Chapter Posted: 02/06/2007
02/09/2007: Fixed a small blunder on my part. Sorry about that.
The following takes place between 5am and 6am.
Events occur in real time.
Four hours had passed and nothing seemed to be going his way.
Having sent Ellone back to her room for the night, Laguna had begun to pace inside of his office, a nervous habit he'd taken up during his time in the army and which he had fallen into during times where he was off duty. The most prevalent memory he could recall from this action seemed like a lifetime ago; where he, a silly Galbadian Soldier, had spent a large portion of the night with Julia Heartilly, back then an aspiring singer.
But while that had been nervous jitters caused by a silly crush, this time was far different. A few moments ago, he received word from the Airstation; the team of soldiers who had left Estharian borders without his permission were returning to the capital. Laguna had found the action odd; less than two hours ago, he had demanded the abortion of the mission and their return, only to have his orders go ignored. Now they were returning as easily as they had left. It had all seemed strange to him.
Until he'd found out why.
He stopped right in front of his desk before planting both hands – palm side down – on top of his desk and sighed. This whole thing was turning into one big mess after another and he wasn't sure if he would be capable of cleaning it up. It wasn't just about the murders anymore, or the fact that his own son was being accused of the crime, but because of the pigheadedness of his country's General, the treaty he had personally signed with the President of Galbadia was under threat and so was the confederation. It seemed now that the major parties were slowly becoming involved, and he couldn't see a means of resolving the issue.
He knew, however, what he could do to make things right.
Picking up his desk phone, Laguna manoeuvred his way around his desk (and the pile of paperwork he hadn't touched since word of the murders came to pass) and dialled a specific number, sitting down in his seat and initiating the speakerphone. He hoped he would be able to explain himself; that Orally hadn't messed things up beyond repair.
A moment later, he spoke to a liaison representative of the Galbadian Residence and was forced to wait a little longer as the liaison directed his call to the President.
It had been about four months ago when he had been introduced to the newly appointed President and man had he been surprised. The former General had also been shocked to receive word that he was in charge of the technologically advanced city and it had taken all of thirty minutes for the latter to get the former to stop saluting him; years of being in the Galbadian Military drilled into him. It had been then when the treaty had been drawn up and signed, under the witness of Gardens own appointed Commander, Conrad Greenwood, and the Headmaster, Cid Kramer.
Afterwards, when all the Garden personnel took their leave, Caraway and Laguna had got to talking; mostly about how they came to their current positions, but also about other things; specifically Julia (Laguna was still mortified that his former superior had found out about that). The former General had even apologized for the specific soldier's behaviour and his sudden shipping out the next day, and no matter how often Laguna tried to tell him that it was water under the bridge, Caraway wouldn't hear of it.
But then to find out that the nice girl who'd volunteered to accept Adel's powers right before the mess with Time Compression happened was his old General's daughter was startling.
To find out his own son was involved with her made him want to laugh out loud at the irony.
That discussion had also been how Caraway had found out that Squall and Laguna were related. In his opinion, it had only been fair; he knew that the Sorceress a ton of people were so concerned about was related to the President of Galbadia, so why couldn't Caraway know the same about the Estharian President and Garden's former Commander?
He was brought out of his mental musings when the liaison's voice came back on the line, alerting him that he was now being connected with the President and he held his breath. Some things weren't nearly as easy to talk about, and he wondered how Galbadia as a whole was doing after the sudden invasion.
The man he was waiting to speak to picked up on the other end, his voice edged with irritation. "You have some explaining to do on your behalf."
"I know what you're thinking, but let me just say that I didn't do it!" Laguna knew how childish those words sounded just as they left his mouth, and managed to fumble through another retort. "That didn't come out right; what I mean to say is that the Estharian Government had nothing to do with that invasion. My numbskull of a General decided to take matters into his own hands and grouped a squad of soldiers together without my permission."
A sigh came from the opposite end and Laguna knew – could just tell – that Caraway didn't believe a word he said. "Why would your General do something like that?"
"Because when I found out who they were accusing, I… well… I… I froze." Laguna frowned, knowing how pathetic that sounded. "They were saying that Squall just came in here and chose to kill those people, and I had to get my head around it. It didn't make any sense then and it sure as hell doesn't make any sense now. But by the time I was came around and jumped back into the conversation, Orally was already leaving the room."
"Does he know?" Caraway asked.
"If he didn't before, then he sure as hell pieced it together." Laguna said. "Man, I'm such a—"
"Why didn't you tell us this before?"
"I thought he was just heading out to, to… I don't know what I thought, but I never expected him to pull this stunt. I told Garden right after I found out though, and the Headmaster had already sent out two operatives in order to bring Squall back to the Garden when I warned them."
Laguna heard another sigh and frowned, hoping the former General believed him. He knew how farfetched everything sounded, but dammit he didn't do anything to encourage this behaviour. When Orally got back, they were going to have words. "Why would I jeopardize the treaty? Especially since I'm one of the few people who knew what Ultimecia was planning to do? Beyond a Sorceress' attack, no one, outside of SeeD and a few others know that she lived in the future, let alone wanted to destroy time."
"So what do we do about this?" Caraway asked, the irritation leaving his voice slightly. Laguna gave a mental cheer at this; he was finally getting somewhere. "Your soldiers did a lot of damage when they arrived at the Capital, and even more so when they were trying to bring Squall in. My own soldiers are pressuring me to retaliate, but since you didn't have anything to do with the invasion, I can't in good conscience allow that to happen."
"I can try to stall the investigation when Orally gets back, I need to speak to him about this major screw-up." Laguna muttered the last bit under his breath. "But other than that, the cabinet would step on my toes. Apparently, my judgement is compromised just because I made the call to Cid and told him what was happening. I can't do anything else unless I want them running the country, which I don't."
"Garden will be sending representatives to oversee the questioning process," Caraway explained, "in order to prevent it from becoming an interrogation."
"Good idea." Laguna nodded, despite the fact that the President couldn't see him. "I'll do my best to stall them before they show up."
"Contact me as soon as the team arrives." Caraway said. "And let me know after you've spoken to Orally. I want to hear about this."
"I'll try, but I might have my hands full." Laguna said. "But you will definitely hear from me when Garden shows up."
Caraway disconnected the call and after a moment, Laguna place the phone back onto its receiver before pressing the intercom button. "Send Kiros up here, will ya? I've got a favour to ask him…"
Quistis frowned as she took in the sight of the broken building that lay around her. While the Orphanage had been their home, it had been poorly maintained as the years had gone by, leaving behind nothing more than discrepant ruins. It was a small wonder that the woman they were looking for lived there in the first place.
Sighing, Quistis knew that the dilapidated state of her former home was not the only reason she was displeased. She would be relaying to their surrogate mother that one of her children was being tried for a crime he couldn't possibly have committed and that the worst part was he had allowed himself to be apprehended.
Approaching the front of the orphanage, she took in a deep breath, preparing herself before she knocked on the wooden door, which seemed to be one of the only things that remained intact throughout the aging process of the ruins. But movement to her left caught her eye before her knuckles could even connect to the object and she carefully walked in the direction of the movement. Keeping a hand on top of the combat knife secured at her side, she walked between the stone spires and headed towards the flower garden.
Upon seeing who had made the movement, Quistis immediately dropped her defensive stance and continued the rest of the way towards the end of the porch, sighing in relief. The woman she was searching for was within the massive ocean of flowers, tending to them with her seemingly natural green thumb. The former Sorceress had not changed at all since the end of the war. Her dark hair still fell to her waist and she still wore the familiar black dress with the grey sleeves. While most people would believe that this was the sign of a woman morning the loss of someone dear to her, Quistis felt that she brought out the colour in the otherwise mundane shade. Currently, Edea Kramer was also wearing a beige straw hat to keep the hot desert like sun out of her eyes and gardening gloves so as not to prick herself on the thorns on some of the flowers.
After collecting herself, Quistis slowly made her way down towards the beginning of the flowerbed, and began manoeuvring within the massive field so as not to harm any of the thriving wildlife. It took longer than she would have liked to reach the woman but not too much time for her to lose her patients. Edea's back was turned to her the entire time, and thus was the reason why she had not been spotted.
Suddenly the former sorceress stopped what it was that she was doing and turned to greet her visitor, smiling as she did. "Quistis…I have not seen you in a while. How have you been?"
Wishing desperately that she had come to visit on better terms, Quistis smiled back weakly. "We've been alright." She said, in reference to the others as well as herself. "We've just been busy."
"With the confederation," Edea nodded. "I completely understand. I know I for one would not wish for another incident such as Ultimecia to take place again. I am sure that you will all ensure that it will not."
The smile faded and Edea tilted her head to the side. "But I sense that this is not the reason you have come. What is wrong?"
Quistis smiled slightly despite the situation. Matron had always been able to read anyone as if reading a book. Even though she had passed on her powers to Rinoa during the War, Edea still retained some traces of them and thus seemed like a sorceress herself sometimes. "It's unfortunate that I'm not here on a social call, Matron. I actually have come to relay some disturbing news to you."
Edea fell silent as Quistis took in another deep breath. "There has been a situation that will undoubtedly endanger the production of the United Confederation. Someone, we're not sure who, entered the Estharian Residence at 1700 hours, Balamb Time. This would make it a little after 0200 in Esthar. The suspect then proceeded to locate random workers of the United Confederation, and kill them one by one. By the time the Estharians were able to find him, he had already successfully killed five of them.
"The suspect escaped, and is currently on the lookout. The worst part of this entire thing is that they believe that a SeeD from Balamb Garden is responsible for executing the act."
Edea appeared thoughtful for a moment and just as Quistis was about to interject, the elder woman spoke up. "They believe that it was Squall?"
Quistis looked at the woman in surprise. "How did you know?"
Edea sighed. "What the Estharians are suggesting is that they're security is impenetrable. They believe that whoever got past them either had to have used force, or was given access to the Presidential Residence. From the way you have described it, there was no sign of forced entry, correct?"
Quistis shook her head and Edea nodded, seemingly to herself. "And out of the Balamb SeeDs, who has the connections to be able to not only enter the Residence without any resistance, but to be able to murder that many people before being detected?"
Quistis lost herself in thought. It made sense after all. "Whoever is the real murderer knew that if he wanted to frame someone for the crime, he would need to make it believable. And because of that, they knew that only a select few would be able to pass for such a thing. Most of their options are mainly from our team because we defeated the Sorceress. But whoever started this also knew that he would have to choose between all of us, to make it even more believable. Squall is Laguna's son; the President of Esthar's son. Of course security would allow him access to the Residence at that late hour. The guard must have believed Squall had some business with Laguna."
"And only a handful of people in Esthar even know that they are related." Edea continued. "The ones who know are Laguna's close friends. Garden knows mainly to prevent any biased judgment when it comes to not only operations but between the countries themselves."
Quistis nodded, knowing that even Garden's knowledge of those circumstances had been limited until two months ago. It hadn't been the Headmaster's fault, since the minute he'd discovered the truth he'd made sure everyone in the Garden knew, to prevent rumours related to the subject.
Even still, that could only mean one thing.
"Which means that there is a traitor in Garden," Quistis said. "Someone in Garden is working with these terrorists. That's the only explanation that would explain how they know about Squall and Laguna's relation. The Headmaster was thinking along the same lines as well, but he wasn't completely sure, at least from what I could tell."
"You had best return to Garden." Edea said. "You must this to Cid and you must do it quickly, before the traitor is able to leak any more secrets. And to warn Squall about what is happening."
"That's not the only reason I came here." Quistis said. "The Headmaster asked me to bring you back with us to Garden before heading towards Esthar."
Frowning deeply, Quistis forced herself to say the words she dreaded saying. "He…Squall surrendered to the Estharians and they're holding him in Esthar as we speak. He knows the Estharians are after him, but I don't think he knows what they're charging him with."
Quistis didn't even need to see the look of shock and horror that had passed over the former Sorceress' expression to know that it was there. Everyone had been devastated when they had realized what Squall had done. "From what President Caraway and the Headmaster have told us, he surrendered so that the Estharians wouldn't start a war with Garden. I don't agree with what he has done, but I think he feels that he had no choice."
"Then we must hurry." Edea said, her features set in a determined expression. "If the Estharians believe that Squall is guilty, then they will wish to force a confession from him. We must get there in time to stop it."
5:12:43
The remainder of the trip to Esthar had felt as though it had taken forever, but eventually they finally arrived at their destination. Squall remembered the previous time he had landed in the Estharian Airstation; when his team had been entrusted with a mission to defeat the Sorceress of the Future in the future, Ultimecia. The structure was the same as he remembered it; spectacular in its design and shape, and impressively futuristic in the eyes of anyone foreign to the country.
Of course the usage of the Airstation differed from what it had previously while the Estharians had stayed in hiding from the rest of the world. Instead of merely being a place for military planes to dock for fuel or land from scouting missions, it had turned into somewhat of an airport, one that many of the citizens chose to use when it came to traveling outside of what was once referred to as a Xenophobic Country. Desks and chairs had been added within the multiple rooms the building possessed, transforming them into adequate waiting areas for the passengers to spend their time before their flights departed. Food places also dominated the inner structure so the passengers of an upcoming flight could grab a bite to eat before leaving. The section that the Estharian planes docked was sectioned off away from the passengers, so as not to invoke fear from the civilians. It was military ground, so only authorized personnel were granted permission to roam within.
As soon as the plane had touched down, two Estharian soldiers and the General had entered the cockpit of the plane before detaching their prisoner, removing the handcuffs from the handle they were wrapped around before quickly reattaching them to the wrists of the teenager. Excluding his escape from the soldiers on the rooftop, Squall had shown no signs of struggle against the Estharians and he knew that it was making some of the more vocal soldiers suspicious of him, but he could have cared less as the situation progressed. He knew he was innocent, and they could question him about his whereabouts all they wanted, but he would stick with what he knew happened. It would anger them even more, but Squall sincerely doubted that it was any different from how they had reacted when they were first told that he had committed the crime.
Two of the soldiers shoved him forward and, because he was so lost in his thoughts, he stumbled slightly, barely managing to prevent himself from falling on his face as a result. Taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he simply righted himself and proceeded out of the plane with the two soldiers following closely. When they had walked out, the whole platoon of soldiers that had accompanied the General to Deling City were standing around their commander, probably in the middle of a debriefing, and security on the floor and near the exits was immense. However, Squall could see, from where he stood near the entrance of the plane, multiple routes that he could use to escape without being detected, but all of which involved using the added strength he acquired from the Guardian Forces he was still junctioned to. The only reason he didn't was the fact that any resistance could lead to a war between both Esthar and Garden, and there was no telling how long it would be before Galbadia joined in as well.
Soon enough though, the Estharian soldiers disbanded from their conversation and immediately filed into formation. As they lead him out of the docking bay, Squall couldn't help but wonder who would frame him so convincingly. Had it been just a normal impostor, they would have figured it out by now, and this whole mess would have never happened. But it had to have been someone who looked and sounded like him, but that was an impossibility. The only method of cloaking a voice was an electronic device designed for such a thing, but even machines weren't perfect and, if recorded or paid the proper attention, were easy to spot. Distinctiveness in a person's voice was so dominant that it could leak through the disguised voice.
As for the appearance, Squall could think of only two people who bore a striking resemblance to himself. One was already dead; had died a long time ago, and the other would never betray the country he had taken charge of. Whoever had pulled it off had to have thought this whole operation out rather quickly and tactfully for them to actually believe it had been him. Squall wondered bitterly if, whoever had framed him, had somehow managed to twist his own genetic code to actually match his own before dissuading the notion. DNA was the only thing in the world that was your own and it could never be altered or tampered with without the aid of chemicals.
Even then, it was extremely difficult to match DNA cells with a separate person. The only way that two people could share nearly the exact same biological data was if they were identical twins. Squall was a hundred percent certain that he was an only child, otherwise the sibling would have accompanied him to the orphanage, and as far as Ellone had explained, it had just been the two of them. Since that was the case, then he was positive that that was also an impossibility.
As he wracked his brain for any conceivable reason as to why the Estharians would be so dead certain that he was their murderer, he realized grimly that he couldn't come up with any. He was absolutely stumped as to how it happened, and was even more clueless as to how to prove his innocent. They wouldn't take his word for it, nor the words of those he grew up with, due to personal bias. The only way he could prove he didn't commit the crime would be to get the Estharians to watch security tapes based back in Deling City, which proved that he was routed in Galbadia during and before the time of the crime.
A voice calling his name jarred him out of his thoughts and he turned to face the direction the call came from. He was surprised to see a dark tall man quickly walking towards the group, dressed in the common dress of the Estharian robes, this one with a brown stripe running down the middle. He wore the small hat that came along with it, but the garments seemed out of place on the former soldier of Galbadia.
Kiros must have gotten the General's attention as well, because the man stepped in-between the two. Squall noted grimly that the two soldiers behind him tightened their grip on him, as if they were afraid the newcomer would take away their prisoner.
"What business do you have here, Seagill?" The General asked formally, although with the way he addressed the dark skinned male, Squall discerned that the General had issues with his father's long-time friend and comrade. "If it's to remove the prisoner from our custody, you can just go back to the President and tell him that you couldn't do your job."
"I'm not here to take him with me." Kiros said, not appearing to be intimidated by the man. "I just need to talk to him for a quick second."
"Why?"
"Just call me a messenger." Kiros shrugged. "I have a message to deliver to him from the President. And unlike you, I follow my orders."
So Laguna didn't give them the go-ahead to go to Deling City… Squall thought to himself. Does this mean that their arrest procedure was invalid, or is Laguna the only one on the board who didn't know about it?
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" the General challenged, but Kiros waved it off.
"You can take it however you want to. Right now, I have someone to speak to, and I'd prefer to do so in private."
"I don't think you have the authority to—"
"You don't think the authority of the President is enough?" Kiros interrupted. "The President of the Country that you are working for? Then whose jurisdiction would you follow exactly? Adel's?"
Before the General could defend himself, Kiros immediately jumped in once more. "This isn't up for debate, Orally. I have my orders from the President, the highest authority in this country, and if you wanna complain about it, feel free to go visit his office. He's got a few things he wants to say to you anyway, so by all means go ahead. But you are not preventing me from doing what I came for. And if you do, I'll have you arrested under the charges of preventing council from a parental figure towards his ward. Now if you don't mind, get out of my way."
The General glowered at the other man for a moment before suddenly turning around and signalling to his men. Squall noted that the soldiers behind him released their hold on either of his arms before watching the General turn his attention back towards Kiros. "You have two minutes. No more than that."
"Believe me, it won't take that long." Kiros said, levelling the General with a neutral stare. After a moment, the General signalled to his men to keep walking, but appeared to be giving an order to the two soldiers who had been behind Squall in the first place. Squall figured that it was probably an order to break up the conversation between the two of them after two minutes were up.
As soon as the soldiers were out of earshot, Kiros turned his attention towards the SeeD, shaking his head as he did. "You're either extremely certain that this whole thing is gonna blow over, or you're really stupid, you know that?"
Squall shrugged. "I know I'm innocent."
"I know you are too, but you could have laid low until this entire mess was sorted out."
"It would have begun a war between Esthar and Garden." Squall argued. "I refuse to be the one who started it."
"Regardless of your actions, a war probably will start, but in either respect, it will be because the General of Esthar was so insistent that you were guilty that he had to invade a country, of which we are trying to establish peaceful ties with, and drag you back using force." Kiros protested. "Do you honestly believe that the Galbadians will let that fact rest, even though you came here without resistance? Caraway may be the only thing preventing a war from breaking out now, but he won't be able to stall for long."
Kiros took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "But I didn't come here to berate you on your actions…as stupid as it was…"
Then can you get to the point? Squall thought irritably to himself.
"Your father…" Upon receiving an irritated glare from the teenager, Kiros cleared his throat, looked around to make sure no one was listening in, and reiterated. "…The President…told me to tell you not to answer any questions the Estharians may ask you."
Before Squall could utter a sound, Kiros held up his hand to stop him. "I know you don't have anything to hide, but it's so that the Estharians can't twist your words around as easily as they want to. Trust me on this; we have the technology to do it. So avoid answering anything until representatives from Balamb Garden arrive to foresee the interrogation."
Squall frowned slightly. Refusing to co-operate throughout questioning would only make him appear guilty. Of course, he also understood that Kiros held a valid point. If the Estharians wanted to believe that he was the one responsible for the deaths that had taken place earlier in the morning, then they would use any means to make it seem that way, even if he was innocent. Finally, after a moment to mull the request over, Squall nodded his consent.
Kiros nodded once before looking behind the teenager and shaking his head. "Apparently, our two minutes are up. I'd better head back to the residence anyways and let Laguna know." Frowning slightly, the taller male added almost as an afterthought, "He's not a bad guy, you know."
Sighing, Squall had figured that the topic was unavoidable. "I know." He replied honestly. "But we're far too different to ever get along."
Kiros nodded to himself before the soldiers finally stopped beside the two. "Your two minutes are up."
Rolling his eyes, Kiros folded his arms across his chest before nodding once. "Okay, fine. Have it your way. Well Squall, it was nice talking to you…even under the present circumstances."
Squall didn't even have the chance to nod in agreement as Kiros turned his back on all of them and headed towards one of the other docking gates. Squall assumed he was heading towards the Presidential Residence. The guards then grabbed a hold of the teenager and began the task of hauling him towards the exit the other soldiers had used to leave the docking area. Squall wasn't the least bit surprised to see that it was in the opposite direction that Kiros was heading in.
Once the Estharian Airstation had received word of the Estharian soldier's return, aside from the President, the cabinet of Esthar had been the first to know. The cabinet had been a long standing Estharian organization, even in the days of Adel's tyranny, though the use of it had changed considerably since she had been ejected from power. Rather than spy on the citizens of the capital city, they were used to issue complaints or suggestions from the people in order to better the city. Years of being confined in one place left most of the citizens, particularly the younger generation, wanting to explore the rest of the world, and it had been the cabinet, with much encouragement from the President, that other cultures be explored within the city in order to broaden everyone's horizons. Many of the civilians, who mostly dressed in the official Estharian garbs and robes, were dressing in casual fashions from all over the globe, particularly from Galbadia and Balamb regions.
Aside from the people's opinions, the cabinet was also created to further assist the President in running the government. Too much power went to a person's head rather quickly, and it was the cabinet's job to distribute that power, in order to make judgement calls in the event the President could not.
This was one of those times; the cabinet had convened earlier than normal this particular morning; they had all been roused out of their beds and when the knowledge of a murder had taken place, all nine of the cabinet members had known what was expected of them and had immediately made their way towards the Presidential Residence. Each one sat at their place behind a large translucent table made of Plexiglas, their chair bottoms – one point instead of four – barely reaching the floor beneath them.
Sitting at the head of the table was the director, Jared Ashen, hand chosen by the President himself. Unlike the rest of the cabinet, who were wearing purple robes with a black stripe running up the center, he wore an immaculate white dinner jacket overtop a blue dress shirt and a pair of white pants and shoes. He had tanned skin; short dark hair and a goatee to match.
He sat with his head bowed in front of him. Since they'd convened at four in the morning, he had been forced to break up disputes across the table about the crises. The only thing they knew about the circumstances was that Squall Leonhart, one of the SeeDs sent to defeat the Sorceress, had killed five people working on the United Confederation, and that the Estharian General had set out to apprehend him himself. He didn't agree with the General's actions and was pushing for a Court Martial for his actions, and he was especially worried about the consequences of the brash general's actions. They had just gotten through one war, barely he mentally added; they didn't need another one.
But it was clear that, aside from the General's actions being inexcusable, the cabinet agreed on something; the President's judgement was being compromised by the sudden attack. That had been made apparent when the representative of Southern Esthar City, Mark Hummel, had overheard a conversation between the President and his niece about warning the Garden. He had been worried when he'd learned President Loire's son was involved somehow, but hadn't been about to remove him from power; the City needed a strong leader and as far as he was concerned Laguna had proven himself by leading the resistance and getting rid of Adel, especially when his niece had been the one involved.
Still, he had to remind himself that the two circumstances under question were entirely different in that the niece had been a target of Adel whereas the son was being accused of terrorist acts.
Sighing, he raised his head to address the rest of the cabinet – the men and women he was working with. "So it is agreed that the President's judgement has been compromised and that as the cabinet and second leading power in Esthar, we have no choice but to oversee decisions without him."
No one spoke; it was clear that everyone agreed.
"Very well," Jared continued. "So under this new set of developments, it is up to us to make the arrangements for the questioning process. Carol Shu will stand witness to the questioning.'
The woman in question nodded from near the opposite end of the table from the Director. "Very well. Media coverage of this situation has been limited, is that correct."
"Yes it has." A man sitting next to Shu answered. "The only coverage this incident is receiving is that the suspect is a SeeD, and the victim's names will not be disclosed until relatives have been contacted."
"Good." Jared concurred. "Stall the update for as long as possible. This is a questioning procedure, and despite positive identification from both the evidence and the witnesses, we must continue as though we are still investigating. Unless the suspect actually says he committed the crime while we question him, it won't do a damned thing. Meeting is adjourned."
Activities within the Garden remained the same, despite the ongoings that were currently taking place. Unless their rank discerned that they knew what had happened in the capital cities of the two powerful countries of the world, they were ignorant that something terrible was happening, so thus they went about their normal habits throughout the day, despite that it was nearing curfew. SeeD cadets were practicing in the Training Center, others were in the library, and the people who weren't were either in the cafeteria or in their dorms.
He snorted at this; Garden had grown far too soft from the knowledge he had learned.
Even though there were SeeD members wandering around at this time of night (probably having returned from their missions, he'd surmised), he was still able to move about on his own without being seen or heard from anyone else. He wasn't too concerned with getting caught though; he'd been in the Garden for nearly two months and still no one had spotted him.
Which was a good thing; he really couldn't afford to be caught at this point in time.
Having found a secluded area within the Garden, he pulled out the laptop he had stashed underneath his navy-blue hooded sweat-shirt, found an outlet and plugged it in. When the machine had finished loading, he quickly typed in his user name and password, allowing him access to a page he had recently been reading before being forced to move. The information he'd been compiling up until this point in time was intriguing to say the least. It wasn't completely what he had been looking for though; he'd learned that the best way to move around was to be well aware of the events happening around oneself. But to know that unsettling things were happening in Deling City – something about an invasion on Esthar's part – was intriguing all the same. He'd have to catalogue it as information for later though.
He didn't know what the new plan was; only that it had been started. Something big had happened in Esthar though; it was all over the radios and he had been quick to keep an ear on all the frequencies he could. Apparently some bigwigs in the Presidential Residence got iced and the Government suspected a rogue SeeD had done it.
There was only one person he could think of that could pull something like that off without getting captured, but he doubted he'd have anything to do with it.
Still, from what he'd managed to hack from Galbadia, he figured it'd be a good time to switch frequencies; find out exactly what happened to piss off the public so much.
Before he could though, he felt his cellphone vibrate inside of his dark colour pants pocket and, sighing, he reached in and grabbed the object, flipping it open and speaking barely above a whisper. "You rang?"
"Just making a progress report," the other voice – distinctly male – responded. "What have you found?"
"Nothing yet, but I did hear about those murders. Can't get good help these days, can ya?"
He heard a sigh from the other end and knew he was in for yet another session of chastising. He wasn't wrong. "That wasn't what I told you to do."
"Well, what can I say? I get bored easily, so I gotta keep up with current events. It'd really suck to know that something big happened and I missed it…not that I could really do anything about it where I am."
"Well, while you research current events, might I remind you that I gave you this mission because you are the only one who could pull it off without drawing much suspicion..."
"Especially if I keep outta sight; I know that already."
"Make sure you remember it. I don't want these last two months to be a waste."
"Trust me, they already are," he muttered under his breath. "Like I said, nothing on what I'm looking for yet, but if Garden is involved in those attacks…"
"The only connection Garden has is that a SeeD member is being accused of the crime."
"Is it who I think it is?"
"Knowing you, you've guessed correctly. But it might have a connection to why you're here. So get back to work. I'll fill you in on the details later."
"Going somewhere?"
"Just heading out on some business. I'll trust that you'll have a full report on your findings when I return."
"Maybe before then, but yeah, at latest when you get back, which should be…"
"It depends on the situation, but I'll be sure to let you know."
"Goodie." He shook his head. "I'll look forward to it."
His contact hung up, and he sighed. Paper pushing wasn't exactly in the list of things he wanted to be when he got older, but he also hated leaving a job undone. Cracking his knuckles, he returned his attention to the screen in front of him and got back to work.
5:33:51
Laguna looked up as the door to his office opened up, revealing his friend of over twenty years in the doorway. Kiros quickly closed the door behind him and activated the locking mechanism; this time typing in a code so that they're conversation would go uninterrupted. Laguna could tell without looking that his expression revealed his worry but he didn't care.
"I told him." Kiros said, and Laguna sighed in relief. "Damn near couldn't get past Orally though. Man, the guy is convinced that Squall's a killer."
"We know that it's not true, but it's going to take some proof to convince the rest of Esthar." Laguna said, Ward nodding in agreement behind him. "How much longer until the proceedings?"
"Not long now actually." Kiros said. "Seems like they're not wasting any time here, since Orally wants to question him immediately."
Ward made a face and Kiros laughed lightly, shrugging in response. "Sorry Ward, you're right. It'll be more of an interrogation than anything."
Laguna frowned thoughtfully, drumming his fingers on the top of his desk. He could tell that both of his long time friends were watching him carefully; he didn't tend to adopt an expression as serious as he had now. The General was hell-bent of dragging a confession from the SeeD, and Laguna was almost terrified at what he would do to retrieve it. He had to think of some way to alleviate his fear that something horrible was going to happen when his head snapped up.
"I've got it!" he said, smiling for the first time in the last five hours. He quickly turned to address the bigger of the pair standing in front of him. "Ward, I need you to head down to the holding section of the residence and make sure that the General stays in line during the questioning."
"Which won't be much I assure you." Kiros shrugged. "Squall knows not to say anything unless Garden officials are there."
Ward nodded in response and immediately headed towards the door. Laguna just hoped that they hadn't begun the interrogation just yet.
The General of Esthar couldn't have been more livid than he was at that point.
It was at times such as this that he hated the laws that awarded the prisoners the right to council. It made things so much more difficult, and he didn't want to have to wait until the Garden Representatives arrived. He had been informed of this by the Estharian Cabinet Representative, Carol Shu, who had accompanied him to the holding station, and it had set his mood afoul. She didn't seem to be happy about it herself, and was currently tapping her fingers along her upper arms in an attempt to by-pass it.
As soon as Shu, Orally and the Attorney General, Amanda Denver, had come into the room and had begun the questioning process, the suspect had stated he would answer no questions until his council showed up. Denver had tried every trick in the book to get him to talk; telling him that it would do no good to stall the investigation and that he was in enough trouble already, but by then he'd gone mute. Currently, Denver was speaking with her superiors, having understood his rights, and leaving Orally and Shu to their own devices.
"Dammit…" The General said, slouching into a chair stationed outside of the interrogation room. "Looks like he's got us beat here. Unless his friggin' council shows up, he's not saying a word."
"That's not necessarily true…" Shu said, looking up from her train of thoughts. "There is always one way we could get him to talk."
The General thought about what she was insinuating before immediately shaking his head in response. "No. Absolutely not. We're not Adelists here; we're not going to resort to force in order to get the answers we need."
"But it seems as though it's the only chance we have to get some concrete evidence against him." The representative protested. "I know it would make us just as bad as Adel herself while she was in rule, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't resort to it."
"Don't we have to wait for the Attorney General to return?" Orally argued. "It's against protocol to continue to question the suspect when she isn't even present."
"From the looks of it, Denver gave up in there." Shu explained. "She's not coming back here, that's for sure."
Just as Orally was about to protest once again, the soldiers who were stationed outside of the room spoke up. "I agree with the representative." The soldier said. "We need to get a confession from him, and if beating him up is the only way to do it, then so be it."
"I agree." The second soldier stated. "I'd say it's better than what he deserves after what he did to those people. Maybe it's high-time that he realizes the kind of suffering he's caused on those who lost their loved ones earlier this morning."
"But he's junctioned with Guardian Forces." Orally protested. "Even if we did decide to beat the answers out of him, which could end up being used against us in the end by the way, it probably wouldn't hurt him nearly as much as we'd have wanted it to."
"But who's to say that there isn't a sort of light switch to prevent his junctions from protecting him." Shu argued. "There's a magic-barrier inside of each interrogation room, which negates any form of magical amplification or any form of magic period. Who's to say that we couldn't just use that in our favour?"
"That's why it was installed to begin with." One of the soldiers stated. "To prevent prisoners who knew how to manipulate magical energies from using those talents to escape. Not even Adel herself would have been able to escape from here."
"Look General, I don't agree with the tactic either, in fact, I find it ludicrous that I was the one to broach the subject." Shu explained with a shudder of disgust. "But it's the only option we have left, besides waiting for Garden to come by and manipulate his answers, or going to the President with our concerns. I don't know about you, but I personally would like to get this procedure over with, and you've said it yourself. The President has sentimentality towards the prisoner because they're related to one another, so obviously that bypasses his judgment on the matter."
The General closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift into thought. He hated the idea of torturing anyone, even during war. Torture should only be used as a final resort and in war that was always the ending principal. Loire would be of no sufficient help, since his judgment was clouded with parental instincts, and waiting for someone to arrive when they had the guilty party within their grasps didn't make any sense in his mind.
So it was with that thought in mind the General gave a heavy sigh before nodding in response. "Alright… we'll continue the questioning process in a few minutes."
Almost immediately after being taken to the security sector of the Estharian Residence, Squall had been placed within the confines of an interrogation room, seated in a wooden chair facing the wall behind a simple wooden table. He sat slouched back, his arms folded in front of his chest resembling a semblance of calm which, by all rights, was entirely superficial. Mentally speaking, Squall was a nervous wreck, but it wasn't because he knew they would find out something he was hiding, since of course they would find nothing.
He was worried about his comrades and Garden itself. The fact that they could twist his words around and make him seem guilty when he wasn't was reason enough for him to keep his mouth shut during the interrogation, but the fact that they could turn his silence around unnerved him as well. What if they decided to threaten Garden in order to pry the questions out of him? He would be damned if anything happened to his home and the people that he cared about just because the Estharians were too stubborn to believe that he could actually be telling them the truth.
But these worries had not prevented him from following through with the agreement he had made with Kiros. If he did say something, it could inevitably be used against him, and there was no way he could allow that to happen. Garden would go to war against Esthar for twisting the situation around and blaming a member of SeeD of instigating the conflict, while Esthar would just stand by their belief that he was guilty to begin with. At this point in time, Squall didn't want to even think about the possibility of Galbadia's involvement.
So he had sat calmly as the General, the Attorney General and the Cabinet representative of Esthar had thrown out question after question.
The only time he had responded verbally to anything any of the people in front of him had been after the first question had been asked, when Squall had announced his silence until the representatives of Garden had arrived and were in this room as well, monitoring the conversation. Mentioning something like this was akin to refusing to answer any questions without a lawyer present. Squall was still entitled to his rights, and those rights stated that unless he had the responding representative present, he had the right to refuse to answer until they arrived.
Eventually, the General and the representative had grown tired of the one sided conversation and had excused themselves, leaving the confines of the room and leaving the SeeD alone to his thoughts.
Squall scowled at himself as the same doubts that had plagued his mind for the past two hours had resurfaced, and proceeded in beating them down with logic. It was because he didn't want to see those around him hurt that he had chosen to surrender. Running would have led to needless bloodshed and he refused to be a part of it. Besides, he never ran away from anything in his life, and he was going to be damned if he started now.
He already knew what it was that he was going to do. Escape was not an option this time, as it would have been under any other circumstance, but he would not comment on anything until Garden representatives arrived. He would not give the Estharians any reason to believe that he was their murderer, and hopefully they would realize their mistake so that they would be able to start searching for the real murderer.
The guards could take all day to return for all he cared, his thoughts among other things. One thing was certain; whoever committed the murders had thought this entire thing through, which meant that he had not acted alone, as the Estharians were being led to believe. The man they were looking for probably had a group backing him up; there was no way that one person alone could pull this whole thing off. They would have needed help, and connections. For instance, how had the Estharians known so quickly that he was in Deling City? They would have had to have been given the information, since hacking systems tended to take a little while, especially in Garden when everything was monitored consistently.
So there's either a traitor in Garden, or in Esthar…possibly both. It wouldn't be Kiros or Ward; they're loyal to Laguna. The same goes for Sis too, she would never go against him. It may be someone within the cabinet, or someone else that holds sway over decisions. It wouldn't make sense to put someone on the inside without them having a practical use or access to valuable information.
As his thoughts continued to hold their possession over his mind, questions began to plague him and when he discovered the answers to them, then more questions would arise in a continuous cycle. Someone within Garden would have had to given access to the Estharian ship, which meant that there was definitely someone on the inside who had wanted the Estharians to find him. The knowledge that only a select few knew exactly who his father was also helped him come to this conclusion, and also aided in the possible existence of a traitor within Esthar. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before someone slipped up, but that didn't mean it would happen before the situation escalated even further; possibly to the point where he wouldn't be able to help his comrades and family at all.
The sound of the door opening and slamming shut broke him from his train of thought and he looked up to see the Estharian General flanked with two of his soldiers. The Cabinet representative was standing off to the side; seemingly blocking his view from the door. The Attorney General was nowhere to be seen.
The representative nodded her head as the clicking of the electronic lock resounded within the otherwise desolate room, and Squall rose to his feet, steeling himself for the worst. The gesture must have put the Estharians on alert as well, for they suddenly appeared on either side of him, and just as Squall was wondering how they could move so quickly, he felt a sort of draining sensation. It wasn't like the draining effects of the spell of the same name, which continuously zapped at the target's strength and rejuvenated the spell caster, but it was ominous all the same.
Reaching into the section of his mind that housed his Guardian Forces, he was surprised to find that they were being suppressed. He could barely sense them at all, let alone tap into the extra powers they granted him.
The added information didn't add any reassurance in the teenager's mind; in fact it squashed whatever positive notions he had left of the situation. He had had a feeling something like this was bound to happen; since he wasn't co-operating and giving into them, they were planning on a real interrogation. Of course he had been up against torture tactics before, and he could hold his own against them, but that didn't mean he enjoyed the notion.
The two soldiers clamped a hand on each of the teenager's shoulders before forcing him back into his seat and, without his junctions, he couldn't remove their grasp. As soon as he was seated once again, he frowned deeply, waiting for what the General had in store for him.
"Don't bother trying to break out of their grip." The representative stated, folding her arms across her chest. "Right now, precautions have been assured to prevent you from using the additional strength granted to you by your Guardian Forces. It'd be far easier to just co-operate with us."
The General walked around the table stationed between him and his prisoner and Squall tensed in anticipation, waiting for whatever tactics the General was preparing to use. But what surprised the SeeD was that in the General's hands was not a weapon, but a manila folder, filled with something that he wouldn't be able to identify until he was able to get a better look at it.
One of the soldiers stepped aside as the General approached the teenager and immediately afterwards, dropped the manila folder on top of the table before quickly opening it up. Within were a few documents and photographs, which caused the SeeD to raise an eyebrow. He didn't have any time to think about the strangeness of the setting, however, since the General immediately grabbed one of the pictures and shoved it into the teenager's face. The picture was of a man with greying brown hair and brown eyes, dressed in a casual blue golf shirt and a pair of white pants. He was standing beside two adult females; one with dark brown hair, and the other with blond hair and light brown roots, telling Squall that she had dyed her hair. Both were dressed in white tennis uniforms and the group of three were smiling at the camera, as if nothing had gone wrong.
"Chase Douglass; age 64. Married for 15 years, he has two daughters and a grandchild who is just approaching her first birthday."
Moving that picture out of view, the second picture was a grisly sight. The before mentioned man was lying face up, a puddle of blood resting just underneath his neck, where a cut stared up into the light from one ear to the other. Judging by the angle, Squall was almost positive that the entrance point of the knife had been from the right ear and stroked towards the left, meaning that the perpetrator had to have been either left handed or ambidextrous. Squall frowned thoughtfully; he was ambidextrous but tended to also favour his left hand.
"He was the first to die; killed in his office without mercy, his throat being slit from ear to ear." The General continued. "What do you suppose his children and grandchild will say to his murder? What of his widow? What do you suppose we should tell them?"
Before Squall could even make a sound, the General removed the two pictures from view and revealed two more; this time of a woman who couldn't have been any older than her mid forties. She had shoulder length dark hair and green eyes and was dressed in a fuchsia coloured kimono in the picture taken while she was still alive. The second photograph depicted her seated at her desk, only her eyes were blood red and there were signs of strangulation having taken place. "What about this woman's husband? What about her sister and her nieces and nephew? How should we explain to them all the reason Kristina Markesan is late from coming home from work, or why she's never coming back?"
The third set of pictures depicted a man with dirty-brown hair and light blue eyes. He was standing behind a woman with his arms draped around her shoulders. In the photograph the woman was looking back up at the man but in the second photo right beside it, the man was lying on the ground, his neck bent in an awkward position. "Or how about the woman in the photograph? How do you suppose we tell her that her cousin is dead?"
The forth pictures had a man with dark hair and dark eyes, dressed in a brown business suit with a white shirt and black tie underneath. His arm was draped around the shoulders of a younger man who was no doubt the man's son, dressed with a black cloak and a black square-shaped hat that signaled graduation. Both were smiling in that picture. However in the one adjacent from it showed a man with a small gap in the area that would have housed his wind pipe. From what the SeeD could tell, he must have suffocated due to the lack of air circulating towards his cardiac vessels leading towards the heart. It was a long and painful way to die.
"This one was still alive for a little while, but by the time we arrived, the damage had been done and we were far too late. The poor man couldn't even speak? Do you suppose it'll be easier on those who will have to tell his son exactly what happened to him?"
As the fifth photograph was pushed into view, Squall had no idea what to think about any of this. It seemed as though the murderer had taken a point to make his victims suffer before they died, and none of these people had been spared the notion. The final picture depicted a man with dark greying hair standing next to a man who appeared to be a younger version of the victim. While one was dressed in a very professional manner, the other appeared far more laid back; wearing a ruffled shirt and a pair of loose jeans with holes in them. Both appeared to be glaring at one another, but upon looking into the eyes of the occupants, one could tell that they were extremely close.
"Maybe you'll feel better knowing that this man hardly had any relative's left." The General was saying, breaking through Squall's line of thoughts. "But that won't ease the pain of his younger brother, who was living in the same apartment. Fortunately, his body was the one that had you caught; since you left the murder weapon behind, but that's not even worthy of being considered a reprisal!"
Upon turning his attention towards the photograph beside the first, Squall resisted the urge to look away, having already seen the result of the other four victims' encounter with the murderer. A blade had been imbedded within the confines of the man's stomach, more than likely puncturing an artery and organs. In fact, it looked as if the weapon had been turned in a ninety degree angle, twisting the victim's insides and causing internal damage that probably wouldn't have been properly healed had the man survived the attack.
Squall understood that killing was a part of what it was to be a SeeD, and despite the fact that Garden was changing its morals; the teenager knew that he had killed before; during battle while defending himself and getting his missions completed. Just because the circumstances were far different than this one didn't excuse the fact that his hands were stained with his opponents' blood, but all the same Squall understood that it had been necessity at the time. It was either kill or be killed; a SeeD could not hesitate in battle, otherwise he risks the lives of not only himself, but his team-mates and clients as well. What this man had done had been purely self beneficial; cruel and twisted. The man had murdered in cold blood and Squall now understood why they had been so angered by this attack.
To believe that anyone was capable of such a cold-hearted act was disgusting in itself; but to know that a man of whom the world was thankful for saving them had done was far more disheartening.
He wanted to deny that he was involved; that he had had absolutely nothing to do with the horrific crime and that he was sorry that it had even taken place, but his voice wouldn't work. Whenever he tried to say the words he so desperately wanted to say, it felt as if his throat was stopping his vocal cords from vibrating; from conducting the simplest of actions that anyone else would have been able to do. His throat was dry; not out of fear, but out of anger mixed with sorrow for not only the victims that would never again awaken to the world around them, but to those who would suffer the most because of this crime.
"You're silence says it all, murderer." The General spat, venom apparent in his own gruff voice. "The fact that you have nothing to say on your behalf is what proves that you are, in fact, guilty. The fact that you refuse to utter a word of defence speaks louder than any words of denial ever could. At least you're human enough to actually feel guilt for the crime you committed.
"You're the same, all of you. You believe that because of your connections you can get away with anything; be it some low petty crime, or taking away a life – important to the government or otherwise. Well let me just tell you something; no one is above the law, and no one, regardless of their connections, is above paying for their actions."
It was then that Squall was finally able to find his voice before shooting up from his seat so quickly that the soldier standing behind him, who had relaxed his grip on the teenager's shoulder, not only couldn't grab a hold of him once more, but actually fell backwards onto his rear in response to the sudden movement. All thoughts of precaution had been tossed aside as the SeeD felt that it was time to defend himself against such vulgar accusations.
"I didn't do any of this!" Squall shouted, before even realizing what it was that he was doing. "Does the fact that you wish to point the finger at someone so quickly have you blinded to that possibility?! I was in Deling at the time of the murder; how could I have possibly had enough time to arrive in Esthar, carry out the act and then have enough time to travel back to the other side of the world before any of you caught on?"
Shaking his head slightly, Squall could no longer block the words from protruding from his mouth no matter how hard he wanted to at this point. "SeeD may have murdered their enemies; we may have blood stained on our hands for the rest of our lives because of this, but just because it's true doesn't automatically mean I'm so bloodthirsty that I would kill without a cause. I can't speak for anyone else, but I would nevermurder unless I had a reason and only if under contract to do so."
There was a moment where no one within the room spoke. The silence was so deafening that the slightest shuffle or movement could be detected by even the dullest of hearing. The occupants of the interrogation room were enveloped in such a shock that most wondered how sharp the knife would be to just cut through it. Squall himself was shocked at the outburst that had just taken place and, closing his eyes in realization, wished that he could turn back time and rebuild the resolution he had had before the interrogation had taken place.
"So you deny that you committed the crime?" the General barked out.
"I just said all that I'm going to say." Squall said, knowing fully well the damage that had just been done. "Anything else will wait until the representatives from Garden arrive."
In the amount of time it took him to blink, he found himself pinned up against the closest wall, the General's arm pushing against his throat and keeping him pinned where he was.
"You think you're so high and mighty just because of the meaning behind your name?" The General barked out. "You think that just because of who you are, and because of the connections you possess that you will get away with this just because you claim to have not committed the act. Well you're wrong. Everyone within Esthar pays for whatever crime is committed; regardless of his or her identity and your situation will not be any different."
Squall merely stared back at him, refusing to allow himself to lose his temper. "If you think that I'm going to hide behind your president just because he happens to be the reason I exist in the first place, then your mistaken. I own up to my own actions, but only when I have done something wrong. To be perfectly honest, my father could be anyone else for all I'd care, and that's all I have to say."
Squall didn't know what he had expected after the remark, and indeed he had been surprised when the General had raised his fist and punched him square in the face with enough force to practically unhinge his jaw. Just as he was recovering from the surprise attack, the General followed through with another right hook, this time dropping the teenager and watching as he fell onto the floor on both hands and knees. Squall wiped at his mouth and found that his lip had been split due to the punch, but could do nothing else as the General bent down and grabbed him by the front of his shirt before pushing him against the wall once again.
Since the action was brought on by the elder man's rage, the back of Squall's head bounced off the wall, stunning him in the process. Just as the General was about to throw another punch, however, Squall felt the weight from his chest lifted and slumped onto the ground as the room around him begun to spin.
Raising his right hand to hold up his head, he looked up to see the General being pushed back onto the opposite end of the table by a man dressed in the formal Estharian dress; a rather large white robe with a green stripe stretching from the middle of the uniform. A hat sat upon the hulking figure's head and since there was only one person Squall knew who could hold of height of seven feet, he immediately recognized the figure and didn't know whether to silently thank whoever it was who sent him down to foresee the interrogation, or to groan since he had a feeling he knew who had.
Ward stood in the center of the room, between Squall and the enraged General, glaring at the occupants of the room, silently daring them to do anything else. After a moment of silence, Ward turned on one of the soldiers and gestured at him before the soldier immediately saluted and ran off, probably in fear of the consequences should he resist.
The giant man then turned his gaze back on the General before gesturing once again. The Estharian man, who by no means reached Ward's impressive height, glowered at him briefly before quickly stalking outside of the room, slamming the door behind him in the process.
"They did what?!" Laguna shot up out of his seat.
The soldier who had been sent to report to the President shrunk back but managed to maintain his composure, despite the fact he was contacted the President through holographic projection near the questioning room. "Sir, the General and the Representative of the Estharian Cabinet authorized the treatment of the prisoner in your absence. They believed that it would be the only way to assure that the prisoner would respond to our questioning tactics, which were going unanswered –"
"You idiot; I told Squall not to say anything until his representatives showed up!" Laguna shouted, without a care as to how it appeared to his staff. "It's standard protocol and even if I hadn't said anything, he probably would have reacted the same anyway! Where's the Attorney General?"
"She left to convene with her superiors before the incident."
"Great…" Laguna said flatly. "This is just great. So she leaves and the General and Cabinet Member choose to gang up on him, is that it?"
Kiros, who also appeared livid by the news, stepped forward. "It's common knowledge that an arrestee needs to be accompanied by representation; in this case, Garden. What gave the General the idea to resort to such tactics? Did he resist within the room? Did he do anything to prompt such an action?"
"He was refusing to answer any questions that were being asked of him." The soldier answered.
"That doesn't answer his question." Laguna said in a low even tone. "Did Squall resort to physical resistance once he was alone with the General?"
The soldier hesitated for a moment, his posture turning into that of a child who had hit his little brother for stealing his favourite toy. Finally, he did answer. "No, sir."
Laguna's features stiffened further. "And did he physically force the General to resort to violence once the questioning," Laguna forced himself not to correct himself and call what had occurred an interrogation. "continued under these new tactics?"
"No sir." The soldier answered.
Laguna took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Never before had he ever been so angry in his entire life. "Then what, prey-tell, was the reason that opted this situation from occurring exactly? What made the General believe so heartedly that this was the only way to force the detainee to answer his questions?"
"The fact that the questioning wasn't going anywhere in the first place!" The soldier stated. "Sir, I was there, and he down right refused to even acknowledge that the General was even there! It was insulting."
"I don't care if it was gratifying!" Laguna shouted. "That doesn't excuse the fact that it was done!" Pressing the intercom button on his desk, he didn't even wait for the secretary on the opposite end of the door to respond. "Get Orally in here now! I've had enough with his insubordination!"
He received acknowledgement on the opposite end and immediately cut the communication short.
The room that he had been moved to after the failed interrogation was akin to that of an office. There were four desks within the room, all of which were stacked with papers, probably waiting to be filed, and each possessed at least a chair with thin cushioning on the back and seating parts of the objects and wheels on the bottom to provide convenience for the person sitting within, in case they needed to move from one side of their desk to the next.
Squall found himself seated in one of these chairs, his wrist having been attached to the handle of a locked drawer by another set of handcuffs. He didn't complain about the chair; in fact, he was rather surprised he actually received one, so heavy was the crime they believed he had committed.
Frowning slightly, he couldn't believe what he had done back in interrogation. Simple photographs should not have been enough to force him to respond that negatively, but whenever he thought about it, the gruesome images he had been forced to look upon blared into his mind; as if they were sitting in front of him at that moment. It felt like the ones who had died were haunting him; condemning him to their deaths when it was another who had killed them.
But no matter how gruesome the photographs, I should have been able to keep my resolve. Squall thought to himself bitterly. SeeD was trained to withstand such tactics from enemy forces (not that he saw Esthar as an enemy at that moment), but he had crumbled as soon as they had begun showing him the result the murderer had left in his wake; innocent people whose lives had become locked within time forever. They would never age, nor would they witness the events revolving around their friends and loved ones, as they would have wished.
Irritably slamming the side of his fist into the desk, Squall allowed himself to burry his head within the confines of his hands. Whoever was responsible had been bloodthirsty, and as far as his understanding went, SeeD Candidates who appeared bloodthirsty while taking the field exam were failed immediately. Seifer had been one of them, despite the obvious fact that he had, once again, broken the rules.
The impact with the desk hadn't hurt, which proved to Squall that his contact with the junctions he possessed had been re-established once he had left that room, but it didn't make him feel any better to know this. It would do him no good because he had no intention of escape.
Sensing someone nearby, Squall looked back up to see Ward returning, pausing to nod in acknowledgement to the two guards stationed outside before entering the room. In his left hand was an icepack, and Squall understood exactly what it was for. Brushing his thumb across his split lip, he mentally reminded himself that since they believed he was their murderer, and had become frustrated that he had not spoken a word (in defence of the murder or confessing to it).
Naturally, one would turn to violence; if not physically, then by mental depiction; it was simply the way the mind worked. Even the mildest tempered person succumbed to this result. Knowing that he was innocent and that they had resorted to such tactics had not changed his disposition around them, since he understood the reasons behind the actions. But he also knew that if he didn't get things sorted out very quickly, then there would be nothing he could do to stop the real terrorists.
Ward handed the teenager the icepack and Squall immediately set it upon his left cheek, one of the places the General had punched him. "Thanks…" he muttered, breaking the building silence within the room.
Ward nodded his acknowledgement before shifting his facial expression. Normally, he would need Kiros to interpret what he had been meaning to say, but Squall had viewed parts of his past through Laguna, and was able to understand some of the things the hulking figure wanted to say. Having had his vocal cords damaged during the raid in Centra so long ago, Ward had lost the ability to speak and had thus ended up forced to rely on his friends to communicate for him.
It was one of those times where Squall understood what Ward wanted to say, and in response to the unspoken question the teenager shook his head. "Worse has happened, Ward. Don't worry about it; I'm alright."
Of course his bruising hurt, but only slightly compared to everything he had been through during the Sorceress War. He had been struck near the heart with a spear formed completely out of ice when he had tried to assassinate Ultimecia in Deling; tortured due to electrical currents running through his body courtesy of his rival, beaten, battered, bruised and nearly lost within Time Compression.
Regardless of these facts, however, he was not alright, and it had nothing to do with the physical attack the General had instigated. Mentally, Squall was still only beginning to recover from the psychological warfare that went on once witnessing the results of the murders that had been committed. The idea that anyone could commit such an act not only willingly but eagerly was disgusting to him. Murders may have happened, but people who enjoyed it were extremely revolting; had always been to him. It was an unfortunate fact that more people like the real murderer existed in the world, but it was a fact nonetheless.
More movement was sensed from the entrance of the office and both Squall and Ward turned their attention towards the door as one man entered. He was dressed completely in black excluding the white shirt underneath his uniform jacket. He was bald, possessing dark skin and sunglasses of which shielded his eyes from view. Attached to his ear was obviously a listening device, with a winding cord that stretched into his pocket. Squall figured that even the sunglasses the man wore also possessed some sort of tele-electronic device, since of course they were inside of the building and the lights weren't that bright.
The man didn't need to introduce himself; Squall had met him two months prior. James Logans, Chief of Presidential Security – a job that required him to protect the President wherever he went, be it out of the country or within the confines of the Residence. He was also in charge of the numerous staff underneath his status; making sure that all eyes were focused on protecting the perimeter from possible terrorist attacks and that included surveillance detail. Squall had no doubt in his mind that Logans had been present during the attacks, and from his impression of him the first time they'd met, this man took his job as seriously as Squall took his.
Like the first time they'd met, Logans didn't offer his hand to the SeeD, nor did Squall expect him to. However, Logans did nod in his direction in acknowledgement before speaking. "I apologize for General Orally's actions towards you during the questioning process. Nevertheless, this does not mean that we will treat you with any civility, given the circumstances."
"I didn't expect you to." Squall stated flatly.
Logans didn't respond; seemingly choosing to ignore the comment and merely adjusted the glasses on his face. "But to ensure your safety, we have requested that you wait within the confines of this room until the questioning commences once again, this time with guards barring everyone, save myself and Mr. Zabac, entrance under any circumstances. Of course, the President is also an exception to this order, but given what has happened in the last few hours, I doubt he'll be able to leave his desk."
Squall understood these protocols, but didn't bother to interrupt. "In the meantime, I will ask that you do not leave this room under any circumstances until the questioning is ready to continue or until I state otherwise."
Pulling his arm up from the top of the desk, Squall gestured towards the handcuffs that kept him tied down to the desk. "Not like I can leave anyway…"
"You still possess your junctions." Logans stated. "Mentioning that, I will have to ask that you relinquish your junctions into our custody until this whole matter is settled. It's for our assurance that you will not attempt to escape our custody."
Logans extended his hand out to the SeeD, and, despite any will to protest from Ward, Squall simply held his own hand out and closed his eyes in concentration, focussing on the foreign entities circling in his mind. A moment later, he opened his eyes, and turned his gaze to his upturned palm, three small orbs the size of marbles appearing in the very center, one closely resembling black, one white and one yellow. When Guardian Forces were not in use, they resided inside of these orbs, pulsing the thoughts and minds they possessed with no danger to those surrounding them.
Once the SeeD handed the GF's to the him, Logans immediately pulled out a small leather bag and placed the orbs within, sealing it up and placing it inside of his left breath pocket. "Once the questioning process is completed, we will return these to your possession if your innocence is assured."
Logans then turned his back to the pair and exited the room, leaving the two men who had accompanied him back to watch them. Squall could sense Ward's disapproving glare, but ignored it, opting to stare up at the clock on the far side of the wall to his left.
5:48:12
Once Shu had returned, Jared had reconvened the meeting, wanting to know exactly what had happened. When it was made evident that General Orally would be facing punishment for his actions, Jared allowed his face to fall into his hands. This was something none of them needed; a General who was willing to break to law to obtain a conviction. He wouldn't have been surprised if the evidence was going to be looked over a forth time for this.
Soon after Shu's report, the entire room had erupted into chaos; the cabinet members being unable to agree on anything more than a crime had been committed and the suspect was currently being detained. Though they had come up with a point that Jared couldn't help but agree with; something seemed wrong about the set of events. Why commit a crime and then surrender for it hours later?
"I say that it's due to the fact that he doesn't care." One of the cabinet members shouted in outrage. He had red hair that was tied back into a ponytail and, according to where he sat, represented the Southern East sector of the city. "Everyone recalls how apathetic he was towards the victory of the Sorceress war, and further information obtained through the preparation of the United Confederation clearly proves that he is withdrawn and apathetic just about all of the time! That is proof in itself that he has the signs of being a sociopath."
"Maybe it's because he believes he has nothing to hide." Another representative, this one from the western section of the capital, stated. She had blonde hair and brown eyes behind white rimmed spectacles. "Maybe he believes that he didn't do it. Maybe he had a momentary lapse of insanity, committed the crime, and then returned to Deling City, and once returning to Galbadia, had no conscious knowledge of what he had done."
"That's a load of bull!" Mark Hummel argued. "It was too calculated to have been just a whim. It was definitely pre-meditated. Your explanation doesn't make sense at all. I agree with what Caitiffs says! He's a sociopath! He's demonstrated sociopathic tendencies; such as self seclusion and reluctance to participate within a group info-structure unless it's towards his own benefit!"
"He must have been planning this for a while!" said the south-western representative, a middle-aged man with greyish white hair. "But why these people? And were there more people he intended to kill?"
The room was suddenly filled with disarray; people shouting suggestion after suggestion and shutting down other people's theories
"Please, that's enough everyone." Jared interrupted, raising his voice and within the span of a few moments, the noise level decreased until all were silent. "This news has got us all in jumbles, but the fact of the matter is we need to look at this calmly. If he were, in fact, a sociopath, do you believe that he would have been allowed to become a SeeD at Garden?"
"Sociopaths know how to act the way people expect them to." A middle aged woman representing the north-western sector of the city spoke. "They can easily blend into society and be undetected for years. Garden would never have known he was a sociopath unless he had wanted them to."
"But aren't there tests that help to by-pass this?" A man from the north - eastern sector suggested. "Wouldn't this have helped to weed out the troublesome students?"
"He was already acknowledged as a troubled student." Mark stated. "Many of the Garden Faculty Members stated so in their numerous reports of him."
"But I still don't believe he's a sociopath." The blonde woman argued. "If he were, then wouldn't he have stayed on as the Garden Commander? He would have wanted the power – the control – to be able to do as he pleased. The commander, even though they do reside within the Garden, is able to exemplify him or herself from the normal rules and regulations his or her subordinates must comply to."
"Bah!" The south-western representative waved off. "Christine, knock off that psychobabble! He probably stepped down so that once he conducted such an act, people like you who look out for such tendencies wouldn't think to suspect him for what he really is."
The woman, Christine, pushed her glasses forward. "Just because I'm a psychiatrist does not mean that what I have to say is psychobabble and I am offended by your statement, Harold. But the fact of the matter is that I don't believe him to be a sociopath. True, he displays a lot of the symptoms, but not the more important ones. If anything, I believe that he has a personality disorder, brought on by some sort of traumatic occurrence in his life."
"Then you agree that he shouldn't be a part of SeeD." Carol said. "That's all my point was; that someone who is so obviously troubled should not have been trained to be able to conduct missions that could possibly resort to the death of others. If anything, this whole situation is clearly Garden's responsibility."
"And besides;" the south-eastern representative added. "If he isn't a sociopath, and merely has a personality disorder, what exactly would you say drove him to commit such a crime."
Christine took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "Honestly, I have no idea. Most people have no idea why people who are so troubled do the things they do. It's sort of like an escape for them. In some cases, they believe that a higher being told them to commit such acts."
"So you're saying that he thinks Hyne told him to come here and kill those people?" Mark asked.
"That's not what I'm saying at all. It's just an example." Christine defended. Taking in a deep breath, she let it out slowly before speaking again. "And I'm not excusing the behaviour. But I believe that the best thing to do at this current time would be to figure out the reason why he would commit such an act before doing anything else."
"Christine, now is not the time to be patient with him!" Harold shouted. "Now is the time to lock him up and throw away the key! He did the crime, so he should do the time for it too!"
Once again, the room sprang to life; some people arguing the validity of Christine's suggestion, while others overruled it in favour of Harold's solution. Once again, the sound of something slamming atop something sounded over the loud voices and Jared took center stage once more.
"Ladies, Gentlemen…I'd say that that was enough. We're not children, so we shouldn't be bickering about like this. There is a way to resolve this dispute and appease each side at the same time, you know."
The room fell silent as the cabinet members all began to mull over the director's words. It was broken once the director began to speak again. "One side says he committed the crime intentionally, another states that it occurred while his judgement was elsewhere. Finally, the man accused of the crime argues vehemently that he did not commit the crime under any circumstance, or so we'll assume… So what would prove without a doubt which side was correct?"
Christine turned her gaze upon the director. "Are you suggesting that we have a trial?"
Jared nodded. "Exactly."
In response, Christine shook her head. "I doubt the President would sanction it. He wouldn't want any media coverage whatsoever, and almost everyone in Esthar knows what happened this morning already, after all."
"Yes, but they have no idea that the Estharians brought the suspect here." The southern representative jumped in. "It'd be easy to hide that fact from the public…at least for the time being."
"But wouldn't we have to involve more people, such as lawyers and a judge?" the western representative argued. "What if someone leaks this information to the press? The President will not be happy with that."
"He's not happy about this whole thing in general." The north-eastern representative snorted. "After all, his son's the one who'll be standing trial."
"Alright, I understand everyone's point of view on this, but do we really have a choice in the matter?" Jared asked. "Besides, we can't have him prosecuted without a trail. It's against Estharian Law. Are we no better than the dictators of our past?"
Everyone at the table shuddered in response to the Director's question. Each of them remembered the time where Adel was leading the country with her communist beliefs. Those who were guilty of crimes committed under the order of the Sorceress were rewarded with pensions while those who were innocent were forced to confess, using torture and mind altering tactics in Adel's favour. Most were killed before they could recant their fevered confessions, and in the cases that they survived, the damage had already been done. Those under her rule were so afraid that they agreed with the accusations as their way of protecting themselves.
"Even if we were to be apposed to the idea of a trial, it would still happen, regardless of what we think." Jared explained. "We don't have the power to suppress his rights, even though he isn't native to Esthar. He allegedly committed a crime in our country, and thus must be tried according to our laws."
"Even still, a trial would be pointless." The eastern representative, a dark skinned man, argued. "Everyone in Esthar, save a few people, has been convinced he's the murderer. We would never find an impartial jury to foresee the testimony. Fisherman's Horizon is also still tied to Esthar, despite the fact that they emancipated themselves from us, so we can't hold it there."
"How do we know that he'll want a trial by jury?" the eastern representative asked.
"It's common knowledge that it's easier to convince a group of twelve unbiased people of your innocence," the north-western representative explained. "than it is to convince a long-time judge. And even if he does request a trial by judge, we still wouldn't be able to hold it in Esthar."
"That means Balamb is out of the question as well." Harold pointed out. "He'd walk if it was held there."
"Galbadia is also not acceptable." Christine said. "He has far too many connections there. For one, he's romantically involved with the Galbadian President's daughter. Another point is regarding the invasion of the Galbadian Capital that took place earlier this morning. We've burned our bridge in regards to their co-operation with that action."
"And any location that houses a Garden is also intolerable." Jared pointed out. "So our only choices reside within Timber and Dollet. Timber is still in the process of deciding its own government; the elections of their governor will take place sometime next week. That leaves Dollet as the only possible location."
"So we hold it in Dollet then." Harold stated. "Then someone needs to contact the Arch Duke and alert him on the situation and our need of the town's co-operation."
"But there's still the subject of when the trial will be held." The eastern representative added. "Do we push the trial ahead or wait for the other cases to be sorted through?"
"Of course we push it ahead!" The north-western representative stated. "What kind of an idiot wouldn't push ahead something as serious as this?!"
"But we have to ensure that the prosecution and defence have enough time to properly gather the evidence, interview, and prepare themselves for this trial." Jared explained. "This trial is going to be watched by everyone in the world, and if one thing is done wrong, we could lose by default. I'm not saying that he is guilty, but I'm not saying he is innocent either. I vote that the trial takes place in Dollet after a month's time. I'd say that is adequate for preparation. All in favour of this suggestion say 'Aye'."
Everyone within the room said the before mentioned word nearly in the exact same time frame. Some people were faster than others when they spoke.
"Alright then. All that is left to do is decide the time the trail takes place. We can discuss the issue with the Dollet officials when we speak to them about the proceedings."
"May I make a request before the preparations have been completed?" Christine asked. "I would like the interview the suspect; get a feel for him if you will."
"I object!" Harold shouted. "That would lead to a biased opinion! And besides, she's a representative; we have to remain neutral at all costs!"
"What exactly is so biased about it, Harold?" Christine argued. "As of recently, we've heard the opinion of the Estharian General, as well as the opinion of the reporters on the news who are pinning the crime on him." Turning back to Jared, she continued. "And I would not be speaking to him as a representative; but as my profession. I would like to see all sides of the story before I pass judgement, and possibly help this case out."
Jared seemed to mull the request over for a moment before speaking. "You do realize, Christine, that if you proceed with this action, you will also be asked to testify in court."
"I completely understand and respect the decision." Christine said, nodding.
"Then I don't see why she can't interview him." Jared said before turning to Harold. "Unless, of course, you can find another suitable argument as to why she shouldn't be allowed."
Harold frowned deeply, but shook his head in response.
"Then it's settled. I want at least three of the Estharian soldiers there in case he tries to escape. He'll be in restrained custody until the trial any way."
Christine nodded in agreement. "I don't see why not, as long as they don't jeopardize my visit."
"Then I'd say this meeting is adjourned." The director said. "We'll hold another meeting in regards to Christine's report of her findings."
The room immediately began to clear as the occupants began to head back to their respective offices. Harold was the last to leave the room, pulling out his cell phone before dialling a number. "We have another problem…" he said before the door closed behind him.
The Ragnarok touched down on the continent of Balamb, just a quick two minute walk away from the Garden residing east of the town. Three of the occupants remained within the former Estharian airship while the others returned to the Garden in order to gather the remaining members that would form the representative team before heading out to Esthar. Rinoa, Irvine and Cid had all joined Zell and Quistis as they made their way back towards the airship, where Selphie, Nida and Edea all awaited them.
That had been approximately ten minutes prior. Currently, they were all sitting within the confines of the cockpit, where Selphie was piloting the ship. Nida was co-piloting. It was a known fact that Selphie had a soft spot when it came to the dragon like machine, and had even taken to calling it her baby.
But now, as they headed towards the massive city located within the heart of the country of Esthar, their thoughts had turned towards something far more serious. Irvine wasn't even attempting to flirt with any of the girls, nor was Selphie acting in her normally energetic nature. Zell was even resisting the urge to shadow-box in the corner of the room. Edea sat in one of the chairs at the back of the room, her hands folded into each other as she stared out at the ocean passing beneath them while Cid sat close by, keeping an eye on his wife of forty years. Quistis would occasionally keep tabs on both of them, but kept her mind solely on its task.
"What're we going to do?" Selphie asked from behind the controls, breaking the tense silence that had fallen upon them. "What if the Estharians won't take Zell or my testimony seriously? They'll think we were lying without some form of proof."
"But that's really all we have to work with." Zell said. "They probably will think we're lying, but they can't deny our testimony, can they?"
"Wasn't that my question?"
Just as Cid was about to say something, the red light at the front of the ship blinked on, signifying that someone was trying to reach the ships occupants. As soon as a visual link was provided, everyone, excluding the pilot of course, was fixed with President Caraway's visage staring back at them. "How much longer will it take your team to arrive in Esthar?" Caraway asked, skipping the pleasantries.
"Within the next thirty minutes at most." Cid answered. "It shouldn't be any longer than that."
"I think I might be able to help, despite the chaos ensuing over on this end." Caraway said and immediately all eyes fell upon him. Selphie had to take a moment to recall that she was the one piloting before setting the aircraft to autopilot and sitting forward.
"Just a moment ago, I received a message from Esthar subpoenaing the security tapes that recorded anything to do with the Galbadian Presidential Residence from 0300 to 1400 hours Galbadian time, as evidence, probably pertaining to Operative Leonhart's whereabouts during that time."
"But they would only need to subpoena that kind of information if they were holding a trial." Quistis pointed out.
"Which answers your question, Sefie." Irvine said turning his attention towards the brunette, who nodded in response.
"So that mean's Squall's got a fighting chance!" Zell shouted. "Once they take a look at those tapes, then he's gonna be cleared of those bogus allegations and then we can start looking for the real killer."
"Not only that, but we can also begin figuring out why the crime was committed in the first place." Cid agreed.
Rinoa clapped her hands together and nodded to herself in affirmation. Quistis couldn't blame her in the slightest; everyone was happy that something was finally going in their direction since this whole thing had begun. Checking her watch, Quistis took notice that it was after midnight in Balamb. She immediately pressed a button located on the side of her watch and it immediately changed to read Estharian time; nearly six in the morning.
The former instructor had spent many long hours working in her dorm, mostly marking term papers when she had been in possession of her instructor's license, so she was used to running on very little sleep. Looking around her, she could tell the others were far too alert to take a nap of some sort (as was she, mind you), since their friend was in trouble. Folding her arms across her chest, she immediately brought herself out of her thoughts and began to listen to the rest of the conversation.
"So when we get there, do you think we'll be able to see him?" Rinoa asked tentatively.
"Hopefully." Irvine said. "Don't think they'd be cruel enough to deny him the right to meet up with his girlfriend, let alone the rest of us."
"Besides," Selphie said, once she had re-established control of the ship. "Sir Laguna would probably let us see him."
"You must all keep in mind that Laguna is still the President of Esthar," Edea stated grimly. "which means he must act according to protocol, even if it is his son standing trial. It does not seem fair, but it is life, and we must not judge him poorly just because he is following procedure."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and the ship once again fell into an uncomfortable silence.
6:00:00
