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"Alternative Directions: Options "Written By: Karina Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the lovely
boys and their girls in the series. Wish I did. Please don't sue me.
I haven't even got a brass razoo to give you. Rating: Deffinately PG in Australia, at the moment,
but probably safer to say R for later chapters. Not sure about international
ratings Warnings: It will be 6x2, even though it does
not start out that way. After all, Zechs and Duo never met in Gundam
Wing and only spoke briefly over a com line in Endless Waltz. I've
tried to keep them in character as I saw them in the series. A bit
of language creeping in under stressful conditions. Pairings: eventual 6x2, past 2xH, 2+H,6x9, 1+R
Summary: Directions is set post Endless Waltz
and roughly 2 years have passed. Zechs and Noin are on Mars and Duo,
after spending some time with Hilde in a relationship leaves L2 to
join Preventers. Hilde was not happy about his decision. I guess enough
said. Here t'is, and I hope you like it. This is also AU for the standard
setting, as well as the series and Endless Waltz. Spoilers: Gundam Wing Series and Endless Waltz Many thanks to Dulin for volunteering to beta this. //... // thoughts
"Alternative Directions: Options"
Chapter 130 Mars Colony Base Dome 2nd March AC 198 Time: 01: 38 [approx Sanc time 23:29] Broadham The scream galvanised them into action. He spared enough attention from getting his body to move as quickly as possible to motion for the male nurse to care for the two men on the floor and then fled after Simpson who already was out of the room and sprinting down the hall. The two orderlies were running after the ESUN agent and he resisted the urge to curse as a precious waste of wind he was going to need and settled for wishing that one of them had had the presence of mind to remain as back up for the nurse. Just as soon as he could catch up with one of those unthinking idiots he would send him back. He would not have his people alone and prey for the sick hunters stalking the base. Either he was getting too old for this or he needed to spend more time in the gym, he decided. In his Alliance days he would have thought nothing about a sprint of a few hundred yards but he was panting as he rounded the curve in the hallway on the heels of one of the orderlies. He had intended to reef the man around and send him back to cover the nurse but his attention was caught by the group of men making exaggerated hushing motions at a nurse who was backed up against one wall and looking decidedly shame faced. Halfway down the hallway, exactly where they had left him the second ESUN agent stood near the door to the treatment room, smirking and shaking his head slightly. The man was obviously not alarmed in the least by whatever had gone on in their absence and actually seemed amused. “Frazier, what the hell is going on?” Simpson's bellow turned all heads toward him. The ESUN Commander had come to a halt as he shifted his glare from his subordinate to the cluster of men bunching up at the door. Those men who now were shifting their attention from attempting to calm the nurse to staring wide eyed at the agents watching them and in particular at Simpson who looked ready to kill. He noted the faces of the men in that cluster and had no difficulty in placing names to them quickly, recognising Mighty Joe Lee and Preston Kurtz and a few other familiar faces in the front row which confirmed for him that this was the Emergency Response team. He even entertained a fleeting thought that they might just be of use to him. If he could get to them might they not be an aid in removing the threat he now knew Simpson to be? If he could manage to get even a few minutes of uninterrupted time alone with them and talk to them away from the Commander and his subordinate then he might be able to make some plans that would resolve this situation. He knew now just how dangerous Simpson and his crony were and he had to take whatever opportunities might be presented to him to remove the agents from the picture. Merquise and Giles were out of the picture at this time and he needed help if he was going to have a hope of effecting some sort of plan against these men. Kurtz moved, a half step forward and the men around him shuffled themselves into some type of order and he noted Simpson's head snap around from where he was glaring at his subordinate. His eyes widened and he managed to keep the gasp of recognition down to a sub vocal level so as not to betray his reaction to Simpson. Just for the barest instant there he had caught a glimpse of someone in that group he certainly had not expected to see. His gaze flicked back to Simpson who was again looking to Frazier as he awaited an explanation. “Nothing much, Sir. Just a minor incident. The nurse was frightened when the door opened unexpectedly.” Frazier was clearly amused, no alarm at all in his voice as he glanced back at the group gathered around the door and then back to his Commander. “Misunderstanding, Sir.” He forced panic down, determined to make the most of the situation. Perhaps things were not quiet so bad as he had assumed. He needed both time and opportunity to make the best of this unexpected blessing. Well, he hoped it would prove to be a blessing and not the advent of the entire massacre waiting to happen. // I need to get involved with this before Simpson has the time to recognise faces. He surely would have taken action if he had noticed.// He stepped around the two orderlies and placed himself far closer to Simpson than he really wanted to be but circumstances demanded he draw the man's attention away from that clustered group. He chose to not even glance at Simpson as he did so, turning his attention to the orderlies standing to one side and glared at the first of the two men. He really was not overly pleased with either of them for not thinking about their previous orders. If anything happened to his male nurse while they were gawking here he would strip the skin from their backs. The thought startled him for it was proof of the rise of the formerly buried Alliance Officer he had been. “Pickford, get your ass back to the maintenance room and guard your partner. You operate in pairs, remember? Move. I'll be along shortly to supervise the removal of the casualties into a ward for treatment. Mark. Make yourself useful by finding a double ward that can take Commander Simpson's men but find a partner to accompany you first. Do not go off alone. Understood?” He was all too aware of the weight of Simpson's glare now being focused on him as the orderlies nodded their understanding, one taking off back toward the maintenance room and the other hurrying to the nearest room where other centre workers were standing and gaping at this newest round of excitement. He was not disturbed by the advent of that glare as it was exactly what he had needed. Simpson had to focus on him and miss that one all too familiar face in the crowd by the door. If he did not hold the commander's attention before they could sort out a means to disguise who it was who was in the ER team and did not belong there then this hallway could become a blood bath once again. He was a section head of the Base Dome and a part of the overall operational planning group of the base. That prominent position granted him certain knowledge that Simon Barker, also known as Preventer Agent Eagle was supposed to be in the Alpha Dome this day. Haydon Giles had told him that the Base Dome was sealed which should have meant that Barker was out of the equation, unable to help them. Something had changed. The roll of capable players had undergone revision and until he could get to talk to the Preventer Commander he was going to have to continue to hold Simpson's attention and hope that they could work out something to arrange a safe meeting and exchange of information. He noted the quick shuffle of movement in the group and how Barker and one other man he did not know by sight were shunted into the centre of the group and the height of both men reduced, no doubt by some judiciously bent knees. Barker was now effectively hidden so long as they remained like that but such was not going to be possible for long. He was a civilian now but more of the military man remained within him than he had thought. Enough to evaluate the situation and act on the primary need which was to give Barker sufficient time to hide himself within the group and to suspect that there were two others wanting to remain unnoticed. Both faces were unknown to him but the ER team seemed quick to cover for them. //Shit that is a vulnerable position. A tight cluster, perfect target practice to take down as many as possible in as short a time as possible. Not my idea of a good position but it does provide Barker with cover and it does scream that these men are amateurs, not military. That should calm Simpson down a little I hope.// He could hope but he could not rely on Simpson thinking along the same lines and being suspicious. If Simpson had any possible suspicion about those men he would act first and ask questions later and to stop that action he was going to have to take the initiative. “Commander Simpson, I think we can safely assume that there is not a problem here and I have to thank you for your quick response to what might have amounted to another instance of massacre. It is a relief on my part to know that you are so quick to respond to an alert.” // A little bit of flattery might get me somewhere.// “I know these men. They are our Emergency Response Unit who have been … where?” He looked to Preston Kurtz in particular for an explanation as to their presence as the man stood to the fore of the group and was the head of the unit. No doubt he would be the spokesman and while eyes were focused on him they would not be checking faces in the crowd. It had been his hope to keep Simpson away from the new arrivals but the accursed man was once again striding down the hallway as though he owned the base with the clear intention of more thoroughly investigating the alert. Broadham followed doggedly on the man's heels while struggling to come up with a method of slowing him down or stopping him altogether before he was close enough to recognise that something was off about the group. If Simpson chanced to get a good look at the Preventer and recognised him then it could lead to an altercation that would likely become bloody and leave more of his team lying in pools of their own blood. Now in particular, when he might be able to rely on expert assistance he had no intention of permitting it to come to massacre. So far what remained of his staff and his patients were safe and he wanted to keep it that way. Barker was here and it was obvious by his actions to date that the Preventer did not wish to be recognised at this time and that being the case he would do what he could to cover for him and hope that the man was going to be worth the effort. It gave him hope that he was not alone in managing the situation and somehow, despite Simpson being a bull headed bastard and Frazier refusing to move from that damnable door, he would manage to get the man alone long enough for an exchange of information. // Just stop before you get any closer you bastard. Stop and give me the chance to learn what Barker knows of the situation and compare it to what Giles has told me. I already know Simpson's side of things and I trust him about as far as my pinky could push him. If we can get together and share our information we can better plan what action must be taken to end this farce.// Though it was the last thing he wanted to do it might come down to physically challenging the members of Blue Squad. Not a happy thought. Both men would be in peak physical condition and highly trained in hand to hand combat as well as guerilla activity. Whatever they did he had until the remaining members of the squad were once more active. It all had to be settled before those men were active and he must not forget the women Simpson originally said he was here to check on. // He obviously wants to go unnoticed by Simpson and Frazier and that indicates that there is more than just a hint of truth in what I have been told by Giles. It goes a long way to confirming my suspicions about the entire mess. They should lock up all politicians in a dark room, give them an oozie each and leave the bastards to it. No. Stupid. They would just talk each other to death. Less blood on their individual hands. God. I'm such a cynic. Wait up you bastard!// To his immense relief Simpson stopped abreast of his cohort and contented himself with merely glaring down the length of the hallway, one hand hovering menacingly over his side arm. Broadham started, his skin crawling and tried to cover the movement as he came abreast of the pair. He had not noticed the weapon beyond registering that the man was armed but now that he really took the time to notice he realised how unusual the weapon looked. While he had not actually seen the type of weapon Simpson was carrying he had heard it described and a cold chill worked a circuit down his spine. Haydon Giles had very accurately described the weapon to him. It looked like something out of an old fashioned kids Sci Fi magazine from pre colony days that he had taken great delight in examining in museums back on Earth. A cold and jarring design that seemed to emanate threat by its very existence. //Oh shit. That's … // The last thing that he wanted was for that horror weapon to be used. “Sorry for all the fuss, Mr Broadham. We were attending to the fire in the elevator shaft and are now doing a survey of the base for additional damage and to assess the structural threat level… And any other threats?” Kurtz stepped away from the group, casual enough but still looking tense and it was obvious he was examining the blood stained wall. “We never exactly expected such a reaction. Never meant to startle Shelly.” The woman in question waved a hand slightly, brushing aside the apology and blushing furiously at all the eyes that turned to her. Broadham took the opportunity to brush past Simpson but halted a mere two steps from him. He needed to keep close in case of trouble and while he did not expect the man to take him down it was a risk that he took but it placed himself between the exposed and vulnerable team and that horror weapon. No, he did not expect Simpson to take him down at this time. Not here and not now. Not yet at least. They were going to have an accounting between them, they both knew that but for now the agent needed medical assistance for his men and until that was accomplished he was sure that he were safe. From this threat at least. “I take it there has been a problem, Mr Broadham.” Not a question but a statement of fact. “We have had problems, yes, but for the moment we seem safe enough. If I could trouble you to have your team assist with the search and body count it would free up more of my staff to help clean up the rooms and prepare for any casualties we may find.” Kurtz and the group were quick to step forward as one united mass of humanity, so tightly bunched together that it was impossible to tell who was in the centre of the group. All of the faces that he could see wore identical expressions, a mix of anger and concern. “What happened in here?” Kurtz queried. “While my team and I were engaged in surgery someone appears to have gone on a killing rampage. We have at least five confirmed dead though I do not doubt that that number will rise as we progressively search the floor.” It would appear rather odd if he did not at least enquire as to the current state of emergency since they all new the alert had not been lifted. “Have you any word from the dome? Any word from the control centre on the emergency status?” “No, nothing has been heard from the control tower for hours. Now that we have cleaned up after the explosion in the elevator shaft I was concerned with checking for additional damage. I'll leave a few of my team here to assist and send the rest up into the dome to investigate.” “The dome is secure enough for now and I would concentrate my efforts down here if I was you.” Simpson interjected. “All indications are that there may have been an infiltration team sent in by Raiders amid your personal. I will need an accurate headcount of all persons in the sub base be performed and a list of everyone in the base who has some military experience. Those who have had armed forces experience will gather in the mess hall in an hour for a briefing.” //You asshole. You fucking bloody bastard! You were quick to come up with that solution. So what is it that you intend to do? Get those of us with experience in combat out of your hair in one fell swoop? Yes. That would be it. Separate the possible wolves from the sheep and kill us quietly leaving the rest to be hunted down when you have the time. // Broadham resisted the urge with difficulty to round on the man and accuse him. It was so hard not to flare with anger knowing what he did and keep the situation under some type of control. Barker was here, just down the hallway and he had to maintain control and trust for the moment. The Preventer was no fool and he would see the implications. “Mr Broadham, I need a couple of gurneys down here!” He glanced over his shoulder, startled by Simpson's bellow in time to see the ESUN Commander striding back down the hallway toward the maintenance room and while he did not like being screamed at by the bastard he could barely contain the smirk. He would let the man think that he had won this round as moving his men would nicely distract the man away from the new arrivals he had just so brusquely ordered around. If they had trusted him they would have trundled off like good little boys to get themselves slaughtered but Barker was going to be working on the problem and he could bide his time. At least Simpson and his arrogance had given him the distraction he needed so desperately. The man would expect his instructions to be carried out and while they were attending to the matter of settling his men into the medical centre for treatment Simpson was nicely distracted from entering that examination room. Efficient as he no doubt was Simpson was only human and could not be everywhere at once. It was unfortunate that Frazier did not follow him as he strode down the hallway, but that they would need to deal with later. While it was true that Giles and Merquise were trapped in that room, there being no other exit, they were also safe from harm from these so called Sleeper Agents who were roaming the base. Frazier gave no indication of being inclined to move from the door which suited him for the moment though it would give Barker a bit of a problem getting past him. For now, his primary concern was to keep an eye on Simpson. “Help the staff with the bodies for now, Preston before you see to drawing up that list. We need to get this place cleaned up and ready to receive casualties. We can discuss steps to be taken later. Shelly! Stop shaking, woman, and grab two orderlies and a couple of gurneys and follow me. All of you leave the bodies to the response team and start cleaning those rooms.” He strode past Frazier who watched with a slight grin, making no comment that he had basically countermanded Simpson's instructions. The technician nodded briefly to him and continued to stand in the hallway guarding a door that might or not need guarding. His eyes moved constantly, alert but for now quiet and content to watch the activity taking place around him. Broadham returned the nod and strode after Simpson, hoping that Barker could get past the tech or take him down without too much fuss. He could barely contain himself from skipping down the hallway like an overly enthusiastic child. They had back up. Barker was in that cluster of men and the very appearance of the Emergency Response Unit had to give Simpson pause. The man could never be accused of being a fool after the initiative he had thus far displayed and he must know that the more people there were around to witness events taking place the more chance there was for the truth to be discovered. That would obviously not be to his best interests so he could expect Simpson to walk a careful line in the near future. At some point in time Simpson was going to make a tactical decision and take action against them, most probably about the time he discovered that Merquise was so close and practically helpless. Before that happened he was going to have managed contact with Barker and exchanged information and hopefully plans to end the situation. End it? No, nothing that simple if his suspicions were to be confirmed. It might be possible for a joint effort to take out Simpson and Frazier quietly but that, while progress with the over all situation, would not solve the problem of the maniacs running around killing his people. How many of what Giles had termed Sleepers were they dealing with? It was the hidden dangers that they had to fear the most. The greatest danger to face them once they took out Simpson and Frazier would be the death that smiled at them with the face of a friend. How did you tell friend from foe? Simpson and his men were easily enough discerned to be the enemy but the Sleeper agents? That was entirely another matter. A serious threat to the security of them all and short of sedating everyone but himself-he knew he could trust himself after all-how did he tell if he could trust any of the others? Even Barker might in truth be a Sleeper. //Oh, enough of that. Paranoia central. Fact, you idiot. Concentrate on facts. Don't speculate.// He grunted softly as he noted Simpson towering over his people at the door to the maintenance room while they were trying to work on the injured men. By his looming presence he was actually distracting them and they were not going to be exactly as efficient as they could be. The man was a menace and was even going to delay the treatment of his people by his very presence. //Fool. Just how efficient can they be with him blocking the doorway and looming like a hulking great grizzly waiting for the kill. It's true that while he is here he is safely away from Merquise and that means we have time but I have to do something about this. Those men need to be properly checked over and he is hampering efforts to do just that. // He studied the situation as he approached, determining what arguments would be most likely to move the man. // If I can keep the man occupied then Barker or Giles may even come up with a way to spirit his prey out of harm's way. Not that Barker knows that Merquise is in the treatment room. I hope one of the staff who knows about Merquise will think to tell him.// “Well?” He stepped around the Commander interposing himself between the agent and his staff and loomed over his male nurse himself, only too aware of the ESUN agent's glare boring holes in his back. “All vitals are steady. I think they may be sedated, Sir. I can't find a visible sign of a wound other that a bruise or two.” “The women were sedated too.” Simpson murmured, and when Broadham glanced at him he was quick to wipe the thoughtful frown from his face and replace it with a scowl. “We will get them into beds and be better able to give them a more thorough examination.” Simpson had given him the perfect means to move him out of the way so that his people could work. “While my people deal with them and get them settled into wards I think it might be a good idea for us to find your other people, Commander.” He was a little surprised but immensely relieved when Simpson responded with a sharp nod and a short chopped motion of one hand indicated the hallway ahead of them. A sound identifiable as being somewhere between a squeak and a mechanical screech announced the arrival of the first of the gurneys and orderlies and Broadham backed out of the maintenance room, taking Simpson with him. He watched for a moment as the gurney was positioned and the orderly hurried to join the male nurse in the room and then he led the way down the hallway. “Oil that damnable wheel, will you?” he glared at the nearest orderly and dismissed them from his attention, focusing on Simpson. “Now, Commander. I am hopeful, after finding those two men of yours, that the women have indeed escaped the murderer's attention. He can not have gotten far into the medical centre without some kind of alarm being raised that we would have heard. Even in the operating theatre we can hear alarm sirens and alert messages.” “One can hope.” //Ah, strong and silent type, eh? Let's see if we can get you talking and maybe tripping over your own excuses.// “Back there you suggested infiltration by Raiders.” Broadham glanced at the man. “Before that you suggested insurgents might be responsible. Possible rebels.” No flicker of expression betrayed him nor did he even glance at Broadham, he merely continued to stride along the hallway. “I am not certain of my facts, Mr Broadham and I deplore operating on pure assumption. If I have the cooperation of your emergency response team and any ex military people that you have on hand, then I can better run a survey of the base and ascertain the sequence of events that have transpired.” // Imminently plausible and of course, neutral. You are an impressive liar, Simpson. Quite impressive and if I was not already warned I might just fall for the whole fairytale.// “How is it that you are even here? I thought you were at the Alpha Dome today?” The man, to his credit, did not so much as blink at the question nor change his pace, instead he motioned to a door a few feet from their present position and continued to walk. “I was originally at the Alpha Dome, yes. I was in a meeting with Markos and Preventer Eagle when what is for now presumed to be Raiders were seen to attack the Base Dome. The communications systems were jammed and sabotage had rendered other means of contacting the base or coming to the aid of the base as useless. I took half of my team on foot, overland and climbed the cliff hoping to find a means to enter the dome and take out what opposition we could. From what I saw under the enviro dome I believe the raiders to have been rather efficient. From what I witnessed the elevator shaft would have been detonated as a means of sealing off the lower base granting them relative safety and privacy to take what they want from the dome. We managed to stop the destruction of the freight elevators but we have not as yet removed all of the explosive devices they had set. I would suggest that your people be advised to refrain from attempts to enter the upper base. Until we can run checks to ascertain what other little surprises have been left it would be best to keep your people down here.” //Shit. You have to admire the man's sheer gaul. It is so plausible it's frightening. He gives new definition to twisting the truth.// Simpson drew his automatic weapon as he reached for the doorknob and Broadham fell back into old habits, automatically setting himself behind and to one side of Simpson in standard formation. He even found himself reaching for a weapon he no longer carried and found Simpson watching him, an eyebrow arched and a faint smile that spoke of understanding tilting his lips. A faint nod which he returned and Simpson pushed the door open and threw himself through the doorway, gun raised and sweeping the room from side to side. Broadham counted to three and then propelled himself through the door, careful to come in to one side of Simpson. He had expected the man to make some sound, anything from a war cry to a shouted all clear but he had been silent and the surgeon was almost afraid to enter the room to find out why. Surely the killer had not penetrated this far into the centre? He had seen enough of blood stained hospital wards and massacred patients but apparently the killer or killers had not as yet tired of their bloody work. //Killers. More than the one. Oh, shit. Merquise took out one and this … .// “Shit.” Broadham breathed the expletive, staring about him with a sick roiling in his gut. What was he to say to the man? Simpson stared around the room, at the blood smeared walls, at the body parts strewn about the room. He had seen many men and women killed in his day, some of them taken down from ambush, some of them tortured but nothing, ever, like this. “They had been sedated.” he breathed. Broadham did not know whether or not to touch the man. Body parts. Butchered, literally. Sedated, these women had been a threat to no one and they had been unable to offer any resistance. The only thing he could think of was that at least they would not have known what was done to them. Throats cut. Disemboweled. “Why?” Simpson breathed, unable to look away. Broadham quietly left the room, leaving Simpson to stare at the scene and taking himself out to breathe deeply of somewhat fresher air. He was very much afraid that if he touched Simpson now the man would lose whatever control he possessed and lash out at the nearest convenient target. No sane person had performed these killings. It was sick. The killer was more than just mentally unstable. He was a lunatic, a homicidal maniac. Sick and twisted beyond any semblance of humanity. Whoever had done this work, not just the killings but the scrawling of what looked to be some type of arcane symbols on the walls and an inverted cross over each bloodied bed was a very sick individual indeed. Just how many people had died this day? How many men and women had fallen victim … “Jesus. The nursery.” he breathed. He had not once thought that the killer had gotten this far into the centre before he had been stopped by Merquise but what if he had been working not from the outer entrance and into the centre but from the inner rooms to the main base access? Or was the unthinkable true and there was more than one of the monsters stalking them? He spun and bolted back into the room, glaring around and reached to run a finger through a symbol scrawled on the nearest wall in blood. His hand came away wet, the blood fresh. “Simpson! The nursery! I need to check the nursery! I have newborns and mothers in there.” The blood that had emptied from the man's face with the first sight of what lay within the room now rushed back in a dark flood and his head snapped around to glare at Broadham. A hiss of pure rage escaped him and then he was moving, gun still drawn. Broadham had to give the man credit as he fairly erupted from the room and his face spoke clearly enough of what he would do when he found the killer. He had looked as though he was going to throw up, no mean indication of the impact the butchery had had on the hardened veteran but now there was no weakness, just rage and determination. Men like Simpson could understand the necessities of war and killing but what lay in that room …that was not war. That was not something he could accept. “Where?” a snarled demand. “Four doors down, on the right.” He was hard on the man's heels, determined to keep pace with him and preying that the killer had not entered the nursery. “Keep behind me and take this.” There was no hesitation in the Commander as he pounded down the hallway and tossed Broadham a spare automatic. “I'll go in first, you cover my back. Go in hard, I go in right, you go in on my heels and cover left but remain behind me.” The gun felt reassuring in his hand, an odd thing for him to feel considering he was a healer but he had once been a soldier and his body recalled his training and his hands knew the feel of the gun. He had survived the war, he had survived the day thus far and he was not going to fall now. Certainly not to a lunatic who took sick pleasure in killing those who were helpless. He was a healer, yes, but he was not a hypocrite. In a kill or be killed situation he was a killer.
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