Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Perfect Assassin ❯ Confession ( Chapter 15 )

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

PERFECT ASSASSIN

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or its characters in any way.


CHAPTER FIFTEEN: CONFESSION

The chief unlocked the door to the holding cell and stood awkwardly in the doorway, unsure of how to even make the suggestion for the Vice Foreign Minister, the most respected leader, to enter this cell.

“Uhhh….” He made what was an obvious fake cough to hide his discomfort. “Miss Relena….”

Noting his distress, Relena walked up to him and gently moved him aside. “Don’t worry about it, Luther. You’re only doing what you’re told. I wouldn’t have done differently. Make sure someone is posted outside the doorway as the Agent requested.” She placed a reassuring hand on his arm and walked bravely into the room. There was a row of florescent lights that hung from the ceiling, enhancing the drab furnishings of the room with nothing more than a low-lying mattress, one blanket, and a wooden bench.

The door closed behind her with the lock secured. Alone. She was now so very alone in the worst possible way. Her fears have escalated daily but what happened tonight brought a new meaning to the word of being afraid. Relena feared for her people, for the work that will remain unfinished as long as she was trapped in here. More importantly, she feared that the event in which she tried preventing would most likely occur from this failure; meaning that her previous regretful killings of both Dominic Sackheim and William Smith would have been for naught. That very thought killed her more deeply than any stab wound.

Suddenly, the headache came back, much stronger than any of the other times before. She wanted to cry out from the pain but refused to let the men posted outside to hear. It felt intensely painful, as if something was being pierced through her skull to pick at her brain. Even cradling her head with both hands did not alleviate the pain. Perhaps she didn’t have to worry about what happened next for she may not have much time left to stay alive.

She struggled her way to the nearest wall and braced herself on the solid support. Despite the coldness of the wall tiles, Relena rested her head against it, hoping the pain will pass very soon.

But it didn’t. The pounding only grew louder and she could feel her body willing her to stay strong. In an utter attempt to remain conscience, she lowered herself to the ground, crouched in a fetal position, and carefully monitored her breathing. Despite her attempts, her breathing became labored.

“This will pass. This will pass. This ….will …pass.” She chanted religiously.


~*~*~


Calling the other agents involved with the case, Heero met Trowa and Wufei in the main lobby once the elevator took him down to the first floor. He briefed them on the situation and led the way to Relena’s cell.

“Duo’s on his way. He should be here in twenty minutes.” Trowa said. “Quatre also received the message. He just landed on earth and will be arriving in the next hour.”

“Quatre Winner? There is no reason for him to interfere.” Wufei argued.

“He is coming as a friend and will be a potential source of information. He will be useful to us.” Trowa implied. Wufei didn’t say anything else after that.

Heero merely nodded.

Once they reached the door, Heero dismissed the men posted outside the door. Before unlocking and opening the door, Wufei stopped him and announced, “Yuy, this is my case. I’m going to handle it.” It wasn’t a request.

Heero simply stood back and gave Wufei access to the entrance, displaying a ‘be my guest’ gesture.


~*~*~

She heard footsteps outside and distant voices. Someone was about to come in and she could hardly stand up. Taking in two big breaths she used the wall to pull herself back up. There was no way she was going to face others looking anything but composed and calm. She needed to stay strong even until the very end.

Standing up abruptly, however, was not a very smart idea. The blood rushed into her brain and left her feeling worse off than before.

~Click~

The door was unlocked and the massive frame swung open. In the last minute, she found her way to the center of the room, looking unruffled despite the pain. Wufei was the first to enter, followed by Trowa and then Heero.

It took almost all her strength to hide her struggles from them. Standing very still and locking her eyes with Wufei, she wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

“Relena. We have some questions for you. Please be honest with us. I really don’t have much patience tonight.” Wufei began.

“Go… ahead.” Relena needed to breathe more or else she may possibly pass out right before the three men.

“Are you alright? You look pale.” Trowa asked, looking concerned. He didn’t remember ever seeing her this ghastly white. It seemed as if she was having difficult to simply stand in front of them.

Before responding, she needed to close her eyes and assemble her thoughts. It even took great amounts of strength to make coherent phrases. “I… I’ll be fine.” She really hoped they would end this quickly and be on their way. Despite her futile attempts, she wasn’t sure how long she could keep this act up; the pounding was working its way through the deep crevices of her mind.

“You were found in Mr. Pavilion’s office, with a gun aimed at him, correct?” Wufei asked, looking intently at Relena’s expression. He would know immediately if she was giving off false information.

“Yes” She responded without hesitation.

“Heero Yuy intervened and prevented the shooting. Is that correct?”

“You know it is.” She answered, looking straight at Heero. He wasn’t looking at her, however. Heero’s thoughts seemed to be elsewhere.

Now looking displeased, Wufei continued. “Why?”

How was she going to answer that? She had no idea. All she knew was that the pain was escalating once again and she was finding it harder to focus on Wufei as he spoke to her. “That I cannot answer.”

“Relena, do you understand the position you are in? You don’t really have much of a choice. Answer the question!” Wufei retorted loudly.

“Chang, we’ll leave that one for now.” Heero interjected softly, noting her discomfort by her body movement.

He decided to use a different tactic. “Ok, now let me ask you this. Were you responsible for the deaths of Dominic Sackheim and, or, William Smith?”

At this point, she thought perhaps if she just answered their questions, they might leave. Save some of her energy and fight another day. So, she answered. “Regrettably… I was, Wufei.”

“Did you kill them, Relena?” He asked more specifically. The room was dead silent. She found it difficult to answer. More importantly, she didn’t want to answer.

“Relena, did you kill Dominic Sackheim and William Smith?” Wufei demanded louder this time.

She lowered her head and confirmed their suspicions. “Yes…” She whispered.

The Chinese pilot walked up to Relena and slapped her so hard that the sound reverberated around the room. Trowa and Heero stood stunned. “How dare you?” Wufei accused. The moment his hand met her face, there was an instant where the pain in her head held off briefly and she was thankful for the interruption. However, she couldn’t face the utter degradation of her status and position. Everything came crumbling down in one full sweep.

She merely stood in place, taking the assault for she knew she was warranted much worse treatment.

“That’s enough, Wufei.” Heero said firmly. He couldn’t bear to see her in this way. His gut was telling him to stop this but he just didn’t know how. She was in far too deep. This was not like her at all and he wasn’t the only who knew it. Trowa and Wufei were reluctant to take things at face value, especially not this early in the stage. The mosaic of events was not fitting smoothly with each other. Something was certainly off and that was probably the reason why Wufei was acting so hostile towards her, but he wasn’t going to ruin his game plan.

“It’s getting late. We’ll finish this tomorrow.” Trowa suggested. “What should we do with her? Take her back home?” He asked, almost as if she wasn’t in the room herself.

“There’s no question, she stays here.” Wufei replied curtly.

“I don’t think…” Trowa countered but was once again silenced by the snappy tongue of the Chinese pilot.

“No one asked for your opinion, Barton. Relena’s in our custody and there is no reason for her to be released, especially not after her confession on the murders. The Foreign Minister stays!”

“Wufei, there’s no reason ….”

“Please, Trowa.” Relena interjected, surprising all three members in the cell. “This room isn’t half bad. I’ll be fine in here for the evening. I just want to be left alone.” Relena decided to end their quarrel. There was really no point for it. Further, she just wanted them to leave so she could lie down. Her headache was gradually dissipating but she still couldn’t think clearly.

Heero never made any comment on her well being for the evening and she was beginning to fear that she had lost him completely. He probably wouldn’t be able to look at her the same way after what she had just revealed.

“Fine. We’re leaving. There will certainly be more visits from us, Relena. Don’t doubt for a minute that because you’re the Vice Foreign Minister that you can get away with anything.” Wufei finished. He opened the door and let the three men out. Trowa gave one last glance at her and walked out after Wufei. Heero was the last to leave but didn’t say another word to anyone.

“Trust me. I have never tainted the authority of my position nor will I ever perform such a heinous act.” She whispered.

“I believe you have already committed the worse possible crime by taking the lives away from two men. You did not see the faces of the Sackheim children when they heard the news. How about Mrs. Smith? Did you think that she would merely get over the death of her husband of twenty years?” Wufei fired back relentlessly. “No, Relena. In my book, the ugly monster of injustice has already been unleashed. I pray that I can seal it up again before anymore lives are taken.”

The door closed once more and the lock was put carefully in its place. Relena collapsed on the ground the moment she found herself alone again. It felt so good not to hold in the pain. She let the tears flow freely and curled herself into a ball. She didn’t care so much about her own pain after Wufei’s lecture. The assassin would never be able to heal the pain of murdering two great men. Her tears were for them. “I will make things right again.” She vowed softly.

There was no way she could move her body over to the badly manufactured mattress and soon fell asleep on the cold, dreary, floor of her cell.

~*~*~

The next day, all the media got wind of the huge story. ‘Vice Foreign Minister in custody for possible connection to the Sackheim and Smith Murder Case.’ News stories reported the event repeatedly and the news vans from all stations engulfed the entrances of the Preventer building. Dozens of police vehicles remained stationed outside, to keep all civilians out of the area. Everyone wanted a piece of the action, like vultures pecking for even one small piece of meat. The story made front cover on all magazines and newspapers.

“When they say shit hitting a fan, this is what they must have meant.” Larson Quentin chuckled to himself as he flipped through all the channels on the tube. Every single channel had a news-breaking story with cameras directed on the Preventer building. Witnesses were being interviewed, regardless of how influential their information was to the public. Officers were being interviewed. It was utter chaos in the vicinity of the building. Larson Quentin only laughed louder.

His phone rang and he answered immediately. “Quentin, here.”

“Listen very carefully.” It was the voice that he was obeying orders from for the past ten years.

“Yes, sir.”

“Relena’s been captured.” The haunting voice began.

”It’s all over the news.” Quentin confirmed. “What’s our next move?”

“All is not lost. Actually, I’m surprised that she got this far. She managed to get away with two deaths before finally being brought down by those damn Gundam Pilots.” The voice laughed inwardly.

“Do you still intend to blow up the city, sir?”

“There’s no point in carrying out that part of the mission for the moment. No, I think we can use this slight glitch to our advantage. The government is rightfully there for the taking.”

“Then, shall we dispose of the Vice Foreign Minister before she reveals anything?” Quentin asked.

“I’m not concerned about her. She won’t say anything that will expose us. Trust me. She’s far too predictable, her with her pathetic morals and righteousness. It makes me sick.”

Quentin agreed. “Let me handle things for a while, sir. There are still a few more things that I can pull out of my hat.”

“No. I will take over for now. Care to accompany me in paying a short visit to our perfect assassin?” The voice asked seductively.

“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”

TBC…