Going to Ground

Don Dillon, one of the senior lieutenants of the new Don Corneo, (Jimmy), looked up as someone knocked on his office door.

"Yes?" One hand crept to his holster. High ranked though he was, he wasn't trusted by the new management.

One of his guards poked his head around the door. All his immediate entourage owed him their lives, earning his absolute trust.

"'Notch'" the guard smiled "is here to see you."

"To see me?" The newest officer ranked enforcer was thoroughly cowed, one of Don(Jimmy's) creatures, to the point where he was being used as a battering ram. And Don (Dillon) had hung him over that fire, by turning down the nomination to Don (ie. the figurehead of the Corneos ). There was no way 'Notch' would think much of him.

"Let him come in. But one of you stay too."

Pause, and then 'Notch' entered, after surrendering his holster.

"So, newbie, what can I do for you?"

"I need to get out of the city."

"Heh, tired of being the first to charge, huh? Getting out of the city isn't easy you know. It cost money to get a gate pass. You've got a friend who's a guard, right? Why not ask her?"

"Firstly, she doesn't have authorisation to leave the city. Second, I doubt we're still friends, on account of the small matter of me accidentally killing a Shinra employee in front of her. I'm now wanted by the Shinras. So, legitimate threat enough for you?"

"What the fuck? Why'd you do that?"

"Like you said, I'd gotten sick of being fodder, so I tried to get arrested. It backfired. So now, I need help. Interested?"

"Can you think of a reason why I shouldn't just hand you over to the Shinra if they come looking for you?"

"They won't care that much about me. And if you help me out with this, I'll be your man from now on, heart and soul, Don."

Oh, you clever fucker. You know I like building an entourage.

"You say that now, but would you change your mind if Jimmy glares at you next week?"

"I won't be able to even if I want to. A betrayal like that, my reputation would never recover from. No one would ever trust me again. You know that."

...True. But there's an even shot I'll just hand you over to the Shinras. Impressive that you didn't just cut and run.

"Okay, then. I'll help you, disturbingly worded though that promise was. But, only because I put you in your position in the first place. Getting someone out of the city, hunted by Shinra, is not easy to do, so I'm going to hold that over your head for the rest of your life."

'Notch' suddenly smiled.

"What?"

"Nothing. I accept."

"Fine. What do you know about Chocobos?"

"They're expensive, noisy and vicious?"

"Perfect. Be downstairs in an hour. I can tell you're going to have fun with this."

The truck rattled to a stop. Notch stretched. It'd been a long journey, wrapped up in the back of a shipment of steel fence posts. Given that there were no manufactories in lower Sector Six, Don (not the Don) must have pulled some serious strings. Or blackmailed the guy who ran the weapon shop.

The journey alone was educational. Automotives were rare in the slums, on account of choking fumes hugging the plate, but the sounds from outside...At first, there was the usual dried packed earth, but the sound changed somehow the further they went, become softer, like they were travelling on carpet. It was odd.

The doors opened. Notch stepped behind the posts.

"We're here, you can come out." He stepped out. And screamed, arms flying up to cover his head.

"Slums? That's going to be a problem..."

"Yeah? Well here's another problem. I know why Pride of Wutai didn't win the Silver Cup last month, and I know Dio lost 50K on that race."

"...Fine, bring him in."

Still shading his face, Notch glanced down. "Is it okay to step on this?"

"It's grass, dude. It practices non-violence."

Notch duly stepped on the green carpet. "This feels weird..."

"Oh, God, you sent me some kid who's never left Midgar. What the fuck am I supposed to do with him?"

"Whatever you like!"

"Slum kids are high maintenance, I'm not running a shelter here."

"Yeah, but they're tough fuckers. Why not try him out and see?"

A pair of sunglasses bounced off Notch's chest. After putting them on, he could lower his arms without flinching.

"You'd better get inside. Welcome to the Chocobo Farm, lackey."

Choco Bill (seriously, that was the name he gave) was quick to usher his newest employee into the barn, either as concern for his wellbeing or a desire not to have a gang fugitive seen on his farm.

"Guess I'd better keep you indoors for the moment. What's your name?"

"...Eric."

"Okay then, Eric, there's three things you need to know if you're going to stay here long. One, we're going to have to hide you from visitors. If I'm found sheltering a Shinra fugitive there'll be hell to pay. Two, Chocobos look nice, but three foot serrated talons fucking hurt. This is NOT an empty warning; if a Battle charger swipes at you, you'll be lucky to break bones. So keep your mind on what you're doing. Thirdly," –he reached into a drawer set into the wall of the barn, withdrawing a whip with multiple strands and three inch barbs, ", this is called a Six-tail. We can't use it on the birds any more, animal cruelty regulations, you know. A skilled operator can remove a fair patch of someone's skin before they finish, I once had a med-student in here tell me she could see and identify most of the internal organs by the time I was done."

Eric sighed internally. He was truly getting sick of being threatened, directly or not.

"My granddaughter will be working with you. I expect you to act with due courtesy. If I find a single look I don't like, or bruise she can't explain, there will be consequences."

"Look, Bill, I happen to work for the Corneos. I'm not Don Corneo, and unless the future is really fucked up, I never will be. All his high rankers are dead, and after what happened to him, we're the most celibate clan in the city right now! You've nothing to worry about, believe me."

"I'll be watching."

"Be my guest."

Seriously, how stupid does he think I am?

Stupid enough to kill a Shinra Employee in front of a Grunt.

...Fair comment.

Bill stared at him for quite a while, then looked down. "Fine. Chole!"

A younger girl stepped out from a Chocobo stall. "Hi."

"Any questions, ask her. I'll be watching." Bill walked to the opposite end of the barn, not bothering to hide that he was keeping a close eye on them.

"So they didn't call you 'Choco Chole'? I'm surprised."

"You get the name after an initiation ritual, after you prove yourself a master of the 'Way of the Chocobo'."

"You're making that up."

Her teeth flashed. "Maybe."

From his position near the door, Bill's stare sharpened. " Chole! Be careful! You don't know where he's been!"

"It's fine. I raised most of these birds by hand, If I give the order they'll tear him to shreds."

Well, that explains that. I did wonder why he didn't ankle bracelet me or something.

After a moment, Bill left the barn. Chole handed Notch a hay fork from a rack.

"You and me are the boring menial labourers, we do the grunt work. Which, for now, means cleaning out the empty stalls. Come on, let's go."

"Should be fun." He took off his sunglasses. "I guess it's time..." -he redonned them- "to get to work."