Left Behind

Waiting for the Trade

--June 17—Tim Unknown— Place Unknown--

Reno swallowed and tried to ease the pain in his throat as he watched Lore gave the boy that looked like an eight year old Sephiroth some soup. He knew that the boy's name was Errow and that he was Lira's son.

As well as, Sephiroth's son! She never once denied it and it seemed to be the whole reason that she hated ShinRa. Well, not the whole reason, but a big damn part of it anyway.

"Where's mom?" the boy said as Lore, her brother, wiped his brow. Lore looked very much like his sister. The same facial structure as her but he was not as harsh looking. His hair was a big shaggy but defiantly not as long as her and his eyes were a dark blue that once, may have been the same as her, but he saw her eyes and they were no longer the same. He didn't dare ask whey they were that way. He knew that wasn't going to get an answer anyway.

"Trying to get you a doctor," Lore whispered. The boy's eyes looked at him. Those green eyes, the color that he had only ever seen in Sephiroth and his remnants were fixed on him. "Will mom let him go." At least they were cat slit like. That, would have been to much.

"Eventually," Lore said.

Yeah, when she's killed me, he thought. She had made it clear to him that he was just a tool to ensure that Errow got better. A stupid plan that just didn't have any roots in logic! He had tried to talk to her and tell her that they didn't need to use him for ransom that they could just ask. ShinRa was not the same organization that it once was. She just didn't get it.

Lore understood.

Errow understood.

But they both were afraid of her!

Hell, he had been through some hairy situations in his life, but he had never been as scared as he had been under her attentions. She was absolutely insane! Telling her that had made his voice disappear and his throat constantly hurt. All it took was her to press her hand against his throat and squeeze.

He understood why they couldn't convince her that ShinRa wasn't evil.

Every now and then Lore would try to reason with her. Hell, Lore was the only reason that he was still alive. He was pretty sure that Lira would have left him in a bloody pool if it wasn't for him and she would be using his rotting corpse for the negotiations.

Errow would look at him with sympathy in those green eyes of his and it was a little creepy.

Both of them seemed to realize that Lira was absolutely insane.

"Mom is going to be okay too? Right?" Errow said. "We will find her a doctor too? Right?"

Lore nodded. "That is the plan."

Plan. Pfft. His plan was as stupid as her plan! He strained against the hand ties that were making his fingers blue. Lore's plan was to make her realize that she needed help by coming to Edge with Errow. Lore had made comments that this trip would make her realize that her thought process was crazy after all. Lore had babbled on about how he needed to get her cornered to wake her up. He didn't talk about details but it didn't sound like it was all that good of a plan. Get her cornered so she would wake up!

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

They were both stupid and crazy. All so very stupid and he was the pawn in all their plans.

Of course, he knew that they were that stupid. She was the Commander and watching how she tracked him down in such a clam and cold fashion told him that there was still smarts in there, but it had nothing to do with reality.

"Is Reno okay?" Errow asked. "He looks like mom really hurt him."

Lore sighed. "He is a Turk. He can put up with it until this is all over." He stroked the shaggy hair. If the hair was a little longer, it would be just like Kadaj, but a little thicker. Creepy kid but he seemed a decent kid, despite who his dad and mother was.

Hell, he remembered a time when he did have quite a bit of respect for Sephiroth. He was a cold guy, but he was good at his job. That was before he wanted to destroy the planet and have revenge for how his mother was treated or something like that. He heard the story's from Clouds friends about how it all went down, but never from Cloud.

Suddenly the boy gasped and his already pale face when as white as the sheets that surrounded him. Tears sprang from his eyes as he buckled in the arms of Lore. The kid was in a lot of pain. A hell of a lot of pain. It struck him quite often, usually it is what when the poor kid was sleeping. He would wake screaming about how bad his back was hurting or how his stomach was hurting. One or the other. Kid was in pain. Lore had the medicine bottle to help with the pain in easy reach and just let the kid drink from it. He noticed that since that had moved to this slum house, they had been quite liberal with the medicine for the kid. He just wished they would give them some of the medicine too. He was in pain! But everything he had those thoughts he felt a bit bad. It wasn't the kid's fault that he was in pain and had a crazy family that were now holding him hostage in order for Errow medical care. Plus, they had not broken him that far yet.

He was able to hold onto his anger about their damn stupid plans! Even, if he couldn't vocalize to them anymore. Especially, her.

He sighed. He didn't have a chance against her. It was the first thing Lore told him when he was put in the cage. "She can beat a FIRST who was trying to get her sunglasses off, you do not have a chance, and that was when she was a kid. Do you really think you stand a chance now?"

He didn't believe the Lore, but after having a couple of dealings with her, he didn't doubt it at all. He didn't doubt it was Sephiroth himself that she could beat.

She was the scariest person in the world right how.

He liked it better when the scariest person in the world was dead and Cloud had dealt with it. Now he was stuck in the middle of it and not just on the side.

He painfully swallowed. His throat burned as if they had poured acid down it. His arms throbbed with the lack of feeling in them. He could feel tears coming out of his eye and willing it to stop. He didn't want to cry anymore, but he no longer seemed able to stop them when they started.

"Here."

He looked up. Lore was offering the bottle of medicine to him. "It looks like you need a sip of this." Lore's hand went to the side of his face and stroked his cheek lightly. He tried to pull away, but he didn't have the strength too. He looked up at Lore. The boy treated him quite well when Lira was away. "Do you want some?"

He nodded. He wanted it. Whatever was in the bottle, if only will stop a little bit of the pain. Lore looked at him with his sorrow filled eyes. "There is no hate, only joy, For you are beloved by the goddess, Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds," Lore quoted. "Have a drink."

He shuttered every time that he quoted a bit of Loveless. Lore seemed to have a fondness for it and it was quite unnerving to hear the verses from him. How was it even appropriate! But, he nodded and the bottle touched his lips and he took a bit of the potion. It was like an instant relieve to feel it wave through his body and he sighed with the release of the pain allowed his eyes to close and go to sleep.

Caught

May 28 -- AM -- Bearnin

This was big! He worked most of the night making sure that his surveillance was set up. He placed bugs everywhere, including the Medical Building where the mini-Sephiroth was staying. It was a long night and he even started on the report that he was supposed to send out. He had to find out what was going on here.

Reno had a bad feeling about it. He hoped that there wasn't a secret lab here or something like that. He really didn't want to have to deal with another array of remnants arising or if that boy was a clone of Sephiroth… man, he was going to ask for backup as soon as he got some information. He was pretty sure that this is not what Tseng sent him here for or else he would not have been there alone. Damn, he wished Rude was here, but he would not even blend with the town at all and most likely, he couldn't get the big man to remove his sunglasses for the mission anyway.

He checked all his bugs at the small table in his room.

He listened to the Medical room's first. He learned the boy's name was Errow and Errow was in a hell of a lot of pain. He was glad that he was wearing the headphones. The boy sure had a healthy pair of lungs on him. He woke twice in the night with moaning and screaming about either his stomach or his back. The first screaming attack he figured the voice was of that Commander, Lira that was comforting the boy, because he kept whimpering and calling her mom. The second time it was a mild mannered nurse that was obvious used to the kids painful episodes. Damn. It made his throat go dry listening to that.

The other bug he listened to was Lira's house, which she shared with her brother. There was nothing much of a conversation going on there. Just Lira telling her brother to get up and then him telling her to give him five more minutes.

Nothing to tell him anything about the kid.

Then he realized that it was nearly noon and he was hungry. He hid all his stuff back in the suitcase and went downstairs to the bar and was hoping to see that Maria there. It would be nice to have another meal with her.

Of course, when he got down there, he was not expecting to see the Commander of the Milita of the town of Bearnin sitting inside the bar. No one else seemed to be bothered by the sight, so he didn't let it bother him. He went to the same spot that he was in before and tried to keep his eye off how snug fitting her uniform was. Hell, she was giving Tifa a run from money on the chest department, seeing her up close.

The bartender was the same as yesterday and gave him the same drink that he ordered yesterday and asked him if he wanted something to eat. "Breakfast or Lunch?" he asked with a smile.

"Yeah, guess I slept in a little bit. The town is just the vacation I needed. The mountain air," he said. "I think I will have a lunch with my drink though."

"Good choice," the bartender said and then the smile on his face left. He looked over and saw why.

Commander Lira was walking towards him. He raised his eyebrows at the bartender. The bartender shrugged and took steps back to answer the calls of some other customers.

She sat beside him adjusted her sunglasses on her face, but not removing them from her face. "So, they are sending Turks to check on me now, huh?" she said with such venom in her voice that it startled him.

He played it cool though. "What? A Turk? Me? I…"

She shook her head at him. "I have let people go before and they were smart enough to run, but you have seen Errow, so that is not going to happen."

"Listen, you got the wrong guy. I am just an accountant for Strife Delivery services. I am not one of those Turks." He said. He new how to train his voice, but he knew that he could be in a bit of trouble. Was the gig up already? How the hell would she know so quickly!

She made a little sound and laid down some of his listen devices that he placed yesterday.

He stared at it.

"You made the mistake of targeting my son," she whispered and leaned close to him. He felt a cold metal dagger against his side. "Do not test me Turk. I have no qualms about killing ShinRa scum like you."

…tbc…

Nc….Waiting / Attempt to Allude / Glimmer of Hope

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