Chapter 5

The only sound that can be heard inside the conference room is the sound of rustling papers. Each occupant seated behind a conference table is holding a file, and are intent in understanding its contents.

"This is amazing." A distinguished man, wearing a blue suit, complemented.

"If this is followed, everyone will benefit." Another representative stated.

"Mr. Winner, what do you think?" A man in his early thirties asked a young man of twenty.

"It's all legal, comprehensive, and beneficial to all of us." Quatre stated. He flipped another page and scanned its contents. "The time frame, can we all commit?" He asked the other occupants of the room who are older than him.

"If we put our resources together, why not?" Another occupant of the room stated. "This is an opportunity for all of us." He looked at his fellow representatives and continued. "The Minister has given us the door, and all she asked is to give her our trust."

At that moment, a beep sounded. A screen popped out from the end of the table facing all of those seated in a conference table. It flickered once and the face of Vice Foreign Minister Blythe appeared.

"Good evening gentlemen." She greeted. "I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting." She paused for a thought. "I have an unexpected appointment today in Earth. Please send your questions and suggestions to this address." An e-mail address popped out from the screen. Most of the occupants wrote it down, while the others just memorized it. "We will meet again next week. I will let you know what time next week. You'll hear from me soon, good bye." The screen flickered off and it returned to its proper place.

"She doesn't dally around with words, doesn't she?" The man in the blue suit commented.

"No she doesn't. And I'm always taken by surprise that she's a female." Another observed.

"Nonetheless, she knows where to go and what she wants. We have to support her all the way." Another representative told them. "How about we all retire for the day and give the lady our answers?"

An assortment of heads nodded their assent and each walked out of the room talking with one another. Quatre stayed behind and waited. Not for long he heard the voice of his hyper friend, Duo.

"Q-man!" Duo greeted rather loudly. "How did the meeting go?"

"It gone smooth as I expected." Quatre answered softly. "Hi Heero." He softly greeted his other friend.

Heero just nodded his head indicating his fine. But that moment, Duo butted in, imitating Heero. "I'm fine Quatre."

"Duo." Heero warned his braided friend.

"Just three words Heero." Duo looked at his friend crossly. "How hard is it to say 'How are you?' He demanded. "Greeting someone is a start. Geez, lighten up will ya."

Quatre grinned for his hyper friend. "Duo, it takes time." He counseled.

"Time!" Duo exclaimed in mock despair. "Do you know what year it is?" He looked at his stoic friend.

"It's AC 200." Heero replied.

"That's right!" Duo argued. "It's been six years after the wars, I think it's enough time to learn some new habits."

"Let's eat." Quatre diverted the conversation to a much safer topic. And to his relief, Duo took the bait.

"Yeah! Food!" Duo happily rubbed his stomach. "Where to Q? The restaurant?" He looked at his friend.

"No, my room." He replied. They approached an elevator and went in. Quatre punched the button where his floor is located. "We will order, while we wait for Wufei and Trowa." The three fell silent for a second while they waited for the elevator to stop at Quatre's floor. It suddenly stopped at the fifth floor indicating that someone is waiting for a ride. The door opened and it revealed there other two comrades.

"Good, we are all here." Duo happily stated. "We will just wait for the food then after we order."

"What's the emergency?" Heero inquired without any expression.

"We will talk it out in Quatre's quarters." Trowa told him.

Heero turned his head to glance at his other comrade. His Chinese friend's grim expression spoke in volumes and he just nodded in return. The elevator reached their designated floor and they filed out and went to Quatre's room.

When inside, Duo reached at once for the phone and dialed room service. "Hello, room service? We would like to order please."

"Do not forget my tea Duo." Quatre reminded his friend. He placed his briefcase in the bed and went to the closet. He removed his jacket and tie; placed it in the closet. He crossed the room and went to sit in a chair beside Wufei in a table situated near the balcony in his suite.

"Amanuet broke in our system again." Wufei announced.

"The system was breached again?" Quatre looked at Heero's way. He knows that Heero's system is almost perfect. The four of them tested it. "This Amanuet is so good. I thought we covered all areas that may be hacked." Quatre shook his head. "Obviously he found a way."

"What information was taken?" Heero asked.

"Information on how to build a memory extractor." Trowa replied. He looked at his other comrades. "If this Amanuet hand it to one of our potential enemies, our safety might be compromised."

All of them fell silent; each remembered the incident that happened to them two and a half years ago.

"Not just our safety, but everyone is at risk." Wufei stated. "What if they found a way to build a portable unit that can be sold to the black market?" He shook his head. "The repercussions are endless."

"Were there any demands?" Quatre asked.

"None so far." Wufei replied. "But if they have the facilities to reproduce this device. I don't think they need to demand, they just can make money by selling it to the highest bidder."

"But we do not know that yet." Duo piped in. He strolled towards them and sat down. "Twenty minutes." He told Quatre.

Quatre nodded his head in affirmation.

"You should treat this news seriously Maxwell." Wufei scolded him.

"I am treating it with seriousness Wu…" He literally hanged it to annoy his friend. "…Fei. This is the fifth time this Amanuet breached the system." He leaned back and crossed his legs. "So far, nothing came out that those information are being used to build something."

"True." Trowa agreed. "But we have to be in constant alert."

"I agree with Trowa." Heero stated. "We have to design another system once again. This Amanuet is making me mad."

"Awww now." Duo teased his friends. "Are we losing our touch?"

"No we're not!" Heero and Wufei indignantly argued with him. Trowa just remained impassive, but his body language told Duo otherwise. He gulped nervously and let out a soft chuckle.

"When?" He asked softly.

"When we are finished eating." Trowa replied. The others agreed with him wholeheartedly much to Duo's delight.