|
"Evolution"Written By: The Plotting Housewife Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sotsu
and associated Parties. This work is written for pleasure not profit. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, yaoi, quasi-dark, genetically engineered
pilots, test tube babies, lab-created Gods, pseudoscience. Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5x13, 13xUne Summary: Zayeed Winner, founder of The Human Perfect
Project, makes miracles happen in the laboratory by creating genetically
engineered children. It's only when it's too late that he discovers
playing God can result in catastrophic consequences. " Evolution" Chapter 7 - The Senator Zayeed entered the parlor feeling like his chest cavity was filled with lead stones. He spotted the rigid back of the Senator near the corner of the room as the aristocrat gazed out the window. His eyes caught the stripes that were sewn on the arm of his pristine jacket and was reminded of how the man earned them. Through years of war and bloodshed. Senator Treize and his wife, Lady Une ruled with iron fists and Zayeed had to try to remember to keep his emotions in check. The Senator's wife stood nearby, looking elegant in her similar dress blues. Her brown hair was tied up in the ever-present buns that he'd always seen her in when she appeared on the television and in newspapers. Her eyes were severe and brown behind her glasses. Unforgiving. In a way, she was almost more frightening than her husband. He'd heard the rumors of the things she'd done in the Senator's name. Treize was the figurehead, the face of the law, but Une was the one who perpetrated his wishes. Treize barely had to lift a finger because it's was Une's finger who pulled the trigger. Zayeed cleared his throat and the couple turned to him, both with schooled expressions of neutrality. He tried to mirror them, putting forth a calm exterior despite his pounding heart. He offered them an amicable smile and stepped forward with an air of confidence he didn't feel. Growing up with a rather high status himself, he knew all about the false cordiality that often accompanied interactions among those who were privileged. He extended his hand to shake that of the Senator's. The man's palm was warm and dry against his sweaty one and he felt an internal rush of disgust at how many lives this hand had taken. Being a pacifist at heart, he'd never been one for violence, particularly violence in the name of politics. He gulped down the lump of trepidation in his throat and tried not to croak on the niceties he forced out. "What a pleasant surprise, Sir. For what do I owe the honors?" Okay, Winner. That wasn't bad. You've still got it. He turned to the Senator's wife and clasped her handing gently in his own. It was icy cold and Zayeed couldn't help but think, Just like her heart. He bent down and pressed his lips against the chilled skin feeling like he was kissing the hand of a corpse. "M'lady." The Senator held a martini glass in his other hand that had been fixed by the staff while he'd waited for Zayeed to enter. The sunlight that streamed in through the window glinted off the numerous jeweled rings on his fingers and Zayeed figured he must have had at least a few million dollars on that hand alone. Treize's eyes were blue like a summer sky, but cold like the glaciers in Antarctica. He smiled, but it didn't reach those eyes. It never did. That smile was reserved for those whom he regarded as inferior, which was just about everyone. "Ah, Dr. Winner," he said, his voice light and airy with a casualness that Zayeed knew was fake. "Not to cut right to the point, but my wife and I were very...interested in this little program you've started. You've made quite a name for yourself." Zayeed blushed. It was unbecoming for a scientist to profit on his discoveries, at least publicly. He couldn't deny he'd increased his income exponentially since he'd launched the Human Perfect Project. "Well, I certainly didn't do it alone. I had help -" "Ah, yes. Of course. I know you've been working with another doctor. Po, is it?" He stuttered in surprise. "Y - yes. Dr. Sally Po." "I know a lot about you, Dr. Winner. I've been following your stories in the media. I couldn't help but notice you've been dubbed the Godfather of Human Evolution. I'd say it's quite...fitting" His eyes twinkled over the rim of his cocktail. Zayeed's nerves rankled. Damn, but he hated that nickname. "Yes, well. I didn't - that is to say, I didn't name myself that. A colleague -" "Yes, I'm familiar with your colleagues, Doctor." Treize waved his hand like he was swatting a fly. "But, I'm not interested in them. I'm more interested in what you can do. What you've done." "Well, I must tell you, Sir, that the project is on hold indefinitely -" "I'm also not concerned about that." Zayeed stopped short, confused. "That's not why you're here?" He chanced a glance at Une and found her eyeing him like a hawk, standing at her husband's shoulder like a bodyguard. "But, I thought -" "Oh, that is why I'm here. See, I really don't care if you've put your project on hold. I'm here to tell you to reopen it." "Sir? But...I can't do that." "Of course you can. It's your project." "I know, Sir, but with all due respect, there is a reason I've put it on hold. You see, there's an issue with the children -" "Having abilities that go beyond what mere humans are capable of. Yes, I know." "Yes. So...it's simply too dangerous for us and for the children for me to continue this project until I know what's causing these...anomalies." "What kind of scientist are you, Doctor? Since when do morals and principles work to subdue the advancement of discovery?" "I have a responsibility to -" "I would think you already left responsibility at the door when you launched this project without further testing." Zayeed clenched his jaw. Okay, that hit a nerve. "I know. I had...personal...reasons for doing what I did." "And what would those be?" Something told Zayeed he already knew, but was fishing for him to say it anyway. "My - my wife." It hurt to even say it. "My late wife, I mean. She wanted a child -" "Yes. A child. But you ended up with five." "My first child -" "Quatre, isn't it?" Shit. "Yes. He was created by combining my sperm and my late wife's egg, but the other four are different." "Tell me how?" "I used blood from different donors to build new stands of DNA. Quatre's DNA comes directly from my wife and I." "So he was not built from scratch." It wasn't a question, but a statement. "No. He wasn't." "But, he has these abilities, too." "Yes." "And what are they?" "I -" Shit, how much do I tell him? Zayeed didn't want to be caught in a lie. "I'm not sure the scope of them, or what his full range is. He's not fully developed yet, being only nine years old." "But he's powerful." "Yeessss..." Zayeed said cautiously. "I just don't know how powerful." "And are the others as powerful as he?" "Not as much. Wufei comes close -" "What are his abilities?" Damn, he did not want to disclose this. "May I ask the reason for your wanting to know?" "You may, but I can't promise I'll tell you. I will tell you this, though. I will know if you're lying, or withholding information from me. I don't need to tell you that wouldn't be a good thing, do I?" "No, Sir. Uh...well, as far as I can discern, he can - well, he can create fire." The Senator's eyes widened, partly in shock, but there was a degree of savage interest in the icy blue depths that made Zayeed's stomach turn. "Fire, you say?" Zayeed nodded, defeated. "Yes." Treize sunk down in an armchair, crossing one leg over the other and stirred his drink. "I see. You realize what you've created don't you, Doctor?" He did. He was pretty sure he knew where the Senator was going, but he didn't want to admit it. He remained silent. Treize smiled like the cat that got the cream. Like a snake cornering his prey. That was exactly what Zayeed felt like. Prey. "You've created the world's most powerful weapons. Do you realize what we could do with these kids?" Dread dropped into his stomach and he wiped beads of sweat from his brow. "Sir. These are children, not weapons -" "Oh, but they are. Especially your own offspring and that Chinese boy. Don't you understand, Doctor? The power we could wield with the minds of those kids. The world would be at our fingertips. Complete domination." Treize leaned back in the chair, grinning. "You are a brilliant, man, Dr. Winner." "Thank you, Sir, but these children aren't meant to be used as weapons." "You say this as if you have any choice in the matter." There it was. He breathed hard through his nose, trying not to let his anger show. This man would use these kids as weapons over his dead body. Maybe that was what the Senator wanted. Treize leaned forward, placing an elegant hand on his knee as he set his drink down on the small table next to the chair. He fixed Zayeed with eyes that were almost hypnotic. He felt like a deer caught in the headlights. "Let me explain something to you, Doctor. Whatever control you think you have over this, think again. I'm giving you an offer you can't refuse. You give me your children, and in return, I will fund your project for the next twenty years. Set you up for life. And you will make more of them, just for us." He reached behind him and took his wife's hand. "We've always wanted to be...parents." Zayeed felt as though he was encased in ice. His hands shook and he clasped them behind his back to hide his fear, lifting his chin in defiance. "And if I refuse?" Treize smiled. It was a smile that said he'd almost enjoy it if Zayeed did refuse. "If you refuse, I'll take them anyway. I'll pull all funding for your project, and have you brought up on charges for public endangerment. And trust me, you will not win your case. You will spend decades in the most deplorable prison in the region and you will never be allowed to work in another lab as long as you live. Your certification will be revoked and the public will know what you did. Every. Little. Detail. And even a few more if I'm feeling imaginative." He swept his hands out to the sides in a flair of false helplessness. "It's your choice, Doctor." It was the moment when Zayeed realized he was not above begging. "Please. I implore you, Sir. Please do not take my children. I love them dearly." "If you love them then you will do what I tell you to do and not make this any harder on yourself, or them." Tears of rage were burgeoning behind his eyes and he blinked them back and bit his tongue hard. He would not cry in front of his callous, heartless man. "Sir...please..." The Senator's eyes were hard, cold. "Are you going to give me what I want, or am I going to have to take it from you?" The jeweled hand curled into a fist and Zayeed wondered how many bones that fist could break if it collided with his face. He wasn't going to test that theory. Feeling defeated, weak, and utterly pathetic, he dropped his head in submission. The fist uncurled and Treize clapped his hands together loudly. "Excellent. You made the right choice. I'll give you three days to get the boys prepared. Have that pretty little doctor of yours get that lab going again." He stood up and stepped over to Zayeed, laying a hand on his shoulder. It burned though his shirt and singed his skin which felt dirty and unwashed, thoroughly disgusted with himself. He wanted to turn his head and bite into the flesh, bite through the flesh, and spit the amputated finger on the floor at the Senator's feet. He ground his teeth, resisting the impulse. Treize leaned in, "My people will come to get them Wednesday at seven am sharp." He straightened up and strode to the door. "Come, darling." Une shot him a menacing look as she paused next to him, her eyes almost black despite the well-lit room. "And don't try anything stupid. You cannot hide those boys from us so don't even think about trying. I know exactly what you're doing at all times and I will know if you attempt anything behind our backs. And if you do go behind our backs, I will put a bullet in yours." He heard the front door close and he dropped to his knees, legs finally giving out. Angry, helpless tears leaked from his eyes and he pounded the floor with his fist, spitting rage through his clenched teeth. "Fuck! I'm so stupid...so stupid!" He bowed his head in shame. "Forgive me, boys. Forgive me for my weakness." He raised his head and gazed at the ceiling with teary eyes. "What do I do now?"
~ * ~ |
