File #3
Duo nodded his head in time with the beat of the music blaring in his ears and glanced up from the magazine spread in his lap – across the floor mats, Lai and her-once-lost-now-found best friend, Jeiu, were deep in conversation, both of them straddling a balance beam that rose several feet off the floor. Here in the Preventer's headquarters, the accommodated for every kind of training style, from martial arts, to sword arts, to gymnastics to whatever. Lai had been using the balance beam to practice, well, her balancing, as well as her flips, and, for some reason, a metal sword lay abandoned on the mat beneath her. Jeiu, similarly, had been working on the mats. As an accomplished martial artist, with several national, international, and universal titles under her belt, she was in top form and one of the fastest people Duo had ever seen. However, now she was chatting away with Lai, and neither of them were in the process of getting anything done. Duo, on the other hand, hadn't been doing anything in the first place. His job was to watch them, although they didn't know that was why his presence was there. For all he knew, they didn't even know he was there. Lai had been flat out ignoring him since their little altercation at the school, and while Jeiu seemed friendly enough, it was hard to tell if she was being friends with Duo to be friends with Duo or if she was just friends with everybody. It was all Duo could do to keep from heaving a sigh – if this was what two of them were like, how would things be when all five were together?
"Duo Maxwell!" His eyes shifted from the two young women to the doorway directly behind them. A young man, one of the rookie Preventers, stood there, waving his hands. "They need you down below!" Duo scrambled to his feet, all lethargy and confusion tossed aside – "they" were important, especially if "they" were "down below". He tossed his magazine to Lai, who scowled at him as he jogged passed her to the rookie. The young man gave a nod and turned to lead Duo back to the destination where he was needed. It was long before Jeiu and Lai both were coming up behind them. Duo couldn't tell them to go back – they were, technically, on the same level as he was, even if they were newer than anybody else in the organization. Plus, if they had only wanted Duo, and no one else, they wouldn't have A) sent a rookie or B) sent a rookie. There was always some measure of discretion that it took the really new ones time to learn. Someone in a higher position would have pulled Duo aside, not caused a scene.
"There you are, Duo." Sally Po greeted him with a warm smile, then became, as she always was, all business. "We're receiving communications from Meia at the Hill Organization, but we can't decrypt them with the software we have." There was a moment of silence, before Duo tilted his head to the side.
"Heero's the expert at decryption," he started, but Sally was already shaking her head.
"Just take a look at it," she encouraged, indicating the computer console against the wall. Duo shrugged, after a moment, and walked over to it. A long computer print out was spread across the keys and dials and it took Duo some time to make all of it out. Then, he laughed.
"It's a freakin' math algorithm," he stated, shaking his head. "Nice. This girl is definitely a piece of work. Sally, do you have a pen?" Sally handed him one and Duo set to work at once. Math was, after all, his forte, even if the rest of everything wasn't. However, this Meia girl seemed to know what she was going, as well. It took Duo, master of numbers and figures, the better part of fifteen minutes to solve it and, when he was done, he still had no idea what the answer was. It was seven digits long, and the most random assortment of numbers he had ever seen.
"You might need Heero for this," he stated, as Sally leaned over the page. "I'm not good at pattern decryption." Sally read the numbers out loud, carefully, to herself. Jeiu gave a small giggle.
"Sounds like my phone number," she commented idly, from where she and Lai were leaning against the wall. Sally bolted up and whirled on the other girl, who blinked. "What'd I do?" Lai took a step forward, placing herself between the smaller woman and the former lieutenant who looked at is Jeiu had just sprouted a horn from the back of her head.
"Hold on to that thought," said Sally finally, turning around. Everyone in the room relaxed, until Sally turned back to the computer and swept all of the papers off of the desk. She keyed something in and the entire wall behind the console light up white. A cursor flashed black in the middle of it, and, as they watched, the numbers appeared, one by one. The cursor stopped, and an distinct ringing filled the room. After the second ring, a voice answered.
"Meia." Duo's jaw dropped and he looked back to Jeiu, who's entire face was blank. Lai's face was contorted in, Duo assumed, contained laughter, and she silently hugged the smaller woman with a grin on her face.
"Meia, this is the Preventers," said Sally, unable to contain the smile on her face. "What do you have for us?" There was a momentarily silence, then the white became a picture, of a young woman from the chest up, with a small – very small- cat perched on her shoulder.
"Good afternoon, Preventers," she said, bowing her head formally. The cat made a noise as it almost fell off from the motion, but Meia caught it deftly, setting it back onto its spot. "Who am I speaking to?"
"This is Sally Po," stated the woman standing at the console, since she was in immediate range on the camera. "You are quite the mathematician, Meia." Meia did not smile, only shook her head, and actually frowned.
"What I sent you is only part of what can be done by the people working for the Hill Organization," she stated blandly. "I did not design that problem, only tweaked it. All operatives are given secure phone lines, and we send those problems to headquarters to let them know when to contact us. The problem I sent you is for a line secure only to me." Sally nodded and Duo couldn't help but feel impressed. This girl was something else.
"Look at her," breathed a voice near his ear. He started, and turned, finding Jeiu standing near him, watching the screen intently. "That's Meiana, our Meiana," she said quietly, shaking her head in slow disbelief. "Our Meiana."
"It's amazing how little she's changed," came Lai's voice, calm, but slightly higher pitched. She stood just behind Jeiu, her arms crossed over her chest, but her eyes as intently trained on Meia as Jeiu's were.
"Well, at least we know she's the real deal," muttered Duo, to himself. "Three out of five… that's two left."
"Before I give you any information, I would like some in return," said Meia levelly, reaching up and nonchalantly itching her nose. The tattoo was there, all right, a mass of green lines and shapes, ivy traced on smooth skin. Duo shook his head to see it. Such a pretty picture, with such a horrible meaning.
"Tell me about this project," continued Meia, at Sally's insistence. "If I'm a part of it, I want to know why. What. How. Who." She shrugged off the last one, but a strange light flickered in her eyes. Lai walked forward and tapped Sally on the shoulder. The Preventer moved, allowing Lai to step into view of the camera. Meia's hitched breath and partial gasp were heard by everyone in the room. "I know you…"
"So when are you coming home, Meia?" inquired Lai quietly. "Your sisters miss you." Meia grinned, but it was clear that she was trying very hard to keep from crying.
"Soon, Laicei, I promise," she answered, scrubbing the back of her hand across her eyes. "Listen, there's something very important all of you need to know," she said, her eyes growing serious and distant. "The Hill Organization knows that all of us are still alive, and they're mounting a group for a full out search. From what I was able to find, there was some kind of… message, left to us by the… scientists." She seemed to be struggling for the words and, at that moment, Duo knew that she knew everything, regardless of her previous request. "There were six of us, not five, and the sixth is a message, instructions, on finding the fifth one. I don't know how, or why, but there's something about the fifth one that happened and was supposed to be kept a secret. It's not anywhere in their notes, as you may know by now, and not even the Hill Organization seems to know where, or what, she is."
"Do you have any names for us?" asked Lai. Meia shook her head and chewed on her lip.
"I looked, but all I could find were the four in the notes: Laicei, Jeiun, Meiana, and Aeiani." Her eyes suddenly glared. "Laicei, we need to find Aeiani, and fast. I think they know where she is and if they capture her, there won't be a damn thing I can do. I'm too low level here." Laicei leaned forward on the console and took in a slow, deep breath.
"We'll find her, Meiana," she answered, "I promise. Until then, are you in danger, if you stay with them? If they're looking for us…"
"They're going by the notes, that's the thing," said Meia carefully, thoughtfully, "they don't know about the…" she trailed off, then finally motioned with her tattooed arm. "Whatever these are, they aren't in the notes and no one here knows." Lai lifted her head and looked over at Sally with an almost defeated look on her face, except in her eyes. Duo knew that look – he had seen it only moments before, when the auburn-haired soldier had been protecting Jeiu.
"Meia." Lai move and Sally stepped into the view of the camera. "Someone will be coming to help you. Don't do anything stupid. We need all of you safe, and alive." At this, Meia grinned and patted the head of the small cat on her shoulder.
"Donalbain and I are doing fine by ourselves," she answered, "although, actually, I wouldn't mind the help." There was a sound in the background that drew Meia's eyes and she shook her head. "I have to go. Keep in touch." The picture disappeared and a dull dial tone filled the room, until Sally reached over and flipped a switch. Then, all of them stood in silence.
"We have to find Aeiani," said Lai, finally. "We have to find Aeiani…"