At this moment, Reid was completely unaware that Siegel and Patrick had already begun paying attention to him. Instead, he was preoccupied with a thought: if Patrick were to find out his identity later and charge at him in a rage, should he just pin the guy to the ground and pummel him?
Despite Coordinators having superior physical abilities and reflexes compared to Naturals, Reid was, after all, a soldier who had undergone formal military training. Patrick's age was also a factor—youth often prevailed in fights. In a brawl between the two, Reid was confident he could overpower Patrick and beat him down.
Yes, Reid had decided to come clean during this meeting about his involvement in the Junius Seven attack.
If he didn't confess, the Earth Alliance would eventually expose it once they realized his importance. By then, if Siegel and Patrick learned the truth from the Earth Alliance, their impression of him would plummet. It was better to be upfront—if they could still cooperate, great; if not, he could at least prepare early for PLANT's subsequent retaliation.
Lost in these thoughts, Reid barely noticed as the sightseeing cable car reached its destination. After being transported to the hotel in the high-end bulletproof vehicle he had recently procured from another L3 Colony Satellite, the meeting commenced in the hotel's luxurious conference room.
Of course, before entering, both sides were thoroughly searched and disarmed—Reid genuinely feared Patrick might impulsively pull a gun on him.
Fortunately, Siegel Clyne's secretary was a woman, and to demonstrate goodwill, Angie even allowed the female secretary to conduct the search on her.
Seeing Angie lead by example, Siegel and Patrick naturally didn't make a fuss either, complying with the disarmament. After all, with no weapons on either side, equal numbers in the room, and armed guards stationed outside, there was nothing to fear.
Once inside the conference room, tea was served, and Angie and Reid sat face-to-face with Siegel and Patrick. Behind them, secretaries from both sides took notes.
There was no formal moderator for this meeting. After the staff exited and closed the door, Reid took the initiative to speak first:
"Chairman Siegel, Military Commissioner Patrick, I understand that your visit here is to discuss cooperation. Your sincerity is evident, and we've taken note of it.
However, before we begin, I believe there's something about my personal history that you must know. If left unaddressed, it could cause conflicts between us in the future."
Hearing Reid's grave tone, Siegel and Patrick exchanged glances, sensing he wasn't joking. Patrick, whose position as a military leader mirrored Reid's, responded:
"Please go ahead, Mr. Reid. PLANT welcomes friends who've seen the error of their ways. Even if you once joined Lacus or have a dark past, it doesn't matter."
Patrick's message was clear: PLANT didn't care where Reid had worked before. Even if he had once acted against Coordinators, cooperation could wipe the slate clean.
But Reid inwardly shook his head—what he had participated in was something Patrick could never forgive. Rising to his feet, he adopted an expression of one part remorse, three parts resignation, and six parts anguish, and said:
"I have no connection with those Blue Cosmos lunatics. I was originally a pilot from the Artemis Fortress under the Eurasian Federation. My squad was loaned to the Roosevelt by the fortress commander on February 12, CE70. On February 14, we participated in the attack mission against Junius Seven... I'm a survivor of that tragedy. Later, Angie found and brought me back. I was bedridden for three months but managed to pull through."
As soon as Reid finished speaking, the faces of the four PLANT representatives instantly turned ashen. Patrick's veins bulged on his forehead—now he understood why they had to disarm before entering the meeting room. Unable to contain his fury, he slammed the table and roared:
"What?! You were one of the butchers at Junius Seven! I'll kill you!"
With that, Patrick leaped onto the conference table and lunged at Reid.
Reid wasn't the least bit surprised by Patrick's reaction. He swiftly caught Patrick's right arm mid-lunge, sidestepped, and pinned him against the wall with his own body, speaking rapidly:
"Chairman Patrick, I understand your anger, but I swear I had no idea the Atlantic Federation planned a nuclear strike on Junius Seven. It wasn't until the last moment before deployment, when I saw the nuclear weapon markings on the Atlantic Federation's Moebius units, that I realized what kind of war I was being dragged into. By then, I had no chance to stop the tragedy. I tried my best on the battlefield—did you recover the Recon ZINN near Junius Seven's old construction platform? I used wired comms to warn its pilot that the Atlantic Federation was preparing a nuclear strike and urged him to evacuate the Colony Satellite."
Patrick's struggles paused momentarily at Reid's words, but he soon turned his head and snarled:
"So what? You still contributed to that operation!"
Seeing Patrick's bloodshot eyes, Reid knew mere explanations were futile. He retorted with equal anguish:
"What the hell was I supposed to do?! Refusing to sortie would've meant facing the execution squad's guns! And do you really think Junius Seven would've been spared just because I wasn't there? This was all the doing of those Blue Cosmos maniacs from the Atlantic Federation! A butcher? I wasn't even the damn blade—just the handle! And I was dragged into it against my will! Do you have any idea how many nightmares I've had these past three months? 'Contributed'? Bullshit! I was just fighting to survive!"
As he spoke, Reid fully immersed himself in the act, his expression a portrait of helplessness and torment—even now, the memory of Junius Seven filled him with dread.
But Reid's words only further enraged Patrick. With a sudden burst of strength, Patrick broke free from Reid's hold and shoved him against the edge of the conference table. He then swung a punch at Reid's face, shouting:
"At least you're still alive! Do you know what I lost? Lenore—Lenore died at Junius Seven!"
Reid naturally knew who Lenore was—Patrick's wife, Athrun's mother. But Patrick had no sense of honor, going straight for the face.
Fortunately, Reid's reflexes were sharp. He raised his arm and blocked Patrick's punch.
But Patrick was clearly no stranger to combat either. Seeing his right hand blocked, he immediately punched Reid in the stomach with his left.
Reid felt like his stomach acid was about to be knocked out of him. Without hesitation, he kicked Patrick away, then proceeded to rain down blows on his head—equally ruthless and unprincipled.
However, Patrick was practically a berserker at this point, completely unfazed by Reid's attacks. Even if Reid could land three punches in quick succession, Patrick would grit through the pain to retaliate with at least one of his own.
The two of them tussled wildly in the conference room, completely devoid of dignity. Fortunately, the room was soundproofed well enough—otherwise, the guards outside would have surely burst in at the noise.
In truth, the others present could tell that neither Reid nor Patrick had completely lost their senses. Neither was fighting to kill, avoiding any lethal moves. This was just a pure, unrestrained brawl.
At this rate, neither would die—at worst, they'd suffer some soft tissue damage, and even fractures were unlikely.
So neither Siegal nor Angie stepped in to separate them, nor did they call for the guards. Because if the guards intervened, it would mean the negotiations had collapsed—an outcome neither side wanted.
As for Siegal and Patrick's respective secretaries, seeing that Siegal wasn't making a move, they naturally didn't dare act recklessly either.
(End of Chapter)