Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Deadly Beautiful ❯ News Spreads Like Wildfire ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its parts, and I'm not making any money from this endeavour. I haven't even got the wit to think of a creative disclaimer every chapter, let alone use original characters...

Deadly Beautiful - Chapter 11

By danse

At a military compound in the south of France, a dignified young man with sandy brown hair and peculiar forked eyebrows sat at the desk in his office. He was leaning back comfortably in his chair with his head propped on one hand, staring at the hypnotic, exploding stars whooshing through his computer screen towards him. He looked like he might have been deep in thought, but he wasn't really thinking about much of anything at the moment, which was a nice change of pace for him.

A quiet but confident knock on the heavy oak door across the room snapped him rather rudely back to reality. Not wanting to look like he'd idly wasted the last forty-five minutes, he quickly sat upright and moved his computer mouse, replacing the screen saver with a letter he'd been writing earlier.

"Come in," he said in a bored, commanding voice.

The door opened to reveal his secretary and advisor, Lady Une. Her long hair was wrapped into buns on either side of her head, and her glasses reflected some of the light from a floor lamp nearby. She nodded her head at him deferentially; it was the closest thing she usually gave to a bow of respect. "Mister Treize," she greeted him. Her voice was a bit husky, but she always sounded like her vocal chords were rusty. He thought it was endearing.

"Hello, Lady Une," Treize said cordially, sweeping his arm to indicate a chair nearby. "How are you this evening?"

"I'm as good as can be expected. Sir," she said, ignoring the chair and standing in front of his desk, "I have some unfortunate news."

Treize suppressed the sigh. "And what would that be?"

A report dropped onto his desk with a defeated plop. "The South African base was breached a few hours ago," she replied.

"And…?" Trieze pulled the report closer so that he could read the front page.

Une hesitated. "It was annihilated. Somebody planted a bomb in the generator room."

Treize groaned softly and put his face in his hands. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "They're all dead?" It was halfway between a question and a statement.

"All three of the commanding officers survived," she said a little more brightly. "Two were away at a meeting. They'll be here by morning."

He peeked up at her. "And the third?"

She shifted her stance. "Sent me the report. She's still down there, not far from the base."

Treize looked at the header on the front page. Lt. Lucrezia Noin. Her face flashed into his mind. He knew the girl quite well. Absently, he skimmed the page.

"Sir?" Une asked.

"Yes?"

"What are we going to do about Lieutenant Noin?"

Treize thought for a minute. "Where is the Lightning Baron?" he asked.

"He's staying here at the compound for the next week, Sir. I believe he's sleeping right now."

Trieze glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room and saw with surprise that it was nearly 1:00 in the morning. He frowned. "Will Lt. Noin be alright for tonight?" he asked.

Une looked surprised. "I imagine so, Sir. It will be sunrise there in a few hours, anyway."

He nodded absently. "Send the Baron by helicopter first thing in the morning. He'll bring her back here."

"Yes, Mister Treize," Une said obediently, and turned to leave.

"Lady Une."

She turned around. "Yes, Mister Treize?"

He smiled. "Sweet dreams, Lady."

She blushed a little, but returned the smile. "You should get some sleep too, Sir."

"Good night."

"Good night."

He smiled softly as the door clicked shut behind her.