I do not own Gundam Wing.  This fan fiction has no commercial value and I am not making any kind of profit or income off of this.  

Chapter 21

            Catherine adjusted her uncomfortable position amidst the boxes and coats contained in the cramped closeted room, trying to make as little noise as possible.  She fed another sheet from the envelope Talmadge had given her just hours before through the portable scanner device on her laptop and cringed at the crunching sound her hard drive made as it uploaded the documents to the remote host.  Her fingers shook as she typed the password once again, trembling with fear that she would be caught with the information that had cost the Prime Minister his life.  It was only a matter of time before they found her; she could only pray that she’d live long enough to see her brother again, and that he would find the information she was sending.

            The document finished scanning and she quickly fed in the next sheet.  “Only three more to go,” she thought as a wave of nausea washed over her again, settling in the pit of her stomach.  She ripped the recently scanned page into tiny pieces and chanted in her mind: Paper tastes good.  Paper tastes good, as she put pieces into her mouth and began to chew.  Paper tastes good, she thought with disgust as she swallowed the saliva-soaked pieces and brought the remaining bits to her lips.

            She heard a noise in the room outside, as she carefully keyed in the password once again.  “Shit, I still have two more to go!” She thought and put the next page into the scanner, desperate to send the rest of the documents before she was caught. 

For a few hours, it had looked like the Prime Minister had committed suicide, and she had been forced to hide the envelope he had entrusted to her while she answered a never-ending barrage of police questions.  Since she had been the last to see him alive, they had interrogated her over and over again, hoping to catch her in a lie.  But she had nothing to tell them – nothing she could tell them, anyway.  And then came the single shred of evidence that had proved it was no suicide – a tiny fishhook located on the inside window latch was caught in the key-shaped metal lock that jutted out from the pane.  That alone was enough to tip the detectives off that the killer had entered through the window, shot Talmadge at close range, and then shut and locked it back using the fishhook attached to invisible fishing line.  This was no ordinary murderer; this was a professional hired to do the job.  And now they were after her!

She held her breath as she heard more movement in the room outside.  Instinct told her to press further back into the recesses of the closet, but there was nowhere for her to go.  She typed in the password once again and wanted to curse the computer for making crunching noises whenever it did anything.  But she didn’t dare.  She tried to muffle the sound of shredding the paper, and shakily shoved the bits into her mouth and tried to swallow the bland pulpy fibers in one large gulp.  She almost choked, and it took every ounce of self-control to keep from coughing out loud and giving herself away. 

One last piece… Her hands ice cold with perspiration were trembling so badly that she was trying to jam the paper into the scanner, and the stubborn piece of machinery wouldn’t have it.  She took a deep breath to get herself under control and then gently fed the paper into the scanner, watching the green stationary light through the darkness as the paper moved across its emerald beam.  Time seemed to have stopped as the document moved painfully slow, and voices could be heard just outside her tiny refuge.  Finally, the form appeared on her active matrix screen in the darkness, and she hit the send button and typed the password once more.  The voices were getting louder; she could hear them right outside the door.  She ripped the last piece of paper she hoped she’d ever have to eat and stuffed it in her mouth as she watched the progress bar on her laptop inch towards completion.  The knob started to turn, and she gulped down the pulpy mess, resisting again the urge to gag.  The progress bar had finished; the document was loaded onto the server.  She didn’t have time to check all that she had uploaded, she hit the reset button and just as the first streak of light invaded the darkened closet, she typed out with trembling fingers, “f-d-i-s-k” and hit the enter button.  All data structure was effectively deleted as she raised her head and came nose to nose with the wrong end of a 9mm glock semi-automatic.

*                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *

“Thank you, Howard.  I don’t know how I can ever repay you,” Zechs’ silky baritone reverberated off bare water-stained walls as he leaned over a desk in the small rundown motel room the four men were using as a command center. 

“Hey, no problem.  You know I don’t want anything in return, just being able to help is enough for me,” Howard rasped over the secure comlink connection.  “Heero, I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point and give you all the necessary documents then.”

“Affirmative,” Heero responded in a crisp tone from where he was sitting in front of the cheap wood veneer desk.  His eyes held about as much emotion as the timbre of his detached voice.

“Good luck out there you guys, and be careful.  You’re going to get yourselves in a lot of trouble if you’re caught,” Howard cautioned with a worried look on his face.

“We’re well aware of the dangers, Howard.  We know what we’re doing.  We’ll get her out of there, and then you make her and Heero disappear,” Trowa cut in evenly.

Howard nodded.  “Will do,” he said and terminated the connection.  The room receded into darkened silence, with no trace of the late afternoon sun sneaking passed the heavy curtains - but not for long.

Ring ring, ring ring.  The comlink device alerted the small group that there was another call an instant before Quatre’s blond head appeared on screen.  He was smiling.

“Heero, did you all see the good news?  The court has granted Relena’s appeal.  There’s going to be a trial, and you know she’ll win.  You guys don’t have to go through with this after all.”

Heero scowled at the optimistic young man.  “What makes you so sure she’ll win, Quatre?  And what exactly did the news say?  Have her lawyers filed a motion for the trial?”

Quatre stopped smiling.  “Well, no, but…”

“Then you can’t say she’ll win.”

“But, you should wait and see if she wins before you do this, Heero!  Attacking ESUN is stupid if she can be cleared by a trial.”

Fire flashed in Heero’s eye and he stood up from the small motel desk where the laptop was resting.  “What’s stupid is letting Relena’s fate be decided by ESUN!  If we wait, there may not be another chance.  We are going through with the mission,” Heero said in an authoritative tone and turned off the monitor in disgust.  He ran a hand through his hair as he stomped away to his corner of the room – where his duffle bag lay on the floor with the few possessions he had taken with him when he left the college.  He grabbed it up and started to toss it on the rickety veneer dresser, and then thought better of it and gently put it down.  He tore at the zipper and started rifling through, looking for something.  He jerked forward when he felt the hand on his shoulder.

Trowa dropped his arm as Heero shrugged from his grasp.  “Heero, I’m in this until the end, and even beyond.  But are you really going to risk the opportunity to have her completely absolved in order to live out the rest of your lives as fugitives?” Trowa asked quietly.  Zechs picked his eyes up from the floor to watch the discussion unfold. 

“There’s not going to be a trial,” Heero muttered coldly and went back to searching through his bag.

Anger flashed in Trowa’s eyes at the apparent dismissal.  He grabbed Heero forcefully and pulled him around to face him.  “That’s not what I was asking.  Stop being selfish for a moment and think of her! Is this what she would want, Heero?  Retreating from a battle she can still win?”

Heero glared at Trowa a long moment while he fought down the urge to assault his friend right there.  Think of her?  Think of her?  That’s all I’ve done is think of her!   “You don’t know what you’re talking about Trowa.” He said quietly, at last gaining control over his temper.  “We’ll carry out the mission as planned tomorrow.  Duo’s getting ready.  Since you’re still going with him, I suggest you do the same.” He said solemnly and turned away from those accusing green-eyes that were full of fury.  His body tense with anger, Heero quickly strode over to the motel room door, slamming it behind him with a loud thud as he exited into the hallway and disappeared into the night.

Trowa looked down at what he had left behind – the item the former Zero pilot had so carefully unpacked from his bag – and felt his stomach drop at the sight.  The dim fluorescent lighting reflected timidly off the silver frame that held in its metal arms the treasured photo of the two young lovers for all the world to see.

Duo emerged from the bathroom at the sound, glancing curiously at the door as if he could see through it and into the hallway.  He turned around to face Trowa, black makeup on his forehead and cheeks, and dressed in his familiar black fatigues with the priest-like collar.  He tossed the tube of black face paint to the acrobat.  “Your turn.”

Trowa caught the object easily and with an inquisitive glance at Zechs, he moved passed Duo to therestroom.  The only difference between a soldier and a mercenary is the inducement to fight.  A soldier is taught to believe his side is right; a mercenary is rewarded for the act of fighting, and doesn’t care which side is right.  Which one am I?

*                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *

Mr. Levy placed a calm hand on his partner’s heaving back.  Relena glared at her team of lawyers briefly before turning away to stare at the blank wall. 

“We knew she’d say this, James.  Or at least I knew.  We can only represent her, you can’t change her mind,” Mr. Levy said in a soothingly low voice to his partner. 

“I won’t be a party to a public…SUICIDE!  You’re killing yourself, Relena, this is insane!”  James Holden yelled as his usually calm exterior cracked in front of his illustrious client. 

Her hands shaking with the agitation of an uncomfortable confrontation, Relena tried to hide them by crossing her arms against her chest.  She turned around and leveled an ice-cold glare at the man.  “I will not have my life and my friends’ and family’s lives dragged through the mud.  I will not have people prying into my affairs and in all the nooks and crannies of the lives of those I love.  I’m here to protect them, not to offer them up on the altar of sacrifice for my own selfishness.  Take the deal.  We’ll forgo the trial and just accept whatever fate the unsealing of the vote beholds.  That’s my final decision, and I will not change my mind!”  Relena yelled the last sentence in defiance.

“You’d rather die than let people know about him, wouldn’t you?  Do you think he’d want that?  Don’t you think he’d rather have you alive, even if it ruined his career, than watch you die?”

“It’s not about what he wants.  I’ve already made my decision, call the prosecution,” she replied, trying to push aside the pain that surfaced with his question.

“Why are you so afraid of people finding out about him?  So what?  Once you’re acquitted, it would probably boost his career,” James argued, his voice lowering to its regular octave as a frown of concentration appeared on his face.  These pieces all fit together somehow…

Warning bells were going off in Relena’s head.  She attempted to redirect the conversation away from the dangerous topic.  “It’s none of your business.  Please, just call the prosecution and accept the deal.  Or I’m going to do it myself,” she threatened and grabbed the cell phone from the tabletop.

“This is a mistake,” Mr. Holden said thoughtfully drumming the fingers of his left hand on his upper thigh as his right hand rubbed across his face.  He knows the Preventers, and they know him…

“Then it’s MY mistake. Call them.”

“Why are you so afraid?” 

“I told you…”

“What is he hiding?”

Her heart was pounding and her blood ran cold.  “Leave him out of this! Call them!”

“What are you hiding?  I can’t be your lawyer; I can’t represent you if you don’t tell me everything!”

“I’m not hiding anything!”

“You are!  What is it about him?  What – is he a criminal? A murderer? A… Oh my god…” Realization dawned on his features as the last puzzle piece fell into place.  She’s here to protect him, not sacrifice him…

Ice cold perspiration formed on her forehead at his words, and her hands shook in fear.  “Call them.  Tell them we take the deal, and I want this to be over.  I just want it all to be over…”

“Of course.  That’s it. That’s why….  He’s…Heero Yuy, the future sport star is a gundam pilot.  That’s why you won’t go to trial, you’re afraid he’ll be found out if they connect you two.”  Holden’s mind was racing, going back over the details as he said them.  It was the only thing that made sense – she wouldn’t sacrifice him, wouldn’t turn him in to save herself. 

“You’re out of your mind.  Call Leinsford or you’re fired,” Relena said icily, trying to keep her voice calm and deadly cool as she thrust the phone out at him in an authoritative manner.

Her attorney looked up at her, a more kindly expression on his face.  “If you admit it, if you tell me, then every word is protected by attorney-client privilege.  I can’t utter a syllable about what I know.  But if I find out some other way….”

Relena took a deep breath and blinked slowly before placing the phone back down on the table.  She slumped down into the waiting chair in defeat.  Delicate hands came up to cup her face and try to hold in the sadness and grief that overflowed from her heart.  After a long silent moment, in a voice just above a whisper, she finally uttered a single word.  “Yes…”

“But he’s only one of five, correct?”

“Yes, the others have their own lives.  They’re all very different.  My brother, although not technically involved with the five ESUN was looking for, piloted a gundam as well.  He’s not dead, he’s alive; I stayed with him on Mars.  The rest, I’d rather not disclose their whereabouts and identities.”

“So all along they were right.  You have always known where they were and who they are.”

“Yes.  And they are some of the kindest, most noble men I’ve ever had the privilege and honor of knowing.  ESUN is wrong to suggest they’d do anything but try to live in the world they helped create.  Heero is a perfect example – he was never taught to do anything but fight, yet even he has found a place for himself.  I won’t take that away.  I can’t let anyone take that away.  Please understand…I’m ready to face the consequences of my actions, if it comes down to that.  But I can’t risk a trial, I’m sorry.”  Relena’s voice was soft and sad, her eyes cast down on the floor as she finally admitted his secret.

“As your attorney, the person who only has your best interests in mind, not his or anyone else’s.  I’m doing this under protest.  We could win a trial,” Mr. Holden said firmly.

Relena lifted her eyes up from the floor and looked at him.  Their eyes locked for a moment and he could see the determination that blazed intensely in her sapphire orbs. And in that moment he knew why she had been able to lead the world at such a young age.

“Yes, but at what cost?”

*                      *                      *                      *                      *                      *

Duo danced back and forth from toe to toe with anxiety – he always got this way before a critical mission.  It didn’t help that the operation was only given a 36% chance at success…it was far too risky to attempt, and yet none of them had balked at the odds when told.  There was no other way, and 36% or not, they had to succeed…Relena’s life depended on it. 

Heero reentered the motel room, the dark scowl still in place from earlier, as he sunk down on the double bed and flipped on the television to the news broadcast.  There was an update on the Peacecraft v Leinsford case.  Trowa even came forward from his dark corner of the room to watch.

Luminous images played across two darkened faces in the room as the announcer droned on about the background of the case before getting to the latest news. 

“…And today we have witnessed another bizarre twist in the legal maneuverings surrounding the former Princess and one of the key political figures from the Eve Wars.  It appears as though the defense and the prosecution have accepted some sort of a deal.  Details are sketchy at this hour and there has been no formal announcement, but sources close to both sides are reporting that the prosecution is not going to appeal the decision by the 5th level appellate court and will let that decision stand.  In return, it appears as though the defense is not going to be filing a motion for a ‘re-trial’, but rather is willing to let Miss Peacecraft’s fate rest solely on the outcome of the opening and subsequent investigation of the original vote cast by the ESUN senate just over two years ago...”

Duo shook his head and looked over at Trowa.  It was time for them to go and accomplish the mission’s first objectives this evening, under the cover of darkness.  They only had a few hours before Operations Decoy and Breakout were to commence.  He and Trowa had to sneak onto the Cromwell military installation and tap into the communication main control unit, then disable all possible manual devices.  Thanks to the ingenious hacking of 01, they had been able to map out the mission to the minutest detail.  But they needed to get going.

Back on the television screen, the reporter had turned the discussion of the case over to the channel’s panel of experts.  “This seems a bit odd to me.  Can one of you explain it?  Why would the Peacecraft defense team give up the trial and go back to the vote decision?  What is the rationale here?”

“Well, either they know something we don’t, and the vote was definitely somehow tampered with, which I don’t know how they could know absolutely that is the case, or the defense team is using the Kevorkian method…”

“Kevorkian method?”

“Yes.  If they’re wrong about the vote, then she’s basically committing suicide…”

************************************************************************

AN:  Okay, for those that are claiming to be lost on the legal maneuvering….I apologize…and will attempt to remedy the situation as much as possible with this short explanation. (Please, these are questions I’ve been asked, don’t feel insulted by this if you knew it already…not everyone is as naturally intelligent as you are)

Okay, the first question: What is treason?

Treason is the betrayal of one’s own government, most specifically by a government official or someone that can cause serious damage by their actions in undermining the authority of the government.  Clear as mud?  Great. 

In SIMPLEST terms….Betrayal in a significant way that could cause the government to collapse.

In THIS case: Relena’s actions in burning all files on the gundam pilots was seen/interpreted as being an attempt to upset the balance of power (i.e., who is in charge) within ESUN.  For her or her government to make laws that somehow overrule laws made by ESUN is putting the Sanq Kingdom above ESUN, and basically weakening the power of the ESUN government.

Next question: What is an appeal?

An appeal is where the prosecution or the defense…whomever the judgment in a trial did NOT favor, asks a higher court to review the decision because of a specific objection.  Only certain courts hear appeals.  The most notable in the US is the Supreme Court, however, before it goes to the Supreme Court, an appeal has to be heard or turned down in each of the lower appellate courts (a court that ‘hears’ appeals is called an appellate court).

So, follow with me… You go to court because you spilled coffee on yourself, and sue McDonalds.  The court and jury hate McDonalds, or they just really like you, and award you 30 million dollars.  McDonalds, of course, doesn’t want to pay so they go to the 1st level court of appeals, in the US, depending on location, will be a specific federal district court.  In my region, it’s the 5th circuit district court (for Texas/Louisiana, etc). McDonalds claims that the defense was unfairly allowed to spill hot McDonalds coffee on the laps of the jury members, thus provoking sympathy from them that unfairly biased the decision.  That court won’t hear it, so then it gets appealed to the state Supreme Court (I haven’t taken Judicial Systems in 5 years, so this could be wrong, however, the principal of appealing the decision to a higher court remains the same).  The state Supreme Court agrees with McDonalds and reverses the decision, however, you have already spent 1⁄2 the 30 million dollars on legal fees, so you will file an appeal against that court’s decision.  The next court, let’s say the Supreme Court, declares the original trial null and void because of improper jury handling and says that neither side wins.  You have to go back and re-try the case in the original lower court.

In THIS case: Relena was never given a trial.  She was convicted in the ESUN Senate, in a situation much like the hearing over the impeachment of Bill Clinton.  The defense argued that at the time of the hearing, Relena was not allowed to mount a proper defense, NOR was she even a member of the ESUN government, therefore, she should be granted a trial in a civil court and allowed to mount an adequate defense like any other regular citizen.  The 5th level court of appeals agreed and granted the appeal.

The defense ALSO claimed that the sealed vote violated the defendant’s right to face her accuser – in other words, she has the right to look each one of the people in the eye that voted for or against her conviction. Can’t have phantom people creating made-up charges then convicting her on no evidence whatsoever.  >_<  Tends to take the justice out of justice system.  The appellate court also agreed and granted her appeal.

Third question:  What is an injunction?

An injunction is a court order either forcing an entity – someone or some thing – to do something or to keep them from doing something.

Most notable real life example: The state attorney generals’ injunction against Microsoft’s distribution/shipment of Windows 98 – because of the ‘integrated browser issue’ (please don’t ask me to explain that.  It had to do with the anti-trust case against MS).   

In THIS case: The defense filed an injunction against the execution.  In other words, to STOP the execution, pending the hearing on the appeal filed with the appellate courts.

For every injunction, there is almost always an equal and opposite injunction.  You can get an injunction against an injunction.  Which Microsoft did, in order to ship Windows 98.  Injunctions were also obtained at various points against Napster – to keep them from operating…and then injunctions were obtained in order to allow them to operate once again.  Thus, the prosecution obtained an injunction against the defense’s injunction in order to set a date for the execution anyway.

Still lost?  Yeah, me too.  Ah well…I did try.  J  Sorry it was so long winded.  L 

Quickly, for those that are confused about the no trial thing….  Ever heard the phrase “the victim is not on trial here”?  Well, always always always…whenever there is a trial, especially where the defendant is concerned…no part of their life is sacred.  The defense and the prosecution will delve into every deep dark corner to try to prove their case.  The defense would want to showcase a warm loving relationship between 2 young beautiful people, in order to win public and jury sympathy for Relena….  The prosecution would want to dig into said lovers pasts and show that the warm loving people they pretend to be is just a cover for their truly cold-blooded, traitorous tendencies.  That they really plot to overthrow ESUN and wage guerilla warfare on the entire Earth Sphere because past history shows that Heero Yuy, gundam pilot did it once before…so what would stop him from doing it again?  And now he’s corrupted Relena, so that she was in on it from the start….Convict them both!!!! 

Keep in mind, that although the people that STARTED this whole thing no longer need the gundam pilots to be the enemy, it’s not like they can just come forward and say – hey, we don’t need to go after them, our objectives were achieved!  The rest of the gov’t. and public opinion had been swayed against them so that they are still viewed as possible enemies.