Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to someone else, namely Sunrise and Sotsu agency, not me.
Painful Choices
Chapter 5: people and projects
Sally looked thoughtfully at the back of Silvanus Roscoe, as the couple followed the man quietly while he threaded through the throng of people enjoying themselves and using up their money in the betting tables, looking around as they passed the restaurant part of the casino where less chancy people choose to socialize. She could feel Wufei's hand on her elbow and almost smirked as she thought, 'How gentlemanly of him,' but was stopped with the change of scenery. The partners exchanged a glance as the man led them through the steel double doors that opened into the kitchen, worked their way through the busy mess and out into a quiet hallway of what seemed to be an elegant house. The thuds of their footsteps echoed on the walls as the company of three trudged forward until they came to an intricately carved oak door.
Roscoe held up a hand to signal a stope and then turned to the pair behind him, "Wait here."
The steady silence settled once more as Wufei gave a brief nod as an answer and Roscoe entered the room.
Left behind, the pair's eyes began to look around, and after a few seconds were seemingly satisfied and exchanged a meaningful look before turning their gaze back on the door, waiting for it to open again.
***
Footsteps again. A pause, and then a voice.
"Do a background check."
"I have sir."
"And?"
"Married for almost two years, engaged for three and met six years ago in a function hosted by the ESUN. Mr. Zhang had been a part of the L5 colony, but was sent to earth by his clan to study before the colony was blown to bits. He's pretty intelligent if he managed to enter this prestigious university. After graduating, he worked for a firm but found out being employed under someone was incompatible with his temperament so he started his own company, Renegade enterprises. They specialize on metal alloys and other materials, and I think they might expand on security equipments."
"Isn't that a bit far from their original expertise?"
"I gathered that it is one of Mr. Zhang's passions when he was younger and it started off with the request of a client who knew about it. A few more clients caught the buzz and since the system Mr. Zhang assembled was quite superb, more requests came. The business is getting millions from it but they still deal mainly with their materials. I looked at his stocks and they're really doing quite well. Oh and four other people have shares in the company."
"Who are they?"
"I can't find any information on them. Must be people from high up. My guess is they're funding him for the security systems he's developing. He has also entered other ventures. They're quite risky but the yields are very promising"
Having read the printout about these ventures, the man looked up again to ask, "And the wife?"
"Mrs. Tamara Zhang had been born here on earth. She won a minor beauty pageant just after the war and that served as the spring for her career, modeling for a few magazines, but she stopped when she got married. She's an image consultant now."
The man studied the few pictures handed to him by his subordinate, not a single expression detected on his countenance."
"We'll let them in."
***
It has been almost ten minutes when the oak door finally opened, revealing a spacious study within, with Silvanus Roscoe standing in the middle of it and beckoning to the partners."
Putting a hand on Sally's waist like a concerned husband would, Wufei took the first step, Sally trailing a bit after him."
"Welcome Mr. Zhang," An elderly man wearing a grey suit on his face entered a side door, walked into the study and offered a handshake which Wufei willingly obliged. The man then turned and gave a nod accompanied by a benign, if not compassionate smile to Sally, "Mrs. Zhang."
Wufei's eyes was filled with curiosity and was about to ask a question but Roscoe readily stepped in before it could be properly voiced out, "This is Dr. Benjamin Thomas, the benefactor and leader of a project we hope to launch soon."
Nodding briefly, Wufei moved his gave back to the doctor and asked, "Is that why we were brought here?"
An amused chuckle came as his reply before the man followed it up with words, "Such a quick mind you have Mr. Zhang. From the moment you came in, I was pretty sure you'd want us to get straight to the point."
"What does this have to do with us?" Wufei asked again, shooting a glare at the man.
The impatient glare came from Wufei, seemed to elicit more chuckles from the very much amused leader, "Such eagerness to know. I've always thought that it was a good quality, but perhaps a little more patience for you is in order?"
"I have no reason to be patient when it involves me and my wife."
"Of course, of course, no patience when a woman is involved," then detecting Sally's raised eyebrows, he turned apologetically to her, "No offense meant there Mrs. Zhang," and training his eyes back to Wufei, "I understand that an explanation is in order."
"You are a businessman, are you not?"
"Yes," Wufei nodded in affirmation, quite relieved that the conversation is finally getting somewhere.
"And a very successful one I might say, I have heard about your booming profits and your other ventures"
Wufei started at this and looked enquiringly at Dr. Thomas, "Those are not easily accessible information."
"I have my sources Mr. Zhang, and besides, that is hardly the topic of our conversation. Our group has taken to observing your activities and we find that you may have the capacity to aid us in our project. We would have approached you in a few days, if you have not come to take a vacation in this vicinity"
"You talked about aid, how could I possibly aid you? Financially?"
"Of course not Mr. Zhang, I assure you that we are sufficiently funded by multinational and intercolonial companies."
The words multinational and intercolonial registered deeply into Wufei's mind. He never realized that the project could've been that big, "If not financially, then how? And don't you think we should know more of this project more than anything else?"
"I'm pretty sure what we'll be asking of you is within your capacity. And about this project, you will see Mr. Zhang, but not now. If I may interest you and your wife though, we have a beautiful resthouse on top of a mountain range and I'm pretty sure you'll see it fit for whatever vacation you have planned. I'll even send my men to fetch you"
"You didn't answer my question Dr. Thomas."
"No, I did not, but if you accept my offer…"
A brief pause before Wufei spoke again, "And if we don't?"
Dr. Thomas shrugged and grinned mischievously, "I hope your dear wife can handle you many sleepless nights…"
Sally's eyebrows raised a notch and was almost provoked to unleash a few choice words but Wufei's hand and the sharp sound of a phone ringing effectively stopped her.
There was a brief "Hello," and a pause before Silvanus Roscoe stepped forward to whisper something to the older man. Dr. Thomas gave a nod of understanding before turning to the couple.
"If you'll excuse me, it seems that I'm urgently needed somewhere right now. It has been a pleasure meeting you," he gave another of his smiles before turning their back on them, "I will see you at the resthouse."
The man left the way he came in, Roscoe closing the side doors after him before facing the couple once more.
"We can go back now."
They passed the hallways again and were almost past the organized din of the kitchen before Wufei spoke, "What was that all about?"
"Weren't you listening Mr. Zhang?" Roscoe continued walking, back turned to the pair.
""Of course I was. One's attention could hardly stray when you're in that kind of situation, but surely you know more about it?"
"I do know more than you do. And since you listened, you should understand completely what he meant so don't bother asking question because that's all you're gonna get for now."
"But -"
"Come tomorrow Mr. Zhang, bring your wife, enjoy in the resthouse, and we'll tell you what you want to know. That's all you have to do," Silvanus Roscoe handed him a card before he walked off, leaving them standing in the casino.
A few moments passed while Wufei stared at the card. It was Sally who finally broke the silence by tapping Wufei's shoulder.
"What do you think?"
Wufei pocketed the card, "I think we should be going back to our room my dear wife. We have lots of things to do," he answered and put his arms around a surprised Sally's shoulders.
***
'Dear wife' the words still lingered on her mind. That sounded so alien, coming from the Wufei that she have known. Well, as it is, that's not Wufei speaking anyway, it was Nathaniel Zhang.
'If only…' Sally shook her head to clear her mind, she knew where her train of thoughts were heading and right now, is the most inappropriate time for it. She looked back at her reflection on the dresser's mirror and proceeded to wipe off the cosmetics on her face, letting her thoughts drift to their mission instead.
Things are going the way we want them too 'Except for a few unforeseen circumstances, that is' They didn't really plan to leave the vicinity of this particular district, but Dr. Benjamin Thomas had something different in mind, and right now he's the only lead they have, so they just have go with his plan. 'Well there's also that Silvanus Roscoe.' They don't exactly know how he stands in all this. He may be one of the masterminds of the project or just another person sought by the group. 'Either way, I think he's trouble'
Sally sighed as she let the hand holding the cotton swab fall away from her face. A couple of identical swabs were scattered on the dresser by now. 'I feel so much better without that crap on my face.'
She was just about to stand up when she heard the knock on the bathroom door, "Sweetie, can I come in?"
Sally's eyes widened before settling back as if she remembered something. She walked over to the door, opened it slowly, revealing the Wufei on the other side, his face looking like he ate a nasty concoction of sour food. Struggling to keep a straight face, she opened the door wider. Wufei stalked in. When finally she got to close the door, Sally let out gales of laughter, making Wufei's face crumple further.
"Stop it, onna."
"Can't…" Sally gasped out between laughs, "You look like you swallowed a whole jar of pickles."
"Ha! Look who's talking, you look like a crazy monkey."
"I can live with that if it's at your expense."
Hearing this, Wufei stomped off towards the dresser and occupied the seat, grumbling, "Useless baka onnas"
"Aw… Wufei, don't worry," Sally sauntered towards where Wufei sat and smirked at him, "I'll symphatize with you. What injustice has a woman done to your male pride this time?"
"I'd rather not tell you," Wufei's eyes narrowed shrewdly as his eyes scrutinized Sally and looked around the room, "You wouldn't be of help anyway since you're an indecent and messy onna yourself."
"Indecent and messy?!?" Sally shouted indignantly at him.
"Decent women don't face a man wearing that thing," Wufei pointed at her robed for.
"It's called a robe Wufei, and besides you're the one who knocked while I was inside the bathroom."
"Fine, and how about that?" he now pointed at the cotton swabs scattered on the dresser-top behind him.
"Well I was going to clean up but you knocked!"
"Excuses, excuses…"
"Whatever…" Sally sighed, crossed her arms and looked at Wufei, "What did you want to talk about anyway?"
The first thing they did when they got back from the casino was to check the room for bugs that may have been planted while they were away, and a good thing they did. They found not only one, but three. Fortunately, the bathroom was quite safe, so they agreed to talk about mission related stuff in there.
"We have to set up a transmission to headquarters."
Sally nodded in understanding and proceeded to clear the dresser top while Wufei moved to one of the cabinets to retrieve a leather bag containing his laptop from a hidden compartment he constructed when they arrived. He set it down on the and began to boot it, while Sally did the necessary wirings for other equipment they have to attach. When everything was finished, Wufei logged on to the Preventers network and waited for the signal he sent to reach headquarters.
Seconds later, there was a short buzz and the screen shifted to reveal Duo Maxwell's face.
"Hey Wu-man! How's married life?"
"Wufei chose to ignore the irritation beginning to well up inside him and went straight to the point, "Give me Une."
"No can do, Wu," Duo shook his head.
"What do you mean you can't?"
"Well, it' really quite impossible since she's not here. She was called to Marimeia's school."
'Unreliable onna' the thought immediately registered on Wufei's mind, "Heero then."
"Guarding Relena in the convention."
"How about Trowa?"
"Don't you remember? He's having his vacation."
"Quatre?"
"Attending the convention with Relena."
"Wufei's face crumpled a bit, getting quite desperate, "Zechs and Noin then."
"Nope, baby check-up" Duo gave him a cheeky grin, "Face it Wufei, you're stuck with me and Hilde."
"Great, a noisy baka and his onna, what could be worse?"
In the background, Sally rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. Finally, she pushed Wufei from the seat, ignoring his protests.
"First of all Duo, it's a pre-natal examination, not a baby check-up, and second, we've made contact with the target."
"I'll take your word for it doctor. So first stage is done huh?"
"Yes. Now, we need you to find everything about a certain Dr. Benjamin Thomas and Silvanus Roscoe and send it to us as soon as possible."
"That little bugger's involved?" Duo whistled in surprise, "Never knew he had it in him."
"We don't know much about this whole project yet so we can't be sure about how deep his involvement is. That's why we want you to research."
"Aw, nuts," a frown creased Duo's face, "I just remembered, I have a date later. Can't you do it? It'll be faster that way."
"We can't. we're leaving tomorrow."
"Leaving?!?" Duo started from his seat, "What do you mean leaving?"
"The organization has offered to disclose some information but we have to go with them to another place. The details should be in the report I'm going to send now, unless Mr. Justice forgot to put it in."
"I don't forget anything onna!" Wufei muttered indignantly.
Sally just ignored him and went on, "Now, I also want you to find anything you can't about a resthouse of some sort owned by this organization. Use the satellite feeds. That could help you. I don't know if we can set up a direct transmission later, since we're already being bugged, so most of our reports would come by mail. Tell Une and the others about the developments and always be on alert. I have a certain feeling about this mission. We don't know where we'll be gong so we'll try to slip a homing device to let you know where we are, but that cannot actually be guaranteed."
"Got it. Anything else?"
Sally looked at Wufei, who shook his head. "Nothing more."
"Ok then, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure?"
Duo grinned mischievously at her, "What the hell are you two doing in the bathroom?!?"
Sally slammed the laptop closed.
***
AN: So sorry for not updating for so long… Well now hopefully I can do this regularly. It's quite a boring chapter, not so much on the Sally-Wufei arguments since I have to start developing their mission but more of those will come later. And please don't forget to review!