December 12, 2000
Sequel to 'Have You Ever...'
Standard Warnings and Disclaimers apply.
"Perhaps this conversation would be better suited to another room," Quatre said, his voice invoking no disagreement. "The conference room?"
Jack nodded while the other girls continued to glare at them. The boys' faces--except for Quatre's--remained expressionless, even Duo's. "Of course," she said before following Quatre's lead towards the door. Blair and Nita were first behind her; Kat and Dev behind them. Duo and Heero followed, Carina sidling up close to Heero as they walked, whispering to him all the way. Doce smiled at the two remaining boys, Wufei and Trowa, and then she too turned to leave, Wufei and Trowa falling in behind her.
They filed into the conference room. Jack, Nita, Carina, and Doc taking seats immediately while the other's, Blair, Kat, and Dev, remained standing. Quatre took a seat as well, but the other four boys declined. Once again, Wufei and Trowa took up deceivingly relaxed poses at the door. Heero and Duo stood slightly behind Quatre, one to each of the blonde's shoulders.
"I believe the question was," he said, turning to Jack, immediately recognizing her position in the group, "What do you want with these files?"
"Why do you care?" Carina shot back before any of her sisters could answer.
Quatre turned to the youngest girl there, seated between Jack and Doc, and started. Even though she was easily the youngest girl there, she was older then him, by at least a year. If his smile faltered, it was only for a second.
"White Fang is poising as the will of the colonies," Quatre replied evenly. "And the colonies are our concern."
"Why? Are you from there?"
"Yes," Quatre answered, watching the others from the corner of his eyes as he seemingly focused all his attention upon the girl he was talking to. 'Smart,' he thought. 'Let the young one talk, supposedly putting them all at ease, while sizing up the situation. Very smart indeed. As long as she didn't say too much...'
"Cool! So are we, we're from the L4 area!" Carina sprouted excitedly.
"Yes, I know," Quatre replied, smiling easily. "That's where Behr Industries originated from."
Some of the girls started at that, he noticed, and he hid his smirk, wondering how many of them knew who he was. Even if they knew or suspected he was a Gundam pilot, did they know who *he* was? A part of him relished their reactions when he told them. Standing up, he extended his hand to the girl.
"Hello...?"
"Carina," the girl supplied, standing to take his hand.
"Hello, Carina Behr. I'm Quatre Raberba Winner." Hisses, quick intake of breaths, teeth sucking, fed his ears. He lowered his mental defenses enough to 'feel' each of the women out. Animosity, yes, he expected that. Quiet disdain, yes, that, too. Amusement, that surprised him, but then, the older girl, Doce, wasn't here for the same reason her sisters were. He could 'feel' it. But what really surprised him was the pang of lust. He took his seat again, searching out the faces for the one that belonged to that emotion, smiling when he caught the dark haired girl who was staring over his shoulder.
'Well, well, well, Heero, racking up the tallies, aren't you?' he thought, turning back to face Jack. "And the colonies are very much my concern," he continued as if a hundred different thoughts hadn't crossed his mind in the gap of mere seconds.
"I bet," someone sneered. "After all," Blaire said as she uncrossed and crossed her arms, "if something happens to the colonies, WEI flops."
"Actually," Quatre continued to smile. "Quite the opposite. You see, WEI's largest fraction deals with mining. If something were to happen to the colonies, then there would be an outcry for more building materials and business for WEI would increase. Of course," he added, leaning back in his chair, hands folded in his lap, looking all the businessman save for that pink shirt and violet vest. "If something *were* to happen to the colonies, I would see to it their reconstruction was from gundamium alloy so as to ensure nothing further could physically harm them."
Someone else hissed and calculating eyes searched out the five young males in the room with a new understanding. "Shit."
"Quiet," Jack snapped.
"Maybe now you're willing to cooperate?" Quatre asked smoothly, facing the dark haired young woman in charge of the band of females. "Why do you care about White Fang, and more importantly, why did you want those files?"
The door to his private quarters slid open unannounced. He didn't have to ask who it was. There was only one person audacious enough to enter his private quarters without asking first. He swallowed a bone-weary sigh.
"What is it, Dorothy?" he asked, his voice betraying his weariness of the situation he found himself in.
"Mr. Milliardo," Dorothy said, her voice deceptively soft. "The men think they might have found a lead on the hacker from earlier."
"Oh? Really? And tell me," he said, swiveling his chair around to face the blonde girl. "What have they found? The hacker? The information he hacked into? What?" There was a barely contained strand of anger that laced his words.
The girl was not oblivious to it. She bowed her head in difference to him. "I am sorry, Mr. Milliardo."
"Don't be sorry, dammit!" he shouted, pushing up from his chair in a burst of energy. "Find me answers, Dorothy!"
"Of course," she whispered. The door hissed open and shut after her.
He whirled around, stalking to the space-black window. One hand lifted of its own accord and brushed along the cold pane of glass. 'Noin...' he rested his forehead beside his fingers. "I need you..." he whispered.
End of Part 16: The Road Trip to Hell
Andrea Readwolf
Please send comments to: andrea_readwolf@hotmail.com