Une vs. Board of Education - Europe

Two young men prepare for a long day. They act as mirrors for one another; they act as judge and jury. Beyond the door loom both the media and the scrutiny they avoided all of their lives until recently. Beyond the wooden door stalks the assassin to their lifestyle. The two brush shoulders and straighten ties before pronouncing, with a slight nod or gesture, the approval of the other's outfit.

Without a word they head to the door, pull on stony faces and turn the doorknob to plunge into the sea of flash bulbs and tape recorders. The door locks solidly with three bolts upon their departure.

From the milling crowd one still face easily comes into view, a face containing sparking, passionate eyes and strong bones, a face awaiting the pair. The two young men cross to the stern faced person and salute crisply, receiving an answering salute before the cold faced figure turns to lead them away.

A limousine outside waits to drive the three stoic people to the courthouse after a light breakfast of bagels and coffee from the coffee shop on the corner. The tapes and cameras follow the three people down to the front of the building and pile out of the front lobby, the housing area latching behind them.

The hard faced figure allows the young men into the car before her, and turns around to face the crowd before slowly climbing into the black automobile. "Lady Une, won't you give us some statement?"

"Chief of Preventers, will you give us your own views on the hearing today?"

The woman ignores the attempts at arousing her attention and closes the door firmly behind herself. One young man leans over his knees and puts his head in his hands; the other turns to the angry woman and looks helplessly at her as she shakes her head. The young man puts a rough hand on the other boy's shoulder and pats it once.

"I am so sorry."

"You have been forgiven."

"And Wufei?"

"He will meet us at the courthouse."

The limousine pulls into the parking lot of the coffee shop, and the boy with the helpless look on his face exits the car with a small piece of paper. The woman reaches out to touch the anguished boy's shoulder.

"Duo, it was bound to happen sooner or later with the three of you working actively, and Trowa more covertly. I am glad that the controversy has waited this long to be announced."

"But I ruined the chances of the Preventers in the future."

"Stop that sort of attitude, Duo," the other young man admonishes while handing the food to his fellow passengers. "We do not know who was responsible for turning us in. It could have been both of us, for all that matter."

"But it was my fault, I just know it."

"I won't have that talk from you, Duo, you are a subordinate. I make that an order." Visibly steeling himself, the young man nods. "Which is my cup, Heero?"

Heero hands him the proper Styrofoam cup and a donut. Une reaches out a hand and receives her own breakfast. The three eat in silence. "I do not believe that it will be necessary, today, for either of you to testify, but should it become necessary, watch what you say because this judge will take everything you say – every metaphor, every figure of speech, as he wants to take it. Speak very plainly, and do not attempt to win the judge if we have Errant. I know this will be going to trial, most likely, but I do not wish to turn the judge against us so quickly if the same judge today is assigned to our trial."

Duo and Heero nod.

"We have arrived, Lady Une."

The door is opened and the Duo and Heero climb out, lending a hand to their superior, "Thank you."

The three pile out of the limo and fight the sea of cameras and tape recorders to get into the courthouse, to find Wufei waiting quietly outside a dark paneled wooden door. He stands as the other three approach, and takes the Styrofoam cup acquiescently from Duo's extended hand.

"We have Judge Garret."

Lady Une does not respond, but drinks the end of her coffee and deposits the waste in the trash receptacle. "I hadn't hoped for such luck."

"Neither had I," Heero comments, seeing the slump in Duo's shoulders. "We have a better chance now."

"That we do," Wufei remarks, following Heero's gaze to Duo.

A fourth person walks up to them, a man dressed in a black suit and gray tie, with his hair brushed back and a briefcase in one hand. "I suppose that the three of you are, pardon, the defendants?"

"Yes, sir, we are," Une says politely to the man, "may I ask your name?"

"My name is Harvey Greenwood, I'm your public defender."

The three young men remain silent.

"We did not request public representation," Une replies.

"I'm here to offer my services as a lawyer to someone in need, Miss Chief of the Preventers Une, and on the scale of this case, I believe that my services will be necessary, and very helpful."

Lady Une considers, folding her arms over her chest and glancing back at the three young men behind her for a moment, in calculation of the odds. "I assume that you've looked over the documentation for the case."

"That's against fifth amendment rights, Miss Une."

"I repeat my previous question, Mister Greenwood."

"Between the two of us, I chose this case because it is the only one dealing with actual legal proceedings, anymore."

"I really don't think that we have time to go into depth on the ramifications of our case before the hearing, Mister Greenwood."

"Oh, but that's just it, the hearing has been moved back to two o'clock because Judge Garret has been detained on personal matters at the hospital."

"Then I suppose we should find a council room, shouldn't we?"
"If you feel I'm competent after hearing what I have to advise you on, I'm sure that we can work together."

"Lead the way," Une says.

"Right through here," Harvey leads her onward, attempting to ignore the intense stares of the three young men. Once inside, he ushers them all to seats, and opens a book to a pre-marked page. "The law states that, 'all minors of impressionable mentality must attend schooling to prepare them for the real world,' and also, 'every child has the right to a free and equal education, provided for by the country.' We have to prove that these young men, and women? You do have some young women on the payroll, do you not?"

"Yes."

"I suppose you've comprised a listing of those people who are under the legal age to work full time in the service of the government?"

"I have. It is not as extensive as it would be, were I to list everyone underage working for the Preventers. Most of our operatives are not on full-time status."

"How many do we have that are full time?"

"To date? Currently there are three," Une gestures to the young men seated to her right. "The two young women working full time is also under the employ of Vice Foreign Minister Darling."

"You've seen to all of this yourself, haven't you?"

"If you're insinuating that I recruit my operatives from high schools, you are wrong. If you're insinuating that I've coerced these youths into my employ, you are also incorrect. I merely accepted their applications due to their qualifications."

"Do you have a copy of the applications?"

"Those are confidential."

"They'll get an injunction, calling for them."

"That is allowable, but I cannot allow the information to be released without a specific court order, which must meet very stringent specifications, set out in the law."

"What do you mean?"

"Look up law enforcement. Article 23, section 5 – read it."