Part 14
AC 198, August 16th, 9:00 PM, L3 Colony cluster
"Maxwell, did you really have to wear this to go to an official reception at an embassy ?", Wufei asked as the three young men climbed into the limousine that would take them from the Hilton to the L4 embassy.
Duo looked down at his outfit, slightly puzzled.
"What's wrong with this ? It's not a tux, okay, but I don't like tuxedos !"
"Actually, it is the farthest thing from a tux I can think of', Wufei said.
Duo had managed to pour himself in yet another pair of black leather pants so tight that they seemed to be painted on his legs, and he had kept his knee-high combat boots. But he was now wearing a strange black sweater with a white priest collar. He had rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. Strangely, the outfit didn't seem out of place on Duo, Wufei even found it unsettlingly fitting.
"Oh, that !", Duo exclaimed, suddenly understanding. "I'm not a priest, no need to worry about that, man ! That shirt is about everything I have left from the Maxwell Church, so I carry it 'round everywhere I go. That, and my cross. I just, well ... I …"
"You were looking for a way to shock everyone at the reception and you thought that would do the trick", Quatre interrupted with a laugh. "Right ?"
"I wouldn't have said that so crudely, Cat !", Duo protested. "Let's say I wanted to see if the old wigs would catch my fashion statement, and if any of them would dare do anything ! Especially since they got you to compare me with ! Besides, no one really dares criticizing someone who looks like a priest, so that could become funny !"
Quatre laughed again. For his part, he was wearing another of his extremely expensive white tuxedos, and becoming increasingly bored with them. He would have loved to dress like Duo just to see the looks on other people's faces, but there were limits not to be trespassed. Wufei had opted for a variation of his usual costume. It was not white, but a deep blood red that made him look a bit predatory.
"I just wish Heero was here just to see what he would have chosen to wear", Quatre said with a smile.
"He'll be at the reception, right ?", Wufei asked.
"Yes. He told me he would 'blend in', whatever that means. I don't imagine him posing as an industrial's son, somehow."
Duo snorted, earning two puzzled glances.
"S'nothing", he said. "I was just thinkin' on how it will look to all the people out there when we're gonna get outta that car. I mean, did ya have a good look at us ? The Chinese Terror, the Perfect Gentleman and the Rock n' Roll Priest, quite a team, uh ?"
Quatre chuckled too at the thought, and even Wufei smiled.
O.O.O.O.O
Iria shot a look to her sisters and sighed a bit nervously. All of the Winner sisters were on the front steps of the L4 embassy, having their pictures taken by the reporters and waiting for their little brother and their father to arrive. Iria tried to remember when was the last time when all of the Winners had been together in the same place. If she wasn't mistaken, it had been Quatre's tenth birthday. Eight years ago. One of the drawbacks of having a very large family. It was almost impossible for them to get all together for any kind of family reunion, now that most of them had lives of their own, husbands and children.
Laylah Winner got closer to her elder sister and squeezed her arm gently.
"Are you nervous ?", she whispered.
"A bit", Iria admitted. "I had forgotten what it was like to be all together, and with Quatre arriving soon …"
She looked pointedly at some of her sisters, and Laylah took the hint. The truth was that the Winner girls all loved their baby brother, but for the most part, they didn't really know him. Only nine or ten of them had really seen him grow up, and some of them had never seen Quatre outside of family reunions. And, for what Iria knew, part of her sisters did not really approve of the way she had raised her little brother. She shouldn't have cared, of course. The only thing that had mattered was that Quatre was happy and loved. For his part, he had developed strong bonds with the sisters he saw the most, and always had a kind smile and gentle words for those he knew less.
"It's going to be alright, Iria", Fatima Winner said, joining the group. "Don't mind them. Sometime, I think they're just jealous that Father did not ask them to raise Quatre. Our little brother is a very fine young man, and I know who I have to thank for it. I personally would have been scared by the responsibility you took, especially considering you already had Mehdi and Mahmud to take care of."
Iria smiled. The burden had not been that heavy. Quatre had always been a sweet child. Iria smiled some more when she realized that the little group of ten in the middle of which she was was standing a bit apart from the rest of the Winner girls. Somehow, because they had all watched Quatre grow up, Iria shared a special connection with those of her sisters who were standing with her. Laylah, Fatima, Yasmina, Zaïneb, Anya, Soraya, Khadija, Amal, Mariam, had shared her doubts and her hopes about Quatre. They had supported her and taken her side when her other sisters voiced their disapproval. They were the reason Quatre had grown up surrounded by love and happy relatives. Iria would be grateful for that forever.
Not that she could blame all of her other sisters. When Quatre had been born, some of them were still in grade school. They were at an age when you get easily jealous not to be the little one anymore. 'And damn it, I'm not Mother, after all', Iria thought. 'There's no reason I should have been the one to take care of everyone else. I did my share. I am proud of it. Whatever they say, it doesn't matter.'
Her trail of thought was broken when a tremor announced the arrival of a black limousine. It stopped right in front of the steps. The door opened, and a young Chinese man Iria didn't know stepped out, scanning the crowd for any sign of danger. 'That must be Chang Wufei', she thought.
"Man, that personal trainer is handsome", Amal whispered jokingly. "I want one like that."
Apparently satisfied by what he saw, Chang Wufei turned to say something at someone still inside the car, and another person stepped out. Iria tried to hold back a snort of laughter when she saw Duo's outfit.
"Allah ! Is that … Duo ?", Mariam asked, eyes widening with shock.
"In all his glory", Iria answered, almost choking on laughter. "My, he has grown a lot. I don't know how Quatre does it, but he always picks them nice, doesn't he ?"
"That's for sure", Khadija said. "The only reason I'm not drooling right now is because I know people are taking my picture !"
Finally Quatre got out of the car. He spotted Iria and waved. Then he turned to speak with Duo and Wufei, before forcefully dragging them towards the chattering group.
"No, Cat, go get your pic taken with your sis, we'll say hello later !", Duo protested.
"No way ! You haven't seen Iria in more than a year and I know you're burning to go there and hug her ! Moreover, you're my friends and I'm not ashamed of you. And I want Wufei to meet the person who raised me."
Without leaving either of his friends time to argue, Quatre took them by the hand and dragged them to Iria. As soon as he was close enough, he let go and threw himself in his sister's arms.
"Iria ! I'm so glad to see you again ! It's been ages !"
"Well, I try to call you every week", Iria said with a smile, holding her brother close.
"It's not the same, you can't hug people on the vidphone !"
Iria let go of Quatre and eyed Duo from bottom to top.
"Well, Duo, your clothes are … interesting. I don't think I ever saw anyone coming to an embassy reception dressed like this."
"Sure as hell you didn't", Duo answered, kindly hugging the woman too. "I'm taller than you now ! I think I took about four inches last year, all of a sudden !"
"You should come visit me more often, Duo", Iria said, smiling. "You know you're always welcome in my house. Just like Hilde."
"Well, I've been busy, and there's been … quite a lot goin' on lately, so … But did you at least get the invitation to Hilde's wedding ?"
"Of course. I was sad I couldn't be there, but she sent me pictures and she promised to drop by with David soon. I'm happy she found him, he looks like a very kind man."
"He's great !"
Iria then turned to the last young man, waiting to be formally introduced, while Duo began chattering with Amal and saying hello to everyone.
"Iria, this is Chang Wufei, the friend I talked about. Wufei, this is Iria Winner, my eldest sister."
Wufei bowed to Iria respectfully. Iria shot a puzzled look to her brother, who winked.
"Traditional Asian greetings", he whispered in her ear. "From what it looks like, he respects you an awful lot."
Iria smiled and bowed in return, a hand on her heart.
"Salaam aleikum, Wufei", she said.
Any further conversation was cut short as Mr Winner's car suddenly arrived. Duo and Wufei politely retreated to the entrance of the building, while Mr Winner had his picture taken with all of his children around him. Then, there was some commotion as the thirty-one Winners and their bodyguards made their way inside of the embassy.
O.O.O.O.O
Heero looked around. The noise outside probably meant that the Winners were here, but no one came in for the next fifteen minutes. The Japanese man adjusted the collar of the uniform he had 'borrowed' to a security guard. This was the best position to watch everything without being noticed. To all those powerful people, security guards were just some furniture. They belonged to the walls, and their ability to be discreet was appreciated. The only adjustment Heero had made was replacing the guard's weapon with his own, his Glock and the knives he usually carried around.
When the flow of people started to pour in the great hall, Heero had a hard time at the beginning to distinguish Quatre. He could feel his presence in his head, but not see him. He actually first noticed Duo, who was standing out in his black outfit in the middle of those ladies dressed in pastel colors. Quatre was just beside Duo, listening to him, but his gaze was searching the crowd. The faintest hint of a smile appeared on Heero's lips as he felt himself ridiculously proud to know he was the one Quatre was looking for. He didn't move an inch, just reaching out with his mind, until Quatre's eyes finally found his. For a wonderful moment, everything around them ceased to exist, as they greeted each other in that very special way that was only theirs. Heero had not seen Quatre since he had left L2, and the realization that he had actually missed him a lot hit him harder than he would have believed it possible. All the more because he only felt the miss now that the young man was in front of him. 'I have to work on that feelings thing', he thought. 'I have to stop trying to avoid them until they hit me in the face so hard I can hardly concentrate.'
O.O.O.O.O
Eventually, Duo noticed that Quatre wasn't listening to him and followed his gaze. He saw Heero and winked at him. Wufei also discovered him, and gave him a sharp but discreet nod. His black eyes silently asked if there was anything to fear, and Heero shook his head imperceptibly. The embassy's security was quite good, and, apart for him, no one else had broken in yet. Heero saw Wufei's face relax, and the Chinese man even smiled a bit. Apparently, he was working hard on trusting Heero. The least Heero could do now was to prove him right.
"Quatre !"
Quatre turned around, and discovered Relena running towards him. She was earning several disapproving glances for it, but curiously, those disappeared as soon that she reached Quatre and he opened his arms to hug her. But neither Quatre nor Relena noticed anything.
"Relena ! Good evening. But you can't have missed me that much, you saw me yesterday ! By the way, it was very kind of you to come and fetch us at the spatioport."
"Are you kidding ?", Relena replied. "It was either that or tea with my mother and some ladies I don't know but who would be utterly pleased to see me marry their sons. It was not that hard to choose, and actually, my mother did not even argue with me. She likes you, and she probably thinks it is good for me to have friends my age."
"Well, I still stick to what I said yesterday", Duo joked. "There's no way I'm climbing again in that pink monstrosity you call a car ! I know cars ! I spent half of my life repairing them ! This is no car !"
"Hey, it's not mine !", Relena protested. "And I didn't pick the color. My mother did. I don't know why she assumes that I love pink. I probably did something that made her believe that, but, the truth is …. I absolutely hate pink ! Or actually, I absolutely hate the kind of pink my mother thinks I love !"
The four teenagers all laughed. The adults around them were watching them with amused looks. They were the only ones under twenty-five in the room (except for some of Quatre's sisters), two of them were the heirs of the richest people of the galaxy, one of them was looking like he owned the place although his oriental clothes were striking in the sea of tuxedos, and the last one, although highly unusual in every aspect considering the place, was wearing a priest collar. Which meant that none of the adults could find the heart or guts to reprimand them about being loud.
"I can't wait for you to meet my brother", Relena said excitedly. "I'm sure you'll like him. I would have asked to be introduced to all of your sisters, but …"
"It's okay", Quatre said with a smile. "You know, the only ones I really know myself are over here. That's Iria there, the one with the red dress. Then you have Amal, Fatima, Mariam, Laylah, Khadija, Yasmina, Zaïneb, Anya and Soraya. I grew up with them. As for the others, well, I know their names and all, but there are some, like Ahlam over here, that I only met once or twice before."
"That's so strange to imagine you have so many sisters that you don't know them all", Relena said thoughtfully. "Maybe even a bit sad."
"Yes, I felt that way too, some times", Quatre admitted. "But I've got time to know them all better. They all told me I'm welcome to visit them any time I want, and since I live in the Mansion now, they'll see me every time they come to see Father."
O.O.O.O.O
The four youths talked on for a while. Quatre felt happier than he had in a long while. He had been raised with his nephews, but he had had very few friends his age, and from what Relena told, it was the same for her. Her brother was four years older and had other interests. There was no doubt that Relena adored him and that he probably adored her back, but their worlds were still different. All in all, Relena and he had more in common than he thought.
Not to mention that the girl was a very pleasant companion. She had managed to win Wufei's consideration and Duo's appreciation in no time, which was quite something. Duo teased her mercilessly, and she got back to him just as mercilessly. Wufei didn't take any side in the game, apparently relieved that Duo had found another target for the night. He was merely scanning the crowd around, and he was kinda successful in hiding the surprise and the contempt that such a reunion inspired him. Quatre should have known that being in the middle of a bunch of people gloating about their money would not be Wufei's idea of a perfect evening, but at least, he seemed to be more relaxed now that he knew that Heero was watching their back.
And of course, there was Heero. Even if he wasn't here by his side, he was not very far, his blue gaze hovering on the crowd and softening every time his eyes met Quatre's. He was focused on his mission and concentrated, but Quatre could feel the timid tendril of emotions that was reaching out to him. And all he could do was respond to it, assuring Heero with all his mind and heart that everything would be okay, and that he had missed him too. Yes, tonight, Quatre had everyone he loved around him, and he intended to enjoy it as much as possible.
O.O.O.O.O
"Lucrezia !", Relena called.
A tall woman with dark purple hair and blue eyes looked around to spot the person who had called.
"Over here, Lu", Relena insisted.
The woman named Lucrezia noticed the blond girl, smiled, and after apologizing to the people she was talking to, she came to the four young people. Quatre noticed that she was not wearing a ball gown like every other woman in the hall. She was clad in a military uniform : white pants, black boots, white gloves and a light-blue military coat with golden shoulder ornaments.
"Good evening, Relena", she said in a calm voice. "Who are your friends ?"
"This is Quatre Raberba Winner", Relena said pointing at Quatre. "And here are Chang Wufei and Duo Maxwell. Everyone, this is Lucrezia Noin, my soon-to-be sister-in-law."
"Nice to meet you, miss Noin", Quatre said, shaking her hand.
"Just Noin will be fine, Mr Winner", Noin answered.
"Okay, then, just Quatre will be fine too."
Noin bowed to Wufei almost automatically, and shook Duo's hand. She eyed everyone with a sharp eye, but didn't ask questions.
"Where is Mil, Lu ?", Relena asked. "I've been chasing him all evening to introduce him to Quatre, and I can't find him."
"He called me, he won't be long. He was delayed, something about a report. Oh, I think I see him, just wait a minute, I'll go grab him and drag him this way."
Five minutes later, Noin returned, holding the arm of a tall man with very long platinum-blond hair and ice-blue eyes, who was wearing the same king of uniform she was, except that his coat was red. A man that looked far too familiar to Quatre and Wufei, whose eyes widened when they saw him.
"Mr Merquise ?", Quatre asked in disbelief.
Zechs Merquise took a good look at the people in front of him, two of which were gaping at him. His sister was frowning, wondering what this was all about. The braided young man was scratching his head and waiting for someone to give him any kind of explanation, and Lucrezia was shooting him a puzzled glance.
"Well," he said with a smile, "it looks like I was careless after all. I do seem to have a little problem now."
O.O.O.O.O
"I think we need to find some quiet place for me to explain this to you, Mr Winner", Zechs Merquise said.
He shot a look to the other people around.
"I think you'd better come too, Mr Chang, and you too Lucrezia. Relena …"
"Don't you dare tell me that it has nothing to do with me", Relena said threateningly. "I want to know. I'm tired of hearing people telling me that I am too young or that I shouldn't know."
For a moment, it looked like Zechs would argue, but he gave in.
"Fine. Do as you wish. And …"
Zechs shot a look at Duo, who grinned at him.
"I'm with Cat, man ! I'm comin' too ! Ya could always try to stop me, but I wouldn't be too sure of my chances if I were you ! And, by the way, Cat", he added, " I think there's someone else we need to invite along !"
Quatre looked at Wufei, who smiled and nodded.
"Duo is right, Quatre. He needs to come too. That will save us the trouble of telling him the story, and I'm sure nothing will happen to you if he is there."
Zechs saw the Chinese man ask a security guard to join them. The man complied immediately.
"I won't harm anyone", Zechs said. "I hardly think this is necessary to have a security guard with you."
"I can't be sure you won't harm anyone", Wufei replied. "From what I know, you are not someone I should be happy to meet under any circumstances. And we do not need a security guard, we need this security guard, who, by the way, is not really a security guard."
Zechs looked at the young man. He just glared back, and put a hand on Quatre's shoulder, who, most surprisingly, did not brush it off. Zechs could even have sworn that the blond young man seemed to be reassured by that presence and was leaning into the touch. There was something going on here that he didn't understand, but now was not a good time to ask.
"When you feel like explaining anything, Mil, by any means feel free to do it", Relena said.
"Let's just get somewhere else", Zechs said. "There are too many prying ears here."
They all followed Zechs in the private parlor. As soon as everyone was in, the 'security guard' closed the door, leant on it and crossed his arms on his chest, gazing at Zechs with rapt attention.
"Maybe we should sit down", Zechs said. "The story is a bit long."
Lucrezia Noin seemed to suddenly understand what was going on.
"Oh", she said. "KI Banks ?"
Zechs nodded. Lucrezia frowned.
"What about Commander Watanabe ? Somehow, I don't think he will be too happy if you share information about a case with civilians."
"I am quite sure that it won't prevent me from sleeping at night, since Commander Watanabe's happiness has never been my primary goal in this inquiry", Zechs replied with scathing irony. "And anyway, the only sources of information he gets are my reports. If I don't write it down, he won't know."
"You'll tell Colonel Fujirawa, though ?"
"Well, if you would be so kind as to see that she is informed without her whole office knowing …"
"Hum hum !"
Both Lucrezia and Zechs looked up, to meet the face of a slightly disgruntled Duo.
"We're all happy that you two are getting hitched soon, but if ya guys could please skip the encrypted conversation and come to the point where ya actually tell us what the fuck is going on 'round there, that would be fine by me, pals !"
"Well, Maxwell, for once, I agree with you", Wufei said frowning. "For all we know, that charming man over here is Zechs Merquise, Kushrenada's personal assistant. We met him on L1 at KI Banks on the blessed day when Quatre severed all ties between WEI and KI Banks. But it seems there is more to him than meets the eye."
"Well, I'm flattered that you are polite enough to put it that way", Zechs said.
"Boys !", Relena interrupted. "When you are quite finished throwing roses to each other …"
"Sure, Relena, I'll get to the point", Zechs said with a smile.
He turned to face Quatre, who was just sitting there and waiting for a suitable explanation. The young man was just beginning to remember the feelings he had caught in the elevator that day. The fact that Zechs had almost seemed amused to realize that KI Banks was about to lose its best client.
"My real name is not Zechs Merquise", the platinum-haired man said. "I am Milliardo Peacecraft, and I am a GSA agent working undercover."
"You're working for the Global Security Agency ?", Quatre asked. "How come someone like you became involved in such a thing ? You could do anything you want for a living."
"It makes life interesting", Milliardo said with a shrug. "Not to mention that I am good at what I do, and I love it. Business is really not my trip. I'll leave that to Relena, she's far better than myself for that kind of things."
"So you're just pretending to work for Treize ?", Wufei asked.
"That is such a blunt way to describe undercover work, Mr Chang", Milliardo said with a smile. "I do not pretend to work for him. Zechs Merquise does work for Treize Kushrenada. Let's just say I am not Zechs Merquise all the time."
"Does it mean we stepped into an inquiry without knowing we did ?", Quatre asked.
"Actually, it would be more accurate to say that you are what triggered the inquiry, Mr Winner."
"I don't understand."
"The GSA has been working against corporate crime for ages, but somehow, they could never find a way to approach the leaders. You may not be aware of this, but WEI Charities has stirred a lot of anger from those people we call crime lords."
Milliardo saw Quatre's gaze flicker to 'the security guard who was not really a security guard', and back.
"I am aware of that fact, but I thought it had started only some weeks ago."
"The programs you are settings were designed for longer than that, and WEI Charities has had to deal with intimidation of all sorts and threats for the past years. The GSA has been asked to step in during the last year to provide some protection to charity workers. And Colonel Fujirawa, the head of the GSA, saw this as the occasion to try and put down some of the most renowned crime lords. I was assigned on the case."
Milliardo sighed.
"Infiltration was the best way to do this, and I was qualified for undercover operations, so I took it on myself to do the job. I succeeded quite efficiently. I was hired by Treize Kushrenada six months ago. I have been tapping his phone and going through his archives all this time, trying to gather enough proof that might incriminate him. After all, to the face of the world, he is a respectable banker and businessman."
"Cat, you have a gift to pick them, I swear !", Duo groaned. "First, the killer, now you step into a full GSA investigation ! What's next, are you gonna blow up a colony by looking at it ?"
"Actually, Mr …"
"Duo Maxwell. And don't call me Mr Maxwell or I'll cut your throat. Duo is fine."
" … Duo", Milliardo said with difficulty, "Mr Winner here did not step into my inquiry. I am the one to blame. I wanted to see my fiancée and my sister, and I asked for some leave to be able to do that. I didn't check everything properly, or I would have made sure that I would not bump into Mr Winner. Of course, Lena didn't tell me she had met you, Mr Winner, she was just very excited to introduce me to her new friend."
Relena smiled sheepishly.
"If you didn't treat me like a child, I wouldn't act as one", she said dryly. "You should have told me that you were doing something important, and I wouldn't have insisted for you to come."
Wufei cleared his throat.
"Why are you telling us that ?", he asked. "We are civilians, and the only thing that has a link to your inquiry is Quatre's safety, if I get it all right."
"Well, Mr Chang, since my little sister would have introduced me as Milliardo Peacecraft and you already knew me by some other name, it would have been completely useless to try and pretend that Zechs Merquise just had the extraordinary chance to be a double, and that you would have the extraordinary chance to be meeting us both within a week."
"Sure", Wufei admitted.
"Moreover, I think once I have explained what I'm supposed to be doing in details, maybe you'll be able to help me in some way."
"Even if that's the case, what makes you think we will be willing to help ?", Quatre asked very seriously.
There was a pause before Milliardo replied.
"Maybe because our goal is the same, Mr Winner, even if our methods differ. We want the crime lords down. Working together could help achieve that more efficiently."
"I still agree with Wufei", Quatre said. "We are civilians. We have absolutely no power to investigate anything, let alone infiltrate any organizations. We are barely teenagers. You don't know us. How do you know you can trust us ?"
Milliardo sighed.
"I don't know if I can trust you, Mr Winner. I won't know until I tell you the whole story. I think it is not too much to say that my life is in your hands right now. If any of you here decides to call Treize Kushrenada and inform him of my real identity, I'm dead."
"Then, I thank you for your trust", Quatre said with a smile. "I cannot assure that we will be working together to achieve that goal you spoke of, but I think you can rest assure that none of us will betray the trust you just showed."
Duo nodded. Relena didn't have to do anything to show her support, but she nodded too. But both Wufei and Heero remained totally still. Quatre shot a look to Heero, then to Wufei.
"I have a tendency to believe that Quatre is entirely too trusting of strangers, Mr Peacecraft or whatever you wish to call yourself", the Chinese man said evenly. "I trust his judgement, but I will need a bit more than that. After all, if you're really Zechs Merquise, it would be a clever move to pretend you are working undercover, wouldn't it ?"
"Maybe", Relena cut in, "but that would make me part of the bad guys, as well as Lu. And I can swear that this is my brother, and not some criminal trying to fool you."
Wufei nodded to her.
"I still need to hear the whole story. Our lives have become increasingly complicated in the last days, and as much as I am ready to believe you, Mr Peacecraft, or more exactly, willing to believe you, you will need to convince me."
"And I won't try to talk him out of it", Quatre added. "Wufei and Duo here are currently playing the bodyguard parts for me, so if there is anything they want to ask you, I will let them. They will be judges as far as my security is concerned. As for deciding if you're lying or not, I already told you I believed you, Mr Peacecraft, but I can't speak for them."
That's when the so-called security guard spoke for the first time.
"He is not lying, Quatre", he said in a slightly nasal voice. "He really is a GSA agent, and he really is trying to bring the Doctors, Kushrenada and Romefeller down. And he's also been a real pain in the ass for me on some of my last missions. Haven't you, Agent Wind ?"
Milliardo gaped.
"How do you know my code name ?", he asked, his voice shaking a little.