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"Incendiary"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: Yaoi, wrongful imprisonment, Newtypes,
internment camps, eventual rape/noncon Pairings: 3x4, 1x2, 5xS Summary: A group of wealthy college kids are murdered.
There are no witnesses, but there is a suspect. From within the simmering
sludge of irrational fear and prejudice, conspiracy theories are born
and innocent people pay the price. "Incendiary" Une sat sideways on the tiny cot inside her cell and leaned against the wall, watching water drip down the painted cement block from a leak somewhere in the roof. Her nerves were on edge as she cursed her stupidity. She had no idea how, or when someone had been able to bug Preventers Headquarters. Zander's people were responsible for this, but most likely Preventers had a traitor in their midst that carried out the order. Une always prided herself on her ability to hire agents that she could trust. They were well-vetted, thoroughly checked, and given the riot act by Une herself. Her people were well-chosen, but it seemed one slipped through the cracks. Her money was on Michaels. He'd seemed promising when she hired him as her assistant six months ago. She'd gone well into his background before taking him on. He was a war veteran, had fantastic credentials, and was reliable to a fault. Still, as much as she hated to admit it, he was the most likely choice because she knew her other agents well enough to know they wouldn't have done this. Not even under duress. At least, Une thought so, but who knew? Everyone was a potential enemy now. Her trust in people was at an all-time low and her faith in humanity sadly lacking. There was no indication that anything had been tampered with when she'd gone to Preventers that morning. Security had not come to her with any red flags that something was wrong. Either they were in on it, or she'd hired useless baffoons to secure her facility. She had a sinking feeling it was the former and her jaw clenched in anger at the betrayal. She'd brought these people in on good faith and it had bitten her in the ass. It was like war time all over again. And like any commander during war time, she was already planning on the disposal of her enemies. That was, as soon as she got out of here, and she would get out. Come Hell, or high water, they would pay dearly. She'd demanded to speak with Zander and she was granted that, though it was via an encrypted phone call. He informed her that Quatre had been captured and was in a high security location. She had no clue where he was, wasn't even sure where she was. She certainly didn't trust Zander as far as she could spit. She knew she was in a prison of some kind, but she didn't know which one. Her head had been covered with a cloth sack when she was brought in, though she could hear the faint sounds of the ocean as she'd walked from the vehicle to the building. She was somewhere near the coast and there were three, or four prisons that she could think of that were close to the water. She tentatively guessed she was at Maryport, Gosforth, or Blyth, considering the amount of time they were on the road. She wasn't going to get a trial. She'd been informed of that, too. None of the political prisoners would, much less any of the Newtypes that were taken in. Due process apparently didn't exist anymore; the court systems rendered null and void, or so far corrupted that they were either too afraid to do the right thing, or didn't want to. Zander had put himself in quite a precarious position. The would-be dictator knew enough that while he had the military and most of the police following his orders, he also had a lot of powerful enemies and he'd gone into hiding fairly early. She had no doubt that he had probably taken refuge down in a bunker, or secured compound of some kind, and was most definitely surrounded by guards. His messages to his followers were encrypted and delivered electronically to keep his whereabouts unknown. It was too risky for him to be in public. Parliament was furious that they'd been removed from power. There were multiple hits out for Zander's head, many of them coming from Parliament members themselves, of that Une had no doubt. Some of them had been taken into custody along with Une, the rest either went into hiding themselves, claimed to be neutral, or pretended to be down for the cause. The prison grapevine was abuzz with rumors that an uprising was already in the works. That plans were being drawn, strategies formulating, for the take down of this regime. Other nations were also trying to intervene, through diplomacy at the moment since Zander had sealed the borders. No one could get in, or out. The ESUN was doing all they could to reach a peaceful resolution, but Une knew that it likely wouldn't work. If they decided on a military strike, which would be the next step, it could take months to go through all of the various committees before it was approved. She'd gotten word just before she was apprehended that Sanq Kingdom was also trying to put a stop to this. Vice Minister Relena Peacecraft was apparently in talks with Zander himself, trying to convince him to surrender. She didn't have much hope there either. Relena could be very persuasive, but Une had a feeling not even she could talk him down from this. She sighed, bringing her knee up to her chest, and stared down at the orange linen fabric of her prison uniform. She'd been here three days. A political prisoner. She huffed out a humorless laugh. What a fucking joke. Of course, she'd had a very influential position, once as Treize's top agent and then the head of the most reputable law enforcement agency in the world. She was a threat to Zander as she spoke out against him. She'd known the likelihood of being taken into custody when she'd gone to Parliament, but her principles would not let her turn tail, or keep her mouth shut. She didn't put up a fight when she was apprehended, but she loudly proclaimed the injustice, the inhumanity of these acts, not only against her, but against Newtypes. She verbally railed at the soldiers and at the spectators and media outside. She hoped it had been aired on all the major networks, not only in Britain, but all over the world. Though, Zander might have already initiated a media blackout within the country. She hoped someone had at least been able to leak some of the coverage of what was going on to the outside. There were people within that had the ability to take this down from the inside, but it would be at great risk to the prisoners. Une was no stranger to risk and though she didn't wish for death, she was willing to die if it meant this would end. She hoped for a diplomatic solution, but was secretly itching for a fight. A real, nasty bloody one like the kind she'd fought during the wars and her fingers curled into the fabric of her jumpsuit. Her fingers...they'd forcefully clipped her nails and removed her polish when she'd come in after printing her. As if her prints weren't already on record. She wanted to sink her fingers into Zander's pasty skin and tear the flesh from his bones. She ground her teeth together as she was swept away by the fantasy. Oh, yes. That bastard would get his. She would see to that, though she may have to get in line behind Trowa. She'd heard though the grapevine via the other prisoners that a number of military and police personnel had deserted their posts in protest of this takeover. Word was, they were gathering somewhere to plan a counterattack. These things were whispered softly when they congregated in the mess hall and the showers, outside of earshot of the guards. Une was positive at least one of the guards was delivering the information to the prisoners, but she wasn't sure which one. Only a few prisoners knew, highly trusted opponents of Zander who knew to keep their mouths shut and not blab the information to the prison's general population. Une wanted to know who it was. She needed to get messages out to the pilots as well as Zechs and Noin. The couple was currently in Geneva and were no doubt also planning their...intervention. If there was a way to sneak them into the country and rendezvous with the pilots and Sally, she was positive they could take this shit down faster than any of the pencil necks at ESUN could do. It was safe to say Quatre was likely at one of the camps, but she was also worried about the other boys, especially Trowa. She knew how capable he was, but she also knew he was prone to being emotionally compromised, even more than Quatre, or Wufei. She also knew that Heero had Newtype abilities, though not as strong as Quatre's and that information was located in the same place that Quatre's information had been. If they found out Heero was also in the country, he could be at risk for capture, or death. But, she knew the boys and she knew they knew that and had probably gotten out of dodge by now and into a safe location. At least safer than Trowa and Quatre's home. They knew how to stay off the radar and with any luck, they were getting in touch with the deserters and the rebels. Hopefully, they were able to get in contact with Zechs and Noin, or at the very least, Relena. She heard the click of boots coming down the corridor and she stared at the wall, schooling her features into a neutral expression. The footsteps came closer and then stopped in front of her cell. A female guard stood just outside and Une recognized her immediately. She was a former OZ fighter that had defected to the rebel side. She didn't turn, didn't look at Une, just stared straight ahead. Her hand crept through the bars and dropped a tiny white ball, no bigger than a pea, pushing it under the gap between the bars and the concrete floor with her boot. "I can trust you to keep your mouth shut," she whispered. "The others said as much." "Of course." "Good. Your friends are on the move." "How do you know this?" "Let's just say my source is anonymous as of now. There's an underground movement and it's growing. This may lead to a civil war." "So be it." The guard smirked. "I knew you'd say that." "Do you know where Quatre Winner is?" "Bridgepoint West, outside of Alnwick." "You're taking a great risk." "I know." "Why?" "Because I believe in doing the right thing." Une hesitated, then, "Thank you." "Don't thank me yet." She left and Une got up from her cot and swiped the white ball off the floor. It was crumpled paper. She opened it, heart pounding as she read the message written inside. Lay low and bide your time. You will know when it's time to strike. We are coming. Stay safe. ~ Noin She crumpled the paper back into a ball and swallowed it, letting out a breath of relief. There was hope. There was always hope.
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