Imperfect (Part 3)

"I crossed my fingers," Hilde covered. "You thought it meant for good luck I guess." Yeah. Deceiving. "It was worth it to me, Duo, but I didn't want to worry you. It's just that all of the testing was done at the hospitals except one. We all thought they were making us pregnant, but what if they are faking all of that too? What if it really is just the feelings they want to stir?"

Except one though. "That was a cheap test. The first test, Hilde," Duo pointed out. "What? You think Revenge of the Lost actually snuck into our place and replace your test with an expired or jinxed one?" He almost chuckled, but he saw her expression.

"There's a lot of people in it," she said. "If they are in the colonies too. I know it sounds ridiculous, but, I didn't even want to say anything out loud in the convenient store. Maybe they are even watching us here. Even now."

"Oh, man." Holy crap. "They were watching us that closely at home?" Replacing a pregnancy test?

"Yeah, and. Well, I went home with it and used it right away in the colony," Hilde said. "So, I don't think they snuck into our place per say. I think they reasoned where I'd get it. My favorite store I shopped at for us. So, I mean, they couldn't be that powerful. Right? Could they have replaced the tests at the time they knew I needed to buy one? If so, that's . . . that's a lot power, Duo, but I don't see any other way."

"Damn it! Yeah, that is power, but money makes power strong. Real strong. Heero and Wufei was right this whole time!"

"Maybe," Hilde agree. "Maybe they really were doing something though. An old-fashioned random test at a random spot that nobody could possibly set up is the only way to know the truth. For all we know, maybe I was just a glitch?"

Ugh. "Okay." He smiled. "Well, at least my butts out of the fire." Hm. "I need to let the guys know too." Hilde was right. RTL didn't have to sacrifice unborns to make them pay. They just had to make them think so.

So close together. Using the same tonsillectomy excuse. Making sure the hospital was the one with the positive testing. Confiscating every single surgery, like something happened in it. Damn!

Instead of hiding the fact they were using some advanced technology . . . they might be hiding the fact they weren't! So far, not one pilot had found any kind of footage. Except, maybe? "Great news, Hilde, but I need to make an important call first, before we go much further."

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Wufei sat in a chair, deciding on what to do when his phone rang. "Duo Maxwell." He learned some time ago to not ignore his calls. Not like this time it was going to be-

"Hilde took a test and she's negative for pregnancy."

Okay, nevermind what he previously thought. "What?"

"Hilde took a test when I left her alone with Trowa. I tripped Trowa's wire at Middle Une's and – we'll get into that later – anyhow, she took the time to buy a cheap test and take it. Negative."

Negative? "The doctors. The nurses. Hospital staff." They couldn't all be in on it.

"Wufei, Hilde thinks maybe that technology that helped get them pregnant, might not have happened. We all psychologically and emotionally suffer if the women and unborn die, whether the unborn are real or not."

Agh! "I was right in the first place, Maxwell!" He was ready to throttle Duo. All this trouble with his colony to bring Mei-Lin there and for what?

"Look, they might not all be fake. Hilde could be a glitch," Duo pointed out, "but Mei-Lin was released from jail, right?"

Hm? "Yes, she's here with me. No longer in prison, or on her colony." Damn. He had to get a cheap test and do the same thing to know for sure.

"She got out 'cause of proof, right? Does she have any footage of the surgery? Is it in her proof?"

Wufei didn't even think about that, he'd been focused on getting her out. "Woman," Wufei addressed her from in front of him. "Do you have any surgery videos in proof of your innocence?"

"With my should-have-been husband," she said.

Oh. "It's with the one she should have married, Duo."

"You got to go get it and see it. We gotta know for sure what's on it."

"Sure, after I get her a test," Wufei insisted.

"Look, it's early days, Wufei. There's a reason Hilde didn't want me to know about the tests. They could be wrong. Especially in the colonies, I don't know how that all works out, or if they have the exact same tests. Space is different in nearly everything."

"I get it." It might be different. "If there is a visual of it happening, I would be more satisfied." Still. If she wasn't pregnant, life would be so much better again. As annoying as it was, he had to contact Li Zhang.

Awkward. They had said all they needed to say, and now he had to waste time speaking to him again. When he answered, it wasn't kindly. He made his request though and soon had a download waiting on his phone. Two downloads waiting on his phone. He sent him the one of the murder as well. Hm.

He hit play.