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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 140 2nd March AC 198 Mars Colony Base Dome Medical Centre Time: 01: 38 [approx Sanc time 23:29] Barker //How the hell are we going to get past that bastard?// He was only too aware of the potential for disaster if either of the ESUN Agents noticed his presence in the midst of the group of men. If either man noticed him or if one of the other men present made a comment that gave away his identity then what could he do? He was here to protect the people, to keep them safe and he had no idea if the medical staff knew what was going on. //Thankfully Kurtz is handling himself well.// It was he and he alone who would tip off the ESUN agents to something being wrong with the group. He was the recognizable one, the known face in the crowd who should not have been in the dome at this time. Not Polnar and not Carter. Neither of the two men were Preventer agents and should just be anonymous members of the emergency response team. Their faces should not cause interest though he was a little concerned that Polnar may be more than he thought initially. There was something about that man that worried him and if he was right and Polnar worked for someone, for some agency outside of Preventers and not the ESUN Security Agency then he had to hope that the man’s face was not known to Simpson or Frazier. Polnar worried him though he was of the opinion that he was not a Sleeper. He had always been graced with a rather obscure ability that seemed to grant him an uncanny sense of when something was not quite right about a person and Christian Polnar set his alarms ringing. He could not deny that to date the man had been more help than hindrance and while he was wary of him he also had the impression that he could safely turn his back on the man and not expect a knife in the back. It was not his nature to casually turn his back on anyone and leave himself unguarded but Polnar struck him as efficient, trustworthy and certainly more than he had openly admitted to being. He was going to be keeping Polnar under observation but he was not such a fool that he would not use the man’s expertise where it was most needed. Such musings were all well and good but they did nothing to assist him in getting out of trouble now. The truth of the matter was that he was not ready to face the ESUN agents at this time. It was too sudden and the odds were all in favour of Blue Squad should it come down to a confrontation at this moment time. There was just too much distance between himself and the two men he needed to take down to give a good chance of taking them both out without anyone else being killed or at the least injured. //Frazier was stationed right where he can see everyone coming and going between the medical centre and the main base. Perfectly placed to watch everyone come through those doors. I need to know what the hell is happening in here. The staff seem unperturbed by their presence.// The surgeon Broadham had appeared and subtle body language led Barker to believe that he at least seemed well aware of the danger the ESUN commander represented. He found it interesting that the surgeon had quite pointedly placed himself to stand between the emergency response team and Commander Simpson and he found himself watching the surgeon above the agents. There were subtle signs, a quick glance here, subtle shift of his body that placed himself more firmly between Simpson and the team and an overall tension in the man’s body. The way Broadham deliberately took the attention of the ESUN commander on himself led Barker to suspect that he had been spotted by the surgeon. //Does Broadham know I’m here? That look … If Simpson had noticed me we’d all be dead men. Why are the medical staff still alive? Does he have need of them at this time? If so, why? What happened that he would hold off on the slaughter of everyone on the base?// His eyes flicked to the wall where a very obvious blood smear did more than suggest that the medical center had not been spared the massacre that bloodied the base. Clearly something bloody had occurred here and he needed to know what it was, how many were dead or injured and who it was who had done the killing. The blood was dried but looked relatively fresh and no one had as yet attempted to clean it away. He needed answers but he was going to have to get out of the hallway without Simpson and his crony being any the wiser to his presence. His eyes lingered on the open doorway just down from the blood smear and he measured the distance with careful attention. It was possible that he might be able to reach the doorway but he would need to do so in as unobtrusive a fashion as possible. It was far from safe for anyone in the group for him to remain standing here but to make a quick dash for the room would also draw unwanted attention and lead to discovery. //I wonder if I can slip into that room without Simpson realizing I’m here. If I can get in there quietly it would be to our advantage but I need to be able to get out again too. Getting in there would give us some breathing room and the opportunity to make some plans for dealing with the situation. I have to make it out of the medical centre and meet up with Merquise at our rendezvous. At least I can tell him that I know without doubt where they are. That will make it easier to plan how to take them out.// Mighty Joe Lee was standing to the left of him, shielding him from sight but also standing between himself and the room where his only escape from discovery might lie. He noted that the engineer was eyeing the door with open speculation and then their eyes clashed. Lee offered a small nod as his eyes flicked back to the doorway and then back to the Preventer agent, a clear indication that they shared the same thought and that he would have assistance in gaining what protection the room might offer. He spared a glance for the men grouped further down the hallway and resisted the urge to snarl. Frazier and Simpson stood a little apart but still close to Broadham and a group of medical staff who seemed totally at ease with the agents. It made his blood boil that they seemed to trust the men who had ordered their deaths. How could they be so ignorant? What was it that had happened in the centre? Clearly there had been blood shed but the doctor and his people seemed largely undisturbed by the agents in their midst. Broadham seemed to be the only one who was aware of the undercurrents of danger flowing freely in the place. Had they no idea of the source of their danger? Was Simpson playing some sick game of cat and mouse with them? The Commander did not have the look that Barker had come to associate with a man who favoured game playing. He did not strike Barker as being one who liked to toy with his kill before delivering the final blow but appearances could be deceptive and when Simpson had been given command of Blue Squad Barker knew without doubt that he had made a marked difference. Preventers kept a watchful eye on the elite units employed by various government bodies and private concerns such as the Winner Corporation. Attention was paid to the members and especially to the Commanders of the teams to provide a fair indication of the type of man or woman who was in charge of trained killing machines. Beyond a doubt those same persons kept as close an eye on Preventers in their turn and wished to know the caliber of people they might need to work with over the course of time … or go up against. It was one of the Preventers prime mandates to know who, be they a government agency or private individual, had what in the way of armed forces, how many soldiers or private security agents if they wished to term them in that aspect each group employed and the extent of their equipment and training. Preventers monitored every aspect of a unit once they became aware of the unit’s existence and there were more such units around than the common citizenry of the ESUN would be comfortable with if they knew. With the abundance of soldiers suddenly without employment certain people had acted quickly to gather those they considered to be the best for their individual needs. Blue Squad had been around for a very long time and in their long history they had always been watched by anyone with half a brain who did not wish to wake one morning with a knife to their throats. The unsavoury reputation of the squad had grown to the point where the powers that be decided they needed to tighten their hold on a squad that was very close to being out of control at a delicate political time. Hence the promotion of Simpson as their commanding officer. Personally he could not see that much would have changed despite the new commander at their helm though he was willing to be pleasantly surprised. Blue Squad had always been the one chosen for the dirtiest of dirty work their employers had needed attending to and they did their work well. He had no doubt that being employed by the ESUN Security Agency only meant that they would be a little more discreet than they had been on past occasions when employing their particular variety of solution to the problems they were given to resolve. His musings were disturbed when Mighty Joe nudged him and he moved with the shift of the men surrounding him. The move resulted in him being edged closer to that door as they shuffled around. He was aware of Carter on one side of him and a quick glance showed him to be eyeing that blood smear with a concern that mirrored his own. He flicked his attention back to the man gathered in the hallway to see that Broadham was speaking again but he was not concentrating on what he was being said though he noted that Polnar who was standing a little to the fore of him, looked to be more than interested. “Next shuffle we should be able to slip you into that room.” Carter breathed the whisper in his direction, shifting his attention to the men further down the hall and then back to Barker. “We need to get you in there and then find someone who can tell us what happened here.” “Agreed, but first thing’s first.” he inclined his head to Broadham. “I think the surgeon might be our best bet for information but how we are going to get to him is another matter.” Carter shrugged, a faint lifting of his shoulders. He was more concerned at this time with getting Barker out of the public eye. He caught the eye of the nurse who had screamed at their entrance and who now looked to be more than embarrassed by the attention. She had sidled away from the group but her retreat had halted at Broadham’s identification of them a fact that to Carter represented Broadham was not going to be their only source of knowledge. While the surgeon was undoubtedly going to be the most reliable the nurse must know something, else why would she scream her head off at their appearance? She was at this time looking from the surgeon further down the hallway to the cluster of orderlies and nurses gathered about the doorway to a room a little down the hallway and on the opposite side. He caught the small shake of her head and the almost imperceptible nod that seemed to set the other staff at ease. She obviously knew that she was in no danger from them but he could still see unease whenever she looked at the two men in combat fatigues. A quick glance at Barker confirmed that he too had noted the interaction between groups. “What happened in here?” Kurtz queried. Barker’s attention switched from the interplay between the staff back to the larger conversation happening between Kurtz, Broadham and Commander Simpson. The surgeon seemed to look particularly hard at the group as a whole and he could only hope that if Broadham had seen anything untoward about the group that Simpson had not noticed whatever it was that had alerted the surgeon. He really needed to escape that scrutiny at this time. “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. Have you any word from the dome? Any word from the control center on the emergency status?” // Well, that sort of enquiry was to be expected regardless of what has happened here. Sleeper, no doubt and I can only hope that Kurtz will watch his answer. I can’t afford for him to hint that he knows more. Not with Simpson standing there looking ready to start shooting. // Barker flicked his gaze to Kurtz waiting to see what he would offer in response. He swore to himself that he would shoot the man if he said anything that gave them away. “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.” //Yes, good. Leave a few of them here to clean up and if they can investigate what went down. Do I want to remain here and watch Simpson? Damn. Damn it all to hell. There is as much reason to stay and watch him as there is to get the hell out of here and find Merquise. I want to know exactly what has been going on in my absence and I need Wind to brief me. Should I take the chance on taking them out now? // “The dome is secure enough for now and I would concentrate my efforts down here if I was you.” Simpson sounded casual, almost lazy but he was not fooled by that. “All indications are that there may have been an infiltration team sent in by Raiders amid your personnel. 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.” Polnar literally growled low in his throat and Barker eyed him quizzically, mind racing over what was said that might draw such a reaction. Raiders, was it? Now that had potential to be considered. Polnar had looked interested in the events surrounding them and in the conversation going on but pretty much no emotion had betrayed him before that comment. Raiders. Or was it the Raiders comment that sparked the reaction? It might have been that briefing he objected to, not that Barker could blame him. If Simpson could gather all those men and women on the base who had combat experience together in one place it would be a perfect opportunity to wipe them out and leave the terra formers defenceless. Damn the man. Simpson was a coldly calculating bastard. The briefings he had had on the Blue Squad Commander suggested that it would be in character for him to leave no avenue unexplored to remove the greater opposition with the least amount of fuss. Still, what more would he have expected from an elite officer in charge of a dirty tricks squad? There was no doubt that Simpson was more than capable of thinking on his feet and taking advantage of any situation that might arise. Broadham, he noted, looked to be on the verge of exploding, face flushed and fists clenched and eyes narrowed. The surgeon appeared not to have noticed that Simpson had smartly spun on his heel and was striding down the hallway in the direction from which they had come. Barker had to resist the urge to pull his gun and shoot the Commander between his shoulders but he managed to resist the temptation only too aware that there was another armed man to be considered who would not hesitate to take him and others down. “Mr Broadham, I need a couple of gurneys down here!” The order was tossed over Simpson’s shoulder as he strode away and there was the faintest hint of satisfaction in the man’s tone. //No love lost between those two, I think. // Barker watched the man’s retreating back and sighed, squashing the last of the itchy trigger finger syndrome that still urged him to take out at least a half of the opposition before him. //It would be so easy to shoot the prick but I have to think of the others here. Frazier could take out most of these people unless I could be certain that Carter or Polnar had him in their sights as I took down Simpson. No. No, it’s better to wait. Broadham … now what is that smile for? You’re happy he’s headed … yes. Yes, you know everyone in the emergency response team, don’t you? You would know the team and you would know that Carter and Polnar at least are not a part of the unit. Did you notice me?// Broadham turned back from glaring after the Commander, seeming to ignore Frazier who watched with a small amused smirk curving his lips. The surgeon looked to be more relaxed than he had been only seconds before and he looked as though he was satisfied about something. A quick glance at the uniformed figure beside him and he turned his attention to the emergency team, seeming to dismiss the tech. “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 had to stop himself from openly expressing his satisfaction. //Yes! With that instruction given Frazier will think nothing of us moving around here freely. We will be doing exactly what he will expect us to be doing but I will still need to think of something to keep my face out of his sight. Very good, Broadham. Very good indeed. I even have the perfect excuse to get my ass into that room and out of sight. // The surgeon glanced at Frazier and acknowledged Frazier’s nod with a brief dip of his own head as he stepped away and proceeded to follow Simpson down the hall. The tech glanced at the staff by the door who were stirring in response to Broadham’s instructions and he looked relaxed and not in the least disturbed by the countermanding of his commander’s orders. That Barker found interesting but he felt Carter’s light touch on his arm and caught Mighty Joe’s eye. Speculation could wait. As one they shuffled sideways and he was through the door and safely out of sight. “Christ!” Carter hissed a soft breath as he stared around the ward in disbelief. Barker sucked in a horrified breath himself as he turned slowly, studying the room and trying not to allow a suddenly rebellious stomach to win the fight for possession over his last meal. The stench of blood filled the room and he wondered why he had not been able to smell it from the hallway. It was everywhere. Blood soaking the bedding a deep crimson and covering the walls and floor in streaks, splashes and very deliberate, precise markings that had to be made by a very sick individual indeed. Kurtz appeared in the doorway unceremoniously shoving Polnar into the room as he did so and both men stared at the evidence of carnage. Someone had made an attempt to strip the bed but the mattress still lay over the bed frame and it was soaked in blood. The bedding was thrown on the floor in a bloody pile and Kurtz blanched fighting his own brief battle with his last meal before he shot back out of the room and Barker winced at his bellow. “Someone get the fuck in here and explain to me what is going on! Now!” //Well, that should get someone in here hopefully with some needed information. God. This is sick.// Kurtz reappeared in the doorway, looming large as he glared around the room. Polnar also was looking around the room and Barker had to wonder if one or both men might not be looking for another exit. If they were they were going to be disappointed. He had already completed a survey of the room and found no door other than the one through which they had entered. They had succeeded in getting in the room, away from prying eyes and ears and escaped immediate disaster should he be recognized but they were also trapped by that very safety. “If we are supposed to be body hunting then we can not remain in here for long.” Kurtz commented. “Obviously the body that was here has been removed. So … Any ideas?” Barker glanced at the man and resisted the urge to sigh. Did he have any ideas on where they were to go from here? Not really, but that was not going to help so he needed to come up with a plan of action quickly. They did have a time limit to consider and he was not of a mind to stay in this room any longer than he had to. Again he surveyed the ward taking care to notice every item in the room, no matter how small and insignificant it seemed. The Preventer in him catalogued each blood smear, every symbol etched in blood onto the walls, every pool of blood on the floor and the hodgepodge of footprints that had crossed those blood stains. Somewhere in the back of his mind there was a fleeting thought of forensics and cataloguing evidence but he squashed that down. He could see nothing that was going to be of use to him in the present situation. There were no doors and of course no windows that might be of use to get them out of the room. They were trapped and they would have to leave in minutes or arouse suspicion. “Mr Kurtz? I can fill you in as well as anyone else would be able to, but we need to be quick. I have a great deal of work to do.” The owner of the voice pushed past Kurtz where his frame blocked the doorway. On entering the room he spared a quick glance behind him, into the hallway and then stepped away from Kurtz and brought his attention to Barker, ignoring the other men in the room other than to offer a brief nod of recognition. His voice dropped to a whisper. “You don’t need to worry too much about that one in the hallway. He won’t be leaving his post unless something major distracts him. Simpson is suss about the emergency treatment room and he wants it watched. Nothing we have done in clearing the rooms of bodies has caused him to do more than lift an eyebrow.” Kurtz considered the man for a moment then stepped to one side and positioned himself so that he had a reasonable view of the hallway from where he stood. It was an action that Barker wholeheartedly approved of. If Frazier headed their way he wanted as much warning as possible. These people were civilians and he would not leave his people exposed. “They think I’m an orderly.” the man grinned. “Dr Patrick Knowles, Commander Barker. It’s a relief to see you here.” //Doctor? Well, that is suggestive that Broadham does not want them to know just who he has on his staff. I might be able to make use of that. // There was little time for the social niceties to be observed considering the situation and Knowles acknowledged his brief nod as the only greeting he was likely to get. “What has been happening?” “We need answers … or confirmation of the information we have been given. We were in surgery working on Jenny Santos after the shooting. The damage was far more extensive than we at first assumed and it has taken us the bulk of the day and evening to get her stabilized. Because of that I can’t tell you exactly what has been going on. As I said we are hoping that you can shed some light on the situation and confirm what we have been told. For the moment we are doing what we can to keep those men away from the emergency treatment room.” He flicked a hand in the general direction of the hallway where Frazier stood sentinel. “If what we have been told by Giles is accurate then I don’t think you would want Commander Simpson learning that Merquise is in that room.” Polnar spun from where he had been examining the room with all of the intensity of a trained investigator, a fact that had not gone unnoticed by Barker. That precision and attention to detail was just another anomaly about the man he needed to consider. As was the reaction he displayed to the news that Merquise was so close. Barker considered the man and after a moment eased his weight from one leg to the other in a casual shift, inclining his body so that he granted himself a more comfortable position in which to watch both men. Polnar seemed more than attentive, much more so than Carter who had glanced briefly at the doctor and then gone back to surveying the room and keeping Mighty Joe from stepping into the bloodied bedding piled on the floor. “Merquise is in the medical centre? Why?” Barker needed answers and if Wind was that close to him then he wanted to get to him and be briefed as quickly as possible. Now it was imperative that he come up with a solution for dealing quietly with Frazier. “As far as I know he’s resting comfortably. He was still unconscious when I was last in the room and at this time I dare not permit any of us to go near that room. The risks while they are around are too great and I doubt we would be permitted to get within two meters of the guard anyway. They have no idea what is in there and I don’t know what tipped them off that there is something in there that might be of interest. Mr Broadham managed to distract Simpson but how long that will last …” he shrugged. // Damn. Not as much information as I had hoped for.// “He’s hurt? Seriously?” //Unconscious. Not good. That could be bad for any plan of action we devise and I need the information he has to deal with this situation. If he can’t help us or even help himself then that changes a great deal. Maybe I should have tried to take out Simpson when I had the chance. // “He is injured but nothing serious. I believe that he is chiefly suffering from exhaustion. I’m not sure what the man has been doing but with the injuries he is carrying he’s in no fit condition to take on Simpson and his subordinate.” Knowles glanced behind him at the door and noticed Kurtz standing to one side and that he was in a position to afford him a relatively good view of the hallway. The engineer signalled that the hall was clear and the doctor could not restrain the small sigh of relief but he made no apology for his reaction. He would be very glad when these men were out of his medical centre and the danger had passed. “In brief what happened is this. Merquise and his partner turned up in time to run into the asshole who was killing off the patients and staff in this section. Something, I don’t know exactly what it was, happened when they took out the bastard and Merquise was knocked out. I don’t believe that he’s seriously hurt but I do doubt that he’s going to be of much help until he has the chance to rest. He was taken to the treatment room down the hall from here and made comfortable while we started with the cleanup. That is when those two turned up. From what was said while Merquise was receiving treatment Mr. Broadham decided to be cautious about trusting anyone, especially those two men. He is trying to keep them busy and away from investigating the treatment room and no doubt hoping that we can come up with a way to get them out of here. Or get the two trapped in that room past the guard Simpson put on the door.” //You’ve got guts, Broadham. It’s a dangerous game your playing.// The surgeon was placing his life at risk to distract the Commander of Blue Squad. None of the squad had a reputation for patience and if Broadham ran out of excuses to keep Simpson busy elsewhere then the surgeon was likely to be a dead man very quickly. Barker scowled, wondering if he should not take off after the surgeon and take out Simpson as quickly as possible. //If Wind is out of the equation I will have to do what I can and act blind. Damn. I did not need for Zechs to go down.// “You said Giles.” Polnar used Barker’s silence to his advantage to break into the conversation. “Would that be Haydon Giles?” The doctor glanced at him and nodded. “I think that was his name. He was with Merquise when they came into the centre and to my knowledge he is still with him in the treatment room. How he managed it I don’t know but he handled Merquise when none of us could. That man is a weapon even when he’s out on his feet but he responded to Giles in a positive fashion. If he had not we would have had a bigger injury list than we have.” //Giles? Don’t recall the name but I think its time I got some answers out of you.// Barker fixed Polnar with a piercing glare that clearly enough indicated that he was wanting answers and that he wanted them now. He was no longer going to allow things to ride with the man and in the volatile situation he now found himself in he could no longer afford to wait. “Who is this Giles?” “Haydon Giles is my partner. I can believe that he was well able to handle Merquise if the situation warranted it. He’s ex special services himself. He is capable.” Barker’s eyes narrowed dangerously and he considered the man and the implications of his statement in the broader light of the knowledge he held but Knowles moved, stepping back toward the door and drew his attention. He turned the force of his glare on the physician who lifted his hands before him as though to shield against the Preventer’s temper. “Look, I have to move or he may become suspicious about the time this is taking. There are bodies in the next three rooms-the two rooms on the opposite side of the hallway and the next room on this side. If you figure out a means to get from room to room without setting him off then that might help you get closer to him. The treatment room is the next room along on this side after that. It has only the one exit though there is an internal supply room. I hope that helps.” // Well, he’s told me what I need to know and he must be anxious to get back to his people. I certainly can’t use him at this time and I don’t want to alert Frazier to something going on in here.// Barker inclined his head toward the door. “Thanks for the briefing. Continue with the work you were assigned to do and do your best to keep everyone away from that room. Leave the rest to us and keep yourselves as low profile as possible.” Knowles nodded briefly in farewell and hastily bundling up a bloody sheet he left the ward. The silence in the room was oppressive as Kurtz watched Knowles until he reached the opposite room. Before entering the room the doctor paused to watch as a nurse and two orderlies began wheeling gurneys up the hallway. A quick glance at the man in the doorway confirmed that Kurtz had noted the action and he ducked into the room. With a brief nod to Barker signalling that the way was clear Kurtz turned into the room to watch as Barker turned to Polnar with a speculative gleam in his eyes and a tension that told everyone that there might be trouble. “So. I think it’s past time for answers, don’t you? Would you care to explain just who it is that you work for and what your interest is in Merquise?” t.b.c.
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