Hello again everybody! People waiting for Chapter 11 of Job Interview…please don't kill me! Rest assured it will be posted tomorrow so please let me live!
Lol, Anyway, back for Chapter 2 with this fic – hope you enjoyed the first one and thanks to my reviewers!(Individual thans at the end) You gave me the kick I needed to write this chapter and I had a lot of inspiration for this fic so I've written a few of the later chapters too (now just need to do the bit in the middle, lol)
Please read and review!
After Duo had left, Heero ran through his hastily created plan in his mind. First of all, whatever it was Duo had been building would have to be transported to a safe facility where they could decide what to do with it.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, Lady Une had to be persuaded that the plan of action he had created would be the best way forward. Checking his watch to ensure he would be on time he strode forward and knocked smartly on Lady Une's office door. When she bade him enter he dispensed of the traditional greeting and started the conversation with,
"I think we've made a big mistake"
Lady Une frowned, then smiled, showing the two faces she had worn during the war.
"Is a simple good morning too much to ask for? Besides, Preventor Yuy, I summoned you here for a briefing about an essential mission so, whatever your problem is, it must wait until after the meeting"
She met his eyes with a steely glare as he opened his mouth to argue and cut him off with one word.
"Afterwards"
Another Preventor watched the exchange curiously from the seat he had already taken around the commander's desk.
Heero nodded to him and then took his seat, waiting for the other's to arrive. Two other Preventor's arrived shortly after him, followed by another one until they were only waiting the arrival of Duo Maxwell.
Lady Une tapped her foot impatiently as she glanced at her watch and Heero interceded onDuo's behalf.
"Preventor Maxwell had an errand to run. He asked me to pass on the message that we may begin without him and he will read up on all necessary literature before the next briefing"
"Is that so?"
Lady Une gave Heero a querying glance but he remained complacent and she started her presentation without further comment. Duo turned up about halfway through and slipped quietly into a seat, grimacing at the pile of sheets Lady Une handed him. As the Preventors left at the end of the meeting he sent Heero a wry grin, but he chatted with the other men as if nothing were amiss.
As the door closed behind them Lady Une once more took her seat and invited Heero to do the same.
"Now, Preventor Yuy, you have my attention for…"
She checked her watch and the looked back up.
"The next eight minutes. Make it worth my time."
After he had finished outlining his proposal to Lady Une she simply looked at him with one eyebrow raised.
"You expect me to approve this project?"
Heero opened his mouth to outline the arguments in favour of it, but Une raised her hand to stop him as she lifted the phone.
"I'm not the one you need to persuade, Preventor Yuy"
She smiled sweetly as she dialled an extension, but her eyes were sharply amused.
Heero felt his hopes fall, and his suspicions were confirmed as a secretary picked up the line and Une spoke.
"Is Miss Darlian engaged at the moment? No? Yes, straightaway please. Thank you very much"
Heero gave Lady Une a dark look, but she ignored it.
"Miss Darlian's waiting to see you, Preventor Yuy. I trust you remember the way to her office?"
Lady Une opened her office door and ushered him outside. Heero shot another glare over his shoulder but she ignored it.
After the door closed, Une returned to her desk and phoned her secretary to cancel the remaining two appointments she had before lunch. Though she had feigned disinterest when Heero had been speaking the points he had made stuck in her mind like barbs. What if his plan were the best way to succeed? Shutting out the rest of the world, she seated herself at the computer and began some serious research.
Heero tried not to glare at Relena's secretary as she shot him another coy glance from beneath her eyelashes. When this was followed by a inviting smile he turned away and pretended to be fascinated by the view outside the window. The girl knew he was coming – he had heard Lady Une make the call himself! – but she still insisted on going through protocol and phoning Relena to inform her of his arrival.
"She's expecting you, Mr Yuy"
There was a suggestive undertone to those words that made Heero uncomfortable. Too many people seemed of the opinion that he and Relena had been, were in or were going to be in a romantic relationship. Heero nodded curtly at the secretary and opened the door to Relena's office.
Because of the records from the war being sealed by the government, few people knew that he had been a Gundam pilot, let alone that he and Relena had known each other then, but there was still talk. Nothing more than an office rumour that the two of them were somehow involved, but it bothered Heero nonetheless.
So far he had made no comment on the rumour, believing that to acknowledge it would be to give it weight while Relena seemed to have adopted a similar policy, refusing to be drawn into conversation on the topic of her personal life and admitting or denying nothing. A denial would possibly persuade even more people that there was something being covered up and Relena had seen this evidenced in both parliament debates and inter-office romances.
Relena stood up from her desk to greet him and the sun glinted off her hair. Almost one entire wall of her office was glass and sunlight streamed in, making the office bright but somewhat stuffy despite all the windows being open.
Heero glanced at the paperwork on her desk and raised his eyebrows at the title on the top document. It was a proposal for further bases on the Moon and how these could coincide with the terraforming project on Mars. The terraforming project was Relena's personal interest, though it was unlikely to be completed within her lifetime. Recently she had been arguing with the government that the project needed more funding and personnel but progress was slow. Judging by the bags beneath her eyes that she had tried to hide with makeup, she had probably been working to all hours to persuade the conservative majority.
Relena caught his glance and laughed softly, rubbing a hand across her tired eyes.
"Yes, I know, I've been practically eating, sleeping and breathing these proposals the past few weeks!"
She sighed deeply and perched on the edge of her desk.
"Even with all the changes we've made since the war, there are still those who want everything to stay the same. Sometimes I feel like I'm beating my head against a brick wall trying to get through to them"
Heero shook his head in reply.
"You shouldn't let it wear you out so much. They'll come around in the end – they always do…it's a testament to your persuasion skills"
Which is another reason I don't want to argue with you, Heero added silently.
In the past he had sometimes felt that Relena's idealism blinded her to reality, but now he respected that she could not allow any departure from her ideals for fear of one concession leading to another until the entire system of beliefs collapsed. And although her solutions to problems didn't always seem the most practical to his soldier's mind, he respected them nonetheless, realising that her reforms were necessary for the continued peace of the world nation and the colonies.
Feeling uncomfortable with sitting down he crossed the office to stand at the window. Relena followed him a few seconds later, standing just close enough that he would touch her if he moved, but not so close that she was encroaching on his space. For a few moments they simply stood in silence, each comfortable with the other's presence. Relena was one of the few people Heero knew who could enjoy a silence and not feel the need to fill it with mindless chatter.
His hand brushed hers as Heero turned to check the clock and he caught her small smile. Their hands hung co close together that he could feel the heat, but neither made the move to entwine their fingertips.
Relena waited for Heero to speak rather than immediately asking him the purpose of his visit. He always took his own time to prepare his arguments and she never minded his visits taking a little longer than the prescribed appointment. Her face softened as she watched him staring out the window, but she knew he wasn't really seeing the scenery laid out below.
When he eventually did start speaking all traces of a smile disappeared from her face and her eyes widened in shock.
First of all he outlined what Duo had told him and Relena's mind reeled at the possibilities. If the press found out it would be a disaster.
She started to speak, then stopped herself; Heero would have already considered the implications and planned appropriately. She had heard enough now to know that Heero was not giving her this information for the sake of the information alone, but that he was leading up to something else. And if he were seeking her approval on the matter, it would probably be something that could be construed as making preparations to fight.
In truth, it was unrealistic to expect the peace to last forever and despite Relena's force of will in forging the peace, another war was inevitable, sooner or later. For this reason she considered Heero's arguments as he laid out the second and more controversial part of his plan rather than dismissing even the thought of taking an action that could be interpreted as warlike.
His premise was simple; set up a group of Preventors who would keep abreast of any military developments and ensure that they would not be completely unprepared if it did come to war once again. Intelligence networks already kept them informed of the actions of industrialists and political factions nationwide and the two combined would lead to an efficient response if peace were ever threatened.
Relena nodded, but brought up a point of contention.
"But if the Preventors maintain peace through force, we will be little better than the dictators of the past"
Heero turned towards her.
"This unit would enable us to deal with threats before they become a problem. Wasn't that the whole reason the Preventors were formed in the first place? We need action to back up our words or the enemy won't take us seriously"
Relena smiled despite herself. Heero was eloquent when arguing in favour of his cause and she enjoyed the chance to spar verbally with him.
It was then that he introduced the other level to his argument: the Zero system. Relena didn't know much about it, except that it engaged directly with a pilot's brainwaves and could sometimes lead to irrational actions and that it had been used to control the mobile dolls. The system had since been locked and all information on its operation and creation locked to the public.
Heero was proposing to revive the Zero system in a custom-built module in Preventer headquarters. It would pose no direct danger as it would be unconnected to any weapons systems and it could possibly be used to find solutions to problems and to predict the outcome of various actions taken against rebel groups.
"But Heero…didn't you use that system during the war? Both you and my brother did and it seemed to affect you so much…"
Relena trailed off as Heero looked down, his eyes darkened by pain. Her voice softened.
"I'm sorry to bring up old memories, but I would be worried about the effect it could have on you, even now"
Heero looked up in surprise and she answered his unspoken question with a smile.
"Well it was obvious you would be performing the tests on the system. Quatre is too involved with politics to do it and my brother is caught up with the terraforming project on Mars. That only leave you because you wouldn't allow someone else to try it"
Heero allowed himself a small smile. Relena's perception still surprised him, even after knowing her for years. It was that skill of empathy and almost uncanny insight that had allowed her such success in politics, despite having received no formal training in her chosen career.
"I would feel more comfortable if it were installed with monitors to gauge your mental and physical health. And, of course, I must be kept up to date on what happens and…the fewer people who know about this the better. If anyone in parliament found out…"
She let the thought drift and Heero nodded as he replied.
"Thank you"
It had not been as difficult as he had feared to make Relena see his point of view. With grumbles in parliament she had probably realized that another war could not be avoided without some action on the part of the Preventors.
Her face lit up with a smile and the bags beneath her eyes weren't so noticeable. Unconsciously Heero moved closer, meeting her gaze with his own. After a few seconds Relena became uncomfortable with the intensity of his stare and she looked down, glancing at her watch.
"It's almost lunch. Would you like to order in?"
Heero considered for a short time before nodding.
Relena usually liked to get out of the office for lunch but she knew Heero was uncomfortable going with her to one of the local cafes as they were guaranteed to meet someone from work.
Everyone else tried to pigeonhole the relationship between Heero and Relena, but she was happy to let it be without trying to make it conform to stereotypes. Yes, they were friends but they weren't lovers, contrary to popular belief. And being with him made her feel so calm that she was loath to do anything to ruin what they had.
Picking up the phone she mouthed "The usual?" at Heero and he replied with a nod so she ordered for them both. She sat down at her desk and waited for Heero to do the same. There was another short silence before they began discussing in earnest what had only been mentioned before.
The room could be modified and the system installed in a matter of weeks, less if Heero did it himself which was preferable to keep the number of people involved to a minimum. Relena could not shift her anxiety that using the Zero system once again would harm Heero, but he dismissed her fears and forced his own doubts to the back of his mind.
It could be the answer to the myriad of problems that forced to split the peace and it could protect millions of innocent people from getting involved in a war and losing their lives.
Regardless of differences in beliefs, Relena and Heero were united in that they would both do anything before they would let that happen.
There you, Chapter2 complete and I'm not going to hazard a guess for Chapter 3 because my estimates are always wrong. I know it won't be any earlier than end of July as I'm away from tomorrow night until July 24th and then I'm back to work (yuk!) Anyway, thanks once again to everyone who read and an extra thank you to those who also reviewed. Hope this chapter meets with your approval too!
Sakura123 – Thank you so much for your review – it really cheered me up when I was feeling extremely discouraged about my writing. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the idea of searching for fics by rating (I always just enter a random page number in the search, lol) The Zero system will be very important in this fic as will its effect on Heero and the other pilots. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you once again – really appreciate it!
EquineAngel – Thanks very much for your review and for adding it to your alerts (I'm so flattered, lol) This will eventually be a Heero/Relena fic (you can see some of that in this chapter) but the main focus will be on the Zero system, not romance, though it will be there somewhere because I can't resist – romance and angstgood, lol. This chap also shows some of Heero's plan but it's really only the tip of the iceberg! Anyway, thanks and hope you liked this chapter too!
Pureevil230 – I'm scared…lol, your review made me laugh so thank you so much. I don't know what was wrong with me…just read back over some of my stuff and saw so many mistakes that it depressed me! Oh well, nothing to do but move on. Part of Heero's plan is revealed in this chapter but there is more to come so hope it keeps your interest! Thanks again! (and for adding it to your faves and alerts…makes me feel happy!)
LadyMR1 – Relena's in this one so you can maybe see the beginnings of how she will be involved in it all. There will be more info on Heero's plan next time as well as how they deal with Duo's creation. Thanx for your review, btw – it made me actually sit down and type up the next chapter to post…I get distracted so easily that I probably wouldn't have done it without the reminder! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!
Hope to see you all again soon! Please review!