~AC 197, March 5th, L4-A001, Winner Mansion, 8:04am~
"Okay, let's do it," Iria said, bracing herself and dialing the number.
The four pilots were sitting in front of her, completely out of the camera range, along with Sally Po, who had arrived around six this morning. Dorothy had taken a chair away from the desk, but where she could see the screen of the vidphone.
The phone rang about three times before someone took the line.
"Hakim law practice, how may I help you?" the secretary at the other end said before realizing who she was talking to. When she did, she smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Winner, I'll put you through immediately. If you would please hold on for a second?"
The waiting screen appeared. Iria stared at it with wide eyes. The pilots looked at each other, unsure of what to do. Sally raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Dorothy, who shook her head.
"Hakim here, Mrs. Winner," a new voice said suddenly.
"Hello, Hakim," Iria answered with a shaking voice. "I am sorry to disturb you that early in the morning but I found…"
"I was waiting for your call, Mrs. Winner. I take it everything went fine?"
The lawyer frowned when his employer's sister gaped at him with a lost stare.
"What is supposed to have gone fine, Hakim? Why were you waiting for my call?"
"He didn't tell you?"
"Didn't tell me what? Who?"
"Mr. Winner, he was supposed to tell you…"
"I have not seen my brother for three weeks, Hakim, nor have I talked to him since the beginning of February."
"But… well, I don't know what to say, he told me everything would be ready, he would talk to you and I only had to wait for your call."
"Hakim, I have discovered some strange things in WEI's financial reports. My brother put half of his share…"
"In a trust fund, I know. As for the rest, since you called me, it will now be redistributed among you and your sisters."
"What?"
Hakim sighed.
"I really hadn't planned for things to go that way, Mrs. Winner. Mr. Winner was supposed to tell you about the situation and… well…"
"What, Hakim? What is it? Tell me, please!"
"It means, Mrs. Winner, that according to the way the stocks are supposed to be redistributed as instructed by your brother, you are now legally the biggest owner and as such the new CEO of WEI."
"Let her rest for a while," Sally said, coming out of Iria's room. "She's exhausted. I gave her a mild sedative. Nothing's wrong with WEI, right?"
"No," Wufei said grimly. "Winner made arrangements so that the company could function without him if need be. They can keep on working like usual for a few more days."
Dorothy came back from her report to Relena, accompanied by a tall, dark-haired man.
"This is Richard Anderson, Mrs. Winner's husband. I called him after I reported to Miss Relena, Dr Po. I thought…"
"You did right, Dorothy. Mr. Anderson…"
"How is she, doctor?" Richard asked anxiously.
"Like a doctor who is ill. Stubborn, refusing to see she's at the end of her rope, and determined to do everything to find her brother. As I was saying, I gave her a mild sedative, and she's sleeping. You can stay with her if you want to. In fact, I think it would be best. Try to make her stay in bed when she wakes up."
"I'll do my best," Richard answered weakly. "But… is there still any hope of finding Quatre?"
"Yes," Trowa said fiercely. "We will find him."
"I really hope so. I know it's not the case of all of us lucky guys who have married Winners, but I like that young man. Iria was so happy that he had come home and was around to visit her when she was in hospital."
"Failure is not an option for us, Mr. Anderson," Dorothy said earnestly. "If there is any way to find Quatre, we will find him. You can trust us."
Richard looked at the four young men and the young woman, then the doctor. He nodded to them, smiling a bit more frankly this time.
"I do trust you. If you need anything…"
"We can call Rashid," Duo interrupted. "You go be with your wife and tell her not to be stupid. Tell her she won't be any help to Cat if she's worn out, that should do the trick, heh?"
"Uh… sure," Richard answered, shooting a puzzled glance to the teenager. "Good luck."
He went into the bedroom.
"It's not luck we need, man," Duo muttered. "It's a fucking beam cannon and somewhere to point it."
Heero frowned, but let the comment slide. It was only then that they realized that Trowa was not here anymore. Duo's eyebrows shot up.
"Hey, I thought I was the stealth master here! Any idea where he went?"
"Just leave him alone, Duo," Heero grumbled. "Not everyone needs to talk things out."
"I'll be damned is that was not the least subtle hint ever, Heero," Duo teased. "But, for once, I think you're right."
"It is harder for him than anyone else," Dorothy said softly, a strange light in her blue-gray eyes. "If only… He is never going to talk to me, I know it, but…"
"But what?" Wufei asked.
Dorothy smirked.
"Just tell him that if he needs someone to take his anger out onto, I'll be in the fencing room. The invitation is extended to all of you."
"I'll pass, thank you," Sally said. "Wufei and I need to report to Lady Une, and I think Duo and Heero have a resource satellite to identify. We can leave Trowa alone… for the moment."
Trowa was sitting on the roof of the Mansion, hugging his knees and trying not to remember. Not to remember other mornings waking up in that house and watching the tousled golden head on the pillow just next to him, nights of wandering just the two of them, unknown to the people of the L4 cluster, evenings where he would go and pry Quatre away from his desk and his urgent financial reports. And other days when Quatre would show up unexpected at the circus, and stay for a few days, or when they would both escape to Earth and disappear in the crowd.
He really wished he were on Earth right now, because yelling and cursing at the sky really did give you the impression to curse whatever higher power is supposed to control your life, even if you didn't believe in it. But the only horizon was the metal walls of the colony curving in the distance. Metal all around and space, the void and immensity of space.
Not remembering. It had been so easy before. The days were always the same. Get up, check mobile suit, go kill some people and destroy some facilities, go back to camp, check mobile suit, go to sleep. Nothing really worth remembering.
"What did I do, Cat?" he muttered to the artificial wind. "What did I do to us? Why was it so damn hard for me to just stay here with you when you asked me to!"
He had stayed. For a while. He always returned to the circus, every now and then, and still considered the old trailer he shared with Catherine home. But he knew he had been lying to himself. What comforted him there was the routine. The fact that he knew who he was going to meet, what he was going to do, every minute of the day. That he had some kind of control. The kind of control that slipped away every time he was with Quatre.
Being with Quatre had never been 'routine'. Their first meeting, their mutual surrender, had started something. All through the war, Quatre had surprised him, showing undetected amounts of strength while being able to just crack down and cry when he was exhausted, or just tired of the killing. After the war, every day with him was an adventure, a miracle that Trowa thought was going to end soon, because, just like Duo, it seemed he couldn't keep what he held dear. But it lasted, and lasted, and he got scared.
'I was so damn sure you were gonna come to your senses and realize you could have nothing to do with me in peacetime. But you didn't. You just kept being there for me, like you did before, and accepting every little smile, every affectionate gesture with such joy that I couldn't talk to you. And yet you must have felt something, I know what that look meant when you watched me and thought I wasn't looking. But you didn't really understand, since I didn't either. And you thought I would talk if there was a problem, you didn't push anything. And I ended up hurting you, hurting both of us just because I was afraid. And now maybe I will lose you just because I was too selfish. God, Cat, if I… no when I find you back, I really hope you can forgive me.'
There was a very soft noise of footsteps approaching. Whoever that was did not try to hide, but had that inherent grace that makes some people walk like cats.
"May I sit here with you?" Wufei asked.
Trowa just nodded. He got along well with Wufei, although he would be damned if he knew why. About the only thing they had in common was having ended up in the cockpit of a Gundam, and yet…
"If you want me to leave, I'll go," the Chinese kept on, "but Maxwell suggested you would need to talk… or, in your case, express your feelings in whatever manner that seems suitable. He gave you the choice between grunts or awkward silences. I thought I'd spare you the trouble of having him come to talk to you."
In spite of himself, Trowa smiled. That was such a Duo thing to do, to have just the right words to bring a smile back on your face when you thought the whole world was out to get you.
"So… care to tell me what happened with you and Winner? I haven't seen either of you since that New Year party, and it seems I missed a lot of things."
"Quatre invited you to come here."
"I needed some time to myself to think, and don't avoid the subject."
"I'm not."
"You're not what?"
"Avoiding the subject."
Wufei snorted.
"You're worse than Maxwell when you decide to be. To what do I owe the favor of being the lucky recipient of your moods today?"
"You came to see me, not the other way around," Trowa pointed out.
"True."
There was a silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. That was probably what helped Trowa go along with Wufei and Heero so well, silence with them was never uncomfortable. Duo talked too much, but they all knew why. That was his way of drowning his own demons, to make so much noise that he wouldn't hear them anymore. Heero and Wufei just kept them inside, refusing to confront them until they would slap them in the face, hard. And he… he just hadn't realized how many demons were lurking in the dark waiting for him. Spending most of your life without a name could do that to you, he guessed. No name, no past, no demons. He did not see the people he had killed in his nightmares, like Duo or Quatre, or Heero. He did not see his family die, like Wufei. He saw… nothing. A terrifying void that had almost become a friend with the years, but who was now threatening to swallow him. And he had had a chance to get out, to leave the void behind, and he had been too scared to fully grasp it.
"He let me go," he whispered.
Wufei did not answer, just looking straight ahead. He knew he didn't need to ask questions. Everything would come out eventually, it was just a matter of time.
"I told him I needed time by myself… I told him I needed to be sure that this… what we had… was not a mistake, and that he had to think it over too. That I couldn't let him throw his life away for me if he wasn't sure of what he wanted and he just let me go!"
Trowa's voice was choked with the tears he refused to let out. He had not cried for such a long time, the feeling was unfamiliar.
He knew that he would remember that day, the day he had ruined everything, forever.
/"You want to leave?"
Quatre's incredulity was audible in his voice, and his fear visible in his eyes. It twisted Trowa's guts, but in a way it just hardened his resolve. He had to do it. For Quatre. For them. He had to know.
"Why?" Quatre asked in a whisper.
But before Trowa could even try to explain, he lifted his hand.
"No, don't tell me. You don't have to explain. You don't owe me anything."
"Cat…"
"Trowa, I… I won't hold you back if you feel you really have to go. I think… I think there is something you need to find out, and I can't help you there, but… can I come see you sometime?"
Trowa couldn't hold it any longer and took Quatre in his arms, trying not to get too moved by the way the slender body trembled against his, the way the hands wrapped themselves around him almost naturally, the way the blond head fell into the crook of his neck, strands delicately tickling his chin and cheek.
"Cat, this is not over. I just need… a break. Do you understand?"
"Yes," the muffled reply came. "Yes, I understand. You have to do it."
And Trowa knew that Quatre was trying hard not to cry.
"I will come back, Cat. I just don't know when, but I will come back, and you can come see me any time you want. If you need me, I'll be there."
Quatre pulled away and put his hand on Trowa's chest, right on his heart.
"I know, Trowa. I know. I won't give up on us just because of that, you know it. I just… you know that there is always a place here for you, right?"
"I hope so, Cat," was all Trowa could answer, but somehow this answer conveyed all of his fears. "Just… don't blame yourself, please. It's not your fault."
"I'll try," Quatre answered, and this answer was just as fearful. "I'll be waiting for you."
They stood there for a while, just looking at each other, as if wanting to engrave the other's image into their soul.
"Stay with me tonight, Trowa. Please."/That night, they had made love slowly, almost desperately, feeling as much of each other as they could, expressing with tender gestures what was too sad to be conveyed in words. When dawn had come, Quatre had walked him to the door of the house, in silence. They had gazed into each other's eyes again, deeply. Then, Quatre had kissed him goodbye, and Trowa had left quickly, because he knew Quatre would start crying as soon as he would be out, and that if he saw it, it would be harder to leave.
"I'm a fucking coward," Trowa snorted aloud. "Such a wonderful chameleon that I can't be myself, even with the one I love."
"Really?"
There was no teasing in the question, just genuine curiosity and concern.
"He was everything I needed. Being away from him was pure torture. I missed him terribly, every minute of the day, I couldn't sleep at night because I was too used to having him curled up by my side. But I stayed there. I didn't come back. I thought it was best for us to stay apart a bit. And…"
"And maybe you were unconsciously hoping that Winner would make a scene and give you a good reason to leave without it being your fault. Am I right?"
Trowa sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"I don't know, Wufei, I honestly don't know what I hoped to achieve with that stupid stunt. I don't even remember what I needed to prove to myself. The only thing I actually proved to myself is that I am officially the greatest moron of the known universe and beyond."
"If you know it, it's a start," Wufei said, completely deadpan.
There was another short silence, only perturbed by the happy chirping of birds that didn't have a problem in their lives.
"I remember what it was like, when he first came to visit me. It was like I had stopped breathing, and he was my oxygen coming back. He just stayed for a few hours, but I was ready to beg him to stay longer. I didn't. I just couldn't admit that I needed him that much. And during all that time, I didn't even stop to think that maybe he needed me just as badly. He's been showing me nothing but care and love since we met, and I just can't believe it and have to find ways to fuck it up."
"Does Zero count as an act of love and devotion?"
Trowa shot a sideways look to Wufei, eyebrows raised, but the Chinese was not looking at him, but contemplating the metal horizon much like Trowa had half an hour ago.
"Of course not…" Trowa finally answered. "He was desperate and not himself at that time. I told him I forgave him, repeatedly…"
"But he couldn't forgive himself. I know the feeling."
Another silence, longer this time.
"He's calling me, Wufei," Trowa eventually whispered.
The Chinese young man looked at him, confused.
"What?"
"Just like the last time. After Zero, when I still didn't remember him. He came to see me, I think Duo told him where I was and I didn't recognize him, but I knew, somehow, that I had met him before and that he was important. And when the colony was attacked… he came back to make sure I was safe. And once he was sure I was okay, he left to fight with Sandrock even though it hadn't been adapted for space combat. And I heard him calling me. That's why I left again that day. He was calling for my help, and I just had to go."
Trowa stopped to lick his lips, looking for his next words.
"That feeling… it is the strangest thing in the world. I didn't think I would feel it again, but I do. He is calling me. He's screaming for my help, and I can't help him, Wufei. I just can't, because I was stupid enough to leave him alone!"
"Then it means he's alive," Wufei countered. "And that there is still hope. We won't give up until we find him, you know it. And… well, if you think that you made a mistake, maybe you'll try not to repeat it."
"I know I made a mistake. A mistake that could backfire very badly."
"Trowa, I… what you and Winner have is a thing… I don't think I've ever seen two people connect like you do, not even Yuy and Maxwell, and God knows those two are practically joined at the hip. What you two had… have… I don't know how I would have reacted in your place, but… we are young. It is difficult for us to think about a life commitment, and yet I think we are all mature enough to weigh the pros and cons and know what to decide. We have time. When we find Quatre, and we will find him, I know that you will do your best to be forgiven and try to speak and tell what you feel instead of dancing around it this time. Didn't Heero tell you to follow your emotions?"
"He kinda forgot to give me the handbook that goes with the nice words," Trowa said sarcastically.
"I doubt he had it to begin with. Isn't it priceless after all, that he was the one to tell you that?"
"Yeah, I guess in a way it is, but it was also frighteningly logical."
"Trowa… I've seen a lot of people messing up relationships that they should never have started to begin with. I saw a lot of people messing up perfectly good relationships, and I messed up my own marriage, not by myself, but I helped a good deal. Quatre loves you, anyone with brains can see that."
"He loved me so much he was ready to lose me if that meant I would be happier," Trowa grumbled.
"That's exactly my point. The question is, do you love him that much too?"
"Are you kidding me? That's why I left in the first place, because I didn't want to ruin his life!"
"Well, next time, maybe you should ask him before, because I'm damn sure that being with you didn't mean ruining his life for him. So, when we find him back, don't mess it up."
Trowa's green eyes narrowed and the young man eyed his friend suspiciously.
"Since when have you started to care that much about our relationships or about us at all, for that matter?"
Wufei blushed just a little bit. It was almost invisible, but Trowa saw it.
"Since I realized that you guys were the only family I had left. I fucked up too many times in my life too, Trowa. Every time I close my eyes, I see my colony exploding, and then myself fighting Heero because of… something I didn't even believe in anymore. Or myself killing Treize and realizing that it was not justice, but petty revenge. I felt like shit for months afterwards. I must admit I was not really in my right mind when I decided that joining Marimeia Barton was the right thing to do. I just needed some place to go, and I didn't think what you guys had was meant for me."
"Wufei…"
"I know I've always been the odd one out, and it'll probably stay that way. I don't really mind. But I guess… I guess now I just need to be sure you are all safe and happy with each other, and that's enough."
"It won't always be enough, Wufei."
"It's enough for now," the Chinese said determinedly.
Trowa knew when to drop a subject, so he did. He looked at Wufei, his eyes giving the thanks that he couldn't utter with words right now. Wufei just nodded to him, and began staring in the distance again.
Fifteen quiet minutes later, Duo suddenly barreled onto the roof, feet pounding and almost out of breath.
"That's where you are! I spent half an hour looking for you guys! Come on, let's get down, we got Lady Une online and Heero's computer went all funny and beeping, so we did a quick check and…"
Duo stopped talking, took a deep breath and looked at Trowa, eyes brimming with fear and anticipation.
"We found him," he just said.
"Where is he?" Trowa demanded as they raced down the stairs back to the ground floor.
"Some kind of hospital not very far from here, in the L4 cluster. I don't know more. Looks like the doctors out there were looking for infos and they tried the Preventer database."
"But I thought Heero had protected our files so that no one could get to them," Wufei said with a scowl.
"He thought that too," Duo answered with a shrug. "And he did. They could not access the files, they just found them. Heero forgot to remove the names of the files from the search engine. He's pretty pissed about it, too, but I managed to make him understand that it is thanks to that mistake that we now have a chance to find Cat, so now he's just trying to blame it all on the Preventer database, and…"
"Maxwell!" Wufei interrupted sharply. "What happened exactly?"
"I don't know everything, okay? All I know is that Heero's laptop suddenly went haywire saying someone had tried to access our files. Fifteen seconds later, we had Une online, she had gotten the alert too. Heero located it from here, and now, we got Une and the head of that clinic online for a conference call, and we were just waiting for you."
"Is he alright?" Trowa asked.
"I don't know," Duo answered sadly. "We only know that he is alive and in that clinic, and we probably won't know a lot more until we get there, 'cause it's not safe to talk about this even on secure lines."
Duo stopped running abruptly and caught Trowa's arms.
"Just one thing, Tro. You have to know. That clinic, the Fatimah Clinic…"
Duo gulped a bit, then spit it out.
"It's a psychiatric hospital."
Trowa paled and nodded. Even if he had wanted to talk right now, his throat had decided to get all constricted. He knew that if he tried to talk, he would probably start crying, and he couldn't afford it right now.
Duo gave him a concerned look and took his hand, leading the way back to Quatre's office.
"Agent Barton, Agent Chang, this is Dr Hewley, the head of the Fatimah Psychiatric Clinic," Lady Une said.
The wide screen on the wall was divided in two, Lady Une on the right, Dr Hewley on the left. The four pilots had gathered in a corner of the study, Duo, Heero and Wufei protectively deployed around Trowa. Iria, Dorothy, Sally Po and Richard – who really wondered what he was doing here – were sitting on couches.
"Gentlemen," Dr Hewley greeted them.
"Dr Hewley, I must tell you right now that what is going to be said must stay strictly confidential. This is of the utmost importance. Everything you are gonna see or hear until this inquiry is over is classified and will remain so. Leaks will not be tolerated."
The curly-haired woman on the screen nodded nervously, her eyes darting from person to person.
"I understand," she said.
"Alright. I have received an emergency call telling me that you tried to access a file named 'GP#04 : Quatre Raberba Winner'. Can you please tell us why?"
"That young man is currently a patient in our institution. We had no medical information on his past and were trying to find some to be sure that we were treating him correctly."
Lady Une looked at Sally, who nodded to confirm it was standard medical procedure. In fact, Sally was silently blessing Dr Hewley for doing her job so well. If she hadn't, it could have taken them weeks, if not months to find Quatre.
"Since when has he been in the care of your institution, Dr Hewley?" Lady Une asked, conducting the interrogation.
Heero was taking notes on his laptop, and everyone else was glued to the screen.
"According to his file, he arrived there on February 13th. I must stress that I hadn't taken my functions at that time, I arrived only a few days ago. The situation was presented to me by the doctor in charge of his case."
"According to his file?" Sally Po asked. "You mean you're not sure the file is correctly filled?"
"Dr Carter and myself have good reasons to think it's not," Dr Hewley answered. "I would say more, but I guess this is not safe over a multi-directional connection, and it seems my staff and I have stepped into something big."
"This is alright, Dr Hewley," Lady Une assured. "You have unfortunately been dragged into what is supposed to be very classified information, by no fault of yours. There was no way for you to know. Can you please just tell us how Agent Winner is, please?"
Shock registered on Dr Hewley's face when Lady Une said 'Agent Winner', but she shook her head.
"I am sorry, Colonel Une, but patient-doctor confidentiality forbids me to give out this type of information to people who aren't family or who don't have clearance to be informed."
Trowa's fists clenched, but he remained absolutely still. Not Iria.
"I am his sister! And I want to know if he is alright!"
Dr Hewley looked sad for a moment.
"I am sorry, Mrs. Winner…"
"Dr Winner," Iria snapped abruptly.
"… But it doesn't change a thing. You will have to come here so that I can give you updates face to face. I don't want to risk my patient's health or security by displaying too much over a phone line that could very well be bugged. I hope you understand."
"I understand," Iria said dejectedly. "In that case, I will fly in as soon as possible to get my brother back and bring him home."
They expected Dr Hewley to protest and say it couldn't be done and Quatre needed to stay in the hospital, but to their surprise she looked immensely relieved.
"I was hoping for it. I am a New Type specialist, but I am afraid I have never met anyone like your brother, and the clinic can't help him. He needs more isolation than we can provide, and care given by people who have been working with him on his… problem."
Iria blanched as she gradually understood what the actual problem was.
"God, no," she said in a weak voice. "How long…"
"He's been here for nearly three weeks and we made little progress. We were understaffed before I arrived, which explains why his doctor couldn't contact you. That… and other things that we will discuss when you come here."
"Dr Hewley," Lady Une cut in, "the fact remains that your clinic is officially investigated for trying to access classified information. There won't be any lawsuit, of course, we will explain it as a malfunction of the computer system. But I am sending five…" she looked at Dorothy's expectant face and smiled. "… six agents to your clinic the soonest possible. They will officially investigate the case, but in fact they will get Agent Winner out of the clinic."
"Six agents," Dr Hewley said. "Isn't it a bit of an overkill? It's just one patient."
"No, it's not," Sally Po said quietly. "You may have been quite surprised to learn his name, Dr Hewley, but believe me, you don't know who that young man is. Nor what he can do. You have no idea what you are dealing with, but we do. I trust you did your best with the little knowledge you had, but now you need us. All of us."
Dr Hewley looked stunned, watching the honey-blond woman as she spoke. Lady Une smiled again.
"Agent Po here is a licensed physician and has been Quatre's doctor for about two years. She will be part of the team. I know it will feel like meddling, but I will have to ask you to work with Dr Winner and Dr Po on this, Dr Hewley. They will need all your cooperation."
Dr Hewley nodded stiffly. Heero suddenly spoke, making everyone jump, including the people who weren't physically in the room.
"I did a search in all the hospitals on Earth and in the colonies and his name never turned up. How come?"
Dr Hewley tried to avoid the piercing blue gaze and began fidgeting with a pen.
"As soon as Dr Carter realized who his patient was and when different… problems arose surrounding his case, he removed all the files from the database and kept his notes in his own office. The only people who know something about his true identity and pathology are Dr Carter, the nurses in charge of the isolation ward, and myself."
"Carter?" Dorothy interrupted, her head snapping up. "Sean Carter, from Neo-Chicago?"
"Do you know him, Miss Catalonia?" Lady Une asked, interested.
"We've met," the blond girl answered. "We are not on the friendliest terms…"
"I wonder why," Wufei muttered under his breath.
" … but I am sure he will be delighted to see me again."
"Agent Chang," Lady Une said, refocusing everyone's attention on herself. "You are in charge. This is a code red level four. You report only to me. Agent Po, I want a medical update as soon as you have one. Dr Winner, you are of course free to bring your brother back home if you wish to, but should you choose another place, I need to be kept informed. Agent Yuy, Agent Maxwell, Agent Barton, you are in charge of Agent Winner's security. Make sure no info is leaked to the press either. No one must know anything happened. Officially, Agent Winner took an extended holiday due to stress and will be back on duty as soon as he is pronounced fit. Miss Catalonia, you are free to report to Vice-Minister Darlian, but make sure she keeps everything under wraps as well. Until we have a clearer idea of what happened and why, this whole thing must be kept secret. Is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," Wufei answered, nodding sharply.
"Dr Hewley, I will remain in contact with you. Whatever happened, it is thanks to you that we found this missing person back, and I am sure his family will be grateful. However, I'd like you not to disclose any information to any family members other than Dr Winner. We don't know yet who is behind this."
"Will I get clearer information once your agents get here?" Dr Hewley asked. "I have a lot of questions, I admit."
"They will answer to the best of their abilities, if Dr Winner is willing to let you know, but I don't think that will be a problem."
"It won't," Iria confirmed.
She turned to face Dr Hewley.
"I think I have an idea of what your questions are going to be. I read your research paper last year and heard of your program. I was going to bring it to Quatre's attention later this year. And I am almost relieved to know you were the one who took care of him."
"I wasn't much help," Dr Hewley said. "Dr Carter did all the hard work, and still does, I am only supervising."
"It's settled then," Lady Une interrupted. "Operations begin immediately."
Her brown eyes suddenly fell on Richard, who had tried to remain as unobtrusive as possible.
"Who the hell are you?"