11-Aug-2000
Category: Plot
Rating: G
Pairings: Paparazzi and Dirt
Disclaimer: Not mine. Much though I wish. No money being made or sought.
NOTES: All righty. This is a bridge between Partners Not Lovers and the
next story in the CoF arc. It is plot heavy, catching everybody up on
what's going on in the public eye.
Quatre closed his eyes as he felt thrusters fire, carrying the shuttle free of the docking bay and flinging it out into the quiet of space. He leaned back in the large, high backed, swivel chair and rocked himself with a toe braced against the carpeted floor.
"Master Winner?" A soft voice inquired politely from his elbow.
"Yes, Marji?" Quatre answered without opening his eyes.
"Would you like anything? A sandwich? Tea?"
"Mmm... some tea would be nice, please."
"It will only be a moment."
The waft of air across his face alerted Quatre to the attendant's silent withdrawal. Opening his eyes, he rubbed at them with the pads of his thumb and index finger. Gah but it felt like the desert had taken up residence behind his eyelids. He blinked a couple of times trying to get his eyes to water and focus. He frowned at the clock that perched on the desk he sat behind.
The Winner shuttle had been custom outfitted so that it was a flying office. Communication devices sat along the interior frame, there was a large desk and chair and a number of comfortable couches and arm chairs throughout the cabin. Quatre knew his father had often used the shuttle instead of basing himself at any one of WEI's corporate offices. The customs made the shuttle unwieldy in Quatre's opinion, causing it to weigh more then an average shuttle and mucking up it's ability to maneuver.
Quatre smiled wryly at himself. Compared to a Gundam Suit, just about anything was unwieldy to maneuver.
He looked up and found a smile for the young woman who was playing flight attendant at this late hour. She smiled back and placed the tray of freshly steeping tea on the small table next to the chair.
"Is there anything else you need Master Winner?"
"No, that will be all, thank you."
"Very good, do you wish me to have the lights dimmed in the cabin?"
Quatre looked back at the clock. It was almost midnight and he'd been in space since early that morning. Pursing his lips he nodded. "Please."
"Yes sir."
With that she withdrew. A moment later the lights in the cabin dimmed down until the reflection of the stars through the small windows made bright patterns on the dark desk in front of him. Going by feel, Quatre poured himself a cup of tea. He knew he should sleep, he'd been awake for over 18 hours but somehow his body wouldn't relax. Reaching forward, he toggled on a monitor flipping through the channels as he sipped his tea.
The sound on the monitor was muted and Quatre just let the images pan by till the sight of the WEI insignia on screen behind two veteran newsmen caught his eye and he stopped surfing. Fumbling a little, his thumb found the volume button, turning up the voices till he could hear what they were discussing.
"...Indeed Clark. It was a near thing for Winner Enterprises Inc. today as Gortect Research and Development nearly got a stranglehold on the WEI natural resource satellites."
"All the satellites Marvin?"
"Over half of WEI's primary sources."
"What prompted Gortect to make such a risky move?"
"Well, it's only risky Clark because they were stopped at the eleventh hour. Had Quatre Winner and his President of Operations, Marylin Phipps, not been as alert as they were I doubt they could have stopped Gortect's acquisition of the 2500 shares that Frecila Winner dumped out into the open market this morning."
"Frecila Winner is one of CEO Quatre Winner's elder sisters correct?"
"Yes. In fact she was the third daughter produced for the late Master Winner."
"Hard to keep track some times."
There was a little bit of canned laughter and Quatre found his lips twitching ruefully. If only they knew!
"Indeed Clark. But to answer your question. I believe that Gortect was acting on behalf of the block of major corporations calling themselves Unity."
"Unity, the group that opposes so vehemently, the recent actions taken by Vice Minister Dorlan on behalf of the L2 colonies?"
"Yes. The very group. At the moment, Unity is made up of Gortect, Synex, Jesco and Burm. These are four foundation companies from the four other quadrants. Their CEOs and owners have been very vocal in opposition of Vice Minister Dorlan and more to the point the action of companions like WEI and Tridex who have both been very public in showing their support of the Vice Minister."
"Indeed, WEI in particular was almost immediate in taking action to begin funneling resources into the L2 colonies."
"Yes. Quatre Winner announced the same day that Vice Minister Dorlan made her rousing speech that WEI would be supporting the Vice Minister 100% and he urged many other companies to consider development potential in the L2 colonies. Since that day, WEI has been very active in leading the charge in that direction with talk of two refinement factories going in on the 4th colony and the 3rd. Needless to say, had WEI lost controlling interest in over half it's raw material satellites, those factories would have been jeopardized and I doubt that WEI's current operating factories would have been very comfortable either."
"Very true. I'm betting that Master Quatre Winner is feeling very relieved that he and his staff were able to outbid Gortect for the shares that his sister dropped into the market this morning."
"Yes, it was a very close thing and something tells me, WEI is not out of Unity's cross-hairs yet."
Quatre growled softly and thumbed the channel button. If news about Gortect was already on the air, then the trash t.v. couldn't be far behind. It took him a couple of turns through the channels before he found what he was looking for. A woman, sporting just a little too much make up, sat behind a desk with a snake like smile on her face.
"...And you can bet that Baby Brother Quatre is not too happy with his Big Sister. I wouldn't be happy either if my sister cost me over half a million dollars. Talk about costly relatives."
Quatre groaned. This was what he truly hated about his position. He and his family, swimming in a damn fish bowl. He lifted his tea mug to his lips, blowing softly on the steaming brew as he muttered.
"I should have dropped Sandrock on them a couple of times. Ooops.. didn't see you standing there. Silly me." Quatre mimicked his own, overly polite tones.
"Now, a lot of people are going to be flocking to young Master Winner's side. I mean.. what's not to flock to? He's cute... rich.. charming... available..."
Quatre snorted. "A lot you know..."
"... But.. and you can call me a loner..."
"I'd like to call you something else but I was raised a gentleman."
"...Here but I think that Frecila had a reason. I mean.. it must just burn that it's the little *brother* who went and got all that dough when Daddy dearest died. Doesn't seem very fair to lil ole me."
Quatre felt the handle of the delicate tea cup crack and snap off under the tension of his fingers. He caught the bowl of the cup with his other hand, managing not to spill the liquid across his suit front.
"Needless to say, the Sally Cothe show won't rest until we've discovered all the juicy details so stay tuned for future development."
Quatre forced himself to carefully place the broken tea cup over on the tray. Then he picked up the remote and quelling the urge to fling it across the cabin at the monitor, he turned off the offensive broadcast. Exhaling, he rotated the chair till he could stare out at the stars.
He could put up with all the business analysts and political programs picking apart WEI's every move and his own leadership decisions on that front but it frosted him to no end when the... trash news programs began to dig into the personal lives of his family and himself.
Quatre closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the leather headrest of his chair. It would be well after 2 in the morning before he got home but he no longer felt tired.
The End
Laekin
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