiss her forehead, and when he leaned back, he looked at her tray that still had plenty of food left. "If you are done, I'll eat the rest. I'm starving. I haven't had anything since we left the decontamination center."
She raised a brow. "I am eating for two. Get your own meal."
Duo took out his phone and called the restaurant to order a meal for takeout, and as he listed the foods he wanted, Hilde added a few of her own including a dessert. He didn't give his name but told the takeout waitress that a man would be there to pick it up, and as an afterthought he ordered meals for his bodyguards. He then left the room and told one of his bodyguards to head over to Le Beau Papillon to get the meals. When the man argued that he could not leave because his safety was his primary concern, Duo reminded him that he had been a Preventer agent, and that there were Preventers guarding the hospital. They compromised by the bodyguard giving him one of his guns although Duo was certain it would not be needed.
By the time the meals had been delivered and eaten, it was late, and Hilde looked tired again. They spent the evening talking about all the ruined plans that Ellie had made for the ground-breaking ceremonies, and he reluctantly told her what was happening in the colony. She was dismayed that all their hard work looked as though it was wasted and they would be lucky to avoid being caught up in a civil war, but Duo was reasonably confident that Werner Richter would somehow manage to avert the disaster.
When morning came, even though he did not want to, Hilde demanded that he put the news on the telecom in her room. They were both shocked to learn that during the night there had been a violent confrontation in Sector 1 between the Sector 1 guard and the Preventers backed by colony police. Dozens of first family men and women had been arrested in connection with the taxation extortion that had been taking place on the colony for many years. Duo tried not to smile when he watched the footage of Andreas Becker being led to a police van in handcuffs, but he failed when Hilde snorted with laughter. Becker would not enjoy spending time in jail with all the people he put behind bars.
Hilde shook her head in dismay and remarked how surprised she was to see how widespread the corruption was among the first families. Gunther Weber was also arrested, and while he shouted that he was innocent, Duo knew the information that Richter had given the Preventers would have to be damning in order for them to arrest a sector chief.
"Do you think my father was involved?" asked Duo. He did not want to believe that Otto Schbeiker would take advantage of the outer sectors, but he was a prominent Teuton.
Hilde looked at him. "I am sure that he was not. However, his father and grandfather probably profited from their schemes." She sighed. "I think the money he left me was from their machinations, but he intended to put a stop to it."
Helmut had told Duo that Otto was planning to make a bid for governor. Even with all his power and money, Duo doubted he could have stopped the corruption before one of the men or women who had been arrested would have ordered his assassination.
"When is the council meeting?" Hilde asked Duo.
"Later today," he told her. "Don't worry about it. Sean Murphy will let us know what happens."
She reached out to put her hand on his arm. "Duo, I want you to go to the meeting."
He frowned at her. "Me? Why would I go?"
"Sector 1 doesn't have a chief now that Gunther Weber is in jail. Any men of the first families that haven't been arrested are probably too frightened to leave their houses. You can stand in for your father."
He jerked back from her. "Why would I do that?"
She met his gaze for a moment and then looked away. For a moment she did not speak, and then a tear rolled down her cheek before she looked at him with watery eyes. "I don't want him to face the council alone. Go there for me, Duo."
Duo did not want anything to do with colony politics, but he could not refuse to do this for Hilde. "When this is over, I will hold out the olive branch to him," Duo told her, "but if he doesn't take it, we are done with him."
Hilde could only nod because she was overcome with emotion, and he put his arms around her. He knew that she wanted his recognition, but he doubted Richter could give it to her, certainly not now when he was grieving the woman he wasted his love on. Duo did not want to understand the man, but he did. He had been duped his entire marriage to Lina Jaeger and tricked cruelly into raising Hilde as Otto Schbeiker's daughter when she was really his own. Lina Jaeger had been a horrible, vindictive woman who took her revenge on everyone who kept her from the man she desired.
When Hilde calmed, she suggested that they call Angela to find out how they could salvage their project. Duo did not want to work, but he thought it would help her get her mind off Werner Richter's fate. They spent the rest of the morning on a conference call with Angela and Ellie who did not bother leaving her beach chair and Duo felt mocked by hearing the children playing in the background. She even turned her tablet to face the beach so that he could see that Triton Bloom had joined them in Barbados and he was taking Mia further out in the water on a surfboard. Even though he knew that Mia could swim well, he was terrified to watch her surf with him on what he thought was a particularly large wave, Ellie told him it was much smaller than what they had been doing earlier. Hilde was delighted and said she hoped they could get Triton to teach her to surf. Duo didn't like that idea at all.
By the time they finished with the call, they had made preliminary plans to start the work on the colony once the government was settled. He also had a chance to talk to Mia and to warn Triton that he would be in for a world of hurt if anything happened to his little girl. Unfortunately, Hilde took the opportunity to extract a promise from him to teach her to surf when they had a chance to leave the colony.
Although she was feeling better after the call, Duo didn't want to leave Hilde alone at the hospital, but if he didn't, he would not be able to make the meeting. He went to the house where they would be staying and wasn't surprised to find that Robert Cameron's home in Sector 5 was as grandiose as any estate in Sector 1, but he was infuriated to realize that while he and Mia had nowhere to go after being kicked out of the apartment in Sector 13, Ellie had gone to live there with Cameron without giving her daughter a single thought. That was the past, and they were both different people now. It was a shame that it had taken Ellie so long to realize that she had more to offer her daughter than material things. Those few weeks living together at Dorothy's house had made her realize what she had been missing by keeping her own child at arm's length. Duo could not be happier with how things turned out, even if it meant he had to share his precious daughter with her mother.
After showering and changing into a clean suit, Duo set out to do as Hilde wanted even though he would rather be fighting an army of mobile dolls in his gundam without any backup. When he arrived at the government building with his security detail, he met with some resistance from the guards at the building entrance until Sean Murphy rescued him and arranged for him to enter.
"What are you doing here, Maxwell?" he asked once Duo was inside.
"I am attending your meeting," he told him. "Lead the way."
Murphy raised his brows but held out his arm. "This way." He led him to an elevator. "I suppose you heard what happened in Sector 1. We are fortunate that the few casualties were among the Sector 1 guard. That is another crime the first families will have to answer for, having their own military."
Duo looked at him. "Who didn't know they had their own military?" Even he knew that Sector 1 had their own guards to keep the rabble out.
"Nobody, but most of us thought it was for show. They pranced around in braided uniforms with swords at their sides. I doubt anybody thought they would actually break out the guns to fight. Turns out they had a hefty arsenal at their disposal. If Richter hadn't given the Preventers information about it, they wouldn't have been able to run the operation that captured it. The first families could have held off the authorities for months. Having the code to disable the blast doors that would have closed off the sector helped as well." Murphy shook his head. "Selfish bastards. With all that firepower, they could have helped the outer sectors during the war, but they hid behind those blast doors hoping we would be wiped out."
Duo did not want to talk about the past. "Is Richter here?" He wouldn't put it past the man to wait at his mansion for the results of the council meeting.
The elevator slowed to a stop. "I've been told that he came in early this morning. He's probably cleaning out his office. He has refused to speak to anyone."
Duo looked at him. "Do you think Richter will face repercussions for turning on his people?"
Murphy shook his head. "Who is left to turn on him? Even the Teutons on Earth were involved in the schemes of the first families. They were siphoning money from the colony and were raided at the same time Sector 1 was taken over here. They have been turning on each other trying to broker deals to save their skins. I think Richter is safe for now."
They arrived at a conference room, and when Duo entered with Murphy, the other sector chiefs who turned to greet Murphy showed their surprise at seeing Duo with him. Most of them were acquainted with him if only through teleconference meetings with the Phoenix Group. They inquired politely about Hilde's condition and they were genuinely glad to hear that she was doing better, and when none of them asked why he was at their meeting, he volunteered the reason.
"I am here at her behest," he told them.
"Her attendance at a council meeting is not necessary," said Leo Fischer.
"I'm here to represent Sector 1," Duo told them.
They did not have a chance to react before the door opened and Werner Richter walked into the room. He looked far different from the miserable man Duo had bullied into leaving a padded cell the day before. Clean, shaved and wearing a pressed suit, he looked every inch the governor of the colony.
"Let's get this meeting over," he said tersely before sitting at the head of the table.
Duo waited until the seats had been filled before he went to the one left vacant at Richter's right hand. Richter looked askance which prompted the chief of Sector 4 to announce, "Duo Maxwell claims to represent Sector 1."
The chief of Sector 5 spoke up. "By what right can he claim to represent Sector 1. He is an outer sector rat that has been convicted of crimes. He can throw his money around the colony all he wants, but that won't change who he is."
Angry words bubbled to Duo's lips, but Werner put up his hand and nobody, including Duo, spoke.
"By what right can he claim to represent Sector 1? By the right of blood. Otto Schbeiker was his father. Nobody here can dispute that as the veracity of that claim was established several months ago." Duo wasn't surprised that he had been thoroughly investigated.
"The property of Sector 1 belonging to the Schbeiker family became his upon the death of Otto Schbeiker's widow," continued Richter, "and that gives him the right to represent Sector 1 if no one else steps forward." Richter passed his gaze over the men assembled. "As for his status as a convict, I have recently learned that he was accused and sentenced for a crime that he did not commit. You can draw your own conclusions for how that came to be. For my part, I regret having sentenced him now that I know the truth."
Nobody spoke when he glanced briefly at Duo who did not acknowledge his words. Richter did not seem to expect any forgiveness because he looked back at the men at the table. "As for throwing his money around the colony, you all sat here only two days ago applauding the plans he has made to improve the colony. He has no reason to do this except that it was what his father wanted, and you should be thankful that he chooses to honor the wishes of a man he did not know." He looked directly at the two sector chiefs who had been vocal in their opposition to Duo's presence at the meeting. "Do you have any more objections that I may address?"
Richter waited a few moments in which there was complete silence. Duo was surprised that he had defended him so efficiently. That did not mean he liked him any more than he did before he walked into the room. "Now let's get on with the business at hand. I'm sure you have all formed your opinions, so I won't bother to call for any discussion. We know why we are here. Who will make a motion?"
He had not even closed his mouth after speaking before the Sector 4 chief announced, "I motion to remove Werner Richter as governor of the colony."
"I second the motion," said the chief of Sector 5 with a smug look at Richter.
Hilde had explained to Duo that Sectors 4 and 5 were populated by later generation Teutons who aspired to the lives of the first families. They were the last line of Teutons who could claim any tie to the first families and staunchly defended them. That they would want to retaliate against Richter did not surprise Duo.
"Then I call for the vote." Richter did not seem bothered by their obvious dislike of him. "Sector 10, how do you vote?"
"Against," said Sean Murphy.
"Sector 9."
"Against."
Sectors 8 through 6 voted the same. There was no surprise that Sectors 5 and 4 voted to oust Richter. Duo was relieved that Leo Fischer voted against his removal so that made Duo's vote moot although he officially voted along with Konrad Lange against the motion.
Frustrated, the Sector 4 chief blurted, "If you had any decency, Richter, you would resign!"
Sean Murphy snorted. "We don't need a change in leadership at this time. We need stability. Nobody is changing their votes. You voted against Hilde Schbeiker as our representative to congress. You were wrong then and you're wrong now." He looked down the table at Richter. "If you try to resign, we won't accept your resignation. The vote will be the same."
"I see that you're giving me no choice," said Richter dryly. "How can you expect me to carry on as if nothing has happened?"
"If you need time off to sort out your personal problems, then take it. I can't speak for anybody else at this table, only for myself. I voted for you as governor because you tried to clean up crime on the colony. At times I thought you were a little hard-nosed," His gaze cut briefly to Duo who did not react. "But you put us on the right track."
"We don't blame you for what was happening," Lange spoke up.
"Why not?" asked Richter. "The worst crimes on the colony were originating in my own home under my nose and I turned a blind eye to it." He sounded disgusted in himself, and Duo thought it was warranted. How could he live with Lina Jaeger for so many years and not know what the woman was capable of.
"Let's hear what the Sector 1 chief has to say," said the chief of Sector 5 with a direct look at Duo. "He gave you a harsh sentence that put you in prison for more time than you deserved, especially given that we now know that you were innocent."
Duo met his gaze. "He had his reasons for doing what he did. I have my reasons for wanting him to remain governor. Although I would rather not, I will cancel the building projects of the Phoenix Group and recommend that my business partners look elsewhere to expand if I can't be assured that there is stability on this colony. It's true that I did not know Otto Schbeiker, but I do know after studying his plans and talking to the people with whom he made them, that he would agree with that decision."
The men at the table began to talk at once, all voicing aloud their concern for the projects that would help the colony immeasurably. As they argued, Duo looked at Richter. "I'm here as a favor to Hilde. Don't fuck it up by resigning because I meant what I said. I will take my father's money and go elsewhere with his plans." If that happened, they both knew that without the money from the inner sectors that were now in disarray, the entire colony would fall victim to the worst criminal elements.
Their gazes locked for a moment and then Richter stood. The men stopped talking and their heads turned to look at him. "I will need some time to get things settled. If there is no objection, I will appoint Sean Murphy to oversee my duties." Nobody voiced an objection although he gave them plenty of time to do so. "Then I will adjourn the meeting. Murphy, I will meet with you in my office so that we can go over the details of my leave."
Although he wanted to get back to the hospital to be with Hilde, Duo waited for the sector chiefs to leave him alone with Richter so that he could talk to him. Sean Murphy was the last to leave, and seeing that they wanted a private conversation, he told Richter that he would wait for him at his office.
Duo did not mince words. "The last thing I want is for Hilde to be upset. I don't understand how you can deny your own daughter, especially one as wonderful as Hilde, and I don't want to understand it. If you can't get your shit together, then don't bother mixing her up in it. Unless you are willing to be open about who she is to you, stay away from her."
He waited for Richter to give him any hope to take back to Hilde, but he did not speak, so Duo walked out of the conference room without looking back. His heart broke for Hilde, but he did not know if he could blame Richter for not wanting to acknowledge a daughter that he had no part in creating. It might be a different matter if he had actually cheated on Lina Jaeger with Ingrid, but he had not. That he had usurped Otto Schbeiker's role as a father out of spite made him a bastard in Duo's eyes, especially now that he had a chance to redeem himself and he would not. Hilde would have to learn to live with the knowledge that her father had never wanted her and never would.
When he returned to the hospital, he found Hilde talking to Relena on a screen that had been brought to the room for her to use. There was color in her cheeks and sparkle in her eyes. "Duo! Relena is taking her vacation in the colonies. She will be at our wedding!"
He took Hilde's hand. "I'm glad she could make it."
"The foreign minister is so happy that I helped avert a civil war here that he was willing to give me anything," Relena said with a smile. "But I think I have you to thank, Duo. I spoke to George Hensen after I was done with Werner Richter. He thinks something you said to him struck a nerve."
Duo shrugged. "I don't know what nerve I could have struck. He seemed as implacable as usual today."
"I already know what happened," Hilde told him. "Sean Murphy called after the meeting. Did Werner really stand up for you?"
Duo snorted. "If he stood up for anybody, it was my father and Teuton blood in general."
"I will say goodbye now that Duo has returned. You will be out of the hospital by the time we get there."
"I want you to stay with us at Robert's house," Hilde told her.
"I was hoping you would say that. I do not like staying in hotels. Neither does Heero." She paused and Duo heard a grunt of agreement. "I'll see you in a few days."
"Give me a call when you land." The communication ended and Hilde turned to look at Duo. "How did it feel to be recognized as a first family Teuton?"
"As odd as it felt to suddenly have more money than I could possibly know what to do with. You can't make me go back to that council table. I'm not going to act as the Sector 1 chief. I grudgingly accepted the role of running the Phoenix Group, but I draw the line. No more politics." He took her hands in his. "Hilde, I spoke to him after the meeting. I don't want you to hold out any hope that he will acknowledge you as his daughter."
She sighed deeply but he could see that she was resigned to the futility of expecting anything more of her father. "I know you don't understand, Duo, but I grew up in that society. I would be lying if I told you I had no reservations about marrying you. A small part of me is afraid that I might be destroying the future of my own children even though I know it isn't true."
Duo leaned in to kiss her, and then he rested his forehead against hers. "I will always be there for you, Hilde. I love you."
She smiled at him. "I don't know what I would do without you."
"That's not something you will ever have to worry about."
