A/N: Good job on identifying all of Tonks's failed checks! ;D
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Harry Potter.
Note: Given the POV of this chapter, Tonks is referred to with he/him/his pronouns, just fyi.
Chapter 11
Speak
"Are we sure that he's not Agent Maxwell?"
Une did not look away from the two-way mirror. The person in question was perched at the edge of his seat, violet eyes wide and skittering, slightly hunched in on himself in a pre-emptive defense stance. He kept glancing about the room, never looking at Yuy directly, although occasionally his gaze lingered on the digital script that maintained the magic nullification ward on the interrogation room.
Even Une knew that the person she was seeing was not Duo Maxwell.
"He did not recognize either me or Agent Barton," Sally Po answered. Barton stood next to her, eyes latched onto the person wearing Duo's face, expression void of any strong emotion.
Chief Officer of the London Branch Office, Olivia Bay, took this answer in with a solemn nod. "But still… If he isn't Agent Maxwell, why does he still look like him? Shouldn't the wards have undone whatever magic he's using?" she asked.
"Not exactly," Asher Cordell, her own Terran Magic Department Chief, replied. "The nullification wards work on extrinsic magic – it will keep him from casting magic outside of himself and even undo spells that may rest upon his skin. But it won't affect intrinsic magic, so if he's somehow transfigured himself into Agent Maxwell's likeness, the wards can't change him back."
"It doesn't matter what mask he's put on," Barton interrupted. "That's not Duo Maxwell."
"How can you be so sure?" Bay asked. She wasn't confrontational, only cautious. With her Branch Office under attack twice within the same 24 hours, she was being kept on high-alert. Unlike Cordell, she was non-magical and could not sense the approach of wizards. "He could be pretending he doesn't know you or Agent Po. It's possible he's Agent Maxwell, but is under duress to keep quiet."
"Everything about him is wrong."
There was something inherently terrifying in those words as they came from Barton's lips, despite the calm tone he'd used to say them. Even Une was hard-pressed to ignore it, knew that they were walking the thin line when it came to letting this particular team handle interrogation. She only hoped Winner kept his cool as he watched Chang interview Lupin in the other room.
"His body language is wrong. Duo would not sit like that in an interrogation. His eyes would try to find the cameras first, then the door to check for vulnerabilities. Then he would fixate on his interrogator and see if there was something he could pick at, try to start a fight or get them to lower their guard," Barton explained. "He hasn't played with his hair even once."
"You're doubting him because he hasn't twirled his hair?" Bay blinked.
"He keeps lockpicks in his braid," Barton replied dryly. "And explosives."
Bay looked at Une. Une just gave a short nod.
"His voice is wrong too," Barton continued. "Even if we excused the sound of it as illness or magic gone awry, it shouldn't interfere with his accent or his inflections."
Barton uncrossed his arms, almost as if he wanted to reach through the glass and throttle the boy seated across from Yuy. "I asked him where he's from. He gave me the exact colony number, the pause in the wrong part."
"Some of the wizards in the office do that too," Cordell added. "They rattle off the whole colony site without taking a breath at times, or try to group the letters together."
Trowa didn't look away from the scene before them. "Duo wouldn't announce his actual colony number out loud," he explained to a perplexed Bay. "L2's 744 has too many negative connotations."
"Crimes against humanity," Cordell translated.
Barton glanced at him. Cordell stopped talking.
"Agent Yuy will confirm his identity," Sally said, interrupting the tense moment. "He knows Duo better than anyone, after all."
It was the silence that was getting to him.
Heero could see that. It was obvious that the person across from him was waiting for him to speak first, to act first – so that he could choose his response carefully to whatever Heero said or did. He was sat there, slightly leaned forward but facing Heero directly, eyes never on Heero for long. He was, for some reason, wary of making direct eye contact for too long.
"Would you like a cup of water?"
He flinched at the words, the first words spoken in the last 10 minutes since he'd been locked in this room. Heero remained impassive, staring at a face that was almost familiar – the contours and features were right, but the way those muscles under the skin pulled those same features into expressions ill-fitting to it made it almost unrecognizable.
"Uh – no thank you," came the stammered response.
The voice was wrong, the accent was wrong, even the words themselves were wrong. Too formal, too obvious he'd been caught by surprise. It gave Heero too much of an edge in a situation where he was already heavily strategically favored.
Sally entered the room a moment later, placing a paper cup of water on the table between them. She smiled at the long-haired youth Heero continued staring at, before quickly leaving, the door shutting quickly and quietly on her retreating steps.
The other boy did not drink, looking at the cup in suspicion. He didn't say anything, didn't crack any jokes or pointed jibes that would have challenged Heero's silent assertion that the water was safe to drink. Instead, he glanced back at Heero before just as quickly looking away.
"Do you know who I am?"
Violet eyes were back on him. Heero remembered them from all those months ago, when they were narrowed and furious and so very hurt. That was still preferable to the mockery looking back at him now.
"A Preventers Agent," the boy replied. The answer sounded almost like a question, like he didn't quite believe it.
Heero didn't say anything for another long moment. The boy shifted in his seat, looking once more at the digital ward keeping him from using his magic. It was reinforced with steel and hard plastic, unable to be tampered with. Aside from its magical nullification abilities, it was harmless. So long as they did not activate the top setting in the containment feature for this interrogation cell – disintegrating the door handle so that it became a door-less room – then it was just like any other non-magical room. The door itself had only a simple lever lock. Trowa had picked it in less than 30 seconds.
"I am," Heero agreed. "And you are?"
"Duo Maxwell."
Heero placed his hands on the table in open view. The green light over the two-way mirror flickered to red before back to green, a silent warning from Une to remain calm.
Heero would not falter. They would not be able to wring out the information they needed from a corpse, after all.
"If you were Duo Maxwell, I would not be a Preventers Agent," Heero stated.
The other boy blinked at him. "Is… Is that supposed to be some kind of riddle…?"
The voice was grating in how wrong it was. The body was grating in how wrong it moved. The face was grating in how every expression splashed across it was wrong.
The tabletop under his hands began to singe and twist in on itself, a loud creaking noise startling the other boy so badly that he tumbled backwards out of his chair. Heero stopped, lifting his palms from the table, leaving behind imprints of scorched metal that smelled faintly of the burning remains of metal.
Heero rose from his seat, leaving the room without looking back. Once the door closed behind him, he turned his head to face those waiting for his verdict.
"That's not Duo."
"Where is Duo Maxwell?"
"In the other room," Lupin repeated, as he had been for the past half an hour. The question had changed in form but never intention, and Lupin was clinging to his answer with all his might. The older male sat tense in his seat but never once turned aggressive, seemingly resigned to questioning but silently resolute to not give anything away.
Slowly but surely, the room's temperature was going up.
Wufei refused to sit down. The idea of being so close to a man who had hurt one of his own and yet not being able to wring the answers from his neck was vile, so he stood on the other side of the table and kept his hands to himself.
The light above the two-way mirror began to blink. Wufei kept his eyes on Lupin but his attention was on the light, reading Quatre's message quietly.
'Tell a lie.'
"You are a British terran magic user," Wufei began. "Which means you are familiar with the Trace."
Lupin stared at him, eyebrows slightly elevated – an understated expression of his surprise. The Trace was something Wufei had come across while looking into ways of tracking Duo after they'd discovered him missing. It had only been a passing thought given the circumstances at the time, but he remembered it now. It was a tracking charm the British magical government placed on their children, a mix of archaic and traditional magic that allowed them to track underage magic users.
"Newtypes have something similar, which cannot be undone by either internal or external force. It was active on Duo Maxwell until two days ago," Wufei said. It was a technical lie, as Duo had had no such Trace placed on him – and even if he had, Wufei thought the Deathscythe pilot would have been more than able to shake it off – but he was not going to explain Quatre's abilities to a possible hostile. "The only case where this has been possible is death."
Lupin was staring at him; Wufei stared back. The implication hung clear in the air between them: Wufei did not believe that was Duo Maxwell in the next room, because Duo Maxwell was dead.
"It could be mind magic."
Heero knew his stoic expression was disturbing to the gathered agents outside the impostor's interrogation room, but his training was drilled so deeply into his psyche that he could not allow himself to show weakness. He was constantly aware of Une's eyes on him as she gauged his emotional state to handle the case, and even with Trowa beside him, Heero didn't feel quite so sure of himself this time.
"Mind magic?" Sally echoed in concern.
"The man in Holding Cell Three is an Obliviator," Cordell explained. "They specialize in memory manipulation and erasure. It's possible that they altered Agent Maxwell's memories."
"It would explain why he didn't recognize any of you," Bay reasoned.
"But not his mannerisms," Trowa interjected. "Even if he doesn't remember the training, his body will."
Bay was frowning. From what Heero knew of the London Branch's Chief Officer, she was dutiful and diligent; she was a former OZ officer that had worked under Une many times. She'd been entrusted with London Branch as she was originally from the British Isles and was familiar with its communities, and the Preventers that served under her reported she was a good boss.
Heero understood where the doubt was coming from when it came to her understanding of the situation. It wasn't the magical element to the case – like all Preventers of her security level, she was privy to knowledge of magic's existence, including both wizarding communities and Newtypes.
She wasn't privy to Duo Maxwell's true identity.
Rebel soldiers from the colonies were not strangers to battle, but most had received little training. Until OZ's reach into the colonies to form their volunteer armies, there had been little formal training for those fighting in the colonies; they'd preferred guerilla-style warfare that dealt more with blitz tactics. To assume that a young soldier-turned-Preventers agent had been trained well enough to react as a soldier once his memories were removed would be a bit of a stretch.
"Agent Maxwell would remember."
Heero looked to Une, who was staring into the interrogation room and seeing the same thing Heero saw – a stranger.
"But we can be certain and hang it over his head," she relented, looking back at her agents. "If we assume it is memory loss or alteration, to the point where he forgot who we are, who he is and his training – then how do we check it's him?"
They were quiet for a moment. Heero looked back into the room, saw this impostor stand from the chair and inspect the digital ward. He moved on, walking around the room; he ignored the mirror, the table, the chairs. He paused at the door, jiggled the handle, then continued on when it revealed itself to be locked.
Heero reached out and hit the few keys needed to up the intensity of the wards, momentarily knocking the impostor to the ground.
"Agent Yuy," Une warned from behind him.
Heero resumed standing at attention. "He was testing the limits so I increased the restriction," he explained diffidently.
She didn't do it but Heero could mentally see Une rolling her eyes. Sally was openly grinning.
"Language."
They all turned to Trowa. The green-eyed boy unlocked from his cross-armed lean against the wall, ready to explain. "Language isn't affected by memory loss or alteration. If he really has had his memories altered, it's clear the magic did not affect his language abilities - he's speaking fluent USL now."
With the accent consistently in shift, Heero thought derisively. 'USL' was the spacer's name for English, short for Universal Standard Language. Some of the words spoken by the impostor came out distinctly in the American accent of the L2 colonies, some came out with a slight British accent that was quickly passed or stifled.
Cordell frowned. "It would have to be a language unique to the colonies," he said. "If he's an Earth Sphere citizen, he could have learned most of the languages spoken on the globe."
"Do we have anyone that can speak L2PL?" Bay asked. L2PL was the short form for L2 Pidgin Language, the unique dialect that was developed in the L2 colony cluster. All of the space colony clusters had their own pidgin language, although they differed drastically from each other due to origins.
"I can speak enough," Trowa said.
Une nodded. "Let's try it then," she ordered. She paused, looking away from the boy in the interrogation room to Trowa's still form. "Don't corner him – convince him. If we give him the way out then disprove it-"
"Then we've caught him red-handed in his lie," Sally finished with a smile.
Trowa nodded, then entered the room without a sound. The impostor, his back to the door, didn't notice until Trowa had reached Heero's vacated chair, glancing back before jumping around, violet eyes wide. "You- You're the boy from earlier!"
Trowa stared at him, unmoved and refusing to sit.
The impostor was examining the tall boy's impassive face, noticeably connecting the dots. His shoulders straightened, realizing he'd been tested from that first moment in the lobby and had somehow failed. He'd be on his guard now, not quite as belligerent in his assertion of his identity.
"I am a Preventers agent," Trowa explained in a dry tone that showed he was not impressed with what he was seeing. "I am also a Newtype."
The impostor stared at him, arms crossed and holding himself as if unsure at the information being given to him. "Right…"
"I need to ask you a few questions to verify your identity," Trowa stated. "Please take a seat."
It was more of an explanation than Heero had given (because Heero hadn't given one). After a moment, the impostor tentatively retook his seat. Trowa took the seat opposite, gaze calm and steady. "The reason for our reluctance in believing you are who you claim to be is the discrepancies you have shown thus far. You have been reported missing for over two weeks. You neglected to provide the correct identification to the front desk of this office."
Duo, as a Preventers agent, should have also given his agent ID number when he'd checked in; failing to do so was considered suspicious activity. He'd been labeled as a Missing Person in the public database, which came up when he'd checked in at reception. Fortunately, Bay had notified her personnel in the lobby to feign normal routines in such situations, which was how they were able to act so quickly with their targets none the wiser.
"And you failed to recognize someone who knows Duo Maxwell personally."
"But I am Duo Maxwell!" the impostor repeated.
Trowa didn't acknowledge the outburst. "These discrepancies are too big to ignore. Your involvement in terran magic is another point to consider. Terran magic is capable of many things, both noticeable and unnoticeable. So I want you to think about your answers very carefully before you respond."
"When you say terran magic is capable of things… What do you mean?"
Trowa kept his gaze matched evenly with violet. "To be frank – we think you may have had your memories erased."
The impostor froze, processing this juicy bit of information. It was a handy explanation for every check he'd failed. Continually claiming to be Duo Maxwell and yet not be able to identify who was friend, foe, or indifferent stranger to the boy was too contradictory. Feigning amnesia would give him a ready excuse to play out until either the situation changed in his favor, or gave him more chances to bide his time until whoever had sent him arrived to save him.
"Are you…Are you sure?" the long-haired boy asked. "I mean, I knew Remus- Remus Lupin is my father…"
"He's testing it, trying to get us to fill in the holes," Sally recognized.
Trowa remained unperturbed. "From our research into terran magic, it seems wizards of the Earth Sphere are capable of not only erasing memories, but altering them. Highly-trained wizards may even be capable of inserting false memories if given the time and power, but fortunately you were not missing long enough for that to be a possibility. And according to the FRA, Remus Lupin is your father. That memory could have been left intact, so that you felt you could rely on him."
"He's been very kind," the impostor was quick to say. "Remus – he wouldn't hurt me. Ever."
"He won't turn on Lupin," Bay translated.
Trowa nodded, seemingly agreeing with the impostor's sentiments. "Given that Lupin went missing around the same time as you, it's possible his memories have been altered in some way as well. We will have to wait until a personal contact of his can be found to verify his identity, or until his DNA results can confirm it."
"Oh, right, that'd be good," the impostor agreed.
Cordell snorted. "He doesn't know what DNA is, does he?"
"I think… I think it's possible," the impostor said, in a tone that wanted to convey worry.
Trowa's placid expression turned into something that resembled concern. "Can you please clarify? What can you remember?"
"Uh, well, like you said – I know about the FRA… And I know about the Earth and the space colonies, but I don't… I don't really remember anything about myself in particular. Remus, he- he said he'd take care of me until we could make me better…"
"Yes, it's possible you got caught up in a terran magic dispute," Trowa nodded along. "Your memories about your own personal history and experiences could have been erased as a precaution."
Here, Trowa paused. Heero recognized his friend was thinking of some plan to further help their case while the impostor was at ease, believing things to be turning in his favor. "It's possible Lupin may have his memories altered, or even that he knows who erased yours. He could be keeping quiet to keep you safe."
The impostor nodded eagerly. "Yes, I think- I think he's definitely on our side! He's just trying to keep me safe, you know, he was probably surprised he had a son and- well, who knows what happened! But I'm sure he's just trying to keep me safe! He's my father after all!"
Trowa frowned, the expression patently fake to Heero's eyes. "First, we have to verify his identity, make sure he is the real Remus Lupin. Once we have that, we can work on trying to get your memories back, or try to find the person who did this to you. Lupin won't talk unless we can guarantee your safety, if that is what is keeping him quiet for now." Here, Trowa stalled another moment, seemingly thinking about possibilities.
Trowa and Duo were considered the stealth operatives of their group, although their styles of infiltration and subterfuge were different according to their own personalities. Duo had been a contradictory mix – sneaking onto bases through blind spots, planting explosives or stealing vital information without anyone the wiser. When in a crowd, Duo blended in with the people who surrounded him – laughing and wild and bright, just another ignorant civilian to the soldiers looking for enemies. Trowa, on the other hand, slipped into enemy territory disguised as one of their own, right in their midst from the beginning and waiting for his time to strike. In a crowd, he wasn't an innocent civilian joking around with friends – he was part of the background of silent and unimportant onlookers, forgotten the moment he was passed.
This did not mean they could not adopt skills from the other. From Trowa, Duo had learned to don the garb of his enemies and pass himself off as an ally; from Duo, Trowa had learned the art of expression to fool those who would act against him.
"Do you remember meeting with anyone while with Lupin?" Trowa asked. "Anyone that can confirm his identity? The faster we confirm events and clear both you and Lupin of suspicion, the faster we can work on finding the people who are threatening you."
No one said anything as the trap was put in place.
The impostor hemmed and hawed for several moments. Trowa waited patiently, seemingly earnest to solve the case without suspecting the one who sat across from him.
"Maybe…Maybe Albus Dumbledore? He's the Headmaster of Hogwarts – it's the wizarding school of magical Britain. Remus worked for him a couple years ago as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," the impostor offered. "I've never met Dumbledore personally but Remus talks about him fondly, so they must be close. Dumbledore will know if that's the real Remus Lupin or not."
"Dumbledore…" Une echoed quietly.
"Thank you, we'll look into it," Trowa said. "Just one more question then…"
The other boy was almost starting to smile, looking eager to help.
"Aa, dónde y'been?"
The impostor's expression fell into profound confusion. Trowa's had turned back into deadly calm.
"No?" he pushed. "Y' illegit? Y'been doxxed or shined?"
Silence was his only reply. It was obvious from the expression on the other boy's face that he had no idea what Trowa was saying.
"Still nothing?" Trowa mused, then abruptly switched tracks. "¿Me puedes hacer un paro y decirme quién eres realmente?"
Bay cocked her head in thought. "…is that Colonial Spanish?"
"Yes," Heero answered. "Duo learned it while working with the Sweepers."
At the continued silence in the interrogation room, Trowa finally leaned back in his chair. "The human mind is a fascinating thing. Amnesia, whether by external trauma or external magical means, does not affect the part of the brain that stores language. Your every memory could be erased or upturned – and you would still be able to speak with us in the languages you have learned, even having never remembered learning them."
Trowa stood, and for the first time since Lupin and his associate stepped into the Preventers Branch Office, his eyes turned cold.
"Did you really think he only spoke English?"
"He's been confirmed to not be Duo Maxwell."
Quatre did not look away from the window into Lupin's interrogation room. The man had clammed up the moment he'd realized they knew that he hadn't brought the real Duo Maxwell. It was a tactically smart move – if he admitted to nothing and circumstances changed, he could use his silence to his favor. This way, if they harbored even the slightest seed of doubt that that was the real Duo Maxwell, then he would not accidentally give the scheme away.
"We're following up on a lead the suspect provided, though," Trowa continued. "He mentioned someone named Albus Dumbledore, a headmaster of a terran magic school."
Quatre glanced at his lover. "Dumbledore…? He's the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, I believe…"
Trowa stared back at him, stone-faced.
"Ah – that's what they call the leader of the International Confederation," Quatre explained, cracking a smile.
"That's a ridiculous name."
Cordell, perched nearby, snorted. "Terran magic users enjoy absurdity," he scoffed. "Also, Albus Dumbledore was the Supreme Mugwump – he was ousted from his post by the British Ministry of Magic a few months ago."
Quatre turned, intrigued.
"We've been looking into that, on Advisor Catalonia's request," Sally piped up. "British terran magic users are in the midst of a sociopolitical divide, with the British Ministry of Magic led by Minister Fudge on one side, and Albus Dumbledore on the other."
"What is the cause of the divide?" Trowa asked. This could be what Duo had gotten caught up in, which would make it integral to their investigation.
"There was an incident in the middle of AC 196 at a wizarding event known as the Triwizard Tournament, a school competition involving several magical schools," Cordell recounted. "A student from magical Britain died. Another competitor said that he was murdered by a resurrected Dark Lord."
"Resurrected?"
Cordell half-shrugged. "We have limited information on terran Dark Magic. It's taboo in almost all societies here on the Earth Sphere. I wouldn't cross out resurrection as a possibility, and this Dark Lord was infamous for inhuman acts," he explained. "He'd terrorized wizarding Britain around 16 years ago, before reportedly being killed while trying to kill a baby."
Both Quatre and Trowa were now staring at him.
Sally sighed. "Magical history is really something else," she said. "Anyway, this baby he'd died trying to kill – it survived. His name's Harry Potter, and he was that other competitor that reported the Dark Lord's return. Dumbledore believed him… but the Ministry did not."
"So either Dumbledore and Potter are spreading lies…or the Ministry is feigning ignorance out of fear," Trowa mused. "Are they credible, though? Potter and Dumbledore?"
Quatre looked back into the interrogation room. Lupin sat still and silent in the face of Wufei's simmering ire, the temperature in the room hot enough to elicit a light sheen of sweat across the man's brow.
"Perhaps credible enough to get Duo killed?"
"And this should reach him?"
Une was eyeing the owl dubiously. The area allocated to the London Branch Office's Terran Magic Communications team included several rooms, the biggest reserved for a flock of owls of varying breeds. They were surprisingly quiet and tame, perched on posts along the walls and ceiling, content to sleep or clean themselves. All were tagged with microchips enhanced with Newtype magic so that they did not implode while operating within terran magical areas, with an additional lightweight plastic band branded with the Preventers logo around their left foot.
The one being held out to her now was a tawny eagle owl, perched on the shoulder of Agent Anchor. "It will," Anchor assured her. He was not a Newtype nor a wizard; his results from the FRA revealed non-human lineage, which apparently fell in line with an old family tale that talked about a great-grandmother having intimate relations with a siren. His grandparents had emigrated to the L1 colony cluster, and Anchor had managed to inherit a voice that came across as musical and alluring.
They were a small minority within the Preventers, but agents with non-human lineage were slowly inching up in their numbers. Most showed no ability in either terran or Newtype magic, instead having inherited traits from their non-human ancestor. Some traits were useful to their line of work, others just made a good party trick. They tended to have good affinities with terran magical creatures though, which was something Une was trying to develop further.
"Wizards have bred owls to deliver their post for hundreds of years," Anchor explained. "Our department bought some to clone to see if the ability was magically placed on or innate. Whatever it is, it's apparently ingrained into their very DNA – the clones have the same abilities as the originals." He paused. "R&D were very excited by that."
"I'll have to remember to reign that in then," Une muttered to herself. While she liked to believe her employees would never go so far as to commit atrocities in the name of scientific development, she wouldn't allow herself the luxury of that brand of naïveté. Preventers had performed enough raids on dark magic research labs recently, Barton having been on the last one. He'd reported that the terran magic users at that particular lab were experimenting with combining dark magic with otherwise mundane animals, but all the experiments had died or been exterminated by the time of the raid. Une pretended to believe him and ignored the demon cat he kept on his person nowadays that he said was just "something he found while traveling."
"How long will it take to reach him?" Une asked, handing the short note to her agent. The owl obediently stuck out its leg, Anchor attaching the note to it with a practiced hand.
"It depends on Dumbledore's location," he replied. "If he's in London, it should be within the next hour or two. If he's further out, it could take a good few days."
This was not the best news. She had wanted to contact Dumbledore as soon as possible, but could not risk alerting the British Ministry of Magic to their movements. If the divide between the Ministry and Dumbledore was that clear and evident, then going through the British magical government to reach Dumbledore could cause ripples too big and unpredictable for them to gauge.
They currently had the edge, given their holding of four British magical citizens (assuming the Duo Maxwell impostor was a British national). Until they knew who was working for who, Une needed to keep the recent developments in this investigation quiet. The priority of this mission was finding Duo Maxwell, and it looked like Lupin and his associate were more closely involved with the missing Deathscythe pilot than the two Ministry employees locked away in their holding cells.
If she could get Dumbledore to come to Preventers, it could keep their meeting private. If needed, they could restrain him within their wards and drill him for information regarding Duo Maxwell. The message she'd jotted down to send him was only a simple and vague request for a meeting, and if he truly was aligned with Lupin, then he would understand her reference to "speaking with a couple mutual acquaintances." If he was ignorant of the current proceedings, then he could just assume it was related to their government officers.
This would also give her a better understanding of Dumbledore overall. If he came and was ignorant of the investigation, then they could close that lead. If he ignored her request for a meeting, she could assume he was aware of their capture of his operatives and he'd essentially left them to rot in Preventers custody – showing they were nothing more than pawns in his machinations. If he showed up and was fully aware of the circumstances, then she could meet him on even ground to discover the truth regarding Duo Maxwell.
Anchor lifted his arm and the owl launched off and out the open window. They both watched it disappear into the sky.
"I'll track its progress," Anchor said, turning to leave the room. The microchip would act as a tracker of the owl's movements, hopefully giving them a location once it reached its target.
Une nodded, following him out. They'd just left the room when Admin Singh pushed through the doors of the main hall, eyes searching the area before landing on Une. Singh was neither Newtype nor wizard, but Chief Officer Bay had given her the security clearance needed to know about terran magic. The logic was that Singh, who worked primarily in reception, would be able to recognize the irregularities that cropped up in regards to interactions with terran magic users.
"Director Une," she rushed out. "Agent Glass has arrived!"
Une smiled. Finally, some good news.
Agent Glass was waiting for her by the elevator bank on the seventh floor. She was a rather taciturn young woman, a Newtype from L3 that had abhorred OZ and all they entailed. She had initially been reluctant to join Preventers after being discovered as a Newtype, but when she realized her ability could be used to take down the black market selling weapons and children, she became more than happy to help.
[Agent Glass,] she greeted the other woman with a warm smile, hands moving to convey the words. [How was the trip here?]
Glass nodded back at her, signing back quickly. [Hello, Director. It was an easy trip to make. I am ready to work.]
[Thank you.] Une motioned for Glass to follow her, and together they headed down the corridor towards the interrogation rooms. The observation rooms were open so that the agents could easily move from one to the other, Sally in the doorway of Lupin's observation room when she caught sight of them.
"Agent Glass!" Sally greeted with a wide smile. Glass waved back, slightly warmer in her interaction with the other woman. The exclamation had gotten Bay's attention, and the Chief Officer exited the observation room of Maxwell's impostor, Cordell following at her heels.
[Greetings, Agent.] Bay signed, a bit slow but effort much appreciated.
Glass nodded in greeting to her as well, reaching out for a handshake which was gratefully returned. Winner emerged from the Lupin observation room, followed quietly by the rest of his team. There was another round of greetings for the newly-arrived agent before they got back down to business.
[Where do you want me?] Glass asked.
Une looked to Quatre, who silently acknowledged her implicit trust in him to lead. [Your ability has a range restriction, correct?] he checked.
[Yes. It would be easier for me to be in the same room.]
[That won't be a problem,] Quatre signed. He looked to the others. "I suggest we start with the impostor. Lightning round, confirm what we already know and the information given to us by him. We can then use the information we have to knock Lupin off-kilter."
"Lupin appears to be the leading party between the two of them," Sally agreed. "If we can convince him that his associate broke, he might be willing to talk to explain himself."
Quatre nodded. [Please sit in this room first,] he signed to Glass, indicating the impostor's room. [We'll have you sit behind him so that he can't see what you are doing behind his back.]
[That's fine.]
A chair was dragged into each interrogation room. After a short discussion, Heero was appointed as the interrogator. He had been neutral enough in their initial meeting, his stoicism just threatening enough to pressure the impostor without being overly aggressive. He was given props: a clipboard with several sheets of paper, everything on the document written in Colonial Japanese. It was the lyrics from an old song, formatted in such a way that it looked like a list of questions to ignorant eyes. This would give Heero the guise of an impartial questioner, so that the impostor would not be as quick to clam up and refuse to answer their questions.
"We'll need to take their wands," Sally said. The wards interfered with Glass's ability and thus needed to be deactivated, so they had to ensure the wizards could not escape or attack first. "We can activate the anti-apparition ward though."
Une motioned for Barton and Chang to disarm their reluctant visitors. "Do not get too enthusiastic," she reminded them. "He needs a working jaw to talk."
Chang gave her an unimpressed look, although she knew him well enough to know that he was more insulted by the implication that he couldn't have reasoned that out for himself. Barton outright pretended to not have even heard her.
The impostor was first; they pulled him up from his chair and pinned his arms behind his back, pressing him forward so that his upper body against the table as they frisked him. He squawked out at the rough treatment, although neither Gundam pilot responded to his harried demands. His wand was taken from him, along with his silver cross.
Barton passed the cross to Yuy before they continued on into Lupin's room, doing the same to him without fanfare. Yuy fingered the cross, looking it over thoughtfully. After a moment, he pulled it over his head, tucking it under his uniform so that it laid out of sight.
Cordell worked at the controls, the magic nullification wards switching off, the green digital script shutting down. A few more keystrokes and orange script lit up the back screen a second later, anti-apparition wards flaring to life.
Yuy walked into the room first, followed by Glass. He took the open seat across from Maxwell's impostor, holding the clipboard at an angle so that the other could see the written contents with his own eyes. Glass took the seat placed against the wall, behind the suspect and out of his immediate view, but she remained readily visible to those gathered on the other side of the window.
"I am going to ask you a series of questions. You can answer with a simple 'yes' or 'no'. If needed, I may ask for further clarification," Yuy began formally. The reason for the yes/no format was to guarantee as concise an answer as possible, making it easier for Glass to work.
The impostor was turning their head to get a look at Glass, who was only staring impassively back. "Wh-What's going on?"
Yuy ignored him. "Do not take too long to answer. If you do not know, you may say 'I don't know' as an answer," he held the clipboard up and seemed to look it over as if it were a reference. The impostor turned back around to match Yuy's gaze. "First question: are you Duo Maxwell?"
"Wh- Yes!"
A second passed, and then Glass lifted her hands to sign: [Lie.]
Yuy made no acknowledgement of Glass's movements, writing something indecipherable on his papers. He did not call the impostor out on his answer, only continuing on. "Do you work for the British Ministry of Magic, in either an official or unofficial capacity?"
"Why would I-"
"Yes or no," Yuy reminded him sharply.
"No."
[Lie.]
Une frowned. "So they're Ministry employees?"
"We won't know for sure until we question Lupin," Winner replied. "They might also be double agents, if the situation is that severe."
"Do you know Albus Dumbledore in a personal capacity?"
"No, not personally… But I heard about him from Remus…"
[Lie.]
"Do you work for Albus Dumbledore, in either an official or unofficial capacity?"
"No!"
[Lie.]
"Do you know the location of Duo Maxwell?"
"Wh- Yes! I'm right here!"
Glass hesitated, then: [Truth.]
Une slammed the speaker into operation. "Agent Zero-One, rephrase the question!" she ordered curtly.
Yuy's body language was smooth, almost predatory in how he set his clipboard down and stared at the impostor. "…Is Duo Maxwell dead?"
"No!"
[Truth.]
Yuy stopped. Winner's sharp intake of breath was a warning sign.
"Where is he?" Yuy pressed. "Where is Duo Maxwell?"
"I'm Duo Maxwell!" the impostor cried.
[Lie.]
"Did you harm Duo Maxwell, knowingly or unknowingly?"
"No, I-"
"Yes or no."
A sullen look eclipsed the Maxwell impostor's face, so like the original that the temperature in the observation room rose a fraction, Chang stepping closer to the window as if to break it. Barton placed a hand on his shoulder, halting Chang's movements, and the temperature dropped back to normal.
"No."
[Truth.]
Une pressed the speaker once more. "Agent Zero-One, a moment?"
Yuy stood swiftly, exiting the room along with Glass and entering the observation room. Cordell handed them some water cups, Glass accepting even as Yuy ignored the offer.
"He's alive," Winner wondered, almost breathless.
"Is it possible Duo closed the connection himself?" Sally asked, looking to the other Gundam pilots.
Winner's hand clutched at the front of his shirt, remembering what had sent them on this manhunt in the first place. "Perhaps, if he were aware of it… But the feelings before he disappeared- there was so much pain…"
"We need to question Lupin," Yuy said.
Une agreed. "Confront him with what we know. Make him believe his friend here broke and told us everything. See if that gets him to start talking."
Yuy nodded, leaving the room, trailed once more by Glass. Lupin looked up at their entrance, but unlike his companion, he made no startled exclamation, only watched as Yuy took the seat opposite of him. He spared a glance for Glass as she took the chair behind him but was quick to refocus his attention back on Yuy.
Yuy hadn't bothered with his props this time, clearly more aggressive in his stance: glaring eyes looking into Lupin's own and arms crossed. "I want an explanation," Yuy began. "Because your friend in the other room is telling us some wild things, and I want to know if they're true."
Lupin said nothing, although a flash of unease crossed his face at the mention that his compatriot was talking.
"I will ask you a series of questions. You may answer with 'yes,' 'no,' or 'I don't know'. I may ask for clarification to an answer you give. Keep in mind," Yuy's tone turned frosty. "That your companion has already answered these questions truthfully. If you lie or obscure the truth in any way, you will be charged with obstruction of justice."
The corners of Lupin's lips twitched downwards at this.
"Did you kill Duo Maxwell?"
"No."
The answer was immediate, delivered in a tone that was breathlessly horrified by the very implication. Lupin's eyes had gone wide, taken-aback by the question itself.
Glass's response was succinct – and relieving.
[Truth.]
"Is Duo Maxwell still alive?" Yuy continued, tone slightly less cold.
"Yes."
[Truth.]
"Did you harm Duo Maxwell, knowingly or unknowingly?"
Lupin hesitated, a pained expression crossing his features. "…Yes."
[Truth.]
Yuy's hands came to rest on the table. Une reached for the speaker but was beat there by Winner, the blonde's eyes locked on Lupin's hunched form.
"He feels guilty," Winner said.
Lupin's head whipped up, eyes wide at being called out.
"Continue the questioning, Agent Zero-One," Winner ordered softly.
"Do you know the current location of Duo Maxwell?"
"Yes."
[Truth.]
"Lupin, I will remind you that your companion has admitted to their false identity. They also admitted to working for both the British Ministry of Magic…and Albus Dumbledore."
Lupin froze completely.
"He expected us to be lying," Winner murmured.
There was a sharp knock at the door of the observation room before it opened, Agent Anchor stepping in. His eyes swept the room before finding Une, and he stood at attention. "Director, there's been a… development," he reported.
Une motioned for him to continue, half her attention still on Yuy's interrogation.
"The owl sent to Albus Dumbledore has disappeared from our tracking system."
That got her full attention. "It's disappeared?" she repeated, eyes narrowed.
Anchor nodded, looking from her to Chief Officer Bay. "It was still within London city limits when it disappeared. There was no noted physical interference with the microchip, which would have been reported back to our system if someone had attempted disrupting it or destroying it," he explained.
"Can it repel magical interference?" Bay asked shrewdly.
"It has a minor anti-tampering ward, but that can be overcome by strong enough magic," Anchor replied. "It's also possible that the owl entered strong protective wards, which theoretically could block its signals from reaching us."
"So either the messenger was destroyed," Sally said. "Or the message reached its destination."
Anchor nodded.
"Think carefully before answering these next few questions," came Yuy's warning, garnering the room's attention once more. "Do you work for the British Ministry of Magic, in either an official or unofficial capacity?"
"…No."
[Truth.]
"Do you work for Albus Dumbledore, in either an official or unofficial capacity?"
"…No."
[Lie.]
"If they both truly work for Albus Dumbledore, it's possible they're waiting to be rescued," Cordell said. "He's one of the most powerful terran magic users alive. Despite his disagreement with the Ministry, he still has a sizeable number of loyal followers."
"Do you think they could storm this place?" Bay asked in alarm.
Cordell was scowling. "Not that we wouldn't give them a good fight – but I won't say it's impossible he could get the better of us. And if the owl has reached him and he realizes we're holding them… Well, we don't know what he could do."
"Agent Zero-One, a word," Une interrupted.
Yuy and Glass obediently returned, getting the rundown from Barton as Une turned to the others. "If Dumbledore is planning a rescue attempt, then we need to be one step ahead of him," she told them. "We need to keep these two under our control, along with the two Ministry employees in holding."
"…There is one place wizards are scared to go," Sally pointed out.
Une's eyes widened in understanding, before she shook her head. "We'd need time to prepare the shuttle," she said. "We can start preparing it now, but I'd like to have a back-up in case they act before we've ghosted them away."
"…But they don't know that."
Une turned to Chang, eyebrows raised in a silent request for clarification.
"Wizards don't know how we operate. They don't know what it takes to go from groundside to space," Chang said. "Tell everyone that the four suspects that were being kept in holding have been taken elsewhere. The only ones who will know the truth are us."
"And tell them that they're going to space," Yuy said, eyes on Lupin waiting in his room. "Terran magic users lose their abilities once they ascend. Maybe the fear of that loss will make them cooperate."
Une smiled. "Convince them they're going to a place that even the most powerful wizard can't hope to help them," she summarized.
Yuy re-entered the room, this time alone. Lupin raised his head at his entrance, following Yuy with his eyes. Unlike before, Yuy did not sit down; he remained standing, much like Chang had in the first round of interrogation. His face was unreadable, arms behind his back as he glared down at Lupin.
"Remus Lupin," Yuy began in a clinical tone. "You are being charged with obstruction of justice, for lying to law enforcement. You are being charged with the assault and abduction of Duo Maxwell, a citizen of the L2 space colonies."
Lupin did not reply, did not even speak up to defend himself. It was clear Yuy had not expected him to as he continued on. "Given your crimes against a citizen of the space colonies, and in accordance with the laws and regulations of ESUN, you will be immediately extradited to serve your trial and sentence."
"Extradited…?" Lupin echoed slowly.
Yuy was merciless. "You're going to space, Lupin," he clarified.
"You can't-"
"Your shuttle is being prepared. The Representative of the U.K. has given Preventers prior authorization to do as we see fit, and the British Ministry of Magic will be sent notification of your extradition once you have arrived at destination."
"I can't go to space!" Lupin burst out. "I have to stay here!"
"Why?" Yuy asked boredly.
"I have to," Lupin repeated, trying to inject some kind of significance into the words.
"Your companion will be extradited as well, to serve for similar crimes, in addition to impersonation of Duo Maxwell," Yuy stated, ignoring Lupin's dire tone. "Your magical conduits – your wands – will remain in Preventers custody until the time of your trial-"
"We can't help Duo if you get rid of us!"
Yuy's eyes were furious. "Duo survived a colony infamous for murdering its own occupants. He survived a war that millions did not. You had him for 15 days, and now he cannot return home," he said, words low and visceral, tone so vicious it could curdle blood. "The last thing he needs is more of your help."
Lupin opened his mouth to say something, pain at the accusation twisting his expression into open vulnerability. This had to be the closest he'd ever come to breaking in their presence, and Une could almost believe that Remus Lupin did care about Duo.
Whatever it was that Lupin wanted to say, it went unnoticed as Admin Singh entered the room, nearly breathless in her haste.
"Director, Albus Dumbledore is here."
A/N: Tonks was so abused this chapter. I feel kinda bad. XD
-Agent Glass: the human lie detector. However, as can be seen - she is not foolproof. The truth can at times be subjective, as seen with Remus's answer to "did you ever harm Duo Maxwell, knowingly or unknowingly?" Although he hadn't, he believed he'd harmed Duo by unintentionally involving him - thus Glass read his answer ("Yes.") as the truth. Unclear questions or muddled answers can also skew her readings, which was why they'd tried to stick with yes/no questions for the most part.
Story Note 1: Language in the Space Colonies
-As explained in-story, the space colonies all have their own version of language. These are pidgin languages ("a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from several languages.") It's different for each colony cluster, and within each cluster, it can differ in dialect. L2 Pidgin (L2PL) is thus different from L1 Pidgin (L1PL) or L3 Pidgin (L3PL); however, L2PL can be understood by almost all L2 citizens, although there may be differences in words or intonations that would denote a difference of dialect.
Translation notes:
-"Aa, dónde y'been?" = "Where have you been?"
-"Y' illegit? Y'been doxxed or shined?" = "You a fake? Have you been exploited or threatened?"
-There is also the difference between traditional languages spoken on Earth and those spoken in space. Space colonists were taught to speak their original nation's language – which eventually became outdated to those planetside. For example, "Colonial Spanish" is a more antiquated (to the current AC timeline) version of Earth Spanish. Thus they have the "Colonial" version of a language, which essentially just means the older version of an Earth language.
Translation notes:
-"¿Me puedes hacer un paro y puedes decirme quién eres realmente?" = "Do me a favor and tell me who you really are?"
-Trowa is so damn well-traveled that he's picked up a lot of languages, L2PL among them. ;)
Please be kind and drop a review! :)
