I hope you enjoy chapters 9 and 10 and that I have taken the right approach with them. I finished chapters 14 and 15 over the weekend but I'm not sure whether I'm on the right track with them or not – I'm wondering whether I should add a couple more in between to extend the approach, I'll have to see how I go.
10. Back to base
Once AVALANCHE and the rest of G Squad had mobilised, Arist brought the children across from the lounge area in the living quarters. The adults settled them on the couches as Reeve found a TV and DVD player in Sturge's office and set it up for them to watch some DVDs that Shera produced. Marlene and Denzel were settled down on a couch with them, Marlene cuddling Sierra who was now starting to doze off, happy to be with the rest of the children.
The women were settled close by trying to make small talk about the children, their minds really focused on what was happening but trying to keep the atmosphere in the room calm. The men were in Sturge's office, talking about Davies and how he had managed to build up the attack force that they had witnessed that morning. Reeve had received medical reports on everyone who had been injured – the Senior Staff was out of successful surgery and would be well enough to be back on duty in a couple of weeks. The trainees had mainly cuts and bruises and a couple of concussions – a lucky outcome as far as Reeve was concerned. All the prisoners had been moved in to holding cells and G Squad security guards had started the interrogations.
All trainees and staff on the facility had by now been made aware of the fact that Katherine had been abducted and G Squad and AVLANCHE mobilised to bring her back. As the recovery teams moved about removing rubble and debris there was a serious feeling among them all. To know that one of their members was in trouble was a new experience for these trainees and some of them were finding it hard to come to terms with.
Suddenly the direct line on Sturge's desk rang and he hit the speaker button to answer it. "Sturge" he said. "We have her" said Cloud and everyone let out a sigh of relief. "How is she?" asked Sturge as Elizabeth came to stand next to Edwin, who put his arms around her and held her. "She has received some injuries but has been stabilised and Reno is flying her back now with the medics. Vincent is with them" responded Cloud.
"What about Davies?" asked Sturge. "He's dead – I'll explain the details to you when we get back" said Cloud. The men realised he did not want to give a full explanation within the hearing of the women and children. "Have any of our team been injured?" asked Reeve. "Beyond bruising and cuts and a few nice gashes, no" said Cloud. "Galian found the entrance for us and as we entered the alarms went off. We thought they had detected our arrival but then discovered Katherine had escaped from where they were holding her" explained Cloud. "The guards were therefore caught in surprise by our attack and we were able to subdue them quite quickly. Some of them are dead". Reeve closed his eyes in a moment of silent relief – he had hated the thought of some of his staff being killed or seriously injured.
"We're doing a final search on the caverns now to make sure everyone has been rounded up" said Cloud "and squads will stay in place until the cavern has been investigated tomorrow and in particular all of Davie's records have been extracted and removed to the WRO. Reeve, the equipment he has here is top of the range, he must have had millions of gil invested in it not to mention the cost of running the cavern and paying his staff. He even had an air ship hidden outside" continued Cloud.
"When you see how remote this location is I have no idea how he managed to develop the laboratories he has here" he finished. "That will be investigated, we need to be sure that no one else has been involved with him" said Reeve. "I think it might be useful to talk to Rufus about this, Reeve – he may have some old company records that might throw a little more light on the matter, old Shinra must have been involved in some way I am sure" said Cloud. "Very well, I will brief him first thing in the morning and ask for his assistance in looking in to the background" said Reeve. They heard Cloud having some muffled words with someone else. "It looks like we have finished here for now Reeve – the backup squads will stay here, the air fleet is now on the ground outside of the cavern so they have full facilities on board" said Cloud. "G Squad is pulling out back to base we'll back in about an hour and 15 minutes". "Very well, we'll see you then – your families are here anxiously waiting for your return" concluded Reeve. "Oh and one last thing Reeve – Katherine has channelled her summons break" said Cloud and the line was disconnected.
Elizabeth and Edwin gasped and looked at each other – she had finally done it and was no longer at risk from Davies. Reeve smiled at them. "I am sure that is welcome news for you" he said gently. They nodded, Elizabeth wiping a few tears from her eyes. The intercom on Sturges desk buzzed again. "Sturge" he said answering it. "Director, the helicopter will be arriving outside the building in 22 minutes, medical staff are now in place and waiting to receive Katherine" said a female voice. "Thank you Sue, do you know where Ms Black is located at the moment?" asked Sturge. "She has been removed to a side room Sir and has G Squad guards both inside her room and outside of it". "Thank you" said Sturge and disconnected the call.
"Well" said Shera "I think I should get these little monsters down in to bed, it's been a long day for them. Arist, would you like to put Sierra in with them for now so that you can wait for Yuffie in here?" "That would be a great idea thanks Shera" he said walking over to lift his little daughter from Marlene's lap. Marlene whispered to Denzel who nodded. They both stood up. "We'll come too Auntie Shera and stay with them, then you can both come up here and wait for them to get back" said Marlene. Shera smiled at them "thank you my dears, we'll see the rest of you shortly" she said and they all left the room carrying young children or holding their hands, Denzel and Marlene carrying Zoe and Ben.
Rebecca stood up. "I'll take your bags down to your room for you now so they are there when you are ready" she said to Elizabeth and Edwin "no doubt you will want to wait until you have seen Katherine". The Bucks nodded and smiled at her in gratitude. Sturge looked up. "I think we will have Chrissie located down there with them too, Rebecca – perhaps you would escort her to her quarters to collect anything she will need" said Sturge. "Of course – come with me Chrissie, it won't take long" said Rebecca and she led Chrissie out of the room. G Squad security guards fell in to step in front and behind them as they exited the room – Chrissie was going to feel quite safe tonight.
Meanwhile on the helicopter the medics were continuing to monitor Katherine and were in contact with the senior doctor in the G Squad medical centre, who was giving them instructions for checks he wanted them to run during the flight. One of the medics pulled open one of Katherine's eyes and shone a light in to it before talking back in to his headset. He caught the eyes of the medic sitting across on her other side and they exchanged a glance. Vincent sat as close to Katherine as he could without getting in their way. His feeling of having her back was indescribable – he felt as if his life was once again worth living. "Thank you for your help today Galian" he said and could hear Galian panting in response. "And to you as well Chaos – I could not have moved to her fast enough to save her" said Vincent. "We will always protect her Host" said Chaos.
Vincent fell silent again, his eyes closed as he went over the events of the day. He could remember the sound of her voice when he located her in the cavern – Alex's Hate. That has to be one of her breaks, he thought. Then the summons break – Soul Summon, Chaos had been right in that respect. Vincent was still slightly stunned from the appearance and absolute power of the beast – it was nothing like he had expected. It had to be due to its Cetra links he assumed, although why the women in Katherine's family would inherit a summons break that originated from the Cetra he had no idea. Perhaps Nanaki would be able to help research it, if there was anywhere that would hold records of it, it would be Cosmo Canyon.
Rude turned his head around to Vincent "we'll be landing in about 16 minutes" he said and Vincent nodded.
Chrissie threw a few items of clothes and some bits and pieces into a bag and then headed back to G Squad with Rebecca. Trainees had watched her as she walked through the facility and arrived at her quarters but the security guards were letting no one near her – more for her privacy than any other reason. Just as she arrived back the doors opened and a large number of security guards came out and stood waiting next to the archway. Chrissie wondered what was going on and looked at Rebecca. "They will be getting ready for the helicopter to arrive in a few minutes" Rebecca smiled at her. "We'll head up to the main office so that you can wait with your parents and I will take your bag for you" she suggested and Chrissie smiled her thanks. As they entered the reception area, Sue pressed a button and the security gates clicked open allowing them to enter. Rebecca and Sue shared a warm smile and Rebecca continued on with Chrissie.
As they reached the main office Reeve looked up. "Ah Chrissie you are back. I think then that I will now take the three of you around to the medical centre, Katherine will be arriving shortly. Please be aware that although you will catch sight of her arriving, you will need to let the medical staff do their job before you are able to get close to her" said Reeve. Elizabeth's face scrunched up and a few tears leaked out of her eyes, but she nodded at Reeve in acceptance. Reeve then guided the three of them out of the office over to the medical facility and they stood next to the entrance waiting.
One of the doctors noticed them and headed over to speak to them. "Commissioner, Mr and Mrs Buck, I am Dr Hugh Williams. I will be heading up the treatment of your daughter this evening. As soon as she arrives we will need to take her in for some tests and some monitoring however I will ensure you are able to come in and see her as soon as possible. She has been kept under surveillance by the medics on the flight here and although she is not conscious at the moment, it is nothing to be alarmed at". One of the nurses gestured towards him. "Ah it looks as if the helicopter is about to land if you will excuse me. Ms Smart – would you wait with Mr and Mrs Buck please and see that they have anything they need". With that he nodded and then disappeared down in the lift with the rest of the medical team. Ms Smart was one of the administrative staff and she came towards them smiling. "How about we sit down over here so that we will be out from under their feet but you will be able to see Katherine arriving" she said gently and they followed her and sat down, Chrissie sitting with them. Reeve lounged against the wall – Vincent would be arriving with her and he wanted to see him.
Outside the security guards stepped out from under the archway and formed a circuit. The trainees in the area wondered what was going on. Then the beat of a helicopter's blades was heard and a few moments later the Turk's helicopter arrived overhead coming to land outside of the building. Once the blades stopped spinning Reno hopped out and slid open the rear doors. Vincent jumped out and moved to the side out of the way as the medical staff surged forward to help the medics. Katherine's stretcher was lifted out and placed on to the wheeled one next to the chopper and then they were off, moving at a fast pace with Vincent bringing up the rear at a brisk walk. Reno hopped back on board, the chopper took off and the security guards disappeared back inside with the doors closing behind them.
The medical team knew what it was doing and the senior doctor was in discussion with the medics as they moved along the corridor. The reached the entrance to the medical centre and Katherine's parents stood up and moved as close as they could, looking at her face as the stretcher moved past them. Then the medical team was inside the treatment room and doors swung closed. Vincent came up past the doors and took up a position leaning against the wall with his arms folded and his head faced down towards the floor.
Reeve walked over to him. "Vincent, welcome back" he said in greeting. Vincent's head raised up and he nodded at Reeve but said nothing. "How was she on the flight?" asked Reeve. Vincent glanced over to make sure Katherine's parents were not within earshot. "She has some bullets in her that will need to be extracted and lost a lot of blood, but apart from that seems to be ok. There is one thing though, Reeve". Reeve looked at him intently. "You will recall I mentioned the mako substance that Davies developed to enhance his life span by 50 years – the medics were doing regular checks on her eyes once the doctor instructed them too". Reeve didn't say anything but he looked at Vincent and clapped his hand on his shoulder. Vincent lowered his head again and Reeve realised he wasn't going to say anything else. Vincent was Vincent. He now needed to be able to rest there against the wall until he could see Katherine.
Reeve went over to the Bucks and sat down. "The sight of her arriving must have filled you with relief" he said smiling at them. Elizabeth nodded. "It will be even better once we have been able to go in and see her" she said "but just knowing that she is back here – Commissioner I can't tell you how grateful we all are" she said with tears once again welling up in her eyes. Reeve nodded "I understand". "Would it be alright if I spoke to Vincent?" Reeve nodded at her and she and Edwin walked over and spoke to him softly. Vincent looked up and unfolded his arms and straightened up as he listened to them. He said a few words and Katherine's parents nodded. Then Edwin held out his hand and Vincent shook it, Elizabeth stepped forward and gave him a brief hug and then the two of them returned to their seats leaving Vincent to take up his position again. They seemed to realise that he needed to be on his own for the moment.
After about 40 minutes the door opened and Dr Williams appeared. "Mr and Mrs Buck, Katherine is doing well. She does have some bullet wounds that, although not serious, need to be attended to in surgery and we will be taking her in shortly. I thought you might like to come and see her for a few minutes before we do" he said. They got up and walked in to the room behind him, Chrissie with them and were inside for about 5 minutes. Then they came out again smiling. Reeve went over to them. "She is still not conscious, but she looks ok – they are taking her in now and she'll be in for a couple of hours most likely" Elizabeth told them. "I know that you feel as if you want to sit here and wait but it will be some time before she comes around after surgery and then they'll be needing to do more testing and trying to get her to sleep. Why don't you go down to your room now and try and get some sleep and I'll have the medical centre come and get you when she's ready to see you" Reeve suggested. Elizabeth started to shake her head, but Edwin said "an excellent suggestion Commissioner, I think both of these ladies could do with some sleep at the moment and I know the medical staff will raise us as soon as we can see her again". "I'll walk over with you" said Reeve and they walked down the corridor to find their room. Vincent barely noticed them going, his mind was focused solely on Katherine.
Meanwhile the Highwind was landing and the rest of G Squad disembarked, heading towards their main office. They walked in and Arist came straight up to Yuffie and crushed her in to his arms, holding her as if he would never let her go. Shera met Cid halfway across the room and he held her close to him too. Hearing that Marlene was in the personal quarters Barret had already headed in that direction. Sturge and Reeve came out of Sturge's office to greet them all. "Good to have you all back and well done" said Sturge. "Where's Vincent?" asked Yuffie. "He's over at the medical centre waiting to be able to see Katherine. I think he wants to be alone at the moment" said Reeve. Yuffie nodded. "I think I am going to go to bed" she said "and we can debrief in the morning if that's ok". "Good idea Brat" said Cid and headed to the door holding Shera's hand "night all". Yuffie and Arist disappeared to go and get Sierra and go to bed. "I'll go see Denzel and sort the kids out and see you downstairs, Cloud" said Tifa kissing him and then nodding goodnight to Reeve and Sturge. Nanaki, Cloud, Zak and the three Lieutenants wandered in to Sturge's office. "Well, I suppose you'd like to hear what happened" said Cloud. Sturge nodded and handed them some coffee while Nanaki settled down to a bowl of water. "It went like this" and Cloud launched in to a description of the events of the last few hours.
Vincent stood in the dimly lit corridor outside the treatment room for three hours. Eventually the door opened and Dr Williams appeared. "I thought I might find you here, Vincent" he said. "How is she Hugh?" he said straightening up and unfolding his arms. "Come and see" said Hugh smiling. Vincent walked straight in and up to her bed, where one of the nurses was tucking her in and checking her IVs before walking off to a desk at the side of the room. Hugh came up behind Vincent. "She did come round after the surgery but was tired and dropped off again without having to be given anything to help her to sleep" Hugh told him. "How did her surgery go?" Vincent asked. "It was fine. Yes, she had bullets lodged in her but they were fairly close to the surface and extracted easily. You're a fighter, you will be able to process that thought rather easier than her parents will tomorrow, no doubt" he responded.
"She had also lost a fair amount of blood, but nothing like what she would have lost if you had not given her the elixir. I gave her a top up while she was coming round from surgery and she will be fine. She had some deep gashes on her feet – looked as if she had kicked down hard on something metallic and of course she'd obviously been moving around with bare feet, but we cleaned them out and put in a few stitches and again they will be fine, although no doubt a little sore tomorrow. The rest of her injuries were mainly bruises and small cuts, again we cleaned them all up and they will be fine. The bruise on her face is from a hard slap – it will have faded a lot by morning. I will be continuing to run some tests on her to see if there is anything else we need to pick up and hopefully tomorrow I'll receive a copy of anything that Davies did to her, but for now she's fine and mostly in need of sleep" concluded Hugh.
"What about her eyes?" said Vincent. "Her eyes are fine – we have been monitoring them to see if they give an indication on anything else going on inside of her, but as I say, hopefully tomorrow we'll get a copy of anything Davies may have done and then we'll be able to take it from there" said Hugh, with obviously no intention of discussing anything in more detail. Vincent nodded. "Can I sit with her?" he asked. "I thought you might like to do that Vincent – she will be asleep, but you are welcome to pull up a chair next to her. The nurse will be over at her station throughout the night so if you need anything or have any concerns, talk to her" he finished. "I'm going to go and write up my report now and then I'll be back in the morning to see how she's going. Dr Forest is on the night shift and will be through later to check on her". Hugh nodded at him and walked out of the room. Vincent pulled up a chair that was near the bed and sat as close to her as he could without disturbing her. He placed his hand over hers and sat there for the next few hours.