Whatever It Takes: Book1 Time of Choices

Book1 Whatever 01



 


Whatever It Takes – Book I: Time of Choices
Part 1 Betrayal
It was long after midnight when Zechs Merquise knocked quietly on
the window to his friend6;s 6;s bedroom. The longhaired, platinum blond youth had been
hiding in the backyard for a couple hours waiting for everybody in the house to go to
sleep. He had to knock again before there was movement inside. The curtains were moved
aside and then the window opened.
"Zechs?!" A boy with short-cropped, brown hair rubbed his eyes and stared at him
surprised. "What are you doing here? You got any idea what time it is?"
"My apologies, Otto! I wanted to be sure your parents are asleep," Zechs
explained.
"Where have you been? Do you know people from social services
have been in school looking for you?"
"I know," the blond youth simply replied.
He had been hiding from then for the past six days.
God, has it been six days already?
It seemed like only yesterday that he had been informed that his foster parents had been
in a fatal car accident. The two officers that brought him the terrible news had also
taken him to the hospital where he had, as protocol dictated, identified the bodies. After
that he had never returned home. He had cleaned out his personal bank account and
disappeared, knowing that with no living relatives he was going to become a ward of the
state until he was 21. He had no intention of letting them put him into an Alliance
controlled orphanage or youth home. He had other, more important plans.
"Come in before we wake up the whole neighborhood." The
boy stepped aside to let the blond climb through the window. "I’ve heard the
news about your parent’s accident, Zechs. I’m so sorry."
Zechs’ body stiffened a little as he swallowed hard to keep a lump from forming in
his throat.
"Thank you," he answered stiffly
Otto, like everybody else, had of course no idea that the Merquise
had only been his adoptive parents. But that didn’t make this any less painful. After
all they had been the only parents he had known for the past 13 years. But he
couldn’t afford thinking about that now; couldn’t afford loosing himself in
grief and self-pity, because he knew that if he did he was going to break down.
"I need a favor," Zechs told his friend. "Would you
mind letting me use your computer?"
"Not at all." The other boy gestured toward his desk where is computer was
standing. "Help yourself."
The blond thanked him with a nod and slipped into the chair by the
desk. He pulled a disk from the pocket of his beige colored pants and popped it into the
drive.
Let’s hope it is worth the money I paid for it.

::: Begin of Flashback:::
Zechs felt uncomfortable the moment he set foot into the dimly lit
bar. The smell of alcohol and cheap perfume mixed with the scent of too many bodies in a
small room was almost nauseating. He pushed his way through thewd, wd, ignoring remarks
like; "Hey sweetheart, looking for some fun tonight?" and "Look at you,
little boy. Does mommy knou aru are not tucked in bed?"
"I’m here to see Marcel," he told the barkeeper. The man looked him up and
down before yelling over his shoulder.
"Marc, you have a guest."
Marc… Marcel, a tall, slender build man with obviously dyed
platinum blond hair and long green fingernails that matched the color of his eyes, stepped
out of the backroom. He gave the bartender a questioning look and the man nodded at Zechs.
"You want to see me?"
Zechs nodded. "We talked the other day. You said you had something for me."
"You got the money?" Marcel inquired.
The youth nodded again. "10,000 credits (1) as agreed upon."
"Well let’s step into my office then."
The blond followed the man into the backroom. As soon as the door closed behind them
Marcel held out his hand. Zechs handed him the credit chip. The man slid it through a card
reader on the table, making sure it had the correct amount on it and was valid. Obviously
satisfied with the result he turned back to the boy.
"Where does a kid like you get this kind of money?"
"That is really none of your concern." Zechs answered.
"True," the man shrugged stepping toward the boy till they stood toe to toe.
Zechs tensed but didn’t back off. "Can I get you something to drink, a beer,
glass of wine? Something to loosen you up a little?" Marcel took a strand of the
boy’s long hair and run it playfully through his fingers. Zechs swatted his hand
away.
"You got your money, so just give me what I came for and let me be on my way."
The man shrugged again. He went to the back of the room, retrieved a computer disk from
somewhere and tossed it to the blond.
"What are you planning to do? Blow up some military base or kidnap a government
official?"
Zechs slipped the disk into his pocket, turned and left the room
without another word, breathing a sigh of relieve when he was back on the street.
::: End of Flashback:::

Otto climbed back into his bed, pulling the covers around him, and stifled a yawn. For a
moment he watched the taller boy, wondering what the blond was up to.
"Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"What?"
"I mean…you know my father is a lawyer." Otto said.
Well, his father wasn’tt a t a layer really. He actually owned one of the leading law
firms in the country. "If there is a problem he probably can take care of it for
you."
Zechs turned toward his friends, shaking his head. "No, I
don’t think getting your father involved is a good idea. In fact I think it would be
better if nobody knows that I was here."
The other boy nodded understandingly.
"So, what are you going to do now?"
"I’m not sure yet," Zechs lied.
Otto stifled another yawn. It was obvious that his friend was in no
mood to talk. He got up and walked over to his large walk-in closet, pulled out a sleeping
bag and a couple blankets and spread them out on the floor.
"I’ll go back to bed. You can stay here for the night, Zechs if you want to.
Mother will wake me up at 7:00, so make sure you are gone by then."
"Thanks. I really do appreciate it." The longhaired blond turned to give the boy
a ghost of a smile. Zechs really meant it. It might seem odd that somebody as popular as
him didn’t have many friends. But he had always been somewhat of a loner. He had
socialized with many of his classmates, but he wouldn’t consider them to be friends.
Especially not friends he would go to under these circumstances. Otto was the exception.
The two of them had a lot on common.
The brown-haired boy made a dismissive gesture. "Think nothing
of it. Take it as some kind of repayment for all the times you let me copy your
homework."
As his friend went back to sleep Zechs turned his attention back to
the computer screen. The codes Marcel had given him worked. Getting into the Alliance main
database was a piece of cake. But he’d never realized how large it was. Unsure where
to find what he was looking for he had to browse through hundreds of documents and worked
for nearly two hours before he turned of the computer. He kicked off his shoes and set the
alarm on his watch before he crawled into the makeshift bed on the floor.
At last I’m making progress, he thought with a satisfied smile before he fell
asleep.
***
Zechs noted with satisfaction that the window to his friend’s
room stood open about half an inch, just like he had left it earlier that morning. Luck
had it that Otto and his family had left to spend the winter break at their vacation house
in Aspen. His friend had suggested that Zechs could use his room and computer at night, as
long as he made sure the maid, who came daily to take care of the place, didn’t see
him. Otto never asked him why he needed to use his computer or what he was doing, and
Zechs was grateful for that. The less his friend knew the better for both of them.
The blond slid his fingers beneath the wooden frame and pushed the
window up. Luckily the room was in the back of the house so that he didn’t have to
worry about any neighbors seeing him. Graceful as a cat he climbed through the window
never expecting that somebody was waiting for him inside.
Suddenly the lights in the room were flicked on blinding the boy, who had been outside in
the dark for a long time, momentarily. Zechs raised his arm to shield his eyes from the
sudden brightness. Squinting he recognized two, no three uniformed men in the room with
him. A noise behind his back told him that his way of retreat was blocked as well. Zechs
dropped his arm, his shoulders slumping in defeat as he glared at the men. How did they
find him? Only one person knew that he would come here. The realization made him almost
sick to his stomach.
Otto, how could you?
"Consider yourself under arrest," one of the soldiers told him. "It will be
in your best interest of you follow us without resisting."
Zechs’ eyes moved to the man who had spoken.
"What am I being arrested for?" he asked calmly, at the same time accessing his
situation and the possibility of escape.
"Unauthorized access of restricted government files," the
soldier informed him, as he approached the boy with a pair of handcuffs.
"Put your hands together!"
Lips pressed together Zechs complied. He waited for the man to be
right in front of him and then he exploded. Pushing the soldier against the chest with
both hands he sent him flying into his two comrades. While the three men scrambled to get
back onto their feet, the blond spun around. He jumped out of the window taking down the
soldier standing outside, using the man’s body to cushioning his own fall. Zechs
rolled up over his shoulder and was back on his feet in an instant.
"Stop," a voice yelled from behind as he started to run. A moment later
something struck him in the back hard, hitting his nervous system like a bolt of
lightning, paralyzing his muscles instantly. Electric stun gun, the boy realized as he
dropped to the ground, unable to move as much as a finger. He could hear the noise of
approaching footsteps, and he was pulled onto his knees roughly. Zechs stifled a cry as
his arms were twisted behind his back brutally.
"That was stupid, Kid, very stupid," somebody growled from behind him. He could
feel the cold steel of the stun gun being pressed behind his left ear, another painful
electricity jolt, and everything around him went black.

TBC
Author's notes:

(1) - In Gundam Wing when Wufei pays for the explosives and truck he pays with what
appears to be paper money. But since I'm not sure if they have some kind of universal
currency or what kind of money they are using I thought credits sounds acceptable.
What's to come: Part 2 - Imprisonment
Zechs is taken to a Military base where he has a meeting with a young Alliance general
Please R&R! Remember your reviews are the only compensation I
receive for my efforts, so please be generous. :-)