01/26/2007: Because I was not overly impressed with the story upon its completion, Day of Disaster will be having a complete re-haul. I might even consider changing the title of the story. Nevertheless, the original will stay posted in my profile simply because it is completed, and it is a look at how much (or little in some cases) I have improved.
Much of the storyline will stay the same with some additions (or subtractions) and modifications to make it even more realistic. Starting with chapter 4, which was the beginning of the end for me at least, some of the chapters will be combined in order to restructure the story (which means overly large chapters as a whole ).
Also, I know I'm copying Peptuck with the whole revamping idea, but to be honest, I don't care. I think it's a great idea to keep your original work posted while you make improvements on the same story in order to tell the difference in the style. Hopefully I won't screw up as badly the third time around. In any case, enjoy.
02/01/2007: I forgot to put the time inbetween certain scenes in this chapter. That mistake had been rectified.
03/26.2008: Because my formatting is no longer permitted on ffnet, I am forced to go through the entire story and fix where ffnet has allowed gaps to form. Hopefully I get them all.
The following takes place between 2am and 3am in Esthar Time.
Events occur in real time.
The cool autumn breeze flew past the desolate buildings of the business district of Esthar City. For once, the night was quiet; a welcome change from the chaotic sounds of monster attacks and hectic soldiers and SeeDs alike trying to divert their attention and exterminate them. Children were sleeping soundlessly, excluding the occasional wake up call to visit the facilities or to get a glass of water before wandering back to their beds. Those who had work or other engagements for the following day were also sleeping peacefully, without worry of suddenly catching sight of an Imp wandering around their kitchens and blasting utilities to kindling.
The ones who were not asleep where busy working at the Presidential Residence, making sure the government as well as the country was run as smoothly as humanly possible. Documents were frequently being filed after being typed up and signed by the President of Esthar, the lawyers of the city were quickly looking at cases that had been handed to them by the courts, and the guards and soldiers were making their rounds, as they normally would. The number of soldiers stationed to guard duty, however, had been drastically reduced since the decrease of monster activity within the city. People were finally beginning to feel as though everything was returning to the way things were before Ultimecia's attack.
Four months had passed. Four months since the end of the war and the beginning of the rebuilding of society was initiated. The worst part about their enemy being a Sorceress who came from the future was the fact that she was from the future, so they couldn't force her to clean up the mess that she had caused. Thus, the task had been bestowed upon the citizens of the world who were currently living in such disarray. It helped that the people were willing to help make their lives prosperous once again; cleaning off debris and doing the best of their ability to restore order and calm. Of course, it also helped that the government of not only the country needing assistance, but also that the governments of other countries were willing to do their part as well.
SeeD had especially been helpful with the looming monsters within the cities and villages, herding them all together before either re-locating them to places where they would do no harm, or wiping them out. Galbadia, Balamb, Trabia, and Esthar were currently freed of any remaining creatures that could potentially cause a threat to humankind as well as their civilization. Buildings had been restored to their orderly fashion, and operations had come into existence to ensure that nothing like the two Sorceress' Wars ever occurred again.
The world had even begun to create somewhat of a world order that would ensure world peace for the future; preventing war and other such things from re-occurring. SeeD had personally taken on the job of Peacekeepers, and as such, they would step in to prevent any situation from extending further into the brink of a war that would probably destroy them all in the end. A legislative body was selected to represent each country, which were made up of groups of three to further represent the people's voices and so far, the building of this selective group was progressing quite nicely. It would be another month before the organization of such a group was finalized, but in the meantime, it appeared as though the people were finally ready to put aside their differences and actually work together for a peaceful existence.
Because of the lesser need for soldiers to be stationed around the city, in order to prevent any further monster attacks from occurring, security had become lighter. Soldiers who normally patrolled the city streets in search of something out of the ordinary had scaled down to a comfortable party of three rather than the looming group of ten or twelve that had become a bothersome habit. The number of guards standing guard and patrolling the perimeter of the Presidential Residence had decreased as well, the number five replacing the number fifty. Each soldier was to take three hours to circle and watch over the perimeter before another member of their team relieved them.
Currently, one lone soldier stood in front of the entrance to the Presidential Residence. He was dressed in the same military dress as his comrades; a silver and purple uniform with camouflage enhancers, which also served as protective chest armour and a helmet, shaped like a bug's head with antennae, which enhanced tele-communication capabilities. Of course, it appeared as though it was more for decoration, which was exactly how the Estharian army would deceive their Galbadian enemies in the past. Their main weapon was an axe gun; an axe grafted onto a miniature shotgun. The axe was detachable, and served well as a boomerang. It was the same colour as the uniforms, and possessed camouflage capabilities as well, so as not to stand out while on a stealth mission. The axe gun was not the only weapon of their arsenal. They also possessed grenades, which were regularly kept strapped onto their belts, as well as a small broadsword to fend off enemies at close range. A combat knife was secured inside of his boot just in case he lost his weapons, and another was hidden up in the sleeve covering his right arm.
The soldiers of Esthar have, for a long while, served as both law enforcement agents and military officials. This was the case because the training that came with becoming a member of the Estharian military was also credited with the safety of the civilians within the area. They were much like SeeD when it came to an operation; hurt the target and keep as many innocents safe as possible. Because of this, it wasn't uncommon to spot an officer helping an elderly person, or assisting parents in bringing their children to school.
The lone soldier stood at the ready, waiting for orders to move his position towards the east wing of the Presidential Residence, and just watching out for anything out of the ordinary. Mack Daniels sighed as he continued to keep watch, adjusting the holster holding his gun and checking his sleeves just in case the knife had dropped out, which wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Satisfied, he levelled his gaze and scanned the area in his direct line of vision. He had promised his fiancé that he would quit the late night patrols, but he also wanted to make their upcoming wedding day special. After all, her previous husband had been a wealthy executive, and made their wedding an extravagant event. Compared to that, Mack understood that he wasn't even a runner up, and some days he wondered why she even accepted the proposal from a less than Average Joe like himself. But he was grateful nonetheless and he was prepared to spend as many nights keeping an eye on the perimeter or any other demeaning task he had to in order to make that day something to remember.
Snapping out of his revere, he levelled his weapon as soon as he detected movement from his night vision visor, and realized that the intruder was heading straight towards him. The person before him appeared to be a short male, with dark hair and light eyes. He was also dressed completely in black, and probably would have remained un-detected had Mack not turned on his visor when he first came on duty. Frowning slightly underneath the helmet, Mack took a deep breath and slowly approached the man, his weapon still raised. "The Presidential Residence is off limits. Please make an appointment with the general secretary in the morning."
The man merely stopped his pace when he reached a few meters away from the soldier, and raised his arms in a peaceful gesture. "Sorry to bother you," he said after a moment. "But I have some pressing matters to deal with inside. Its business and I wouldn't normally be here if it could wait until the morning."
As soon as the man before him began to speak, Mack's weapon was already lowered to the side. He immediately recognized the voice and breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't anyone potentially dangerous. "Oh, sorry about the mix up, sir," Mack quickly said, replacing his weapon to his side. "I didn't realize that it was you. Those mechanics can make camouflage equipment unlike anyone else, but they can't seem to make night vision goggles that can identify someone upon looking at 'em. You just looked like a green blur to me."
The man nodded in response to the apology, but said nothing else as Mack personally escorted him towards the building's front. "Please, right this way. I think everyone is still awake in there. Working on some last minute preparations for the United Confederation. I don't think it'll be a problem for you to get your business done with. Good luck with that, by the way."
Once again, the man nodded and sat down on the telepod positioned just outside of the Presidential Residence. It was a small circular object, painted silver and white to contrast the buildings exterior, and could fit three people on it. The man leaned forward, resting his chin on his enclosed hands as the telepod took the visitor into the Residence. Mack waved him on and returned to his post.
As soon as the telepod stopped at the first level of the building, the man rose from his seated position and took this moment to look around. The interior was even more impressive than the exterior, as he had seen many times before and it never ceased to amaze him how extravagant everything seemed. The ceiling itself had to have been at least ten feet taller than himself, rounded up in an arching formation with a large circular lamp sitting in the very center.
Surrounding that light in a circular pattern were a group of smaller lights, seemingly a part of the ceiling itself. Paintings on the wall gave off a homier atmosphere and almost made him believe he had come to the wrong building. A desk was positioned at the far end of the room, meant for the secretary that usually was stationed to meet with the visitors, but she seemed to have stepped out for the night, as the lights surrounding the desk were turned off. The lights surrounding the man had only turned on automatically because the mechanisms built within them alerted the light fixtures that there was movement within the room.
As the man continued further into the room, the lights that he passed by turned off after a few moments of no motion. He figured that they would have done this, having already been told about the automated lights that would activate after hours. Within a few moments, he had already approached the desk and turned on the computer to his left, his gloved hands flying over the keyboard as if they were possessed. The computer possessed a flat screen monitor, with a holographic appearance, and the information seemed to literally jump out at the reader. The man quickly searched through document after document, searching for something specific before he finally found what he was looking for. Skimming the contents for a moment, he found the floor that appeared to have some relevance to the information and quickly turned off the computer.
Walking through the double-doors positioned to the left of the secretary's desk, he approached the elevator directly in front of him, after giving an acknowledging nod to the security guards stationed just outside of the mechanical box, and entered. As soon as the doors closed behind him, he pressed the button that would lead him to the sixty-forth floor. According to his sources, the people he was looking for were located on that floor, and a few others were scattered around the surrounding floors nearby, mostly scaling upwards. The information he had found gave him valuable insight on where they were and how long they were scheduled to be there. He quickly check his watch, of which had been adjusted to read in Estharian time. It was already five after two. He was running a little behind schedule, and he had to make up for lost time quickly.
When the elevator signaled that he had reached his destination, he quickly exited the mechanical box, looking back to see a few more workers filing in, probably having checked out and were on their way to their homes. A quick inspection revealed that they were not any of the people he was looking for and he continued on his way. Searching the rooms as he passed, he noted that everyone seemed particularly busy with the progress on the United Confederation. Each room he passed seemed to be crawling with people chatting and working on the final preparations for the group. Even though he knew that it would take a month to complete, he figured that the Estharians appeared to be far smarter than he had given them credit.
Finally, he came to a room with just one occupant, and it appeared this was one of the men he was looking for. The man was seated at his computer terminal, typing quickly as his eyes remained glued to the computer screen, never once leaving the flat surface for a moment. He appeared to be a middle-aged male, his hair greying out at the sides, but the top remaining a lighter brown colour. His brown eyes did not leave the screen he was looking at, and he was dressed in a brown vest with a pair of brown slacks and loafers. A white shirt stuck out from underneath the vest, as did his lavender coloured tie.
The simple fact that the elder man was busy made things easier for him. Pulling on a black toque-like mask, he made sure that it was secure before he quickly entered the room, closing the door behind him as quietly as he could. Just before he could make a move, however, he noticed the man before him straighten up in his seat, which signaled that he had heard his entry. "Emily? I thought you said you were going home for the night?"
Before he could answer, however, the elder man shrugged just after he finished asking his question. "Oh, nevermind. Could you do me a small favour? Get me a refill of my coffee, won't you? I seem to have finished off the last in my mug."
The man looked over towards the desk and recognized the white coffee mug sitting near the edge of the desk. He made no move to move over to it, however, instead slowly walking towards him.
"Emily?" The man asked again. "Did you hear me?"
"I heard you," The man said, as soon as he was standing behind him. "But I'm not Emily."
The man at the computer jumped slightly at the sound of his voice and slowly turned around to face the man. His curious expression changed to one of shock as he quickly jumped out of his seat and backed away from him. "Who are you? And what are you doing here? Security shouldn't have allowed you entry."
"You really can't get good help these days, now can you?" The man said, grabbing a hold of the coffee mug, examining it for a moment.
"What do you want?" The middle-aged man asked, circling over towards his desk.
"We have some business that needs to be concluded, of course." The man said. He noted exactly where the worker was going and leapt over the desk, blocking his path. "Don't bother going to your desk or calling security. You need to stay quiet."
The executive stared at him in shock before backing up towards the only exit. This time, the man kicked the desk so that it landed at the door, blocking it from opening. The man, in an attempt to avoid running into the desk, managed to slip backwards and landed inside of the bookshelf. "Don't hurt me…I don't even know who you are! What sort of business would I have with you?"
The man began the task of tossing the coffee mug up into the air as he looked around the cluttered office. Papers were stacked everywhere, and the ones that had sat upon the desk had been blown off in a miniature hurricane. "Oh, trust me. We have some business. Just because you don't know me doesn't mean that there's no significance in our meeting."
The imprisoned man could only watch as his coffee mug was tossed up and down in the air. He refused to move this time, lest he become the target of this man's unruly strength. Suddenly, the man missed the mug and watched almost uncaringly as it crashed onto the carpeted floor with a quiet crack, shattering into large fragments.
"Oops…" the man said apathetically. "I missed."
"What is it that you want with me?"
Sighing, the man bent over to pick at the shards of broken glass. "I never would have thought they allowed deaf men to work in an area that calls for attentive behaviour. I already told you, we have business that needs to be concluded." He picked up one of the shards as he made his way over towards the prisoner.
"What kind of business?" The man asked, eyeing the broken shard. "Please don't hurt me!"
"By all means." The man said, stopping just in front of the man. "Trust me, sir. This isn't going to hurt for too long." With that, he gripped the broken shard tightly in his hand as he grabbed a hold of the whimpering man by the hair. Holding him up with inhuman strength, he turned him so that his back was facing him before slitting the businessman's throat from the bottom of one ear lobe to the other.
Letting go of what would soon be a bleeding corpse, the man headed straight towards the window, opening it up and stepping out into the cool autumn air as he did. Closing the window behind him, he headed towards another window, breaking it in one easy punch and climbing inside of the room within. It appeared as though he had broken into a storage closet, which was just fine with him.
Pulling his watch into view, he realized that that had taken a little longer than he had expected. Sure, he was told to make them suffer before they died, but he didn't want to waste any time whatsoever in doing so. The next one on his hit list would have to die far faster than the previous man.
Denise Williams was just coming back from grabbing another cup of coffee. Two creams and three sugars. That's how she normally took it. She was a newly hired intern, having graduated from the prestigious Willows Academy with high honours. She had applied for the job merely a month after graduation and had been hired a week after. She was a brunette with tanned skin and dark brown eyes. She was dressed in a purple work suit; a purple vest and a purple skirt set with a pair of black dress shoes and a plum coloured shirt underneath the vest. Dark stockings clung to her legs as she walked throughout the hallway, cup of coffee in her left hand as she read the files that she had brought along with her. The business apparel was only validated when working on a serious assignment, and unless that requirement was fulfilled, all workers were required to dress appropriately in the Estharian Robes.
Denise had come to this understanding when she had begun work on her current project and couldn't work with the robe's longs sleeves. With the finalizing of the United Confederation, she couldn't leave her work for more that ten seconds and she was already working overtime.
Turning the corner, she suddenly heard the sound of something being pushed up against the door. Frowning to herself, she walked in the direction of where the sound was coming from, holding the manila folder at her side as she took a sip of her coffee, being as quiet as humanly possible. As she continued down the hall, she could barely make out the sounds of a couple of people talking. Further investigation revealed that it was coming from Mr. Hector Douglass' office.
Denise slowly approached the door and rested her head against it, trying to listen in on what was going on. She could make out the sounds of someone whimpering, and the sound of someone else in the room, but when she tried to open the door, she realized that something was blocking the way. Just as she was about to ram the door open, she heard Mr. Douglass begging his visitor not to hurt him and then nothing.
Backing away for a moment, she tried to process in her mind exactly what that meant. It could have meant many things; for instance, Mr. Douglass had been knocked unconscious by whoever else was in the room, or maybe the intruder knew that he had been heard and was keeping Mr. Douglass quiet. There was another possibility, but Denise refused to allow that thought to come to mind. Instead, she took a deep shaking breath and rushed the door, her left shoulder lowered in front of her and she charged into the door, hoping that maybe she could bust it open. Her coffee mug and papers were instantly forgotten and there now lay a puddle of the warm dark liquid on the floor. Luckily, her papers had been dropped behind her, so they were not matted in the beverage. Backing up momentarily, she repeated the procedure, mentally thanking the University for having a Girls football team.
After quite a few tries, she was finally able to push away whatever it was blocking the door. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough and ended up falling onto the ground on her left shoulder. Groaning in pain, she looked aside and realized that adrenaline must have helped her push open the door since a desk had been positioned to block any entry. Sitting up, she rubbed at her arm, wincing audibly as she realized that she was going to have a big bruise in the morning. As she rubbed her arm, she noted with dread that there was some sort of liquid soaking into the fabric of her outfit. Pulling her right arm in front of herself, she realized that the substance on her hand was blood.
As Denise looked around for something to wipe the blood off her hand, she turned to the direction of the bookshelf and screamed when she saw the dead body of Mr. Hector Douglass staring back at her, a clean cut from ear to ear through his neck.
James' Logans quickly made his way towards the Presidential Office, never missing a step as he could hear his blood pounding in his ears. Not more than six minutes prior did they tend to the body of Hector Douglass before it was discovered that three more employees had fallen to the same fate; one having been strangled to death while the other's neck had been broken.
As he turned the corner, he tapped the earpiece that sat in his left ear. James was dressed in a black suit, with a white dress shirt underneath and a black tie done up around his neck. Securely fashioned onto his belt were a couple of .9mm pistols. A hand held .6mm revolver sat snugly in the holster that rested against his ankle. He wore black sunglasses, despite the fact that it was dark outside, but programmed inside of them was a heat sensor that could sense anyone within a twenty-meter radius. In addition, the sunglasses had inside of the lens a micro lens camera, which could perform one of two operations; one, to record his surroundings instantly and another to see through the eyes of the surveillance cameras within the building. A small button on the left recorded the surroundings while two on the right could control which camera's he was seeing through.
The earpiece in his ear connected to the person he was contacting, and the familiar voice of his partner acknowledging him sounded in his ear. "Deilia, I'm almost at the President's office. Do you have any further information since the murders were first discovered?"
"Negative James." The female voice answered back. "We're still on pursuit. The soldiers on the perimeter have been warned about the intruder, and a few hundred more soldiers are on the lookout for him."
"Alright. Standing by for further information."
"Be on the ready. We might find something."
James cut the transmission short as he walked past the Estharian Soldiers standing guard in front of the Presidential Office. He didn't even offer them a salute as he just stormed in through the sliding doors, neither Soldier budging from their post as he addressed the man seated behind three large stacks of papers. "Sir!"
The President nearly jumped out of his skin, as the room had been dead silent before James' sudden entry. He put aside his reading glasses, apparently having recognized his head of Security and rose to his feet, trying to look over the hulking stacks of paperwork to at least give the man proper eye contact. After a moment, the President merely grabbed a hold of the middle stack of papers and moved them over towards a nearby desk before returning to his seat.
The President had long dark hair that normally reached past his shoulders had it not been constantly pulled back into a messy ponytail. The shorter strands of hair that could not be kept at bay by the elastic band sat stubbornly in front of his green eyes. He was dressed a tad more professionally than he normally would have been; a white dress shirt and a pair of black slacks and dress shoes. The sleeves of his shirt, however, were rolled up to his elbows, since the cuffs that would normally have reached his wrists had begun to bother him during the procession of his work. "What is it?" asked Laguna Loire, as he shifted in his seat for a moment.
"One of the workers working on the United Confederations project found one of her colleagues murdered in his own office." James stated, quickly saluting the President before giving his report. "By the time our men were able to arrive on the scene, we were informed that three more people had been killed as well."
"How long ago did this happen?" Laguna asked, leaning forward on his desk, his hands clasped together, and his expression serious.
"According to the worker, she found Mr. Hector Douglass dead in his office ten minutes ago, and she heard voices in his office prior to that."
"Someone was murdered ten minutes ago and you're only telling me this now?" Laguna rubbed the bridge of his nose before taking in a deep breath. "And how long ago did the other murders occur?"
"Somewhere between the time we were called and now." James answered. "My men are busy guarding the area where the deaths occurred and have restricted access to the floors from sixty and above. In addition, the soldiers within the building are on alert and patrolling the perimeter as we speak. Whoever the intruder is, he's not getting away."
Laguna nodded, seemingly more to himself than to anyone else. "Good. I want your men to keep a close eye on everything and to study the surveillance tapes that recorded everything that had to do with the floor the murder took place on within the last half hour, just to be safe."
James nodded and saluted before turning around and exiting the office. He relayed the message through the earpiece and frowned to himself as he entered the elevator. He had a feeling that this wasn't going to be resolved any time soon.
Jack Anderson was just putting together his portfolio that would pertain to the information that would be necessary at the next presentation of the United Confederation. He had already been there more than twelve hours, but it wasn't like he had anyone to return to. He had no significant other, and all he returned to was his home in the Eastern Sector of the city, where he could stay up all night and listen to his roommate have phone sex with some hotline all night long. He didn't mind the government job; in fact, he preferred it to his social life, but all he really wanted to do was settle in for the night. The only reason why his roommate wasn't out on the street was the guy was his younger brother and he had nowhere else to go.
The man was nearing his fifties, and was looking forward to retirement, even if it meant he was stuck at home all day. He already had a plan that he was willing to see to the end. He had a nice little summer home paid for near the Mandy Beach around the Timber Area, and, despite the fact that it was Galbadian ground, he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his days near a beach. He had greying dark hair that, no matter how many times he tried to colour it, would always grey out no matter what he did. He wasn't a very large man, but he wasn't small either, barely reaching six feet in height and dressed in a beige dress outfit.
Sighing as he replaced the last of his work in the filing cabinet of his office, he grabbed a hold of his jacket and car keys before heading towards the door when a creaking sound was heard. Jumping at the noise, he quickly turned around to see what made it and sighed in relief when he discovered that it was just his imagination. The alert had been sounded roughly ten minutes ago that four people had been killed while working, and he couldn't help but worry about his own wellbeing. Many of his colleagues had chosen to take the rest of the night off, and he figured that he would follow suit.
Shrugging, he turned to make his exit, only to find a man in black standing between him and the door. Jack jumped backwards, dropping his jacket and keys and clutching at his chest.
The man in black merely looked at his fingernails before turning to glare at Jack. "What's the matter, Jack? You're a tad jumpy tonight."
Jack backed up until he suddenly hit his desk. He looked behind him to see what he bumped into and immediately turned to look at the intruder. "How do you know my name?"
"You're somewhat of a celebrity, Jack." The man answered, closing the door behind him. "But idle chit chat isn't why I'm here really. I have an operation that I need to see to. Time to say good night, Mr. Anderson."
Before the man in black could take a step closer, he noticed Jack make a move for something attached to his belt and an instant later, was forced to duck as three bullets were fired from the firearm that the man held.
Jack frowned as he prepared the shoot his attacker again. "Good night." He said before firing once more.
The man in black was faster than he was though, and by the time he had fired the shot, a blade was lodged into the man's gut. Jack spat out blood as his killer turned the blade around, twisting together his insides and the victim tried to breathe his last breath. Slumping backwards into the desk, Jacks eyes focused up towards the ceiling, wondering why it was that Hyne was so cruel.
The man stood over the dead body of Jack Anderson, contemplating his next victim; that is until the door suddenly burst open and at least four Estharian Soldiers stood in the doorway. "Freeze!" one of the soldiers shouted.
Figuring that his job was done, at least for the moment, he stepped over the dead body before jumping up onto the desk and crashing out of the window, shattering glass in the process. The soldiers spread out, two on either side as another soldier entered the room to tend to the dead man. One of the soldiers signaled to his comrades, counting backwards from three before they all raised their firearms and looked out the window. However, when they looked, there was no trace of him whatsoever. They looked all around the surrounding area, even chancing a look down, but did not even find a hint that the man was even there.
The leader of the group of five Soldiers activated his communicator, patching in to the guards stationed on the ground. "Be on the lookout! The suspect just jumped out of the window of the sixty-sixth floor. There should be a body around the fifth sector on the West Side."
There was silence for a moment and each soldier held their breath in anticipation before someone finally answered back. "This is the Perimeter team. I have just reached the coordinates, we are currently standing underneath your location, but there is no body in sight."
The soldiers exchanged glances with one another before the leader spoke again. "That's impossible. Only Estharians have that kind of technology, and only members of the military are sanctioned to use it. There should be a body down there."
"I don't see a body down here." Was the response.
Frowning, the leader switched the destination of his contact to the chief of Security. Once the man picked up, the leader frowned as he said the words that he dreaded speaking. "The suspect has somehow managed to evade capture."
James returned to the Presidential Office, preparing to give out his latest report. He knew the President wasn't going to be happy about this, but he also understood that he had a job to do. If he kept this kind of information from his superior, then not only could he be indited for withholding information, but the killer could appear at any given time and strike again, this time killing an innocent civilian.
It still doesn't make my job any easier.James thought to himself as once again he entered the room. Laguna immediately rose to his feet upon hearing the doors open, and the General of the Estharian military, Charles O'rally, turned to see who had entered. James saluted the President immediately upon moving towards the desk. "Sir, I'm afraid that the suspect escaped. He jumped out of a window on the sixty-sixth floor after murdering another man, Jack Anderson, but, according to the soldiers who were pursuing him, he disappeared as soon as he jumped."
"Did any of the ground teams see him?" Laguna asked.
"I'm afraid not, sir." James answered. "It was as if he disappeared into thin air. Under our understanding, only our people are able to use camouflage technology, so it shouldn't have been possible."
Laguna frowned as he sank back into his chair. "And no one has any idea who this person is?"
James shook his head in response and Laguna sighed. "We were too relaxed. Just because the Sorceress' War is over doesn't give us the right to take things too lightly. Because of that, five people are now dead."
"All ground units," Orally spoke into his headpiece. "Keep searching for the suspect. If he is using cloaking technology as suspected, then he shouldn't have gotten very far from the compound."
It was then that the intercom on Laguna's desk sounded, and the President pressed a button just below it. "What is it?" He asked.
"Sir," came the voice of James' partner, Deilia Oakwood. "We have just received information that might prove beneficial to this investigation."
"We're all ears." Laguna said.
"First off, we have the murder weapon that was used to kill Mr. Anderson. We're holding it in the evidence room and are preparing to examine it. Also, surveillance cameras from thirty minutes before the first killing are being searched by our intelligence team as we speak."
"And the other?"
"Sir, we just finished interviewing the soldiers out at the front gate and one of them just told us something interesting. He says that at around two this morning, he spotted a man matching the description of the suspect approaching the building but that he let him in. Also, another pair of soldiers came forward and confessed they had spotted him entering the elevator shortly thereafter."
"He let in a murderer without confirmation?" James shouted through the intercom.
"Those soldiers will be hearing from me when I get my hands on them," the General barked out.
"That's what we asked him, James," Deilia said, seemingly ignoring the General's remark. "But he says that he recognized the man and allowed him in under the impression he had business with the President. The other two backed up this claim."
"And who did the soldiers say this man was?" Laguna asked, slightly unnerved by the notion of the murderer using him to receive access within the building.
On the opposite end, Deilia took a deep breath and slowly released it. "The soldier identified the man as Squall Leonhart."
2:19:44
The streets of Deling City had never been as quiet as they were that current afternoon. It being roughly half passed twelve, the citizens of the Galbadian Capital were either working at their day jobs, or recovering from a long night of partying and shopping. The only time the city became alive was during the night; where the lights illuminated the sky and outlined the various places the citizens and tourists would usually spend their time and money having a good time. Normalcy had finally returned to the city after the damning effects of the war had ruined their reputation. Most were still outraged that Esthar had been the one to come to their aid, since of course; the country was their mortal enemies of the last couple of decades at least.
The upcoming United Confederation was a common subject among the citizens; since, as it would stand, the group of peacekeepers would work further to prevent another war from breaking out. They would be the ones responsible for hiring SeeD to put an end to terrorist activities, and everyone could sleep soundly, ignorance blessing them with no knowledge on the matter whatsoever. Of course, this would mean that the Galbadian Army would not be nearly as active as they once were; however, there were still jobs out for them when they were finally off duty. The President of Galbadia for one hoped that it would help with the soldiers' disposition at the least.
Strolling just past the gateway towards the train station were six soldiers in total, three in front and the other three in back in a triangular formation. All were dressed in the same military fashion; a blue jumpsuit with metallic coloured armour over their elbows and knees. Metallic coloured boots protected their feet from stepping on pebbles or rocks that could be normally found on the ground, and metallic coloured helmets protected their heads from an attack. There was no military Major or Lieutenant leading them as the norm, but this didn't seem to deter any of the soldiers in the least. Walking in the very center of the group of armed military workers was a lone man with greying dark hair dressed in a simple black navy-blue business suit, a white shirt tucked in underneath with a black tie, and a pair of black loafers.
Several people surrounded their location, but wisely stayed where they were as the man and his team of six continued on their way past them. Of course, the man appeared to be important, and soon after the shock of his arrival wore off, the people returned to their conversations, appearing to wonder just why it was he was wondering about.
As soon as they emerged out from underneath the Gateway, the group of seven continued walking straight ahead. One of the soldiers, who was walking just to the left of the man behind him, turned his head as he asked his question. "How much further would you like to go, sir?"
The man walking behind the first group of three merely smiled and said, "As soon as we reach the Train Station, turn left. Then we'll walk back up through the city streets and return to the Presidential Residence."
The soldier nodded once again before returning his attention to in front of him. Addressing the soldier who was walking a bit in front of him, he told him of the man's plans and the other soldier acknowledged the order. Meanwhile, hiding within the lush plant life that would have otherwise been foreign to the City of the Night, sat a man dressed in a different assortment of greens. Pulling back his binoculars, he sighed as he switched on the headset that sat upon his head, allocating the targeting frequency and waiting for a moment to come into contact with someone. Soon after, a female voice resounded through the earpieces loud and clear. "What is it?"
"The subject is heading towards the Train station." He answered, speaking in an accent foreign to Galbadians ears. "Most likely, he'll take a left before moving back up again. Then he'll be out of alpha team's range."
The girl on the other end, whose accent was far more foreign than his, laughed lightly. "Don't be so high strung." She stated. "There is the bravo team on standby on the other side. I'll just alert them to keep an eye on him. I think they can handle giving the signal, don't you?"
The man frowned in response. "Do you remember the saying, 'if you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself'?"
"Yeah, I remember. But with you, it's a way of life."
Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention back to the seven soldiers that were just now walking past his line of vision. Checking his watch, he just realized the time, but that didn't mean that he could just take a lunch break if he wanted to. He had a job to do, and so did all the others that were stationed within the area.
"Hold on." The girl spoke after a moment. "I'm reading movement in your area."
"Is it any of ours?" he asked.
"Negative." She responded. "It looks like it's one of their's."
"Warn Bravo Team that there has been movement on this end and to proceed slowly so as not to give our location away." He ordered quietly. As soon as she acknowledged the order, he switched the signal on his communicator, waiting for the first person on his team to acknowledge him.
Another voice, with nearly the same accent as his, clearly spoke through the sound piece a moment later. "Alpha leader, this is Alpha second, over."
"Keep an eye on the perimeter. We have movement."
"Copy that." Was the response. "All units are standing by."
The man nodded, and pulled back on his binoculars. It looked as though the easy part came into play.
As the man and his escorts continued towards the Train station, they passed by a couple of tourists wearing sunglasses. Both were male, one of which had red hair and was dressed in a yellow and red tie-dye t-shirt and a pair of worn out blue jeans, while the other had long black hair and was wearing a tamer sky blue t-shirt with a pair of black jeans. The pair noted the man's departure, and after a moment quickly began to follow him. It only took them a moment to catch up to them, and before the soldier walking behind everyone else could react, the red-haired male already knocked him to the ground.
The other soldiers immediately turned around, two of them pulling back the man in the business suit as the remaining three prepared to defend him. The man with the black hair lunged forward, sweeping his feet underneath two of the soldiers, before flipping backwards to avoid being shot by the third. The soldier hefted his weapon accordingly, the bullets bouncing into the ground just as the dark haired male continued to back flip out of the way. He wasn't prepared to fend off the redheaded man, who held a taiser to the back of his neck, electrocuting him and rendering unconscious.
The remaining two soldiers levelled their weapons at the two males. The dark haired man landed in a crouch a few feet away from his partner, who was beginning to approach the group of three. One of the soldiers grabbed a hold of the man's arm and ushered him to the side just as the redhead leapt towards them, leaving the only soldier left to fend him off. The dark haired male made a run before jumping up onto his hands and springing himself up and overhead, landing just behind his partner and the soldier and then repeating the move so that he stood in front of the man and his sole protector. Both appeared shock stricken, which gave the dark haired man the opportunity to knock out the last remaining obstacle.
The man in the business suit appeared momentarily stunned at the action and tried to make a break for it. The redheaded man, however, pulled a weapon from his belt and fired it, a rope shooting out from the barrel, and wrapping around the man's legs. The redhead pulled on the gun and forced the man to trip and fall, landing roughly onto his stomach.
As the redhead moved to secure their prisoner, the dark haired man pulled out a black cell phone, dialled a number, and waited for someone on the other end to pick up. A moment later, someone did. "Mission accomplished." The man said. "We've secured the prisoner and we're going to finish the job."
The redhead stopped just behind the felled man, who looked back at him before quickly trying to pull off the ropes. The redhead grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, and pulled him up roughly onto his feet as his partner hung up the phone and slowly approached them. "So much for your entourage." He sneered. "They didn't do much for you anyway."
"Let's just get this over with." The dark haired man continued, pulling out a .6mm pistol from inside of his belt. "We're not getting paid by the hour."
"That's true." The redhead shrugged. Looking back at their prisoner, he frowned suddenly, turning the man's face to the left. What he saw there was a black vine-like tattoo that stretched the entire length of the left side of his face. "Since when did the President of Galbadia get a strange looking tattoo?"
"Since he fooled you guys into thinking that you actually had the President of Galbadia." The man responded, throwing a fist and connecting with the redhead's jaw. The man was thrown back by the force of the blow and landed roughly onto his back, his partner staring a gape as the man they had captured merely broke through the binding on his legs. Crouching into a fighting stance, the man smirked at the surprised expressions on his attackers faces. "Don't you just hate sting operations?"
Suddenly, from all sides, the attackers found themselves surrounded by SeeD personnel and Galbadian Special Forces, standard issued .9mm firearms held up at the ready. They had been equally divided around the perimeter, some hiding in bushes dressed in camouflage gear, while others merely appeared to be civilians. The man rose out of his fighter stance, gripped the top of his head, and pulled off the wig that he had been wearing revealing matted blonde hair.
Running his hands through his hair, Zell Dincht sighed loudly as the Galbadians and SeeDs advanced on the men who had raised their hands up in the air in surrender. "I was wondering when they were gonna make a move. That wig was killing my scalp."
Having forced the attackers to lie onto the ground handcuffed, Squall Leonhart confiscated the cell phone that the dark haired male had used before approaching the blonde fighter. "It couldn't be helped. You had to stay in character."
"Yeah, I know." He said, frowning as he did. "But it didn't mean I had to like it."
Rolling his eyes, Squall turned on the headset he was wearing. "This is the leader of Alpha Team. We have secured the prisoners and are awaiting further instructions."
"Nice job!" Selphie Tilmitt shouted from the other end. "I was actually beginning to wonder if that information we gathered was verified."
"Well apparently it was."
"How's Zell doing?" Selphie inquired.
"Complaining as usual, but otherwise he's fine." Squall said, glancing back and watching as Zell helped some of the Galbadian soldiers to their feet. Several other soldiers were also aiding in assisting their fallen comrades. "I guess it was a good idea we chose him for this mission after all."
"See? Everything turned out fine, Mr. Pessimistic. We'll be standing by for your return. And Squall?"
"Yes?"
"Make sure Zell doesn't hurt them. You know how seriously he takes the things people say."
Squall grunted in affirmation. He definitely remembered that fact about the brawler, which was why he had been unsure of whether their choice of using him as a decoy had been a good move. He disconnected the contact, and watched as the soldiers hefted their prisoners up to their feet.
Nodding affirmation to them, he was just about to give the order to return to headquarters when he noticed something out of place in the redheaded man's hands. Signalling for some of the soldiers to makes some distance from the prisoners, he pulled on the binoculars and zoomed in onto the device in the man's hands before his eyes widened. Taking off the binoculars, he backed away a couple of steps before shouting out to everyone else. "Get away from the prisoners and hit the deck!"
Everyone around him noted the seriousness of his tone and instantly dropped to the ground, the soldiers securing the prisoner torn between securing the prisoners and following orders. However, the time that they took to ponder about the situation was far too long as the device in the redhead's hands detonated; causing an explosion that knocked the surrounding people onto their backs. Dust and debris flew in every direction and when the dust finally settled, all that was left in the resounding area was crumbled bits of brick that had once been the road, and broken bodies littering the miniature crater.
Climbing back to his feet, Squall bit back a curse and resisted the urge to throw down his headset in utter frustration. As it currently stood, the attackers were dead, as were a couple of Galbadian Soldiers, and now there were back at square one.
Well, not entirely… Squall thought to himself as he recalled the cellular phone that he had only just placed in the pocket of his jacket. Sighing, he re-established the connection he previously had, his frown deepening as he waited for Selphie to pick up the other end. Upon hearing her voice, he took in a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "Cancel what I just told you. One of the men had a bomb that just detonated."
"So that's what that sound was…" Selphie said on the other end. "I got a read out that said a large sound wave existed within your current location. Did anyone get hurt?"
"Yeah…" Squall answered. "the attackers and two Galbadian Soldiers. All four were killed."
"So we're back right where we started." Selphie sounded melancholy, which was a definite change from her usual sunny disposition.
"Not necessarily. We found a cellular phone on one of the men. He recently used it to call their contact, so I think we can trace the origin of the call back to its source."
"Well what are you waiting for? Get back here!" With that, Selphie disconnected the contact.
Taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out, Squall signaled to everyone within the area to return to headquarters. As his people and the Galbadians returned to the Presidential Residence, Squall took a lingering look back at the debris and destruction that had been caused. This operation was causing the Government of Galbadia millions for just repairing the damages caused in each task that was accomplished, and he knew that the President's patience, as well as the cabinet of Galbadia's, was not ever lasting.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb, he turned away, heading back to headquarters. He had a feeling that when this day was over, he was going to have a serious migraine.
2:28:05
The central office at Balamb Garden had been rebuilt to its former glory. Of course, the entire third floor had been sanctioned off for the last four months, but the reconstruction had been worth the while. The pillar that rose up to the bridge was now shifted away from the window to allow more space within the lower level and the bridge had also been granted a makeover of sorts. The platform had been painted in the customary colours of Balamb Garden, instead of the dull, metallic mustard colour it had originally been, and guardrails had been placed to prevent the pilot and everyone else from falling the twenty meters it would take to get back to the ground.
Since the structure had been moved closer to the door, two offices were quickly built behind it. Both were roughly about the same size and shape, and belonged to Headmaster Cid and Commander Conrad Greenwood. When Squall had removed himself as Garden Commander, because of his credentials Conrad was an instant shoe-in to replace him. He took the job seriously, and focused most of his time on the numerous piles of paperwork that needed to be either sorted or handed out, since there was no longer any need for SeeD forces in war. However, his task, when the United Confederation was completed, would be to train SeeD to become the official peacekeepers of the world. Noted, SeeD did an excellent job as it stood, however the military force was originally a mercenary group and thus needed to be further trained in the field.
In his office sat Cid Kramer, the man who not only took charge of the Garden and its inhabitance for the better part of twenty years, but was responsible for its creation. He was a chubby middle-aged man with dark greying hair (of which he kept covering up with hair dye), silver spectacles and dark eyes. He was dressed in his favourite attire; which consisted of a white dress shirt with a stripped red and black tie, a pair of black pants, and a red vest overtop his shirt.
Currently, he was seated at his desk; writing up a list of SeeDs that would be present on the day the Confederation became official, before he placed down his pen and turned to look to the landscape that lay before him from his office window. Garden had come a long way since the day his wife, Edea Kramer, had come to him with the idea, and he was very fond of how things stood currently. Of course, things were not always this peaceful, but the course of ones journey was rarely ever easy. In addition, just because they were finally rid of the black sheep NORG, didn't mean the road traveled down would be any easier.
Currently, the Garden was suffering a building deficit, one of which Cid hoped to be rectified once SeeDs career was changed and established. There were not too many missions needed by SeeD anymore; having eradicated the majority of the monster threats within the world and isolating them onto their own respective islands, and having dealt with the Sorceress of the future Ultimecia. Of course, the world prospered because of it, but financially, Garden was falling apart. This career change was the only option left to keep Garden afloat now, the countries of the world footing the bill respectively, but in retrospect Cid felt the students and current SeeDs could do with a change of pace. Mercenary life wasn't all too glamorous, and many SeeDs failed to live past the age of thirty-five.
Sighing, Cid brought himself to turn away from the beautiful image of the ocean and trudged back to his desk to continue the task at hand. Just as he picked up his pen, however, the phone on his desk rang. Cid left it alone, knowing that Xu would be the one to answer it outside, but a moment later, Xu's voice patched in through the intercom. "Headmaster, you have a call on line one."
With his free hand, Cid pressed the intercom button located on his desk. "Tell them I'll take a message." Cid said, beginning to complete the list in front of him before picking up a file and discarding it onto another pile. "I'm busy making preparations for this Confederation."
"He says that it's urgent and that it could jeopardize the Confederation."
At this, Cid looked up; dropping is pen once again and frowning. "Who is it?"
"It's President Loire of Esthar."
Immediately grabbing onto his desk phone and pressing the button that would connect him to line one, he couldn't help but wonder what the problem was. "Cid Kramer."
"Hey Cid." Laguna said from his end. "Sorry this isn't a social call, but Esthar is currently in a state of emergency."
"How is that possible?!" Cid asked, alarm creasing his features. "I thought that everything was secure from your end. It was the last time we spoke."
"Yeah, I know. And it was, I swear! I looked through the reports with Kiros and they were fine. But that's not the issue here."
"Then what is it?"
"Roughly thirty minutes ago, five Estharian staff workers who were working on the Confederation project were murdered in cold blood by a guy that just waltzed right into the building, went to the floors and, well…you can guess what happened."
"So who do you suspect did it? And how can this jeopardize the project?"
Laguna sighed from where he was before speaking into the receiver once again. "It's not what I think that's the issue here. Everyone is jumping to conclusions over here, even though we haven't gone over the evidence yet! It's like Adel came back or something, which wouldn't be good considering it is Adel, but its technically impossible since you guys killed her, but weirder things have happened in the past, take for instance the sorceress from the future who was hell bent on destroying time…I wonder how that's possible…"
"Laguna, calm down." Cid said, shaking his head as he did. "You're going off topic again."
"Really?" Laguna asked. "Oops… sorry. I didn't even realize it this time. Old habits die hard I guess."
"Well, who does everyone else think is responsible for the attack?"
"That's the biggest issue at hand here!" Laguna said. "And I'd like to tell you, but I think Squall should be in the room to hear this too. Can you send him in real quick?"
Cid blinked curiously. He wondered what this whole thing had to do with Squall. "I'm afraid he can't right now. He's not at Garden currently."
"…Really?" Cid noted that the panic level in Laguna's voice seemed to double at least. "Oh, man…this looks really bad…do you know where he is?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Cid answered. "He's in Galbadia on a mission, although I can't tell you the details, of course."
Cid heard Laguna sigh in relief and that increased his curiosity even more. "Tell me…why did you panic when I told you he wasn't here?"
"…Because…everyone here thinks Squall's the one who did it."
Cid rose to his feet as soon as the words left the President's mouth, shock showing through to his facial features. "That's impossible. He's been stationed in that country for over two months now, and even still he wouldn't do anything of the sort unless it was under a contract."
"Yeah, I know that…but everyone else on my end doesn't." Laguna said. "I just wanted to warn you before we had to do something drastic."
"You mentioned that there was evidence. What was it?"
"It was a small knife; one used in close quarter fights. That's what the evidence team told me anyway. It was found lodged inside one of the men that were killed." Was the answer. "We don't know if it was SeeD issued or something else. But so far things are looking bad for him. There were also surveillance tapes of someone matching his description entering the building and getting of on the floor where the first victim was found."
Cid frowned. He sensed the President's discomfort within this situation, and understood exactly where it was coming from. Laguna might have been a father Squall never knew or had, but he still cared enough about him that this whole situation was making the man jump through hoops. "Well, I thank you for trying to warn him, and I will pass the message through. But Laguna, if you are found trying to help a man who's wanted for a murder like this, they won't be able to trust that your judgment is valid in this situation. I understand how you feel, but right now, you need to restore order within your government. You need to keep your head clear, but make sure to contact me when news of this situation comes to you."
"Alright…" Laguna responded, albeit hesitantly. "If you say so. I'll let you know when I get new information."
Cid acknowledged the response and both disconnected the conversation. His mind far beyond that of paperwork, Cid rested his chin on his clasped hands and allowed himself to fall into deep thought. If the Estharians were so intent to point a finger at a SeeD (one that saved their lives no more than four months ago to be precise), he knew that things were only bound to get worse. Squall was innocent; for that much Cid was certain. However, that still didn't mean that the Estharians, so angry about the whole incident, were about to sit down and listen to reason. He would need to take drastic measures.
Charles Orally had served his government for the last forty-five years. All of his suggestions had been pre-approved by the previous president as well as the current one, and he had dedicated himself to personally seeing through to his men's personal training. He had set aside plenty of hours just to make sure the soldiers of Esthar were not sluggish during battle and had personally resented it when it was revealed that they would hide from the world once Adel had fallen from power. Sure, he had stayed loyal to his country, but enough was enough!
Once they had discovered who the soldiers had believed the intruder had been, Orally had truly believed that the chances that justice would be served flew out the window with the suspect. He could tell just from the expression that had crossed the President's features; the man was biased because it was his son who was being accused of the murder. He'd left the office soon afterwards, knowing what it was that had to be done.
Of course, he had questioned the guard at the front to make sure that no mistake had ensued, and once confirmation had been made, he made it his purpose to make the man pay for it. Squall Leonhart's being a direct relative of the President of Esthar held no meaning whatsoever to him. He wasn't an Estharian citizen nor was he above the law. He had committed a heinous and serious crime, and even if they had to drag him back to Esthar from the pits of hell, he would make sure that the criminal was prosecuted to the highest extent of the law.
And if they got beat some sense into him along the way, it would make him feel a whole lot better.
Soon after confirming the ID, Orally had gathered his most trusted soldiers and ordered them to meet him at the Airstation no later fifteen minutes. Checking his watch, he realized that it was just coming up to twenty to three in the morning.
Still less than an hour since the crime was committed. He thought to himself before regarding his soldiers. So he was breaking the rules by not informing his superiors about the trip he planned to take. It didn't matter, but he was positive that they wouldn't care, just as long as they came back with the prisoner.
He won't get away with what he did, Orally thought to himself. His connection to his father will not allow him to walk away from this.
"Sir." One of the soldiers said, coming to stand behind the General and saluting as soon as the man turned around. "The planes are ready to leave on your call."
The planes were made of a special alloy, which could withstand blasts of heat, blizzard, and any kind of missile-like weapons that were created by the other nations of the world, be it natural or magical. They were painted the customary silver and purple colours, but could easily become invisible, not unlike the uniforms worn regularly by the Estharian Soldiers, and could easily fit in at least half a fleet of soldiers aboard. Inside of the ship, two chairs sat in front of the controls for pilots, and three more decorated either side of the cockpit. Stationed in the next room was another room that was filled with more chairs, only these contained overhead straps to keep the soldiers in place. Each line of chairs sat on opposite sides of the room, so that the soldiers were facing one another.
"Excellent." He said, and dismissed the soldier before boarding the lead plane. Watching as the pilots strapped themselves in, he approached them, making sure that their destination was included in the navigational system before giving the go ahead. Soon after this, they lifted off, opening up the hanger doors before lifting off.
The General had seen to it that only one ship was being taken for this mission. He didn't believe that the criminal could take on the amount of men he was bringing along, SeeD or no SeeD, and it was also to delay the amount of time that it took for the President and anyone else finding out just what he had done. He didn't want to travel a quarter of the way just to have the President catch up to him and order him to pull over and return to base. He would stand for no interruptions until he return to Esthar with his objective having been fulfilled.
"Sir," The pilot said once they were in the air. He was dressed in the same uniform, only he was missing the helmet and had a miniature headset with a small microphone sitting in front of his mouth, and an earpiece located sitting over his left ear. "We should reach Balamb Garden within a half hour."
"Good." With that, the General headed back towards his troops. A final briefing was in order.
Walking through the sliding doors, he heard the whooshing sound they made as they closed behind him and folded his arms across his chest as every pair of eyes in the room turned to address him. Had they all not been strapped to their seats, they would have saluted him upon his entry. "Okay, listen up." He spoke, after taking a moment to see if anyone would speak out of line. "We are heading towards Balamb Garden on a covert mission. The objective is to apprehend a SeeD by the name of Squall Leonhart for questioning on his whereabouts an hour ago. He is the prime suspect for the crime of which occurred a little after two this morning, and we need to bring him in. Unfortunately, dead is not an option, so if you need to shoot at him, be careful. Now…any questions?"
"Sir!" One of the soldiers said, and he would have risen if not for the restraints. "Is that the name of the guy who fought against Ultimecia?"
At this point, the rest of the team within the room exchanged nervous glances. Knowing that the man they were looking for was powerful was enough of a means to worry about the proceedings of this mission. Not even batting an eyelash, the General knew that the questions would come. "That is correct. And before anyone asks. But we apparently need to prove to this man that he is not above our law just because he did the world a justice once. For all we know, that could have been a cover for his true motives. And that's why we need to bring him in.
"Think about the family members of the people whose lives were taken barely an hour ago." The General continued. "Think of the expression on their faces if we had to tell them that the man who killed those people was untouchable simply because of his assistance with us during the war. No one is above the law, and if we have to bash it into his skull for it to sink in, then so be it!"
Everyone else within the room cheered at the encouraging speech that was just presented to them. In their minds, they felt that no one should be able to walk away merely do to the threat a connection could serve to them. They could imagine what would happen if someone they cared about was murdered and how they would feel if the man or woman responsible got away with it simply because of who they were.
And with that, their objective was set in stone; apprehend the guilty party and bring him back to Esthar to prosecute to the highest ability of the law.
Upon entering the meeting room at the Presidential Residence in Galbadia, Squall, Zell, and a team of SeeDs and Galbadian Soldiers began their search for the President of Galbadia. The room was designed to withstand an attack from all sides, from underneath and from overhead.
The room was painted a mundane metallic blue, the desks and terminals all having been coated black to blend into their surroundings. Several people were station in front of the monitors, typing rapidly at their keyboards and occasionally taking a sip of coffee that sat within arms reach. Other people were busy looking through documentation that held important and very detailed information concerning the country and each city within Galbadian Rule. This no longer included Timber or Dollet, since after former President Vinzer Deling's death at the hands of a possessed Edea, and the recently elected their new President.
Once that was done, all operations that were currently being conducted on behalf of Deling were put on hold before the elections and were terminated afterwards. Timber was finally an independent Country once again, and now their newly created government was in the midst of electing their own governor. Also, Dollet was beginning to recover from the years they'd been forced to decrease their boarders while Galbadian territory increased.
The soldiers stayed at the very entrance of the room whereas the SeeDs continued forward, walking past the workers and heading towards an office that sat on a couple of spires and connected to the rest of the floor by means of a spiralling staircase, of which was painted black as well. They entered the office and immediately saluted the man who sat inside.
Ibrihim Caraway had not changed much since the beginning of the Sorceress War. He still had dark hair and greying strands at the sides of his head, however, instead of the usually trimmed uniform he wore as the General of the Galbadian Army, he was dressed in a black business suit and loafers; however, his shirt was a medium blue, the tie matching the black suit. He sat at his desk; his hands clasped together having already put aside the file he had been reading as he awaited the report.
Caraway nodded with his head once and all who were present in the room dropped from their initial stances. "Operative Tilmitt briefed me just momentarily with the details, but she also stated that you had a cellular phone that was confiscated from one of the suspects?"
Squall nodded in response before stepping forward, pulling the cell phone from his pocket, and placing it on top of the desk. "I think that we can use the number that was dialled to lead us back to the source of the phone call."
"Is there any chance that the contact could leave before you figure out the location?"
"There's always a chance, but it's highly unlikely." Squall answered before gesturing back at Zell.
"They were confirming the capture before we nailed them." Zell continued. "So at best, it should be about a half hour before whoever it is suspects that something went wrong. And even if it's sooner than that, they'd suspect that the cell phone was destroyed when the thugs blew themselves up."
Caraway looked to each of the SeeDs before nodding once. "Then that's the amount of time that you have. Have Operative Tilmitt trace the area code and then narrow it down as far as you can. You have five minutes at the most, but more than that, we can't afford to spare."
"Understood." Squall answered and, at this, the SeeDs saluted Caraway. A moment later, everyone filed out of the room, leaving Caraway alone with his thoughts.
As soon as everyone returned to the ground floor, the SeeDs accompanying the pair split off in separate directions, accessing unused terminals or picking up folders filled to the brim with documents and searching through them. Zell and Squall immediately headed towards a girl with brown hair that was held back into a ponytail. She was wearing a yellow halter-top underneath a navy blue denim jacket and a pair of black kaki jeans. Her shoes were standard white and black running shoes. Having noticed the two males approaching before they were within five feet of each other, she turned around in her seat, her emerald green eyes following their movements and revealing that the shorter strands of her hair, which also included her bangs, escaped the elastic band that kept the rest of her hair out of her face. She smiled widely at the both of them. "Having fun, guys?"
"No time." Squall cut in, standing off to her left. Zell stood behind her, folding his arms as he did. "We need you to track down an area code."
"To the cell phone, right?" Selphie asked, at this Squall nodded. "No sweat. How soon do you need it?"
"Less than five minutes." Squall answered, handing Selphie the cellular phone. "We need to be ready around then."
"Gotcha!" The brunette winked at Squall quickly before turning around to face the monitor screen once more. Picking up the phone, she pressed the display button before hooking it up to the computer and soon enough her fingers began to fly across the keyboard.
Zell grabbed a seat at the next monitor and linked his computer up to hers. When Squall gave him a curious expression, the brawler smiled and gave him the thumbs up. "Four eyes are better than two, right?'
Squall nodded and quickly left the area, heading towards the changing area. He figured that he should at least change clothes before the initial search. Three minutes later, he returned to the meeting room, clad in a pair of blue faded jeans, a white muscle shirt, and a black leather jacket. Rather than wear the familiar leather jacket with the fur collar, it was of a simple design. It still possessed a zipper at the front, but it didn't appear to be nearly as loose, and it reached to his waist rather than mid-chest. He still wore the combat boots to protect his feet from anything if he came up against someone, but mostly because he didn't own a pair of running shoes.
"Did you find anything?" He asked Selphie, running a hand through his hair before folding his arms across his chest.
"Damn right I found something." Selphie answered. "The area code I got was 4-3-5. There are three other area codes for the city though; each one for a separate sector."
Squall nodded. "I'll talk to Caraway about the possible locations."
"No need." Selphie said, stopping him. "I got Zell to run a quick scan of the city to pinpoint the location of the area code. He should be finishing up right about now."
"Booya!" Zell shouted in triumph, pumping his fist into the air.
"I take it you found something." Squall asked, immediately coming up beside the brawler.
"You're right, man." Zell acknowledged. "I narrowed down the location to around the Shopping District of the city."
"Any precise location?" Squall asked and Zell shook his head.
"It's within a three mile radius of the place, which includes a section of the Deling City Park and the theatre district. I can't pinpoint it exactly..." Zell began to type on the keyboard.
"It's good enough. Get changed. We leave in two." With that, Squall left to recruit the necessary group of SeeDs and Galbadians to accompany them on the raid.
Zell and Selphie exchanged glances before Selphie shrugged in response. "You heard the man."
"Right…" Zell said, grabbing a hold of the either pant leg and lifting it up to reveal that the brawler was currently standing on a couple of wooden stilts. It had been for the mission, since Zell wasn't exactly the same height as the President. "Wouldn't wanna end up fighting on these things."
Selphie giggled. "I was wondering why you were taller than Squall."
Zell rolled his eyes and retreated towards the changing area to dress in clothes that were more comfortable.
"I'll tell Caraway what's going on!" She shouted after the blonde. Zell waved behind him, signalling that he heard her and she rose to her feet, heading towards the Presidential Office.
2:47:23
Immediately entering the Headmaster's office, Quistis Trepe frowned in worry. She had never been called up upon the announcement speakers unless it was during combat. The blonde SeeD stepped into the middle of the room just in front of the Headmaster's desk and fell into formation. Quistis wasn't a small girl, but she wasn't tall either, her height sitting at five and a half feet. Currently, she was dressed in her SeeD uniform, which consisted of a black jacket overtop a white tank top and matching skirt that reached to her knees. Her black boots reached up to the knee, and her long blond hair was tied back in a professional looking bun.
The Headmaster nodded to her once and she immediately dropped the stance. "May I ask why I've been called up here sir?"
Cid sighed once before turning his full attention to her. "At two a.m. Esthar time, someone entered the Presidential Residence and murdered five people in cold blood before fleeing the building. They haven't been able to locate him since. He did however leave behind a knife inside one of his victims. Also, there was surveillance footage of the suspect entering the building and riding in the elevator prior to the incident."
"Sir, what does this have to do with SeeD?" Quistis asked, becoming a bit unnerved.
"Esthar believes that Squall was the one who committed the crime."
Quistis blanched at the information, taken aback. With the Unite Confederation being held in a month's time, this situation could jeopardize the peace talks and could even lead to another war. "But Squall would never kill without a contract, let alone in cold blood. He's distant, but never a cold blooded killer."
"I know this, and so does the Laguna." Cid explained. "Unfortunately, his government doesn't and they are the ones with the accusations. So far, nothing has happened, but this whole situation could lead to worse things. As the student councillor Quistis, I need you to keep the students and SeeDs within the building from learning the full details until the situation has been resolved. That means that information is strictly on a need to know basis."
"But what about Rinoa and Irvine?" Quistis asked. "Don't they have a right to know what's happening?"
Cid paused momentarily before clasping his hands together atop of the desk. "I understand how you feel, and under any other terms, I would advice that you let them know. But I don't want to cause any sort of panic from them. Rinoa is an overly emotional person and, with her powers, I'm afraid something might end up happening that would cause more problems. Hopefully, this whole thing will be resolved quickly."
Quistis frowned at the prospect of keeping information from her friends, especially when one of them was intimately involved with the person involved. Quistis understood the bond that tied Squall and Rinoa together, and she knew that neither one wanted to keep secrets from each other.
Unfortunately, she also knew that the Headmaster had a valid point not to tell them. Even though she was receiving training from Edea Kramer, Rinoa's control over her power was still slight if anything. Who knew what would happen if the girl lost her temper and her control. It didn't even need to be pointed out that Irvine would be compelled to notify Rinoa of the situation, so that left him out of the loop as well.
Still, something bothered her about this whole thing. "But isn't Squall stationed in Galbadia?"
"Yes, and we have not had any missions concerning him since he was sent out to Deling."
Quistis frowned in confusion. "Then how is it possible that he killed those people?"
"The simple answer is that it isn't." Cid explained. "However, the Estharian Government is in no condition to listen to reason. They believe that, since the surveillance tapes have captured a man who looks like Squall then the perpetrator has to have been Squall. The best we can do at this point in time is to keep everyone in the Garden from jumping to conclusions. At least until we've sorted out this mess."
"Somehow, I don't think it'll be that easy." Quistis commented.
"I know." Cid nodded. "Whoever is responsible has obviously thought through countless variables, and is trying to drive a wedge between Esthar and the Gardens. In any case, we need to be prepared for the consequences."
"Consequences?" Quistis asked.
"Given the circumstances, we have to assume that the Government will eventually be after Squall's arrest. Thus, we cannot risk allowing him to remain stationed in Deling City for very much longer, which is why I contacted Nida, and notified him to prepare the Ragnarok. He will be leaving the Garden, heading westbound to the Galbadian Capital shortly and will notify Squall of the situation upon arrival."
"Sir, with all due respect, don't you think that the information would be better received if it came from someone he trusted?" Quistis realized that she had spoken her thoughts out directly, especially when she noticed the Headmaster's eyebrow rise. "I'm quite sure that Squall trusts Nida, but both of us also know that he has issues with the subject. Only those close to him have earned the sort of trust that he needs, and I personally believe that one of his friends should be there when he finds out what is going on."
"I understand how you feel, Quistis." Cid said, removing his glasses and cleaning them with his shirt. "And I know exactly what you are proposing, but right now, you are needed at the Garden."
"I'm sure that Dr. Kadowaki can deal with the student body, and if the need comes that she requires assistance, I'm positive that Xu would be more than happy to keep the peace. She's been capable of doing so in the past."
Cid replaced his spectacles to their place in front of his eyes and stroked his chin in deep thought. Quistis watched him, frowning as the time passed between them. Finally after what felt like an eternity, Cid looked up and met the younger girl's gaze before taking in a deep breath. "Alright. You may go with Nida on this rescue mission. I have a feeling that you would have gone even without confirmation, although it is unlike you."
Quistis nodded, confirming the elder man's suspicions. "Then you should hurry. Meet Nida at the front Gate within the next ten minutes. The Ragnarok is located outside. Whatever new information I receive will be sent to the both of you immediately."
Quistis saluted the headmaster once again, this time with a grateful grin. She had hoped he would have given her permission. After all, she had grown up with Squall when they were little, and once again when she had joined Garden. She couldn't imagine what would happen to him, and the real reason she had wanted to tag along was to make sure that he was safe. Her feelings as his older sister were strong, especially now when she knew he could be in trouble.
Turning around, she headed out of the office while Cid picked up the phone and contacted Nida once again.
Selphie had just given the ground team the exact location of where their target was, and immediately the team proceeded towards the structure. Selphie activated the cameras that had been stationed throughout the city in order to properly monitor them from her current location. So far, everything was proceeding smoothly, which put her on alert. The Trabian raised girl knew from past experiences that if an operation appeared to be moving perfectly that something must be wrong. Switching camera angles, she was relieved to know that she could still see the ground team perfectly. If she was to do her job properly, she needed to have constant supervision of the group.
Suddenly, Paul Dobs, one of the original technicians that worked with the government, walked over towards the small SeeD before she looked up to acknowledge him, giving him half of her attention while keeping the other half on the computer module in front of her. "What is it?" she asked.
"There was something odd that I detected in the Galbadian Airspace approximately fifty minutes away." Paul explained. "I pinpointed it and it looks like a strange blur."
"Can't you deal with it?" Selphie asked. Normally, she would be willing to help out, but right now her mind was on her current job. "I'm kinda busy right now."
"I normally would, but the President gave us orders to process things through you because of the training you received in data analysis. I don't think we should leave it to wait."
Selphie drummed her fingers lightly on the keyboard for about half a second before nodding. "Alright, send them over. But I need you to keep an eye on the ground team."
Paul nodded once before returning to his own desk and within a minute, an image that had been taken by the cameras of which had been set up to view Galbadian Airspace appeared on her screen. The cameras had been given by the Estharian Government as per the peace contract established once work began on the United Confederation project. Anything that flew by the airspace was immediately photographed and documented by the technicians involved in that category.
Cracking her knuckles, Selphie brought up the image and inspected it. Although Paul had said he noticed something odd about the image, Selphie's eyes were fully enhanced by her junctions. If something were out of the ordinary, then her eyes would be able to detect it.
And indeed she did. The 'blur' that Paul had mentioned turned out to be light reflecting off of something in midair. Selphie raised an eyebrow at the image before enlarging it. Upon doing so, she frowned as she realized that the light that reflected off the object was blocking her way. Obviously the reason the light rebounded was because it bounced off metal due to the camera's angle, but that didn't mean that she couldn't see what this metal was connected to. She had her suspicions but she figured that she would analyze it further. But that still didn't mean she couldn't warn the team.
Pressing a button on the small screen which was located on the monitor, she waited as it sent her a directory list of everyone within reach of their computer. Scrolling the list quickly, she located the ID number she was searching for and immediately patched into the man who was busy staring at his screen and typing something. "Daniel, I need you to patch me into the ground teams communications frequency."
On the other end, Daniel nodded and signaled to her to give him a moment to patch her through. When that moment passed, he gave her the thumbs up before she pulled on her headset, taking a moment to berate herself for not doing so in the first place. "Ground team, this is the Presidential Residence speaking, please respond."
"Ground team here." Squall's voice patched in almost immediately after she finished her sentence. Sometimes, his predictability was a trait that came in handy. "What is it?"
"Ground team, we have just established that something foreign just entered Galbadian Airspace approximately less than five minutes ago. We don't have confirmation as to what it is, but it is advised that your team proceed with caution. It could be a carrier to meet with the target."
"Ground team copies. We will proceed with extreme caution."
"I know you will." Selphie said, breaking out of the formal speech. She hated it when she had to use it. "Keep safe and contact me if you see anything out of the ordinary." Immediately after she finished speaking, the contact was disabled.
Sighing at the predictable nature behind Squall Leonhart, Selphie contacted Paul with the information she had picked up. "I'll decipher the image as best as I can and contact you with the results. Just keep an eye on those monitors."
"Will do." Paul said, genuinely thankful. "Thanks a lot, Selphie."
"No problem!" She winked before turning off her monitor. Stroking her chin thoughtfully, she didn't like the fact that whatever the image was possessed cloaking capabilities. The only country that possessed such technology was Esthar, but she knew that no one from Esthar had mentioned anything about a visit, nor did the Galbadians sanction such an action.
This information put her on further alert. If Esthar was up to something, did that mean that there would be another conflict between the two superior countries? She wondered if Sir Laguna had any idea as to what was occurring and if so what his reasons behind these actions were.
But if he wasn't the one responsible for the unexplained visit, then did that mean that there were people working outside of his control? What reasons would invoke such a response from the Estharian Government? She didn't even know if it was a war carrier or if it was just a visitor craft, but she figured it would be better to be safe than to be sorry. Sighing, she stood up from where she sat and quickly headed towards the Presidential office.
Upon approaching the door, she sighed in relief that he was the only one inside before knocking and opening the door, letting herself in. Caraway looked up from his reports just as Selphie saluted him. He nodded and she returned to an informal stance. "Sir, one of the aerial cameras took a picture of something flying into Galbadian Airspace approximately five minutes ago."
"Do you know what it is?" Caraway asked and Selphie shook her head.
"But I do have an idea of what it could be, although it's only a suspicion. The image that Paul sent me from his terminal portrays the sky, but a reflection of light bounced off what could be presumed as a metallic surface. If my guess is correct, then that would mean that the craft flying into the country would have to be cloaked."
"And the only country who has cloaking capabilities is Esthar." Caraway concluded. "Alright, have you warned the ground team?"
"Yes, and they're on high alert now, but I didn't explain the possibility that they could be Estharian. I wanted to make sure before I made such a statement."
"What do you have in mind?" Caraway asked.
"Well, since the Galbadian carriers have been grounded since the Sorceress War four months ago, that means that the only ship that has taken to the air is the aircraft detected. Since Esthar ships computers are run on data microchips, then I believe it would be possible to track their location and destination. I might even be able to listen into their operation if I can get through to the audio section of the ship."
"Good. Go do that now. I want a report immediately after you are finished."
"Yes sir." Selphie immediately saluted the President before leaving the room and heading back to her own terminal. She had work to do and no time to waste doing it.
3:00:00