Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything for that matter. I make no $$$ off of my stories, I write them for pure enjoyment.
Chapter 4
For two days, Zechs, Noin, Sally and Lady Une carefully read every report contained in the file provided by Dr. Nick Ramirez. Zechs was determined to find out everything he could, and therefore pushed them all to finish as quickly as possible. In the past two days, the hours that Zechs had slept could have been counted on one hand.
After each of them had completed their review of the contents of the file, Zechs had to shake his head in disgust. The whole thing had been a set-up.
Zechs sat down at the desk and pulled out the notes and began to review them a fifth time. There were some inconsistencies found in the report, but they had found a big break. Colonel Une had been able to get a complete file on the young woman, Carrie Rio, who had been killed in Relena's place.
When he had first opened the file, he thought he saw Relena looking back at him. Same age, height, weight, long blond hair, hell even the same blood type. But the eyes had been different. Ms. Rio's eyes had been brown and Relena's were violet. That's why her face had been smashed, so no one would recognize the differences in the eye color and facial structure.
Since there were so many similarities between Ms. Rio and Relena, no DNA tests had been run. According to Dr. Ramirez's report, Carrie Rio had been killed in Relena's room due to the amount of blood in the room that matched her DNA. Only small traces of Relena's blood were found near the window. Whoever had committed this crime had done their homework.
A soft knock came from the door, as Noin pushed it open and walked behind the desk to stand beside Zechs. "Zechs, you need some rest. You'll do Relena no good if you continue to work at this pace." Noin said, concern etched across her tired face.
"I'm almost finished Noin, I just need to look over the file one more time and then place some calls."
Noin chuckled, "I wondered how long it would take before you would call them. Don't stay in here all day." Noin squeezed his hand, turned and left the room.
Zechs put his head in his hands and began rubbing his temples. 'So where the hell are you, Relena? Are you alive?' Those questions had plagued him for the past two days. But he knew who could help him answer those questions. Picking up the phone, Zechs began to make some calls of his own.
****************
"Hilde, are you going to get that?! Hilde?!?" Duo called from the living room. The vid-phone rang for a third time. 'I guess not.' Jumping over the couch, Duo was able to pick up the phone before the fourth ring. He found Zechs on the other end of the line.
"Zechs, buddy. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" Duo asked, a mischievous grin plastered across his face.
Zechs' cold, blue eyes glared at him through the screen. "Business. Maxwell, I have a job for you. I need you to come to Earth ASAP."
"Okay, chief." Duo said with a small salute. "What's the job?"
"Since you aren't on a secure line, I am not entitled to give you any details. You will receive them once you arrive."
Duo pounded away on the keyboard to his computer and then turned back to Zechs, "I'm booked on the first shuttle tomorrow morning to Earth. I better be getting compensated for spending all this money on such . . ."
"Maxwell, where is Yuy?" Zechs interrupted.
Duo knew exactly where Heero was staying. But he also knew that Heero would not be too thrilled to talk to Zechs. Duo had watched his friend battle with the aftermath of Relena's death. He couldn't bring himself to give Zechs Heero's location. "He's around here somewhere. Why?"
"I want Yuy working on this thing too."
Duo smirked. "You know Zechs, I've known Heero for five years and I can never remember him following orders. What makes you think that he'll accept this so called 'mission'?"
Silence hung between them for only a minute before Zechs shattered it, simply saying, "Tell him it's about Relena." Then the vid-phone screen went blank.
****************
Heero strode into the park, walking toward their normal meeting place. When he reached the old oak tree, he sat down against the tree's trunk. While waiting for Duo, he watched a family enter the park and head toward the lake. The woman pulled out a blanket from the picnic basket and began to set up their lunch, while the father played soccer with the young boy. Heero turned his face away from the scene and closed his eyes. It brought back to many dreams. Dreams that would no longer come true.
"Heero, buddy? Earth to Heero. Man, where were you?"
Heero opened his eyes and found Duo standing over him. "Hn."
"Is that your answer for everything?"
"Hn."
Duo smiled, "I thought so."
"All right Duo, why did you call me?"
Duo sighed. "I had a strange call earlier today. Zechs Marquise contacted me about an important job/mission he wants me on. Said he wanted you on the team too."
Heero looked at him with those cold Prussian blue eyes and simply said, "No."
Duo sat down and leaned his back up against the tree. Pulling his hands behind his head, he added, "I told him that you wouldn't take the mission. He told me to convince you otherwise."
"Hn."
The serious expression that crossed Duo's face alerted Heero that there was something important about this mission. Duo took a deep breath and said, "Heero, the mission has something to do with Relena."
'Mission Accepted.' Heero was up on his feet and striding toward the park's exit, leaving Duo lagging behind. "Let's go." Heero called over his shoulder.
****************
When the shuttle landed, Heero and Duo found a car waiting for them on the tarmac. Duo offered to drive, but took his place in the passenger seat as Heero sunk behind the steering wheel. 'Hopefully he doesn't kill us along the way.' Duo thought as he reached for the seat belt.
They reached the Peacecraft mansion in record time. Pagan was waiting for them at the front door. He escorted them to the library as soon as they crossed the threshold. On the other side of the door sat Quatre, Trowa and Wufei. Colonel Une and Sally handed them each a folder as they moved towards the empty seats.
Heero spoke up before he even reached his chair. "All right, Zechs. What exactly is this all about? "
Zechs whipped around from behind the desk, his blue eyes ablaze. "You were always blunt when it came to certain things, Yuy. Fine, I won't sugar coat it for you. I just learned three days ago that the girl we buried 8 months ago was NOT MY SISTER!"
"WHAT?!?!?!" Rang out a chorus from Duo, Quatre and Wufei as they stood up. They all started asking questions at the same time. Trowa remained seated and silent, like usual. Heero just stood there, his only expression was the shocked look in his eyes.
Zechs shouted, "If you would all sit down and quiet down, we'll try to answer all of your questions." Changing the tone of his voice, Zechs continued, "Three days ago some information pertaining to Relena's death was brought to the attention of the Preventers. The young woman killed in Relena's place looked close enough to be her twin, her name was Carrie Rio. Her last reported location was the new colony L6-2789. She disappeared 9 months ago."
He walked to the window. "Relena's death was a cover-up. As far as we know, she's still alive, but we have no idea why she was taken or by whom. That's where you come in."
Zechs turned his face back to the Gundam Pilots. "We believe that colony L6-2789 is the place to start looking. In the files that Une and Sally handed out, you will find a copy of everything we know about Carrie Rio and the colony. You leave in the morning."
******************
That night, the full moon illuminated the entire room. Heero stood next to the window in the guest bedroom, staring up at the stars.
"Relena." 'Maybe I should have stayed. Where are you Relena? What have they done to you?'
To say that he was shocked to find out there was a possibility Relena could be alive was an understatement. Turning away from the window, Heero strolled over to his duffel bag lying on the bed. Carefully, he pulled out a worn teddy bear and held it close to his heart.
"I promise you, Relena. I will find you."
****************
The ringing of the phone brought him out of his sleep. Darting from his bed, he headed towards the desk. Fumbling in the dark, he flipped on the screen and was greeted by a stern warning.
"They know she's alive. The Gundam Pilots are on their way to the colony."
"Good. The training has been completed. She's been out in the field for three weeks now and shows no signs of deviating from the plan."
"No relapses?"
Sighing, he added, "None. Her reports have been coming in daily. The first phase of the plan has been started. She knows what to do." With that he terminated the connection and found his way back to bed.
He lay there for a while, fighting to fall back asleep, but he couldn't. His mind was on other things. Things like Revenge. A smile crossed his face as he thought about a house of cards being blown over in the wind. 'Just a matter of time.'
Chapter 4
For two days, Zechs, Noin, Sally and Lady Une carefully read every report contained in the file provided by Dr. Nick Ramirez. Zechs was determined to find out everything he could, and therefore pushed them all to finish as quickly as possible. In the past two days, the hours that Zechs had slept could have been counted on one hand.
After each of them had completed their review of the contents of the file, Zechs had to shake his head in disgust. The whole thing had been a set-up.
Zechs sat down at the desk and pulled out the notes and began to review them a fifth time. There were some inconsistencies found in the report, but they had found a big break. Colonel Une had been able to get a complete file on the young woman, Carrie Rio, who had been killed in Relena's place.
When he had first opened the file, he thought he saw Relena looking back at him. Same age, height, weight, long blond hair, hell even the same blood type. But the eyes had been different. Ms. Rio's eyes had been brown and Relena's were violet. That's why her face had been smashed, so no one would recognize the differences in the eye color and facial structure.
Since there were so many similarities between Ms. Rio and Relena, no DNA tests had been run. According to Dr. Ramirez's report, Carrie Rio had been killed in Relena's room due to the amount of blood in the room that matched her DNA. Only small traces of Relena's blood were found near the window. Whoever had committed this crime had done their homework.
A soft knock came from the door, as Noin pushed it open and walked behind the desk to stand beside Zechs. "Zechs, you need some rest. You'll do Relena no good if you continue to work at this pace." Noin said, concern etched across her tired face.
"I'm almost finished Noin, I just need to look over the file one more time and then place some calls."
Noin chuckled, "I wondered how long it would take before you would call them. Don't stay in here all day." Noin squeezed his hand, turned and left the room.
Zechs put his head in his hands and began rubbing his temples. 'So where the hell are you, Relena? Are you alive?' Those questions had plagued him for the past two days. But he knew who could help him answer those questions. Picking up the phone, Zechs began to make some calls of his own.
****************
"Hilde, are you going to get that?! Hilde?!?" Duo called from the living room. The vid-phone rang for a third time. 'I guess not.' Jumping over the couch, Duo was able to pick up the phone before the fourth ring. He found Zechs on the other end of the line.
"Zechs, buddy. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" Duo asked, a mischievous grin plastered across his face.
Zechs' cold, blue eyes glared at him through the screen. "Business. Maxwell, I have a job for you. I need you to come to Earth ASAP."
"Okay, chief." Duo said with a small salute. "What's the job?"
"Since you aren't on a secure line, I am not entitled to give you any details. You will receive them once you arrive."
Duo pounded away on the keyboard to his computer and then turned back to Zechs, "I'm booked on the first shuttle tomorrow morning to Earth. I better be getting compensated for spending all this money on such . . ."
"Maxwell, where is Yuy?" Zechs interrupted.
Duo knew exactly where Heero was staying. But he also knew that Heero would not be too thrilled to talk to Zechs. Duo had watched his friend battle with the aftermath of Relena's death. He couldn't bring himself to give Zechs Heero's location. "He's around here somewhere. Why?"
"I want Yuy working on this thing too."
Duo smirked. "You know Zechs, I've known Heero for five years and I can never remember him following orders. What makes you think that he'll accept this so called 'mission'?"
Silence hung between them for only a minute before Zechs shattered it, simply saying, "Tell him it's about Relena." Then the vid-phone screen went blank.
****************
Heero strode into the park, walking toward their normal meeting place. When he reached the old oak tree, he sat down against the tree's trunk. While waiting for Duo, he watched a family enter the park and head toward the lake. The woman pulled out a blanket from the picnic basket and began to set up their lunch, while the father played soccer with the young boy. Heero turned his face away from the scene and closed his eyes. It brought back to many dreams. Dreams that would no longer come true.
"Heero, buddy? Earth to Heero. Man, where were you?"
Heero opened his eyes and found Duo standing over him. "Hn."
"Is that your answer for everything?"
"Hn."
Duo smiled, "I thought so."
"All right Duo, why did you call me?"
Duo sighed. "I had a strange call earlier today. Zechs Marquise contacted me about an important job/mission he wants me on. Said he wanted you on the team too."
Heero looked at him with those cold Prussian blue eyes and simply said, "No."
Duo sat down and leaned his back up against the tree. Pulling his hands behind his head, he added, "I told him that you wouldn't take the mission. He told me to convince you otherwise."
"Hn."
The serious expression that crossed Duo's face alerted Heero that there was something important about this mission. Duo took a deep breath and said, "Heero, the mission has something to do with Relena."
'Mission Accepted.' Heero was up on his feet and striding toward the park's exit, leaving Duo lagging behind. "Let's go." Heero called over his shoulder.
****************
When the shuttle landed, Heero and Duo found a car waiting for them on the tarmac. Duo offered to drive, but took his place in the passenger seat as Heero sunk behind the steering wheel. 'Hopefully he doesn't kill us along the way.' Duo thought as he reached for the seat belt.
They reached the Peacecraft mansion in record time. Pagan was waiting for them at the front door. He escorted them to the library as soon as they crossed the threshold. On the other side of the door sat Quatre, Trowa and Wufei. Colonel Une and Sally handed them each a folder as they moved towards the empty seats.
Heero spoke up before he even reached his chair. "All right, Zechs. What exactly is this all about? "
Zechs whipped around from behind the desk, his blue eyes ablaze. "You were always blunt when it came to certain things, Yuy. Fine, I won't sugar coat it for you. I just learned three days ago that the girl we buried 8 months ago was NOT MY SISTER!"
"WHAT?!?!?!" Rang out a chorus from Duo, Quatre and Wufei as they stood up. They all started asking questions at the same time. Trowa remained seated and silent, like usual. Heero just stood there, his only expression was the shocked look in his eyes.
Zechs shouted, "If you would all sit down and quiet down, we'll try to answer all of your questions." Changing the tone of his voice, Zechs continued, "Three days ago some information pertaining to Relena's death was brought to the attention of the Preventers. The young woman killed in Relena's place looked close enough to be her twin, her name was Carrie Rio. Her last reported location was the new colony L6-2789. She disappeared 9 months ago."
He walked to the window. "Relena's death was a cover-up. As far as we know, she's still alive, but we have no idea why she was taken or by whom. That's where you come in."
Zechs turned his face back to the Gundam Pilots. "We believe that colony L6-2789 is the place to start looking. In the files that Une and Sally handed out, you will find a copy of everything we know about Carrie Rio and the colony. You leave in the morning."
******************
That night, the full moon illuminated the entire room. Heero stood next to the window in the guest bedroom, staring up at the stars.
"Relena." 'Maybe I should have stayed. Where are you Relena? What have they done to you?'
To say that he was shocked to find out there was a possibility Relena could be alive was an understatement. Turning away from the window, Heero strolled over to his duffel bag lying on the bed. Carefully, he pulled out a worn teddy bear and held it close to his heart.
"I promise you, Relena. I will find you."
****************
The ringing of the phone brought him out of his sleep. Darting from his bed, he headed towards the desk. Fumbling in the dark, he flipped on the screen and was greeted by a stern warning.
"They know she's alive. The Gundam Pilots are on their way to the colony."
"Good. The training has been completed. She's been out in the field for three weeks now and shows no signs of deviating from the plan."
"No relapses?"
Sighing, he added, "None. Her reports have been coming in daily. The first phase of the plan has been started. She knows what to do." With that he terminated the connection and found his way back to bed.
He lay there for a while, fighting to fall back asleep, but he couldn't. His mind was on other things. Things like Revenge. A smile crossed his face as he thought about a house of cards being blown over in the wind. 'Just a matter of time.'
