Phoenix: Chapter Twenty-eight
"Prepare yourselves, ladies and gentlemen. The silent alarm on this place was tripped, so we can speculate that there was some sort of forced entry."
The police sergeant barked his commands back through the tactical van. The vehicle sped towards the Odine Genetics Complex—off limits because of sensitive research—from their outpost on the outskirts of Esthar. The lab had been closed to anyone but the highest-cleared scientists twenty-plus years prior, due to bio-sensitive projects. Or so it had been said. The alarm triggered the police alert system soon after three a.m., and it took no longer than twenty minutes to arrive.
"Reports indicate there are only two inhabitants. Find them and make sure they are safe. Any suspects are to be neutralized with less-lethal force if at all possible." The van hit a bump in the road, knocking the sergeant off-balance for a moment. "Sixty seconds! Saddle up, people!"
The van skidded to a halt and the officers leapt out of the back, weapons drawn. The sergeant took point, leading his team up to and through the front gate. He silently motioned to the officer at the front of the line to move up. She took over the leading position and went ahead, leaving the others to guard her rear. She approached the door, kicked in and left ajar.
"Forced entry, sir." She spoke clearly but quietly into her radio headset, broadcasting her response to the rest of the team. The sergeant joined her and motioned for the other team members to follow as they entered the building.
"Blood on the floor…and signs of a struggle."
The group split up, two officers following the sergeant down the bloody hall, and the other two going down the opposite hallway, towards the employee quarters. "Remember, only two people are reported to work and live here. Find them." The sergeant pointed his motioned down the adjacent hall. "Move out, people."
A young rookie officer spoke up. "Only two? Why the hell would Odine only have two staff members in such a huge place?"
The sergeant shot him an annoyed glare. "Shut up and concentrate on the investigation. Who knows why Odine did the things he did? Now get moving."
The teams began their sweep of the building. The sergeant took the rookie and the female officer and headed down the hall that looked like it had been witness to a horrible struggle. "Look at all this blood." The rookie covered his mouth as if he were going to vomit.
The officers came upon a slightly cracked door, adorned with a bloody handprint. The two younger police stood on each side of the door, backs to the wall and guns drawn. The sergeant pushed the door open carefully with the toe of boot, just barely peeking his head inside to survey the scene.
"We've got a body."
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Raine put a hand over her eyes, shielding them from the bright overhead lights of her bedroom. Her head felt fuzzy, and her mouth was as dry as cotton. She tried to remember how she had fallen asleep with all the lights blazing, and why she was still dressed in her day clothes. Her brow furrowing, she set the photo of Squall down, which was still clenched tightly in her hand, and rubbed her hands across her face and eyes in an attempt to rouse herself. Everything felt "off" and her body ached like she hadn't moved for hours. Groaning, she rolled onto her side and stared at her clock. Thinking her eyes were deceiving her, she squinted to get a better look.
Three-forty-six a.m.
The memories of the previous night came flooding back to her and she flew into rage. "That son of a bitch!"
Her mind began to race. How could she have slept for almost eight hours? Why didn't Ash wake her when her transportation from Esthar arrived? She leaped from her bed, furious. She made up her mind that she would find Ash, who had obviously not contacted anyone in Laguna's camp, and beat him senseless. Then she would contact Esthar herself.
It was just as she was approaching the door to the living room when she heard voices. Voices she did not recognize. She pushed her body flush with wall and put her ear on the closed door.
"…looks like someone uses this suite….check the bedroom…"
Raine panicked. She suddenly wished she had Ash's gun. Her mind went over different scenarios as to who the intruders might be. Were they criminals? Laguna's men? Police? Her eyes darted around the room quickly, looking for a heavy object she could use as a bludgeon to defend herself. She was not about to take any chances. Her eyes rested on the antique brass clock Ash had given her.
She swiftly zipped to the bedside table, grabbing the timepiece. She was back at her sentry position at the door within seconds. Raine raised the clock and readied herself for battle.
The door opened slightly and Raine could see the muzzle of an assault rifle poking around the side. She gasped quietly, terrified. She clutched the clock with trembling hands, saying a quick prayer before she leapt out and smashed it down onto the weapon, knocking it from the hands of her assailant.
"Esthar Police! Hands up!"
Raine obeyed, overcome with relief at the sight of the officer. The clock clattered to the floor, breaking the glass face. "Police! Thank Hyne you're here! I'm being held prisoner, help me! Take me to Laguna!" She sobbed, unable to wipe her falling tears from her eyes with raised hands.
The officer who still had a weapon kept it trained on Raine as his counterpart picked his rifle up from the floor. Raine lowered her gaze to her chest, where a dot from a laser sight rested over her heart. The rear officer spoke first. "Laguna? You mean 'President Loire?' Who are you and why do you believe you're being imprisoned?"
Raine, hands still held high, let the floodgates open. "My name is Raine Loire and Doctor Ash…"
The front officer held up a hand to silence her in mid-sentence. "Wait, did you just say your name is 'Loire?'"
"Yes! Laguna is my husband and Doctor Ash has been keeping me here against my will for over twenty years!"
The two officers exchanged suspicious glances. "There's no way you can be the President's wife. She died decades ago."
Tears streamed down Raine's face. "You're right, I did die decades ago! I was used in a sick secret project of Doctor Odine's. Find Ash and make him confess!" Her arms began to shake, becoming exhausted from holding them aloft. "Can I please put my arms down?"
The front-most officer nodded and Raine dropped her arms, letting them rest across her chest. The rear officer spoke into his radio. "We found a survivor, sir. She claims she's the President's wife."
Confused, Raine dared to speak up. "Survivor? Where's Ash? What happened?"
The cop waved her off so he could continue talking. "Yes, sir…I understand. What can I tell her?" He listened intently. "Yes sir, affirmative."
Raine began to wring her hands. "What's going on?"
"There's been a break-in. Doctor Ash is dead."
Raine stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. A part of her was angry that Ash would never be held accountable for his actions. She was also scared, because the only two people who knew about her and the project were now deceased. Another portion of her mind was relieved that Ash could no longer hurt her, and a tiny, almost minuscule part of her emotions felt sadness, even though he had crushed everything in her life the night before.
"He's…he's dead?" Raine moved her hands to her mouth, covering it. "How?"
The back officer eyed her. "We were hoping you could tell us. It's a big mess out there…a lot of damage. You didn't hear anything?"
Raine wracked her brain, trying to come up with any evidence that would help the officers. "I didn't hear a thing. The last thing I remember is falling asleep around eight o'clock. I've never slept that soundly in my life. The next thing I know, you guys are here." She fought for the courage to ask the officers her next question. "How did he die?"
"It appears that he was beaten."
Raine sat down on her bed, head in hands. "Oh Hyne, did you catch the person who did it? Why would someone do such a thing? It's not like we have anything of value here."
The officer shook his head. "Don't know, ma'am. You said something about finding Ash and making him confess. Confess to what, exactly?"
"I told you, he and Odine had a secret project—me. I'm sure his files have all the information you need. But, who knows, I couldn't trust him any further than I could throw him." She lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I just recently regained all my memories—after having them be nonexistent for over twenty years. I was lied to…Ash told me Laguna was dead years ago to keep me from trying to contact him." She stood again and approached the officer, taking one of his hands in hers. "Please take me to Laguna! I'm so frightened."
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"Loire's wife, huh? I thought she was dead." The police sergeant turned to face his colleagues. "Any of those file cabinets say the name Raine? Or Raine Loire?"
He watched as the rookie moved to step over the body. He skimmed the front of the drawers, stopping at one labeled "Raine." "Yessir, right here. 'Raine.' There's also a few labeled, 'Project Perfect Phoenix.'"
The sergeant got on his radio. "Dispatch? Send a meat wagon, and contact Ambassador Seagill in the President's office. Get him out here ASAP…and don't inform the President."
He stepped over the corpse on the floor and began to flip through random folders in the cabinet. The two younger officers watched silently. After several moments of skimming, the sergeant finally spoke. "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle…she's telling the goddamned truth."
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A/N: The sergeant in this chapter is based on Sgt. Apone from Aliens. I imagined him looking and acting exactly like him, and I just had to add his line, "Saddle up, people!" Just a little tidbit.
