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"The Agency: Meeting of Souls "Written By: Karina Pairings 13x6 [eventual], 5xS, 3x4, Others undecided at this time. Warnings: Extreme Alternate Universe setting. Unbetaed, Aussie spelling and grammar, not much else in the early chapters though it will involve murder, stalking and possibly some colourful language down the track. Some Out Of Character depictions are unavoidable considering the alternate universe setting. Rating: M [In Australia that would be mature adult 15+] Not sure with the new rating system about international ratings. Rated for violence and language and adult concepts. Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. That's about as plain as you could say it. Summary: The world took a very different turn with the acknowledgement of psychic abilities and training of select psychic individuals enlisted in elite fields such as law enforcement and politics. A grading system for the strength of psionic abilities was developed and those who were the top of the elite have been dubbed Prime Talents and are highly sought after. Elite institutions have been developed to mark, train and employ individuals with useable psionic talents. The colonies of canon Gundam Wing do exist in this fic and were constructed before the psionic system was founded. With the advent of psionics in open use in society younger people are appearing in positions of power as they are awakening to their abilities earlier and are highly trained in their fields of expertise. //…// Thoughts
Chapter Eleven Dissatisfied with the view of the destruction afforded by the partially opened door Wu Fei reached forward to gently push against the door, scowling when it refused to move. The opening would afford barely sufficient room for him to slide his slim body through the gap and for someone of the size of Treize and Otto there would be a very tight squeeze indeed. Annoyed at the limits of the view he pushed more firmly against the door and felt the light touch of the big man beside him. “No use, I’m afraid. That is as far as we could move it this morning. Until the forensic team has concluded their work we have to be content with this. ” Otto murmured. Chang grunted softly, scowling at the offending portal. From what he could see of the room from this angle he was not overly eager to see exactly what was blocking the door. He suspected they were fortunate not to have had to remove the door entirely to gain access to the suite. Treize had taken one look at the tangled mass of debris visible through the gap and turned his attention to the broken lock and damage done to the door. In his view the room itself could wait as the door and lock presented a more accessible target and enough of a puzzle to keep them occupied. To be certain his eyes had opened wide at first glance into the suite but the more accessible damage drew his attention quickly enough and gave him cause to be both curious and concerned. With the case progressing as it was he was concerned with what they might find themselves facing in the long term. The scale of the damage beyond the door was warning enough if the altered memories of the Housekeeper had not been sufficient to alert him to the unusual. He knelt to peer more closely at the damaged lock and examine the impact site. The device appeared to have been subjected to repeated, almost frenzied attacks by a sizeable blunt instrument. He was fairly certain the initial blow would have taken out the lock but the amount of damage suggested the perpetrator had not been content with merely unlocking the door. There was the appearance of wanton destruction, particularly if you took into account the damage to the door and suite. He focused his attention on the wreckage, seeking some vestige of the tool used to suggest a material item had been used to produce such damage. He was in no way relieved to fail to detect traces of metal, wood or plastic, in fact it alarmed him to think this amount of destruction was kinetic in nature. Forensics might still find microscopic elements of a tool used in the attack and he found himself hoping such would be the case. The frenzied nature of the destruction thus far viewed suggested an unstable and very powerful psychic individual. While Chang squeezed his slender frame into the gap and peered into the wreckage of the room Treize turned his attention to the door. This too appeared to be the recipient of a frenzied assault. It had received a number of substantial blows by what appeared to be a sizeable blunt faced instrument and once again there was no remnant of the weapon to give a clue as to its identity. No sliver left to suggest a mundane means of destruction had been utilized. The impact sites also disturbed him in that there was no deeper angle to the indentations marking one side of a tool had hit with greater force than another as he would have expected. The indentations appeared to be perfectly uniform and that to him suggested telekinetic talent. “Chang.” His tone demanded the attention of his partner and he motioned first to the lock and then to the door, demanding they attend to business. “Kinetics?” Wu Fei pulled his attention away from the debris and the water lapping at his feet with an effort. He was fascinated with the sheer volume of damage in the visible section of the room and backed out of the doorway reluctantly. He would have liked to force his way into the suite to gain a better viewing and examine in detail the debris to determine the extent of the force required to wreck such havoc. Such would have to wait, he knew until the forensic team had concluded their work. Treize was right to concentrate on what they could access and as his partner shifted to give him room he peered at the remnants of what had been a very advanced and expensive lock. His specialty was kinetic energy and while he was not sufficiently powerful to be ranked a Prime talent he was an accredited Level 9 with four points toward a Prime ranking. That sensitivity and strength made him one of the sixty highest rated kinetic talents on Earth at the present time and the Agencies highest rated kinetic agent. He was expected to develop added stability as he matured which might improve his ratings by two or three points on the scale and considering his tender years he was expected to develop his talent a little more as he matured and gained experience. Age and continued use of kinetic talent often rounded the talent and every year he was tested for advanced development. His training had been meticulous and undertaken beneath the control of one of the best team of kinetic instructors in the ESUN. While training to use his ability to its fullest extent he had also been instructed in how to recognize the signs of kinetic use in others about him. That training also extended to determining the physical evidence of kinetic use on the material world surrounding him. He was quick to note the even depressions in the door; the perfect circles with cracks radiating from them as the wood fibers had parted under stress. The mashed nature of much of the wiring and flattened impact zone surrounding the lock were all evidence of what had taken place. He was not surprised to note the absence of any foreign material which might have hinted at the weapon used and he doubted any microscopic particles of such would be detected by forensics. Treize was kinetically dead, his brains higher functions tuned into telepathy and empathic abilities. He had, however, been trained to detect basic signs of kinetic use and Wu Fei was not about to deny the use of kinetic energy. It was glaringly obvious to anyone who had any real knowledge of the talent what had occurred here. Kinetics dealt with the material world. Solid dirty honest reality. He tended to think of kinetic abilities as earthy in nature though he knew others disagreed. He considered kinetics Earth based and telepathic and empathic talent air based. Why he thought in those terms he had never been able to explain to his trainers satisfaction. It was simply how he equated his personal views of the minds abilities. This debris suggested a kinetic talent with a dangerous bent toward hysterics expressed with a violence that, if focused on a body, would certainly kill. He was sure it had already claimed one victim. He peered at the door for a few minutes, studying the dents and broken facing intently and finally straightened glancing toward the opening and the suite beyond. “Yes. I would say there is little doubt the damage was kinetically based. I think it highly doubtful forensics will find metal or wood fragments to later match up to an implement. These blows are too clean, too even to be anything other than kinetic force. Given the possibility the killer is a suspected kinetic I would say we have a serious problem on our hands.” A dull thud and violent spate of swearing drew all eyes toward the gap in the door and after a moment Yuy stalked into view, picking his way across the visible debris. His clean suit was wet and dirt streaked and he looked far from happy, limping slightly as he worked his way over a knot work of pipes. The sound of dripping water could be clearly heard in the hallway and Yuy seemed far from happy, shaking water from his gloved hands. From the doorway looking over Chang’s head Treize watched as Heero eased his way through the convoluted piping and the remnants of the breakfast bar. To his sensitized abilities frenzied rage seemed to emanate from the room and he was eager to access the suite and sense it properly. The previous day the suite had been almost void of any emotional content, the only lingering emotions being from the investigation team. Now even from the doorway he could feel something of the emotions within the room and it was far from pleasant. Frenzied was becoming an apt description for the events. Uncontrolled emotion might give him an insight into the killer and offer them some valuable information. In a best case scenario it might even give them an identity. He could only wait his chance to determine the emotional state and thought processes of the trespasser. There was always the possibility, slight though it seemed to him whoever had performed this attack on the suite was not the same body that had interfered with the mind of Catherine Bloom. Yuy paused in front of the doorway and nodded in greeting, making no attempt to force his frame through the gap. He glanced behind him and after a moment sighed and faced the three men, motioning behind him at the rubble. “Every room took the same damage. The walls have been battered pipes ripped through them and twisted like pretzels. The beds have been broken apart and scattered across the rooms. There is not one piece of intact furniture in the suite. Everything seems to have been systematically smashed. The refrigerator is even protruding from the bathroom wall. A great deal of anger was released. Our perpetrator has control issues.” Treize frowned at the list of damages and the constant drip of water underscored every word. Anger was not exactly what he would have called what he was sensing from the suite. Chang eyed the ESUN agent for a long moment and inclined his head toward the room. “You say the refrigerator has been thrown into a wall?” “More like it was picked up and punched through the wall. A good half of it is in the bathroom at around head height. Every bit of plumbing looks to have been torn through the walls and the pipes deliberately smashed. Some make pretzels look straight.” “And through it all no one in the suites on either side heard anything.” Treize murmured considering the possibilities this presented. There was a moment of silence as each of the men considered the shear volume of noise required to generate destruction on such a grand scale. “The rooms, while not exactly sound proofed, are very well insulated for reasons of privacy. It is also considered necessary to give the students a quiet atmosphere in which to study.” Otto offered. “It was not soundproof for long.” Yuy responded. “No effort was spared to keep the walls intact.” “Forensics?” Chang looked expectantly at Yuy for the moment willing to accept they needed to wait before they could perform their own investigation into the incident. Heero glanced over his shoulder to watch the small group of men and women in their clean suits engaged in taking photographs and picking through the debris in search of clues. The ESUN Security Agency had sent the best on this case and he was not inclined to hurry them up. They would not take kindly to anyone, least of all a ‘bunch of tea leaf readers’ wanting dibs on their crime scene. The rivalry between the forensic sciences and the psychics went back a long way and while most professionals tolerated and even respected the other group you occasionally found individuals who were less than tolerant. “They have asked for another half hour at least. With all the water damage I’m not sure how much they will find to be of assistance. If there is something there the lab will find it.” Chang nodded knowing how thorough such a team would be. “I will need to examine the damage though at this stage I firmly believe it to be kinetic based. I may be able to determine the strength of the perpetrator or perpetrators. It is possible there was more than one.” Otto scowled and sighed. “One insane psychic is bad enough.” “More than one would be a blessing.” Treize murmured ignoring the Security Chiefs scowl. “More than one person being responsible for this kind of wanton destruction would place a more normal scale on the talents involved in the case.” Yuy scowled not knowing whether to wish for one supercharged psychic nut case or two lesser beings. “Whatever. I need to return to work.” Treize motioned toward the room beyond the door before the agent could turn away. “When your team is finished I will require a few minutes alone in the suite. This kind of damage is only possible when the subject is in a rage and from the little I have viewed I would suggest more of a frenzy. That intensity of emotion would leave multi level impressions in the room I should investigate. I may be able to pick up on something that could clarify his, her or its identity.” “I hate it when you say that.” Chang grumbled. “He or she is sufficient, thank you without calling to mind little green men from Mars.” “Hey, no one has proven Aliens do not exist.” Treize flashed him a wide grin enjoying the opportunity to annoy his partner. “I’ll see you have next access to the room.” Heero turned and stepped over a length of pipe. “I’ll also have the doorway cleared to make access easier.” “That would be much appreciated.” Treize eyed the gap not overly eager to force his body through. “Try to keep the emotional level down in there, please. It will be easier to go after our target if I don’t have to wade through unnecessary emotions and impressions to tap into what we actually need.” A grunt was the only response and Yuy wandered back into the room taking particular care where he placed his booted feet. Otto sighed and stepped away from the door glancing to either side of the hallway and seeing no one in evidence turned to the investigators lingering by the doorway. “Would either of you gentlemen care for some coffee?” Wu Fei grunted softly by way of agreement and Treize was only too happy to follow Otto back through the building and out into the grounds. Their exit from the dormitory building was accomplished in thoughtful silence, none of the group seeming inclined to comment. The walk across the lawn toward the security building gave him time to admire the scenery and take note of the clusters of students now moving around the area. Otto nodded amiably to each group they passed and Treize could feel the curiosity of the students as they noted the Chiefs companions. He detected no attempt to psychically probe Otto, Chang or himself in an attempt to appease curiosity and he had honestly expected at least one attempt from some curious body. A number of the students were telepaths, he had no trouble identifying them but none seemed inclined to initiate contact. It appeared Tsuberov stressed restraint to its students and they listened. The student who attracted more than a quick glance from him was the one who subjected he and Chang to a particularly hard eyed stare before he acknowledged Otto’s pointed glare and beat a hasty retreat. The distinctive chestnut braid confirmed his identity, the rope of hair swinging from side to side across his tight backside as he hurried past. Treize had no trouble identifying the curiosity and suspicion emanating from Duo Maxwell and decided not to draw Otto’s attention to the youth. He rather suspected there was a history between Otto and Maxwell. The Sweeper prodigy struck him as a bit of a prankster. In the sanctuary of the security building Otto was quick to lead them to his office and offer them seats. A coffee machine stood on a credenza to one side of the room with coffee already brewed and waiting. The Chief was quick to pour the drinks and settle in his seat behind his desk. Through the ritual of pouring and accepting the cups none of them seemed inclined to speak and it was not until they all had tasted their coffee that Otto chose to begin. //Ah, real coffee. A decent blend too. // Treize sipped a second time, appreciating the robust flavor. Otto gave every appearance of a man who had just received a life line with the first sip of the brew. Considering the hour of the call out it was possible the man had not had time for coffee on waking. He may not even have eaten and that reminded Treize he had not exactly engaged in the usual breakfast his work schedule demanded he consume. He would have to do something about that soon. “What do you think?” Otto questioned, both hands wrapped around the mug. “I think we may have a problem.” Chang sighed. “I think there is little doubt whoever was in the suite has a hair trigger temper and something less than a stable mind.” Treize mused. “”For the sake of argument, let us call the intruder He. I believe it fairly safe to assume He was not amused to find the suite abandoned. Any high talent psychic has the potential to lose control in a spectacular fashion. That is not saying we are all prone to hysterics and bouts of screaming rage.” “We are not generally so inclined but the consensus is, and has been for some time, that the higher the psionic abilities a person has the greater danger there is of a loss of control should personal stress levels elevate above safety margins.” Chang sipped at his mug and considered the dark liquid. “This individual appears to be dangerous.” Otto scowled and studied the agent for a long moment. “You are saying we have a psychotic psychic running around who is getting frustrated and progressively more dangerous.” //A fair assessment and it is only the truth. I will know more after I sense the room. If we are fortunate I should be able to determine which of the students the target is.// Treize mused. “Yes.” Chang agreed. “We thought there might be the possibility Mr. Winner has acquired a secret admirer. A Stalker. It is possible the John Doe in the refrigerator might have disturbed the Stalker preparing to leave a welcome home gift for Winner. That scenario is gaining more credibility as far as I am concerned. Who John Doe is and what he was doing in the suite we need to determine. The two individuals we know are involved, the corpse and the stalker, neither of whom had any right to be in the suite, need to be identified. We need to determine if there is a link between the two or if it was merely an unhappy chance first meeting.” “I am worried.” Trieze straightened in his chair, turning the mug of coffee slowly in his long fingers. “We are hoping there is a third party involved in this to account for the psychic traces we have thus far detected. We have clear evidence of a kinetic talent of near if not Prime level and we have the telepathic talent which I assure you must be a Prime level to account for the work done on Ms Bloom. It may well be the Stalker is psychotic and it is possible the individual is riding a psychic high. The loss of conscious control of His facilities and psychic talent potentially would cause surging in the talent. These surges would usurp their normal control. In this scenario Ms Bloom should be a vegetable but obviously she is not.” Otto shrugged. “I might work in a prestigious psychic training ground but I don’t profess to understand the abilities.” “One thing that might be of aid to us is the cost of such a use of talent. It would take a great deal of energy to cause the extensive damage to the suite. Given what I know of the use of kinetic energy I would think our intruder should be exhausted and might possibly behave as though they had not eaten for days.” “In regards to the possibility of the excessive eating of high calorie foodstuffs that would apply to a good half the student body on any given day at Tsuberov.” Otto muttered. “Some of the training these students undergo, especially the advanced students, pushes them to extremes. Their calorie intake is adjusted accordingly but if we went to the cafeteria now we would find at least three or four stuffing food into them as quickly as humanly possible and it is only early in the day.” “It is a starting point.” Wu Fei returned. “I’m not denying that or inclined to ignore the possibility.” Otto assured the agent. “I can run a check in the cafeteria on who is eating what and cross checking against their training schedules but it may not lead us anywhere.” Treize nodded content with that. Given the nature of Tsuberov excellence was expected of its student body and the students, while being pampered in lifestyle, would be expected to work for the privileges they received. “On the few occasions I have overextend my kinetic talent I am prone to experiencing severe migraines. Many psi’s, not just kinetics, are also noted to suffer for their exertions.” Otto nodded, considering Wu Fei for a long moment. “I can check with the nursing staff and see if anyone has been asking for pain killers or something more targeted toward overuse of psychic ability. Anyone using drugs needs a trainer’s permission and prescription from the medical staff. It could be the result of deep level work though at this early hour of the day there should be little of that type of study taking place. It may provide us with something though.” “To effect the damage I saw in the suite would have required a high level talent. I will need a list of all kinetics at Tsuberov. Students and staff, everyone with kinetic abilities at and above level six. Unless you have someone entering the grounds during the night on a regular basis the perpetrator of the vandalism must be resident in the university complex.” Chang set aside his empty cup on the desk, frowning as he pursued the possibilities. “As much as I hate to agree with you, I must. With the security arrangements in place it should be next to impossible for an outsider to access the grounds, particularly at night. I will need to go through the Dean to access the sealed records of the students for you to view. The staff records I can hand over with relative impunity but the students are protected by policy.” “Of course.” Treize smiled slightly. “I am certain the Dean will see the difficulties and the lengths we will need to go to in our efforts to identify the perpetrator. If necessary I have little doubt Yuy could have a writ demanding the information is made available to the ESUN Security Agency prepared in an hour. They have a tendency to be blunt and to the point while I would prefer to handle this matter more discreetly.” “Tsuberov places high importance on maintaining the integrity and privacy of the students records but I am certain the Dean will see the sense in discretion. Certain other Masters at the University would not be so understanding but Hargraves I have found to be sensible to date.” ”Other than Winner who of the students would have the highest profile at the University?” Treize questioned. Otto sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “The overall student body or in Winners year?” “Overall.” “Well, there are a number of students who attract a great deal of attention. We have the ESUN President’s grandson and a granddaughter here at the present time. There is the son of the President of UNESCO and this year saw the arrival of Princess Relena of Sanc. The University is full of children and grandchildren of the rich, famous and influential. It is the training ground for the future leaders of tomorrow.” “You were the Universities liaison with the security contingent for the Princess?” Chang queried. “I was a member of the Sanc Royal Guard at one time and my presence here is one of the reasons Tsuberov was chosen for the Princesses training. King Stephan felt he could trust me to arrange adequate security for the Crown Princess. She arrived quite discreetly at the beginning of the year and her attendance here was requested to be low key. I believe the Sanc Univeristy was the preferred option however the Princess expressed a desire to go elsewhere and made sufficient case to win approval from her father, if not the Parliament.” “Why did you leave Sanc?” Treize was studying the photograph on the wall showing Otto in the uniform of the Royal Guard with a group of colleagues. “Marriage problems.” Otto sighed and winced, waving aside the topic with a grimace. “Irreconcilable differences of opinion. Princess Relena is a full function telepath however her range is limited and her strength lies in her ability as a Suggestor. She will be an ideal head of state on the death of her father in that her talent for Suggestion, while within a limited range of telepathy is a high level in itself. The King is the same, a low level send and receive telepath with a select function for manipulating and influencing the emotions of others. The King is determined she learn control and the appropriate etiquette required to have others comfortable with her and her talent.” // She can send and receive telepathic impulses along a narrow band and her range would be limited. A useful talent in a diplomat. It is no wonder King Peacecraft is requested to chair so many diplomatic functions.// Treize turned his attention from the photograph to the flesh and blood man seated before him. “I am concerned with the Stalkers interest in other high profile students if they associate socially with Winner. Do any of the students interact regularly or perhaps even intimately with Winner?” “At Tsuberov we attempt to have the students socially interact regularly. They will be dealing with each other out in the real world and it is expected they learn to associate with various races and cultures and work closely with them whilst here. I can not say I have noticed any particular interaction between any of the high profile students although I believe Winner has been known to associate with one of the Barton cousins on a regular basis. No more so that with others of their mutual background I would think. Certainly no one as frequently as he is noted with his dorm mates.” “Then we may not have a problem if he is not noted to be with one group more than any other.” Treize looked his relief. //A Barton? I wonder which of the cousins that might be. // “An unstable psychic is not to be toyed with and we must cover all possibilities.” Chang stood and ran a hand through his hair, absently rubbing at a stiff muscle in his neck. He made his way to the window and found himself looking out into a contained courtyard garden. The shaded lawn was set with a table and chairs and a Security Officer of the University was seated having a cup of what he presumed to be coffee and reading a file beneath the shade of a tight cluster of small trees. “I did not expect to be woken to the news there had been more trouble in the suite. There was no disturbance at Winners new room?” “That was the first thing I checked when I realized what had happened in the suite. There has been no indication the security was tested and I have already turned over the security footage to Yuy’s people for analysis.” “I believe it would be fairly safe to assume our Intruder was upset his target was not where he expected him to be.” Treize glanced at his watch and stood, nodding to Otto. “If you will excuse us, I would think the forensic team would have finished their investigations by now.” “Of course.” Otto considered his empty mug and snapped to his feet. “I will see about gathering the information you requested. Most of it should be available to you before the day is out.” Wu Fei and Treize made their way out of the security building and across the lawns to the accommodation block in silence. Both were occupied with considering the new turn of events and the possibilities complicating the investigation. Neither partner was comfortable with the idea they might be dealing with a renegade psychic who was potentially insane. Insanity and high psychic talent was not a good combination especially if the person involved was criminally insane. A person on the cusp of insanity would be even worse as the slightest error on their part might push the individual irrevocably over the edge losing a viable high talent from society. “I think it would be better if Winner was moved off the university grounds.” Chang glanced at Treize. “This could become very dangerous very quickly.” “It could.” Treize agreed. “I concur and we can suggest that measure be taken in the interests of security. Considering the events overnight we may not need to request it as they will need to acquire suitable accommodations for the entire student contingent who were assigned to the dorm building. Until the water is restored to the rooms the building is considered unsuitable for human habitation and I do not believe the University has extra dormitories available capable of housing the entire student compliment now displaced. We need to determine what they intend to do with the students for the next few days and perchance suggest Winner and his dorm mates be housed off campus.” “From the extent of the damage I saw in the suite I doubt they will have the water restored in two days. Certainly the suite will require considerable restructuring.” Yuy was waiting for them, standing before the closed door with the hood of the clean suit thrown back and he was reviewing notes, a clipboard clutched in one still gloved hand. He nodded agreeably on noticing their approach and inclined his head to the suite. “All clear for you to go to work.” Chang nodded, a short sharp jerk of his head, not inclined to the idea he might have needed to wait longer. “How much did forensics get?” “Not a great deal, I think and some of it will likely prove to have nothing to do with the incident. There were some hairs found but I believe they will be proven to belong to the former occupants of the suite and the security staff who investigated the disturbance.” He glanced over his shoulder at the suit and shrugged. “The water damage is extensive and may have contaminated any evidence beyond use in a court of law. We shall have to wait and see what their final assessment is.” Treize moved up beside Yuy, eager to get into the suite and sense the psychic impressions. “If you don’t mind, Fei, I’ll sense the room first before you look for kinetic evidence.” Chang nodded. “I will remain here and ensure you are not disturbed.” Yuy reached to push the door open and stepped out of the way, allowing Treize to enter the disaster zone and turned his attention to Chang. The two fell to discussing the evidence the forensic team had found and must determine if it alluded to the crime or not. Treize brushed past Yuy and entered the room beginning to regulate his breathing and manipulate his shields as he did so. He needed to be careful not to allow preconceived ideas and supposition to influence his investigation and he needed to prepare his mental state accordingly. His reactions to the damage must be sorted and safely tucked away out of his conscious mind to provide an accurate and responsive scan be made. When he opened his awareness to the psychic atmosphere he wanted to be certain to miss not one nuance of left over emotion or thought. Formerly the living area and kitchen facilities had been separated by a solid breakfast bar. Treize looked on in awe as he stepped over copper pipes ripped from the kitchen wall and now twisted over the wreckage of the breakfast bar. Blue eyes widened as he took the time to examine the debris strewn room, noting not a single kitchen cupboard could claim a door and said doors appeared to now fill the role of match sticks and kindling for a fire. The pipes, water and drainage, had been ripped from the walls and he could only presume the taps had been the starting point for that particular piece of destruction. A quick glance around failed to turn up a single tap amid the debris and the sink was leaning precariously against what must once have been the lounge and now was nothing more than a soggy mass of material and stuffing. He recognized some of the support straps for the seat dangling from the overhead lighting, the bulb shattered in its socket. //How did no one hear anything?// He could see from the debris scattered about how well insulated the walls of the suite had been, the insulating material now broken and scattered and resembling nothing more than soggy blue cardboard. //Someone should have heard this.// The degree of destruction fairly boggled the mind and he picked his way carefully over broken furnishings, shattered china and ornaments thrown about the suite. The shredded remnants of the artwork formerly decorating the wall shattered glass and even shredded strips of the carpet made footing treacherous. He paused to admire the base of the refrigerator protruding from the bathroom wall and considered the sheer force required to effect such positioning. He had assumed Yuy was exaggerating when he claimed the refrigerator was half way into the bathroom but it appeared not. Treize could not resist entering the bathroom only to shake his head at the further destruction. Aside from the novelty of the refrigerator decorating one wall the remaining walls in the room had been ripped open and the plumbing was driven through the wall into what was formerly Duo Maxwell’s bedroom. Shattered tile shards crunched underfoot and the bath was showing dents as unmistakable in form as the damage done to the door and lock. //If nothing else the refrigerator impacting on the wall had to make enough noise to wake the dead.// He examined the cracks in the wall leading from the impact point and ran a hand through his hair. //The damn thing was shoved through with a lot of force.// He paused to look into each of the bedrooms and survey the wanton destruction and determined there seemed to be no definable pattern to the debris. Everything appeared to have been considered a target for needless violence. Nothing was left of the beds and the wardrobes were so much kindling strewn about the room. Shelving units had been splintered and sections protruded from the walls and one hung from the ceiling like a demented chandelier. Water dripped from everything and the curtaining was shredded as though someone had taken a knife to it. Each room was the same, an equal measure of destruction having been performed and with his survey complete he turned his attention to his task. This investigation was not going to be an easy case, of that he was convinced and he could only wish it had fallen to another investigation team. The memory of pale hair shimmering in the setting sun brought that train of thought up short and he grimaced in disgust. He should have more sense than to play the What If and If Only game especially in the middle of an active investigation. Taking a deep breath he considered the overall layout and size of the suite and picked his position with care, determining the space before the bedroom doors to be near the centre of the suite. Maxwell’s room was a few steps to his rear and Winners three paces to his fore with Marquise doorway at his back and the shattered living area open before him. While not exactly the centre of the suite the position was close enough to meet his requirement. Ignoring the dripping of water and the soggy splat of the occasional piece of plaster falling from the ceiling and walls he carefully relaxed his body, taking a few composing breaths. Trusting Chang to see him undisturbed Treize centered his perceptions and with three carefully measured, progressively deeper breaths sank his awareness into the first stages of his working mode. He descended into the sanctity of his own mind, settling his awareness within a calm pool. Here was tranquility, untouched by influences beyond his instigation. This place was perceived as tranquil, soothing and warm. A fourth breath, slow and deep firmed his place within the warmth and he permitted himself a brief survey of his impressions of the events. He used the moment as a lead in to opening his awareness to the unseen but lingering remnants of human presence. Within this pool of calm he considered the curiosities and problems arising from the situation. Careful not to centre his focus on any one item of note he sought instead an overall feeling of the bigger picture. It was not the invasion and rape of a woman’s mind or the force required to push a refrigerator through a wall. It was not dismembered flowers or a heart stopped so abruptly or the discarding of a body. It was the entire he sought to capture in a snapshot of order from chaos, to grasp in a millisecond the impression of the whole. He was missing something. He could not frown in this awareness but if it had been possible he would have. There was something missing from the snapshot, some vital element and he likened it to pieces missing from a jigsaw puzzle. Perhaps one piece was a close match and in the wrong place throwing out all other pieces after its placement and necessitating the deconstruction of the puzzle. //The pieces do not fit. The pattern is wrong.// Contemplation within this quiet cocoon where only he and his own impressions existed could not be continued. He was aware of the passage of time in this level of consciousness and chose not to linger over misaligned pieces. As he continued his investigation he would add additional pieces to the ill fitted puzzle. There would be time enough for a deeper examination when he returned to his apartment and could tear apart the puzzle at leisure. With the puzzle pieces set out neatly in his mind he sealed them away, cleared his perceptions and taking another measured breath descended to a deeper level of consciousness. It was from this deeper level of awareness that he intended to work on this occasion. Deeper than the level he had used against the block in Ms Blooms memories. He already knew the perpetrator had power and a certain measure of finesse else Ms Bloom would not be a functioning adult female. It took psychic strength and a delicate touch to effect such alterations in a person’s memory and the destruction of the suite was another display of power. Raw strength was obvious in the wreckage of the room and he had easily enough sensed the anger which had birthed the destruction on the surface level of his awareness. He needed to go below the public anger of the mind and seek for a deeper understanding. To accomplish this he needed to go past the rage to any lingering levels of awareness that might have survived the raw primal emotion filling the suite. The earlier wiping of the suite’s psychic residue would be an aid in this endeavor as he would not be contending with sorting years of built up residue. He need only siphon off the newer residue left by the investigating forensic team and security personnel and the remainder must be from the source of this storm of violence. Settling himself within the stable comforting cocoon he had created he extended his perceptions beyond his safety zone and cautiously lowered his barriers. He stripped away the surface barrier shielding his mind, folding it neatly aside being careful to maintain the control to thrust the shield into place if he felt the level of emotion endangered him. >Rage. < Pure primal rage swept through his awareness. Underlying the fiery fury he caught the impression of a long standing grim anger. //Interesting. Not what I expected to find.// He considered the sub level, disregarding the rage for the moment to feel his way through the discontent. He would need to go deeper to determine the elements involved to make up this state of mind. There was an old quality to it, matured and nursed, barely leashed for some time. The anger had been smoldering, perhaps not even realized by the one who felt it until some key trigger point had been reached. Surrounding this smoldering core of emotion, rippling and flaring like the edges of a forest fire into volatile dry growth and rising in columns of heated fury reminiscent of majestic trees in a destructive storm of flame. This was the storm of rage breaking free of its confines beneath the influence of unmistakable betrayal. >Betrayal. < Pausing in his investigation of the core beneath the rage Treize tasted the texture and flavor of the betrayal. Of all the emotions he might have expected to find within the rage he had not expected to find this coiled sense of betrayal. He detected hints of expectation, excitement and hunger underlying the stronger emotion. Almost a quivering of the three emotions as one would expect a child to quiver in excitement at a long awaited birthday or Christmas. //It is almost the way Mariemaia felt at her last birthday. The same quivering excitement, the edge of feared disappointment but the expectation of the day being everything she wanted it to be.// Betrayal beneath the rage and the trigger that had turned one into the other? He sought within the core of the betrayal for some lingering residue of thought or awareness, convinced he would find it. Such would the spark be between the two it must linger in elements of both emotions. >HE was not there. < There, that was the trigger point. The crushing instant of disappointment at the realization the suite was empty and no indication of personal effects remained of the occupants who should have been resident here. He was not there. From that instant of knowledge the expectation and excitement had turned to betrayal and thence to rage. >Rip and destroy. < Treize gave himself a moment to steady his perceptions against the spike of emotion. He needed control now above all times, he was coming close to the centre, to reaching through to what he was sure would be a breakthrough. >Take out the anguish of betrayal on the world. HE was not there.< The rage wavering with the sense of abandonment. The disbelief and sense of displacement warping perceptions, weakening already weakened barriers, beginning to feed back, stoking the fire. >This was HIS place and HE must be present else there was no meaning to the existence of the world where in HE must occupy. < // Losing coherency fast in the upsurge of emotion, not making complete sense even this early in the stages leading to the release of anger. It still strikes me as being somewhat child like. There is almost innocence in the anger at the disruption to the expected order. HE should be present for the world to be as it should. This individual does not do well in the face of the unexpected. // >HE who was made to be gazed upon and adored was not there for him to worship. < Treize drew a shuddering breath and eased a veil of his shield into place, separating himself from the raw emotion. He resisted the urge to rise above the surging emotional wave and escape its drowning intensity. The rage battering against his shields in a surge like a tidal flow was near to over whelming already stressed shields and he needed distance. Just a few minutes to restore his psychic and physical balance were all he would need to function safely. He had no choice other than to take his time with this reading else he chanced exposing himself to too much of the flow and might well go down into a sympathetic resonance. The last thing he or the university needed was a Prime level Telepathic Empath generating primal anger all over the psychic ether. Only when he was assured he had settled his perceptions and firmed his barriers did he thin the shield and once again enter the surging tide. Carefully thinning the shield he stripped away layers of rage, sinking his awareness through the depths and seeking to extend his perceptions to the core of potential. He knew the anger and the betrayal but he sought now some awareness of the exact strength and extent of the talent of this curiously childlike terror he pursued. If this one ever lost control in a populated place they would have every telepath and empath with measurable ability unconscious in the first five seconds, the more powerful being the first to go down. He should be able to sense the extent of the psychic’s talents; at the very least be able to define the type of talent of the individual. He could detect within the maelstrom the unmistakable signature energy he associated with kinetic force. Partnered as he was with Chang he was more than familiar with a kinetic signature and he found it here wrapped within the flaring eruptions of destructive rage. Mixed within the kinetic signature was the equally recognizable pattern he associated with Telepathy and perhaps a trace of Empathy. //Odd. It is as though the empathic talent is subjugated beneath the other abilities. Overpowered, overwhelmed but not ignored, not unknown to the individual.// It was there and perhaps it was only the strength of the rage that fed the kinetic ability to the point all else was smothered. This person, this killer was unmistakably a mind on the edge. The slightest touch could send this one teetering into insanity and beyond help. //No apparent flavor of a clairvoyant at this level of awareness, that much is a blessing. Nothing of Healers sensitivity but there is definitely the ability to influence the thoughts and emotions of others. A Suggestor then, the talent utilized to mold Ms Blooms memories. // He should not have been able to glean so much from the residue in the suite and it worried him. The psychic would be easy to track if the worst happened and they plunged over the edge. He had the flavor of the mind now and he would know it anywhere. He would need to keep it always within his awareness and if by some chance he encountered an echo of thought or emotion he would be able to trace the individual and positively identify the one mind out of a thousand others from which it originated. >Abandonment. < The sense of being abandoned was strong. He had expected HIM to be here, waiting for him. >Expectation. Adoration of beauty. < //He had expected HIM to be here, waiting for him to feast his eyes upon. That is clear enough. There is something more though. Something else. // >Aching need. Daring. Firm resolve. Touch. < Within his minds talent Treize held himself still, waiting, extending more of himself into the sensitivity, searching, seeking for the breakthrough and the knowledge it would give him. He was close now and though he could feel the first signs he must pull out of the session he could linger just a little longer. He was close and if he put just a little more effort into it… >Expectation. Dare to touch. < Trigger point. The shattered dream with the absence of his object of adoration and Treize understood. >He had made up his mind to touch the beauty of HIM. HE was beauty personified. HE made Adonis ugly.< So clear was the emotions they presented as very near true thought. It was not a lingering telepathic thought but it came so close it frightened Treize. The intensity of the emotion was beyond anything he had previously encountered. > HE was to be looked upon with reverence. HE was to be admired from a distance but just this once…< //Dangerous. Very dangerous. // The source of the rage surrounded him, enclosed him swept him up and thundered through his perceptions. >Wishful thought. Determination. Impression of pale. < Treize shivered in reaction. Pale? Blonde hair, perhaps? Growing clearer, more like true thought with every passing millisecond. > He had determined he might touch a single stand of blonde hair. Expectation of silk in his fingers… the softest wonderful feel of it against his skin…< Treize shuddered at the sudden rush of desire washing over him and thrust a filtering shield firmly into place. There was nothing sexual… No, that was wrong. There was sexual content within the flood of desire Treize shared from this residue. The sympathetic symbiosis he had formed with the emotion left him in little doubt what the perpetrator had experienced as he had neared the bedrooms. He could almost count each step with the rise of awareness and expectation of what would be found and admired and adored. This desire he shared was less a desire for sex than it was belief the purity of HIM was not to be tainted. Something as base and dirty as a need for sexual gratification did not figure in the fixation this person had with his target. //He sees the need for his desire to be as pure as the object of his desire. // That observation worried Treize. Should Winner have a relationship, sexual or otherwise with another person on the grounds of the university it would be considered a threat to his purity. This unbalanced psyche was already dangerous and he was afraid the mind had already progressed past the point of saving. He could only hope he was wrong in that assessment. >Expectation. Crushing disappointment. Quivering unfathomable disappointment morphing into something else, something dark and dangerous and erupting into wrath. The need to strike out and punish. < Treize was deep and knew he was too deep in this growing insanity. It was time to withdraw to his singular identity and regain the physical sheath. The need and the desire to escape the morass of second hand emotion could no longer be ignored. He wanted to soak himself in purifying boiling water; to wash away the debris of another’s emotions and ground himself in the solid reality of his own awareness and personality. //Expectation and desire to touch was experienced before the rage. It was savored, luxuriated in and desired above everything else. Expectation of seeing the beauty of HIM. // Warm flush of expectation and with it the sense of movement. Discontent he read as being associated with the long absence from the University. Burning curiosity and a sense of being unsatisfied but there was satisfaction He was near and He could be admired. Determination he sensed and equated it as the determination to protect, to offer safety to the object of his adoration. For less than the space of a heartbeat every emotion, every iota that might be lingering thought mixed within the emotion froze. Arctic chill enfolded him and then disbelief flooded through his perception. Disbelief and the birth of flooding overpowering rage. With the upsurge of emotion Treize broke the contact, thrusting himself out of the coiled raging inferno. He slammed his shields between himself and the clawing anger, gasping breath into struggling lungs. He thrust his mind into the safety of training routines, running a gauntlet of exercises to settle his mind into his body once more. He felt putrid, drenched in sweat and filth and he was aching for something to drink. Something far stronger than the list of acceptable beverages his trainers had drummed into his head in younger days. Treize shuddered, his arms wrapping about his body, offering himself something in the way of physical comfort. He blinked, staring at the door directly in front of him, half turning to see the door he stood in front of and thence confirmed his location by looking behind him at Maxwell’s door. He had moved. He stood a little to one side of his former position where he had faced the lounge and kitchen. Now he was half turned to face Winners doorway, a hand set firmly to the side of Marquise’s door and his fingers were almost claws with the force of his grip. He needed something to concentrate on, to force his mind to work and he grasped madly for anything to fill his need. Blonde hair. He had received the impression of pale silk. Pale blonde specifically. No long locks he could associate with Zechs Marquise and no darker gold highlight he could name the Winner heirs. Simply the impression he perceived as blonde. He knew the expectation of touch had been savored and stoked and in the end the descent into madness had been triggered when open doors had led to empty rooms. The lack of personal effects more than the emptiness of the rooms had triggered the explosion of kinetic force and the blinding pain accompanying it. Pain? Yes, there was in the exact moment of realization a fierce spike within the emotion he now could name as pain. The psychic had damaged something integral to his abilities in that single instant of rage. //The medical supplies will need to be closely monitored.// With the instant of consuming pain there was a flash of understanding shared with the rogue psychic he hunted. Damage had been done, perhaps irreversible damage. He would have to hunt the individual and he would have to take the killer down quickly. In his own mind he was certain it was already too late but protocol and the need for psychics in this day and age would demand they try to capture and heal shattered sanity and retrain the individual for a productive life. He was doubtful they would succeed with this one. //The core of the rage was their absence and it triggered the explosion of kinetic energy. All of this damage was done after the discovery… including the damage to the lock and the door. He entered silently and undetected and expectant of what he would find and he exited in rage and in pain, striking out at the door and lock on his way out. I did not detect the pain in the hallway though I did not look deeply into the emotional residue before entering the suite.// There was a final impression lingering within his awareness. They had been gone when they should have been there, asleep. They should have been asleep, beautiful in their innocence and available to be viewed. Available to be admired and adored.
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