Chapter Two
I've deactivated the security cameras, so the guard's the only one who sees my approach. I'm still limping from my wounds, but I'll manage. The painkillers the company docs gave me keep the pain distant enough that I can focus on my goal. "Sir, what's going on?" the guard asks me.
"It's classified, chump. I'm here to move the prisoners, can't have them here with all this shit goin' on."
"But sir, without notification, I can't-"
"Why the hell you think I'm here, shithead? You're notified now, alright?"
"Sorry, sir, I'm going to have to call it in."
"Hey, do you know who I am? I say you move them, you move them!" I'm almost in arms reach now.
"Sorry, sir. I'll lose my job if I don't follow procedure." As he turns to the phone on the wall, I wrap my gloved hand over his mouth and clap the other onto the back of his helmet before twisting. Sorry, guy, I can't leave any evidence I've been here. Taking his keycard, I walk down the hallway, unlocking the cells. I beat on the first door as I walk past it again and head around the corner, where I hide behind a desk and wait. After a few short minutes that feel like an eternity, the members of Avalanche run past my hiding place along with Aeris. Well, I've done all I can. Hopefully, all the chaos caused by Sephiroth's reappearance and my messing with the security systems'll give them a chance to get Aeris out of here...
And I thought the trip to Costa'd be boring. Good timing, too, hearing that rumor about intruders on the ship right about when teasing the rookie started getting boring. It doesn't take me long to find one of them. Lucky for him, I recognize the big black guy in a sailor suit as a member of Avalanche. That means she's probably here, so my priorities for this little cruise just changed drastically. Guess I won't be tossing any stowaways overboard today...
It takes some time to find her, but I inevitably do. Even with most of her face covered by an MP's mask, I still recognize her. Plus she has a distinctive way of walking. I catch her eye as I approach and wink before walking past her and turning at the next hallway. I grin as I hear her footsteps following me. Walking all dainty, even in combat boots. Ducking behind the bulkhead, I wait for her to walk past me before reaching out and pulling her into the empty room that was behind me. Kicking the door shut, I smile down at the disguised brunette in my arms. "Hello, Reno," she greets me with a giggle. Hmm, guess she saw that coming. "What, you miss me or something?"
I grin. "Babe, it just hasn't been as much fun without you around." True, but not the whole truth. I wonder what she'd say if I told her I'd been thinking of her nearly every waking moment? As if I could say something like that...
"What, I'm just an amusement to you?" she asks, with a look in her eyes that tells me she's just teasing.
"Well, I wouldn't want my favorite amusement to get hurt," I joke right back. "Seriously, I'm glad you got out alright." And I'm glad we'll be on this boat for several more days. I'll have to make the most of the time we'll have together...
The guards fail to spot me as I slip into the stables at the Gold Saucer. Once inside, I remove an injector from my jacket and begin injecting all but one of the chocobos slated for the next race with a mild sedative, just enough of a dose to throw them off and guarantee victory. I've used this trick in the past when I've needed a bit more spending money, but now I have a more important reason. I don't really like the idea of helping Spike, but it's the most efficient way to quickly get Aeris out of the desert prison without taking overt action.
From my observation post, I can see Spike, the lab rat, and Rude's favorite bartender follow Bugenhagen into the caves behind Cosmo. The rest of Avalanche split up to take in the sights. Unable to pass up the opportunity, I leave my hiding spot, disguised as a local. "Hello Reno," Aeris calls out as I walk up behind her at the Cosmo Candle. She doesn't sound right. Her voice sounds dull, almost lifeless, and she has a worried look on her face as she sits with both hands pressed over her stomach.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I ask as I sit beside her.
"I can hear the Planet clearly here, more clearly than anywhere else I've ever been. I know what I have to do now and... I'm scared."
I've never seen her look this worried before, not even when we were flying her to Hojo's lab. Whatever she saw must've been a real doozy. I lean a bit closer and wrap my arms around her, pulling her close. "There anything I can do to help?"
"Aside from what you're already doing, no."
I can't stay out in the open like this for long, no telling when her teammates'll come back. So I slip a hand under her legs and carry her the short distance to the Shinra safehouse I was using to watch Avalanche. "Hey, I bet if you told me what you're gonna do, I'll think of a way to help you."
"Sorry, but all I can tell you is that I'll stop Sephiroth in a way that only a Cetra can," she says as I kick the door shut behind us.
"What, you're going to fight him? Hey, I can help with that," I assure her as I sit on the couch.
"No, I'm not going to fight him, and there really isn't anything else you can do to help." It's a shame to hear that, but I do the little I can anyway, holding her tight until she has to rejoin her team. I still can't bring myself to say what I feel, but they say actions speak louder anyways. She's always been unusually perceptive, and she doesn't seem surprised when I steal a quick kiss as she leaves.
This's definitely been one of my more interesting vacations, even if we're only off for the weekend. I'm gonna have to find Tseng when we get back, see if I can talk him into an extra half-day of vacation time to make up for all the time we spent chasing around Corneo while off the clock. As Rude and I step out of the bar, we find a nice surprise, both of our crushes, out for a walk. "Hey, ladies," I call out with a grin.
"HI Reno!" Aeris calls out with a smile.
She may be happy to see me, but her friend with the big jugs definitely isn't. She takes up a fighting stance and demands, "What do you want?" Gives me the glare of doom, too. I keep grinning in spite of her glare, I think it's starting to piss her off.
"Hey, easy, there." I say, hands held up in a peaceful gesture. "I'm still on vacation, remember? Besides, just 'cause we're on different sides, doesn't mean we've gotta hate each other. Right, Aeris?" I ask, holding my arms out towards her.
My heart catches in my throat for a moment as I wonder if she'll deny me in front of her friend. Relief washes through me when she says, "Makes sense to me," and steps into my waiting arms. I also take some satisfaction in the shocked look on her friend's face, her jaw and her guard dropping at the sight of her friend and enemy standing before her with their arms around each other. Heheh, that gives me an idea...
"Hey, Rude, I just got an idea," I announce. As he turns to hear my idea, I swipe his shades and hand them to Aeris. He opens his mouth to complain, but before he can say anything I deliver a quick kick right below his knee and shove him hard in Lockheart's direction. Off-balance from my kick, he collides with her and they both automatically grab one another to recover their balance. "Ha, I thought so! You two look good together," I announce.
"Yeah, you two'd make a cute couple," Aeris agrees. Heh, they're both blushing pretty good now. Fun. Guess they're so embarrassed, they forgot to let go of each other after regaining their balance. Aeris reaches over before either has a chance to recover and perches Rude's shades on top of her friend's head.
"Heh, nice touch. Well, you two have fun, we're gonna go for a little walk now," I say before turning and walking Aeris in the direction of the Da Chao.
"That was fun," Aeris says with a laugh as we begin to make our way up the path between the large carvings in the mountainside. "So, what're you going to do when your vacation's over?"
"Hey, now, you know I keep my work and personal life separate. That'd be like me asking how you plan to get around not having the keystone."
"Sorry. I was just wondering if we'll have to make a quick exit in the morning."
"Don't worry, I won't be officially back on the job until I report back to headquarters. So I'm not gonna go attacking your friends in their sleep or anything like that."
"Good, one less thing to worry about."
"You still worried about what you saw in Cosmo?"
"Yeah, it's a big responsibility."
"You gonna tell me what you saw yet?"
"Nope," she replies with a little smirk.
"What, don't you trust me?"
She looks serious now. "I trust you. But I know you'll end up getting hurt if I tell you. Could we talk about something else?"
Not much left to talk about. "Stars look nice tonight," I offer.
"Yeah," she agrees. I'm not sure how long we stand on Da Chao's summit, arms around one another as we watch the stars, before she decides she needs to get some sleep. Time's not important right now. Instead, I lose myself in the moment and enjoy it while it lasts.
Well, that was an easy mission. Disabling the Gold Saucer's ropeway to keep Avalanche from leaving so Tseng gets a chance to snatch their recently acquired keystone was child's play. And now, I'm off duty until the staff gets it fixed. And I made it very clear to the mechanics that they won't get it fixed before morning unless they want to go base-jumping off the Saucer without a parachute. So, I've some time to kill.
I take up a position hidden behind one of the fake gravestones in front of the hotel and use a compact laser microphone to eavesdrop on Avalanche's meeting in the lobby. I don't learn anything I won't hear via Reeve's robot, but this way I don't have to wait for the info to filter down to me. Won't get anything censored by my bosses, either. Alright, they're calling it a night. Almost time to make my move. As I give them a few minutes to get into their rooms, I'm surprised when Spike and Wallace leave the hotel and head back into the park.
I wait a few minutes more and start to get up when the hotel door opens again, causing me to duck back into my hiding spot. My heart sinks when Aeris steps out, arm in arm with Tseng. Damnit, boss, I thought you were supposed to be busy stealing the keystone... I now find myself regretting that I'm stuck in this damned theme park until morning. I sit still for several minutes, fighting back the urge to scream out my frustration. As soon as I feel that I'm in control again, I rise and enter the hotel, heading straight for the bar in back.
Looks like the rookie's freaking out over something again. Heh, never seen her this frazzled. I wonder if she found those crickets I filled her desk drawers with? Hard to tell, what with her being out of breath and trying to talk faster than her mouth can work as she runs up to me at our little field headquarters. Wait, I distinctly heard 'Tseng' and 'hurt'. Could be important. Giving her my best cold glare, I plant my hand over her mouth. "Shut up. What the hell do you think you're doing, rookie?" Before she can recover, I continue, "Turks don't panic. Are you a Turk, or some dumbass grunt who put the wrong uniform on this morning?"
She spends a few moments fighting for her composure after I let go before answering. "I'm a Turk, sir."
"Good, now report, Turk."
She takes a few deep breaths before speaking again, obviously fighting to keep her composure. "Tseng, he... he sent a distress signal from the temple."
"Yeah, even he gets hurt sometimes. Probably nothing too serious if he's able to send a signal."
"But sir, the signal cut off after a few seconds and... and surveillance shows that the whole temple just dissapeared!"
"Wha... Alright, follow me," I order as I pull out my phone and start walking towards the helipad. "I need a med-evac team at the Temple of the Ancients, now!" I order as I wave a group of grunts to join us.
"But sir, the temple, it's gone!" the rookie squeeks. "Tseng..."
"The temple doesn't matter," I say as I start the chopper's engine. "We'll find him, bring him back." Damnit, Tseng, you better not've gotten yourself killed...
Author's Note: Well, there's another chapter down. As always, thanks go to Noroi for betaing. Sorry for the delay. Real life's kept me kinda busy lately. Hopefully the next one won't take me so long.
New note: Edited again because some site update deleted all the '--' lines I used to use to denote scene changes. So time to slap horizontal rulers into all my fics.
