Rain streamed mercilessly from the leaden sky, falling onto his head and dripping off the tips of his black hair. Crimson eyes stared out of a pale face, shadowed by dark circles under the eyes.
Vincent Valentine crouched in the shadows, one hand on the concrete wall of the building next to him. He silently inched forward, feet slipping on the wet pavement, and squinted into the twilight around the corner. Vincent saw nothing that could be identified as a threat, but he was cautious as a matter of habit. He stood upright and glided around the bend onto the next street, little more than a dirty alleyway, without making a sound. Rain drummed loudly off the corrugated metal roofs.
Vincent pressed himself against the wall, feeling its roughness against his back. A footfall sounded near him and his hand dropped to rest on Cerberus. He was sliding the gun out of its holster when Tseng materialized in the dark at his side.
"Negative for signs of rebel activity," murmured the other Turk, his voice pitched low to avoid attracting unwanted attention.
Vincent nodded solemnly. "No activity here, either." He swiped at his sodden hair, brushing it out if his eyes. "Head for the reactors. I'll meet you there shortly." Tseng touched two fingers to his forehead in salute before melting into the darkness.
Vincent turned the other way and skulked down the sidewalk, straining to see through the rain. He reached another cross-street and turned left around the corner… to come within millimeters of being impaled.
Vincent dove to the right, tucking his legs and spinning into a flip that landed him on his feet three meters away. His attacker took two steps forward and dropped into a crouch, weapon held crosswise in front.
Placing a single foot ahead, the mysterious figure swung the spear at Vincent's knees, pivoting on one heel when the blow failed to connect. The Turk sprang into the air and drove his own foot straight for the other's face.
The figure threw up an arm, grabbed Vincent's elbow, and flipped him neatly into the wall. Vincent bent his knees to absorb the shock and pushed off the concrete, breaking free of the grip on his elbow. He landed in a crouch, and saw the other's shocked expression right before Vincent's fist snapped out and caught him full in the face.
Slumped against the wall, the figure had scraggly blond hair and goggles pushed halfway up his forehead. Vincent saved the incident to mull over later and stretched into a flat-out run, headed for the reactors.
x-x-x
Twenty minutes later, Vincent reached the bright green spurts of light that marked the existence of the ShinRa mako reactors. Shielding his eyes with an arm, he moved underneath one of the enormous structures and tapped a code into the control panel. The recessed hatch slid open with a hiss, and Vincent entered, dripping puddles of water onto the metal floor.
"You do know that you were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago, I hope?" The lights came up just enough for Vincent to see the distinctive blonde hair and tapping toe of another Turk - Elena. He bowed his head in a deferential gesture.
"My apologies. I had some difficulties on the way back," said Vincent, his low voice echoing in the cavernous space. Elena gestured impatiently with her hand.
"Whatever. Just hurry up and get ready. We've got a job to do."
She didn't have to tell him that this job was perhaps one of the most important the Turks had ever been entrusted with. Vincent knew. Knew that somewhere in the facility was President Shinra's son, Rufus. Knew that somewhere outside was a movement of people who would very much like to see ShinRa suffer for what they'd done to the planet. Knew that he and four other Turks were all that stood between the two. Vincent sighed and stepped back to guard the hatchway, bound and determined to do his duty.
Outside, several shadows moved increasingly closer to the reactor.