Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Counting the Seconds ❯ Chapter Fifteen ( Chapter 15 )

From the Desk of Scilja

Hey everyone! As you can see, this story is still going, so that should erase all doubts of me slumped in a corner and X.X This chapter took so many revisions, I was starting to see it everywhere I go! -.- It finally came out to my liking around 15 drafts later. I am so droll, I kill myself.

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DISCLAIMER: Trade a cookie for GW? Please? PRETTY PLEASE?!

Counting the Seconds

By Scilja

Chapter Fifteen

A dainty finger traced the outline of the woman in the picture encased behind a glass frame. "She seems like a wonderful woman, Milliardo," Relena observed the cropped, midnight-blue haired lady that his arm embraced. The woman was tall, with a smiling face that held a lot of promise and strength. The fact that she was a high-ranking officer in the same army as her brother proved that this person stood strong on her own ideals; it was admirable.

She eyed the slightly rounded stomach of her sister-in-law. A soft laugh emitted from the young VP. "Lucrezia," Relena whispered, a small smile adorned her lips.

"Noin has heard much of you. When I tell her you've been found, she will be running miles to see you," he said. "Did you really not know of the Peacecraft name until after your father's passing?"

Blonde locks bobbed with a nod of her head, "Those were some of his last words to me. He confessed that I was not his biological daughter. He and Papa shared close ties with each other, so when things went awry, the Darlians adopted me. He told me it wasn't out of obligation but it felt like a genuine favor to a dear friend."

"And Mrs. Darlian? How is she keeping up?"

Her grin broadened, "She's a strong woman. Even with my father's passing, she knows she has to move on."

He rested a hand under his chin, "So how long have you been working at Dreask?"

She placed the frame back down on the table, "About two years and ongoing."

"How do you like it there?"

"I work with the dearest man, who I see not as a charge I am employed under, but as a friend. My partner, Hilde, was my best friend since high school and I consider myself lucky that she stuck with me through these years. It's something I can look forward to each day and appreciate the fortunate things I have been given."

Milliardo nodded at his sister's sincere comments. Relena always spoke honestly and straight from her mind and heart. To see that she continued to be true to herself made him proud.

He almost jumped when she suddenly gasped and shifted forward to lean on the edge of the chair. "Milliardo! Before I forget, allow me to explain the reason for coming here!"

Like a dignified woman, she held herself high, her appearance taking on a leveled stature. Dreask had earned a well-reputable figure for a Vice President. She clasped her hands together, placing them on her lap. "ZW Enterprises, respectfully, is considered to be your top competitor, am I right?"

"Yes," he said slowly but surely.

"I would assume you know of the leak concerning ZW."

"I am well aware of that."

"Do you know who the perpetrator is?"

A dim expression grazed his features, "I do."

She paused a while; she cleared her throat before continuing. "Barnes is my employee, not to mention the main witness to the person held responsible of this. He informed me that one of ZW's employees was auctioning the outline for their aircraft."

The young VP never wavered from her fixed gaze, "Treize and Barnes were coincidently at the same bar one night. Having had more of his limit to drink, Treize bluntly complained of his workplace. Part of it included his decision to sell his profile to TMG Corp. At first, one would think that due to his drinking level, it was only a meaningless tirade. Nobody expected it to be true, but now it poses to be a threat."

She raised her head assertively, "I won't point any fingers, Milliardo. Having been acquainted with Mr. Winner and Mr. Barton last week, I understand TMG is designing their own aircraft as well. So another challenge arose between you and ZW."

Milliardo remained silent.

"Treize Kushrenada, did he come here?"

"He did."

She sucked in a breath, not expecting that answer from him. Though he may be her brother, she was not sure of how he planned to handle this situation. He may be the same person except only physically more mature and older. Yet, she didn't know him.

He could use the information to his advantage, sending ZW plummeting down, thus earn the highest position in the business world. It reeked of power and greed behind it. This one chance would let him claim the title.

Her hands clenched tightly, seriousness blended in her tone, "Milliardo, what are you going to do?"

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"Tell me where the office of Milliardo Peacecraft is."

The secretary behind the counter jumped at the man's abrupt presence and firm demand. With a quick recovery, she replied, "I'm sorry, but I can not relay that information to you." When he started to head towards the nearest corridor, she instantly stood from her chair, "Wait! Sir! Unless you have an appointment you are not allowed to enter!"

He turned his head to say, "An appointment is not necessary," before continuing his way through the thick, glass-encased doors.

A few did not agree with him for two men instantly trailed behind insisting he cease his actions. He growled in frustration and paid no heed to them.

"Sir! Stop and turn around at once!"

"We will not hesitate to use force!"

"SIR!"

Seeing the doors quickened his pace. Ignoring the loud shouts called to him, he dashed forward to avoid their lunges and pushed through the doorway.

Milliardo shot his head up, making eye contact with the young man. "Yuy."

However, that was not what caught Heero's attention. Expecting to address Peacecraft alone, he was inwardly taken by surprise to see another figure in the office.

Relena's breathing hitched to see Heero a few feet away from her.

He looked presentable in a grey button down shirt and open navy blue blazer with matching pants. The dark brown tresses looked slightly disheveled, only adding to the masculinity that was his. If he was exhausted, he hid it well. His face was as impassive as usual. His eyes held somewhat of a glare to them and have not left their contact with those of her brother.

The two men who chased Heero dashed into the room, each holding a gun aimed solely at the intruder. "Mr. Peacecraft! We apologize for the failed attempt to hold this man's access. Do you want him to be escorted out, sir?"

Milliardo gave the CEO a once over glance, "No, that's fine, I was expecting him. You may return to your posts." The officers closed the doors as they made their exit. He walked over to his desk and pressed the intercom button. "Hailey, prepare a helicopter to bring Ms. Darlian back to Dreask."

Relena looked at him crossly. "Milliardo!" She punctuated the name like a stab in the air. "We are not finished! I want to stay and discuss this."

He can't possibly think of ending their conversation when it was right on the verge. She had come here expecting to clear some questions that lingered in her head and that was what she wanted.

Her newfound brother turned to peer at her, "Relena, I am glad to see you again, but I will handle things from here." His eyes softened from their hard gaze, "Take care, little sister."

"Milliardo!" 'Don't you dare…'

A woman clad in a dark green dress suit entered the room. "Mr. Peacecraft, the copter will be here shortly." At his nod, she directed Relena to follow her, "Ms. Darlian, this way, if you please."

It took a great amount of her will to bite back her tongue in order to avoid making a scene. Her brother made it clear that he wasn't about to discuss this with her. Despite his decision, she was fully determined to confront him about it once again.

Relena gave one final glance at the two men. At the corner of her eye, she caught Heero's own dark ones.

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Heero watched Relena's figure get ushered out the door before facing his adversary. There were a lot of things that needed to be sorted out. With the events of the past days drawing up in his mind, he became fiercer.

"Zechs," he addressed with the old name out of habit from their previous years of serving the army. "Where is Kushrenada?"

Milliardo eyed the younger man discreetly. "I assumed he would be back at ZW, Yuy."

He shot a firm glare, "You know well enough Treize is the leak, so what reason would he return to ZW? He has defiled all employee rights. Now let me ask you again," Heero exuded an air of intensity about him, "where is he?"

"Last time that was heard or seen of him was two days ago here in TMG."

A hand clenched into a tight fist to suppress the irritation he felt. "What did he do here?"

"Treize spoke with one of my employees and offered classified information about the ZW's improved crafted jet." Heero muttered a curse under his breath. "He requested an appointment with me and began telling me details about the campaign for the jet."

His stern gaze remained, "He revealed the blueprints for the aircraft. An impressive outline of that jet, Yuy, I'll give you credit for that. Kushrenada was quite persistent about the matter."

"Don't patronize me, Zechs."

"Hardly, Yuy," he replied off-handedly, "Kushrenada handed over several documents and articles worth a year's work." The president of TMG Corp scrutinized ZW's chief executive, "What I couldn't help wondering was why he would approach us in the first place. It left me thinking of how his employment with ZW could be so burdensome."

In response, Heero scowled, "As a president, you should know that the line of employee and director relation has its limits. Treize was given more than enough chances to prove himself. He took the wrong method of choosing."

"I do know my place in this, Yuy," Milliardo countered, "but I'm not sure Treize does."

A taut silence stretched over the two men. Heero knew very well the disadvantage he was put in. Treize was held responsible for the details of the aircraft. With him were highly confidential information that if shared with anyone else, it would create a devastating impact on ZW's reputation. The possibilities were endless. ZW could lose the trust of their partnerships and the retail. Milliardo would have the upper hand. TMG would rise to the top with the new information they were given. It was all set out quite nicely.

Zechs, or Milliardo, would no longer have any competition. He would gain the eye of the entire industry. He would finally have it all if he had accepted Treize's proposal.

His jaw set in a determined grit, "Just tell me, Zechs, did you take the deal or not?"

Before a single word could be spoken from him, a disturbing image caught Heero's attention. Knowing Heero was usually not one to be easily deterred, Milliardo turned around to follow his train of sight.

Both became transfixed at the scene through the vast glass window of his office. A helicopter in the afternoon horizon swerved lightly, struggling to keep a straight path. Then a faulty stagger caused the aircraft to turn sharply at an irregular angle, revealing the large, bold letters of TMG Corporations.

The two men up at once when realization hit like a hard blow.

Ignoring the heavy weight that churned inside him, Heero turned around and bolted out of the room.

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"Thank you, sir," she replied to the man as he helped her into the vehicle.

"Not a problem, Miss Relena. And please, call me Andy," he smiled before closing the passenger door firmly and entered the driver's seat. "Now where would I be taking you, Miss?"

"To Dreask Incorporated," she explained the directions. The more she spoke, the more she felt the urge to run back and back into the room to knock some sense into two particular people. She sighed inwardly, 'Hopefully, they'll find their own sense,' then groaned, 'if that's even possible.'

The driver tapped a control and adjusted his headset, "Here we go," the helicopter come to life as it lifted up to the sky.

She stared off into the horizon from the tinted windows. The loudness of the helicopter's propellers was far from her mind. It was instead, filled with the picture of the two men in her life who were currently back in the office of TMG. A part of her was livid that her brother ended their discussion. The other part of her was worried about the outcome.

The layers of colors from the setting sun gave little comfort. At this point, her life was questionable. 'Why that infuriating bugger of a man!' A tired breath escaped her, 'When will it ever go my way?'

This was all a mess. Ever since she warned Heero of the potential threat Treize could induce, things just got worse. After she had heard it from Trowa, then Barnes, she warned him. When he didn't believe her when she told him the news, it plainly infuriated her. How inconsiderate was that! She balled her hands into tight fists until there were sure to be crescent shaped impressions were left on her palms. To think that he would think so low of her was demeaning. It stung, especially when he harshly cast aside the fact that she cared.

Her body jumped in her seat and she was jolted out of her thoughts. She felt the helicopter sway a bit before it regained control. Her fingers clenched into nervous fists.

"Andy?" her voice quivered slightly, "is everything alright?"

"Not to worry, Miss Relena, just a small notch, nothing serious," her driver reassured. Her uneasiness did not lessen upon seeing the tight grip he held on the machinery. "Everything's under control."

He lurched forward with the gearshift when the helicopter made a drastic turn. Even with the seatbelt on, the sudden spin crushed her against the side of the window. She grunted at the hard impact, wincing at an old sore from the incident in Hawaii. Quickly, she attempted to shake off the blurred circles before her eyes to reclaim awareness.

A loud curse was heard from the driver's seat. She gasped, desperately grabbing the armrest for leverage when the vehicle slanted a far angle to the right. It staggered vigorously before returning to its normal position. Her temples began throbbing with ache and her chest tightened painfully. Then she felt her weight forcefully pushed back against the seat. She clenched her teeth in pain when she realized her arm went numb from the hard collision.

Then the entire vehicle shook and roared with a deafening boom.

Fear gripped her when the smell of burning oil reached her nose. Her eyes widened when the helicopter took an unexpected dip in the air. A loud burst sounded from behind her, the noise increasing the uneasiness of her nerves. The atmosphere suddenly became stifling with searing heat. Smoke began to seep from the back and her lungs coughed at the building of dust and ashes.

The whole vehicle shook as vigorously as the beating of her heart. She clutched the side arms of the seat tightly. "Andy?" she called frenziedly, "Andy? What's happening?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Relena," he turned to face her, complete resignation on his face, "we're going down."

The sparks of the engine ignited the oil and brought forth an array of searing flames. Andy was desperately yelling for assistance into his intercom. The helicopter's emergency alarms and red warnings went off in loud screams. She became lightheaded at the vigorous shaking of the vehicle. Her lungs squeezed desperately for air as she coughed at the buildup of heavy smoke.

She hastily blinked to clear her vision since everything was much too foggy. Matters weren't helping when a sudden rush of blood surged through her head. She keeled over in her seat, clasping her hands between the sides of her temples hoping it would ease the pain.

The temperature rose drastically around her and her skin felt the burns of the heat. Tears leaked from narrow slits at the unbearable smolder of flames. 'I always knew traveling by air was bad news,' she said in spite of herself. A sad sigh escaped her. 'Of all the sadistic ironies.'

Intently preoccupied with the searing head injury, she suddenly went into a severe coughing fit due to the thick cloud of smoke.

The lack of oxygen finally did its job and she succumbed to the pull of darkness.

TBC…