Usual Disclaimer: I'm an engineer, not an anime producer. Hence, I don't own 'em. I'm just playing nicely with them for a little bit.
Warnings: None for this section
Pairings: none in this section, future 1+4/1x4 (undecided)
Archive: Gundam Pilot Academy (assuming Jessie wants it); Heero and Quatre in Love; fanfiction.net. Anyone else that actually wants this just email me and I'll gladly send you an HTMLized version ^_^
Additional notes at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 3
Heero tightened his hold on the body in his arms as Okazaki approached. Glenn's eyes narrowed critically as they scanned over Jason's body, checking for injuries. "It looks like he's in shock. I'm going to radio in for a med team," Okazaki began, gruffly. More softly, "Can you take care of him for a few minutes? I'll need to lead them around back to here. It's not exactly safe to be walking around here in the dark," he noted, almost to himself, as he stared up at the rapidly darkening sky.
Heero nodded quickly and returned his attention to the person in his arms. Remembering his first aid training, he lowered Jason to the ground and laid him flat. He then removed his Preventers jacket and placed it over Jason's upper body, tucking the bare arms under the coat to keep them warm.
Distractedly he heard Glenn's calm voice speak to the dispatcher over the radio, telling her he would meet the team in front of the building and lead them around.
Heero stared at the blonde lying on the ground in front of him. The implications of Quatre's presence began to sink into Heero's mind, invading his thoughts. What was he doing here? Why did he leave? Did he even retain any memories of his past?
And how, in a company employing hundreds of people, could he go completely unrecognized?
The more he thought about the young man in front of him, the more confused Heero became. While Heero could easily resolve the physical resemblance, the possibility that Quatre would be here intentionally confounded him.
Lost in his reverie, he missed the approaching steps of Glenn and the med team. With some hesitance he backed away from Jason and allowed the team to do their work. They worked quickly, and had Jason loaded onto a stretcher and headed to the hospital within minutes.
Heero watched the med team disappear around the ruined building, torn between the desire to follow them and the realization of the futility of the gesture. A strong hand gripping his shoulder startled him, and he instinctively spun around to meet Okazaki's darkened countenance. Glenn's expression shifted to one of concern, and unspoken curiosity, when he saw the torment in Heero's eyes. "Come on," he said softly, "let's get out of here and into somewhere with light. It's getting dark."
Heero allowed the hand on his shoulder to guide him back around the building toward one of the lit temporary shelters positioned near the first aid trailer. Inside, chairs surrounded circular tables, holding boxes of donuts and cookies. Urns of coffee lined the wall, both regular and decaf, and a table laden with tea and hot chocolate packets was positioned next to a hot water dispenser.
"This is our temporary break room," Glenn commented. Heero noted that the room was empty of other people. Not surprising, considering the hour. Glenn gestured toward two chairs at a table in the corner. "Take a seat. I'll get you something to drink. What would you like?"
"Coffee. Two sugars, one cream," Heero responded automatically. It can't be worse than the sludge they have at the office, he mused.
Okazaki returned a moment later with the coffee in one hand and cup of steeping tea in the other. One taste of the coffee and Heero understood why. "Ugh!" He almost spat the coffee back out.
Glenn grinned wickedly and pushed his cup of tea toward Heero. "I had a feeling you'd think that. Here, try this. Unless you'd prefer hot chocolate," he offered, rising from his seat. Heero shook his head as Glenn headed back to make another cup of tea.
"Why can't I get a decent cup of coffee anywhere?" Heero mused aloud.
Across the room, Okazaki answered. "Well, in this case, it's because this is plant coffee." At Heero's confused look, Okazaki continued. "They make this stuff taste like crap so that the guys working the 12 hour shifts can stay awake. At least, that's been the theory at every plant I've worked at."
Okazaki circled around the tables and returned to the seat opposite Yuy. "So this isn't your first job?" Heero opened, conversationally.
"No. I've worked at a variety of different manufacturing plants. I started out working in chemical plants, before the wars. But that became dangerous while the first war was going on. Not to mention the fact that most of them shut down production, for fear of being attacked."
Heero swallowed a slight pang of guilt. He had, in some sense, been partially responsible for those shutdowns. Okazaki took a sip of his tea and continued, "I lost my job at a cryogenic air distillation plant during the war. The interruption in manufacturing world-wide had affected our sales of N2, and it was deemed no longer profitable to keep the plant open." Glenn shrugged dismissively. "Since most manufacturing experience transfers well into other fields, I ended up taking a job supervising a Leo assembly line in an OZ mobile suit factory. No question of job security there. In fact," he paused for emphasis, "it was probably that experience that got me this job."
Heero tilted his head slightly, puzzled. "How so?"
"Well, as you're undoubtedly aware, Isomer Industrial has a wide range of contract manufacturing projects going on at any one point in time. Shortly after the second war, they started working on a new project. A major mining company was looking for a way to automate dangerous mining jobs. So they approached us with a proposal, and one of the engineers came up with the idea of re-using old mobile suit parts to build intelligent mining devices. Sort of an industrial version of the mobile doll, if you will."
A major mining company... Winner Enterprises... Heero nodded to indicate that Okazaki should continue.
"Obviously, it took some work to clear this with the government. There was a good deal of opposition initially - understandable, of course, given the recent wars. Only when they proposed branching out the design to handle other dangerous jobs did the idea finally gain public acceptance. Isomer designed a secondary line of automation machines to take over some of the more dangerous chemical manufacturing processes.
"I ran across a job posting looking for a production manager with experience in mobile suit manufacturing. I wasn't very happy with my current job of the time, so I applied, and, well, here I am," he finished with a shrug.
"So you've been here since they started manufacturing?" Heero asked cautiously.
Okazaki waved his right hand dismissively. "No, no. I've only been here for about a year now. I came onboard right about the time they started scaling up manufacturing at the pilot plant on-site." He looked to both sides, and lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "It's not public news yet, but they've almost finished building the full-scale manufacturing plant on the other end of town. But," he emphasized, a little louder, "manufacturing's been put on total hold, until this investigation is over." He looked pointedly at Yuy.
Heero understood the implicit message. I'll help you do your job, so that I can go back to doing mine. He nodded thoughtfully and regarded Glenn as he asked his next question. "Coming back to the reason I'm here," he began, his expression carefully neutral, "what can you tell me about the accident that happened this morning?"
Glenn stared at the paper cup in his hand for a moment before abruptly bringing it to his lips and chugging the remaining contents. "Another cup?" he offered. "This might take a while."
Heero looked into his cup and was surprised to find it empty. He had been absently nursing it while listening to Okazaki. "Certainly." He did not doubt that Okazaki was using the distraction to organize his thoughts - Glenn struck Heero as a very methodical man. Had he been more paranoid, he might have suspected Okazaki of stalling.
But given the stressful events of the past 24 hours, Heero was certain it was simply a matter of frazzled nerves. Caffeine would exacerbate the problem in the long run, but for the time being, it helped focus the mind on the immediate task.
Glenn sat the steaming cup in front of Yuy and took his seat once again across from him. He flipped open the box in the middle of the table and snagged a chocolate chip cookie. "You might want one," he offered, holding a second one out toward the Preventer, "since it'll probably be a while before you get dinner."
"Wait," he demurred, realization of the late hour sinking in. "I completely forgot about the time. We don't have to do this today - it can wait until tomorrow. You probably need to get home."
Glenn laughed self-depreciatively and shook his head. "No, don't worry, I don't have anywhere I need to be." He smiled at Heero, further confusing him. Noting Yuy's puzzled look, the production manager tried another angle. "The only thing I'm married to," he laughed again, "is my job."
Heero nodded quickly in understanding. "My apologies for my rudeness," he replied formally.
"None necessary. That you were considerate enough to even notice the hour excuses you already." He waved his left hand, dismissing the subject out of hand.
Yuy pulled a data recorder out of the inner pocket of the Preventers jacket he had recovered earlier. The atmosphere at the table abruptly shifted from that of casual joviality to one of subdued seriousness.
"As part of the investigation, I will need to record what you tell me, so that I can submit it as evidence if necessary. Is that understood?"
Not a trace of amusement remained on Okazaki's face. "Yes."
Heero pushed the record button on the device before placing it flat on the table. "Mister Okazaki, please relate to me the events of this date - August 26th After Colony 199 - as they started at approximately 700 local time."
Okazaki took a deep breath and composed himself before launching into his narrative.
"I arrived at work today at 5:30 AM. I received the D shift passdown from David Vandermer and headed over to the production area for shift change at 6:00 AM. Today - August 26th, that is," he repeated, for the benefit of the recorder, "was a typical day for manufacturing. We had just finished fabrication of three more of the mining machines and were preparing to test them later in the day, and our first chemical handling machine was looking to be assembled by the end of today's shift. At around 6:45 AM, Senior Automation Engineer Maureen Robinson arrived in the fabrication area to set up for her experiment -"
"Can you tell me more about Engineer Robinson's experiment?" Yuy interrupted.
"Yes. She was doing the final test on the Revision 3 controller software for the ore drilling automation unit. Had it passed, the new boards would have been rolled into production by late next week." Okazaki paused, a rueful expression flitting across his face.
"Go on."
"Well, she and five of the operators - Cecil Brown, Kimberly Fong, Robert Doellinger, Steven Vigil, and John Scalia - were set up in Testing Area 3 on the first floor of the plant. I spoke with her briefly at 7:25 AM to see if she had the resources she needed for her experiment. She assured she did, and I left at 7:30 AM, when she began her experiment.
"I was making my rounds of the production floor down the hallway when I heard what sounded like an explosion and smelled smoke, coming from the direction of Test Area 3. I immediately radioed on the emergency line and began directing the evacuation of the personnel in the area nearest to me. When I was certain that everyone nearby had gotten out safely, I followed them to meeting zone."
"At what time do you estimate you heard the explosion?"
"7:57 AM." He detached the radio from his belt, handing it to Yuy for inspection. "The radio has a clock on it, which was the first thing I looked at."
Heero nodded and handed the radio back to Okazaki, who reattached it to his belt. He continued, "From outside I could see that a fire had started in the rumble of Test Area 3. I started taking mental inventory of who had made it out so far. I started checking around on the radio for Maureen's team. When no one reported in, I headed back toward the plant to see about retrieving them myself."
"That would have been crazy, if not suicidal."
The thinnest of smiles graced Okazaki's face. "I know."
Heero stared at him, puzzlement evident in his eyes. "What stopped you then?"
"Maureen, actually. I was so surprised to see her outside of the building and safe that I ran over to check on her. She was taking care of Brown, Fong, Vigil, and Doellinger. I was about to ask her how they'd made it out of the building when I saw Jason standing in the busted doorframe, holding Scalia in his arms.
"I ran to meet him halfway and took John from him. He thanked me, and informed me that everyone was evacuated. Then he disappeared, ostensibly to visit the nurse.
"By then MERT had arrived and was loading up the five operators Jason retrieved to take to the hospital." Okazaki paused, a thoughtful frown creasing his mouth. "I wanted Jason to go as well, to get checked over for chemical exposure, but by the time I thought to look for him, he'd disappeared. I didn't see him again until just before when you found him. Though not for lack of trying on my part."
Heero digested that tidbit of information with some trepidation. What did this mean? This was not the Quatre he knew. Winner was never one for running away, or disappearing at a time of crisis.
He continued his questions. "How long was it before the fire was contained?"
"Most of it was out by 8:18 AM. There are currently a few hot spots buried in the rubble, which are expected to put themselves out sometime tonight."
"And what do you theorize caused the explosion?"
Glenn folded his hands on the table in front of him. "There weren't many things in that area capable of causing an explosion. There was a storage tank of toluene near there, although that's always under an N2 blanket to prevent these sorts of problems. Unless," he paused, a thoughtful wrinkle to his brow, "unless the nitrogen was shut off..."
"Would there be any way to verify?" Heero pressed.
"It depends on where it was shut off. There's a computer that monitors the sensor output. If an abnormality in nitrogen delivery occurred, an alarm would be sounded and Facilities would have looked into it immediately."
"Is there a way to bypass or avoid an alarm?"
"Yes. Some people have passcodes that allow them to disable the alarms while working on the system. In fact, come to think of it, I imagine the logs would tell you if the sensor was disabled."
"Can it tell me who did it as well?"
"Well, I'm not very familiar with the system, so I don't know. Frankly, I'm not even 100% certain it'll tell me that the sensor was disabled. But I seem to remember that there was only one generic user account and password, which means that any number of persons could be responsible. Maureen could tell you." Okazaki frowned. "This is all interesting, but it still doesn't explain the explosion."
"All right," Heero said, leaning back in his seat. He steepled his fingertips together, and looked Okazaki directly in the eye. "Any thoughts on that?"
Glenn was unfazed. "Well, assuming the nitrogen was off, it is possible that the toluene vapors drifted near a spark, which in turn flashed back to the source. Possible, but unlikely. If I had to lay my bets, I'd be looking for a bomb. Or at least for traces of chemicals that aren't supposed to be there, like oxidizers."
Heero nodded slowly. His own suspicions followed the same path as Glenn's, minus the detail about the toluene. He glanced at his watch. "It's getting late." He held up a hand to forestall Glenn's inevitable counter argument. "There's nothing more that we can accomplish here at this hour that can't be done tomorrow." Okazaki nodded in agreement. "Are there any last comments you'd like to add before wrapping this up for the night?"
"No, I don't think so, Mister Yuy. I'll let you know if I think of anything."
Heero pressed the stop button on the recorder. Both men rose from their chairs, as if on cue. "Thank you very much for your time, Glenn." Okazaki smiled at Heero's informality. He held his hand out and the Preventer clasped it in a handshake. This one was just as firm as the first handshake, but felt like an affirmation of strength rather than a measurement of will.
"Not a problem. Let me know if you need anything else. Wait, do you know where the hospital is?"
"Yes, Mr. Maeda told me earlier today."
"All right. I imagine you'll want to talk to some of the patients there." Glenn picked up the empty cups from the table and deposited them to a nearby trash receptacle. "Well, I'm going to head home now so that I can be in for my shift bright and early tomorrow morning. Have a good night." Okazaki threw a half-wave, half salute in Yuy's direction as he exited the shelter.
Heero left the shelter and walked back in the direction of where the taxi had let him off earlier that day. He called in for a cab on his mobile phone, and was not surprised to find one waiting for him when got to the drop off point. The driver took him directly to his hotel, which was surprising only about seven blocks east of the accident site. Had Heero known, he would have opted to walk.
His luggage had been dropped off earlier in the day, and the keys to a rental car awaited him at the desk when he checked in. Heero took his luggage up to his room himself, despite the protests of the bellhop. Normally he would not have begrudged the service, but when he was on a Preventer mission he tried to minimize the number of people handling his baggage. He had been unsettled enough about having the taxi drop his luggage off at the hotel as it was. Unnecessary paranoia, perhaps, but it had never served him wrong, he mused. In the relatively new climate of peace, there still existed some who would do their damnedest to interrupt it for their own personal gain.
Shaking his head at his own thoughts, Heero unlocked the door to his room with the keycard and tossed his bags onto the bed. He moved with a seeming carelessness that belied the quick scan of the room his eyes performed. Satisfied of his safety, he used the vidphone in the room to order Chinese delivery.
He had already visually inspected his luggage for tampering when he received them from the front desk, but he was still decidedly cautious when he opened up his suitcase to retrieve his laptop. Once removed, he booted it up. He had a call to make, and he did not trust the security of the hotel vidphone to make it. It was fine for ordering dinner, but not sufficient for anything remotely secure.
He had logged in and enabled the encryption algorithms by the time his dinner arrived. Setting the food aside for a moment, he made a quick call to the hospital to check up on Jason. The polite young woman on the other end told him that he had woken up but had been retained for observation. He informed her that he would be visiting tomorrow morning to speak with the victims of today's accident. She promised to make certain their testing schedules made them available for the duration of the morning.
He thanked her, and cut the connection. Glancing at the digital clock readout in the room, he decided to make his next call before eating.
He started up his random key generator program, and, satisfied that his connection would be secure, connected smoothly through the network. A cheery, familiar face answered the phone. "Maxwell and Schbeiker Salvage. How can - Heero! Hey, good to see you!"
"Duo." Despite himself, Heero felt the edges of his mouth tug into the slightest of smiles.
"So how are you doing? What's going on?"
"I'm on L2 again. Thought we might do dinner again, maybe tomorrow night."
Duo's expression shifted from cheerful to thoughtful. The smile remained, but his eyes ceased to twinkle, their shine replaced by a thoughtful glint. "Mission?" Heero nodded. "Let me guess... no wait," he paused, "you probably don't want me to guess, not over an insecure line. I think I have a pretty good idea already. How's about we discuss it over dinner tomorrow night?"
"Any suggestions as to where?"
Duo read Heero's implicit affirmative in the responding question. "I know a great sushi place nearby that's open late. How about if you give me a call tomorrow when you're done, and we can figure it out from there?"
"All right." Heero was silent for a moment as he carefully chose his next words. "Duo - I need your assistance with something."
Maxwell squinted at the Preventer, the beginnings of a frown marring his lips. "What sort of assistance?" he asked slowly.
Heero was quick to answer. "Just information. There are a few names I'd like some local information on. The sort of things you won't find in public databases. Can you do it?"
A crafty smile worked across Duo's lips. "Of course I can. So long as you give Une the heads-up before I submit a timecard. She almost had a heart attack last time." Heero looked startled, so Duo quickly added, "Don't worry. She was just surprised. She'd forgotten about my contract. I just needed to remind her."
Heero let out the breath he had not realized he had been holding in. Duo was joking with him, as usual. He shook his head before continuing. "I will email you the names, then. Don't be surprised if you don't find much."
Duo regarded him suspiciously. "What's going on, Heero?"
"What do you mean?"
"You never ask for information this early in a case. What did you find?" Undeterred by Yuy's blank expression, Duo pressed further. "You're hiding something, aren't you? Something big."
Heero's eyes narrowed. "Insecure line," he mouthed. Duo's eyes grew wide, though his curiosity did not abate.
"All that I have right now are suspicions. Tomorrow night I'll tell you what I can. I hope to have some answers by then," he said by way of appeasement.
That seemed to satisfy Maxwell for the time being. "I'll expect your email within the next hour, then." The smile returned to Duo's face. "See you tomorrow!"
"Goodnight." Heero cut the connection. He enabled a secure connection to the Preventers system and checked his email. The only new mail was a message from Wufei reminding Heero to inform him if he needed any additional resources. Heero debated whether Duo would be considered an "additional resource," and decided to be on the safe side by telling HQ early. He fired off a quick email to Chang and Une to inform them of Maxwell's involvement. Immediately afterwards, he sent Duo the promised list of names to research.
Finally finished, he logged off and shut down his laptop. His tired gaze fell upon his neglected Chinese food, and with some trepidation he opened the delivery bag. The food was thankfully still warm, and he ate it quickly. A hot shower later, and he was ready for bed. Sleep claimed him only minutes after his head hit the pillow.
*****
Heero awoke early the next morning, unable to sleep later than 6:00 AM due to the three-hour time difference. He quickly showered and dressed, and grabbed a cup of coffee and a piece of fruit on the way to the hospital.
His hotel was not far from the hospital, so he opted to walk there rather than drive the rental car or take public transit. His intention today, he decided, would be to attempt to interview as many of the immediate eyewitnesses as possible. He expected most of them to still be in the hospital for observation. Not only did they run the risk of smoke inhalation, but they also needed to be checked out for chemical exposure. Even if Glenn's suspicions about a sabotaged N2 line were incorrect, any number of flammable chemicals were in the vicinity of the accident, so a battery of tests - followed by months of observation - would be necessary to determine the overall effects of smoke inhalation at the site.
A quick flash of his badge earned him a guard who led him back to the wing where the accident victims were being held. Heero trailed two steps behind the guard, his thoughts focused on the workers he hoped to speak with today. If he was lucky, the workers would be coherent, and he could get statements from each of them about the accident.
The guard took him through a set of double doors and stood in front of a small wing of rooms. "The patients are in this area, sir," the young guard informed him. He could not have been more than a year younger than him, Heero realized. He nodded at the guard dismissively, before reading over the names posted beside each of the doorways.
His eyes lingered over the last one, and before he could change his mind, he decidedly entered the room. The door was open, and from what he could see, the room was empty and the patient, asleep.
Jason Yoest. Heero reminded himself as he entered the room that he was here to check up on Jason Yoest. Not Quatre Raberba Winner. Quatre Raberba Winner disappeared over two years ago. He was not laying here in a hospital bed with an oxygen mask over his face, his brow furrowed as if caught up in a nightmare. No, Jason Yoest was here, the stubborn hero of Isomer Industrial. Certainly not the missing CEO of Winner Enterprises.
Heero sat down in the chair next to the bed and leaned over the sleeping body in front of him. And yet, the closer I get to Jason, he thought, the harder I find it to convince myself it is isn't Quatre. Tentatively, he reached out with his right hand and placed it on the restless blonde's forehead, gently stroking the mussed bangs. Though Jason did not awaken, his struggling ceased and he seemed to drop into a deeper sleep.
He smiled slightly, his hand remaining on Jason's forehead, as he allowed himself a moment to observe the enigmatic young man. He found it difficult to fight the familiarity that assaulted him every time he was around Jason. Not only did he look like Quatre, but he felt like Quatre, in some way that Heero could not define.
Much as he needed to speak with Jason, Heero was glad that he had not awoken yet. Obviously the man needed his rest, after his exhausting heroics the previous day.
Heero frowned. What had he been thinking, running away like that?
"Mister Yuy?" A soft voice startled him out of his private reverie. He snatched his hand away guiltily and spun in his seat to identify the intruder, mentally he kicking himself. Three years ago he never would have allowed someone to sneak up on him like that.
"Ms. Robinson," he responded, realizing belatedly that he had no idea of the woman's marital status.
She flashed him a brilliant smile, in an attempt to put him at ease. "Please, it's Maureen." She cocked her head to the right. "I didn't expect to find you here." Getting no response from the Preventer, she continued. "What's his status?"
Heero grabbed the chart beside the bed and flipped through it. "Severe exhaustion. Difficulty breathing due to smoke inhalation. Possible chemical exposure." He replaced the chart, frowning. "It's a miracle he wasn't hurt more than that," he muttered, almost to himself.
"I know," she sighed softly. Somewhere in the course of their conversation, she had drifted over to the opposite side of the bed. She placed her left hand where Heero's had been only minutes before, a soft smile reflected in her eyes. "He saved my life, you know," she whispered.
Heero nodded silently. "He pushed me out of the way when the mobile suit collapsed," she continued more audibly. "It happened so fast that I never saw it coming. Then he shoved me toward the exit, and I looked back and saw him trying to pick up Kimberly.
"If he hadn't moved me, I would have been crushed." She shook her head in amazement. "I never knew he was so strong. You'd never guess it, looking at him. But - I don't know, maybe it was adrenaline? I've heard of things like that. He - he was just totally focused."
Heero listened raptly to the engineer's words, fearful of speaking lest he break the spell.
She tore her gaze away from Jason's sleeping body to meet Heero's eyes. "I don't even know what he was doing there. He's been kind of edgy these past few days. Told me that something didn't feel right. Although, come to think of it, Glenn's been the same way," she said, almost carelessly.
Heero's mind worked rapidly, digesting the information. Maureen had just casually suggested the unthinkable - that both Jason and Glenn knew about the accident before it happened.
He shook his head, dismissing the idea immediately. Okazaki had made it clear during his interview that he had been just as shocked as everyone else by the accident. And given Yoest's deeds the previous day, accusing him of anything seemed absurd. Still, he allowed a flicker of doubt to remain - he had seen stranger things before.
The silence grew uncomfortable, and Heero sought to broach it. "Do you know if Jason and Glenn ever conferred on these feelings?"
Robinson blinked. "No. The two of them have never gotten along very well, actually. It's not for lack of trying on Glenn's part. For some reason, every time Glenn tries to talk to Jason, he gets distant - aloof. I don't understand it."
Heero was about to ask another question, when Maureen interrupted his thoughts with a further ramble. "You know, that's another funny thing. Glenn's got a knack for knowing where to find everyone at any given point in time. You'd think he was a Newtype," she joked lightly. "But when it comes to Jason, he can never find him. And it bothers him to no end."
Heero nodded, remembering how flustered Okazaki had been when he had first met him, intercepted by Maeda in his search for Yoest. He desperately wanted to continue this topic with Robinson, but realized that she had said all she had intended for now. "Will you have time to talk later?" he asked.
"I think I can find some time today. Just catch me later this afternoon at the site. If you can't find me, Glenn will know where I'm at." She brushed her fingers through Jason's bangs, a concerned motherly smile on her face. "I hope he wakes up soon. I can't help worrying about him." She turned in place, and faced Yuy. "Well, I'd better get back to work. Not that there's much to get back to," she sighed, "but at least I can try to recover what we've done already. I guess I'll talk to you later. Good day, Mister Yuy." She held out her right hand.
He grasped her hand and shook it firmly. "It's Heero. Call me Heero," he found himself saying.
"Alright, Heero, I'll see you later. Bye!"
Heero turned from the figure of the retreating engineer back to the still body on the bed. Jason continued to sleep. As much as he burned to talk to Jason, he knew that the blonde would not be awakening any time soon. And he had more than enough work to do in the meantime.
"Well Quatre, or Jason, or whoever the hell you are," he addressed aloud, "I guess I'll have to wait until later for my answers."
*****
Heero spent the rest of the morning, as well as the early afternoon, speaking with the operators who had been working on Maureen's experiment. Frustratingly, none of his talks yielded any additional clues to the accident. He supposed that he should not be surprised, since all of the eyewitnesses - save Maureen and perhaps Jason - had been knocked unconscious seconds after the apparent explosion, mostly from falling debris. Still, he had entertained hope that maybe one of them had noticed something out of the ordinary immediately before the explosion.
Overall, it had been a productive morning. He had taken statements from all five of the injured operators and arranged to speak with them in greater detail at the site after they were released from the hospital. He thought that perhaps a visual reminder might aid in triggering a memory relating to yesterday. At the very least, he would find it easier to ask questions about things he saw when they were all in the same place.
As Heero gathered his notes together, he debated briefly whether to check in on Jason. Assuming the blonde was awake, he could take the opportunity to speak with him regarding the accident. By all accounts, Jason was the only witness to disaster, save perhaps Maureen, whom he had knocked out of the way. Jason's testimony could be key in regards to the case.
However, given the circumstances of their abrupt meeting the day previous, he was not certain he was ready yet to speak with the reluctant hero. Especially considering his perhaps-unwarranted suspicions of the blonde's identity.
A glance at Heero's watch made the decision for him. 14:57... if he wanted to speak with Maureen, he had to leave now.
Heero left the building in a hurry and jogged the three blocks between the hospital and Isomer Industrial. He knew that Maureen ran a tight schedule, so the sooner he got there the better chance he would have to speak with her.
Stepping onto familiar ground, he walked purposefully toward the ruined office building. Maureen was nowhere in sight, unsurprisingly. He ducked inside of a doorway and looked around, hoping to spot a familiar face, or better yet, Okazaki, who might be able to help him find Robinson.
Edging further into the room, Heero was startled by a soft voice behind him.
"Need some help?"
He spun in step to face the owner of the voice. His eyes widened in shock. "Quatre -"
An equally shocked expression met his own. "No," the other whispered aloud, "I thought you were just a dream. A hallucination brought on by the pain." He clenched his fists, unable to tear his eyes away from the Preventer.
Pain? Huh? Quatre... Heero's head spun as he tried to process the information. He struggled to come up with a coherent thought. "Quatre, please -" He reached with out with his right arm to grasp the blonde's shoulder, as the other backed away.
The operator retreated from Yuy's grasp, stepping backwards toward the open door. He was about to exit the room when he bumped into something solid. "Jason! What are you doing out of the hospital?"
Okazaki stood in the doorway, eliminating any hope of escape. Jason turned in place so that he faced both Yuy and Okazaki and waved his hands in front of his chest. "I was released early," he replied, trying very hard to sound casual. "For good behavior," he joked.
Glenn was clearly not buying it, but he kept his irritation in check. His eyes fixed on Heero, curiosity evident in their depths at what he had just walked in on. "Heero, have you and Jason been introduced?"
Heero shook his head, still shocked, but coherent enough to recognize Okazaki's graceful save.
"Well then," Glenn began, motioning Jason toward Heero, "allow me to introduce you two. Heero, this is Jason Yoest, one of our plant operators. Jason, this is Heero Yuy, from the Preventers. He's here to investigate the accident."
Desolate tourmaline eyes met stormy cobalt eyes. Heero held out his right hand, and Jason reluctantly clasped it. A light jolt passed through the contact, both pairs of eyes widening. "A pleasure," Heero murmured.
"Indeed," the blonde replied, casting his eyes downward.
An uncomfortably silence descended on the room. Okazaki cleared his throat. "Heero, did you need anything?"
Yuy blinked, reminded of his task. "Yes," he replied automatically. "I was looking for Maureen. She said you would know where to find her."
"She's left for the day," Jason's soft voice answered instead. Glenn cocked his head to the side, a puzzled expression on his face. Yoest continued, "She had to go pick up Maria. Apparently Maria's picked up something at daycare and Maureen needs to take her to a doctor for a checkup. She didn't have time to find you before she left, so she gave me the message to give to you."
Okazaki nodded silently, turning to Yuy. "My apologies, then, on her behalf."
"It's nothing that can't wait until tomorrow," Heero said dismissively. "Although now that I have the opportunity," he began cautiously, deliberately addressing Okazaki, "would it be possible for me to steal Jason for the rest of the afternoon? I have a lot of questions that need answers."
Glenn's eyes narrowed critically. "Do as you see fit, Mister Yuy. But try not to wear him out. He is supposed to be resting," he said pointedly, glaring at Yoest. "Let me know if you need anything," he added, exiting the room.
Neither spoke for a full minute after Okazaki left the room. Yoest refused to meet Heero's eyes, and Yuy used the opportunity to observe the fair-haired youth. Jason nervously toed at the ground, kicking around a bit of drifting lint.
This is getting me nowhere, Heero realized. Softly, in the a voice he used when comforting disaster victims, he began, "Quatre..."
The youth's eyes shot up and perceptively hardened, not a trace of denial evident in their depths. "What do you want, Heero?" he almost-whispered.
"Just some answers. Quatre," he managed, with more confidence, "what are you doing here?"
"I should have known they'd send you," the other spoke aloud to himself, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "It was either going to be you or Wufei. I guess it was only a matter of time."
"What are you talking about, Quatre?"
"Do you realize it's been more than two years since I've been called that name?" Heero was pinned under the gaze of a pair of bright blue eyes. "Two years... it was almost too good to be true. But I should have known it was inevitable. Sooner or later someone was going to figure it out." He looked downward again, kicking at a small piece of rubble with his boots. The anger fled from his voice, replaced by an empty tone of resignation. "So, who else knows?"
"Nobody."
"Nobody? You mean -"
"I have told nobody of my suspicions. It is not relevant to the case." Quatre stared at him with open-mouthed shock. "Not even Une or Chang," he added further, before Quatre could ask.
The blonde momentarily stunned into silence, Heero took the opportunity to ask a question of his own. "Why, Quatre? Why did you disappear without telling anyone?"
"I don't want to talk about it," he snapped back. Heero blinked, and Quatre continued, softer, "Not right now. Maybe - maybe some other time." He looked away from Heero's piercing indigo stare. "And it's not true that I didn't tell anyone."
"What?!" Heero was shocked speechless.
"I - even I couldn't just disappear like that! As much as I didn't want to, I knew I had to tell someone, just in case something happened."
"Who?" Heero felt the bile beginning to rise in his throat.
"Trowa."
A pang of jealousy struck him cleanly in the gut. All of that time spent searching, and one of his own friends had known all along and not said a word.
"Why Trowa? Why not me? Or Duo? Or Rashid?"
Quatre paled. "Because I didn't want to be found! I didn't even tell Trowa where I went - just a name to listen for on the news in case something happened. I knew he'd isolated himself at the circus, so I could trust him to keep my secret." He bit his lip, refusing to look in Yuy's direction.
Heero's thoughts swirled in turmoil. On the surface he was mildly annoyed with himself for neglecting to interview Trowa. He had just assumed that as Quatre's best friend, Trowa would have come forward to the Preventers on his own with any information on his friend's whereabouts.
But beyond that, he acknowledged an irrational jealousy that Quatre had entrusted his secret to Trowa instead of himself, even knowing that Trowa was his best friend.
I have spent the past two and a half years looking for him, he reminded himself, checking his hurt. So perhaps I should just appreciate the fact that I've finally found him.
But he could not dismiss his confusion so easily. What had happened to his gentle friend to make him want to disappear?
"I don't understand," Heero said, shaking his head. "This isn't like you at all."
Quatre's soft-voiced reply caught him off-guard. "Are you sure? How do you know? Maybe I've always been like this. Maybe," he looked away, speaking to himself, "maybe I've always been empty inside," he half-whispered.
"Huh?"
Quatre seemed alarmed that Heero was listening. "Never mind. Please, I don't want to talk about it."
"Quatre -"
"Jason," the blonde firmly corrected him, eyes flashing determinedly. "My name is Jason Yoest. Quatre Winner does not work here. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Quatre Winner disappeared two and a half years ago. And he's never going to be found again." Quatre sent him a final withering glare before striding out of the room.
Heero stood still in shock for a moment, before hurrying to try to catch up with the retreating figure. He found Okazaki instead, who regarded him evenly, as if expecting answers to his unvoiced questions.
"You didn't scare him away, did you?" Glenn deadpanned.
"What?"
"Come on, the day that Jason Yoest willingly goes to see a doctor of his own volition..." Okazaki trailed off, frowning. "Did it go all right?"
Heero's shoulders slumped slightly. "For now," he muttered dejectedly.
Glenn's lips quirked into a derisive half-smile. "He's a difficult one, isn't he."
"Yeah," Yuy agreed noncommittally. "I'll need to talk to him again."
The supervisor nodded in acquiescence. "I'll make him available to you as much as possible. Just as long as it doesn't impede his recovery."
"Thank you." He paused, thoughtful. "Why is he working in his condition, anyhow?"
The frown from earlier returned to Glenn's face. "I don't know how he managed it, but not only did he get the doctors to sign his release papers early, he also talked Bruce into letting him come back to work today." He shook his head angrily. "I don't like it, but I don't have much of a say in the matter. The best I could do was to put him on the data recovery project with Maureen to keep him out of trouble while he's still under medical observation."
"Oh."
"Damage control," Glenn quipped sardonically. "Well, I need to get back to work now. Is there anything I can help you with before that?"
"No, I don't think so. I'll find you if I need anything." Glenn nodded and walked back in the direction of the former Quality Control lab.
As he watched Okazaki's retreating figure, an almost absurd observation occurred to him.
For all that Heero had talked with Quatre today, he had not asked him a single question about the accident.
tbc...
Notes:
N2/Nitrogen: The most abundant gas in the atmosphere. Nitrogen is used in a large number of chemical processes as a inert gas blanket. The inert property is due to the strong triple bond between the nitrogen atoms - the nitrogen atom itself is not intrinsically inert like argon. Since nitrogen is cheap and abundant, it is used widely in industry. Cryogenic air distillation is one means to harvest it - there are at least two other methods I can't bring to mind right now, but I recall studying about back in my Process Engineering course.
toluene: Paint thinner to most anyone. Toluene is very useful industrial solvent as well. I've described the properties as they are - trust me when I say this stuff is highly flammable, and an explosion hazard - we almost had an explosion at my work due to it, though the circumstances there were very unusual.
pilot plant: There are typically three stages to developing a manufacturing process. First is the bench phase, where you initially create your process and get it working. The next is the pilot plant phase - here you build a small version of your manufacturing plant and troubleshoot/refine your process by observing the problems that occur in a scale-up operation. The final stage is full-scale manufacturing - at this point the manufacturing process is controlled, so a new, larger plant is built, and real manufacturing takes place.
MERT: Medical Emergency Response Team. As a Manufacturing Production Manager, Glenn Okazaki would be expected to be a member of MERT. All MERT members have CPR training.
"plant coffee": I swear this is true. It's been the case at both places I've worked, and many of my former classmates attest to it as well. That sludge is FOUL.
