Dossier Ch. 11
Heero leaned against the debriefing table, tapping his foot like an anxious tic.
He was a few minutes early for Une's meeting, but he needed to leave his office. He couldn't sit there poring over the Mars files for another moment. Facts, figures, equations, blue prints, no...that wasn't what phased him. The fact that he was about to test Relena's trust...that. That got him worked up.
But it was worth the risk.
He needed to keep tabs on these Clarks. And he was genuinely curious. Could 'Another Clark' mean another sibling? He could always redact the information in the paperwork, omit precious details, and tell them that the files came to him that way.
Would they buy it?
He decided, yes, they would have to. Taking this risk should be enough to prove to them that he was trustworthy. After all, they seemed to understand how important Relena was to him. To ask him to work behind her back, anyone that knew Relena on even a casual level knew how huge that was.
But how huge was this?
A feeling of impending doom crept up his back, and soon the weight of his actions became palpable.
Acting on his own...was this espionage? This was illegal what he was doing...right?
Treasonous...
The image of Relena smiling beneath him brought him back.
He needed to decide if this was worth it...and he needed to decide within the next few minutes.
Meeting with someone like Siet Clark to talk about their blood relation was one thing, smuggling classiefied information? What was he thinking?
This contact with the Clarks could be related to their investigation of the doctors.
It could give him the immunity he needed to act. To go undercover.
"Yuy! I mean...ALPHA!" His comrade's graveled voice came from the door. Duo huffed into his palm, letting out a deep cough.
"What's wrong with you Preventer Mors?" Trowa followed.
"Hey Trowa...eh...was out a little too late last night. My throat kills. Too much partying after the show." Duo slammed his fist on his chest in some attempt for relief.
"What an idiot...on a week day no less." Wufei sat down to Heero's left.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Agent Mors there is bottled water in the fridge behind you." Une entered, pointing behind the young men to a small kitchenette. "Just a few more moments, Agent Asfar is en route from the cafe with some coffee and donuts and shall be here shortly."
Duo's eyes widened, and he sat straight up in his seat.
"Woah free food...nice. This just went from boring to AA meeting."
"AA meeting?" Quatre's voice came from the door. Heero's ears perked at the sound, but when he looked up to meet his gaze, he could sense that Quatre was reading him like a book. He saw his eyebrow twitch. "Oh hi Duo! How was your concert last night?" He asked, genuinely interested. Duo almost answered, but seemed too afraid of the glaring Wufei nearby.
Quatre handed each of them their own personal favorite coffee, placed a small box of donuts behind them in the kitchenette, and finally settled into the seat nearest Une.
"Commander Gold, I brought you your non-fat half-caf soy milk Chai latte." He whispered as he gingerly placed the cup in front of her.
"Thank you Agent Asfar." She beamed, proud that he had nailed the order. "I am about to call role. I should have made you all stand at attention but I know you all...hate doing that."
Heero bit his lip so hard, he could have sworn he was about to draw blood. All this lazy banter, while he was sitting on a land mine.
Une placed a small recording device in front of her, and poised herself to take notes. She pushed 'record' on the device, and it sounded off with a high pitched beep.
"Today's meeting goes on the record. I'm sick and tired of handwriting your antics. Commander Une present, role call. Preventer Asfar." Une smiled sweetly at Quatre and took a sip from her complicated latte.
"Present." Quatre beamed, sounding like a kid on his first day of school.
"Preventer Gamma."
"Present." Trowa responded, taking a sip from his cup of black coffee.
"Preventer Mors."
"Here!" Duo yelled, leaning over the table to make sure the recording device could hear him. The movement triggered a coughing fit. Une lifted her lip in a snarl, visibly resisting the urge to swat at him. Duo took a look, strained sip at his own complicated cappuccino.
"Preventer Jade." Une cleared her throat.
"Present. Mors in your seat. Contractors are to behave like full-timers on site." Wufei made no effort to restrain himself, pulling rank immediately. He fiddled with the tea bag string that was secured beneath the plastic lid. Wufei took the cheapest tea available black without sugar.
Heero's focus on each pilot's drink did little to distract him from the nagging feeling in the back of his head. His iced black Americano was sweating harder than he was, but it was like looking into a mirror.
"Commander Alpha." Une looked to Heero, making eye contact. She looked as if she wanted to laugh and yell at the same time. Oh yes, another meeting with the five of them in one room, these always took a lot out of her. They'd be there for hours.
"...Present." He grunted.
"Okay Operation Excavation followup from initial first meeting...today's date is March 30, AC 203. Preventer Asfar has brought evidence from his home colony detailing financial transactions between..."
Heero was having trouble paying attention.
"So if Preventer Asfar is the only one of you with new documents to submit, we can move on with the debriefing. Today's debriefing is regarding intelligence gathered by Special Agent Gamma. Gamma I ask that you now lead this debriefing." Une said while positioning her recorder towards Trowa.
Trowa took a sip from his cup and cleared his throat.
"Thank you Commander Gold. So...Agent...Asfar..." Trowa smirked, taking a look at the newly minted part time agent. "...is passing out data sheets regarding a recent breach in communication."
Quatre pulled a folder from his briefcase and passed them a packet each.
"Asfar is this the communication you mentioned in the last security briefing? Heightened remote contact to an internal IP address?" Gold asked, flipping through the pages.
"That is correct Commander Gold. An unauthorized user has been logging into an HQ computer via VPN access. Only Preventer Agents are cleared to have this particular access, and even still that access is not given to agents who are not officers. Just saying this for the record." Quatre smiled at the group, obviously nervous.
Quatre had been recently sworn in as a deputy officer in Preventer's Communications department, utilizing his second to none knowledge of public relations and of course his Operation-Meteor era skills in high technology. He had been part time at Preventer only for a few months, having joined up only after hearing about Trowa spearheading the Excavation operation.
Heero cringed. Someone logging into an HQ computer remotely? That could mean any computer on any floor...
"Agent Asfar. Have you honed in on the exact location of this IP?" Heero asked.
"I am glad you asked Commander Alpha. I was about to address you next, as I feel this is definitely of concern to you. This IP address has been traced to a single desktop computer on this floor, in the Foreign Affairs wing."
Heero didn't need to ask which computer. It was obvious by the way Quatre addressed him that he was talking about Relena.
It was Une that spoke up next.
"Agent Asfar are you saying that someone is hacking into a politician's computer?"
"Yes. Foreign Minister Darlian's desktop, ma'am." Quatre answered, glancing at Heero to gauge his reaction.
Heero once again raked his hands through his hair. He had never felt so ignorant and idiotic in his life. Not since he let Relena get kidnapped by the Barton Foundation. Her safety was compromised again, right under his nose.
And here he sat, planning on stealing Mars files to provide them to another politician, his secret brother.
What in the hell was he thinking?
"Alpha. You know what to do in this instance."
Heero nodded. He was to initiate Briar Rose, his contingency plan for protecting Relena. She was to be disconnected from all tech, for her own safety. Depending on the severity, this meant increased security at home too. Considering how guilty he was feeling, he'd go above and beyond to protect her this first time initiating the protocol.
"Roger that. Initiating Briar Rose." Heero mumbled as he pulled out his cell phone. Using an app he created, he remotely cut her off from the network. It wouldn't be long before he'd receive a confused call from her. Once he told her he'd had to initiate BR, he would cut off her cell phone as well. Draconian, probably, but then again he had never expected to ever use it. Ideally he would have wanted to be in the same room as her when implementing it, but as long as she was at HQ, she was supposed to be safe.
Satisfied with Heero's actions, Une turned back to Trowa.
"Additional updates?"
"Actually, yes Commander. Thanks to Agent Asfar's efforts we have been able to narrow the hacker down a bit...they have been accessing HQ via one of several DNS gateways. None of which are currently approved by HQ. There are several potential locations. My guess is that they are using all of them at the same time to throw us off. But it does give us a few places to start."
"I don't get it...what does a communication breach on Relena's PC have to do with us? This wouldn't have been an issue if Yuy kept a better eye on her." Wufei interjected.
Heero looked up from his hands. Duo's jaw dropped in shock.
"What did you just say agent?" Heero growled.
"Agent Jade you're out of line." Une glared at Wufei from her seat, stealing a glance at Heero, who looked like he could ignite at any moment. He met her eyes, and she softened her expression. Her gaze seemed to impart a warning: Heero, calm down.
"Ma'am. I am out of line. I am only concerned that Commander Alpha has had a lapse of judgment is all." immediately, Heero's heart began to race. Could Wufei have found out about his communication with the Clarks?
Wufei leaned over to the recording device and shut it off.
"Yuy is fucking around with Minister Darlian." Wufei growled.
"He what..." Une gasped.
"Oh boy. Heero is a man after all. Not bad, not bad!" Duo laughed.
"What did you just say Chang?" Heero growled. If Une was afraid Heero would ignite before, he was a fully involved blaze now.
"I am saying that his living arrangement...his sleeping arrangement...is not only unethical, his...involvement with Foreign Minister Darlian is a direct threat to her safety. He is loosing his focus and already missed something major like this breach." Wufei said cooly with eyes closed. "I mean c'mon Yuy you should have seen your face when you two strolled in this morning. At least try to hide that you're sleeping with her!"
"Woah dude. Chill out." Trowa piped in.
"Yeah Wufei...that is a little mean. Aren't you sleeping with your superior also?" Quatre attempted, desperately trying to find common ground.
"I am sleeping with my wife. You signed off on my marriage to Brigadier General Po, Commander Une. And Yuy was my character witness you son of a bitch."
"What...the...fuck Chang." Heero smoldered in his seat. Duo flinched at every word. And truly, all of them began to cower.
"Alpha you will report to my office directly after this debriefing. Wufei we are going to try to avoid an incident report with Internal Affairs. Not out of concern for your Commander officer but more so in regard to...Miss Relena." Une briefly massaged her temples before clicking the recording device back on. It chimed with a sarcastically happy 'beep'.
"Duly noted Agent Jade. This debriefing is adjourned pending investigation. Dismissed, 1505 hours." Une then turned off the device.
"Care to defend yourself before I begin my ethics investigation?" Une laced her fingers together, staring at her contemporary.
Heero swallowed. Afraid of betraying Relena's trust, which he felt would be on thin ice sooner or later, but also afraid of appearing weak to his comrades.
"We aren't sleeping together." he stated, resolutely.
"Oh c'mon..." Wufei began.
"He ain't lyin' dude. Look at his face. Face of a virgin." Duo said, barely masking the disappointment in his voice.
"Our relationship has changed. I will submit to your investigation Commander. Whatever I have to do." Heero stood up from the conference table, shuffling the info sheets into a leather folder.
"Oh and fuck you Wufei." he growled before taking his leave.
"Some way to talk to your superior eh?" Trowa smiled at Wufei as they watched Heero prowl away.
"You are all impossible. Get out. Quatre dear can you submit meeting minutes today?" Une leaned over her laced fingers, speaking as calmly as possible.
"Already on it ma'am." Quatre smiled from his tablet computer. He excused himself to conclude sending his minutes from Trowa's office. Trowa led him out, hand resting on the small of his back. Une cursed to herself, realizing she would likely have to begin multiple investigations this year.
"And here y'all were thinking I was the wildcard. All of your agents sleeping with their superiors at one point or another and I bagged myself an ex-Oz babe like that is the most boring shit..."
"GET OUT."
AC 196 New Year's Day
Heero relished in the soft feeling. He had never felt this peace, and he was sure that he had finally died.
Dead and gone. He'd never be a threat to society again. He didn't need to be. Mission accomplished.
He had sworn he had only closed his eyes briefly after falling. She had caught him, and yet he had been in too much pain to truly remember. The scent of her the only solid clue, the only truth he clung to as he faded.
A mix of faded perfume and dirt and sweat. The smell of someone who had shone bright and beautiful, even under captivity. She was...always would be...beautiful no matter how dirty or scared or proud she was.
He had never been close enough to smell her before. And now that he was dying he soon realized, how stupid he was to be leaving this behind. Could he have anything in the void, it would be this memory. This sensory trigger would carry him through Limbo.
What cruel fate, to realize that you were always human upon the day of your death.
Beep.
To feel someone hold you in their arms...how ironic that you had not been held this way entering the world, but rather, while you were on your way out.
Beep.
The foreign feeling of fingers brushing back your hair, and yet the touch was welcome.
Beep.
And the pulsing need within you, fearing you would burst. Never encountering this need before, yet instantly recognizing it.
Beep.
He had to pee.
Beep.
Wake up.
Heero. Wake up.
"Heero..."
He blinked. Not dead at all. How dare he be disappointed.
And yet he was spoiled instantly, the view of her resting her head on the edge of his lap. Soft hair splayed across his bed.
"...Relena..." he moved to touch her, but met resistance.
Status report...restrained.
He couldn't feel anything.
He couldn't move anything.
The realization filled him with terror.
He tried desperately to move something, anything. But he was instantly met with searing pain. The sensation of a million needles pricked at his fingers and toes.
Out of frustration he let out a grunt.
She awoke immediately at the sound, as if he had called out to her again.
"Heero! You're...you're awake!" she whispered, lifting herself in her seat and adjusting his blanket as if it covered broken glass.
Heero was struggling to move his lips, but the effort exerted from his previous speech proved too much.
His tongue was dry and it stuck to the walls of his mouth like fusing concrete. He felt his nostrils flare against the breathing tubes fitted up his nose. His eyes widened as he mentally assessed the tube, finding relief when he realized the tubes sat at the base of his naval cavity, and he was not intubated.
He took a deep breath and accepted the plastic air. At least his lungs did what he told them to.
Relena reached over then, and with the lightest of touches, brushed the hair away from his forehead.
"You're alright Heero. You're just on a bit of oxygen. You're going to be okay." She soothed. The immense comfort he felt at her ability to read his mind was like no other feeling.
Heero felt his breathing even, and his pulse relax. He believed her when she said he would be okay. He'd believe anything she said from then on.
AC 203 Present Day
Heero's hands trembled as he held the manila Mars files at his desk. His leather bag sat open at his feet, waiting to be fed the pilfered folders.
Could he do this? Was this outside the scope of his authority? What would it do to his relationship...or whatever it was...with Relena?
He exhaled and placed the folders back onto his desk. He couldn't do it, not yet. He'd be taking advantage of her trust and generosity if he did, he'd decided.
Plus, he still needed to report to Une's office.
He had huffed his way back to his own office after the debriefing, angry that the news of his shared intimacy with Relena had been ousted. Une had directed he report immediately to her office, but he needed a moment to gather his thoughts and cool down. He had shoved Quatre's handouts into his bag, when he noticed the Mars files on his desk. He had grasped them in his hands, debating once again whether or not to take them home. Every bit of emotion he was stifling, coursed through the palms of his hands like an electrical current, forcing them to tremor. Ever since his hospitalization after the Marie Maia incident, he was finding it harder and harder to control any physical responses to stress.
He sat up and made his way to Une's office, shoving his hands into his pockets.
He tried to mentally retrace his steps with Relena. When did their relationship change? Could he mark the exact moment?
The moment you moved into her house. His conscience hissed at him.
Sure, but he had just returned from his trip, then. Plus he had been planning on taking on a role as her head body guard. Une thought it wise for him to move in then, too.
The first time you stared a little too long at her mouth.
That was an idiotic thing to think of...Heero shook his head. He couldn't decide when he had first stared at her lips. Pink and soft, yet hiding strong words and teeth. They could have been teenagers for all he knew, the first time he had stared.
The first time you imagined her naked.
But that was years ago, while he was alone. He had started to feel the images creeping in on him while protecting her on Libra. It had been the first time he truly felt the urge to see someone without clothes on. But he had stifled the imagery in favor of keeping her safe. She was a distraction, but she was also his responsibility. She didn't know he had thought of her that way back then. Heero immediately felt guilty. Had he been compartmentalizing these thoughts and feelings all this time? How long had it truly been? What would Relena think of him if she found out that he had been fantasizing about her for this long? She'd be disgusted with him, no doubt. He was twisted...demented...dangerous.
Heero finally arrived at Une's closed door. Before he could raise his fist to knock, he heard Une's call from the other side.
"In, Yuy." Right, he had recently installed a camera in front of her door, at her request.
His hands still had a tremor to them as he reached for the ice cold handle.
Une was seen to be studying paperwork when he finally pushed the door open. She gathered them all into as a neat a pile as she could before gesturing to the open seat in front of her.
"Please Commander, have a seat." She smiled. Heero nodded and took his place.
"So. I'm sure you are familiar with the protocol you helped author upon development of the internal affairs department." Heero swallowed, hard. Yes, he was familiar.
He placed his palms against each arm rest, as if ready to grip for dear life.
Une brought out her digital recorder, again, and placed it near the edge of her lacquered desk, microphone pointing at Heero.
"Ready?" She whispered, finger poised above the record button.
Heero nodded, saving his saliva for when he needed to talk. She nodded in return, and pushed down on the button, earning that sarcastic high-pitched beep.
"Please state your full legal name and the date, for the record." She spoke.
"Commander Heero Yuy, Special Projects. The date is March 30, After Colony 203."
"Do you consent to this interview, Commander Yuy?" Une asked. Heero answered with a resolute 'yes'.
"Commander Yuy, you serve as both Commander of Special Projects as well as Head of Foreign Minister Relena Darlian's security team, correct?"
"Yes Commander Une."
"Thank you for your answer Commander." Une scribbled a note on the paperwork beneath her. "Do you live in Minister Darlian's household full time Commander Yuy?"
"Yes Commander Une."
"How long have you been living in the Darlian household?"
"Since 199...about four years now?" Heero's voice cracked. He saw Une cringe. He was struggling to keep his composure, but he knew he had to tell the truth. It would be worse if Internal Affairs found out without him complying. So much worse.
"And during those four years, have you been intimate with Foreign Minister Darlian?" Une's face flamed as she read the question from her sheet.
"Recently, yes." Heero steeled himself. He couldn't cower. Besides, he should be proud.
"What do you mean by recently? And is this the first time?"
"We didn't have sex." Heero stumbled.
"Well what did you do then? And when please." Une cringed again. Heero could tell she thought the line of questioning was stupid and unnecessary. She had been turning a blind eye to office relationships since the formation of Preventer. But Heero just had to start shacking up with the Queen of the World.
"We...we...last night...she..." Heero gripped the armrests of his chair, knuckles loosing color.
"You did not engage in intercourse. But you were intimate..last night. Okay." Une nodded her head and took more notes.
"Commander Yuy, have you ever kissed the Foreign Minister during the four years you have lived in her household as her head bodyguard? While on duty?"
"...Yes." Heero whispered, letting his head drop. He was on duty when he left HQ until he discharged her at her office, seven days a week. He had kissed her while on the job.
Une nodded once more, running her hand through her long, chestnut brown hair.
"Have you ever engaged in any intimate activity, kissing, et cetera with Foreign Minister Darlian that was against her consent?" Une read off from the sheet with gritted teeth.
"Absolutely not." He growled. Une nodded, waving her hand.
"Do you or did you plan...on...pursuing a consensual relationship with Foreign Minister Relena Darlian while acting as head of her security team and living on site with her? Or were the occurrences of intimacy spontaneous and random."
Heero let the question stew for a moment. Could he even answer that? Should he? Sure they were spontaneous...he hadn't planned on any of this. But he wanted it to continue so badly. Was this what someone would call a relationship? Was that what it meant to be a couple? Was this what Relena wanted?
"I...Relena and I have not yet discussed that. I'm sure we would have discussed it if..."
"If what?" Une prodded.
"If we hadn't gotten caught." Heero let himself smirk. It was true. They had already started the discussion. But he didn't want Relena to have to deal with this embarrassment. And it was only going to get worse.
Une reached over and turned off the recording device. She dialed a number and put the phone on speaker.
"Internal Affairs." The familiar, harsh voice rang out.
"Commander Wind, I have Commander Yuy here from Special Projects ready to submit to your investigation. We are done with our interview."
"I'm just about done with Relena." Zechs spoke, emotionless from the other side. Heero felt chills crawl down his spine. "Yuy initiated Briar Rose earlier, I'd like to hear it from him why he has done so."
"It was on my order Wind, nothing to do with the investigation, I will debrief you in an hour."
"Understood. Commander Yuy, you and Minister Darlian are to report tomorrow morning at 09:00 for interrogation in conference room A. You are expected to arrive separately. We will arrange transportation." Zechs hung up the phone and Une brought her hands up to massage her temples. Nine a.m...would he have enough time to make it back from Boom? Was he still planning on going?
"I'm sorry Alpha...I understand that this is...ridiculous."
"It's partially my fault. I helped write the protocol." Heero couldn't help but smile, he nodded his head in disbelief. Of course he'd be his own undoing. His chest tightened...between this 'investigation' and his potential meeting in Boom tomorrow, he was feeling like a failure. Illicit fraternizing with his charge AND treason?
There's nothing wrong with acting on your emotions. He wanted to scoff. He couldn't follow his own advice.
"He's going to be extra difficult because he is her brother, you understand that."
"It's a conflict of interest, but I will let him have this one."
"So...off the record." Une leaned forward in her desk, prompting Heero to mirror the movement. "Is this finally for real?" Une sighed. Heero was sure that the entire floor had been placing bets on when it was going to happen with him and Relena by now. He was mortified, but relieved to see so many people seemingly...support them.
"I want it to be. But I want her to want it, too. She will make the choice." Heero nodded. Une nodded back, satisfied with his answer, and let him go.
She was already waiting in his office by the time he got back. She had locked his door from the inside, requiring him to use the bio fingerprint lock to get in. She was the only other person who's bio data was stored by the lock. For an emergency he told himself. But he knew, that secretly, he had pictured this exact moment.
There, upon his desk, Relena sat, wearing nothing but her shoes and underwear, waiting. Yuy noticed the Mars files were gone. Interesting, but not as interesting as she was.
"Care to report for debriefing Commander Yuy?" she smirked, kicking off her shoes.
Heero smiled. Zechs could go fuck himself.
a/n yayyy finally an update from me! I've been AWOL for too long guys, I'm sorry. BUT after nearly ten years, I've finally completed my bachelor's degree! I also had two weddings, two weekends in a row, and a crap ton of stuff go down at work. But I'm back, and looking into wrapping up Dossier :) But how should it end ?! Should there be a part 2!?
Thanks to those of you who stumble upon this story and give it a read, and to those of you who have been waiting so patiently for an update! And for those of you here waiting for an update to Mountebank, don't worry that is coming soon too (hopefully today!) ALSO excuse my lack of hacking or general PC knowledge. I did not do my research...yet!
~murshmallow