Subject: [FFML] [fanfic][GW][Dark] Veiled Paradox, part 4/5
From: "Yoiko ^_^" <mightyyoiko@hotmail.com>
Date: 3/28/2000, 9:37 PM
To: ffml@fanfic.com

* * * * *

Zechs stalked into the main office of Winner, Inc., irritably brushing a wayward lock of long, pale hair back over his shoulder.  At the sight of his stormy expression, Quatre's secretary leaped to his feet and hurriedly ushered Zechs into the Winner's private office.

Zechs waited until the man had left, closing the door behind him, before he turned to glare at the four former Gundam pilots gathered in the office.

"This had better not be about what I think," he said in a dangerous, soft voice.

"Just shut up and listen, man," Duo said.  "We'll make a believer out of you."  As the obnoxious long-haired young man spoke, Heero had oh-so-subtly moved between Zechs and the exit.  Deep cobalt eyes all but dared Zechs to try to leave.  With unmistakable ire, Zechs sat in the chair offered to him. Duo, Trowa and Quatre sat as well, but Heero chose to remain standing.

"Get on with it," Zechs snapped.  "I have a babysitter waiting."

"We found what was left of Tallgeese II," Trowa began, apparently oblivious to Zechs's huff of exasperation.  "I used Luminol on the pieces of the cockpit.  You might already know that Luminol, when sprayed on a surface, causes any blood that came in contact with the surface to be visible under black light.  Tallgeese II showed no evidence of any contact with blood, let alone in the quantities Treize Khushrenada would have shed.  Laser scan produced no evidence of any organic matter at all, except for a few hairs - some from you, Zechs, and some from Lieutenant Otto.  If Treize was ever in Tallgeese II, he never shed so much as a hair."

Trowa sat back, and Quatre had to resist the urge to smile.  He had probably just used up his supply of words for the entire week.

"Heero'n I 'interviewed' one of the guards who arrested Wufei," Duo chimed in.  "Apparently, Wu was calm and offered no resistance, which explains how they were able to arrest him in the first place, 'cause, you know, Wu can really kick a-"  Quatre cleared his throat noisily, and Duo continued, offering a slightly sheepish grin.  "Anyway, Wu wasn't acting nuts.  And Q and I found that Wu had been researching Khushrenada's last days.  The man was last seen in Luxembourg, about a week before that last battle with Tallgeese II, and announced when he got there that he was prepared to go into space himself and settle things.  Nobody saw him on base after that.  Nobody saw him get into Tallgeese II."

"I analyzed data from the Luxembourg estate's memory bank," Heero added quietly, glowering as everyone turned to face him.  "There was no human pilot in that mech the day it exploded."

"This is insane!" Zechs gasped.

"Tallgeese II was being operated remotely," Heero continued.  "It probably had some borrowed Mobile Doll circuits at the time."

"And it's an easy thing to mock up an audio-vid transmission," Duo said eagerly.  "Look at this!" He pressed a button on the com panel, and Zechs himself appeared on the screen.

"I think I have pink hair," said the image of Zechs.  Duo snickered.

"How did you do that?" Zechs demanded, slapping the com panel off.

"Pieced together clips of you talking, and morphed the image to make it look smooth," Duo said.  "You should see what else I have you saying!"

"No, thank you," Zechs growled.  "So you're saying that Tallgeese II... the mech we saw explode... you're saying that it was some kind of mechanical puppet, with a faked transmission to make it appear that Treize was in it?"

"Rrrrrrrright!" Duo answered, grinning.  "That's exactly what we're saying." Quatre nodded his head solemnly, giving Duo a warning frown before he could say anything more.

"Someone went to an awful lot of trouble to make us all think that Treize Khushrenada was dead," Quatre said.

"And when Wufei started questioning it," Heero added, "someone went to a lot of trouble to put him away."

"Yeah, 'cause who would listen to a crazy guy?" Duo asked.  "Even if he was right."

"It's not possible..." Zechs muttered, his face pale and grim with old pain.

"But if it were..." Quatre said urgently, his blue eyes pleading.  "Who could pull off such a deception?  And who would?"

"Khushrenada could have done it himself," Heero said, but before Zechs could protest, he added, "but I don't think he would.  It's not like him.  He was ready to die for his beliefs."

"So this person might then be holding Treize prisoner," Quatre mused, "but why?  You can't hold a dead man for ransom... why would anyone want to kidnap Treize?"

"Lady Une..." Zechs whispered, his haunted blue eyes widening with dawning horror.

* * * * *

/The world... is a dark and lonely place, eternally dim and murky in the never-ending night of this small enclosed place that has been my prison for nigh on to three years now; a very long time. An infinity to live with nothing more than rumors of the outside... Rumors that SHE brings, vague rumblings of war and madness.

SHE is the one who told me that my golden wolf has given up all hope, that he has never believed that I would survive, has never doubted those final moments. SHE is the one who brought to me the news that the little one is quite mad -- beyond mad, in fact, and suffering miserably for it, a slow course of insanity and self-destruction.

My tiny dark-eyed angel... sweet, sweet child of mine. I close my eyes, eyes that have not seen the light of day since I have been imprisoned in this hell, since she fooled them all into thinking me dead. It seems almost too much effort to remain standing beside my chair, staring at the bed where she comes to me sometimes, forces me... or attempts to force me. It is not so simple as she would like. I will make it no easier.

Imprisoned. That would explain a great deal, such as why my angel has not yet come for me. The boy... is brave, I know, and intelligent, too, with quick tongue and fiery wit. If he was capable, he would have come by now. Yes... he would have come by now... and so he must be as dead in spirit as am I.

I wish desperately that we were dead together./

* * * * *

Zechs paused outside the office door and took a deep breath, steeling himself.  He knocked and entered smoothly, his face frozen into a bland expression.  His azure eyes iced over with the ghost of old memories as he came face to face with Lieutenant Une.  It had been almost a year and a half since he had actually seen that look in her eyes - she, his old rival for Treize's affection and approval.  There had been many times he would have gladly killed her and the only thing that stayed his hand was Treize's request that he watch over her.  And now she occupied the office that should have been Treize's, wielded authority that should have been his, raised his daughter... everything that Treize had left behind in this world was now in Une's care.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Une asked, the bitter twist to her mouth implying that the pleasure was a dubious one, at best.

"I have a... personal matter I wish to discuss with you," Zechs said, sighing inwardly.  He had hoped the more agreeable personality would present herself, but it was obviously the cold-hearted Lieutenant... not that there was much love lost between himself and her alter ego, either.

"Well," Lieutenant Une said, "I trust you'll keep it brief.  I have a very important meeting in ten minutes."

"Then I'll get directly to the point," Zechs said, his icy gaze fixed on her bitterly amused eyes.  "I want to know what happened the day Tallgeese II was destroyed."

A little sound, somewhere between a laugh and a gasp, escaped Lieutenant Une's painted lips.  "Why are you asking this?" she said at last.  "Why dredge up that horrible day?"

"Because I don't believe what I saw," Zechs said coldly, wondering if this conversation would drive her further over the edge.  "I don't believe that Treize Khushrenada died in that explosion."

"This is all that Winner boy's fault," Une said, and Zechs's heart sank as he realized that she had regained her composure.  There was no hope now of rattling her into revealing anything important.  "You may go tell your little friends that things are exactly as they appeared - Tallgeese II exploded, taking Treize-sama far beyond the reach of anyone who would harm him."

"Chang Wufei seemed to think he had reason-"

"Chang Wufei is clearly insane," Lieutenant Une interrupted.  "It's much safer for everyone now that he's receiving professional help.  Now, if you'll excuse me, *Mr.* Peacecraft, I do have business to attend to."  There was nothing else he could do.  Zechs gave her a barely courteous nod, and left.

* * * * *

As the door shut behind the blond man, the eyes of the head of the Preventers fell closed and her head tilted to rest against the high back of her chair, her mind falling into the pattern in which it so often resided while she was alone.

{Hello.}1  Lady Anne smiled gently in greeting.

{Why, hello! It's so nice to see you again.}2 Anne replied.  The smile she offered in return was weary - it was no easy task running the Preventers.

{Likewise, as always. How is Mariemaya?}1

{A beautiful child. Extremely intelligent. She now understands Tr... her Father's true desire for peace for humanity.}2

{I knew that she would. A beautiful child,} Lady Anne agreed. {And you still enjoy your work with the Preventers?}1

An almost audible pause rang eerily. {Yes.}2

{Is there a problem? Perhaps I can help.}1

{One of my Preventers had to be committed recently to an institution for the criminally insane.}2

{Oh, my!}1

{Yes...} Another pause. {He was attempting to dig up the g... grave of Tr... of Him.}2

{...of... Him... Oh. Oh, dear!}1

{Don't fret, Lady. Everything has been arranged. The poor delusional creature. He wanted to be sure that... that He was truly... gone. He's been hospitalized. She arranged it.}2

{Oh, dear. She goes too far sometimes. I worry about her.}1

{Aa. But she takes care of the necessities, the things which are too much for us...}2

{Yes. Still... the poor thing.}1

{Yes. The poor thing.}2

{Ladies.}3

{Hello.}2

{Ohayo.}1

{We must speak; and quickly.}3

{Whatever is the matter, Une?.}2

{Yes; what seems to be wrong?.}1

{Simply this. The Gundam pilots are once again uniting. They are attempting to unearth... Him.}3

The two protested simultaneously. {No!!}1&2

{No!} Lady Anne repeated. {They mustn't! He must be left in peace!}1

{Indeed,} Anne agreed. {There was no peace for him before and now there will be. He must be left alone!}2

The Lieutenant seemed incredibly sly. {Yes. No one deserves him. No one deserved him but us - certainly not that little criminal digging at his resting place, much less that ridiculous pale boy who loved him so and then married Lucrezia. Don't worry. Everything will be taken care of properly but you must, at all costs, make sure that the Gundam pilots know nothing; especially that they know nothing of our 'trips'.}3

A moment's hesitation. {Une... What do we do on those 'trips'?}1

{Yes.} Anne agreed quietly. {What do we do? Why is it such a secret?}2

A sinister smile seemed to permeate them. {It must remain a secret. It is better for all of us. For Him. You must keep the secret.}3

There was acquiescence... but it was not the same bland acceptance she had always been given before. {You will have to tell us one day.}2

{Yes. We deserve to know.}1

Seeming agreement flowed forth. {One day. But not today. We must present a united front, ladies. They must never doubt that He is dead and has been since that day.}3

{He is dead,} Lady Anne sighed hollowly. {Poor Tr...}1

{Yes,} whispered Anne. {Our poor Master.}2

And Une's soft laughter rang loose... never-ending.

* * * * *

Heero was as silent on his feet now as he had been during the war.

The American ex-pilot marveled over the fact that his old partner never snapped so much as a twig as they tracked their way around the mansion into which the head of the Preventers had so lately disappeared. "There's somethin' fishy here," he breathed to Heero. "I mean, really fishy. Smelly, even. But where the hell could she be hidin' the man in this place so that he can't get out?" His dusky eyes narrowed with concentration as he reached back and pulled his lockpick from his hair and went to work at the back door, steadily whispering, as much to himself as to Heero.

"Hn," was Heero's typical answer -- but Duo had been expecting it so that was all right.

"I mean, it ain't like all of the rooms on the first floor ain't got windows you can damn well walk out of," Duo elaborated. "And all the second and third floor windows've got balconies. Where the fuck's she keepin' him - locked up like a flower in the attic?"

Again, a sour noise came in reply but this time he earned a true response. "If not there then beneath the house. Remember Mariemaya," the young Japanese man muttered.

"Precisely." There was satisfaction in Maxwell's voice. "On the nose, Heero-kun!"

That particular rejoinder earned him one of Heero's Special Looks -- The Yuy Look of Eat Hot Death and Die, as he'd been known to call it. "Don't be stupid. You knew that before we ever got here."

"Yeah," Duo admitted, "I figured as much but I wanted to hear you say it, too. You think Quatre and Trowa have gotten in the front yet?"

"Aa." Heero's conversational skills had improved soo~oo much in almost three years.

"Then what're we waiting for, man!? Let's get in there!"

With that, the door clicked quietly shut behind them and the search began.

* * * * *

/I am finally going mad. I knew the moment would come, the moment when I would be unable to bear another word of Moliere, another witticism from Shaw or Voltaire.

SHE has suggested that I find some new hobby; I have many talents but may indulge none. Paints could be swallowed; small pencil sharpeners may be torn apart and used as a weapon or for suicide. Even my shampoo is carefully rationed and non-toxic -- just in case.

As if she'd allow me a rapier!

One day, she will come and she will be off-guard. On that day, I will snap her neck as though it was a twig beneath my fingers and find a knife as quickly as possible.

On that day, I'll end her life and mine... and the never-ending torment that brings to me dreams of rescue by Gundam pilots...

...And not the Gundam pilot I so love..../

* * * * *

"Nothing here," Trowa reported almost silently as he crept down the front stairs with care, gun at the ready by his side. "No sign of her, no sign of Khushrenada."

"I know he's here!" Quatre insisted, his gaze vague. "I feel it. I feel him! She has him, Trowa!" he insisted.

In that moment, Trowa could see how Wufei's insistence could lead someone to think he was mad. "We'll find him," he soothed. They'd damned well better, anyway. He wasn't about to have Quatre torturing himself until the woman put him away, as well!

A quiet sound drew his aim and he looked along the sights before realizing that Heero was aiming at him from the lower part of the hall. A sheepish expression stole over his face as he gently pulled Quatre further down the stairs. "Nothing to report," he voiced in a noise barely above a whisper. "Nothing to be found."

"Then we're right. It's gotta be below ground, man. We just gotta figure out how the hell to get there..." Duo muttered, expressive eyes narrowing with thought.

After a moment, Quatre spoke again, seeming a bit more clear-headed than before. "There's a service elevator in one of the back halls. Maybe..."

"Iku zo," Heero pronounced and with that, they were prowling down the halls as a unit.

* * * * *

"Treize-sama..."

The sound of that voice scraped along his nerves, danced over the furious edge of his ears. "Let me go," he rasped furiously, rising from the wing-backed chair in which he spent so much of his time.

"Don't be ridiculous." Her voice was sharp and he knew, as he always knew, that he was speaking with the Lieutenant and not with the Lady Anne who'd become so kind for him... for space. "I can't let you go. You would be in danger then."

{Danger from whom,} he wondered, teeth clenching fiercely. "Let me go," he insisted once again. "There are things I must do. This has gone on long enough." It was an obstinate sort of reply, one he'd repeated over and over again since the very beginning. Sharp tears rose despite himself and ginger-spiked lashes blinked them away as his frustration grew and grew. Gods above, he had to get out of here!!

"What is there for you?" she asked smoothly. "What is there for you up there besides death and persecution as a war criminal?"

His teeth ground together, molars dancing along one another furiously enough to be audible.  "Freedom, perhaps?"

Lieutenant Une laughed.  "You have no need of freedom any longer, Treize-sama.  Why, I've given you everything you could ever ask for.  I bring roses for your bath, I provide you with the finest foods and the companionship of one who loves you.  Why must you always insist on more?"

Treize's reply was spoken in a soft voice, but with great intensity.  "You've taken my life from me... everything that matters to me is now gone."

"It would be gone anyway.  You would have lost your life had I not intervened.  You would have gone into space and died for those pathetic souls who meant you harm, Treize-sama.  I couldn't allow that!"

"How can you know what would or would not have happened, lady?" Treize asked.  "It was not my intention to die.  Had you so little faith in me then, as you do now?"

"Treize-sama!  Of course I have faith in you!  I love you like none other!" Lieutenant Une said, her brow creasing in a stern frown.

"You do not even trust me well enough to live my own life."

"Because you have proven yourself untrustworthy!" Lieutenant Une snapped.  "Consorting with that repulsive Gundam pilot... and before that there was your precious Zechs.  I saw him today, you know," she said, smiling a little slyly now.  "You did know that he and Lucrezia had a son now, didn't you?  She's provided him with so much that you could never give him."

Treize blanched, but held his tongue.  It was a rare thing for her to tell him anything about the outside world...

"And your little Gundam brat.  I believe I did mention that he'd been committed?  Well, I've arranged for him to receive extra-special care."

* * * * *

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