Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Secrets ❯ in a land of firsts ( Chapter 22 )

SECRETS 18: in a land of firsts

The five boys stood inside the parlor of one of the few standing houses left in Riverbend. It just happened to belong to Margaret Fowler. The older woman had been released earlier that morning and had told rescue to send ‘the boys’ over to her. Carter made Orah laugh when he’d repeated the order/request.

Now they stood in the parlor of a twentieth century Victorian house surrounded by antiques that Quatre kept commenting on and Duo kept fidgeting away from.

“Duo, hold still.” Wufei finally urged as the braided boy bounced into him again.

Trowa smiled and grabbed the bouncing boy’s arm and pulled him closer to him just as Margaret Fowler stepped into the room.

“Good day, boys.” The older woman smiled serenely as she stepped into the room taking in the young men standing before her. She could tell they were close, a family without the blood. “Please have a seat.”

She motioned toward the settee and waited for them to comply when she noticed the braided boy fidget uncomfortably. “The window seat is a new replacement.”

The other boys shared a quick glance as Duo smiled at her before taking a seat there.

“Mrs. Fowler. . .?” Margaret cut Quatre’s question off with a wave of her hand as she took her seat in an antique embroidered Queen Anne’s chair and motioned for them to sit. It was only then that Duo realized what she’d said to him.

Margaret smiled as the boy was joined by the Chinese and European youths while Mr. Yuy joined Mr. Winner on the settee.

“I am the Matriarch of Riverbend as I told you. I am reported to on all things that goes on within the boundaries of my township.” Margaret explained. “There were things that are brought to my attention that I felt should be shared with the Preventor group investigating.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Fowler.” Quatre smiled courteously, trying hard not to give into the temptation to ‘read’ the woman. “We appreciate your help.”

Margaret forced her smile to remain as she viewed the young men around her. She knew there were things that they wished to keep secret, as did she, but there were other things that could not.

“I am aware of the targeting system used to paint the bulls eye on Riverbend. I should know about it, since we helped to assemble it.” Margaret situated herself more daintily and waited for the boys’ looks to quiet down before she continued. “That is not to say that I would assume that we would be fired upon. The business which commissioned the system was researched thoroughly and found to be legal and legitimate. Our factory is small so we get smaller contracts offered to us all the time but all of them are researched before they are signed. Usually it is by me.”

“But not this time.” Duo spoke for the first time since entering the house, violet eyes meeting gray ones.

Margaret met the boy’s gaze, offering an elegant nod. “I allowed my grandson to complete the transaction.”

Quatre frowned. “Where is your grandson?”

Now it was Margaret’s turn to frown. “He is not among us. Nor has he been so since the contract was completed.”

“He ran.” Duo sneered. “Coward sold everyone out and left you to die.”

Trowa felt the heat rise and knew that Duo was getting angry. Placing a gentle hand on the boy’s knee, he tried to cool the flames and soothe Shinigami.

“Did you know, Mr. Maxwell, that the Russians were the first to discover nuclear fusion. It was experimented with, used as medicine, and power. It heated and cooled an entire town before becoming the primary power through out the country.” Margaret met the boy’s gaze and held it as she spoke. She was a formidable woman, who brooked no arguments. She would not back down from the eyes of a boy.

“Chenobyl affected thousands and proved that nuclear power could not be contained.” Duo sneered. “We’ve barely been able to contain the power we have now!”

“Duo, calm down.” Trowa spoke quietly so that only the braided boy and Wufei could hear his words as his fingers dug into the tight muscle of clenched leg.

Margaret ignored the outburst and turned her attention to Quatre. “It was a mistake, I admit. I will not believe that he betrayed us. His life was forfeited, I’m sure.”

“How do you know this?” Quatre asked quietly, his heart telling him that the woman spoke the truth.

“Because she had him killed.” Duo sneered, angry eyes locked on the elderly woman.

Margaret smiled, serenity written all over her face as she stood and straightened her dress. “My grandson was stupid to trust those who have, obviously, betrayed us. We are Russian no matter how far removed. We take care of our mistakes.”

Heero stood. Anger flared in his eyes as the others joined him. “What was the name of the company.”

Margaret lifted her chin in defiance. “They were registered as Alamo1645, Inc. The CEO is a man who called himself Shima Nagasaki.”

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After their meeting with Margaret Fowler they had returned to the HQ. Trowa and Wufei had headed for the archives to see what they could find on the satellite, they suspected the shot came from. Duo had taken himself to work off some pent up energy before going to join Orah to report to Une. While Heero had begun a search, Quatre had used this time to get filled in on the findings he’d set his sisters on. They were going to leave no stone unturned. As Duo was want to say, they were going to kick some serious ass.

Heero had spent an hour hacking his way through the system. The company was legit, as far as ESUN was concerned, but it was now listed as shutdown; it’s assets dispersed with no listing of anything that could be a targeting system. The CEO name was an alias; only a vague description and no photograph of the man attached to the file set up in the industry records. Whoever the man was or associated with was removed so thoroughly that there wasn’t even a hint as to who wrote it.


He’d been forced to activate a program he’d written when he’d first joined the Preventors. He called the program Terminal Identification. It was a search/seek program designed to locate the origin of information fed onto the net. It was thorough and traced the minutest bits of information to discover what computer was used and what company/residence it belonged to. They had never had to use it before, now he was glad he had designed it.

However terminal identification listed only the company name with a limited address located in the Islands of Australia. The area was too remote for more than that and had no records of the actual company. It was all just cyber-info; paper work filled and filed to keep the public from knowing that it was all a phantom on the net. What he had found had been history, re-written to fit someone’s plan and it made him all the more determined to find out who had done this.

“So what did you discover, Hee-chan.” Duo bounced in the seat as he waited for his friend to speak.

Ignoring Duo, he went straight into what he’d found.

“July 16 1945was the first atomic test. It was tested near Mexico as a prelude to the one detonated over in August of that year.” Heero looked down at the computer and print outs he had laid on his end of the table. “That particular blast was followed a few days later over which basically ended, what was then known as, World War II. The test and the following detentions served as a warning to how powerful man’s technology had become and prompted the formation of the Atomic Energy Commission to over see the use of this new weapon. People became scared of nuclear energy as a whole due to the enormity of the destructive force.”

The group had gathered around the table in one of the larger conference rooms when Heero had told them he had discovered the bogus information. They had planned on filling Une in as soon as they had everything in order.

“Let me guess.” Duo murmured then laid a hand to his forehead. “I see a name. . . yes. Alamo1645 and Shima Nagashaki.”

Quatre smiled at Duo’s antics while Trowa just shook his head and watched as Wufei swatted him on the arm.

“So, what does that mean exactly?” Wufei asked a frown gracing his forehead. “Are they trying to make a statement?”

“The plaque itself is made of lead with an overlay of gundanium and gold. It is very unique.” Heero went on. “Embedded inside the right corner was a small miniature tracking device which was destroyed upon impact. Nothing was left except an imprint where it had been, so I won’t be able to trace the electronics. All traces of the company on the Net is bogus. Phantom paperwork only, a physical address in the unknown, and a CEO that doesn’t exist.”

“Plus we discovered that one of the satellites has taken to using nuclear energy as a power source.” Orah informed the group. “It’s a retro testing facility located in the old L4 area. It’s not Winner owned but it has been operated by them in the past.”

Quatre nodded. “When Orah told me about the satellite I talked to the board and discovered that we let our lease lapse due to poor working conditions. When the satellite went back on the market, they promoted it as a starter for any kind of testing. The group that finally bought it was the Everhearst group.”

“I’ve heard of them!” Duo pipped up. “They’re the ones who tried to rebuild parts of L2 and wound up almost causing a breach.”

Heero nodded. “They have been cited by the ESUN several times. They’re under a watch list for poor business practices and bad working conditions. This particular satellite has signed itself over as an independent. ESUN cannot come into it unless specifically requested.”

“Not to mention that four months ago every child was removed from the satellite for unknown reasons.” Trowa looked at the papers he held, information he’d gathered before the meeting. He’d kept the information covered because he knew how Duo felt about kids and he didn’t want him to rush into anything. “The families that stayed on sent any child under fourteen back to Earth under the guise of schooling, but since then no word has come in or gone out.”

Duo bounced. “Looks like we get to go visit.”

Trowa laid a hand on the hyper boy’s thigh to keep him in his seat. There was a heat that radiated off him like no other and made Trowa want to curl up with him, never letting him go.

“I’ve contacted Une.” Orah told them all, ignoring the heat coming from the other side of the table. “She wants us to gather as much info as we can before going up there. It seems that who ever is in charge, hasn’t let anyone come home or make contact. Under ESUN laws that constitutes a prison-like environment. It’s up to the Preventors to make sure that they’re not forcing the people to work as slave labor.”

Duo smirked, Shinigami peeking out.