Episode 2: Dangers at Home

The year is After Colony 204, and another year of peace is almost over. As Election Day on November 11th nears, Relena Darlian's campaign for reelection is going strong, leading the polls by a wide margin. However, political enemies are plotting against her.

Quatre didn't glance up as his office door opened and his secretary came in. "There's a Mr. Maxwell here to see you, sir. He doesn't have an appointment, but he insisted that I ask you," she trailed off, waiting for a reply.

"Who is he, again?" Quatre asked apologetically.

"He gave his name as Mr. Maxwell, sir. If you don't want to talk to him, I'll send him away…"

"No, show him in. If he is who I think he is, he's an old friend."

"Very well, sir," his secretary exited his office. Her voice drifted through the door, "Mr. Winner will see you now."

Duo Maxwell bounded into Quatre's office his usual cheerful self. "Hey, Quatre! Long time, no see! Heero asked me to give you an invitation to the Christmas Eve thing, by the way; but first, how're you doing?"

"I'm fine, Duo. How are you and Hilde?"

Duo grinned. "We're fine. So are Heero and Relena."

"That's good. Now what about a Christmas Eve thing?" Quatre asked.

"Y'know, the Christmas Eve thing where every year Relena says some meaningful stuff about the people who died in the wars, and all that."

"It might be someone different this year, Duo. Remember, Election Day is the 11th, and whoever wins the election gets to do the speaking, even if their term doesn't officially start until the new year."

"Yeah, I mentioned that to Heero," Duo said. "He just looked at me funny and said, 'This is Relena we're talking about.'" Duo shook his head. "I mean, I know he's got total confidence in her, but her lead is much smaller this time around. If y'ask me, she's catching the flak from the MO-V Massacre."

Quatre nodded his agreement. "And to be fair to the critics who blame her for it, they're at least partly right in that Relena reduced the Preventer budget. Of course, they probably supported it along with everyone else when she proposed it."

"Yeah. Hypocrites," Duo grimaced.

"Was there anything else, Duo?" Quatre glanced at his clock. "Not that it hasn't been good talking to you, but I have a rather tight schedule…"

Duo said, "Yeah, that was it. I'll be going then. See ya later, Quatre."

William Preston scowled at the phone. What does she mean, she's not going to be ready to act until after Election Day? Oh well. One can't have everything. "In that case, Evelyn," he said, "can you do it at the Christmas Eve Memorial Ceremony?"

"Of course," came the instant reply.

Evelyn set down the phone on her end and turned to face the table where her custom 12.7 mm sniper rifle lay, dissembled into its component pieces for cleaning and tuning. Pulling her maintenance kit out of a drawer, she began to clean the bits of her rifle, as she had done religiously every week since getting the assignment to kill Relena Darlian.

December 24th, After Colony 204

Relena Darlian exhaled and mentally reviewed her speech as she stepped up onto the podium. Sweeping the crowd with her eyes, she began to speak.

"Nine years ago, the forces of the World Nation and White Fang met in battle in space. During that battle, and throughout the wars that preceded it, many of us lost friends and loved ones. My friend and former Gundam pilot Quatre Raberba Winner lost his father and eldest sister to OZ treachery. I myself watched my adoptive father die. The war affected all of us, not least in helping us realize that we had had enough of war a year later.

"Traditionally, this ceremony has been to remember the souls who, in the words of one of the great statesmen of the past, 'gave the last full measure of devotion' for peace…"

Heero, who was wearing a dark suit and glasses, tuned out Relena's words as he scanned the listening masses for any hint of a threat. A gleam on a shadowed balcony caught his notice. His eyes narrowed as he concentrated, trying to discern what had caused it. Then, with a jolt of adrenalin, he realized that it was the barrel of a sniper rifle. Pulling out his pistol, he fired, three times, into the balcony.

Relena heard the shots and ducked down behind the lectern as pandaemonium erupted in the crowd.

Evelyn cursed as the shots ripped through the curtains around her. This job is blown, she thought to herself, picking up her sniper rifle and slinging it over her shoulder. Running to the open window she had used to get in, she grabbed onto the rope and began rappelling down the side of the building.

Zhacque Lejeun, a young man of about 15 with longish brown hair and green eyes, was walking outside. His hair was combed back over his head on the left, but fell slightly across his face on the right. He paused as he saw a woman with a gun jump out of the window of the War Dead Memorial Building onto a rope. After a split second's hesitation, he ran toward the bottom of the rope. He reached the base of the building just as Evelyn did. Throwing his weight forward, Zhacque rammed the would-be assassin into the wall, knocking her unconscious.

Heero exited the building just in time to see a teenaged male tackle the assassin. Slowing his run down to a fast walk, he examined the kid's face as he approached. The kid had green eyes, brown hair, and a curious non-expression on his face.

"Who're you?" Heero said without preamble.

"My name is Zhacque Lejeun."

Heero nodded and bent down to pick up the assassin's rifle. "I see," he said while he examined the firearm. Without looking up, he said, "…Thanks."

Zhacque replied, "Don't mention it."

By now people were spilling from the doors. The media representatives who had come to cover Relena's speech were at the forefront of the crowd. As the reached Zhacque and Heero, they fired a barrage of questions.

"Mr. Yuy, how did you subdue the assassin so quickly?"

"Who's the kid and what is his part in all this?"

"Was he an accomplice?"

Heero restrained his impulse to pull out his gun and waited patiently for the reporters to either run out of questions or else realize that they weren't getting any answers this way.

"Shouldn't you be covering him with your gun? He could be dangerous!" The reporters ran out of questions at last.

"In answer to your questions, a) I didn't subdue the assassin, b) the kid did, c) probably not, & d) no, since he stopped the assassin from escaping. Now GO AWAY," Heero glared at them.

"Hey, where'd the kid go?" one of the more observant reporters asked.

"I don't know. Leave. Or go back inside. Relena's probably re-started her speech by now, and you won't want to miss the ending," Heero finished in a bit of verbal prodding. The reporters went back inside, leaving Heero alone with the unconscious assassin.

Evelyn came to slowly, painfully. Opening her eyes, she realized two things: one, she was tied up; and two, Heero Yuy was standing over her, looking at the entrance to the building. He looked over at her and saw that she was awake. Squatting down beside her, he asked, "Why did you try to kill Relena?"

Evelyn remained silent. Heero tried a different tack.

"Who are you?"

Evelyn maintained her stony silence.

"I see you're not going to answer me. In that case, I suppose I'll have to hand you over to the interrogation section of Government Security."

Evelyn swallowed nervously. The interrogators in Government Security were not known for their gentleness. Quite the opposite. "All right," she said. "I'll tell you some of what you want to know."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "But not all of what I want to know."

"Because I don't know some of the things you'll want to know," Evelyn explained hurriedly.

"Mmmm."

Evelyn took a breath and began to speak. "My name is Evelyn Peseta, and I was hired to kill the President."

"Hired? By whom?"

"I don't know. It was a male voice on the telephone, but…"

"But that could have easily been an deception," Heero finished. "Very well; tell me, when did you receive this anonymous phone call?"

"About… a month ago, now, I think."

"Can you pin it down more precisely?"

"No, sorry."

"Then," Heero said, "I think it's time for you to go to jail." Raising his wrist microphone, he said, "I have a would-be assassin here. She is bound and in need of transportation to a holding facility. Interrogation has already taken place."

"Roger that," came the voice in his ear, and Heero was forcibly reminded of how many times he'd said that exact phrase.

Heero remained by Evelyn until the security detail arrived to take her away, then walked back into the building just in time to hear the end of Relena's speech.

"In closing, I would say this: Peace is a sculpture, but the sculptor's instruments must be forged in a crucible of war and conflict. I have survived much war and conflict in my life, and I am honored that you, the people, the sculptors, have chosen me, again, as your instrument."

The crowd was silent for a moment longer, and then burst into applause.

In Lady Une's living room, Mariemaia switched off the newscast.

Lady Une said, "The last time she made that speech, she compared peace to a monument 'like the pyramids of Giza.' Wonder what it'll be next year?"

"Maybe… an endless waltz?" Mariemaia suggested, grinning.

"Why are you smiling like that, young lady? Is something funny?"

"Hm? No, just… oh, never mind."

Christmas Day, After Colony 204

Relena woke up and immediately noticed that Heero wasn't in the room. That's odd, she thought. Usually he's either wide-awake and staring out of the window, or wide-awake watching her from the chair where he sleeps. He's almost always awake, no matter when I look at him. She smiled at a memory. I remember asking him once, teasingly, if he slept at all.

He replied, in all seriousness: "Of course. But I'm a light sleeper. When I hear you, or anything, I wake up. Twice as fast if I haven't heard anything but feel a draft."

As she was remembering, Heero stuck his head in the door. "Merry Christmas, Relena," he said. He didn't sound very happy; but then, he rarely did.

"Merry Christmas, Heero," she said, getting out of bed and pulling on a robe over her nightgown. "Is there any coffee?"

"No, but there is hot chocolate."

"Close enough." Relena heard voices from the den.

"Duo, Quatre, Lady Une, Mariemaia, and Wufei," Heero explained at her puzzled glance.

"You invited them all over for Christmas? That doesn't sound like you."

"I didn't. Duo did."

"Oh."

"Watch out for the mistletoe," Heero said, pulling the door shut behind him as he left so that Relena could dress in private. "Duo hung it up all over the place."

Heero reentered the den just in time to hear the phone ring. He picked it up and started to say, "This is the Presidential Residence. Why are you calling?" but never got past "This is."

"It's for you, Duo. Hilde."

Duo paled and took the phone. After a few minutes, he put the phone back on the hook and sat back down.

"Jeez! I decide to spend Christmas morning with my close friends, and she reads me the riot act!"

Lady Une said, "What did you promise to do?"

Duo winced, muttered: "I have to help organize our inventory."

Wufei said, "I can see why you tried to escape. Organizing that… war zone you call a junkshop will take aeons."

"Merry Christmas," Duo said, not sounding very merry, getting up, and retrieving his coat. As he was about to head out the door, he paused. "And oh yeah. Guys, you'll carry out the mission, right?"

"What 'mission'?" Heero asked when Duo had gone.

"Do you really need us to tell you?" Quatre said.

"No."

"I thought not."

"For a thief, he is surprisingly unsubtle," Wufei observed.

At that moment, Relena walked in. "Hello, everybody."

"Merry Christmas, Relena," said Quatre.

"Presents!" declared Mariemaia, indicating the large collection of said objects under the tree.

"I second that motion," said Quatre, suppressing a chuckle. "All in favor?"

He was ignored, however, for Mariemaia had just handed Relena a package. It was small, and was wrapped in teddy bear patterned wrapping paper.

"Thank you, Heero," Relena said, smiling. "What is it?"

Heero remained silent, so Relena then proceeded to unwrap the package. It was a box. Inside was a pair of earrings, each in the shape of a wing, the diamonds glittering in their silver settings. "They're beautiful," she breathed. "Thank you."

"The diamonds came from Wing Zero's fusion generator. The settings are sterling silver," Heero explained.

"Next present!" Mariemaia said, producing another one. "Hey! It's for me from Relena!" She read the card: "'History is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace, and revolution continue on forever. However…,'" she opened it up, "'the beats can be quite long if you don't maintain your metronome properly.'" She glanced at Relena. "I think I can guess what my present is."

"You probably can," Relena agreed as Mariemaia ripped off the wrapping paper to reveal… a metronome!

"I knew it! Okay, next gift, ummm," Mariemaia grabbed one. "Another one for me!" She ripped open the small package, and her eyes grew round. "Thanks, Aunt Une."

"You earned it, Mariemaia."

"What'd you get?" Relena inquired curiously.

"A promotion to jay-gee lieutenant!" Mariemaia cried gleefully.

"That high already?" Wufei asked, impressed.

"Well, I started at Ensign, so not really."

"Maybe we could move on to the next present?" Lady Une suggested.

"Sure. It's for Quatre, from Duo." Mariemaia handed Quatre the envelope.

"It's a certificate entitling the Maguanac Corps to discount repairs and upgrades 'as necessitated by anti-pirate operations in service of the Winner Corporation,'" Quatre said.

After the others had all left, Relena cornered Heero while he was taking down the mistletoe Duo had hung up.

"Merry Christmas, Heero," she said, moving close to him. Heero froze as her arms wrapped around him. Then her lips pressed against his, and he lowered his arms to return her embrace.

They remained that way for a long time.

Continued In Episode 3: The Secrets of Mars