Chapter Eleven: Under Midgar Lights
I used to live in Sector 6. I had a cute little apartment seven blocks from the train leading to the station closest to Shinra. Of course, I had a motorcycle, so I never took the train. The streets were broken, chunks concrete and twisted metal lying wherever they'd originally fallen. The Planet was trying to reclaim the city. Scrubby looking moss struggled for life in pockets of dirt and sand. Wolf trails wound through the streets and into the abandoned buildings.
I stuck to the shadows. Even with the power back on, the majority of the streetlights had been destroyed. And even if they hadn't, I'd walked these streets enough times to know where the light didn't fall. The number 6 reactor was two blocks from my old apartment. So I used that as my pretext for going home.
The building was hell on the inside. There were a few sets of human remains in the hallway, skulls crushed, bones picked clean by scavengers. The elevator call button was lit up, but I ignored it in favor of the stairs. The building didn't really seem all that stable.
My apartment was the corner unit on the fifth floor. It was locked. I'd long since lost the keys, but I didn't have an alarm system. The deadbolt wasn't engaged, so I simply broke the lock and entered. Everything was covered with a thick coat of dust.
I ignored the leather sofa where I had once entertained the great Commander Rhapsodes himself. Wasn't that a sad, sad night anyway? The night I realized that Zack would never ever be mine. And speaking of Zack, I realized with a sudden pang that I hadn't seen him since the day I fought Kunsel and met Cloud. He was just gone.
His absence hurt terribly, but not as terribly as forgetting about him hurt. How could I have been so busy as to forget him? My eyes scanned the room, lingering on the liquor cabinet. Through the film of dust covering the glass, I could just make out a half full bottle of liquor.
Tempting.
I headed into the bedroom. Rhapsodes had been here too. I shook the memory and knelt by the bed, reaching under it for the parts of my past I hadn't completely given up on. I pulled out a white and pink plastic jewelry box with a cheap fake gold clasp. The box had come from my mother. I popped the clasp and a plastic dancer popped up, spinning to the tiny sound of some happy-princess music.
Inside were my keepsakes. I tucked my first summon materia into my jacket pocket. I've only used it once for my first murder. I also took a photograph of me and Zack and Cloud and Kunsel and Luxeriere. Me and my SOLDIERs. Zack was grinning like the devil himself. I tucked the picture into my pocket with the materia. There was an old heavy locket too, but I left it behind. Inside there was a photo of my mom and dad on their wedding day . . . and I didn't need that memory.
I dialed Tseng's number again. He didn't answer. I told him I was close to the reactor now. I was putting my phone to silent. I would message him any breaking news. If something happened to me at least he would have some clue what I had seen.
..
As a Turk, I spent a good deal of time in Shinra mako reactors. They're all built the same. I used Rude's access codes. Mine were probably deactivated for years, and Rude never changed his password. Well, that's not exactly true. He had two passwords. Anytime there was a forced change he would flip to the other one. I got lucky and picked the right one on my first try.
Inside looked like a friggin' mess. Most of the circuits to the reactor were overwhelmed. I surmised that when powering the Sister Ray, there had been something of an overload. From the reports, all seven reactors spewed green mako energy into the air, bursting like volcanoes. I used the maintenance access hatch and headed down a ladder into the bowels of the facility.
I heard voices after not too long. I slipped closer. I'd scored 92% on my stealth scores in the simulator. It had been one area I never wanted to be deficient in again. Maybe if Kunsel hadn't spotted me I wouldn't have had to fight him.
There were three men outside the main reactor. All three were dressed in SOLDIER uniforms. Two seconds and one third. I retrieved a pair of binoculars with a built in camera and zoomed in on their faces. I didn't know the third, but I knew the seconds. Luxeriere and Stormbanks. Stormbanks was an overconfident asshole. Luxeriere was one of Zack's okay-friends. Probably two steps below Kunsel on the buddy ladder.
They weren't making any effort to be quiet. Stormbanks had both of his swords out and was sweeping them through the air lazily. "I hope someone does see us. I haven't gotten to fight anything besides stupid razorweed in a week. The commander treats us like a bunch of Wutai mud-monkey ninja girls."
"Shut up, man," the Third said. "I hear Strife sometimes is in the slums. Visiting a Church or something. Rumor says that he fought Sephiroth here." He shivered visibly. "And won."
"Funny thing about rumors is that they're just that, rumors. Not based on fact."
"What? You want to fight him?"
Stormbanks snorted. "Strife failed out of SOLDIER. That makes him less than you Roger. At least you passed the entrance exams."
Luxeriere pushed Roger the Third Class out of the way. "I'd rather not fight Strife. But I'm more worried about the Turks. They got eyes everywhere."
"They've gone soft," Stormbanks sneered. "Tseng's getting grey hair. Besides, their top two guys just got picked up in Cosmo Canyon. The Commander will take care of them pretty quick."
I messaged Tseng. My heartbeat picked up a quicker rhythm. They had Reno and Rude.
Luxeriere tapped a couple of keys on the portable computer they had plugged in. "Yeah, well, it looks like the download is at 70%. Just a few more minutes and we can kill the power."
They had another team somewhere. Probably at Shinra HQ. I needed to know what they were downloading. And I had to stop them from getting a full read. I messaged Tseng everything I knew. I drew my handgun, drew a bead on Stormbanks and pulled the trigger.