A Life's Time Part 5
It was past noon and the group within the conference room had grown from four to six, with the addition of the two decoders that Lily was familiar with.
"Take a break, Lily," Wufei urged.
"No." The girl was stubbornly typing on her laptop.
"You haven't eaten since this morning. Aren't you hungry?"
"No," she said absently, frowning at the screen, her hands paused in their work.
Duo studied the sheets, but decoding was not really his department. Still, he stayed, watching Heero work to see if he could see anything the Japanese man missed, which was quite silly now that he thought about it; Heero wouldn't miss anything on a computer screen. Everyone had all taken shifts to eat their lunches, but Lily had remained fast at work.
"Lily." Wufei's tone held warning.
"You're distracting me," she said, eyes not leaving the screen of her laptop.
"Good." Wufei turned upon feeling eyes on him. Heero's eyebrow was raised and Duo was blinking, feeling shocked. In fact, he was beginning to see something common between Heero and Lily, namely the devotion to a computer screen. "Do something," Wufei pleaded to them both.
"Lily." Duo gave it a go. "You won't have the energy to work if you don't eat. Take a few minutes to finish up what you're doing and take a rest to eat lunch."
The girl didn't answer him, but did spare him a glance when he said her name. Her hands worked quickly as she tried to decode one of the three sheets by combining every fifth shape, but it wasn't working.
"Lily," Heero spoke firmly. "I'll need your help later, too. Eat your lunch now."
Lily gave the keyboard several more taps before she closed the top and reached for her sandwich. She slid out of her chair and moved away from the table, walking as she slowly ate, stretching her legs and no doubt still thinking about the sheets.
"Why does she listen to you?" Wufei asked frustrated. "Always. You've only known her a week."
"Beats me," Heero muttered back as he typed.
"I think that's cute," Duo whispered. "I've been meaning to ask, Wufei," he said in a louder voice. "Heero said the AI was used on him, but that was at a close distance. Have you guys figured out how the faction would apply the AI on us from a further distance?"
"Haven't figured that out yet," Wufei sighed. "That's what I hate about this. Lily is the only one who currently has managed to retain all the information that Heero provided. I'm still struggling through it, as is Lady Une."
"You only have three people working on this? Are you insane, Wufei?"
"No, Duo," Wufei sighed. "We have other missions as well. This one, this AI, we can't afford to have it exposed that we have information on it. I know of it because I found Heero at my door. Lady Une knows about it because she's the Head Commander. Lily, obviously, because she's the one who can quickly read, retain, and apply it. So far, she's just managed to finish reading it, and now she's trying to figure out how it is possible to perfect the AI. We have others working on the strategic side of the confrontation."
Duo slumped. "That's a lot to throw on a little girl you know, Wufei?" he said quietly. "You're using her." He looked up at the girl, who had forgotten her sandwich and was staring intently at the screen projecting the three slips of coded sheets.
"To tell you the truth, she likes it." Wufei sighed. "Look at her. She's a sponge for information. She thinks its fun-"
"But no doubt by now, if she's as smart as you say she is, she would have realized that if she doesn't figure something out, we're all doomed to Hell," Duo said roughly. With that, he stood and grabbed his duffle bag. "I hope you don't mind if I want to ask her to go for a walk and take her mind off the sheets for a few minutes?" He told Wufei, more as a statement than a question before he walked towards the girl. "Hey Lily?"
The girl looked up at him after a moment. "Yea?"
"Do me a favor? Can you take me through Rika and get my retinal scans done and processed, then show me to my room?"
"Okay." She took his hand and led him out of the conference room. "Which way..." She paused outside the door. "Fei said that you're rooming across from Heero, right?" She asked.
"Yea," he nodded.
"Want me to take your duffle bag for you?" she asked.
"I think I better handle it, kiddo," Duo chuckled. The girl barely reached his waist!
"I know." She grinned up at him. "I was just being polite." She tugged his hand. "Come on." She led him towards the elevators. "Okay." She faced him and released his hand. "There are eleven floors here, seven underground, and four on top. The very top is Lady Une's office and you don't want to go there unless you have to. The third is the finance and legal department. We don't really venture there unless we're in legal problems. Second is where witnesses come in to give statements. First is the entry registration level that you had been in, but that was to the left of the building. The right side is mainly the back area of the garage for the larger vehicles. You've probably noticed that the underground area is much bigger than the upper floors."
"Okay." Duo dropped the duffle bag as he listened.
"So we're on the third floor now. This is where the conference and archive rooms are, as well as the control room where restricted personnel have access to all the servers of the entire building, provided you have the pass card to access the machine and not just gain entry. This excludes top personnel because you need special entry clearance to get to those as well, obviously. Above us, second from the first level, are the offices of the agents. Your office is there too, I'll show you later. First floor is the communications level. The entire lower area is encased with a special alloy that's pretty much impossible to blast through, other than the old Gundam, Wing Custom and it's beam canon. Think Barton Coup."
Duo nodded in understanding.
"Don't think that just because it's the first floor underground and has the alloy that the communications will be hindered. It gets through loud and clear and that's where the security rooms are and that's where you get your equipment like the handgun and spares that every agent gets, along with uniform and pass." She hit the button on the elevator to go up. "When there's a mission, communications to base takes place there as well." The elevator arrived and they stepped in after Duo picked up his duffle bag. Lily selected the first floor as the doors closed and they began their way up.
"I saw the satellites up on top of the building."
She nodded. "There are invisible forcefields there. Don't go near them if you don't want a shock." She glanced at the buttons on the elevator panel before continuing. "So fourth floor is the dormitory, cafe, and lounge. Fifth floor is the indoor training area. Sixth floor is the medical bay; the medical entrance is on the first floor rear garage. Seventh floor is where the interrogations take place, along with protective and aggressive custody. Total; eleven floors."
The doors opened and she stepped out, leading Duo down to the left side and stopping in front of the second door they came to. The girl slid her keycard in, then keyed in a code and turned to Duo. "Can you give me a lift? I can't reach the retinal scanner."
"I thought you didn't use it." Duo fixed the bag on his shoulder and lifted the girl up, holding her close to the wall. The code cleared and he walked in before he put Lily back on the ground.
"Usually. But this one needs three access codes and the retinal scan because it's the security area that gives someone access to wherever they have clearance to go. So I didn't want it to be compromised by Rika."
"Ah." Duo nodded, dropping his bag by the door. "So what do I do?"
"Here." She sat down in a chair, gesturing for him to join her, and he complied. Rapidly, she filled out a form with his name and placement, along with the forms of clearance he had. "You need to fill in the personal information."
He accepted the spot as she pulled herself away along with the rolling chair and typed in the information the form demanded.
"Now put your hand here." She gestured to a panel. "For prints scan." She watched as his left palm, then right palm, were scanned and logged. "Now, put your eye there." She pointed to a device on the wall that was similar to the retinal scanners he had seen outside. "Hold still." They waited as the computer processed the scan. "Now..." She thought for a moment. "We need your picture."
She pointed to the wall then climbed onto the chair, balancing carefully before she bent at the stationary camera and adjusted it to Duo's height. She took a half shot, then a full shot, then side and back views. "Great." She stepped down and moved back to the computer, typing rapidly. "You'll have clearance to areas the other agents can access, namely conference area, your dorm, the cafe, your office, archive, indoor training area, basically the common areas. That's a level four restriction. Level one is the highest, and Lady Une has it, as does Doctor Po because she needs to access any and all areas should the need arise. Wufei has a level two because he's pretty much second in command. I get level three because of Rika, but the only difference between three and four is that you can't access this security area without a certain clearance code, which changes every day, so if you need to come here you'll be given the code and it will be changed."
"Lot of information," Duo muttered.
"Sorry." Lily shrugged. "Can't help it." She tapped her head. "Coined into me."
"I gathered as much." He nodded. "Now what?"
"Here." She grabbed the card that came out of the slot beside her and handed it to him. "Give me your other one."
"What's the difference?"
"This one has your photo on it," she pointed out. "And confirms your identity for the areas that don't have the retinal scanners. Basically, most other floors you need a retinal scan to get through the main doors. You can't just hop in and out the elevators. Then your pass card admits you to other places. Like your office, or the conference room when it's locked and so on. The one floor with the most retinal scanners is the dorm area, for privacy reasons." She grinned at him. "But I have special clearance if I really want it. Not that I do." She made a face. "Anyway." She slid off the chair. "Come on, let's get your uniform and toys."
Over the next few minutes, Duo had been fitted with a uniform, a gun along with a silencer, as well as spare magazines and bullets. He realized that was what Lily meant by toys.
"So they make uniforms that small, huh?" He gestured to her.
"No." She shook her head. "Custom made." She handed him his spare uniform. "Laundry room is also on the dorm floor, the closed area next to the lounge. That's the one area I can't seem to control so I always have to ask Sally, who lives next to me, to help me with the washing machine and dryer."
Duo chuckled in response.
"So now that you're settled through security, your dorm." She led him back to the elevator and they rode it down to the fourth floor. "Okay. You're room..." She thought for a moment. "Room twenty two." She lead him down the hall to the right of the elevator. "Rooms one through thirty are here. Thirty one to fifty, along with the spares for agents resting in between, are on the other side. In front is the lounge, cafe and laundry."
Duo nodded again. He was beginning to feel out-talked; Lily had lots to say based on the decoding of the sheets as well as the AI because she was the only one who knew the information completely and thoroughly, and he knew he would not surpass her knowledge there. And of course, whatever she had said since they had left the room was all new to him as well. But somehow, he knew that other than this sort of information, the girl normally remained rather quiet.
"Okay." She stopped him in front of room eighteen. "This is Wufei's room. Nineteen is Sally Po's when she stays here, if not the med bay or her own home. Twenty is mine. Twenty one is Heero, and you're twenty two." She offered her hand to him. "Welcome, new neighbor. But the walls are pretty sound proof so you won't be bothered by my noise, nor I yours."
He gawked at her teasing.
"Don't gawk at me," she said in front of his door. "Do your retinal scan!"
He complied and leaned close. The door opened and they walked in. Duo noted the small bathroom, along with the small bed. The bed's frame sported three drawers. Next to it was a bedside table that matched the desk on which a laptop sat. A shelf hung over the desk, and a dresser stood on the adjacent wall. Next to the dresser was a full-length mirror.
"I bet you Wufei had that installed," he snorted. "Just so our uniforms can be immaculate."
"Actually, I think it was Lady Une. But I'm sure Fei had no problems with it." She sat down on his bed. "So you worked at a junk yard? What was it like?"
Duo opened the dresser door to put away his extra clothing along with the new uniform. "Not too bad. One man's trash is another man's treasure, ever heard that?"
"Have now," she answered. "What was it like to pilot a Gundam?"
"Best feeling in the world," he answered. "Not the killing." His expression darkened for a moment. "But that baby handles so well. Kicked OZ's as- er...behind."
"Don't have to watch your language around me." She shrugged. She covered her eyes. "I'm not looking, you can put your underclothes away."
He chuckled at the girl's antics, but did remove his boxers from the duffle and store them into a drawer. He then took the nearly empty bag to place the items on the bathroom shelves available. He returned and stored the bag in one of the drawers under the bed.
"All done?" she asked.
"All done," he nodded. "That baby mine?" He gestured to the laptop.
"Yup," she nodded. "Can I..." She swallowed her question. "Never mind."
"What is it?" He sat down next to the girl, taking the moment to stretch his legs and move his head to remove the cricks.
"I just was wondering if I could...have a hug."
Duo blinked at the girl.
"Sorry I asked." She diverted her eyes and stood. "We can go if you're ready. They'll be waiting."
Duo took a good look at the girl. Wearing the immaculate Preventer's uniform with the pass card hanging around her, she looked like a child in military school. /What a cute kid,/ he thought as he noted the dark brown locks that she had tied in a pony tail as she worked. Her bangs were long and again, he saw the flash of blue eyes as she peeked at him.
"Come here, kiddo," He opened his arms. She hesitated, then stepped closer and wrapped her short arms around his waist. "You're welcome to give me hugs anytime," he whispered.
"Thank you," she murmured. "It's just that..." She pulled back. "Mama had really long hair, like yours. I'm not saying you're like a woman...but I haven't seen Mama since I was five or six. All I remember is her long hair and blue eyes."
Duo felt his heart twist at Lily's admission.
"It's okay," he murmured. "We all have someone we miss." He brought his braid forward. "For what it's worth, I leave this braid in memory of the Sister that took care of me at the church I used to live at when I was a kid." She eyed his braid, and after a moment, he held it towards her. "You can touch it if you want."
Hesitantly, the girl lifted her hand, and traced it down the last three twines of hair. "Soft," she commented. She wrapped her hand in a fist around the bottom and reached her other hand forward to touch it. Suddenly, she looked up at him.
"I know how to decode the sheets." She carefully released the braid. "Come on."
He stood quickly and they left the room for the elevators. "What's your idea?" he asked.
"Something your braid made me think about," she answered. "Thank you," she added almost as an afterthought. "For letting me touch it."
"No worries, Lilykins." He ruffled her bangs lightly. "Just remember what I said about the hugs."
"Thanks," she said again. They stepped into the elevator and were soon entering the conference room again.
"Settled, Duo?" Heero asked as Lily climbed into her chair again.
"Yes." Duo nodded. "Lily has a way to decode the sheets."
"I need paper. Pen." She looked expectantly at Wufei as she pushed the laptop and bottle of juice away to give herself space to work. "Come on!" She turned her gaze to the two decoders who had stopped their work. "Doesn't anyone have a piece of paper?" she asked, frustrated.
One of the decoders jumped up and hurried over to a shelf in a corner of the room and pulled out a large notepad. The other one tossed a pen in her direction and Duo caught it before handing it to the girl.
"Coded sheets?" She gathered them in front of herself and gave them each a once over. "Okay." She looked at Wufei and then Heero, then the blank paper in front of her. Twirling the pen once, she set the work, explaining her idea. "I got this idea when I touched Duo's braid," she murmured. Both Wufei and Heero raised an eyebrow at the American, who shrugged in reply, indicating he was no wiser than they were. "We have three sheets. Heero's first, then Wufei's and then Duo's." She drew the first symbol on Heero's sheet, selecting the top right corner as her starting point. She did the same with Wufei's, then Duo's sheets. The three combined formed a character that she then re-drew and turned to Heero. "Look familiar?"
Heero studied the sheet and shook his head. She bit her lip. "It has to be this way," she said firmly. Turning Heero's sheet by ninety degrees, she replaced the first symbol again. Heero shook his head, and she repeated the motion, trying to figure out which side of the paper was right side up.
"If it's a combination of these, and you can't figure out which is right side up, then this will take a while," Wufei pointed out, realizing what the girl was doing.
"I'm sure. I don't know why, I'm just sure," she muttered. "I need something to refer to."
"They kind of look like Japanese characters," Duo pointed out.
"That's why I asked Heero if they're familiar." She looked at Heero, then handed him a sheet. "Can you write out the Japanese alphabet for me?"
"Yes," he nodded, then pulled out a pen, scribbling as quickly as he could. Handing it back to the girl, they watched as she gave it a once over, then studied the three sheets rapidly.
"Bingo." She turned Heero's sheet twice, left Wufei's, and turned Duo's three times. She scribbled out the three symbols and the resulting one. "See anything?" She asked Heero.
Heero studied the sheet, then nodded. "Japanese letter," he informed the others.
"Exactly," she nodded. "The idea that there were three sheets made us think we could either decode it together, or separately. But the fact that there was no right side up, and the fact they were all different sizes, threw us off. We hadn't overlapped them yet. Then I saw Duo's braid." She continued to scribble as she spoke, the coded sheets committed to memory so that she didn't even have to refer to them as she wrote. She slowed down on the characters that looked nothing like the Japanese alphabet Heero had shown her. "It made me think of tying the three together." She frowned. "Doesn't make sense," she muttered. "These don't look right." She stopped after the tenth and looked at Heero. "Does this look right?"
Heero studied the sheets for a moment, then shook his head. "No."
"Duo I need your help."
"Yes?" Duo was studying the sheets.
"The faction knows you. If they used this, they may have gotten the idea from your braid. I need you to take these sheets. For each symbol I write, I need you to move them like your hair. Make the braiding motion."
"All right." Duo stood behind the girl, then shifted his sheet between Heero's and Wufei's. The girl scribbled and nodded and he moved Heero's between his sheet and Wufei's sheet. The girl nodded again and he repeated the motion several times before she paused to hand the new sheet to Heero.
"Does it make more sense?"
"Yes." Heero nodded. "Not a full sentence yet though."
"We can't decode this on the computer because we need the braiding motion," Lily muttered. "Let's keep going."
"I'll write a more legible copy," Heero volunteered. Lily handed him a few spare sheets of paper and he sat to her left, rewriting her comprehension of the coded sheets into his comprehension of Japanese characters, interpreting them as he went along. Wufei sat, agitated and anxious and the two decoders watched, fascinated, as the trio worked.
"Call Une, I think we're almost done," Duo said to Wufei. "She'll want to know."
"Right." Wufei stood to make the appropriate call.
Several minutes later, Lady Une walked into the room.
"Heero, Duo," she greeted the two newcomers.
"Hey Lady Une." Duo answered. Heero merely grunted in answer, concentrating on the task at hand.
They waited another ten minutes before Lily sighed and put the pen down, turning to Heero as she slid her sheet closer to him. He finished up, then cross referenced the symbols to make sure he got them correct.
"Well? What's it say?" Duo asked, curious.
Heero looked at him, then Lily, to Wufei and finally Lady Une.
"It says 'To Preventers. Good for you in managing to decode this. We launch our first attack on July third over the Atlantic Ocean, twenty miles from shore.'" He looked up. "Today's the twenty-sixth of June. That leaves us..." he did a mental tally.
"Leaves us exactly one week," Lily breathed.
TBC...
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