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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 172 Mars Colony Base Dome 2nd March AC 198 Time: 03:50 [approx Sanc time 01:40] Polnar “… need to have the twins brought here so we can keep them adequately guarded.” Intense, chilling blue eyes. //I always thought Raydon had a baleful stare but I think he could improve with lessons from this one. // Merquise could chill the blood in your veins if he lifted the intensity of that glare just a little. The aura the man generated was one of barely retrained threat and he was not the only one to feel it, though at the moment the full force of Merquise’s animosity was focused on him. He had been aware of Barker’s attention returning time and again to focus on him and what he sensed from the man suggested speculation. Up to this point Barker had said nothing to him as he stood beside the bed and watched the proceedings with careful attention though his eyes flickered constantly between his partner and Merquise. Through the aftermath of the confrontation Barker had watched and supervised and stood back when appropriate as the injured technician was treated. When the tech had finally been deemed stable enough to be removed to surgery and Simpson was tucked safely away he had felt the Preventer’s attention shift to pay more attention to their quiet conversation. At this time the room was occupied by himself, Giles and Merquise, with Barker and an orderly who was engaged in cleaning up the copious amounts of blood the tech had bled all over the floor. The sheer volume of blood led him to wonder if the tech had any chance of surviving the surgery to come. He knew liquid could be deceiving as to exactly how much was spilled onto a horizontal surface once it spread but he suspected the tech had indeed bled substantially. Blood seemed to be everywhere and it did not help someone had walked through it and tracked bloody prints all over the floor. He had seen far too much blood this day to make it easy to ignore the sight. Polnar was not certain he wanted to know the thoughts flitting through the Preventer’s mind. The flicker of the man’s eyes between himself and Giles suggested Barker was speculating and those thoughts did not necessarily bode well for either he or his partner. He would be a fool not to suspect the Preventer agent had done his own thinking on who they might be working for. He and Giles were treading a fine line and thus far he had not had the opportunity to brief Giles on the course of his day. If it looked as though the man wanted to bring things to a head then Polnar knew he might need to resort to Giles and to his Gift to garner them some breathing space. Making such use of his partner’s Gift was not an option he wished to pursue at this stage as Giles was a resource he might well need at a later time and in a far more serious situation. He needed to preserve that resource for a situation where there was no other viable option. He needed to give some thought to working on his ‘gift of the gab’. At one stage during his childhood his mother had complained about how he could talk the hind legs off a donkey. Age and experience had lessened his tendency to run away at the mouth but he suspected a glib tongue when dealing with Barker might be an asset. He needed to rethink his mother’s ‘silence is a blessing’ rule. His attention shifted back to the two men on the bed, his partner and the man he was supposed to bodyguard. Gaining details of the confrontation that had taken place in the room seemed to be particularly difficult as both men seemed to prefer to hunch over their hurts and ignore the world around them. It was a view that was very unlike Giles in his opinion. When questioned on the details of the sedative used to bring Simpson down both Giles and Merquise had offered little information beyond insisting it would be hours before the Blue Squad commander would be active. Despite the assurance Polnar found himself as reluctant as Barker proved to be to take any chances with handling the man. He had silently but wholeheartedly approved the appointment of a guard being placed on the Commander though he was more than doubtful of the abilities of the orderly currently filling that position. He doubted the man would be able to do more than squeak as Simpson took him down if he woke early. That was, of course, if Simpson gave the orderly the time to get the squeak out. //I’m a pessimistic bastard.// While Barker had concerned himself with sorting out the mess and restraining Simpson he had taken the opportunity to greet his partner. Giles had barely nodded and offered an introduction to Merquise then lapsed into silence, nursing his ribs. Left to carry the weight of the conversation, Polnar had tried out a few pleasantries which, given the situation, had Merquise looking at him as though he had grown a second head. A period of silence had seemed not to bother either of the men and he had, in the end, made what to him was an eminently suitable suggestion given the circumstances. With the bulk of the clean up complete and Frazier taken care of he had settled to more serious concerns and suggested to Merquise they locate and move his children into the Medical Center. Through it all Giles had been largely silent and it was obvious he was hurting and not inclined to bother the medical staff while they were occupied with Frazier. On hearing his suggestion concerning the children Giles had winced and Polnar had found out why when he was pinned by those icy blue eyes and the simple refusal it implied, followed by stubborn silence. He was becoming more than a little frustrated with Merquise and his objections to what was, to him, the most obvious course of action to be taken. He had stated the simple logistics of the situation and the actions required to meet the circumstances they found themselves in. For his trouble he met only the cold blue glare. It made sense to locate the children Blue Squad had been hunting and bring them to the safety of the Medical Center where they could be guarded against the lunatics killing off the base personnel. It was eminently sensible and logical and his every effort to stress the simplicity had been met with silence. He supposed he should expect that silence from Merquise but Giles’ silence was, in its way, even more disturbing. Giles was his partner and knew how he worked and trusted him to formulate the best strategy given their situation. Zechs Merquise refusal to see sense was a matter that frankly confused him. Merquise had been a Specials Officer. He had not been a part of the common Oz forces employed by the Alliance to perform their dirty deeds but a part of the elite group referred to commonly as the Oz Specials. His reputation was not that of a fool or a particularly obstinate man who was unwilling to take action orchestrated by others if the planning was sound. Merquise was no stranger to formulating sound strategic advantage himself but for some reason he refused to give up the location of his children. Whether he had a valid reason for that refusal or he was engaged in simple bloody-mindedness Chris was not to know. Polnar had gone over his strategy repeatedly in the last few minutes, checking to see if he had missed something that would cause Merquise to baulk. Strategically, it was only sensible to gather as many of the base strays who survived to this point together in one place. Finding a location they could adequately protect from the hunters was not merely an option. In this situation it was a necessity. The base survivors needed security and while they were all tough individuals they were not soldiers used to bloodshed. They were in need of security and the youngsters, like the twins, needed the protection of people around them. While Merquise and his children were his prime responsibility he felt a need to protect as many people as possible and he was not of a mind to ignore anyone’s safety now he had found the Prince of Sanc. Stubborn resistance from Merquise was placing needless delays on the rescue mission. With his reputation as a Commander from the war he would have thought Merquise would be the first to recognize their needs and be willing to act. “No. We leave them where they are for the moment.” Merquise’s voice was husky and firm, with no hint of compromise and those blue eyes glared at him from the bed and that dishevelled mass of silver white hair. //God. The man is being such an ass about this. What is wrong with him? He was a commander of men and a strategist, not a spoiled ballerina. We have only so many competent hands to sort this mess out and if he thinks those kids will be safe until he is capable of going after them himself…// He ran a hand through his hair, trying to maintain control of his exasperation. //It’s obvious he’s not capable of getting out of this bed for hours if not days. How the hell has Giles dealt with him all this time if he has been this obstinate? I should be out there getting those kids to safety, not arguing with the spoiled brat who fathered them. The top brass were always denouncing the Specials as arrogant noble-born brats. I guess they may have been right. // To give himself the time to swallow the urge to snarl back at the obstinate fool Polnar glowered at the orderly who looked as though he would puke any minute. The man was decidedly unhappy about being here and Polnar could sympathise with him. He was not too happy about being here either. There were things he could be doing and he forced himself to remember his own Commander’s face. He was on Mars at Raydon’s behest and the man had told him in plain language not to underestimate Merquise and to be assured the man had a reason for ever action he took. Raydon had warned him too few people could understand the Prince of Sanc and so dismissed him, and in the same breath had motioned to the far distant Earth. “They underestimated both Milliardo Peacecraft and Treize Kushrenada. Those two together were capable of setting the stage to change the course of civilization’s future. You never ever underestimate men capable of orchestrating such events, so do not make the mistake of dismissing any concerns Merquise might express.” He did not profess to understand what had happened during the course of the war and he was smart enough to understand he did not know enough of the details to accurately or fairly judge the actions of others. What he did know was that Raydon was hard to impress and he was, without doubt, impressed by Merquise. His instructions were to keep the irritating blonde safe and Polnar trusted his Commander enough to do just that. A quick glance around the room showed Barker standing just out of the mess of blood steadily disappearing under the sweep of the mop. Giles still sat hunched over his own ribs at the side of the bed looking as though he wished he was elsewhere and rubbing at the bridge of his nose. It was the gesture Polnar recognized as one Giles used when he was at the end of his endurance. His entire attitude suggested to his partner he would prefer to curl up in a corner and ignore the world. It was something he had rarely seen but always when Giles had extensively used his talent. //Is that how he has controlled Merquise to this point? By continuously using his Gift?// “I’m doubtful that is the wisest course to take considering the situation at the moment. We have no way of knowing if they are safe, Mr. Merquise. Be reasonable about this. ” If he had thought Merquise was a touch frosty before he was positively glacial now. There seemed to be a marked temperature drop in the room. If he could have he would have taken back the comment but he was never one to wish himself into a box and the world to go away. He was not earning Brownie points from Merquise, but he was not trying to either and this entire attitude of the Prince was ridiculous. They had too much to do and could not afford to sit here and pander to his needs. “I am being reasonable. Where they are at present is safe and they will remain there. Moving them could expose them to unnecessary risk of discovery.” From the corner of his eye he marked the orderly looking about him and edging toward the door. Not that he could blame the man, there was definitely the promise of violence in the air. “You don’t know that, Zechs. It could be just as dangerous where they are now and at least here we can offer them security.” Giles stirred, lifting his head and meeting the frigid glare of the blonde unflinchingly. Polnar almost physically stepped back to give the man room but caught himself before he had moved appreciably. He had noticed the minute wiggle of slender fingers directed at him, the coded request he step back from the argument for the moment. A series of coded movements and words had been formulated for use between gifted agents and those more normal agents who worked with them designed to keep the knowledge of psychic abilities a secret. Though that wiggle of the fingers might be noticed by others, no one other than an agent versed in the Gifted of the Stations would understand exactly what it implied. Giles wanted to handle this and he was only too willing to have that chilling glare focused elsewhere for a time. //Well, I’m more that willing to allow someone else to take the chill. Yep, there goes the glare, full arctic blast that it is and not so much as a flinch from Haydon. I suppose he’s been subjected to it for so long spending as much of the day with Merquise as he has that he is used to it. Cold, so very cold. I wonder just what they had to deal with under the dome and how much of the slaughter up there they witnessed. I saw enough of the upper dome to last me a long while and they have to have been running around in the thick of it for hours.// He flicked a glance toward the door in time to note the orderly’s departure and absently scanned the room, noticing the clean floor. Not a trace of the tech’s blood remained to remind them of the incident. He did not think himself wrong in supposing his partner and Merquise had devised a means to handle the situation without causing serious physical harm to either of the ESUN agents. Sometimes, despite the best of plans, things went wrong. //Lucky bastard. I wish I could take a walk out that door about now. Anywhere would seem warmer than in this room. Come on Haydon, we need to get on with this. We can’t afford to waste any more time.// Barker stirred, looking from the closing door to the bed and if the situation had not been so serious Polnar might have chuckled. It was good he was not the only one aware of the chill emanating from the blonde. Barker looked to want to be as far from here as he did. The only one who looked to be in the least bit comfortable in Merquise’s powerful presence was Haydon Giles. He seemed undisturbed by the man and continued to nurse his ribs, ignoring the chilling glare as Barker took his life in his hands. He moved to stand at the foot of the bed and his fingers curled around the foot rail supporting his weight as he leaned forward slightly. “The mothers in the nursery ward can care for the …” Merquise’s attention shifted. //Wow! I thought I’d been given some dirty looks! Man, if looks could kill Barker would be pushing up daisies now. Speared through the heart by an icicle.// Barker faltered under the glare, his mouth snapping shut in automatic reaction. Polnar supposed Merquise had perfected the look during his days in the Specials and wondered if it would have an effect on Raydon. It would be one hell of a courtship if the man was this temperamental. //I presume he would have needed something that powerful to keep the lower ranks in line. Considering his age and his rank during the war he would have needed something to keep the older men in their appropriate places. That look would surely do it and certainly would not earn him any friends.// “Okay … maybe not.” Barker twitched as though he was about to take a step back and caught himself at the last possible second. //This is getting a little past a joke. What the fuck does Raydon see in him? It’s not like Raydon to see the face and not the man behind it. Merquise is supposed to be a goddamned professional and he’s acting like a spoiled child. He’s nothing like the man I expected who terrified an entire species into thinking about their mortality.// Barker rubbed at the bridge of his nose and seemed to draw a steadying breath before meeting those frosty orbs. The Preventer was as tired as the rest of them and not one to beat around the bush. “Look, Zechs, it would be safer for the twins to be in with a group of people. There would be less chance of them being vulnerable to an isolated agent and it’s not just your kids we need to protect. There are others here too, newborns who have to have select care. Putting all of the babies in one place, under guard, is the safest option we have right now. Protecting the children would be easier to do if they were together in one place.” //All hail the voice of reason and a professional and somewhat chilly delivery. Nice try, Barker but you’ll have to do better than that to outchill the Ice Prince. Damn bloody fool. I’d like to see how well Raydon would deal with him. I think he’s pigheaded enough to even have the boss man pulling out his hair.// Stony silence accompanied by a frosty glare. Nothing new there but time was marching on and they had to sort out the mess. Giles seemed to be deflating, his attempt to step into the conversation having gone down into flaming ruin when Barker had entered the argument. //Well, if we can’t appeal to the Specials Officer let’s see if we can’t appeal to the parent.// He half expected the man to snarl his head off if not reach out and snap his neck for his trouble but Giles looked to be hunching in on himself again. He needed to have a medic check out his partner who still had not received attention following the confrontation. The man was pale and in obvious pain and looked to be on the verge of tears, a look he had never seen on his partner’s face before. “At least allow us to bring the children to this ward. You’d no doubt feel better if they were where you could see them and we could arrange satisfactory security.” He could be imminently sensible and he hoped Merquise would recognise and take the compromise. “They are safe where they are.” Merquise was clearly not going to give much ground. And his voice almost sounded like the warning growl of a big cat. They were clearly pushing him into ground he had no intention of crossing. “You can’t know that and in this situation there is safety in numbers. It’s only sensible to gather as many as possible and protect a smaller area.” Polnar found it increasingly difficult to resist the urge to reach out and tug at that cascade of white blonde silk and force the man to see reason. He waved a hand in the general direction of the accommodation blocks instead, suspecting if he had the audacity to touch let alone tug that flowing hair he would find himself clawed to bits in the blink of an eye. “It is possible there are people dying out there in their rooms while we argue the point. Any remaining Sleepers could be getting closer to your children as we speak; may have already found them. We need to ascertain their safety and keep them secure.” There, perfectly reasonable and logical and only the honest truth. Any parent would be certain to rise to the occasion and ensure the security of their children in the shortest possible time. It appeared Merquise was not any parent. “They are safe where they are.” Merquise grated the words past clenched perfect whiter than white teeth and speared Polnar with a look that raised his hackles and threatened to turn his bowels to water. “If they are moved they could become targets before they reach the medical center.” //Okay, I know when to shut up.// “We need to make a move. It’s unlikely the Sleepers would target a moving group and I will not be sending out retrieval teams in ones and twos.” Barker moved around the bed, drawing Zechs’s attention and stopping beside Polnar. “I will be sending out the Emergency Response team, less the computer techs, plus a couple of medics and Carter.” The Preventer ignored the glare and turned his attention from Zechs who despite the glare seemed to be considering Barker’s plan. Polnar thought he might even have detected a glint of approval in Merquise eye before he realised Barker was looking at him with a definite question in his eyes. The Preventer appeared to have been considering a course of action before he had entered the conversation and not merely admiring the sweep of the mop across the floor. “Are you willing to go?” //Ah, so that’s it. You are wondering where I stand now I have found Merquise given you know I am here to bodyguard him. You are wondering how far I am willing to follow your instructions considering I’m not under your command. I’ll have to somehow manage a few minutes alone with Haydon to make certain we get our stories straight. I think Barker will be too busy to question him for the moment though and I need to know how much, if anything, Merquise knows of our presence here.// “I’m willing to go with the team to find and bring the twins to safety.” He noted Giles watching him and was uncertain as to the exact emotion he saw flicker in the man’s eyes. Haydon Giles had always been a quiet man and inclined to prefer to stand back and consider carefully the pros and cons of a situation before taking action. Together they made a reasonable team and Raydon certainly had been pleased with their performance on those few instances they had been brought together during their training. Since he had been dispatched to Mars to partner Giles he had had no difficulty working with the man in the field. He hoped Giles could come up with an idea on how to gain the cooperation of Merquise, who had resorted to glowering at him again. Beside him Barker shifted, drawing Merquise’s attention back to him and for that he was thankful. They were all exhausted and far from their best but they needed to get on with each other and cooperate. If he and Barker could not make Merquise see reason his last hope was Giles, who seemed none too interested in taking up that position. “I am supposed to guard His Highness from any threat but as I see it that instruction would include ensuring the safety of his children. My employer was quite specific in his instructions concerning the family. His Highness has been safe enough with Giles to this point and I think him capable of keeping the prince secure until I get back.” The guttural growl from Merquise at the reminder of his title by birth was ignored by Giles and Barker and he forced himself not to flinch. It appeared Milliardo Peacecraft was somewhat sensitive to reminders of his past but the man had to see reason. If he was reminded of his birth he might wake from his delusions and get his arse into gear, something that could not happen speedily enough to suit Polnar. They were all in this mess because Milliardo Peacecraft was on the colony and the sooner he acknowledged the fact and knuckled down to reality the better. //Maybe it will wake him up, being reminded of who he is. He has to see reason and pandering to him is wasting time. I don’t understand why he is being such a shit about what are the undeniable necessities of the situation.// He watched as Giles moved, pressing a hand to his ribs and grimaced. He could not mistake the flash of pain in hazel eyes or underlying the tone of his voice as he raised his head, capturing Zechs’s attention with that simple movement. Merquise seemed well enough aware of his presence to respond to Giles before he had even spoken. “Zechs. If we need to move everyone out quickly we can’t risk delaying to find the twins. Noin will be settled in the ICU in a contained critical care unit soon.” //Noin. Damn, I need to remember her too.// “The doc and some orderlies have already headed out to the shuttle to bring her in.” //They have been living together for quite a while. How badly she might be injured might help me handle him.// “If we have to move out of here that unit can be made portable in minutes but having to run around the base looking for the twins could endanger not only the children but everyone else as well.” //A critical care unit does not bode well for her or for getting him away from the base. He may not be inclined to leave her and I sure as hell can’t take her with us. // “We have no other choice at the moment. We need to consolidate our position and prepare for any eventuality. It’s only good sense. You can trust Chris to bring the twins to you safely. He won’t allow any harm to come to them.” There was something besides ice glinting in blue eyes focused now on his partner to the exclusion of everyone else in the room. He had the distinct impression Zechs had forgotten he and Barker existed. “I don’t know him, Giles. I don’t know him any more than I knew you.” He almost missed the soft words spoken in that husky rasping voice. Almost missed the quiet emphasis placed on the word ‘know’. * “I don’t know him, Giles.” * //What?// Barker appeared to have overheard the comment as well and was looking at him as though he expected him to know what it was the two men exchanged in the rather cryptic comment. Completely at a loss himself he could only shrug, no more capable of understanding than the Preventer. His attention shifted as Giles moved, flicking back to watch in amazement as his partner, clearly in a great deal of discomfort, reached out to cup the Princes face in his hands and lock his hazel eyes with blue. The arctic glare was gone now, replace by something he found almost impossible to believe. If he did not know how impossible it was he could almost describe that look as ‘lost little boy’. “I know you don’t know him, Zechs, but I do. I know him. I trust him with my life and it’s not just me that trusts him. Raydon trusted him to come here and keep you safe and you know how good a judge of character Raydon is. Trust me and trust Raydon. Tell Chris where the twins are and allow him to bring the children here and I know you won’t be disappointed you trusted him. Hey, us random elements have our uses, don’t we? That’s been proven.” All he could do was suck in a deeper breath and not dare to move. He knew the intensity in those hazel eyes and the stillness that came over his partner. He was the only one on Mars who would recognize what was happening and he dared not so much as twitch for fear Barker might suspect something odd was occuring. He might even disturb the moment of rapport with Merquise and disrupt the link and that he dared not do. Haydon did not often use his Gift but the intensity of his look, the set of his shoulders and the quiet tone of voice Polnar had witnessed before. While he had not forgotten he had Giles’s gift to draw on he would not have chosen this time to use it. That was Giles’ choice though and if he could make Merquise see reason Polnar was not about to complain. “They are all I have left, Giles.” There was something about that whisper, a vulnerability after the arctic chill and force of his temper that was all the more shocking to behold. Polnar did not dare move though Barker was watching with narrowed eyes and undoubtedly sensed something was happening. There was no way the man could suspect what exactly was occurring and he probably would not believe it if they told him of the Gifted. “I know. I know what they mean to you, Zechs and Chris will keep them safe. Trust him.” Giles thumbs shifted to sweep a light caress across cheeks that looked flushed. A fine film of perspiration beaded Merquise’s brow and there was a faint but noticeable tremble in the long fingers which slowly clenched into fists resting against the sheets. “Trust me.” Accompanying the almost whisper and a repeated smoothing of thumbs over high cheekbones, a reassuring movement, pale lashes dropped to cover anguished blue eyes. The tension and temper bled slowly out of Merquise as they watched and Polnar was left watching the two with his certainty of what was taking place shaken. What had happened was far different to all other instances when he had witnessed Giles work. Something he could not place his finger on was telling him this was different and he wanted more than ever to have the chance to speak with his partner in private. //I’m not sure what’s going on. Did Giles use his gift or not? He must have to bring about this change in Merquise but it looked different. Off somehow. // “Alright. I trust you and that means I have to trust him but so help me, Giles, if anything happens to my children you can expect …” His partner was smiling and it was a soft smile with no hint of rebuke for the implied threat he had silenced. Giles did not display any concern for his safety and he was sitting in the danger zone, right within the killing circle should Merquise choose to strike. The Lightning Count had looked so unstable moments ago and now he opened intense blue eyes full of sanity and the promise he made was no idle threat. “Shh, I know. It’s okay.” //Okay, he’s still antsy but nowhere near as bad as he was. That’s a relief. I don’t think either of them really registers Barker or I are in the room. Damn, that was weird. What the hell is going on?// “Chris will keep them safe and bring them to you. All you have to do is tell him where they are so he can bring them. With us all together we can give these people the best protection we can.” Their eyes held for long seconds, the promise of retribution in Merquise’s was unmistakable and the assurance in his partner’s that all would be as he promised. Barker was statue still beside him and Polnar could only wonder what the Preventer was making of this confrontation. He certainly did not understand it and he knew about the Gifted and in particular Giles’ Gift of persuasion. Barker knew nothing of the Gifted of the Stations and must surely think everyone insane. //It is no weirder than any of the other shit that has gone down today, I suppose. // “You can assemble the emergency response team, Preventer Eagle. Zechs will want his kids brought in as quickly as possible.” Giles released Merquise who suddenly looked drained, not merely tired but somehow drained of vitality. He shifted a little in the bed, easing obviously painful wounds and rested back against the pillows, making no effort to hide the pain or his exhaustion. That sign of weakness was worrying enough and Barker looked far from happy with it. “Wind?” The Preventer Agent looked more than a little concerned. He no doubt knew the reputation of the man just as well if not better than Polnar did. After hearing the stories of the man they called the Lightning Count during his tenure in Oz or the stories of the Leader of White Fang, one did not associate him with terms suggesting weakness. The man’s reputation just did not include him giving in to any amount of pain. “It’s okay. I only need a moment.” Merquise seemed to gather himself together but there was still that drawn and exhausted look. He seemed to consider the door for a long moment and Polnar suspected he was considering the worth of attempting to go on this rescue himself. It was easy to see when he dismissed the notion of moving. Blue eyes flickered up and stony dispassionate professionalism was once more in evidence. “You should remain here in the medical center and coordinate the operations. If you don’t delegate in this situation it will take twice the time to sort this mess out.” //Welcome back, Lightning Count.// He caught himself relaxing at the return to what he expected from a man with Merquise’s history. //I agree Barker should remain in the Medical Center at this time but I hope he does not take the opportunity to tackle Haydon while I’m gone. Still, Giles has proven himself more than capable of looking after himself and he does have his Gift to fall back on. He should be able to handle Barker.// “Can I have a word with you, Chris?” Giles leaned back from Merquise and pressed a hand to his ribs. He seemed more relaxed though still in pain and his off hand rested on one of Merquise’s hands in a light touch. Giles fingers curled around the man’s wrist and Polnar tensed as he realized Giles was actually reading the man’s pulse. //Why do I have the feeling I am missing something important here? Just what is wrong with Merquise anyway? He’s been knocked around a bit, you can see that, but the way Giles is acting… It’s something more. // Barker stepped away from the bed and gave no appearance of having noticed the actions of Giles. Polnar found himself hoping Barker would not notice and waited in tense silence as the Preventer acknowledged with a terse nod the suggestion he remain in the Medical Center. He realised after a few precious seconds the man was looking at him and waiting for him to move. Making up his mind he stepped away, leaving the doorway clear to the Preventer’s gaze in a clear indication of his intention to remain a time longer. If the man had the poor grace to object he would just have to tell him to get a life. “Five minutes.” Barker inclined his head a degree apparently willing to cooperate if it would get events moving at long last. Relieved he nodded ready acceptance. He did not need long but he did need a few minutes. “I’ll be ready.” Barker moved past him and Polnar found himself holding his breath until he saw the door swinging closed behind the man and then dared to breathe a soft sigh of relief. He would need to get Giles away from the bed for a couple of minutes and assure himself Giles was confident he could continue to control Merquise. It would not do to have the man gather enough strength to take off and commence running around the base when they needed to be assured he was safely contained. They had no idea how many Sleepers were still active in the sub base. He started, aware suddenly of the chilling blue eyes focused yet again on him. He could not stop himself from looking up and by that action sealing his fate. He was caught like a fly in amber, stuck beneath the searing chill and waiting for the killing blow to fall. Captured with no hope of escape until his captor chose to release him or until he died and his partner’s quiet voice further chilled his blood. Haydon was watching him though he could not take his eyes from Merquise’s compelling orbs. He could feel something in his partner’s voice, something that sent a shudder rippling through him and he was suddenly afraid. Giles voice held an undertone of warning, cautioning him to beware… or to be aware. “Try to understand. He’s Gifted, Chris.” t.b.c.
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