Mistaken Words chapter 77

[Morganeth]

Mistaken Words

AN: I thank you all again for your patience and support all this time!

Thanks morgansgirl!

Discalimer: I don?t own Gundam Wing

He?s Alive

Une walked down towards the large conference room, leather folder of information held tightly in her hand, flanked on either side by Relena and Sally. She knew they all felt stunned after witnessing Heero?s reaction to the news. It was the most irrational she could ever remember him being, even his refusal to have those headaches checked out hadn?t been as senseless as this. Surely he had to have known from the beginning that this day would come. Une had been sure it was thoughts of this day that had pulled Heero through his roughest times. Still he had been more than clear that the only people he cared about already knew everything they needed. Unfortunately that wasn?t enough for the world. And before Heero?s wishes she had to take into consideration the wellbeing of the ESUN.

?I hope he?s alright?? Relena spoke softly her head down golden hair shielding her face from view.

?John and the others won?t let him brood for too long,? Sally reassured her arms folded across her chest firmly as she paced down the hall, the expression on her face stopping anyone from getting in their way.

Une could understand her friend?s feelings, she must have been as confused as she over Heero?s behavior and just as eager to get to the bottom of it too. But first they had to deal with the press, and they all knew that was going to take a while. There was four years of history to update them on. Years of rhetoric that they had to attempt to erase. They all knew it wasn?t going to be easy.

As they neared the opened door of the conference room Une could hear the firm clear voice of her assistant Chase, ??There will be a period for questions after the announcement, we ask that you hold off until then, thank you.?

Walking into the room Une took careful note of the buzz of conversation attempting to get a feel for how the crowed would be today. It was the same people every time. Men and women from all forms of news organisations, and most often they were sharks in a frenzy unable to contain themselves. They had learned with her they?d get their information when she was damn well ready to give it too them, so over the years that had calmed them a little. And they appeared to be acting normally now, talking amongst one another not at all able to guess what this conference was truly about. Once the word was out however Une knew it would be a totally different room.

The men and women didn?t rise at her entrance although all heads did come up, however it wasn?t until Relena stepped into the room a moment later that everyone was on their feet, a slow hush falling over the room. It was a good reaction that brought the whole room to attention before the conference had to start. Une took her seat at the middle chair behind the table, a plaque on the far side of the table displaying her name. There was another to her left for Dr. Pao and on the right Ms. Peacecraft. They took their seats before the dozens of eyes and several TV cameras taking a moment to situate themselves and their information before looking up to address the nation.

Une had done this hundreds of times before, but she knew this one would be different. Never before had they attempted a mission like this one. And even though it hadn?t been with her knowledge at the time she had to remain like it was. It?s what Heero wanted, even if he didn?t want this. Drawing in a breath Une looked up to the room and all the faces spread out before her, the expression on her face one of calm and collectiveness. She was in control now, and nothing was going to change that.

?Ladies and gentlemen of the press, eight days ago, a mission was launched to once again defend the peace of the Earth Sphere Unified Nations.? Her voice was smooth, and she almost felt detached from it all as she worked to keep straight in her mind exactly what she wanted to say and in what order she wanted events to be revealed. Best to lay out the facts and than start from the beginning. ?An organization known as the Inner Circle has been hiding out within the colony of Freedom?s Point for many years now slowly growing in numbers and power. It was with President Dante?s full cooperation that we stuck at the heart of the Inner Circle, and have safely brought them to their knees.?

Not unexpectedly that set off a wave of questions from near everyone in the room. There had been rumours going around as too where all the agents had been ?summoned? too. But Une had been able to dissuade suspicions with several cover stories. Une raised a hand, and then her voice, ?If you please!? she spoke above the roar, ?You?ve been told there will be time for questions at the end, and there is still much to go over.?

Once the room had settled into silence once more Une opened the folder in front of her and composed her thoughts quickly, knowing full well she?d need to take control of the situation again. What she was about to say was going to shock a lot of people. ?The Inner Circle has been an extremely top secret mission for the last four years. We have been tracking them through the work of a very dedicated undercover agent.?

Drawing in a breath Une knew this was the moment, ?The agent chosen for this job, had to be well equipped and exceptionally tough. That is why we chose Agent Heero Yuy, for the mission.? That name sent another wave of comments through the room but Une over road them. ?In order for agent Yuy to make it into the inner ranks he had to be viewed as not having a connection with the Earth Defence Corp, which is why we lead the ESUN to believe that he had attempted the assassination.?

?Further more, it is important that you know now that agent Yuy is in fact alive, and participated in the mission that took place eight days ago.? Now that information caused an eruption, one Une chose to wait out for a moment, they would certain not settle for a while with news like this.

WMWMWMW

John walked slowly down the hall, he had wanted to search for Heero the instant that the boy had left the room. But he had wanted to do this on his own, feeling Heero would be more responsive if it was just him approaching. He wanted to get to the bottom of this, he couldn?t understand how Heero was feeling, but he was determined to find out. It hadn?t taken him long to realized the boy hadn?t gone back to his room, and it didn?t take much to guess where he had gone instead. He just hoped that wasn?t the case.

Stepping into the training room John heard the presence of someone before he even saw Heero striking out at the punching bag with abandon. There was no doubt to the old doctor that Heero knew he wasn?t alone, but not unexpectedly he was paying no attention to John, as he continued to strike out his frustration, perspiration beading on his forehead.

?I thought you promised Sally you?d take it easy for at least a week?? he spoke softly moving to take a seat on another piece of equipment so that he was in Heero?s line of sight. The former pilot said nothing to that, didn?t let up in his attack either, if anything his movements picked up a clear sign of his agitation.

?You know no matter how much you punch that, it?s not going to change the way you feel, you?ll only exhaust yourself, and I?d really rather you didn?t do that,? he attempted.

?Maybe I want to,? Heero ground out.

?What will that accomplish??

That brought Heero to a halt as he punched the bag on last time sending it flying against the constraint of its chain. ?Can?t you just walk away?? he asked soundly suddenly tired. John had no doubt the boy was.

Despite himself a ghost of a smile touched upon his face, ?I haven?t been able to walk away from you since I walked into the infirmary back in April.? He didn?t know if his gentle tone would help or hinder in this situation, John was determined to be nothing if not himself, convinced one way or another he?d be able to draw the boy out.

Heero moved away putting more distance between them, but he didn?t make for the door as though to run away. He leaned heavily against the archway that led to the pool putting his back to John. He was at least willing to listen, and perhaps see reason, it left John feeling hopeful, and he had to keep himself from getting up and going to the boy, that wouldn?t help.

?Are you ever going to come to accept this?? he asked gently folding his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees.

The boy was a long time in answering and John would have given anything to know what Heero was thinking in those moments, ?Not like I have a choice.?

?Why does that bother you so much?? it was the natural next question, but one John had no reason to expect and answer too.

Heero was just out to surprise him today, ?I don?t know!? he sighed in clear frustration, his head dropping so his unruly hair would hide his eyes from view, despite the fact that John couldn?t even see his face.

?Could that be it?? he ventured curiously.

WMWMWMW

Une was finally forced to come to her feet both hands slamming down upon the table before her, ?If you are unable to contain yourselves, I will have you removed to watch the rest of this conference on closed circuit video like the rest of the ESUN.? She drew in a breath, she had been prepared for this, but it didn?t make it any less frustrating, ?There will be time for all your questions when I?m finished, but there is still much I have to go over, you might even find some of your questions are answered during the process.?

It still took a moment but the men and women of the press managed to get a hold of themselves and Une returned to her seat. She didn?t exactly blame them, this was a lot to take in, in such a short time. They had believed Heero a traitor for years, and that he was dead for nearly a year.

?To continue, Agent Yuy discovered the Inner Circle. This organization was unlike any other that we?ve come across before. Made up mostly of traitors, men with nowhere else to turn. They didn?t keep computer records and passed information along by word of mouth. Members only knew two others, this kept the man or men at the head of the organization safe from betrayal or prosecution.?

?And yes before any of you ask, the Inner Circle was made up entirely of men, their way of recognizing each other was a phoenix brand on their chest.? She gestured with her left hand towards a screen off to the far side of the room which now displayed an image of the brand, Chase proving the necessary information for the press to document and photograph. ?Heero infiltrated the Inner Circle as a traitor to the entire ESUN. As I explained earlier due to their unique setup it took a great deal of time to backtrack through the ranks of the Inner Circle to the man at the head.?

?It?s important to note now, that President Dante is not and was never a member of the Inner Circle. His actions with regards to the creation and destruction of the Gundam, was merely to show his want to separate from the ESUN. We saw his methods were peaceful, if not a little unique.? Une had to fight back a smile in that moment wondering what Dante?s reaction to that had been. ?The Inner Circle too wanted to get their hands on a Gundam for less than peaceful reasons.?

At this point Une was rather pleased with the behavior of the men and women present, she could tell they were having a hard time containing themselves but for the time being they were. ?After gathering as much information as he could Agent Yuy returned, unfortunately suffering sever injury to do so. In order to maintain his cover and not provoke the Inner Circle into either action or burying themselves deeper, we declared him dead, for the safety of the mission.? Une wished it was as easy to say the words as it no doubt appeared to the press, but she had to fight choking on each one.

WMWMWMW

?That?s not rational!? Heero barked turning just enough that his one eye could see John.

?We aren?t always rational Heero, humans can?t help it...?

He could hear the slight stress on ?human? it was subtle but hadn?t gone unnoticed to Heero, was that really all this was? Drawing in a breath Heero knew it wasn?t going to help calm him, he slammed a fist into the wall he was leaning against, allowing the pain it caused to burn away some of the frustration. ?I knew this would happen, had to happen at some point?? he trailed off shaking his head, ?And still?? he tried but was unable to finish.

?You hoped you?d be able to avoid this,? John finished for him, and Heero felt surprised at how close he was.

But Heero could admit to it, he shook his head, ?I knew it would happen,? he spoke more firmly this time.

?I don?t doubt that,? John returned immediately, ?But that doesn?t change the fact that you hoped it wouldn?t.?

~How can he be so sure?~ Heero wondered silently, but knew their was no use denying it now, still that didn?t mean he was going to voice it either.

John got up from his seat, and took a step towards him, ?C?mon, this is no place for you to be right now.? Heero didn?t exactly want to leave, he didn?t want to face the others after what had happened. John took another step towards him, ?The others know, yes you were soldiers first and foremost, but you?re all human,? he shrugged with a slight grin, ?The others have just come to accept it.?

Heero shook his head but finally pushed himself away from the archway to step towards John. He didn?t like this, but he really was too tired to care at the moment. John fell in beside him as they left the room behind and made their way slowly to the elevator. ?The others are waiting in the common room for the conference to be over.?

WMWMWMW

?January 28 at approximately 8:00pm the last shuttle left Earth on rout to Freedom?s Point, With President Dante?s full cooperation the colony had been in lock down for several hours.? Part of Une wished there was more for her to add to this conference, anything to lengthen the time she had before the questions would come. ?The mission commenced January 29 at 5:00am, where a large number of Inner Circle members had already been gathered. From that point on a house by house search was necessary to discover the other members.?

?Unfortunately some did not want to come peacefully, the Inner Circle threatened to destroy a residential section of the colony. And did destroy a large building with members still inside, nearly taking the life of one of our agents.? She sat a little straighter in her chair, ?I?m pleased to say we have lost no lives in this mission on our side, the agency has detained nearly 200 members of the Inner Circle, who will be standing trial on charges of terrorism.? Unfortunately that about summed it up for what she had to tell, which only left, ?Now you may ask your questions.?

The roar returned instantly so many voices competing to be heard, to be the first one asked. Arms were raised to draw attention, Une didn?t usually have a routine of who she?d ask first but there were several people present who she thought she might like to begin with. If for no other reason than it would give either Sally or Relena a chance to speak. Whether either of them wanted that right now, Une couldn?t be sure, but this is what they had come for.

?Yes,? she finally selected pointing to a woman among the front row.

?Can you tell us where Agent Yuy is now? Why was he not present for this conference?? the woman asked.

Une looked to Sally, ?I?ll allow Dr. Pao to answer this one.?

?Along with many other agents, Agent Yuy is recovering from injuries sustained during the mission. Although we didn?t loose any lives, there were significant injuries sustained.?

?Can you tell us what the injuries are?? the woman asked quickly before someone else could take over.

?At this time I see no need to make that information public, Agent Yuy, will no doubt make a full recovery along with the others.?

?Ms. Peacecraft!? a new voice nearly shouted, ?Are we to understand you were knowingly put into danger?? The attention of the room switched immediately to the new speaker, no one choosing to challenge the young man?s right to speak next. ?In regards to the attempted assassination by Heero Yuy, you willingly stepped into the line of fire all for this charade and the rest of the Earth Defence Corp allowed this? Not to mention you brother King Peacecraft??

It was the question they had all known was coming, everyone who had been informed of the situation had asked it. And Une couldn?t blame a single one of them for it. It was the logical next question. Despite all the facts they could cover there was no getting around the fact that a staged assassination attempt was a stretch. But it was the best that they could do, given what had happened, and Une had full confidence in Relena to handle the matter.

?I am sitting here before you today,? Relena began in a clear voice a touch regal even, as Une noticed she tended to be when addressing large public crowds it helped to belie her age. ?As a testament to the risk that was involved in the staged assassination. I have for many years put my life squarely in the hands of Agent Yuy, as I did on that day. At any moment if things had got out of hand he could have aborted the mission.? How it must have killed her to speak those worlds though not a hint of it showed on her face.

?Yes there was danger involved, some would argue that each day I wake up bears a degree of danger. And as all of you should know, I would sacrifice myself to see the peace of the ESUN maintained. I sit here today, as proof that this peace has been maintained,? her lips quirked up in a subtle smile as she looked directly at the man who had voiced the question. ?So yes, this is what you?re meant to understand.?

WMWMWMW

The door to the common room slid open before Trowa, and he was immediately meet by four sets of eyes. ?Trowa!? Quatre sounded shocked and he was instantly on his feet, ?What are you doing out of bed?? his friend had already been in to see him several times since arriving on Earth, it was good to see his Quatre again, although Trowa wished it could be under better conditions.

?Where?s Heero?? Trowa asked instead of answering his friend.

?I?d imagine downstairs letting off some steam,? Wufei?s voice sounded less than pleased, which didn?t surprise or confuse Trowa in the least. And that fact actually pleased Trowa a little, he was having an easier time grasping things said to him.

?I take it then he didn?t react well to the announcement,? Trowa allowed himself to be lead to a chair which Duo had turned around so he could straddle it and watch the table where they had been sitting playing cards.

Duo shook his head, ?No idea why though, he got real pissed off when Une told him.?

Trowa settled in leaning gratefully against the pillow that Quatre had brought for him, ?John?s gone after him,? Ash leaned back in his chair, hazel eyes flickering towards the door, it seemed pretty obvious to Trowa that Ash would have preferred to be down there too.

?If there?s anything we?ve learned, it?s that John can do just about anything,? Wufei began dealing another hand of cards now that everyone was seated at the table.

?So how?d you hear about the announcement?? Quatre asked curiously.

The former pilot lowered his head down onto his arms, thickly bandaged as they were it didn?t cause much pain. ?Had the TV on, wasn?t really sleeping,? he was dead tired, but there was only so long he could spend sleeping. He didn?t want to be out of it for a whole other day, he doubted that Sally would agree with him, but so long as she was occupied with something else, he?d take advantage of the situation.

?Do you suppose Heero might have taken this all better if Relena were with him right now?? Ash put forward to all of them, a cheeky smile on his face.

?Ha! No doubt!? Duo chuckled a mischievous glint entering into his eye, ?She?ll be able to break away sooner or later.?

?We?ll just have to distract him until then,? Ash rubbed his hands together.

?Provided John can get Heero up here,? Trowa breathed emerald eyes glancing towards the door.

As if on cue the door slid opened to reveal the old doctor ushering their friend into the room. Heero?s expression was impossible to read as he stepped inside the door closing securely behind him. Had the other been intending on dragging Heero immediately into an unwanted conversation, they were halted by John?s exclamation, ?Trowa! What are you doing here??

Trowa?s expression remained blank his eyes following Heero more than watching John, ?Sitting,? he responded dryly.

?Well I can see that,? the old doctor shook his head sounding a little exasperated.

Heero made his way over to the bar ducking behind no doubt to get himself a drink, ?Then why?d you ask?? Trowa returned not bothering to look over.

John came into his line of view leaning down so he was looking into Trowa?s eyes, as his hand reached out to rest on the side of his face. ?You should be resting,? he withdrew his hand clearly content that Trowa was fever free.

?I?m not really doing anything here?? he contended, finally looking at John since he continued to block Heero from view.

?Hardly the point,? John smiled pulling a pen light from his pocket, Trowa resisted the urge to sigh as John flashed the light across his eyes checking his pupils reaction.

?You?d prefer I was sitting like this alone in my room?? he asked deadpan.

John just shook his head at that and stepped away moving towards the bar where Heero still stood drinking from a bottle of water, his eyes were staring off, whether into space or at the large screen TV against the far wall Trowa couldn?t tell. Though he couldn?t imagine why it would be the latter. ?You going to sit down and play a hand with us?? Duo asked shuffling the deck of cards

That pulled Heero out of his thoughts, and he looked over mutely at the table, ?We?re playing poker,? Quatre informed.

Heero shook his head at that, and with a relaxed gesture he pointed at Ash, ?He cheats.?

?Hey!? Ash protested in surprise, ?I do not!?

?I saw you,? Heero countered and Trowa noted a little of the tension that had knotted up his shoulders and face had eased away.

Ash looked surprised at that, ?I thought you were ignoring me that day.?

?I can ignore you while still keeping an eye on the game,? the former pilot returned dryly, taking a drink from his half full bottle of water.

?Well I only cheat against people I know I can get away with,? the hazel eyed man quickly changed his tune flashing the others a crooked smile.

?So what was it that you did to get him ignoring you?? Duo asked dealing out the cards to the others at the table. Trowa noted the slight shake of Heero?s head, no doubt this would be an interesting tale. There was also a very tiny smile on Heero?s lips, easily missed but Trowa was only watching at the moment, and content to do so. And whether Heero had intended from the beginning or not he was relaxing. He might not be able to forget, but they?d keep him from dwelling.

Thanks For Reading

Seeing is Unfortunately Believing:

Wufei jerked awake, his hand reaching immediately for his phone, a frustrated growl escaping him at having been disturbed. His eyes sought out to digital clock on the small nightstand to see that it was eleven at night. Taking hold of the phone Wufei pushed himself up in bed pulling a hand through his loose hair, ?What??

?He?s Heero Yuy,? the voice was familiar and matter of fact, but at the same time sounding incredulous.

?Jay?? Wufei shook his head, ?The press conference was hours ago, and you choose now to call??

?Felt like the right time, besides you?re usually still up at this hour,? Jay contended.

Wufei sighed pulling his hand through his hair again, ?It was a long day,? not physically speaking, but they had all wanted to keep Heero from brooding until Relena could get away from the conference.

?So,? the sensei prompted.

?A little surprised you didn?t notice it now?? Wufei returned, more awake as he shifted to the edge of the bed coming to his feet.

?Since he was ?dead? I wasn?t really looking, and you?d have to admit he?s changed a lot since then.?

The former pilot thought about that for a moment, remembering how his friend had looked before this whole mess had started by looking at a picture which hung on his wall. Pictures of Heero were hard to come by, or at least they were before John came along, but other than his face becoming leaner with a few new scars there really wasn?t all that much difference was there? He?d become harder if that were possible but that?s not something he would have expected Jay to notice. ?Perhaps a little,? he conceded padding his way into the living room and from there to the kitchen to get himself a drink.

?I suppose since it?s been announced to the world,? Jay continued seemingly coming back to the reason he had called in the first place. ?You wouldn?t mind filling in some of the blanks for me now.?

Wufei leaned back against the counter, ?Right now??

?Why not??

Awake now, and not against the idea of seeing his friend, Wufei agreed, ?But not over the phone, I?ll meet you at the King?s Pub in a half hour??

Morganeth Taren?drel

[Morrighan]

YAY for double chapters!!! I am loving how this is progressing! It's certainly very interesting, now that the truth is out.

I can't wait to see more!!

[Morganeth]

Thank! Too bad Heero's not too happy about it ^_~ but he's a stick in the mud ^_~

I'm sorry it's all taking so long!

[lildragonfly]

did not notice it was a double update!

can't wait for the next update!

[epyon]

too short! need more!

[Morganeth]

more soon *fingers crossed*

[Morganeth]

To my readers

I want to thank you all for your support and patience. I can't express in words just how much I appreciate it.

Unfortunately do to extreme depression which I have been battling for years, I'm going to have to take some time off from Mistaken Words...I hate to do this to all of you. But my life at present is in too much of a mess for me to focus on Mistaken Words and give you a worthwhile product.

I do have two more chapters that I will be posting, there will be a similar note at the end of the second, just in case this note is missed.

I thank you again for everything

and I apologize for this unfortunate delay.

[Morrighan]

*HUGS* Take care of yourself first. That's more important.

[Morganeth]

thanks!

I'm doing my best!

*hugs* You're support means a lot to me!

[epyon]

hey at least you got in two more chapters before hand, hats off to you lady.