Torment of Paradise

~*~

Chapter 17

~*~

Lara sat in the worn chair of her desk, closing her eyes. 'This has been a week from hell.' Slouching forward, she rested her head against her arms on the desk, wanting nothing more than to lose herself in sleep. A few minutes later, the door opened, Zechs walking in. Wearily, Lara stood waiting to hear what he had to say. He didn't say anything simply closing the door, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Lara. . .what haven't you been telling me?" his quiet voice echoed around the room slightly.

"That's a very blunt way to put it Zechs. I've told you everything you asked of me." she couldn't meet his gaze, eyes focusing on the pen lying on the desk.

"You know what I'm talking about. I'm your superior officer and you shouldn't hide things of importance from me. What's going on?"

"You know as well as I do Zechs; no one knows where Treize is now and a search is ongoing for Jess. What more do you want?" she repressed the urge to swallow her nervousness. "What do you want me to say?"

"The truth would be a nice start Lara. I'm not a fool; what's going on between you and Samuel? I've noticed all the checks you and him have been pulling on each other for the past while; why the games?"

"Because. . .because he and Une have plans."

Zechs arched an eyebrow. "And these plans would consist of?"

"I can't tell you." she murmured.

"And why not; I believed that you trusted me enough to tell me anything Lara."

She paused; did she detect a hint of hurt in his voice? Shaking her head she dismissed it. "I do trust you Zechs; I'd trust you with my life if I had to. It's because I cannot implicate you anymore than I already have. I know too much and they can take me down at any given moment; I have to be very careful Zechs."

"Know too much about what?" he strode into the room a bit more, seating himself in the seat. "What shouldn't I know Lara?"

She sighed. "Must you be so persistent? It may be your downfall one day you know that right Zechs?"

"Then I shall wait until that day comes." he replied calmly.

She couldn't help but give a small wry laugh. "So very like you. If I tell you, you may face a court marshal; you may make it out alive. . .you may not."

"I've had worse odds." he gave a dry smile. "So what is it?"

"You know during Treize's speech. . .it wasn't really Jess who tried to kill him. She was a fall guy, a scapegoat." she paused, unsure of how to continue.

"You mean it was orchestrated by someone else?" he paused, thinking. "Someone in the ranks of Oz or Romefeller perhaps?"

"Close enough. Une and Samuel plotted the whole thing. I overheard them the night before you came back from your trip. I suspect that they planned the entire thing." she ran a hand through her hair. "They want Treize gone so they can take over and do God knows what."

"A conspiracy; I assume you have verified this?"

Lara nodded her head, taking a tape out. "Come with me, I want to show you something. It proves me beyond a shadow of doubt. Luckily I was able to get my hands on this tape and Samuel doesn't know."

She walked down the hall rapidly Zechs keeping an easy stride beside her. They walked into a small video viewing room, seating themselves in the two chairs. Sliding in the tape Lara searched out for the particular spot.

"You remember that Samuel was on the security detail right?"

"Yes; he showed strange behaviour at the speech Treize gave."

"They said he's dead."

Zechs shook his head. "I know Treize. He's not dead yet."

With a smile that disappeared Lara turned back to the TV. "It's right here; before he gets shot." she fell silent as the sound of the gun rang out and the ensuing panic descended. "There; do you see it?" she stabbed the pause button freezing the image.

"Is. . .Samuel holding Miss Jessica down; that's what it looks like to me."

Lara nodded. "I wasn't sure at first yet I can't deny it. Why would he do that if he was security? Then he did something else that disturbs me even more." she let the tape run showing the shrinking figures of Jess and Samuel disappear into an alleyway only to be followed by a dark haired figure a few seconds later. "And she never came out. . .well of that end. But I can't find her anywhere. Though I think that she may be back at her house."

"Then perhaps she doesn't want to be found by anyone else other than a few."

"I wouldn't blame her but she shouldn't have up and left like that; she's now the prime suspect in this murder case." she shook her head. "There's almost no way for her to clear her name at all. Plus with Colonel Une in charge with Treize gone and Samuel as her lackey I am not comforted by that fact at all."

"What do you think they have planned; a complete change for Oz?"

"Yes, I have come to believe that. I have been keeping track of them as quietly as possible and they have been making some strange purchases. First there was that contract with the Winner Foundation for use of their resources on their satellites and resource centers and then they start relocating all the men. Here, take a look at this map I did."

"They're all moved around to shuttle ports and key shipping bases." Zechs paused flipping between the maps. "Very effective chokehold they have established."

Lara nodded her head. "I would say so. Now I have to undo it somehow. And that's going to be twice as-"

"You have to undo this? Lara, you don't have to take it upon yourself. If anyone should be doing this, it's me."

"No, not you Zechs." she whispered, looking away into the blank screen now. "I am responsible for this in a manner of speaking and therefore I shall take responsibility for it."

"How so?" he replied gently, raising her face up to look him in the eye. "I fail to see how you are responsible."

"In my own way I am. I pushed for her to be placed under Treize's supervision and she could protect him in return. But I simply gave Samuel the scapegoat he had been looking for this entire time and-"

Zechs shook his head. "You can't predict what his behaviour was going to be exactly. You did what you felt to be right at the time and acted accordingly." he gave her a slightly wistful look.

"And it turned out to be the wrong thing Zechs and I just can't let his -" she stopped suddenly as he leaned forward and pulled her closer to him, her face starting to flush from the surprising and pleasing contact. "Zechs. . .what are you doing?"

"You try far too hard sometimes Lara and set yourself up for a fall." he murmured softly into her ear. "Try to relax once in awhile and go with the flow. You really do too much."

"Zechs I have to do much because-"

She was promptly silenced by a finger pressing to her lip. Her gaze flickered down to the gentle touch on her skin before she met his eyes again. She reached up and rested her hand against his, not willing to move it away yet; she rather liked the sensation of him touching her even if it would be for this one brief moment. His fingers trailed away only to travel down her neck and rest in the hollow of her throat causing her heartbeat to pick up. She gave a slight swallow as her hand slid up his arm slowly.

"Maybe you do too much sometimes Lara." he whispered softly.

She shook her head sadly. "There's a reason for everything I do Zechs. Everything I do is for people I love."

"Is that why you do so much for me?"

"I don't do much for you. I do what you want me to do to the best of-"

"I don't think many assistants would go to half the lengths you did. Like bringing in my favourite breakfast."

"So you happen to eat croissants; big deal."

"With a coffee exactly the way I like it; plus you bring a whole bag of croissants that are extremely hard to find here."

She shrugged. "I thought you'd like it." she mumbled, her entire face going red.

"You seem to think of me a lot." he stated gently. "Or do you just think too much?"

She couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped. "No, I just. . .I don't want anything else bad to happen to anyone in care about."

Zechs caressed her face gently. "Then I don't know why I let you do half the things you do."

Lara looked up at him sharply. "What. . .exactly are you saying Zechs?"

He didn't reply as he leaned in closer to her, breath moving over her face softly in a lulling rush. She didn't move back but found herself moving forwards towards his lips, her hand sliding down to his shoulder, wishing there was skin beneath her touch and not the damning cloth.

"I'm pretty sure you can tell me. Every single day I see you there working away and I know you feel the same thing I do Lara. I know you do. . ."

With a small swallow she rose. "Zechs, I do have other things to attend to at the moment. I really have to go but I thought it best to have you see the tape."

"I see." he rose also, straightening his shirt. "Then I shall leave you to work then Lara."

She nodded her head silently as she took the tape out and went to the door. "If you need me, I'll be in my quarters Zechs." she said quietly before she walked out.

"All right."

Lara felt like kicking herself as the door closed and she headed down the hall to her room. 'You dummy; you let your guard down too much and now look at you.' She looked down at the floor miserably watching as her boots scuffed the floor. Coming to her quarters she opened the door, placing the tape on the small table by the chair at the entrance and glancing at the bedside clock. 'Cripes, I didn't even realize that it was eleven. I'm way overdue for a good night's sleep.' She peeled off her clothes and headed for the shower, relishing the feel of the hot water against her skin. 'Zechs. . .' She bit her lip; she knew full well that what he had said was true but he was still her superior officer and it wouldn't be right. Her very good looking superior. . . She turned off the water and got out, pulling on a bathrobe and walking out in the main room. 'He even got me this room; I shouldn't have it, only a plain barracks room.' She sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the brush, intending to remove the tangles from her hair but was interrupted by a quiet knock. Sighing she rose, placing the brush down and going to the door.

"Zechs. . ." she stood there with the door half open, unsure of what to do next. When she saw the faint red stain by his side, she pulled him into the room quickly. "What happened?"

"Had a little run in." he said as he sat down heavily on the chair. "It's nothing to worry about."

Lara frowned as she peeled his shirt back, and gently felt along the edges of his shirt before she traveled up further, seeking the source of the bleeding. "This has the appearance of a stab wound."

"It is." he said with a wince as she found the pot on his shoulder. "They came at me from behind."

With a curse, Lara ran to the bathroom, searching for the medical kit. Finding it, she came back and seated herself in front of him. Wordlessly, she undid his shirt and started to work. "Why do you think you were stabbed?"

"What we discussed."

Her eyes flickered up to meet his before she looked back down at what she was doing. "We were alone in the room Zechs, no one could possibly know."

"Someone does." he grimaced slightly as she poured a bit of peroxide on the wound. "And that means you could be next."

"I can put two and two together you know." she muttered as she wiped away the last of the blood and got out the bandages. "We should be careful Zechs. What we're doing is risky and could get us into serious trouble. With Oz and others."

He nodded as she lifted his arm and started to wrap the bandage around his shoulder. "And you should stop going to places you shouldn't be in."

Lara froze for a minute before she continued. "You know about that?"

"Yes. But you did a very good job of sneaking around." Zechs' eyes held something of a twinkle before it dimmed. "I don't like it when officers under my jurisdiction go behind my back to do things. Things of sedition."

"I apologize Zechs; especially if it got you into trouble. But I am not going to sit around and wait for things to happen. It makes me anxious, worrisome and a general pain in the ass."

He chuckled. "I would imagine."

"I won't take that the wrong way," she said in a slightly miffed tone. "I should tell you then. I plan to find files and get them into more capable hands; hands that can take immediate action."

"I don't see how you plan to get them into the pilots' hands."

"I have a way," she said as she tied off the last of the bandage. "And it won't get you into anymore trouble."

Zechs didn't respond, simply looking at her. She sighed as she rose, intending to put the kit back in the bathroom. What stopped her was when Zechs took hold of her hand and wouldn't let go. She looked back at him, those blue eyes holding hers.

"Lara…I…you should…"

She cocked her head, slightly puzzled, before she realized what he was trying to say. Giving him a slightly crooked smile, she kneeled down and hugged him.

"I'll be careful." she whispered into his ear.

Lara closed her eyes as Zechs squeezed her midsection gently, sighing heavily into her neck. She kissed his temple gently before she drew away and headed into the bathroom 'I promise you that.'

~*~

Hurriedly Lara headed down the hall to the file room at the back of the base. 'I know that file has to be in here somewhere. It's like a needle in a haystack looking for these things sometimes I swear.' So far she and Zechs had played it cool to their fellow soldiers as well as the feeding frenzy media. But the hard task was making sure that Une and Samuel didn't get wind of their plans. 'Now I get to go over the security again. Damn Une…she's trying to get me out of her way. One blasted file on Treize and I know it will take me forever to find. I'm going to be here a while.' With a derisive snort she entered the room, the quiet glow of a computer greeting her. Seating herself at the console, she started her search with a sense of inevitability; but a creeping feeling started to take over her. 'I have a better idea…' She abandoned her search, heading for Colonel Une's documents; only her and Samuel were allowed to view them whenever they wished.

"Let's hope I haven't forgotten all my hacking skills…hopefully." she muttered as she sat down at the console and started searching on the database for the section.

It didn't take her long to find and hack in. One file after another paraded across the screen causing her to slouch forward and rest a hand on her palm; it was going to be awhile before she left. 'Blah blah blah. Supply forms, ammunitions requests, officer profiles...' She paused for a moment to skim through some before turning back to her task. 'God this is going to. . .hello what have we here. . .' She peered at the screen carefully. 'Classified information huh? Since I'm on a roll for insubordination and all. . .' Quickly she hacked into the file and started scanning over the information.

"Jesus. . .and I thought they were messed up before." she muttered. Rooting around for a disk, she slid it into the drive and saved it. "This should come in very handy. Incriminating evidence is a wonderful thing; even more so when the idiots put it down in some form."

The soft creak of the door opening, made her whip around to see a shadow lengthening along the floor. She rose quickly, shutting off the monitor and ducking behind a large filing cabinet. 'Shit the disk.' A cautious peer around the corner told her it was too late to try and retrieve it. 'Of all the damn people to come in here now. . .' Lara squeezed her eyes shut as the familiar profile of Samuel seated itself at the computer terminal. She held her breath, waiting for him to go; he shouldn't be taking too long anyways, he was usually a pretty fast guy. The sound of the power button being hit made her sigh inwardly with relief; now she was logged out. But the relief was soon replaced by something else.

"What the hell? Whose disk is in the drive; no wonder the computer won't reboot."

Lara bit down on her lip as the click of the button reached her; at least she hadn't put anything identifying on it. Moving down the aisle, she pushed aside some dusty old files before she peered out of the small peephole she had made. 'Maybe I can give him a small push away in the right direction.' She ran to back corner of the room and made a small noise. The click of the keyboard paused for a second before it started back up again. She made the noise again causing the chair to creak with the familiar sound of someone rising from it.

"Whoever else is in here, identify yourself immediately."

Lara couldn't help but repress her giggle; who was he kidding? No one would come right out like that. She pushed over a stack of files before ducking behind another cabinet.

"Christ, some sloppy idiot left this mess sitting here?"

With a relieved sigh, she went back to the front and went for the disk on the counter, which was. . . 'Damn it, one thing after another.' There were two disks with identical yellow labels on them. She looked between them frantically before grabbing the one on the left and stuff ing it in her pocket. Exiting the room quickly, she walked down the hallway to her own office. 'Please be my disk. . .please. . .' She chewed her lip as she slid it into her computer drive and waited for it to open. When the screen finally popped up, her entire face blanched. Before her wasn't the same plans as earlier on; she found herself looking at the food orders for the cafeteria.

"Oh fuck, this is not a good thing; not very good at all." she muttered, head in her hands as her mind raced to work out the new twist.

~*~

"So why exactly are you going to sneak in to Samuel's office?" Zechs asked as they cradled their drinks in the officers' lounge. "Is there a specific reason?"

"He has my disk. And it has confidential information on it." Lara took a drink of her pint. "I can't believe I left it in the drive. The bloody drive of all places."

"If I remember correctly, Samuel said that he was going out to base about five towns over. Apparently they have apprehended the suspect in Treize's shooting." he gave her an amused look before he fell serious. "But things might have changed."

"Well now. . .I know where I have to be then." she paused, looking into the dregs of her glass . "And you are to stay put. No matter what happens, you are to act as if this was completely new to you."

"Sometimes I wonder if I am the superior officer." he mused. "What was on it?"

"Some outlines for the Winner resources and satellites; it involved a lot of gundanium from what I could tell and would require a very large budget." she paused. "The people of the colonies will not like Oz going in and taking what is theirs like the organization owns it."

"Then prepare for a firestorm." Zechs murmured. "And it would appear that Colonel Une is coming right this way."

"I need to speak with you Lieutenant." she said briefly.

Zechs flashed Lara a silent goodbye before he rose and walked out after Une. Lara watched the door with a slightly sinking feeling before she finished off her drink and rose herself.

"Now to see just how much the keg will go." she muttered to herself as she headed down the hallway.

The door to Samuel's office approached fast, no guards in sight. Walking up to it, she glanced down the hallway quickly before easing herself in. The darkened room revealed itself to her adjusting sight as she moved slowly to the desk, looking around as she went; the last thing that she wanted was to get caught in a superior's office. She started through the main drawers of the desk, leaving everything as she found it. A muffled curse flew past her lips as she came to the locked drawer; she jiggled it hoping it would give.

"Fucking things decide to not go my way today of all the fucking days." she hissed savagely as she grabbed a paperclip and started to pick the lock. A few moments later the sound of a lock clicking echoed around then room faintly making her smile in relieved triumph. "Eat that you bastard."

She chuckled with satisfaction to herself as she started riffling through the drawer. 'Aha!! Here it is. Now for me to get out of here.' Closing the door and locking it back again, she started to the front door.

"If you will wait a minute Lady Une, I can get you the disk from my desk."

Lara froze at the sound of Samuel's voice. 'I thought he went somewhere else? Bastard must have come back. Where the hell am I going to hide now?!' She looked around the room before spying a small closet in the corner. Ripping open the door, she wedged herself into the small space as much as she could before managing to close the door. She braced her feet against the wall as the light flicked on, streaming in underneath the crack of the door.

"Are all the preparations ready Samuel?"

"Of course Une. By this time next week, Treize will be out of our hair for good and we can proceed with our plan to monopolize Oz and for the colonies." there came a laden pause. "Are you implying that I can't fulfil my responsibilities?"

"You couldn't even keep control of you wife. How can I be sure that you will do this?" Une's voice held a tinge of scorn.

"My wife," the word came out strained. "Is the least of our concerns at the moment. That whore will get what's coming to her."

"I'm sure." the voice sounded slightly doubtful. 'Where's this disk that you wanted me to see? "

Lara peered out of the closet to see them bent over the desk, their backs towards her. She opened the door a bit more, looking at the door. 'I can make that.' She eased her body out of the closet and started towards the door slowly, opening it easily and closing it behind her. 'Phew.' With a sigh of relief, she took a step right onto the creaky patch just in front of Samuel's door.

"Is someone out there?" Une's voice was tense and strained.

"I'll go and see." the sound if Samuel rising and coming towards the door made her step back and away.

Taking a steadying breath Lara started walking down the hall. She didn't stop until Samuel's curt order made her turn. "Yes Sir?"

"Did you see anyone walking down this hall?" he looked at her with slight scorn as if she couldn't know.

"No Sir. I was going to get some work done. Was there something you wanted me to do?" she asked in a patronizing tone.

He didn't reply as he shot her a look and stalked back to his office. Lara turned immediately and went down the hall to her quarters and locking the door behind her. She slid the disk in as she sat down and started going through the information through it. 'At least I have the disk back. But I think that now is the time to take an impromptu trip away.' She went over to the vidphone and dialled.

"What?!"

Lara blinked, surprised by the abrupt pickup and even more so by the more than cross tone. "Hi Jess. Uh, may I ask why you're so mad?"

Jess blinked at her for a few seconds with an expression of disbelief on her face. "What do you want? I'm kinda busy."

"Look, I have to give you something pretty important. It does concern your friend too."

"What is it?"

"Are you talking to Lara now?" there came a disgusted sigh. "I think we were busy yelling at you for your inane stupidity! You've lost it completely haven't you?!"

"Duo, you were busy yelling at her. And would you just let her finish up the conversation? I'm sure that it's not going to be long. Right Jess?" Quatre's tired sigh reached her ears.

'She must be having handful at the moment.' Lara craned her neck as a braid swished into view briefly. "Am I interrupting something important?"

Jess' mouth twitched. "What did you have to give me? A disk? And may I ask why a certain person isn't fawning around you?"

"That's none of your business and yes. I think you'll find the information on it very useful. Are you willing to picking it up? I don't exactly want to give away your position."

"I can pick it up. Where do you-" the rest of her words were drowned out by Duo's loud protests, and Quatre's voice trying to get him to calm down. An irritated look crossed her face before she turned around. "Duo! Shut the hell up so I can hear what Lara is saying!! You yelling you head off every five seconds isn't helping me to end this conversation any time soon!!"

Lara repressed her snicker as dead silence descended around the room. "So...you'll be able to meet me then?"

"Hai [1]. Where did you want to meet?"

"Some place that won't be too obvious to others. Do you remember when we skipped class that day in the last few weeks of school? And can you bring your laptop?" Lara paused as she looked back at the door; it was locked. Yet the feeling that someone was in there didn't leave her.

"All right. I can meet you there; I'll bring it with me. Three days good?"

"Perfect. I'll see you in a few days then."

"All right." Jess paused as she moved slightly, trying to see behind Lara. "Is someone else in the room with you?"

"No. Why do you-" Lara started to turn around but was greeted by a cloth covered hand descending over her nose and mouth. A strange ether-like smell invaded her senses before she slid down into darkness.

~*~

"Wakey wakey." the soft words were followed by a gentle pat on the face.

Lara opened her eyes to see bright lights swimming in front of her. Trying to stretch, she found that her hands were restrained with manacles. "What the hell do you want," she waited until her vision cleared and she recognized the face. "Philip?"

"To ask you some questions. And then you can face your little court marshal." he sat down in front of her. "What in the Devil's name possessed you to even try and take on Samuel and Une? Do you realize that they had me monitor your activities since Treize was killed? Not that you made it easy, so I do commend your skills."

"I figured they do as much...but eventually." she paused as she looked at him. "Do you even realize what they've done to the colonies? What they plan to do?" Lara asked as she tugged on her restraints.

"It's not my job to question orders. I receive them and follow. That's all I have ever needed out of life. The rest falls into place."

Lara shook her head. "They plan to starve the colonies should something happen; it's their fallback to maintain their position if something threatens them."

"Is that what you saw in that disk?" Philip removed a slim black disk with a yellow label. "Anything else more curious?"

"They are shipping large amounts of gundanium to different colonies and Earth. Like their assembling parts of something."

"Did they happen to take over the project of our illustrious leader since he met his untimely demise?" Philip arched an eyebrow at her. "For a mobile suit perhaps?"

"Look, I still have no clear idea but that would explain why they need that amount of gundanium plus the Winner Foundation resources. If that ever happens, I hope to God that I'm not in the colonies when the news erupts. Can't you see what they are doing?"

Philip rose and paced around for a few minutes before facing her with a shrewd gaze. "For someone who's facing a court marshal, you are being extremely loose with the information you possess. Why, do you wish to convince me to let you go?"

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to. It was up here." he tapped the side of his head. "So why were you hoping to convince me to let you go?"

Lara paused for a second. "Maybe because I know a bit about you despite all those blocks you put on your files." she watched as his face remained blank. "I found information on you too during my hunting, Philip Séamus Wolfe. I know you come from the colonies; I know you love them and don't want anything to happen there. I can tell you for certain that if you don't let me get to certain people, the worst will happen and there won't be a single damn thing you can do to protect the place you love the most."

She lapsed into silence as Philip gave her a cool gaze, not saying anything. The minutes ticked by torturously slow emphasized by the minute hand on the wall clock. Finally Philip sat back down in front of her.

"You are going to tell everything you know and then I will decide what to do with you." he stated quietly.

"I think I have told you enough."

"No you haven't. Now you tell me everything or I leave you to fry before Samuel and Une. They will be heading your court marshal most undoubtedly. So that leaves you with two choices and five seconds to decide."

Lara gave an involuntary hard swallow seeing the cold hard expression on Philip's face. "Fine. You want to know everything? Where do you want me to start?"

"How did you get involved in this?"

"I never trusted Samuel from the start."

Philip gave a small snort. "He'd sell you out in a second. Now why did you decide upon such a suicidal course of action?"

"I figured I'd go out with a bang. That and I didn't want my superior officer implicated in this as well so I proceeded without clearance."

"Yes. Just as you gave him clearance to your quarters a few nights previous." he paused seeing her face flush violently. "Don't worry; that I didn't report."

Lara cleared her throat as she maintained her composure. "I proceeded to search for information and then I stumbled upon this information when Une sent me to find a file on Treize and gave me the necessary clearance for the database; it was the perfect opportunity. When I saw the information, I realized that there was no way that I could deal with this. Handle Samuel and Une, yes. But prevent full fledged rioting and further rebellion in the colonies; that was beyond me."

"So you called Jess to see if she could do anything." Philip murmured as he leaned back into his seat, stroking his chin slowly.

"She would be better equipped to deal with it, despite the charges of murder hanging over her head at the moment." Lara paused for a second. "Are you happy now? You have all you information and my head is killing me now from that damn chloroform."

"Very. And I didn't intend for you to develop a headache." Philip tilted the chair back. "Do you know where Samuel is at this moment?"

"Off somewhere being the prick that he is." Lara muttered in a disgruntled voice.

"No. He's off to the colonies, to oversee this little project that he and Une are overseeing." Philip let the chair fall back forward. "If what you say is true, then there's only one shot to prevent the colonies from erupting."

"It is. Have you seen the disk?"

"No. And I won't have time if I am to escort you to a high security detainment center."

"So you still don't believe me?"

"I do. However, it is a shame that a certain prisoner will escape near her rendezvous point and I will have an accident that will prevent me from reporting in for about a week. The walk back to civilization will be long and arduous."

Lara watched as he rose and motioned for her to do so. "You mean that you're..."

"The colonies need every chance they have; they have been through enough of Oz's crap and I do want this all to end. I just want to go home and try to have a normal life. I am far too young for this."

Lara remained speechless as she was escorted out and soon enough she found herself jouncing along in the Jeep seat beside Philip. She watched as the trees passed by into open stretches of grass and fields highlighted by the moonlight.

"Why did you give me such a hard time back there Philip?" she asked suddenly as turned to face him.

"Just for the hell of it." he grinned. "I have to get my laughs somehow."

"You're messed up, you know that?" she said with a quiet laugh. "Really messed up."

"Why thank you. I think you're going to be a bit early for your meeting with Jess. Your old school is coming up down the road here. And don't worry; I'll let Zechs know what happened."

Lara craned her neck as the tall building loomed up in the night. 'Why did the drive seem so fast?' The headlights disappeared as Philip pulled into the parking lot. Killing the engine, he took out a set of keys and undid her cuffs. He didn't say anything as he looked at her and started up the engine again before handing her the disk. She nodded her head in thanks as she took it and opened the door and got out of the Jeep.

"I owe you one Philip." she murmured as she watched the vehicle jounce on down the road. "Now to make myself comfortable until Jess shows up."

~*~

Sunlight streamed in as Lara looked out of the dusty old window. With a sigh, she rose from her uncomfortable seat and started walking around to stretch her muscles, looking down from her perch on the upper walkway. 'The sooner that Jess gets here, the sooner this can be done and over with.' As if on cue, the sound of the rusty old door creaking open made her fall back, until she could see a small sliver of the doorway. A blonde head appeared for a split second; she walked forward hesitant, to get a better look.

"Lara, you'd better be here. If not, I'll kick your butt when I see you next time."

"Punctual as always." she said, as she leaned against the railing. Lara stepped back with a gasp. "What the hell did you do to your hair?! It's blonde....and long! Didn't you get a hair cut ? I can barely see your eyes!!"

Jess glared up at her as she tucked a bang behind her ear. "If you expect me to walk out there like no one wants my head, then I wonder about your mind and not to mention your reasoning."

"Sorry...the shock of it, that's what you're hearing." Lara said shaking her head as she walked down. "It's just that...I never thought you'd go blonde of all the colours to pick. It's so out there for a person like you, just asking for-"

"Attention? That's why I picked it. They will be expecting me to keep a low profile; this is the last thing they would expect me to do."

"Well, I must admit that I certainly wasn't expecting this. So did you bring your laptop with you?"

"It's right here." she patted the slim black bag beside her side. "I'm glad that Quatre kept it for me. By the way, your brother is an annoying little snot and my parents like him. Now what did you need my computer for?"

'When all of this has been said and done, I can try to be a real sister.' A smile spread over her face. "I want you to look at this disk. It's yours; I think you'll know what to do with it more than I would." Lara took the slim plastic square from her pocket and handed it to Jess.

"Arigatou [2]." Jess plunked herself down on a crate by a nearby outlet. "At least power still runs in this place."

Lara seated herself beside Jess as she hooked up her computer and slid the disk into the drive. "Can I ask you something?"

Jess barely looked up as she started through the disk. "Fine. Shoot."

"What was that argument about when I so tactfully called and interrupted?"

The sound of keys clicking stopped as Jess looked up at her. "Why do you want to know? Hell I almost found myself coming after you until I saw that Philip was the one who brought you in."

"You almost came after me? Does that mean you finally forgave me?"

Jess simply gave a snort as she turned back to the computer and the clicking sound returned. "Let's just say that time should heal all wounds. Besides, he's a good guy."

"With a twisted sense of humour." Lara muttered in a dry voice, earning a speculative glance from Jess. "Never mind. Continue."

"All right. So...what you did was horrible. And I have a new found respect for chickens and certain things in life. But I do forgive you. I mean...how many years has it been since that happened? Oh well, a long time and it was long enough if you ask me." Jess gave her a smile before she went back to the screen.

With a sigh Lara patted her on the back. "I knew you'd forgive me soon enough. I accept your forgiveness."

"Heh." Jess slid her an oblique glance before turning back to information before her. "How very big of you. Now leave me to go over this crap alright? Seeing what is here is a good idea, ne [3]?"

"All right. But I do eventually want to see you get a haircut." Lara said with a chuckle as Jess shot her a scowl.

Silence descended around as Jess scanned through the information, keys clicking randomly now as she frowned once in awhile. Lara peered over her shoulder a few times to receive another scowl; she backed off with a sheepish smile. Finally frustrated, she rose and started to pace around in a circle. The bars had moved halfway across the floor before Jess finally gave a sigh and stretched her arms.

"Cripes Lara. Where the hell did you get this stuff?" Jess looked at her after she rubbed her eyes.

"Oz database. Ironically, Une gave me the clearance in order to find a file on Treize. She just didn't know that I could hack."

"Well, this is a serious matter. But there is no way that I can deal with this."

Lara remained silent for a few seconds. "Can't or won't?"

"Hey, don't start giving me some lecture on the doing the right thing here. In war, there is no such thing as the right thing." Jess brought the screen down and rose, leaving it on her seat. "There are other factors that I considered as I went over that file."

"And they were?"

"Success factor, which is pretty damn low. About twenty percent chance of being successful. Also, supplies and funds; my funds are pretty low, I haven't had time to transfer some funds into my bank accounts. And even then I have to wait about a few weeks until I have access to the money. And then, there's my parents. If something happens to me, if I get caught up there in the colonies, things will not be pretty for them down here on Earth. Plus I stand a good chance of getting lynched by a mob up there. You are asking me to stick my neck out on the block pretty far there."

"That's never stopped you before. So why is now any different?"

"Where the hell have you been? Cloistered away in front of a computer for the past two weeks? Well, the climate has changed radically. If this actually goes through and the public finds out , they will be baying for blood."

"I know. But surely you can do-"

"Plus I still have something to settle with Treize."

"What? He's dead...isn't he?" Lara gave Jess a completely puzzled look.

"Oh far from it. That wily bastard is holed up somewhere. He's almost fully recovered. I wanted to go and make sure that he recovered completely. And that's what the argument was about. "

"Treize is still alive? How can that be? The hospital reports indicate that he died of complications from the gunshot."

"But I bet you haven't released that to the media yet have you?" Jess gave a dry laugh at Lara's nod. "Then Samuel and Une will want him eliminated as soon as possible. I intend that will never happen. Things are already complicated enough with Treize as a general. We don't need two megalomaniac psychos in power. Romefeller messed up big time with them. If anything, Treize should be back in power; he has the sensibilities need in times like these."

"You really respsct the guy don't you?"

"Hai. And I still have to answer him on certain things. I am not done with him. And neither is someone else too I think."

"All right." Lara remained silent. "Can you do something about the situation in the colonies?"

"I can try and do my best but I give you no guarantees."

"What if I looked after Treize while you go up to the colonies?"

"That could work I suppose. But you'd have to keep constant vigilance and all that crap."

"Like you'd keep..." she trailed off seeing the look on Jess' face. "Constant vigilance and all that crap, I understand. Anything else? Like maybe where he is?"

"I know where he is. I called to make sure, believe it or not. He was surprised to see it was me of all people. You really want to go through with this huh?"

"What have we got to lose?"

"Oh, besides a brilliant general who may solve the whole thing and the tenuous semblance of peace of the colonies, not much in addition to our lives."

"Sounds like a kamikaze mission, doesn't it?"

"It does. But I'm going for it." Jess disconnected her computer with a sigh and packed it up .

Lara gave a sigh herself, one of relief. "So we're going to get on this right away."

"Like we have any time to lose." Jess shouldered her bag before looking at Lara. "I'll give you the directions to Treize's location."

"Thanks. I think we have a shot here to do some good in the colonies. But it's going to be pretty hard, for both of us." Lara flicked Jess' bangs. "Are you ready to go off and die?"

Jess gave a smile as they walked to the door and stepped out. "No. And besides, with some of the people I know, kamikaze is a walk in the park."

~*~



Notes
[1] Hai - Japanese for 'yes'
[2] Arigatou - Japanese for 'thank you'
[3] ne - a particle in Japanese that means 'isn't it?' when added onto the end of a sentence