Chapter 6
Gundam Project Presidential Residence, Tomino Colony
2432 Hours (12:32 PM EST)
Dr. Boya Deng grimly walks down the hallway towards the Conference room where the other Moderators are waiting for him. He'd received the news about Ookawara over the telephone, and although he didn't know the details, he knew immediately how serious the situation had become.
Just great…first the Yadate incident, then the terrorist bombings, now this! What next? I have to get a vacation, teaching students at the University and being a Moderator is really getting to me, thinks Boya.
"Are you sure you're ok? You look like you're about to go order the army to go bomb somebody," says a voice behind him. Boya looks to his right at his dinosaurian companion, Reg.
"You shouldn't have come with me. There is no reason for you to be here," replies Boya, but Reg just crosses his arms and looks up at him.
"I have the clearance to do so and I'm curious. Either I find out now or when it comes on the news, I'd rather it be now," says Reg, closing his eyes for moment. In that single moment, the memory of what happened ten months ago at Yadate Colony returns to him, to when he first met Boya and the others.
Those are my earliest memories…I can't remember anything before the Moderators found me. Except that face… thinks Reg, quickly shaking his head and returning to reality. What happened is over, in the past, now he must look to the future like anyone else. The two stop before two large oak doors, on a bronze plaque above them is engraved the words: "Conference Room". Boya turns the handle on the left door and pushes it open, entering a large well-lit room with equally large circular table in the middle. Sitting around the table are the other Moderators: Terry Horikiri, Zetasphere, DHD, and the Director of Intelligence, Republic.
"Good, now all of us are here," says Zetasphere, motioning Boya to take a seat. Reg crosses his arms and leans back against the wall as the lights dim, a large screen at the end of the room comes to life, showing real-time video of Ookawara Colony and Krakenhaus' fleet.
"As you all know already, earlier tonight a taskforce lead by Krakenhaus and Wing Zero Alpha engaged a Xeon mobile suit carrier, the Kuun-Lan, and was defeated. They are currently retreating to the nearest colony, Katoki," says DHD, putting down a mug of Coffee.
"A taskforce was defeated by one carrier? How is that possible?" asks Republic, "Who was commanding the Kuun-Lan?" As if on cue, a picture is brought up on screen, replacing the previous images, along with a bunch of personal data.
"His name is James Blackrock. Age: 26, born April 7, 1975 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. His parents immigrated to the L4 colonies three years later; he'd lived on Fujita Colony until 1998, when he joined Pyrus' Revolutionary Army," says a voice emanating from the screen, recognizable as that of Wing Zero Alpha, "During the early weeks of the Civil War, he participated in a raid that resulted in the capture of three prototype Gundam class mobile suits, RX-178 Gundam Mark II to be exact. He was awarded Unit 3, which he modified and renamed the 'Blackrock Gundam'. I am sure you will all recognize him by his nickname, the 'Ebony Nightmare'."
"If I remember correctly, he was primarily your rival during the war, Alpha," says Terry, as WZA's face appears on the screen in a small box near the bottom right corner.
"Yes, that is correct. I did have a number of confrontations with him during the second half of the war, although I never got to face him during the final battle at MO-II," he replies.
"Where's Krakenhaus?" asks Zetasphere.
"He's in his quarters resting. I don't think he's slept for two days," replies Alpha. Standing near the door with his eyes closed, Reg smirks.
"Probably off sulking somewhere and Alpha doesn't want to admit it," he mumbles, just loud enough for Boya to hear.
"REG!" he yells, glaring at the reptile angrily.
"Sheesh, sorry…" he replies nonchalantly. Before Boya can say anymore, Republic quickly cuts in.
"I think my agents may have discovered the reason why the Xeon has attacked Ookawara," he says, getting everyone's attention.
"Let's hear it," replies DHD, taking a sip of his coffee.
"As I'm sure you all know, the Xeon raided the Military Genetics Research Building here on Tomino well over 48 hours ago. Since the upper half of the building was destroyed, and the lower half burnt to the ground, we have no real way of know what, or if, they took anything. But, after careful examination of what was stored in the upper floors of the facility, we came up with this," says Republic, picking up a remote control and pushing a button, bringing up a list of names, "These were the most prominent DNA samples stored here at the Tomino facility."
"That's us!" replies Boya, pretty much stating the obvious.
"What would they be planning to do with our DNA?" asks Zetasphere, before suddenly realizing the answer, "Wait…do you think…?"
"Yes," replies Republic with a nod, "Clones. They probably plan to kill you quietly and use the clones to seize control. And it isn't that hard to obtain the necessary equipment through the black market, or some Earthnoid benefactor."
"One of the rogue nations, perhaps?" asks Alpha.
"Crap…if the US finds out about this they're going to find some way to connect them to Al-Qaeda and demand us to let them fight the Xeon," mutters DHD, rubbing his temples.
"Ugh, just what we need," replies Zetasphere, "But what does any of this have to do with Ookawara?"
"There is a similar Genetics Research building on Ookawara, but it does not store the DNA of government officials. It houses our GP Intelligence databank, we store our agents' DNA there," Republic answers.
"Do you suppose they plan on cloning several of our agents also?" asks Boya.
"More likely than not, it explains why they went ahead and attacked Ookawara," replies Republic.
"So, how should we proceed?" asks Alpha, "We're already en route to Katoki."
"Boya," says Zetasphere, "You take the Pegasus Fleet and meet up with the others at Katoki. Republic, assign more agents to the search for the Xeon base." Everyone stands from their seats except for DHD.
"I have a feeling everything is going to come to a head at Katoki Colony, but we must try and keep everything completely under wraps. No one must find out what's happening, or we may have a new war on our hands," he says quietly.
--
Xeon Base of Operations, Katoki Colony0901 Hours (9:01 AM EST)
Preventer steps off the elevator, his sunglasses already on as he walks into the office building's main lobby. While the actual base takes up five sub-floors, the rest of the building poses as the headquarters of the Neo Imaging Corporation. Preventer smirks as he walks past a group of suited men towards the main entrance, last night is nothing more than a distant memory now. His cell phone rings.
"What is it?" he says, answering the phone.
"There has been a change of plans, you are to meet with the messenger in an alley off of East 142nd Street," says a voice over the phone, Preventer recognizes it as that of the Boya clone, "I have emailed the exact location to your cell phone. Do not get caught, that is a direct order from Agent Fire." Preventer turns off his cell phone and smirks again as he walks out the main entrance.
One mishap and he loses confidence in all of my abilities. Heh, yet I am still the best they've got, thinks Preventer.
--
GP Intelligence Bureau, Katoki Division"Hey, it's about time you showed up!" yells Lord Maxwell across the room as Bladed steps off the elevator, "Come take a look at this." Bladed quickly walks across the office, through the field of cubicles to the one Maxwell is sitting at and takes a look at the computer screen.
"What am I looking at?" asks Bladed; staring at a photo of the man they'd met the night before at the bar.
"I never got the chance to scan Starcloud's mind last night, so I checked to see if he had a record. This is what came up," replies Maxwell, taking a sip of his coffee. Bladed quickly scans the data scrolling up the screen.
"Age, 26…he was a member of Pyrus' army?" he says, thinking out loud.
"He was captured just before the battle at MO-II, according to this he immigrated to GundamWatch shortly after the war ended," replies Maxwell, putting down the coffee and looking at his partner.
"Then what's he doing back here? Why now? Wait…do you suppose…?" says Bladed.
"Exactly," replies Lord Maxwell, reading his mind and answering before he could finish the sentence.
--
An alley off of East 142nd Street
A few light drops of rain fall past Preventer's face as he makes his way through the maze of narrow alleyways, his black trench coat fluttering behind him on a slight wind from the impending storm.
Damn, it just had to come just before the storm. Idiots, don't they know the rain schedule? thinks Preventer, looking up at the dark gray clouds looming overhead for a moment, before turning another corner. He takes a look around his new surroundings, it is still an alleyway, but now it is about as large as a small road. He notices two things: first that the only other exit is another alley a short distance away on the other end of this one, and second, the man standing in the shadows near that exit.
It's him, thinks Preventer. The man doesn't look up as Preventer approaches, but as he gets closer he can make out a few more details; the brown cloak he is wearing, and the briefcase lying next to his feet on the ground.
"Hand it over," says Preventer coldly, several dried up leaves blowing past in the cold wind.
"Hm? Are you talking to me?" asks the shadowy figure, finally noticing Preventer's presence.
"I said hand it over," Preventer repeats harshly. Although he couldn't see this man's face, he could tell that a confused look had crossed over it.
"What are you talking about?" he asks.
"Stop playing stupid. Both of us know why we're here, and I hate that secret agent crap, so just hand over the DNA," replies Preventer. The shadowy figure reaches down and picks up the briefcase with his left hand.
"So, this is really worth that much to you?" he asks. Preventer grimaces at the question, who cares how important it is to him?
"It is important to our entire operation, you know that already!" yells Preventer, as another gust of wind blows an old newspaper past them. The shadowy figure steps out of the darkness, finally revealing his face.
I know that face! But…how? thinks Preventer, as the man smirks.
"Preventer Agent, have you ever wondered how much YOU are worth?" he asks, the wind blowing through his hair.
"What?!" yells Preventer, taking a step away.
"Exactly 5.8 Million US dollars," replies the man, the smirk not changing at all as a realization passes through Preventer's mind.
He's a bounty hunter… he thinks, as the man throws the briefcase into the air, rips off the cloak and tosses it towards Preventer. Without thinking, Preventer rolls to the right, and comes up on his knee with a handgun drawn, but no target. The bounty hunter suddenly comes up from the side, kicking Preventer, who spins on the ground and fires at his opponent, only to find that he's shot the briefcase as it sails into the ground. Preventer sweeps the bounty hunter's feet from underneath him and tries to stand back up, but the other quickly dives at him, pushing him back to the ground. The two men grapple with each other, rolling around on the damp pavement until Preventer kicks the bounty hunter off, gets up, and quickly dives into the alley from whence he came, nearly getting shot as the hunter fires his Colt revolver at him.
"Son of a…" mutters Preventer, his back to the brick wall, as the light rain finally gives way to a torrent. Slowly, he edges back towards the end of the alley, and then quickly looks out.
What the..? Where did he go? He thinks, drawing his gun and cautiously stepping back out into the larger alley, the only discernable sounds being the falling rain and his own breathing. Preventer seems to be alone, the only other thing worth noting is the very object of this battle: the briefcase, lying in a large puddle dyed red with the blood from a broken DNA sample, the liquid secreting from the bullet hole Preventer had shot in it. Taking one last look around the large lot to make sure he's alone, Preventer makes his way towards the briefcase, only to get knocked violently to the ground as his assailant jumps him from behind.
"Stupid move, Agent," he says, twisting Preventer's right arm behind his back and pinning him to the ground. Desperately, Preventer butts his head backwards into the bounty hunter's face, sending him reeling enough for Preventer to elbow his face, knocking the man off completely. Pressing his sudden advantage, Preventer jumps atop the bounty hunter and begins to pummel his face with a barrage of punches, then getting up and kicking the man in the gut. Preventer bends down and picks up his handgun from a nearby puddle, then aims it at the battered man, taking in the site of his bruised and bloodied body. The bounty hunter opens his eyes weakly and stares at Preventer.
"You're not worth it," says Preventer, placing his gun back in his coat, then walking over and picking up the briefcase. He looks back one last time at the bounty hunter, and then walks off down the alleyway, leaving him lying in a pool of blood and water.
--
One Hour LaterThe police officer nods knowingly as the young man flashes his badge, letting him walk past into the alley. It had barely stopped raining only a few minutes earlier, a thick mist hovers over everything as the man steps into the alleyway from which gunshots had been reported about an hour earlier.
"What happened here?" he asks, as the paramedics finish strapping the severely beaten man. Another police officer looks up at him.
"From what I can tell, Detective, a bounty hunter tried to catch a bounty head, but ended up getting his ass kicked in the process," replies the officer, as the paramedics wheel the barely conscious man away. Desperately, the man grabs the detective's arm, and immediately the cop recognizes him.
"You…! From the gunfight at the bar last night…" says the detective, "Draco Starcloud…" Draco pulls him closer, and then with his other hand gives him a small card.
"Give…to Maxwell…" he whispers weakly, before the paramedics pull him off of the detective and quickly wheel him away. In stunned silence, the detective looks down at the card he'd been given: a business card for Neo Imaging Inc., located in the Xavier Potter Building at 1297 North Market Street. He flips the card over in his hand and reads the single word Draco had written in his own blood.
"Xeon…" whispers the detective, is sudden realization.