04/11/2007:

Shorter than most chapters, but obviously its the reason why this update was so quick. Next chapter will most definitely be longer.

Chapter Edited: 07/19/2007


The following takes place between 9am and 10am.
Events occur in real time.


His visit to the infirmary had been relatively quick and, just as Logan's had said, he had been placed in solitary confinement; a prospect that didn't bother him too much. The room was considerably smaller than his previous cell; housing one bed, a sink and a toilet. The bars were replaced with a sliding door with a small slot positioned near the top; probably so that the guards could keep an eye on him.

The way that his attacker had glared at him was still etched into his mind, but it hadn't had the shaking affect it was supposed to. He had seen his fair share of attempts at his life through the very short time he had been a SeeD, and had managed to maintain his composure during the face of it all. But it had felt different somehow; maybe because he hadn't actually done anything to warrant the attack. Someone had led the man – Jack Anderson's brother, from what he could recall from interrogation – to believe that he had been responsible for those murders, which meant that whoever was responsible for framing him didn't like how things were playing out.

Maybe they hadn't wanted him to surrender in Deling, to be interrogated by the Estharians and be held inside of a holding cell, cooperating and patiently waiting for the evidence that would clear him. He had been framed for a reason; and the fact that his cooperation was helping the authorities figure out the truth was going against their plans. No, Squall was fairly certain whoever had set him up had expected him to hightail it to the Garden and come up with a plan that way.

The fact that Anderson knew I was related to Laguna is another big factor, he thought to himself as he lay back on top of the mattress, his hands positioned behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling thoughtfully. He found that he was doing this a lot lately.

Squall wondered if they were using that knowledge just to get at Laguna; to force him to have to choose between family and his obligations. Squall already knew the answer to this question; neither was very close to each other, but Laguna would want to do everything in his power to keep him safe, even if it meant compromising his position as President.

Maybe that's what they're betting on, Squall thought to himself. Maybe they don't want Laguna in power; they want to get rid of him by forcing him into this position, and in doing so, they're using me to get to him.

He knew he couldn't let it happen, but there was very little he could do about it. He was stuck in solitary confinement and had Logans watching his every movement until the sniper attack was thoroughly dealt with. He didn't have any suspects; didn't know who was working against the Estharian government and if he accused the wrong person without any facts or proof, it wouldn't help him in the long run and he would go down for a murder he didn't commit.

Still, they have to figure out what they're doing in the meantime. They may choose to get me out of the country; make sure an attack can't happen again. It won't be in Dollet; at least not yet; they'd want to make sure the preparations for the trail are all set up. Timber is also out of the question, same with Deling. Balamb would be seen as biased, and Trabia doesn't really have any place to hold me, not to mention Trabia Garden is close enough for the country to be dismissed.

Sighing, Squall closed his eyes knowing that guessing where he was going was going to take some time. There were a few possible locations, but only one of them would be suitable, and on top of that he had these terrorists to contend with. His gut tightened, telling him that whatever situation he thought he was in, things were about to get even worse.

He grinned as things were finally set into motion. He'd just received a report on the so-called assassination attempt and was elated to know that Leonhart had not died in the attack, as the pawn had thought he would. Anderson was a brash man, not at all what he would have liked to work with, but he had played his part well. He wasn't a part of the cause, so it was inevitable that he would talk to the Estharian authorities; tell them what the original plan was. They might even finally register them as the remaining members of the true regime.

He had heard of Schipner's worry over their sudden discovery, but he was elated by it. Finally, those morons would know who it was that would destroy their sense of rule, and perhaps they would cower in fear at the sheer mention of their organization. The latter seemed improbable, simply because those pathetic citizens would look to their equally pathetic president for a means to defeat them. Loire had been lucky when tricking Adel into becoming trapped in outer space and thoroughly cheap as he had had his son's team kill her as she was just regaining consciousness. But even cheap luck ran dry eventually, and he would thoroughly enjoy watching the man squirm under pressure; being forced to choose between his citizen's lives and his own son's freedom.

He had received word that his current guest had been re-apprehended; trying to escape via the underground docks. He had scoffed; the girl had no physical power to defend herself and had easily succumbed to the tranquilizers his men had pumped into her. She would be asleep for a little while; probably awakening just in time to watch the fire works.

Clasping his hands together, he watched the screen with the Security Chief, recalling his subordinate's words and grinning as he realized the truth in them. The Psychiatrist was becoming closer and closer to discovering the truth about her co-worker, and it would be a shame if she spoiled everyone's fun too soon. Her boyfriend would be useful cannon fodder for their cause; the man was also a security risk and far too loyal to Loire than he would have liked.

He continued to watch the screen, all the while wondering what it was Schipner had up his sleeve this time.


Janice Spelling was impressed with the amount of progress they had made.

The prisoner had been escorted by security to Interrogation 1, been seated and forced to wait for her arrival. She had entered the room no more than ten minutes later, accompanied by two Estharian Soldiers, in case the man was a fighter. She hadn't been at all impressed by his appearance; simply t-shirt, pair of jeans and boots. He wasn't a well built person; probably didn't work out very often either. The man had been shot; a gauze bandage wrapped secured around his right shoulder.

At first she hadn't thought he was going to co-operate; that the interrogation was going to last throughout the day, but she had been presently surprised when the man had started talking within the first few minutes. His name was Robert 'Bobby' Daniel Anderson and it turned out that his older brother, Jack Harvard Anderson, was one of the five people killed during the attack. Someone had called him around seven that morning, and told him everything that had taken place, including who was the suspect and where he was being held. After that, Janice sent a group of officers over towards the surveillance chambers, in order to sort through footage that would help them find out exactly how Anderson's brother was able to enter the prison section without being detected by the metal detectors or sighted by any of the guards.

"Give a full report to Officer Logan's as well as the President." Spelling ordered her men. "They need to know that there is a traitor in our midst and that we need to find him."

Nodding, the men picked up radios and began their reports and she turned back to the double-sided mirror, watching the prisoner they held in captivity left is silence with the interrogators, staring blankly at the table set before him.


Shutting off his radio, he stared at the screen of his laptop, sitting in the secret area of the Training Center. As soon as the rug rats had been hauled off by the SeeD, he'd waited for a few minutes before sneaking inside himself, grateful that the air conditioning unit still worked. He'd been practically dripping sweat by the time he'd finally moved.

Ever since he'd stayed in the exact same place. It was just after 0200; no way was SeeD letting anyone else inside the Training Center this late; at least not without a weapon. He wasn't worried; he knew exactly where to hide in order to keep from being detected – they'd been cadets but they hadn't even heard him come in and out.

From what he'd learned about the situation in Esthar, two more people had been attacked, though unlike the original five, they'd survived. Both of them were prisoners in the Estharian penitentiary, and as far as the authorities knew there were only two attackers. One of them was in custody and the other killed himself before the same could've been said about him. As far as he could tell, the Estharians were haulin' all ass in order to keep the specifics out of the press, but he was pretty certain he knew who was one of the ones attacked.

Though he could tell that things were beginning to bubble to the surface. And what a hell of a time for it too.

He didn't know where the leaks were coming from, or who was the one responsible for them, but hell if he was complaining. Even though he was technically supposed to be gathering information about the Garden, he had a very strong feeling that both the events in Garden and Esthar were connected. No chance that the frame up and the events in Esthar were a coincidence. Well, whoever was feeding the media the info was probably sitting in front of his or her television set, hands clasped and watching as his puppets did his dirty work for him.

He figured out who one of them was pretty quickly. From what he had been hearing on the news as of late, Squall Leonhart was being held on charges of murder – a bogus allegation at the best of times, but a serious one nonetheless – so obviously someone was bound to try and take him out before he became even more dangerous or whatever the reason was.

No doubt they're gonna move him too. He thought to himself.

It'd be stupid to just leave the SeeD there; after all, more attempts on his life wouldn't look good on Esthar's Correction Institutions. They'd put him somewhere no one'd expect before the trial. That is, if there was really gonna be one – he was convinced the officials would rig it to convict everyone's favourite hero.

Even as he moved to another page of information, he heard the PA system sound up and looked up immediately. It was strange since most people were already in bed at the time. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about this; had he slipped? Had he actually been caught after all this time of hiding out? He didn't think so, but from past experiences he knew it was a possibility.

From what he'd learned about the good Commander, he didn't like him too much. Took his job seriously, always shut himself into his office to do his work, and pressed his uniform so it didn't have any creases or lines or whatever – the complete opposite of him. In his opinion, if you had time to iron your clothes, you could use it to keep up with your skills instead of wasting your time.

"Attention residence of Garden," Greenwood's annoying voice echoed through the empty area. "As some of you have been made aware, there was an attack in the Estharian Presidential Residence earlier in the day. And some of you are also well aware that there are rumours that a SeeD was arrested for the crime."

He frowned deeply, knowing that this was a huge mistake. From everything he'd guess about the terrorists, announcing to everyone in the Garden that everyone's favourite hero was being accused of the murders was playing right into their hands. He wondered briefly how stupid this new guy was and if he really was cut out for the job he was charged with.

"The SeeD was apprehended from the Galbadian Capital, Deling City, during a mission under the Galbadian Government. He is being wrongfully accused of the crime, having had no possible way of being in Esthar during the time of the crime and returning to the Capital without being traced and caught but the Galbadian government. The man I am talking about is none other than Squall Leonhart."

Just as the announcement had been sounded and the exact same time he cursed the Commander's stupidity, he felt his cellphone vibration. He wondered vaguely why his source was contacting him when he said he'd be unavailable for the time being even as he answered the device.


9:11:54


Christine kept glancing between her computer screen and the file folders that lay on her desk, before scribbling down something onto a notepad. Once that was done, the cycle would begin anew; the woman spending near two to three minutes looking for information before writing something down.

Christine had taken to doing this while she was studying in college – it was a good idea; borrow a video, head to the library to borrow some books, go home and take notes on the both of them in order to compare facts.

That was what she was doing now; looking over the surveillance footage of the attack that took place nearly half an hour prior, and the files she still had on the suspect. She was nearing the end of the confrontation and she had drawn up the conclusion that Squall Leonhart was, in fact, innocent. She didn't have any concrete proof, but she sure as hell was convinced he wasn't their murderer.

Christine turned off the security tapes and put away the file, staring at the notes she'd compiled already. If he wasn't guilty, then obviously he was being set up. It had to be the work of a group – no one person could pull something this huge off without any help. And the obvious reason for setting him up was simply – he killed Adel, a feat that had, up until the very day it had happened, been believed to have been impossible. He'd also been responsible for the end of the most recent Sorceress War – something that still puzzled everyone who wasn't involved in the actual act.

Those two actions made him out to be quite an intimidating person. Piled with Anderson's knowledge on the relationship between both SeeD and Estharian President, and what other reason could there be? She realized that the possibility that the Estharian government was the one being targeted and not just its citizens was also probably. But what she didn't know was the kind of organization behind all of this. It would have to have connections across the globe for the kind of Intel they possess, and they apparently have no qualms with sacrificing their own people; look at Anderson and the sniper.

As Christine continued to mull these facts, she began to realize there was some kind of conspiracy plot taking place. It was like some kind of mystery – the truth lay in the facts and evidence they'd already received and yet so many more answers were being held just out of reach.

She sighed out loud, resting her chin on the palm of her left hand. It was a good thing she really loved reading mystery novels.


The door to the Presidential Residence slid open and the Headmaster emerged, his facial expression showing relief. Everyone else, who was waiting in the hallway, relaxed upon seeing his features, but Rinoa could tell that there was something she was missing.

The former Instructor beat her to the punch though. "What happened?"

"I can't imagine why you were fired as an Instructor." Cid stated sincerely. "Anderson – that's the name of the accomplice to the sniper – knew some things he shouldn't have had any access to whatsoever. He knew in perfect detail what had happened earlier this morning, and about the invasion in Deling City. The fact that he knew Squall was being held responsible was another red flag. But more importantly…"

Cid lowered his voice and everyone looked around, making sure no one was within hearing distance. Whatever he was to say next obviously couldn't be heard by anyone else. "Anderson knew about Squall and Laguna."

"But, but… that's impossible!" Zell exclaimed. It was a miracle no one heard him. "How could he have known they are father and son?"

"Because he had outside information; possibly given to him by someone with access to it." Cid answered simply. "Esthar suspects a traitor in their organization, with good reason I should say."

"So what happens next?" Irvine asked.

"Obviously, Squall can't stay here any longer than he has." Cid began. "If Anderson was approached by the traitor, there's a distinct possibility the same thing will happen with another existing family member of one of the victims. Those people deserve to know that the government is doing what they can in order to find the real perpetrator; they don't need to be further grieved by false accusations."

Cid sighed again and Rinoa didn't like where this was going. "Which is why the government plans to move Squall somewhere remote, where he won't have any contact with anyone on the outside until preparations for the trial have been completed in Dollet."

"That's ludicrous!" Quistis exclaimed. "Procedure must be followed, I understand that, but—"

"I don't like it either, Quistis, but it has to be done." Cid said. "Chances are if something like this happens again, he may not be so lucky. The real murderer obviously doesn't believe Squall is going to be held for very much longer; more questions are revealing themselves, despite the many accusations against him, so they want to shut him up."

Rinoa wanted to argue; to scream and shout and protest that everything that was happening wasn't at all fair, but she knew the Headmaster had a good point. No one wanted to see Squall die, especially not while everyone saw him as a murderer and indeed the attempts on his life would continue if he wasn't relocated. "Have they decided where he's going to go?" The Sorceress asked.

Cid nodded. "Laguna has managed to pull a few strings. He'll be held at the Shumi Village. Though Shumis are peace loving, they are very selective in who appears in their hidden village. Since they know Squall from his numerous visits in the past, and he's related to Laguna, the Elder granted the request."

"When is he leaving?" Rinoa asked with hesitation.

The Headmaster sighed heavily once again before he answered. "1000 hrs… sooner if they can arrange it."


"And you're saying that someone attempted to kill him with all of those witnesses?" Ibrihim asked, to which Laguna nodded.

"I'm not very happy about it either; it means we've got a leak on this end. Probably the same person who's responsible for the frame up."

"It's possible." Ibrihim agreed. "If he continues to deny his involvement, eventually someone will start to listen, maybe even believe him. Whoever set him up won't want that."

"I just wish there was more that I could do." Laguna said. "I'm the President and my hands are tied."

"Damned if you do and damned if you don't." Ibrihim nodded. "I know the feeling. So you're moving him to a remote location. Wouldn't be surprised if you chose not to tell me."

"Wish I could, but it's for security reasons and, no offence, but if I were to just hand over that information to you it'd ruin the whole point."

"Understandable." Ibrihim said. "Though I may have some good news for you for once."

"I'm listening."

"I've managed to calm down the military. They still want to invade Esthar, but I've made it perfectly clear that they are not to do so unless I give the order."

"You're not going to though, right?"

Laguna sounded a little worried that his former superior would order an attack and for good reason; Ibrihim had been a military General for nearly seventeen years before his impromptu promotion. "I assure you, your country would have to overstep their boundaries once more before I'd give the order."

"So stay low on your radar." Laguna said. "Got it."

Ibrihim chuckled. "Besides, Esthar isn't worth the economic drop we'd have if we chose to attack anyway."

"Thanks…I think."


He clasped his hands together as he stared thoughtfully in front of him, commending Schipner on his plotting and scheming. He didn't even think Cobatchi had seen it coming, it was so utterly brilliant. Within the next hour or so, the plan would be set into motion and there would be nothing but disarray to greet the revival of the old regime. The fools in the Residence thought they had outfoxed them, but in all honesty, he couldn't wait to see each and every one of them pay for their crimes against the true leader of the country.

In his books, Schipner had proven himself worthy of their cause, even though the old coot had been a part of their ranks for the past decade or so. However, it didn't mean he trusted him. On the contrary; he believed if a man was this capable of deceiving a group of people for his own means, it could mean the rise of ambition. Schipner might even grow to believe himself to be far greater than that of the regime and the thought of it was unacceptable. As much as he admired Schipner for his persistence given the circumstances, he also understood that the time would soon come where he must decide whether Schipner's deceptive ways could be ignored entirely.


She had been checking on the security systems within the garden when she had seen it; a flicker of movement in the Training Center. She paused the security tape and rewound the image, stopping and watching as the unknown figure was sitting at against a wall and looking at a laptop. She knew he wasn't from Garden; most of the cadets and SeeDs had already gone to bed.

She watched the tape after a few minutes, certain that the intruder was set up in the Secret Area in the Training Center. She had thought it was an Estharian, attempting to pay back SeeD for a crime they hadn't committed, but there was something local about him that made her sceptical of the notion. It set her off edge and she didn't like it one bit.

Pausing the video once more, she tried to zoom in, in order to get a better look at the intruder, thinking she might be able to identify him. Frowning, she figured that she should have known; for someone to have been able to sneak into the Garden undetected they would have to be able to avoid detection on both the motion sensors and the security cameras stationed at every corner of every room. Even though she now knew he was there, she couldn't get a good angle in on his face.

She removed the communications device from her hip holster and held down the button as she sent her page. A moment later, a male voice answered her back. "Security."

"Send a squad down to the Training Center. There's an intruder hiding out in the Secret Area."

"Understood ma'am."

Xu cut off the transmission before starting another one. As soon as someone picked up on the other end, Xu threw aside the formalities and jumped right into her report. "Commander Greenwood, we have a situation…"


9:34:11


The guards had arrived at his cell during his mental musings. They'd opened the door and told him that he was being moved to another location for his protection. Neither seemed thoroughly impressed with the idea of protecting a prisoner, but they handcuffed him and escorted him down the hallway all the same.

Squall couldn't say he was altogether satisfied that his assumptions had been correct; in fact he was a little unnerved. Of course the obvious choice was to move him to a more secure and isolated location, but he couldn't help but feel as though they were making a mistake. It was as though everything was beginning to fall together the more he thought about it – whoever staged the attack hadn't wanted him to die right away, but get him away from the Estharians, but to do what exactly? Anderson was a novice - that was for certain; if whoever framed him wanted him dead, wouldn't they have hired someone who knew how to do the job?

He would have felt better had he been able to keep his junctions, but because of the circumstances he had given them to the Chief of Security as a measure to prove he was willing to co-operate. Thinking back on it, it was a bad call on his part and he should have listened to Ward in the first place.

Now is not the time to second guess yourself. His mind rationalized. Something is about to go very wrong and you know it. You need to focus; otherwise knowing what's coming won't help you.

So he knew that Anderson was being used as a distraction, and that it was possible the Estharians were playing into the terrorists hands. What he didn't know was what he could do to stop it. They wanted him out of the country, but then what did they plan to do? They wanted him alive, but for what reason? What role would he have to play in all of this?

It suddenly came to him, and it would have shocked him into stopping his stride had the guard behind him not pushed him forward. His connection was between Garden and Esthar; Garden because he was a SeeD and, as much as he was loath to this information, the populace of Garden looked up to him and respected him. He had been raised there for almost his entire life; everyone who lived there was connected to him somehow.

In Esthar, there weren't nearly as many ties to him, but they were equally as significant to him. There was Ellone, the only real family he had ever truly known. Then of course there was the fact he had assisted the government in getting rid of Adel as well as Ultimecia, but the most binding factor was the relationship, or lack there of, between himself and his father, who just so happened to be the President. The terrorists knew about this connection, and were probably hoping that it was affecting Laguna as much as possible.

This might even be the basis of a coup d'état. He thought to himself. If whoever was in control of this entire ordeal was planning to overthrow Laguna then he was going about it the right way. The people wouldn't want any hardship to come over them and, if a war broke out, once it dissipated then the terrorist could use it as an excuse to overthrow the current government and appeal to the people and take over that way.

There were many risks with this plan, but just as many rewards to be reaped if it were successful. Squall would bet money that there were more than just one traitor placed inside of the government – it would be far too risky to just depend on one person; after all what would they do if the mole was caught or killed?

He knew that he had to do something about it, but he wasn't in any position to be saying anything. If he did, the Estharians might just assume that he was confessing to his involvement. But if he didn't, thousands upon thousands of people were going to suffer through the exact same thing they were only barely recovering from.

Either way, it'd all be my fault, he thought to himself bitterly.

Whoever these people were, they had done their level best to tie his hand, and all he could do was hope that the others caught on to this as quickly as he had.


He was in the midst of rereading some of the information he'd managed to acquire. He heard a T-Rexaur nearby and smirked, knowing the creature was looking for a meal.

As he scanned the Intel on his computer screen, he heard the unmistakeable sound of Grats in the area and his smirked deepened; knowing full well that the larger creature would go after them. He didn't need to watch to know what would result. After a few minutes, he heard the monster roar – a sure fire sign that it had finished its meal.

He paid it no more mind; concentrating solely on the reports in front of him when he suddenly heard the Rexaur again, only this time it was its death cry. Frowning, he wondered if he'd underestimated the cadets in the Garden – they should have been asleep by then – and chanced a glance out from the entrance way leading into the area.

Sure enough, he spotted the cause of the monster's death; a squad of SeeDs already making their way around the mess of lizard. He thought for an instant that this could quiet possibly be a training exercise and that he should make himself scarce when he realized something very important:

They were heading his way.

He quickly disconnected the laptop and strapped it to his chest inside of its case before scrambling up the wall, clinging to the very top and praying they didn't spot him right away. His orders were to avoid any and all contact with the SeeDs and cadets and, up until this point, that hadn't been a problem.

When he was satisfied that the majority of the SeeDs were in the Secret Area, he jumped down behind them. He was then forced to duck into some nearby foliage just outside the area; one of the SeeDs had been very close to spotting him.

He frowned as they searched his former sanctuary, wondering exactly what could have blown his cover. That was when he recalled the positioning of the surveillance cameras and slapped himself in the forehead; he'd gotten sloppy. The worst part was if someone was surveying the tapes right at that very moment, they'd know exactly where he was hiding.

As he tried to calm down, he began to focus his thoughts towards a means of escape. He couldn't see getting around the SeeDs without being spotted and then pursued.

He tried to remember what it was his contact had told him to do in the event he was caught snooping around the Garden and when he did he cursed the man. He didn't like the idea one bit, but he had to admit he must have had a reason to tell him to do exactly that. Silently, he rose to a kneeling position, allowing the SeeDs to see him as he did and rose his hands above his head in the universal sign of surrender. It wasn't like him at all, but unfortunately he had to play this his way… for now at least. Besides, his contact had assured him that he would be left alone if he did just that.

The SeeDs turned to look in his direction before suddenly raising their weapons and firing at him. His eyes widened in shock, but he wasn't stupid enough to stay in one spot as the bastards took pot shots at him. He ducked behind a near by tree and managed to shout over the noise of the weapon fire. "Hey! Don't you fuckers know the meaning of the word 'surrender'?"

Either they didn't listen to him or didn't particularly care; they simply continued to fire and, if someone had to, reloaded and fire again. They bullets imbedded themselves into the tree, breaking off bits of bark and even a couple of branches that surrounded him. Making perfectly sure he hadn't been hit, he realized that there were a couple of holes in his sweater and frowned, knowing he hadn't brought much in the form of clothing to replace it, even as the weapon fire increased. Those holes were in the back of his sweater, but Hyne help him if they managed to hit him in the front.

After all, laptops are very expensive nowadays.

Cursing loudly, he mentally ran through his options before realizing that he was going to have to use force to get out of there alive.

Looking towards his left, he noticed a slightly smaller SeeD closest to him and, silently knowing he was going to go to hell for this on top of other things, he leapt out, charged into the SeeD and held him up, forcing the weapon from the startled male's hands and holding it to his head in the time it took for each of the SeeD's to blink. Must be getting slower… he mentally remarked before glaring at them.

"Shoot at me… I dare you, though I doubt your people'd be happy to hear how this punk turned into Swiss cheese!"

The SeeD hesitated as they watched their own being held hostage and he knew he had the opening he needed. He threw the startled SeeD into his own team-mates and made a run for it, the weapon fire recommencing even as he was making a break for the door.

Just as he barged out of the metal doors separating the Training Center from the rest of the Garden, he stopped and cursed Hyne for all it was worth. Another squadron of SeeDs surrounded the only other exit from the area, weapons raised and magic flaring. The woman standing in the very front looked surprised to see him at first but adjusted her expression into that of a glare. "Place your hands behind your head and get on your knees or we'll shoot. Do it now!"

Don't you mean 'and we'll shoot'? he thought to himself sardonically, but grudgingly did as he was told anyway, his hands placed behind his head even as the SeeDs pursuing him emerged from the center. He felt the cold metal of the handcuffs wrap around his wrist and was pushed violently onto his stomach, all the while hoping his contact knew what he was doing.


Schipner smiled in glee as he filed in his most recent report. Things were indeed falling into place; it wouldn't have been any easier even if the whole of Esthar was on their side. The fools were playing into their hands and very soon they would realize the error of their ways. Then the real plan could be set into action.

He had just sent orders to one of the men on the inside – O'Ryan he recalled – to proceed with the phase, but to leave enough time for the devastation to set in on all parties involved. They had worked so very hard in order to re-establish control over Esthar and no one was going to stand in the way this time. Not Lockhart, the Loire and certainly not Leonhart and SeeD for that matter.

And the best thing about the fools' decision was that he would be an active party in the transferring of the prisoner – excellent timing and placement on their part. It was as though they were gift-wrapping the little brat. He couldn't wait to see the look on the President's face when he discovered that the man he had appointed as the Director of the Estharian Cabinet placed the mole on the same plane as his only son, though he wouldn't be there to witness the initial shock. It was a pity, but he had his own tasks to take care of.

Schipner thought about it a little further and recalled the other man who would be assisting in escorting the Prisoner to the Shumi Village. In order to keep Lockhart out of the picture, James Logans was going to play a key role. The fact that he would be on the aircraft as well made the irony even sweeter, and there wasn't a damned thing Logans' bitch could do about it in the end.

She'll be so devastated when she receives the news; perhaps she'll even blame herself, though it'd be too much to ask her to slit her own throat when she finds out what happened to her precious boy-toy. The cow can go rot in hell for all I care.

Keeping stride as he continued towards his destination, he tried very hard to suppress the eager smile he knew kept flickering upon his expression. Things were finally starting to fall into place and he couldn't wait for the fireworks to begin.


James stood at the ready near the aircraft that would be transporting the prisoner to the Shumi Village and frowned deeply. Though he knew things would be alright during his absence with Deilia in charge, he couldn't help but feel as though he were out of the loop for some reason; as though something wasn't right about all of this. During his time as the Chief of Security, James had taken it upon himself to trust his instincts, though at the moment he couldn't tell exactly what it was they were telling him to do.

The cabinet representative slated to accompany them on their travels – a man named Harold Schipner – entered the room and distracted James from his thoughts as he came up and stood beside him. Schipner was an old man, and possessed a slightly hunched back, making him slightly shorter than James' even 6 feet, and was dressed in the purple and black Estharian robes signifying his position as a cabinet member. James didn't know much about the man, but from what Christine had been telling him for weeks now, she didn't like the way he thought.

The pilot was seated inside of the plane they would be taking to Esthar, fiddling with the controls and making sure the piloting equipment was functional. James was grateful – it meant he actually knew what he was doing. Though he wasn't terrified, he never did like flying in a plane – it meant that he was giving the pilot control of whether he lived or died.

The door opened and he noticed Leonhart's comrades and friends entering the room, followed closely by the Headmaster of Balamb Garden and his wife, the Sorceress who, according to what he'd overheard near the war's end, had been possessed by the Sorceress in the future and had been forced to murder the former Galbadian President. He hadn't thought it to be a loss, and he certainly didn't hold her responsible for her actions, though from the looks she was receiving from the other soldiers and security personnel stationed, they weren't so forgiving.

One of his soldiers moved to stop them, but James raised a hand and shook his head. They had every right to see their friend off, even if it was later discovered he was guilty. They weren't going to see very much of him after this after all.

He moved towards them, stopping to stand a few feet away from them and he could tell they were gauging him; trying to figure out whether he could be trusted. It was a good habit to get into – you never know what kind of people you'll run into nowadays. "It's good to see that you could make it. I'm James Logans, Chief of Security or the Secret Service, whichever you prefer."

"How much longer will it take for him to get here." The girl in blue – Leonhart's girlfriend – spoke up.

"He should be here any minute. For the record, I'm sorry that this has to happen, but it's for his own safety."

"You mean it's so you can interrogate him some more." The blonde male snorted. James chose to ignore the comment.

"I'd believe him."

Everyone turned around to see President Loire, accompanied by Kiros Seagill and Ward Zabac, entering the room from an adjacent doorway and, after a moment, were making their way towards them, with Ellone a little further behind. "Logans' is one of the best guys I have. If he says nothing's going to happen, then it's as simple as that. Moreover, he won't let anything happen on his watch,"

Suddenly feeling flustered with the amount of praise he was receiving, James lowered his head and stared at his shoes for a second before nodding and returning to his watchful vigil, nodding at Kiros once before he did. Kiros nodded back, before turning back towards the conversation at hand.


9:44:23


Rinoa sighed as she watched Logans move away from them. She liked Laguna, she really did, but she wasn't entirely sure she could trust the Security Chief. Of course, he'd let her have a moment with Squall before they escorted him into the Prison sector, but that happened right before the sniper attack. She was a little on edge around him, what with him being present at that point in time.

Come to think of it, she thought to herself. He was also there when those murders took place, wasn't he?

The doors behind them suddenly opened and everyone turned to look, and saw two guards escorting Squall from out of the hallway he had walked from. He was dressed in a light blue muscle shirt, a white t-shirt underneath and a pair of light blue slacks. Running shoes replaced his boots and the Griever chain was missing. On top of all this, there was a bandage wrapped around the left side of his neck (Did something happen before they stopped Anderson? Rinoa thought to herself).

His arms were cuffed behind his back, but the guards released him, probably only until they were ready to lift off, and moved to stand over behind the President, while they waited. Rinoa couldn't contain herself and, even as her knight was rubbing some feeling back into his arms, she jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He caught her, despite the surprise her lunge had been, and soon after the others surrounded them, each of them asking him all kinds of questions at the exact same time.

Rinoa noticed that Laguna was standing off and away from the little group and felt a little bad about it. The falling out that had taken place between them pretty much spelt it out for anyone who had been there to see it; there was no hope that father and son were going to become close to one another. She hadn't been there so she didn't know much about the circumstances herself, but nevertheless Rinoa thought it was sad; she'd known a father she couldn't stand for the longest time in her life, whereas Squall had the opportunity to finally get to know his after never having one for so long, and both of them were just going to go their separate ways without even trying to set things to rights.

The young Sorceress noticed the Cabinet Representative climbing into the plane before seemingly talking to the pilot in the background; probably confirming their destination. Logans stood rooted to the spot, probably keeping an eye out in case anyone wanted to try anything. Rinoa was sorely tempted to do just that, but she knew Squall would never forgive her if she did.

"Hey." Squall's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "I'm about to get carted away and you're spacing out on me?"

Sighing lightly, she tightened her grip around his neck, wondering if they would delay the trip if she simply refused to let go. At the very least she wanted to go with him, but she knew it wasn't a possibility. "I'm going to miss you." She said quietly, before noticing that the others had stopped talking.

"I'll miss you too." He said before averting his attention towards the others. "…I'm not really very good with goodbyes…"

"We know." Quistis said, the expressions on everyone else's faces revealing that they agreed with the elder girl. "You don't have to say anything else. Just come back to us safely."

Squall nodded after a moment – Rinoa thought it was to let the words sink in – before she reluctantly let go of him, noticing Ellone making her way towards the group. Squall appeared momentarily shocked by the action but upon seeing Ellone immediately rush him, realization crossed his features as he held her; her arms hugging him as she openly sobbed. Rinoa could tell that he was holding back – that he was trying to appear strong for everyone, but she wanted him to express himself; to express that he was worried or scared of what might happen – to him or everyone else.

But she knew he wouldn't be able to say what he was really thinking; that he didn't want to burden everyone else with the inner workings of his mind, but all the same she wished he wouldn't bottle it all up.

Rinoa saw movement coming from her left and she turned to see Laguna, Kiros and Ward approaching them, though Laguna appeared somewhat hesitant. She couldn't blame him, and she felt for him.

Squall caught the movement as well and turned to look at Laguna, everyone else following in his gaze and wondering exactly what it was that was going to happen. Even Laguna looked slightly nervous. But after a full minute passed, Squall nodded in silent greeting, the President nodding back. No words were going to be spared; they didn't have to be.

"Sir!" one of the men in the security uniforms said. "We're about ready to lift off."

Laguna nodded in subdued acknowledgement and Ellone reluctantly let go of her brother. Squall complied with the unannounced request by simply stepping forward and allowing the guards to replace the cuffs that held his arms behind him. They were about to leave, but they were forced to stop when Rinoa simply ran forward, wrapping her arms around Squall, even though he wasn't facing her. The guards were forced to stop and Squall stumbled, having not expected the reaction.

Resting her head against his shoulder blades, she managed to force the tears to stay back for maybe a millisecond before they suddenly fell free – the action an expression of grieve for the both of them. Swallowing hard, she managed to force herself to speak, but it wasn't any louder than a whisper. "You'll come back to us, right? We'll get through this and when you come back, everything will be back to normal, right?"

Squall didn't make any moves to turn to look at her, but his head was hung – the only indication that his decision was hurting him as much as anyone else – possibly even more so. After a moment, he finally broke the silence just when it was becoming unbearable. "I wouldn't say that I would do something when I never intended to do it. If anyone knows me even marginally well, they'd say that much about me. That being said, I promise to come back to you. Everything will be alright – if not naturally, then I'll make it that way."

Rinoa nodded numbly, unable to say anything in response and finally, hating every moment of it, she removed her arms from around her knight, and watched as he was escorted onto the plane in front of her, tears freely streaming down her face as she did.


He didn't know exactly what it was that had provoked him to say what he had, but he believed the words to be true, even as he was escorted onto the plane; placed on the seat near a window that was facing the others who watched as he left. He didn't know what the future held for them, and couldn't even begin to speculate; the terrorists were still at large, and if they were targeting the Estharian government, then something would have to be done.

He felt more than saw Logans take a seat on his right; heard more than watched the pilot start the engines to the plane that would take him into isolation. His instincts were telling him that something was very wrong with this, but he couldn't bring himself to care – not at the moment. The only thing that mattered to him where the people standing away from the landing sight, watching as he was carted away, without even knowing exactly where it was he was going.

The last thing that Squall ever wanted was to hurt those close to him; it was even worse than the pain he had felt when he had been left alone, the pain in his chest almost unbearable, and yet he couldn't tear himself away from the window as he watched them move away, the plane he was sitting in picking up momentum as they continued down the launch way, until they were up in the air.

Even as they crossed over the mountains that would lead them outside of Esthar, Squall Leonhart found that he could not remove his gaze from that window.


He had been able to leave the Prison grounds easily enough, despite the fact that the prison guards were under investigation. He guessed the government wasn't nearly as soft as he'd originally thought. However, there were a couple other guards who shared his views and they'd offered quite a distraction while he'd made his way out the door. For one reason or another the soldiers guarding the entrance weren't there, but he didn't question the luck; instead moving down the hallway towards the elevator at the very end. He climbed into the contraption before pressing the button that would lead him to the desired floor.

To say that Douglas O'Ryan was excited was an understatement; he was giddy with pent up joy that not even his wife could have dragged out of him. He'd received orders from an anonymous source of what he was expected to do; given that he had done his job perfectly in allowing Anderson access into the building. The fact that the bumbling fool got caught was hardly his fault.

No, the role he had to play now was much bigger; huge even. He would go down in history as the man who signalled the beginning of the end for those losers who'd been responsible for ejecting Esthar's true ruler out of power.

As the elevator doors opened after a few minutes, having taken him to his desired floor, he unfolded his arms from across his chest and stalked forward, simply thrusting a clenched fist into the security code pad, forcing the box to short circuit and the doors to open automatically. It didn't hurt but that was surprising; a small treat he'd received during his surface all those years ago.

A couple of soldiers who were stationed by the entrance turned to see what the problem was, only to be knocked down by Douglas, a sneak attack rendering their trained skills useless and even as they slid to the floor Douglass wrapped his arms around a third soldier's neck, executing the Sleeper Hold and twisting slightly, ensuring the poor fool would never awaken.

Looking around and making certain that he wasn't spotted on camera, he pushed the dead soldier aside and tapped a couple of buttons, shutting down the surveillance cameras throughout the entire floor. Even if those fools discovered that something had just gone horribly wrong, they'd be far too late to do anything about it.

A man and woman stood at the controls he needed and he quickly made his appearance known by pulling out the sidearm he possessed and removing the safety. The resounding click that was heard was enough to cause both people to jump and they turned around slowly to face him, the woman screaming when she saw he had a gun.

Wincing slightly, he raised it higher, aiming at the woman's head. "Do that again, and you'll join the guards up here."

The woman whimpered for a moment before finally falling silent, an expression of helplessness befalling her features. The man took a protective step forward, nearly standing in the path between himself and the woman before finally speaking. "What is it you want?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"I'd think it was obvious." Douglas barked out, slowly making his way down the stairs. "I'm a lowly prison guard, after all, so I can't use any of this equipment. That's where you come in."

He pulled out a piece of paper from his uniform pocket – a set of numbers written out in a hasty scrawl – and held it out for the man to take. "I need you to set the missiles to hit this target. I also need you to wire a remote detonator and give it to me."

The man looked as though he wanted to protest, but when Douglas flexed the gun into his direction, all the man could do was gape at him in horror. "I don't think I need to tell you what will happen if you refuse."

Both workers exchanged glances and after a moment of hesitation, both set out to work, Douglas grinning as they moved.

They wanna stop my missiles from launching; they'll have to do it manually. Douglas thought to himself. And by the time they reach this place in order to do just that, the missiles will have already launched and it'll already be far too late to do shit all about it.


10:00:00