Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Innocent ❯ Winner ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 02: Winner

Duo looked at the clock and cursed; he was going to be late to school. Quickly, he locked his laptop and hurried to get changed. He threw on a uniform, and made his way to his kitchen. The violet-eyed teen grabbed an apple and put his laptop in a messenger bag and sped out the door. He took the elevator down to the ground floor and walked past the doorman.

Although Duo owned his own apartment, he split the living costs with three other guys from his year that he lived with. Outside, he met up with two of the room mates. Chris was in the middle of a cigarette, while Ty was nursing a large cup of coffee. Duo sighed and stole Ty's coffee and walked down the street at a brisk pace.

“Looks like you finally woke up, Maxwell,” Ty said groggily as he unsuccessfully tried to take back his caffeine fix.

“Yeah, thanks for waking me,” Duo replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Your door was locked, it's not our fault.”

“You could have broken down the door.”

“And piss you off, I think not, James, my friend.”

“...Whatever...”

The three continued from Duo's apartment into the main part of the colony. They greeted store owners who knew them, and chatted with a few neighbors. As they approached the central commercial area of the colony, the three noticed a lot of people heading towards the main streets.

“Hey, Old man,” Chris addressed a shop owner. “What's the crowd about?”

The old man glared. Duo decided to step in.

“I'm sorry for my friend, sir. We were just wondering what the cause of the commotion was.”

The man's glare lessened.

“I thought everyone knew,” he said. “The former Queen Relena is arriving for The World Alliance Conference.”

Duo blinked. “Thank you,” he said and returned to his friends who had found their way to the front of the crowd.

“So, man, what's up?” Ty asked.

“Besides the fact that you both need to learn some manners,” Duo replied, “Not much. Vice Foreign Minister Darlian is here for some conference.”

“No shit! Did you hear that she's visiting our school?”

Duo's eyes practically bulged out of his head at the news. He unsuccessfully hid his surprise.

“Dude, you didn't know? Army officials are going to be here as well. They're observing all the colonies' education and work conditions. Vice Foreign Minister Darlian is making some big speech about the campaign this afternoon.”

“Ya'know, I think I'm going to go and see what she has to say,” Duo said, mostly to himself.

Ignoring the calls of his friends, Duo slipped into the crowd and started his way towards the convention hall.

“The convention is starting today; I can't believe that I didn't remember. It's too late to get out of the colony. There are so many government officials here; security is bound to be tight. There is no way that I'll be able to slip out unnoticed. If Heero is really here, I will have to be insanely careful. I will not let myself get caught.

“I don't understand why the government is starting observation of living environments now. I guess they're trying to cover a lot of things at once so they can fail at one of the convention's goals, and still that the convention be an over all success. There is no way that they can improve areas such as L2. I know how bad it can get.

“I need to see this for myself. I'm going to the convention opening. I know it's a stupid idea, but I need to see who is there.

“End recording.”

Duo snuck into the convention hall with ease. He had a plan all worked out. He had stopped at school and forged a permission slip that allowed him to `represent his school newspaper' at the convention. If he was caught, he would just flash the piece of paper, and show them his current L1 ID. If the security didn't consist of former high ranking OZ officials, he should be in the clear.

While wandering the halls, Duo kept his head down. He noticed that the majority of the government officials were young, probably in their late twenties or early forties. The probably used to work for OZ or White Fang. The former Gundam Pilot hurried through the labyrinth of hallways, finally finding other reporters on his way. Duo fallowed them into a small conference room, and took a seat towards the front. He looked around and saw that there were a few other students from various schools in the room. Duo opened his bag and pulled out his sleek, black laptop and placed it on his lap so he could pretend to take notes during what was most likely going to be a boring press conference.

Quickly, the room filled with various reporters, all who looked very serious and experienced. Duo looked up as a young man took his seat at the front of the room and cameras started flashing. If Duo panicked, he didn't let it show. Even though the man's hair was shorter, and he was taller, his eyes were still a brilliant shade of blue. Before the crowd of reporters was none other than Quatre Rababer Winner.

The blond had grown a good few inches since Duo had seen him last. His hair was styled in a way that added a few years to his appearance, making him look like the man he was supposed to be: the leader of the Winner Corporation. It was obvious that Mr. Winner had an `active' life style. By the looks of it, he had become a lot stronger. The shirt that he was wearing perfectly showed his lean build. Duo gaped at his former comrade.

Questions started flying towards the front of the room, and Quatre answered them all with ease. The blond acted as if this sort of thing happened fairly frequently, and judging by his position in politics and society, it probably did.

“Mr. Winner,” a reporter near Duo asked. “We know you have an immense amount of financial and political power, but why are you participating in this conference?”

Aqua eyes focused in on Duo's area.

“As I am sure the majority of the earth sphere knows, I was one of the five Gundam Pilots send to Earth two years ago.” Reports started to frantically take notes. Duo looked up, too shocked to pretend to type. “Even though I agree with the ideal of pacifism, I do no think that it is a realistic option at this time. There is always a chance of another `Mariemaia' incident. I feel that it is important for former soldiers like myself to attend this conference. We are the people who know the horrors of war and how to deal with violent outbreaks.”

“Mr. Winner, are the roomers that the other former Gundam Pilots are going to take a major part in the convention correct?”

“Yes, they are. Pilot 01, Heero Yuy, is currently head of security for Vice Foreign Minister Darlian. Pilot 03, Trowa Barton, has agreed to be one of the representatives from L3. Pilot 05, Chang Wufei, has come as one of the representatives from The Preventers,” Quatre explained.

“Mr. Winner, what about Pilot 02? Will he be at this convention?”

Quatre's eyes held a hint of sadness as he said, “We have not been able to contact Gundam Pilot 02. We haven't had any contact with him since the Mariemaia incident.”

“Is he presumed dead, then?”

Duo glared at the speaker, and Quatre's eyes flashed with suppressed rage.

“No, he is not. I know it is foolish, but we all believe that he is alive.”

Quatre's eyes swept over the crowd of reporters. As he got to the left side of the room, a boy with chestnut brown hair that hung in front of his eyes looked up. Quatre was greeted with very familiar violet eyes.