Chapter XII: Before the Storm
As the train entered the Timber station, he let his eyes wander around the cabin. The midnight train was always empty, and there were only the two of them inside the room. Most of midnight trains carried cargo shipments. It was no surprise to him that the ticket price for a passenger was cheaper by half.
It was one and half an hour since they left from Deling. Seifer sat near the window, letting his eyes traced the view outside. Quistis sat next to him, but after half an hour, her eyes fluttered shut and her body limped against his. When their train halted to a stop at their destination, her head was resting on his lap and he absent-mindedly stroked her hair. His other hand placed on the window frame supporting his chin, his mind was on the other SeeDs they were about to meet.
Seifer thought of how Cid acted when he told him about the mission, he was the one who would act on it, not that cold-hearted frigid black kitten. Seifer knew a lot about the mission Timber Owl carried out, he planned some of them. Nevertheless, he did not plan the mission for Squall. Hyne, was there no other choices? Balamb Garden had plentiful resources of SeeDs, and the one their smart-ass headmaster sent to kidnap the most important person in Galbadia was Squall?
Not only that! He grumbled. Chicken Wuss and Messenger Girl in his team? Wow. Just wow. Hyne fucking wow! Those idiots will kill themselves! If Squall hasn't done that to himself already, he's mentally suicidal!
The train door near their seat glided open. Seifer tapped his hand to Quistis's sleeping head gently, waking her up. The instructor looked so tired, so he let her sleep on his thigh. After all, Seifer used to have physical contact with girls, and he liked close range with women. Boys were another matter. He loathed when they stood in his private range, let alone touching him.
"Ng…" Quistis fluttered her eyelid open. She blinked a few times before realizing where her head was resting on. She sat up at once, staring at the man in surprise. The blond man stood up and reached for their bag on the cabinet above them. Quistis looked around and exhaled, decided to skip on the matter. She stood and accepted her backpack, following Seifer out to the station.
Seifer scanned his surroundings as soon as their feet met the railway platform. The Timber Owl train was supposed to be there. They never moved their base unless something important happened. Knowing how Zone was, Seifer knew kidnapping President was not that important to the teen leader to the point where he would order the train to leave after one failed attempt. If that were what happened, Timber Owl wouldn't have a permanent base location, since Seifer never saw them successfully done a big and important mission. The one they managed to execute was raiding the supplies for Galbadian soldiers' logistic, and that was when Seifer was still with them, yelling and taking charge over everything.
"Hide!" his captain whispered, and Seifer crouched down, crawling behind their train in the darkness of the night. He peeked out, studying four Galbadian soldiers walking into the train they just rode on. Quistis crouched next to him and kept her posture in battle stance, in case the soldiers noticed them. The four soldiers walked out of the train carrying one box of cargo each, marching to the city.
"Where do you think they're going?" whispered Seifer.
"…My guess? The cargo was for the man and our fish," Quistis replied. "It's too small to be weapons, probably food and clothes."
Seifer continued his search on the Timber Owl train. When he saw his target parked at the edge of the station, he nudged his captain. She moved her eyes to him as Seifer motioned to the train. "I'll go there."
Quistis turned her head to the train. After listing her choices, she said, "You go there, I'll follow the soldiers."
"What?" Seifer glared at her.
She stood up. "I said I'll follow the soldier. The mission is for our fish, not your resistance friends. Go and join them if you want, I give you permission to do so. I'll follow our target myself."
"Are you insane? You? By yourself?" Seifer stood up and groaned when she began to walk away from their hiding spot, obviously had no qualms about doing their mission herself. "Aren't you worried about the dead gunblade boy?"
She stopped her feet and said to him in a cold voice, "It has nothing to do with the mission. If he's dead, he is dead. So be it."
The tall blond raised his eyebrow, watching his captain's cold calculation. He saw her shoulder wavered a bit and sighed. "Alright, alright." Flicking his hand in the air, Seifer said, "I won't leave a lady alone on a mission. That's not how a true knight acts."
Quistis rolled her eyes. "Great, SIR Seifer." She started walking again, leaving the station with her newly appointed sir knight following her.
Seifer glanced at the Timber Owl train for the last time. Shaking his head and sighing, he decided to contact Rinoa after his mission was over. They were walking to the town when he looked down at his watch. It was three in the morning.
The new SeeD frowned and began to close one of his eyelids and open up the other, in an attempt to rest his tired eyes while walking silently through the streets of Timber.
-x—
Finally, Seifer was unable to stifle his yawn when they followed the soldiers entering the pub. Quistis noticed the blurry eyes of her tired companion. She looked around and wondered why the pub was still crowded even at half past three. The patrons were mostly soldiers. Some of them were drinking and others had gone drunk. Quistis noticed a young soldier walking to her, his face was red and he was too drunk to walk without stumbling. Seifer frowned and wrapped her shoulders in his arm, glaring to the soldier. After stopping in front of them, the soldier began to get nervous and gulped before walking away. Even when in their drunk state, some people still had their survival instinct.
Seifer threw his glare around the room, to anyone looking at his captain in craving looks. The pub apparently had small numbers of woman and some of them were middle age servers. The men looked away when he glared at them.
Probably this was the only time Quistis would be thankful that he was there. She walked beside him, crossing the room in silence with eyes studying the soldiers they followed before. The group they trailed was sitting at the corner of the pub. Seifer noticed this as well and gestured her to sit on the barstool.
The couple sat at the bar area. The bartender who watched their grand entrance rolled his eyes at them.
"Well…" the slim man said. "What do you want to drink? I suggest non-alcoholic, pal… won't be good if you're drunk."
Quistis and Seifer glanced at each other. They were only eighteen! Did the bartender just think they were old enough to drink?
Well, we look mature enough, thought Quistis.
Seifer said to the man, "Anything to eat?"
"Yeah, I can only cook bacon and eggs," the man said with a huff. What was wrong with his new patrons today? He was a bartender. This place was not a restaurant!
"That's good." Seifer nodded. "Two plates of that and a cup of double espresso."
"Make it two cups and one plate of salad if you have it," said Quistis.
The bartender shrugged to himself and muttered 'maybe I've got to be a cook' before leaving to the back room. Seifer moved his head close to her ear, pretending to kiss her while staring to the group behind her.
The young woman whispered to him. "Any sign of them leaving yet?"
"They just arrived here a few minutes before us." Seifer smirked, kissing her ear before moving his head away. Quistis blinked in surprise and narrowed her eyes to the smiling man. "Relax, Trepe. Let's just eat and rest ourselves before we burn out."
"Don't you dare do that again, Seifer," she mumbled in a low tone. "You always take chances on anything."
"Can you blame me?" Seifer grinned at her as the bartender walked out from the back room, setting their food in front of them. "It's not every day you can date in the pub with a girl you like."
Quistis halted her movement, staring at the man in shock. Did he just say that…?
Seifer chewed on the bacon, raising his eyebrow to her.
"What?" he said, muffled with food in his mouth. "You don't know that?"
"Did you by any chance just say that you..."
Seifer rolled his eyes. "I said it, Trepe. Close your mouth, flies will fly right in there."
Quistis shut her mouth and turned her head away from him, staring at the plate.
Is this for real…? She glanced to the man who just confessed, but he didn't seem to care. Seifer continued to sip on his espresso, munching on his egg as if nothing happened. After a while, he looked at her, annoyed.
"Eat, Trepe. I'll pay."
"I—" Quistis shook her head. "…I just have a strangest dream."
"While you're awake?" He was amused at her confused look.
"Yes… the strangest and scariest nightmare… I just dreamt that you said you have a fondness for me!" Quistis put her hand to her chest, exhaling in relief. "Thank goodness it's just a nightmare…"
He scowled at her. "Nightmare?" He snorted when the woman hurriedly focused on her meal. "Nice one, Trepe. I won't back off on that. You want me to say it again?"
She munched on her bacon and nodded. "Yes, Mr. Almasy? Is there any chances for this dialogue turn to be a nice and educated conversation?"
"Agh!" Seifer groaned, upset at her evasion. "I'll say it again. I. Like—"
"No!" She covered her ears with her hands. "This is a nightmare!"
"Damn it, Quis!" Seifer pulled her hand away from her ear. "I like you! I like Quistis Trepe! There!"
She crunched her eyes shut, covering her ears again. "This is a dream, a dream, a dream… The strangest nightmare… a dream…"
Seifer smacked his head in exasperation. After glaring at her for a while, he shook his head. "I'll say it again later. Just eat."
The instructor opened her eyes and sighed in relief. She pulled her hands away from her ears and reached for her plate, wishing for the time when he would say it again never came. If it was someone else other than him, she could just say sorry and refuse them gently. However, this was Seifer! The most arrogant jerk she ever knew! He would do anything and refuse to back off even with a harsh refusal.
Why me…? She whined to herself, why did I always fail to get what I want and attract bastard instead? Am I having the worst luck of all Gaia?
Lucky for her, Seifer couldn't read her mind.
-x—
-x—
"Quis…"
"Mmm…"
"Quis." Seifer shook her shoulder, waking her up from her sleep. "Wake up. We're leaving."
"…Leave?" Quistis murmured, her face still buried in her crossed arms on the bar counter. "Don't wanna…"
Seifer smiled and moved his head closer. He opened his lips and took her ear in his mouth, nibbling it. The sleepy woman yelped and jolted on her seat, became alert and awake at once. She opened her mouth to yell at him but he moved his head away and gestured to a spot with his head. The soldiers they were following just left the pub from the back door.
"Oh." She sighed. "How long have I been asleep?"
"At least three hours," this came from a bartender that had been watching them behind the bar. "It's seven in the beautiful morning, miss. How are you?"
Quistis's face flushed with embarrassment. She glared at Seifer. "You're supposed to wake me!"
Seifer crossed his arms and smirked, definitely enjoying her shame. "Why would I? By letting you sleep, we just had meals for free!"
Quistis frowned. "…What?"
The bartender brought his hand to his lips, hiding his smile. "You don't feel anything, Miss? He just sold you."
Quistis jumped from the bar seat, screaming in disbelief, "WHAT?" She looked down, checking her body in panic but she still wore her peach-coloured suit. "What did you do, you bastard?"
Seifer waved his hand in ignorance. "I just sold one stroke to your head for a hundred Gil. The soldiers want to caress that blonde hair so bad." He grinned. "You're a good little moneymaker, Trepe."
"YOU WHAT?" Her shout almost broke his eardrum. Seifer cringed and moved his head away when she lunged at him and shoved him with a surprisingly strong force. Seifer fell from the seat as the bartender calmly rested his arms on the counter to look at the scene closer.
The pub in the morning had some casual patrons who were also enjoying the interesting scene. All the soldiers had left at five, going home to take a bit of sleep before work. As Seifer said, they paid a lot of money just to caress her hair while she slept.
Seifer looked up with a grin as the instructor said with a trembling body, "I will kill you, Seifer Almasy. For Hyne's sake I will kill you!"
He laughed and rolled to his side on the floor when she charged at him. Hitting empty air, Quistis shot her learned-from-Squall death glare to her happy subordinate.
"Hey, easy Trepe…" Seifer stood up and opened up his hands. "You had some sleep, I'm not. I had to guard you while you're sleeping and that's not fair, right? So at least both of us are lucky in this…" He showed his straight teeth as the instructor took a deep breath a few times.
"You know…" she said through gritted teeth. "I am not talking to you."
Quistis shook her head and grabbed her backpack, stomping to the back door, leaving the amused Seifer and the patrons. Seifer kept smirking when he took his backpack and ambled to the door.
The bartender called him, "Hey! Here."
The slim man waved his hand, asking the young blond to come back. Frowning, Seifer walked back to the bar. He waited when the bartender pulled out a box from his pocket and showed the contents to him. Seifer stared at the pretty necklace in amazement. The necklace was made from pure silver; the pendant was made from round orange coral with a small white pearl embedded in the centre.
"Nice, right?" The bartender grinned. "Perfect gift for any upset lady, right?"
Seifer grinned back. "How much?"
"Five thousand Gil."
"Three."
"Deal."
-x—
Tapping her foot impatiently on the floor, Rinoa crossed her arms and said once again, "Are you guys done yet?"
Squall raised his hand up, stopping her question. "Wait."
"We have to go!"
He looked up to her from his crouching position on the floor. The squad captain replied to her warning in an annoyed tone, "SeeD Manual Number 27, Code 141: Waiting is the best action when you plan the next course of action in the unknown enemy territory."
Selphie rolled her eyes. She and Zell stood near Rinoa, who huffed and said with impatient tone, "But you guys are playing cards!"
Squall and Watts crouched across each other in the middle of the main cabin, Triple Triad cards spread on the floor in front of them.
"So?" said the captain. "SeeD manual shows the best course of action in every kind of situation, including civilian hostage, mass-murdering psychopath, baby birth, Chocobo racing and…" He put Ifrit card in the top left corner. "I won."
"Aaaaaaahhh Sirrr!" whined Watts when the SeeD captain took the card he had been glinting at from the first time they played two hours ago, Angelo's card. The one and only rare card he got from Rinoa as his birthday present. "Not that one, Sirrr!"
Rinoa glared to the ceiling, wondering about the SeeDs that were supposed to be professional and focused.
Well, he is in another kind of way….
Squall collected the card with winning looks glued to his face while Watts bowed his head low. He frowned when he saw two Angelo cards in the room. One was in his hand, the other stood near Rinoa. Oh, wait. It was the real one.
The real one?
Squall stared when Rinoa turned around and said to his squad members, "Right, let's go now."
The dog near her feet followed her owner in silence. Squall shoved his Cards inside his backpack and ran out, following three teens and one dog–one very visible large dog—who had left the train.
"Wait!" he yelled, making his group stop in their tracks and turn to him. "The dog's not coming!"
Rinoa tilted her head. She had lost her patience. "Excuse me?"
"I said the dog's not coming!" Squall motioned to the innocent female dog that tilted her head the same way her owner did, making them looked a bit too alike. "This thing is too visible!"
"This thing?" Rinoa growled. Zell and Selphie noticed this, glancing at each other and taking a step back. A few steps back, to be exact.
"This thing will blow our cover!" yelled Squall, trying to make his point across. "SeeD manual Number 43 Code 151: anything that will blow SeeD cover, including animal, tattoo, unique clothes and unfamiliar appearance, are to be excluded in—"
"Heartily Rules!" shouted Rinoa, raising one of her hands up, stopping the captain's speech at once. "Number one: wherever Rinoa goes, Angelo will go too!"
Angelo barked when she heard her name mentioned by her owner, waving her tail happily. Selphie glanced down to her clothes. She and Zell had changed their clothes, currently using the usual black T-shirts and jeans instead of her yellow jumper and his blue baggy pants. About the hair, it couldn't be helped. Her hair still curled up all the way and Zell was still on his spikes, but they did look normal. Somehow.
Squall stared at the dog and the stubborn girl back and forth. "But…"
"Number two!" Rinoa showed two fingers in her hand. "The card obsessed captain will NOT change Heartily Rule number one, whether it's raining, sunny or he just wants to play cards in between!"
"Obsessed?" That one brought his attention. "I'm not obsessed!"
"Yeah, Squall, you are," Zell said, looking away when Squall glared at him. "Let's go already…"
Squall glared to Selphie who said, "The captain's not obsessed with cards…."
There is a limit to lies, little lady.
There is never a limit for white lies to captain card-maniac Leonhart, Ifrit! Selphie smiled to Squall who nodded, satisfied for the answer he had forced out of her.
"Number three!" Rinoa kept adding the Heartily Rules. "The money I obtained for paying SeeDs was coming from my own account and Angelo's prize money for winning dog contests! Therefore, we both are your client! I demand the same treatment between the two of us!"
"That won't be hard," growled Squall as his client turned away and started walking to town. "That won't be hard at all."
To be continued…
