Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Half Cocked ❯ Two ( Chapter 2 )

Two

It was late when multiple military vans began pulling into the parking lot, and the staff of the grocery store stopped to watch. They continued watching as the soldiers poured out of the vans.

"We're...closing," the manager offered hesitantly as the soldiers started for the door. "Come back...in the morning."

The soldiers pointed their weapons at the man.

"We'll call the police," the man muttered, gesturing behind himself. "You can't think it's okay to just..."

The soldiers cocked their weapons and pointed them at the various workers.

"We'll just take what we need and leave you," one of the soldiers informed him happily in Portuguese.

"For larger purchases..."

The soldier made a gesture with his right hand...and one of the other soldiers shot.

The workers danced backwards, looking around to each other uncertainly.

"Stand aside," the man suggested happily. "Or we'll remove our obstacles."

- -

When the soldiers began filing into another store, the civilians noticed. When the weapons were raised, the workers began to notice...when the soldiers began taking things, the security moved to step in.

The civilians and workers were stunned when the shots silenced, and as the security team gave up their weapons...and the medics with the soldiers were careful to take care of the wounded.

- -

"We're...a little upset," Une informed the males quietly. "There was an...incident...last night."

"Like what?" Heero demanded levelly.

"Like...Gerrange lost his fucking mind," she spat, glaring around the room. "We got word that something was going to happen last night, but nothing firm on what," she ran a hand through her hair. "He raided a city without a military post. Probably three stores. His men just went in and took food. There wasn't too much other than that. But they took food and water."

Heero and Duo exchanged a look.

"Oh my god," Matty gasped at the same time, moving forward. "Were many people hurt?"

"Quit doing that," Heero protested mildly. "It makes us look bad."

Matty gave him a brief look and dismissed the commentary. "Was it bad? What happened?"

"A few people were hurt," she ran a hand through her hair. "Not badly or anything. They took what they came for and left. Before anyone could get properly mobilized they were gone—the officers who gave chase were...dissuaded from following."

"Bang boom fire?" Duo offered.

She nodded.

"And the ESA is?" Heero pressed.

"They're...figuring things out?"

"Why is that a question?" Heero demanded. "What do you mean they're figuring things out?"

She sighed.

Heero sighed as well, looking around.

"We're going to have to come down there, aren't we?" Duo asked quietly. "They're starting to become a problem."

"I don't know," she admitted quietly. "We don't know if we can handle them or not...but things are starting to move again."

Duo sighed, studying his cup again, then looked around. "Where's Wufei?"

"Sleeping," Matty returned.

"Trowa?"

"He's either with Li or Blake, I'm not sure."

They smiled wanly at him.

Noises started in the background of their superior, loud and persistent. Une's head swung around, and even as she stood, her hand hit the disconnect button.

"Huh, I don't think she meant to do that," Heero mused, moving to pull Matty to his chest. "We have the clearance for pretty much everything."

"It's really started again?" Matty asked quietly. "Did she really just say Rab raided some poor Brazilian city?"

Heero sighed, looking back to Duo.

"I'm going to wake up Fei and see what he says," Duo muttered, wandering toward the hall. "Hopefully she'll get back to us with more information."

- -

"Hey, guys," Quatre muttered, leaning against the side of the vid.

"What's wrong?" Heero asked, sitting up. "What happened?"

Quatre smiled a tired little smile. "Nothing's happened, that's not why I'm calling."

Heero and Duo settled back some, giving him interested looks.

"Are you...okay?" Matty asked, sitting forward slightly as he studied the half-blond. "You don't seem...uh..."

"I'm tired," Quatre shrugged. "Fasiha wasn't recovering as fast as she should have...and my mom died because of me," he avoided eyes but looking away from the camera. "I don't even remember who of you I've told...I thought I was a test-tube growing up, but I was wrong. My mom had me...and they thought she'd be okay, but she was weak...like Fasiha was. She died...and Fasiha was doing the same thing. We thought she was okay at first, but then she wasn't coming up, and..." He rubbed at his face. "It doesn't matter anymore," he decided, then smiled at them all. "She's getting color back in her cheeks, Ethan is fine...and I'm still trying to talk my sisters into making her rename him."

Duo laughed fondly. "Ethan Raberba Winner is a fine name, Quatre. She waited for you to be there to have him. Leave the woman be. She almost died, huh? The idea was terrifying enough to you that you can work with that."

Quatre gave him a beady look.

"You want me to come up?" Duo asked softly.

"Well," Quatre looked away again. "I got a call from Une a bit ago...and you're needed there."

"If you need me..." Duo looked around to Trowa, who was sitting on the love seat by himself. "I mean...Trowa said he wanted to get Heavyarms. If you need me..."

Quatre smiled at that and shook his head. "I'm okay now, Duo. I think I'll be home in a few days. I want to be sure she's healthy, of course, and spend a little more time with Ethan...but then I'll come back. With luck, there won't be any more raids in Brazil."

They all nodded.

"Don't try and wait for me if shit starts going down," Quatre cautioned. "I'll come in late with guns blazing...but that won't do any of us any good if you're not already there."

They nodded seriously.

"And when you go," Quatre looked them all over, his tone taking on an edge of command. "When you go," he repeated, "Matty and Jinli need to stay behind."

Matty straightened.

"We can help," Jinli snapped. "I've proven myself to..."

"We need men we can trust to carry our orders," Quatre cut that off, the command still in his voice. "We need you away from the danger-zone...we need you safe. When Matty was grabbed, there was no way Heero could have performed his duties. He had to go after him. If you get grabbed, I don't imagine Wufei would be any better. If you're home where we've made it safe, we'll know we can go full bore. We need to put our all into this shit and cap it. We need as few distractions as humanly possible."

Jinli was staring at him.

"I feel useful," Matty grumped, dropping over against Heero.

"Okay, you've been running around the bases, talking to our superiors, and all around being a presence for most of this last year, Williams. You will get shit done—I know you will, too," he added to Jinli promptly. "I don't mean to take that away from you...so don't go feeling sorry for yourself because I have to be an asshole and pull rank."

Matty nodded glumly.

"So," Quatre added, rubbing at his eyes. "I think that was everything I wanted to say. It's the middle of the game, right?" he grinned out at them happily. "I was trying to call in the middle of your shows and all, but..."

Heero laughed happily at that and raised the remote.

"I...I love you," Quatre said to Duo. "I mean...I love you all," he looked around, then smiled slightly. "But I love you."

"I miss you," Duo agreed. "You need to get back, it's been two days and I think I'm gonna lose my mind."

Quatre smiled at that, then around to the rest of them and nodded. "Talk to you all later...be safe."

They all nodded their agreement to that, and he disconnected the call.

"He's annoying," Wufei informed them all. "Where does he get off pulling rank when we're the ones flying?" he pouted at Duo.

"You would ever...not...listen to him?" Duo asked blankly.

"Of course not," Wufei retorted, rolling his eyes. "That's beside the point! Entirely beside the point!"

- -

There wasn't enough left...there wasn't enough of anything left. How were they going to get more? Pull some psycho stunt like the news said Rab did and beg the ESA to come snuff them out once and for all? That seemed to be Rab's grand plan—no. No. He wasn't going to raid some small town, he doubted anyone would obey him if he tried to give the order anyway. It wasn't his style, and it wasn't what they believed. Jaden kicked the pile of empty boxes irritably, watching them skitter across the floor.

The only problem with abandoning the sect of terrorists you were associated with with a good five thousand men was that you lost the resources that had somehow or another been provided.

"Do you...feel better now?" Qingfu asked curiously, moving into the room and looking at the empty boxes. "Oh," he blinked, "this looks promising."

Jaden kicked another box, then ran his hands through his hair. "You need to rest, what are you doing?"

"I was told to take it easy," Qingfu retorted, "but that moving around would help. Don't turn into a bitch on me now."

Jaden snorted at him.

Qingfu moved in around him, looking the steadily emptying store-room over. "Shit...if this is going this fast...we must be fucked for medical."

"It was set for extension on a cruise ship," Jaden returned. "So not this bad...but with as many wounded as we had..."

"Hm," Qingfu stopped, leaning against him to look the area over.

"I'm just...what do I do?" Jaden gestured at the boxes. "What can I do?"

"Yo, boss-man?"

Jaden turned to look at Armend, who stopped to blink at them.

"Uh..." Armend blinked a few times at Qingfu—who was holding onto Jaden's arm. "Sorry...we just had...a few ideas," he shifted backwards in the door and gestured down the hall as he studied Qingfu. "When you...have a moment."

Jaden blinked as he disappeared.

Qingfu let Jaden go and grinned wickedly at him.

"Be careful with that," Jaden muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm starting to forget it's a game."

Qingfu laughed wickedly, leaning against him again. "That just makes it fun."

Jaden snorted at him, then shook his head and started away. "Does anyone know you're even in here?"

"You do...and Hoxha."

Jaden focused on him.

"I was just wandering," Qingfu noted dryly. "Can you calm your shit?"

"I could," Jaden noted. "I won't, but I could."

Qingfu snorted.

"Come on," Jaden ordered, starting away. "Let's blow."

"You didn't really just say that did you?" Qingfu demanded, turning to look at him. "Really?"

"You could blow," Jaden noted happily, reaching for the button of his jeans. "I was thinking sixty-nine, but hey..."

Qingfu started laughing.

Jaden grinned, then started from the room. It was nice to hear that laugh again. It was nice to have someone to talk to. Shit was definitely going downhill for his little rebellion against the rebellion, but at least he wasn't so alone anymore.

He had absolutely no idea what to do...but he wasn't alone.

The notion of having Armend as his right hand and still feeling alone was kind of...sad. Armend had proven to be a true and steadfast friend, just a little too interested in...inter...personal...relationships. Enter-personnel relationships?

Wow...he'd really just thought that.

"What are you smirking at?" Qingfu demanded in a warning tone. "I don't think I like that smirk."

Jaden laughed, giving him an innocent look. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

They were still debating as they moved back into the main halls. Jaden had to focus his attention on the people around them, but Qingfu kept up a running commentary.

"Wow," Qingfu said quietly as they neared the bridge area, slowing. "That was a long walk..."

"Are you okay?" Jaden asked nervously, slowing as well to focus on his friend properly. He hadn't even thought about the distance from the storage to the bridge, but it really was the length of the ship. He'd taken the stairs, too.

"I'm just...a little tired," Qingfu returned quietly, looking the bridge area over as the people in it looked up at them with interest.

Jaden offered him an arm, debating how much of this was farce. On one hand, his friend had received some serious internal injuries; on the other hand, his friend was trying to make Armend believe they were lovers.

And Armend wasn't in the room.

Jaden glanced around again, frowning slightly as he supported the male to the head of the table. He set him down in is normal seat, then moved to grab a water-bottle from the box to one side of the room.

"Thanks," Qingfu muttered, smiling slightly at him.

"I understand that totally, I just don't know if it will help us," Armend grumbled, moving into the room with a dark-haired male.

Everyone around the tables turned to look at the pair as Armend focused on Qingfu in disbelief and the second man saluted.

Jaden gestured the salute away, sitting on the end of the table as he considered the guy. "What's going on?"

"This is...is...um..." Armend ran a hand through his hair. "Why is Rin in your chair?"

Jaden blinked at him in confusion, looking down to Qingfu, who was blinking at Armend.

"What?" the guy asked, turning on Armend. "We're debating if they'll let me contact the ESA, and you're asking why some guy is sitting in some seat?"

The silence that fell was instant.

Armend looked wide-eyed back to the man, opening his mouth and hesitating.

"Contacting the ESA," Qingfu muttered dryly, sitting back and looking up at Jaden. "Have we found our first spy?"

"I think we may have," Jaden agreed, considering the young man. "The question is, why is he here? We," he gestured at the table in general, "aren't doing anything."

"I'm not a spy," the man retorted, turning back to him. "I just know some."

"Hey, Jaden," Qingfu muttered. "I have this friend, and he's been having this...problem with...with...erectile dysfunction..."

Half the room guffawed.

"What should I tell him?" Qingfu added happily.

"Grab the lube and bend over," Jaden retorted, rising to his feet. The people in the room all flinched, and the half that guffawed started snickering.

Qingfu himself laughed happily, looking around. "I...have no problems with erectile dysfunction. I swear it."

"Good job, Qing," Jaden muttered, moving across the room as everyone's snickering turned to groans. "You just took an example and made it a consideration."

Qingfu started laughing harder.

Jaden stopped in front of the dark haired male, studying his face, his eyes, his body language. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What is your connection to the ESA? And if you bring them down on my head, I'll kill you slowly."

The man's mouth snapped shut.

"The thing that most people forget," Jaden noted, pulling out his knife and pressing it to the guy's throat, "is that I don't really have patience."

"I'm Clint Robbs, airmen first class," the man said quickly, staring up at his eyes. "I have several friends in the ESA," his voice was nervous. "My thought is that I can get the news to them that we're running low on supplies and are trying to figure out how..."

Jaden smirked slowly at him, then grinned wickedly, turning to look at everyone else in the room. Most were staring at him with an incomprehensive look, only Armend looked ready to move.

Armend knew him.

"That, ladies and gentlemen," Jaden said happily, "is how you find out the spies."

They looked around nervously.

Jaden turned, running his blade-tip along the man's lips, smiling slowly as he watched those very wide eyes. "You see...back in the wars...I got away with a lot of shit," he turned to meet eyes again. "I pulled a lot of shit, I hurt a lot of people...and it was all because I had no real control of my temper." He turned back to the young man and smiled winningly at him. "You're cute."

The guy blinked.

"But you just gave up the game," he shrugged. "Join us tomorrow," he suggested. "We can lay out a plan of what help for what services we should offer—though my not killing you," he smiled, "should afford us a few more medical supplies."

The man stepped back, studying him seriously.

"Don't send anyone to follow him," Jaden added to Armend easily. "And as for your question...Qingfu's wherever I want him to be."

People exchanged looks.

"Qingfu," Jaden added, "why don't I help you up to our room, huh? You should rest."

Qingfu nodded, rising slowly to his feet.

"I trust you," he added to everyone else. "Carry on without me. I'll try to hurry and return."

- -

"He just told me to join them tomorrow," Clint muttered, running a hand around his mouth. "He said not to have anyone follow me and..."

"So you've been watching your back?" the colonel he was talking to demanded.

"Of course I have been," Clint snapped back. "And I'm using my scrambler..."

"So what happened? How come he decided you were a spy?"

Clint fidgeted slightly. "They...Hoxha called the other guy Rin. He demanded why Rin was in Timorre's seat. Then Timorre called him Qingfu, so I have confirmation of the presence of Rin Qingfu."

"...And then they called you a spy?"

Clint snorted at that, then shook his head. "When we went in, Hoxha was about to introduce me, but he was completely distracted by Rin sitting in Timorre's seat."

"Why?"

"Because Timorre is the president, and the supreme frickin' ruler of the ship," Clint retorted. "They made an announcement about it, and people were talking—evidently Timorre thinks it's ridiculous that he's both, but the council voted in favor of both. I'm fairly certain that the supreme ruler shit was a joke. Anyway, he sits at the head of the council table and Rin was there. Timorre was sitting next to him on the table. Hoxha has somethin' for Timorre...an old flame or lust or something like that. He doesn't go into it, the only thing mentioned was Rin and Timorre seem to be a couple."

"That's nice," the man ran a hand along his face. "Now that we've caught up on the gossip..."

"Everyone looked at us in confusion when we came in, and he started to introduce me, but couldn't get around Rin being in that chair. I noted that I was offering to contact the ESA for help and Rin repeated it, and asked if Timorre thought I was a spy. I denied it, but Timorre came up to me and...his knife."

"He didn't cut you, did he?" the man asked tensely. "You're not wounded? If you're..."

"No. I told him the airmen name and explained that I had friends who were spies. They didn't believe that, but didn't care. He said I gave it up because I was scared."

"He pulled a knife on you..."

"And thought it was fucking hilarious," Clint agreed darkly. "Told everyone that that was how to catch a spy...then told me I was cute."

"Nice," the man snorted.

"Yeah, I was a little worried about his knife...he was running the tip of it over my lips...not exactly the time to protest. He said they weren't doing anything, said for me to join them tomorrow...told them not to bother following me, then informed me that not killing me should be worth some medical supplies."

"They aren't that bad off, are they?"

"Kind of," Clint rubbed at his arm, looking around almost nervously. He was in an empty hall, and no one had walked by the end of it for a while. "I mean...there are a few issues. If we lose our solar power we're fucked. They figured that about half of our intake is going to the medical wing...and we have a couple weeks worth of food, and no one knows what to do for more. As far as I can tell, that's what they've been discussing."

"Great," the colonel muttered tiredly. "More raids..."

"Well, I'm hoping to interrupt that," Clint retorted. "I'm putting in a request for a week's worth of food."

"For fifty-five hundred people," the colonel returned levelly. "You want us to just give you that much food?"

"Well, Timorre suggested a trade of some sort...a service. I don't know what he's willing to give you...but he's willing to talk."

The man sighed. "Well, at the very least, I think his medical supplies are within reason..."

"He wouldn't have killed me," the guy protested.

"You saw there have been deaths attributed to him but not proven?" the man snapped. "You remember us talking about him going batshit psycho on people who annoyed him?"

"Sir," Clint agreed sourly. "I just..."

"If the man pulled a weapon on you and didn't kill you, then we can deal."

"Sir," the guy agreed tiredly. "Sorry for questioning you."

"Damn skippy," the colonel noted, then snorted slightly. "Right. So...let us know what he says tomorrow, and I'll see what we can get for you."

"Sir."

- -

"Lu!" Heero bounced where he sat, leaning forward to study her. "How are you? Are you back to desk-duty yet?"

She laughed, setting the papers down she was holding. "I'm your liaison," she explained. "You've had a bad experience or two with our people, and I'm a friend, so I can judge situations...stop answering from your damn tv."

Heero laughed, waving the remote at her. "I don't have to stand up to get it, see?"

She snorted at him, sitting back as she looked around. "Where is everyone?"

"Well," Heero sat back again and sighed. "Wufei is curled up on his bed talking to Duo, Quatre's with his sister..."

"Oh, she had her baby, huh?" Lu sat forward. "Boy or girl?"

"Boy," he returned. "Named him Ethan Raberba."

She giggled. "Quatre had to love that."

"Oh, I'm sure...but according to him, she waited for him to get there before having Ethan, so the rest sort of fit."

Lu laughed, thinking about it. "How big was he?"

"Uh...baby...sized?" Heero tilted his head at her.

"How long was the labor?" Lu's voice turned dry.

"Um...long enough. She was going into it when they called Quatre, and he had enough time to fly up and get thrown into scrubs before she started pushing."

"Why did he get scrubs put on?" she asked blankly.

"Um...Wufei's sick and he'd just been on a public transport. I'm sure they'd have shoved a face-mask on him if they could have."

She grinned at that, then tilted her head. "How did things go? She's the first in his family since space to have a baby, isn't she?"

Heero hesitated briefly. "Something like that anyway," he muttered. That was Quatre's story to tell—and since he hadn't before that phone call, Heero doubted his friend would be happy to have it thrown around. "She's fine now, though. With all the shit that's going on, he's probably coming home in a few days—and we're thinking we need to head toward Brazil."

She nodded at that.

"Anyway," he considered a moment. "Matty went to Blake's, Trowa went into private seclusion to mope about being stood up by a seventeen year old...or ready himself for the night's challenge since Blake claims he won't spend the night. Either way..."

The look she gave him cut him off, and he snickered.

"Say that again...in English?"

He laughed delightedly. "Lifon, Matty's little sister, usually comes over all the time, but the last couple days she's been running around with her friends. She let him pick her up from school, but then her friends called. He only had like...a half hour with her and seems to be suffering withdrawals...and Blake is claiming an early work day. If he was smart, he wouldn't come over—but he's going to. That means Trowa's going to have to seduce him before he can leave."

She smacked a hand to her face.

Heero laughed again, thinking. "I have no idea what Jin got up to. He might be in with Wufei...or...not home from work." He blinked a few times. "What time is it again?"

"Seven," Lu noted dryly.

"Oh...so yeah," Heero grinned. "I don't know where he is."

She snickered at that, then shook her head. "So now let's end the personal business," she moved her hand and hit a button. "This is Colonel Lucretzia Noin in contact with Brigadier General Heero Yuy at his place of residence. The date is August twenty-sixth, A.C. 202, and the time is nineteen-hundred hours."

"What is the reason for the call?" Heero asked quietly, wondering why she was recording the data. She usually did when calling, but putting the date and time on it meant it was for...a more public record.

"We have the information you requested about the rebels on the S.S. Illicit."

Heero sat forward.

She smiled demurely at that, laying a few papers out in front of her. "One of our men on the ship—we have three, well, he took a gamble."

"Is that altogether wise?" Heero asked dryly.

"That's an excellent question, Sir."

Heero grinned at that.

"He contacted Timorre's right-hand man..."

"Qingfu?" Heero asked in a quiet voice, feeling his insides shift. Hearing 'Timorre' had brought the woman his complete attention, and...

"No, Sir," Lu returned happily, fluffing her hair. "The man's name is Armend Hoxha. He was a dissident who made his mends with the military proper and transferred to the military of V08742 for a year or so. He transferred back to regular duty in the ESA for a long while before taking an extended leave, citing personal issues. It's believed that he was the contact who bought Illicit from the man who'd owned it before—the tender is un-clarified, the previous owner simply put Illicit in Timorre's name a week before Illicit showed up in Brazil. Hoxha's leave will extend into December, according to his records."

Heero nodded, wondering how the man had been missed in the cleaning...though, V08742 was an L-2 colony. They weren't exactly known for...their steadfast mind-sets. "Make a note to send casuals through L-2 to re-check for possible rebels," Heero said quietly. "If this man..."

"Uh," Lu spoke up quickly, "please don't enact that order. Hoxha was found...wanting...but not rebelling. He was put on a watch list, which is why his leave and the information connected to it are recorded. Hoxha was a comrade of Timorre in the wars and for a time after. Timorre requested a transfer a few years back, though. He noted specifically that a personal relationship had gone awry and he wanted out of the L-2 cluster. Hoxha tried to file a protest, but he didn't get his shit together until too late. I think they had some bad blood for a while. We're looking into when Hoxha was contacted by Timorre, and we'll get that information to you if we manage to find it."

"Very well," Heero muttered, frowning slightly at her. "Proceed."

She nodded at him, fiddling almost nervously with her pencil as she studied the paper. "Well...our man with...with Illicit, he reported that Timorre was captain, and then got voted both President, and Supreme Commander of the Space Ship Illicit."

Heero raised his eyebrows.

"Our man noted he thought it was a joke, then proceeded to share the gossip that Hoxha still seems to have a flame for Timorre, but Timorre seems to be in a relationship with Rin...um, Rin Qingfu."

Heero snorted at that, then nodded.

"According to his story," she went on, looking back up to Heero, "he and Hoxha entered the room, and instead of introducing him, he demanded why Rin was in the captain's chair. He protested that he was suggesting they contact the ESA for assistance, and Rin promptly asked Timorre if he thought the man was a spy. He denied it, but Timorre agreed with Rin's assessment. He proceeded to...prove...that our man was a spy."

"Prove it?" Heero asked blankly.

"The man is young," Lu returned with a shrug. "He'd have had no access to Timorre's history because no one talks about it anymore. In his files, there are several deaths that were suggested he was responsible for, but were never proven...and he'd been marked repeatedly for extreme aggression. He put men in hospitals when they annoyed him, and a lot of that happened by means of a knife. He pulled a knife on our kid, and the kid was freaked out by it—beyond simply having a knife pulled, I mean. An ignorant man would have been put-off, but not overly nervous when they chose to follow someone away from other psychos. He felt like an idiot for it, but Timorre evidently found it hilarious. Timorre stated, and I quote, 'we're not doing anything', indicating the council. He also told our man to join them tomorrow for their meeting—and suggested that not killing him deserved the reward of medical supplies. The colonel granted that. Our man is requesting a week's worth of food supplies for the S.S. Illicit."

Heero stared at her blankly as his mind processed the information.

"For...fifty-five hundred people at least," she persisted.

"Dear-lord," Heero muttered, running his hands down his face. "Do we have that laying around?"

"We do," she agreed, snorting slightly. "Stores in bases in case of emergencies."

"Wonderful," he noted dryly, then gestured. "Gather up a council to consider the pros and cons of providing..."

"Brigadier," Lu said quietly, "Une has already convened a council."

"Then why are you calling me?" he asked in mild exasperation. "You don't want me to issue any orders, but you're telling me about choices that have to be made. Why are you calling?"

"Because you and your comrades are directly involved, Brigadier. All information we receive and can confirm is directly passed on to you. If you have orders, I will relay them, of course, but..."

Heero gave her a dirty look, then rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. If Une has things in hand I won't fuss. Have you heard anything from Brazil?"

"Not yet, Sir," she said quietly, "but we're fairly certain the supplies they stole will only last a few days. That means that any time now..."

"Any time now," he agreed, "we'll be heading for Brazil."

She nodded.

He nodded in return, then looked toward the rooms. "We'll let you know when we decide to do anything," he reassured her. "I'm sure within the next day or so we'll have our conclusion."

"Very well, Sir," she muttered.

"Get us together any information you have," he instructed her. "Verified or not. Make sure it's clearly marked and send it to my email. We need any possibilities here, not just facts. That's all."

"Of course, Sir," she muttered, writing on one piece of paper. "We'll also get you the records on Rin, Timorre, and Hoxha."

"I hardly think they're the biggest threat, Colonel," he noted dryly, thinking of Matty's rendition of his time with Timorre.

Timorre hadn't given a shit about Gerrange.

"Be that as it may," she noted, "we'll get you the information."

"Of course," Heero agreed, picking up the remote. "Send it."

"Yes, Sir, good day, Sir." She saluted him, smiled winningly...and disconnected the call.

Heero snorted.

"Who was that?" Duo muttered, moving from the room.

"Noin," Heero returned dryly. "Timorre's found one of our spies and invited him to the official proceedings tomorrow."

Duo blinked at him.

"We'll be getting email soon," Heero added, rising to his feet. "It will have all sorts of interesting information."