Darkness was complete around her. She could hear water dripping somewhere behind her and the measured pounding of marching feet somewhere beyond her feet. She was lying on something soft. Her hands were bound tightly behind her back.
Quistis slowed her breathing, concentrating on listening for other sounds in the room. She waited for a minute, trying to hear other breathing in the room. The only noises continued to be the dripping water and the pounding feet.
Her eyes opened slowly, gazing directly at a framed picture of her and Seifer that had been taken to make their cover house seem more realistic.
Those Galbadian sons of bitches were using her house as a base. Her bedroom had become her prison cell. She rolled over onto her other side and looked toward the bathroom. The sink faucet was dripping. The marching was still pacing back and forth in front of her door.
Moving quietly, she rolled off the edge of the bed onto her feet. She tried to move her hands. They had been bound with duct tape and could barely move. She looked carefully around the room, looking for something she could use to cut the tape. Her eyes fell on the framed photo on the nightstand. She went over to it and turned her back on the frame. Using her fingers, she picked it up and moved quickly and quietly into the bathroom.
Closing the door quietly with her foot, she deposited the picture on the counter and awkwardly got a towel out of the cabinet. Quistis dropped the towel on the ground by the counter and spread it out with her foot. She knocked the picture frame off the counter with her elbow and planted her shoe on the back of it firmly. She dimly heard the glass break and lifted her foot. Using the toe of her shoe, she moved the frame away from the square of broken glass that now lay on the towel.
She lay down beside the towel awkwardly without the use of her hands. She picked out a large enough piece and kept her eyes locked on it. She rolled onto her side, back facing the towel, and tried to remember where the piece she needed was. Her fingers skittered gingerly over the edge of the towel, touched a small shard of glass and cautiously kept moving. Finally her fingers found the piece she was looking for and she carefully pulled it out and scooted herself away from the towel.
Her fingers twirled the piece, trying to find a sharp edge to cut the tape. As it turned in her hand, a corner dragged across the center of her palm and cut her deeply. She winced but kept going.
An edge came into contact with the tape and she slowly began to saw the duct tape. She allowed herself a smirk as she heard the tape begin to rip. She began wiggling her arms, trying to force her wrists apart. The tearing continued and with a pop, her wrists were free.
She yanked the duct tape off her wrists and threw it to the side. Blood was dripping off her hand onto the floor and with a grimace she wiped it off her palm with a rag. A fresh rag was torn into strips and wrapped around the cut.
A quick check outside the bathroom to make sure she was still alone revealed that she was and she quickly sprinted to the room's phone.
Surely the idiots wouldn't have left a working phone in here with her. Holding her breath in anticipation, she lifted the receiver, holding her finger on the button so the phone wouldn't make a noise as it connected.
Her finger slid slowly off the button and she waited, listening intensely. To her surprise she could hear two men talking.
"So, what are we going to do with the SeeD woman?" the first voice asked.
There was a pause before the second man responded, "We've contacted the Garden and they were told that if they want to get her back they have to surrender their sorceress. Either way, we'll kill the SeeD and attack the Garden."
Quistis quickly slipped her finger back over the button, cutting off the connection.
She had to get out of here.
Squall Leonhart was sure Seifer was carving a permanent track in the carpet with all the pacing the tall blonde was doing. Rinoa was seated in a chair next to Squall's desk, her worried eyes locked on the muttering blonde man.
"What are we going to do?" Seifer asked for the millionth time. Squall sighed and shook his head.
"I still don't know, Seifer. There's no way of knowing where they have her or even if she is still…" his voice trailed off at the murderous look he was instantly given.
"Don't even think it," Seifer demanded, his finger pointing angrily. With a frustrated groan, he resumed his pacing, muttering to himself.
Rinoa looked sympathetically at her boyfriend. He returned her gaze and reached over to take her hand.
"Squall," she began slowly, "Don't freak out or anything. This is just an idea. What if I gave myself up...?" Instantly Squall's jaw dropped to protest. Rinoa silenced him quickly with her free hand over his mouth.
"Just listen. No talking," she commanded, looking over at the anxiously listening Seifer, "From either of you."
"What if I gave myself up to them long enough for you guys to get Quistis back and then you guys can come save me?"
The guys both stared at her for a long moment. They glanced at each other, as if to assure themselves that the other man had also heard the same thing.
"Rinoa," Seifer started slowly, "That's a really noble plan but we can't turn you over to them. They are going to kill you if they get you."
Squall was nodding enthusiastic approval of the other man's objections behind Rinoa's hand. She removed it and he instantly grabbed it.
Squall's protests were cut off before he could begin by Seifer's cell phone ringing. Rinoa turned her head to look at the blonde SeeD. Seifer, growling in frustration, was patting his pockets, looking for the phone.
He finally pulled it out on the fifth ring. He flipped it open and hit a button, not looking at the caller ID.
"Hello?" he asked quickly, anxious to get back to planning a rescue. He almost dropped the phone when he heard Quistis' voice whisper his name.
"Are you okay? They haven't hurt you, have they?" he asked quickly, in one breath.
Rinoa and Squall glanced at each other and he squeezed her hand as tears welled up in her eyes. Squall pulled her into his lap, hugging her soothingly. The caring sorceress was really worried about her captured friend.
"Seifer, listen, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Tell Squall, whatever happens, do NOT give Rinoa to them. They plan to attack the Garden either way." She wisely left out the part about their plan to kill her either way.
"And Seifer, be careful. I don't want…" the phone abruptly cut off and Seifer began cursing angrily.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Rinoa asked anxiously from her seat on Squall's lap.
Seifer shook his head in frustration.
"The phone cut off. But she told me that the Galbadians are planning to attack the Garden regardless of what we do."
Squall nodded in understanding, holding Rinoa closer unconsciously.
"I'm going after her," Seifer declared, staring at his commander without flinching. Blue eyes never wavered from green as the SeeD leader nodded his consent.
"But how do you know where she is?" Rinoa asked in confusion.
"Caller ID," the blonde man said confidently, raising his phone in his hand. He flipped the screen open and hit a few buttons.
"Shit. Those assholes," he cursed angrily, "Those sons of bitches are using our house as a base."
Squall frowned and Rinoa gasped.
Seifer was moving towards the door to Squall's office before either of the couple could say anything.
"Be careful," Squall called out after him, echoed by Rinoa.
Quistis was huddled down beside the bed, whispering into the phone receiver when she heard the footsteps stop outside. Quickly, she hung up the phone, replacing it on the nightstand. Moving lightly, she crossed the room and hid herself in the corner behind the door.
Not ten seconds after she had flattened herself against the door it swung open.
A confused guard made his way cautiously into the bedroom, peering around for the supposedly incapacitated woman that was supposed to be lying on the bed.
The perplexed man didn't even hear her coming before he was unconscious, falling toward the floor. She caught the body by the back of the man's coat, dragging him out of the doorway.
A quick search of his pockets found nothing of interest to her. Some strips of towel were employed to bind the man's hands. His body was dumped unceremoniously on the bed and she left, cuffing him behind the ear again to make sure he stayed unconscious.
A quick glance down the hall ensured that she was still alone. Quickly, she walked down the hall towards the living room. The sound of voices stopped her in her tracks. Worse, they sounded like they were coming towards her. With a sigh she moved into the hall closet, waiting.
Three quick kicks and several punches later the two men that had been coming towards her room were laid out on the floor. Their bodies were stuffed into the closet and Quistis continued making her way towards the living room.
It proved to be empty. Quistis bolted out the front door, thanking Hyne for the stupidity of her captors.
The spaces between the suburban houses provided an easy way for the escaping SeeD to avoid notice as she made her way down the street.
The SeeD Transport ship was speeding along the water, heading at top speed for Timber. Seifer was sitting behind the controls, nervously tapping his fingers on the control panel.
He was lucky to have gotten away from Balamb in the craft. If Garden hadn't stored the boats at the Balamb harbor he would never have gotten it away from the school itself.
At the speed he was traveling now he would reach the town of Timber in another twenty minutes.
A patrol of Galbadian soldiers forced Quistis' escape to be cut short as she had to duck into the pub to hide from them. She made herself remain calm as she sat down at the bar, keeping a constant eye on the door.
A voice was dimly heard behind her and she absently waved it away, thinking that it was the bartender. A hand on her shoulder had her swinging around faster than blinking, knocking the man behind her onto his ass. The man's partner was quick to raise his hands in surrender, gazing fearfully at the mercenary woman.
"I'm sorry to scare you Ms. Trepe. We just wanted to help," Zone pleaded. Quistis hissed to silence him as he picked himself up.
"Be careful saying that name in here," she warned him. Glancing carefully around them, the three moved further back into the pub, seating themselves at a booth.
"So, what are you two doing here?" Quistis asked. The two Forest Owls just looked at each other, shrugging.
"We saw you running down the road and decided to follow you. Thought you might be in trouble," Zone explained, glancing at her nervously.
"What's wrong, sir…err…ma'am?" Watts piped up.
Quistis glanced around her warily before leaning closer to the resistance members.
Seifer peered cautiously down the street as he walked through the town. He had had to ditch the boat on the beach outside of the town and walk in on foot. Now he was heading towards the house where his partner was being held.
A cautious voice in his head warned him that there was no way he could expect to break into the house without escaping notice and there was no way he could expect to make it out of there alive without help. But who did he know in Timber that could help him?
As the answer came to him he changed directions. More than likely he would find the two he was looking for in the pub.
The dimness inside the bar prevented Seifer from seeing who had thrown their arms around him but the familiar smell of raspberries told him exactly who it was. Over her shoulder he could see Zone and Watts, the two people he had come to find, standing up out of a booth.
Seifer pulled back a little but was unable to speak as Quistis pressed her mouth to his. After a moment she broke the kiss and pulled back a little.
"It's good to see you too," Seifer breathed as he looked at her. "How did you get out of there? I was coming to rescue you," he asked with a confused look.
Quistis just rolled her eyes, "I'm a SeeD too remember? I can take care of myself," she responded.
But her hand was resting in his, holding on to him tightly. That told him all he needed to know.
AN: YAY! I updated! Hope you enjoy it. Please Review!! It would be much appreciated.