Chapter V
Upon reaching his apartment, Zavey slammed the door behind him and leaned back against it, sighing and looking at his watch. "Well that was half a day wasted." he said to himself, "I'll suppose they'll want a report done." he continued as he shook his head and walked forward, putting his cap and briefcase on the kitchen counter. He began loosening his tie and proceeded to take of his coat. As he undid the buttons, he noticed the blinking light on the video phone's answering machine and pressed the review button. "You have: one new message and six old messages." yapped the machine. Phil turned and pulled off his coat, placing on the back of the sofa as the message began to play. Hi Phil. The inspector instantly recognized the voice as being that of his ex-wife, Sofie. He stopped for a few seconds, waiting for the message to play out.
I know this is short notice, but I have to go Avernus 4 until tomorrow, and since it is your vacation, I was wondering if you could watch Nikki. Thanks, I'll drop him off around 4:00. The message stopped. Zavey walked over and turned off the machine, then looked at his watch again. 3:20. He still had some time before his son would be coming, so he grabbed his coat and walked into bedroom to change.
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Miriallia awoke from her nap and yawned. She turned her head and lazily gazed at the clock. 3:40. She yawned again and then turned to put her legs out on the side of the bed. When her eyes were opened fully, she looked down at the nightstand and saw the photograph. Her memory kicked in as she leaned over and picked it up. She then started to debate whether or not she would go visit this General Rykiel. When she looked out the window and saw that the rain still hadn't cleared up, she went against it. I'll at least wait until this clears up she thought to herself. She flopped back down onto the bed and went back to sleep.
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The doorbell rang just as Phil was pulling a black sweater over his head. He finished putting his left arm in his sleeve and walked over to the door, yawning slightly before opening it. Sofie was standing in front of him, a woman of about 28 with foam green hair and purple eyes. She was holding the hand of their eight year old son, Nikki, for whom she had allowed Phil to name in honor of his deceased friend, Nicol Amalfi, whom he closely resembled. "Hi, Phil."
"Hi Sofie. So, where are you going?"
"I have to go to Avernus. My boss wants me to come with him for the signing of a merger."
"Ah. I see. What's the merger?" he asked.
"The headquarters if ZMI is on Avernus. My boss just agreed to make our company a part of their electronics R and D."
"Well, don't worry about us. We'll take care of ourselves."
"Thanks, Phil." she said. The two hugged, and the Sofie released her grip from her son's hand. "Bye bye Nikki. Be good for your father." She turned and walked down the hall out of the sight before the pair withdrew into Zavey's apartment. "Well, there's a carnival tonight. If the rain clears up, we can go."
"Yeah!" replied his son in the enthusiastic manner of a normal 8-year-old. The police colonel clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Well, alright then!" he replied.
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General Waldfeld was alone in his office, looking over a report of a recent terrorist bomb threat that had been handed to him when the door to office swung open. Three men stepped in, each wearing a two piece suit and tie. The general stood up as his secretary (guard) stepped in and got in front of the men and tried to stop them. "Gentlemen, I can't allow you in here without notification." The man in front pushed the guard aside rather ungraciously, nearly causing him to fall over.
"We're here on official business regarding the security of the state. If you continue to impede us, we'll have you arrested for insubordination." The man who had just spoken was roughly Andrew's height with long, golden-blonde hair, and a rather distinctive looking mask that covered only his eyes and nose. Waltfeld stood up. "It's alright, Jack. You can let these men in."
The flustered guard regained his composure and stepped out of the room, giving the men a somewhat bitter look as he closed the door. Waltfeld looked at the intruders, opening one of his desk drawers which contained his pistol. "Please, there's no need for that Andrew." said the blonde-haired man.
"What do you want, Kreuze?" replied Waltfeld, his hand moving slowly away from the drawer.
"Oh it's nothing really. It's just that this whole case involving General Norton has me a little worried."
"Worried? That's not a word I'd expect from you." The two men on the either side of Kreuze stepped out and tried to get on either side the general. "Stay where you are." said the police chief in a rather threatening tone. The two men backed off, but Kreuze stepped forward and placed his hands on the desk.
"Let's talk for a minute."
ZMI –Zaft Military Industries. The largest, government-owned manufacturer of mobile suits and the leading research and developer of weapons technologies.
I have been on a very long hiatus. Various influences in my life have made it difficult for me to multi-task, I had to prioritize, and I'm not ashamed to say that this had to go down on the list. Not to say it's unimportant, but there was work to be done. Also, my computer has been in the shop.
Any-hoo, things are calming down a bit, so I think it's a bout time to get back into the swing of things.
