TITLE: Returning (3/?)
AUTHOR: Tari Gwaemir
PAIRINGS: 1+6; implied 6+13/13+6, 5+13, 3+4/4+3, 2+1
ARCHIVE: Email me at tarigwaemir@hotmail.com first, but I always say yes.
DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing doesn't belong to me, but is owned by Bandai, Sotsu, Sunrise and other big companies, whose names I do not remember. I make no money from this piece of fanfiction, nor do I intend to.
SUMMARY: A Gundam Wing tribute to the narrative style of The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
COMMENTS: Long chapter ahead as the politics and psychology emerge. As usual, it is mostly dialogue.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 3: Professionals
There was a knock on the door. And Odin Lowe Jr., once called Heero Yuy, steadfastly ignored it. If it were important, there would be a second knock. And if not, hopefully the nosy neighbor will have the good sense to retreat back to his own part of the building and leave him alone to more important business. Like monitoring the currents of power in the World Nation. Relena was refusing again to run for President, trying to avoid having the public position of leadership thrust upon her. Heero was a little puzzled himself by her reluctance--even the purest idealist can't be immune to the siren call of power--but he decided that she probably had bad memories of being the figurehead Queen of the World under Romefeller. Individual stories, erratic and unique, always disturbed the grand, slow-moving trends of history. He imagined future scholars writing treatises on the subject: contrary to expectations, a born leader refused her natural role in the world because of her psychological issues with power. He smiled slightly at the thought.
The knock came again, and Inu, now a familiar voice as the neighbor across the hall, growled low from behind the door, "Odin? There's some leo here to see you." Leo--not the mobile suit, but a law enforcement officer? Heero turned abruptly, his body tensed and nervous. If the leo knew he was a professional, he'd just became a security risk to the rest of the building. He would have to get out of the L1 cluster immediately--if the leo wasn't here to arrest him already. Shaking his head sharply, Heero forced his body to relax. He always covered his footsteps, with the same thoroughness that had made him an excellent pilot. He never forgot; he never slipped. The leo must be here because of something else--maybe a speeding ticket or a parking violation. Or maybe because someone else in the building realized he was still a minor and reported him for not being registered at a school. He inhaled softly, then pressed a combination of buttons under the ledge of his desktop.
"The door's unlocked."
"Funny, I didn't even hear a click. And I was listening for it too. You must have set up a very sophisticated system here."
The voice was familiar. "Wufei."
"Heero. Or should I call you Odin?"
"Heero will do," he replied curtly and motioned the other boy to a chair. Wufei was dressed neatly in a Preventer uniform that knew no wrinkle or crease, with his hair drawn back in the same tight tail as it always was. Some people never changed.
Wufei returned Heero's assessing stare, then sat down abruptly. "Don't worry. I'm not here to arrest you."
Heero lifted an eyebrow. "That's no cause for relief."
"I just came to warn you."
"About what?"
"The professionals have become a serious threat to peace. They aren't a formal organization yet, but they've formed extensive networks on each colony cluster. An 'underworld,' I believe it's called. We've always known there was a population of highly trained and well-armed hit men left over from the war, but they used to be pretty isolated individuals. Now, they're coalescing into groups. This building is a good example."
"And?"
"Must I spell it out for you, Yuy? These professionals can potentially endanger the peace you and I fought to secure. All they need is leadership, and they'll quickly morph into something more than the hired mercenaries of intercolonial crime rings. They'll be like a small army, an army of terrorists or 'specials' which makes them even more dangerous!"
"They're not just thugs for hire. They have their own unwritten code of ethics; they scrupulously refrain from getting involved in any sort of politics. They're like samurai. They're very good at what they do, and they don't have anything else they can do for a living." Which is why I'm one of them, Heero added silently.
"That's not very reassuring, considering how the samurai clans took over and set up a military government called the Kamakura shogunate!"
Heero didn't speak.
"Yuy!"
"Aa?"
Wufei sighed loudly. "Look, Yuy, the Preventers are going to crack down on the professionals soon. We've been planning an operation for months. We've managed to keep tabs on everybody in this building--even you. I have sources planted everywhere, and I've even known that you were here, from the very first day you stepped foot in the underworld. The L1 professionals are going down, and I'm giving you a chance to escape before it happens."
"Arigatou."
"Heero, you're an idiot. Why in space did you come here of all places? You'd be welcome anywhere, whether it was at Relena's side or the Preventers headquarters. Duo asked you to return with him to L2. Quatre offered you a high position at Winner Enterprises. Even Trowa said that he could get you a job at the circus if you couldn't think of anything else! So I'd like you to explain to me what you are doing here in a nest of good-for-nothings who still can't outgrow the blasted war."
"I belong here. This is where I came from, before I was made into a Gundam pilot."
Wufei looked a bit flabbergasted. "What?"
"Odin Lowe, the man who raised me, was an assassin. One of the best."
"The Odin Lowe?"
"Yes. The Odin Lowe who assassinated Heero Yuy. Ironic, isn't it? Dr. J never knew."
"Well."
"They're--a sort of family. As your clan would be to you."
"Ah. I see. Is there anything I can say to persuade you to get out of this godforsaken hellhole?"
"I'll watch my back. I won't be caught up in the Preventers' sweep."
"And you won't warn anyone else? I know no one can eavesdrop on this conversation--I'll bet you have a static generator built into the walls of this room. But I'm trusting you not to tell the rest of the professionals."
"They may be family, but that doesn't mean I have any special obligations to them. When's the sweep?"
"It's in place. It will happen when the situation is right. By the way, Heero, you never really explained to me the other part of the question. You've told me why you are here with the professionals, but why now? Why did you wait to hide yourself away as Odin Lowe until after the Mariemeia incident occurred?"
Heero glanced at his laptop, then looked down at the floor. After a pause, he pulled out a bottom drawer with his foot. Wufei leaned slightly to see what was inside.
"A giant metal feather?"
"From Wing Zero."
"That's not much of an explanation, Yuy."
Heero gave a short laugh, then sighed. It was startling to see him so expressive. He smiled ruefully and looked at Wufei with a pained expression. "I can be--a bit sentimental."
"Yuy, get to the point!"
"It's my only relic of Wing. I offered it to Zechs as a goodbye present before he left for Mars."
"Zechs?" Wufei repeated incredulously.
"I didn't want him to leave. It was a miracle to find out he had survived Libra after all. Almost like a sign from the gods, telling me, 'no, you didn't leave him to die after all, he's alive, he's alive.' I thought...well...you know, maybe he would recognize the feather, and maybe it would remind him of what our battles were like, and maybe he'd stay. It was a stupid string of maybes, but I did it anyway. But apparently those battles meant something completely different for him. He refused to take it. He wouldn't even look at me. And he...left. The very next day."
Wufei drew back into his chair and bowed his head. "I...think that I can understand."
"Was it so difficult to figure out in the first place? I came here, back to the world of my childhood, before my life as a Gundam pilot, so that I could forget all my memories of war, all the memories bound up with him. It was just an instinctive reaction at the time, but it's rather transparent, all the same." Heero smiled again, but it was a reluctant smile, as if he was too tired to even make the effort. But it still unnerved Wufei to see such openness on Heero's face.
"If Treize was alive after all...if you suddenly knew that you hadn't killed him...what would you have done?"
Wufei jerked his head away.
"I've told you all this, because I had the intuition that you, out of all the others, might understand. I hope the intuition was right."
He whispered, "Thank you for being honest."
The other boy gave a snort of disdain. "You mean, 'Damn you for speaking what should have been left unsaid.' "
Wufei gave a bitter laugh. "I come here to give you a warning, and you look into my soul. Is that why Quatre called you the Spaceheart?"
And Heero said coldly, his face closed and secretive once more, "Don't flatter me, Chang. It was obvious. We all knew. Especially after your erratic behavior during the Mariemeia incident."
"I see. I take this as a not-so-subtle invitation to leave."
"We Gundam pilots set great pride by our anonymity. No one who sees a Gundam must live to tell of it. Nor must anyone who sees the human behind the mask of the Gundam pilot. Omae o korosu."
"Some day, I suppose. If I don't kill you first, that is."
"Preventer and professional. It seems that the Mariemeia incident wasn't an epilogue, but a precursor. We are on opposite sides again, Wufei."
"But justice must be upheld."
"Hn."
They stared intently at each other, then without further words, Wufei left the room, even more abruptly than when he came in. His presence was erased as completely as if a virus had attacked a hard drive. He left no trace except for the open drawer, with a single white feather inside.
------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES: "Leo" as law enforcement officer is taken from Anne McCaffrey's Talent series. Again, it's not my idea. Did I mention I was unoriginal? The theme of unrequited love is introduced, which will run throughout the fanfic..