Her eyes narrowed slightly, studying him. Determining just how seriously he meant those words- and how seriously she should take them. Most wouldn't. Threats- no matter how menacing they sounded- held little danger when coming from an unarmed man locked in a cell. Nothing more than the rabid bark of a dog on a chain. Most of the time, anyway.
Chains break. And rest assured, bitch, I will make good on my promise the first opportunity I get.
"You're wasted on Shinra, Trae," Danita said at last. "Those fools didn't know what they had." With that, she whistled loud enough to be heard clear across the warehouse. A moment later, Bevan and Jules were back. She gestured to him. "I've changed my mind. Bring him out- and carefully, mind you."
The pair of thugs weren't happy about that last part. Bevan was particularly eager to pay Trae back for spoiling his fun earlier. But orders were orders, and he did as he was told. Wedged between him and Jules, Trae was escorted out to the warehouse main floor. Back to the place where this nightmare began yesterday. It was hard, but he didn't let his steps falter as he was brought closer to the dreaded machinery.
Edzel paused his fussing with the various wires to shoot Danita a querulous look, asking, "Is this another change in plans, High Maven?"
"A minor adjustment."
"I'll need to remain focused to ensure this is done properly. No distractions."
"Trae has reconsidered his options and has agreed to be cooperative," she assured him, unperturbed by the scientist's disapproving tone. She glanced in his direction with a meaningful smile. "Isn't that right, Trae?"
"So long as you keep your end of the bargain," he told her. "Now call off your dogs."
A moment of consideration, and then she nodded. The punishing grip on his shoulders and wrists released, leaving Trae free to move. Only then did he dare look Noel in the eyes. Anguish there. Anguish that had little to do with his own pain.
"What have you done, Trae," he murmured in a horrified whisper.
"What I had to."
"You can't make this about you and me- there's so much more at stake."
He took a step closer to test how long of a leash he'd be given. This one put him only an arm's length away. And while his primary interest had been getting closer to Noel, Trae realized he was now within reach of the instrument cart as well. So while he kept his eyes trained forward, his periphery vision parsed out the array of tools. Meanwhile, on the far side of the chair's restraints, that wretched Incavia sphere was waiting to siphon the sum of Noel's life energy. Standing between, Trae saw an opportunity to influence that outcome.
A terrible opportunity.
Seizing it would be a risk, where the consequences of failure were no less severe than those of success. Trae had only seconds to decide which of those he was willing to accept. Really, there was only one way to answer, and so he shuffled forward another half-step. He expected that to prompt Danita to order her minions to drag him back. But as she remained silent, he kept his focus on Noel.
"I don't care."
"Trae- you have to. You have to do what's best for everyone."
Oh Noel.
Trae leaned close and laid a hand against his cheek, ignoring sneering murmurs from behind him. Met Noel's pale green eyes with a steadfast look that he hoped would communicate what he couldn't afford to say aloud. And because he couldn't know how much longer Danita would let this scene play out, he chose his next words with care.
"You know I love you, Noel. Right? Should have said it more, but I hope you knew."
"I knew. And whatever happens- I'm glad to hear you say it. And to tell you that I've loved you and the time we had together."
"Me, too." He exhaled and whispered, "Goodbye, Noel."
Noel's answering farewell had barely left him when Trae snatched the largest scalpel from the instrument tray and slashed it deep enough to sever his lover's carotid artery. Shock registered first, but in the following seconds as he bled out, a flash of relief and gratitude passed between them. Around him, the warehouse echoed with panicked, angry shouts. Trae paid little attention to them, holding his gaze until he knew Noel was gone.
At least he's free. Won't have to face the death that bitch planned for him. No way for her to use him, either- not against me or anyone else. At least not more than she already has.
Someone- Bevan or Jules, most likely- wrenched him away from Noel's body. Twisted his left arm up painfully behind him so the scalpel could be pried free. Didn't matter. He'd done what he needed to do and would take whatever he had coming for it. Judging by the irate glare Danita was aiming in his direction, he was due to pay dearly.
"You lying son of a bitch," she spat out. "You-" Fury warred with her need to maintain self-control. "Have you any idea what you've just done!?"
"As I said- what I had to do."
Danita's hands clenched into fists, but then her eyes slid to the left- towards the Incavia sphere- and a tinge of horror crept into them. He craned his neck as much as he could while pinioned like a trussed up chocobo. Bevan made it slightly easier when he turned to see what caught her attention, giving him an almost unobstructed view of the stand. Wasn't hard to see why Danita was so alarmed.
The Incavia's unearthly glow had faded. Not merely subsiding into a dormant state, but truly fading. It had been a brilliant emerald hue just a moment ago, but so much of the orb's color had leeched out that it reminded him of the diluted Hi-Potions that crooked merchant had sold him in Kalm. A few seconds passed, and the sphere lost even that, appearing as colorless as it had been yesterday. Empty.
More than I expected to accomplish.
Trae's only aim had been to give Noel the only means of escaping that miserable scientist's experiment. If he'd given any thought to what might happen to the Incavia sphere, it had only been the hope that he might have prevented them from making it more powerful. Or at least set them back in that regard. But he hadn't expected to weaken it, much less destroy it.
If Noel's death released the orb's stolen energy back to the Lifestream, then why would Danita threaten to kill him in the first place?
Maybe she never truly intended to.
Dread formed a knot in the pit of his stomach as he wondering if he'd made the wrong choice. That he'd killed his lover for nothing, and might have found a means to bargain their way out of this together. That for once, the pragmatic thinking that had served him so well in SOLDIER had ultimately betrayed him. He couldn't let himself believe it. Had to trust that his instincts were right.
"Throw him back into his cell," he heard Danita half snarl. "I'll deal with him tomorrow."
Quelling the doubts swirling at the edges of his mind occupied Trae's full concentration, leaving him passive in the grip of his captors. Hardly felt the impact of hitting the hard cement floor when Bevan and Jules took their orders quite literally. Barely noticed the uneasiness beneath their jeering taunts, or the way they couldn't quite meet his eyes. He just kept repeating the same words to himself while staring at nothing.
At some point, Kyle managed to break into his trance, asking, "Dude, what happened out there? Why've you got blood all over?"
"What had to be done," Trae replied hoarsely. "I did what had to be done."
What am I going to tell the Doyenne now?
Danita stared at the ruined Incavia sphere that had promised to be a great boon only a few short hours ago. Now it could very well be an instrument of her downfall. Because she'd gotten overconfident. Thought she had that SOLDIER right where she wanted him instead of following the established protocols until she knew for certain.
Shinra's not the only one who misjudged what you are capable of, Trae. I never dreamed you'd actually murder your own lover just to spite me.
Didn't matter what she'd thought, what was done couldn't be undone. Dwelling on the mistake wouldn't provide her with a solution of how to overcome it. And although she knew the Doyenne would want to hear of this development tonight, Danita would take her chances by delaying the report until tomorrow morning. Maybe by then she would think of something to say that would save her hide.
As for Beryl, she would need time to think of how best to deal with him, too. She'd lost her temper in front of him. Something Danita might have turned to her advantage…if he hadn't also seen the emptied Incavia sphere. He wasn't stupid. He'd heard and seen enough that he could possibly figure out what he'd done by killing Noel. Knowledge that was too dangerous for him to have right now.
Knowledge I didn't ever intend for him to have.
Danita's plans for the SOLDIER always ended with one more orb for her Incavia collection. Ended. She'd hoped to get a whole lot more use out of him before it came to that point. Lewis was supposed to be the bait she needed to coerce the 1st Class into performing a few key tasks that would make her job in Midgar much easier. Still could have been, if the extraction had gone as planned. But now…
Now I've lost the best leverage I had.
A stifled cough prompted Danita to cast a look behind her. Edzel and Darby hovered a few yards away, nervously awaiting orders. The rest of the evening crew had already dispersed to resume their regular duties. Or at least had found some excuse not to stick around. She beckoned the scientist to stand next to her.
"Dispose of the shell," she told him while pointing at the empty orb. "The fractures might seal if it is used again, but I'd rather not take the risk."
Edzel nodded before daring to ask, "And what of the body?"
Good question.
If Lazard had done as directed, Shinra's records should indicate that the 1st Classes were on assignment in Banora, having been 'recalled' from their assignment at the WRO Base to explain away their mysterious absence. Having Lewis' body turn up unexpectedly in Midgar would unravel that subterfuge and generate too many questions. Questions that the Director- for all the incentive she'd given him- may not be able to dismiss without a full investigation. An inconvenient time to lose him as one of her playing pieces. Nor did she want Shinra turning the city inside out to find her and their other missing SOLDIERs.
Unless…Danita considered where it might be useful to direct their focus. It may be a good time to have Shinra bear down on the slums. If they stir things up down there, we're likely to convince the malcontents to join our ranks in larger numbers. And I can provide Lazard with a sufficient means of explaining how the 1st Class came to be there.
"Dump it in the slums- a block or so away from that notorious Wall Market. Stage it as if he got ambushed by some of the less reputable locals."
"He's still a 1st Class," Darby pointed out hesitantly. "Stands to reason not all of the would-be attackers would've survived." He paused. "We'll need a few casualties if you want to make it convincing."
The beanpole was right. Just capturing those two had cost the organization several decent operatives out of Costa del Sol. Killing one in a fight would be no less costly- even if the 'attackers' had the element of surprise on their side. Danita almost suggested using Kyle, but knew he didn't look the part. Besides, she needed him for something else. And so that left her to think of an alternative. Lucky enough, she had one.
"Task this to Bevan and Jules. Tell them they can settle a few old scores in the undercity and pose the losers with our dead SOLDIER."
Giving those two an assignment that allowed them to bash heads would keep them happy. Serving as her enforcers didn't offer them the pleasure as often as they'd assumed it would when they signed on. If Danita expected to keep Beryl alive, better to let the brutes vent their aggression on a more expendable target.
"As you command, High Maven."
He hurried off to obey, leaving Edzel still beside her. The scientist tsked disapprovingly under his breath as he stared at the mess occupying his usually pristine lab. Blood had been spattered all over the instrument cart and drenched the entire right side of the restraints still holding Lewis' pale corpse in place. Plenty of it was now congealing in large pools on the floor. The area would need to be properly sterilized before they could use the device again.
"Once the body's gone, have Darby assist you with cleaning this up. Pull in Gavore if you need a third person."
"Aye."
When it looked as though he wanted to say more, she queried, "Something else?"
"The boy."
"What about him?"
"We moved him out of the holding room to make room for the two SOLDIERs, but it requires keeping a man stationed outside that door at all times."
"The Director's brat stays where he is, Edzel."
The man heard the warning in her tone, but went on to say, "It's just- with losing Kyle, we're a little short-handed…"
"Where. He. Is. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes, High Maven."
Danita certainly hoped so. A boy that age couldn't be trusted to keep quiet about anything- no matter how terrified he was of her. Which was why she'd made a point to isolate him from Beryl and Lewis. A few prodding questions from the former and the brat would spill his guts about who he was and anything he'd seen in the past six weeks. Not a complication she'd wanted when the SOLDIERs arrived; not a complication she wanted after having lost one of them.
"I'm headed out. Keep watch over Beryl until I return tomorrow morning."
She didn't wait for acknowledgement, and stalked off in the direction of the exit. Outside, night had fallen. A quick check of her phone informed her that it was nearing eight o'clock. Much later than she had wanted to be returning to the apartment, as Genesis would be there before her. If he'd managed to bring home those training sessions, Danita didn't want to miss her opportunity to see them.
"Well, there goes the local business theory," I muttered unhappily to myself. "Because this is definitely a residence building."
The nine-story structure was a curious blend of modern architecture and old world accents. Its austere edifice had been constructed of steel and glass, but an elaborate granite and wrought iron access gate had been erected out in front. I waited outside the latter, feeling uncomfortably conspicuous and wondering if I ought to press the lit call button matching the address Sephiroth had given me. Or I supposed I could send him a text to let him know I was here.
Neither turned out to be necessary. The 1st Class emerged a few seconds later and crossed the courtyard. I couldn't help noticing that he wasn't wearing his SOLDIER uniform. Gone were the black fatigue pants and long, matching coat. In their place, a more casual version of the ensemble I'd seen him wearing at the nightclub in Junon. A pair of dark slacks- grey, as best I could tell- and a tailored dress shirt that reminded me of the ocean on an overcast day. The change shouldn't have come as a surprise. After all, did I honestly expect Sephiroth to lounge around in his work clothes?
Kind of hard to picture him 'lounging' at all. The way he acts at Shinra, I half expected that he never leaves the building and just goes into temporary stasis on one of the other floors at night. Rather like-
Like some asexual lab experiment, my second-self chimed in helpfully. Sound familiar?
Yes, it did. And I didn't appreciate being reminded of Jekke's comment- especially not in this context. Rank was the only thing I ever wanted to have in common with him, once I finally advanced to 1st Class.
But not the approach taken to achieve that goal.
Oh would you just lay off already? You're drawing parallels where none exist.
No? Wonder what Jekke would have to say.
She's not going to say anything because I'm not going to ask her.
Worried she might agree?
No time to quash that argument, as Sephiroth had already arrived at the gate. If I was lucky, it wouldn't resurface again. But for the time being, I turned my full attention to the 1st Class whose opaque stare was fast being a familiar part of my day. It landed on me for a long minute or two. I thought I saw the tiniest flash of bemusement- probably the hat- before he scanned the empty residential street.
"No trouble on your way here, I presume."
It wasn't so much a question, but a statement. I took off my borrowed hat and replied, "Nothing and no one unusual, sir."
He could tell I was carrying Materia, but didn't ask which ones I'd borrowed for this little escapade he opened the gate to let me pass through. Either he didn't need to, or didn't consider it important enough to warrant an inquiry. All the same, I felt a little self-conscious carrying the orbs without acknowledging I had them- Sephiroth's authorization or not. After all, the Mako Infusion Room only had one copy of Enemy Away and Luck Plus.
Leave it go. He's not making a big deal of it, so don't you start.
Another elevator ride standing next to a 1st Class. Thankfully, this one was far shorter than the last, despite having to take it all the way to the topmost floor. Just two units awaited us when we stepped out into the hallway. Sephiroth entered the one on the right. I followed close behind, accompanied by equal amounts of curiosity and wariness. Curiosity to find out what sort of place Shinra's top SOLDIER called 'home'; wariness for the same reason.
While not nearly as opulent as Gerald's lodgings in Junon, even a cursory glance around the apartment's entryway suggested that Shinra paid its elite commanders well. Far more than I earned at my rank. I doubted I could afford a unit half this size, and even then it would be questionable here in Sector 8 where rents in general tended to be higher. No doubt why most 2nd and 3rd Classes chose to live in Sector 7.
The foyer opened up into a spacious living room. Sparsely decorated, I noted with little surprise, but the furnishing looked to have come from high-end shops. Simple, clean lines and subdued colors. Greys accented by shades of moss and slate blue. On our left, the whole exterior wall of floor to ceiling glass windows provided an excellent view of the city. The last window wasn't a window at all, but a door. Against the darkening night sky, I could just make out the balcony on the other side with its ornate railings matching the gate I'd seen downstairs.
Sephiroth didn't stop or waste any time pretending that this was a social setting that demanded a tour or explanations on his part. He headed straight for the dining room. I followed wordlessly, still taking in a mental inventory of everything around me. It served as a decent distraction from the steady ache drilling into my temples. At least until I came up to stand next to Sephiroth at the dining room table and found something else to catch my attention. Not the printed photos that had been stacked into two neat piles on its surface, but on the cloth satchel positioned dead center.
Rather, on the odd, pulsating energy it emitted.
Sephiroth noted the direction of my gaze and said, "That is none of your concern. Your task is confined to the data work."
I wasn't given an opportunity to acknowledge the implied order that I was not to ask questions about the pouch or its contents. He merely retrieved a computer from a locked cabinet and placed it at the chair nearest the photos. While the machine booted up, I did my best to keep my eyes from straying back to the middle of the table. Challenging, to say the least. Because whatever was in that satchel teased the edge of a memory, giving me the vague sense that I'd felt something like it before.
But where? When?
Luxiere raised a hand when he saw Greg in the crowd of patrons eager to spend their gil at the Crestward. The 3rd Class saw him and nodded, motioning to a pair of 2nd Classes to follow. As they drew closer, he recognized the faces. Evan Warner and Russell Aithan. Not exactly personal friends of his, but he'd stood watches with both of them from time to time. Most recently, though, he remembered them from Angeal's training session this morning.
From across the table, Jekke gave a nod and asked, "Are we expecting company, then?"
"Greg and a few 2nd Classes," Luxiere told her.
They'd been through this routine twice already, having arrived at the busy pub around 18:00. Met Ben and Shawn outside and the four of them snagged a table at the back of the room. Furthest away from the bar and no place for anyone to eavesdrop unseen. After an initial round of drinks, they'd nudged the conversation- well, Jekke had done most of the nudging- to pass along the talking points from this afternoon's meeting. Ben hadn't needed much convincing after what he'd seen happen to Victor, which helped sway Shawn's opinion.
Those two left shortly after that, promising to send other SOLDIERs their way. Wasn't long after that another group swung by their table to get caught up on the situation. Incredulous stares from them at first, but it hadn't taken more than a few pointed questions to get the 3rd Classes thinking about the attention they'd been getting of late. That conversation had ended about a half hour ago. After that, they hadn't seen any other SOLDIERs walk in. So he and Jekke had passed the time one on one, bullshitting about nothing important.
Not that I'm complaining.
Truth was, Luxiere was sorry to be interrupted, even by a close friend like Greg. He'd been having a good time, and he got the impression Jekke felt the same. Still had those moments when his mouth and brain weren't cooperating and he tripped over his words like an idiot. But even those hadn't been so bad. Not when she's laughed them off as no big deal.
Guess we'll have to go back to what we're supposed to be doing.
"Hey there," Greg said, taking a seat next to him.
The 2nd Classes hesitated, not quite sure about their seating options. Jekke must have guessed they preferred to sit next to one another, and so she slid over to the seat on Luxiere's left. Russ grabbed a chair from a nearby table and squeezed it between Greg and Evan. A bit of shuffling while everyone claimed an equal share of the table. Once they were all settled, Luxiere offered the newcomers a cheery welcome.
"Hey. Surprised to see you get here so late."
"Russ got held up waiting for the watch stander to get back after chow, or we would've been here sooner," Greg returned with a shrug.
"Hawkins thought he could make it to his apartment and back." Russ rolled his eyes. "Even a 3rd Class as new as him ought to know better."
A waitress sided up to the table to take drink orders. She wasn't the blonde who'd been here last night, but Luxiere kept a sharp eye on her, anyway. Her and everyone else. Fortunately, the waitress was none too interested in him with Jekke here; she likely assumed they were a couple and saw no point in the flirting routine. Now that three unattached SOLDIERs had arrived, though, she'd be more likely to hang around.
Would you look at me, he mused. Paying attention to more than the drink in my hand and coming up with theories about motives. I almost sound like Kunsel.
Almost, but he wouldn't fool himself into thinking he was on par with his friend in a matter of days. Still, his guess appeared to be on target. The waitress lingered next to Evan for a long minute. Wasn't until she caught the impatient bellow of another customer that she scurried off again with their orders. Luxiere traded a meaningful glance with Jekke. Now seemed like the opportune time to pull out their sales pitch. And it would have been, until their group was joined by two more as Rousse and Linel walked up to the table.
"Mind if we join you," the former drawled, eyes on Russ. "Not a big night for SOLDIERs, but still too busy to get a table of our own."
The 2nd Class gestured to him, "Up to you, Lux, since it's your table."
"It'll be crowded, but if you can find a space, you're more than welcome," he answered, despite feeling that the question ought to have been put to him and Jekke.
More chairs were brought over, and more shuffles to fit the two ladies in. Luxiere became acutely aware that Jekke's thigh was pressed against his. Self-conscious, he would have slid over an inch or two, but didn't have anywhere to go. Greg's elbow was perilously close to jabbing him in the ribs as it was. So he stayed put and tried to keep focused on the conversation.
"Thanks."
The drinks arrived; more were ordered, along with several appetizer plates. Their waitress sized up the group and even he could see the immediate change in her demeanor. Straight to business. If she'd had any thoughts about pumping them for information about Shinra, seeing the size of the group and its demographics had changed her mind. Turned it to how much gil she'd make off them instead.
The atmosphere at the table stayed light as the newest members waited for their drinks to arrive. Rousse bantered teasingly with Russ, trying to win a few sips of his in the meantime. Didn't work, so she swapped seats with Linel to try for Evan's. Linel, meanwhile, struck up a conversation with Greg. Luxiere figured with the others all preoccupied it would be safe to confer with Jekke.
"How do you want to play this one," he asked under his breath. "It's a bit different than the last few groups."
"I know a way to get things going, but I'd rather not use it." She didn't elaborate, and he decided not to press for details. "Any ideas on your end?"
He wanted to say yes. Didn't want her to think he wasn't as smart as their other friends. But he didn't have a plan, and saying otherwise would make him out to be a bigger fool in the end. Luxiere was still racking his brains for something when Greg got everyone's attention.
"So I guess I'm going to find out just how much fun you're all having," he announced, raising a glass to the 2nd Classes at the table before taking a generous swallow.
"Fun with what?"
"Materia, I suppose. Meeting with Sephiroth 8:30 tomorrow morning for what I assume with be one of those assessments."
"Gaia- are Hewley and Sephiroth going to pull in the 3rd Classes, too," Evan exclaimed.
"Dunno if that's the plan, but I'm pretty sure I've only got myself to blame in this case."
"Meaning?"
"The commander overheard something I'd said to Lilith. We were talking about my parents' Materia shop in Mideel…next thing I know, Sephiroth's ordering me to see him tomorrow morning. Doesn't take a genius to figure out why."
"Well, I wish you luck, then," Russ told him with a commiserating grimace. "I recommend making the most of tonight, too. If you do well enough to get into this program, it's going to be one of the last you may see for a while."
Rousse made a face.
"I hope they don't make it a mandatory thing for all 3rd Classes. I still don't know why they started the program at all."
Well, I suppose that's as good an opening as any. Speculative looks around the table suggested that Evan and Russ were just as curious, although their expressions lacked Rousse's obvious disdain. Luxiere shared another sideways look with Jekke, who gave a slight nod to go ahead. Just wish we had a better answer to give them.
"Likely because Lazard told them to."
Wendt's belligerent sneer caught them all by surprise. He got up from a deuce only a few yards away, where he'd been sitting with his back turned to them. Luxiere knew he hadn't been there when Greg came over, but wasn't it just their luck that he decided to announce himself now. Butting in where he wasn't wanted. As usual. The 2nd Class ambled over to stand behind Rousse, expression smug.
"Another one of his pet projects that'll be a whole lot of extra work for a whole lot of nothing."
"Just what you'd expect to hear from the guy sulking over not making it," Greg fired back. "You think that one up while you dipped out on your watch this morning?"
"I didn't 'dip out' on it, I'll have you know. Rhapsodos needed my help and tasked my roving watch to another 1st Class."
"Needed your help with what," Russ challenged the other 2nd Class. "He hasn't done anything since getting back from Junon. Hasn't been involved with any of the Materia training since day one."
"Which should tell you that it's just bullshit if he's not wasting his time on it. Everyone knows he's the best Materia-wielder in SOLDIER."
"You keep telling yourself that, Wendt."
The budding argument might have gotten ugly, but Rousse diverted everyone's attention by rising from her seat. She threw a pouty glare at the table and took Wendt's arm. "Never mind them," she cooed soothingly in his ear. "I bet you're right and they're just baiting you because they don't want to believe it." Rousse pressed herself up against him. "Why don't you and me get out of here and make better use of your time?"
A suggestion Wendt was all too eager to accept. The pair turned their backs on the group and threaded their way through the crowded room. For several minutes, nobody said a word. Greg was the first to break the silence.
"Didn't realize those two were an item. I thought she was with Mattias. Last I knew, anyway."
"She went out with him a few times last month," Russ chimed in. "But she's been on the prowl for 2nd Classes the past few weeks." He glanced apologetically at Jekke and Linel. "I mean, uh…"
Jekke sighed. "No need to dance around the truth, Russ. We all know Abby plays the field." She picked up her glass and shrugged. "Although why she's put in with Wendt…that's what I find baffling."
No one disputed that point. Their appetizers arrived, providing a moment's distraction. Welcome, in Luxiere's opinion. And while everyone divvied out what they wanted, the original subject came up.
"So before Wendt butted in," Greg began. "I was about to second Rousse's point. Well, not second it, but I was wondering for myself why Hewley and Sephiroth are putting so much of their focus on this project all of a sudden."
"Me, too," Evan agreed. "I mean, it's not like they need any of us to fight using Materia. That's what the 1st Classes are for."
Beside him, Jekke remained silent. Luxiere supposed it was his turn to take the lead, much as he didn't want to. He set his tankard down and waited until he was sure he had everyone's attention.
"They do need us, Evan. They need us because there's aren't any 1st Classes left."
By the time Danita crossed the Sector and arrived at Genesis' place, she'd managed to master the turbulent emotions that had slipped the firm grip she usually had on her self-control. Couldn't walk in there until she was focused again. Years of training had stressed the importance of compartmentalizing when it came to managing any mission- large and small. The warehouse, Trae, and the operatives under her supervision were all separate pieces of her task. Genesis was no different.
Forcing a cheerful smile onto her lips, Danita pushed the door and stepped into the apartment. She wasn't surprised to see Genesis waiting for her, but the thunderous expression on his face was a bit concerning. He didn't even let her say hello before he fired his first question at her.
"Where have you been!?"
"I know, I'm a little late, Sweetie," she protested innocently. "But I really didn't think you'd mind."
"Didn't think I'd mind? I guess that'll depend on just why you're getting back so late."
Danita didn't at all like the nasty, accusatory edge in his voice. It scraped at her own temper, which was held back by a very thin veneer at the moment. If he pushed too much, she couldn't guarantee that it would stay in check. Arguments were only useful when she'd planned ahead of time what she aimed to get out of them. This was not one of those times, and so Danita shifted to her least favorite tactic.
"Why are you shouting at me," she wailed plaintively. Clutching her purse, she tried to hurry past him. "I just went for a drink with some people in the office."
"People."
Genesis caught her shoulders in his hands and held her in place. He didn't budge, not even when Danita sniffed audibly. She tried again, this time allowing her voice to tremor as if she were on the verge of tears.
"Yes, Genesis. People. They were being nice by even inviting me. I'm just a secretary, after all."
His grip hardened to match his tone as he snarled, "Guys like that don't invite secretaries out for drinks just to 'be nice', Danita. They just want to get you into bed."
Well, I'll be damned, she mused in half-annoyance. He's actually jealous.
A potentially useful emotion, but arising at a most inconvenient time. She couldn't have Genesis chaining her to his apartment to placate his insecurities. The operation required too much of her time- even more so now that the Incavia program was functional again. And yet she might need to motivate Genesis against a perceived 'rival' in the future. For the time being, she just wanted an explanation that would get him off her case. Preferably, one she could reuse whenever necessary.
And I think I've got just the one.
Wide-eyed, Danita shook her head emphatically.
"No- oh no, Sweetie, you misunderstand. The ladies in the firm have a 'girl's night out' once a week." Only the slightest change in his expression, but it gave her reason enough to keep going. "I would never go out with a group of strange men without you. Why would you even think it?"
Gradually, the hands on her shoulders slid down to her waist. A drawn-out sigh followed soon after, telling Danita that he'd bought her story. Crisis averted.
"You're right, Darlin'. I shouldn't have jumped on you like that. What can I say? Now that I've found my goddess, I'm a little paranoid that I might lose her." He swept a few loose strands of hair away from her face. "Forgive me?"
Ordinarily, I wouldn't.
"Of course I do, Sweetie. And it's partly my fault, anyway." Partly because her manipulation spells had turned him into a besotted fool. But Genesis could take the rest of the blame for having put up so little resistance. As neither of those were things she could say aloud, Danita gave a less truthful, yet more useful, one. "I should have texted you where I was going."
"I would have appreciated the advance notice-"
"But I didn't want to bother you while you were at work," she interjected before he could finish. "Especially now that you're doing that extra training thing."
Two birds; one stone. It gave her an excuse for not having texted him about her imaginary social event- even better, one that would make him feel guilty. And two, it gave her an avenue for bringing up what she hoped would be good news about progress on his tasks for the day. The first part worked almost immediately, as Genesis' expression filled with remorse, obviously recalling when he'd made her promise not to text him while at work.
"This is different," he told her. "I never meant for you to think that you couldn't leave me a message ever. I just needed you to understand that I may not always have time to answer right away. Okay?"
"Okay."
Genesis gave her a quick kiss before asking, "So did you have a good time?"
"I guess so. It's…different…from when I used to go out with my friends in Junon. A good different," Danita added quickly to keep him from fixating on the image of her as the promiscuous fangirl. "But I don't feel like I have much in common with them, so I don't contribute much to their conversations."
While she was talking, Danita shrugged out of her light summer blazer and eased out of Genesis' embrace. He took her cue and led the way from the foyer to the living room. She followed close behind once she'd removed her boots. Stowed them in the closet and shut them away until they'd be needed again tomorrow. For a few seconds, she caught herself wishing it were that easy to dump everything else about today where she didn't have to look at it or think about it. Genesis must have seen something in her expression that betrayed those thoughts. He put his arms around her again.
"My goddess has had a long day, I take it?"
"Yes it was," she admitted while chiding herself for being caught in a weak moment. To keep Genesis from asking any more about it, she angled a look up at him to ask, "And yours? Was it long, too?"
"You have no idea, Darlin'. I knew training Wendt would try my patience, but he's exceeded even what I expected in the things he doesn't understand."
From his tone, Danita discounted that the comment stemmed from his ego alone. Genesis sounded truly frustrated. She would have liked to have been cheered by this news, but Sephiroth had cast Wendt out of the program. His lack of aptitude was not representative of the 2nd Classes on the whole. As to how far short he fell from the average, though, she couldn't say. Not until she'd seen the training session data.
"Oh I'm so sorry, Sweetie," she consoled him. "But I'm sure with you to train him, he's sure to improve."
"He damn well better."
"And I'm sure the other 1st Classes are no more ahead." Genesis didn't agree. Not that Danita had expected him to, but he had a look of uncertainty. As if he didn't know. Very alarming from her perspective, so she dared prod a little harder. "Sweetie, what's the matter? Were the other training sessions that much better?"
"Didn't see any. Angeal and Sephiroth wouldn't let me bring them home."
A vexing mystery, but one I'd have to solve later. Presently, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and set it beside the laptop before sitting down to work on my latest extra-curricular assignment. Sephiroth had opened a blank spreadsheet file. After a few moments where I waited for guidance about what he wanted, I realized the commander wasn't inclined to give any. He merely reached across the table to retrieve the satchel and began to walk away.
"Sir," I said questioningly. "Is there any particular layout or organization that you prefer?"
A beat of silence, and then he turned back to me to say, "The entries must be arranged so that dates, contacts and notations may be cross-indexed. Beyond that, I leave the rest of the details to you."
Sephiroth continued on his way, disappearing down the hall opposite the dining room windows. I assumed that it led to a bedroom- or bedrooms. That was as far as I allowed myself to speculate. Although, knowing where to find the bathroom might have been helpful. No telling how long I'd be expected to stay.
Cross that bridge when I get there.
Since I'd only taken a cursory look at the ledger pages when I took the photos, I couldn't quite recall what was in them. Before I started labeling columns and such, looking them over would be a smart idea. I reached for the nearest stack. A note had been affixed to the top page with a date range printed in Sephiroth's slanted handwriting, as was the case for the second stack.
"At least he's already put them in chronological order for me," I murmured to myself, choosing the oldest images first. Looking at the image, I thought for a moment that these were from the day-planner I'd seen in the locked drawer. A closer glance told me otherwise. "Oh, well, this is going to make my job a whole lot harder."
Now that I had a proper look at the entries, I could see things I'd missed before. Rather, things that I'd translated without really thinking at the time. Words and phrases that I'd recognized from my days in Midgar's slums. The lingo of black market dealers and street gangs dominated nearly every line entry on the page. Here and there, phrases of unfamiliar meaning had been mixed in, creating a linguistic nightmare that I wasn't entirely sure I could unravel.
Not sure if I ought to let anyone know I can understand any of it.
Do you have much of a choice?
Probably not. Transcription was an important first step, but it wouldn't give the 1st Classes what they were truly after if they couldn't decode it. I very much doubted they could do that without help. And no one in the slums was going to offer that help to anyone in SOLDIER. So did I really want to be the reason Shinra didn't take down the group behind all this? Besides, Sephiroth's likely suspicious about my background on account of my Mako Infusion Room escapades.
With a dispirited sigh, I perused the entries on several pages to get a sense of how I'd go about organizing it. Sephiroth's lean instructions mentioned contacts. Meaning he'd already parsed them out for himself from the ledger details, and- hopefully- had written them down somewhere so that I didn't have to perform duplicative work. And I was right. Underneath the note on the second stack, he'd slipped a folded piece of paper containing a list of thirty 'contacts' and what I assumed to be a count of how many times each had appeared.
I laid the page out in front of me to study the 1st Class' notes. But by then, the mental effort of slogging through everything was starting to take its toll. The words blurred as a needle spike of pain drove itself into bridge of my nose and behind my right eye. When added to the throb in my temples, concentration became almost impossible.
Deep breaths and focus. Focus on the task and try to block out the pain. Push through it. You don't need the meds- they're just a crutch that will hobble you if you keep leaning on them.
The self-lecture goaded me enough to keep going. And after doggedly staring at the list, and then comparing it against one of the photos, I saw that the values all appeared right after the date. An alphanumeric string with the same length of characters.
"Two letters, two numbers," I puzzled aloud. "And then two more letters followed by another two numbers. How strange. I wonder what they mean?"
I was sure that the combinations weren't random, and had to mean something. Staring at them wasn't telling me what that something might be, but after a minute, an epiphany struck.
The contacts from Gerald's phone!
I'd forgotten about that photo, and couldn't recall if I'd even remembered to send it to Sephiroth in the first place. Rather than waste time searching through the printed copies, I snatched up my phone and punched in my code. Sure enough, when I scrolled back to the photo of Gerald's phone contacts, his list followed the same format. A much shorter list than the one Sephiroth had copied out, but a quick cross-check proved that all of the former appeared on the latter.
Not to mention confirmed some very curious patterns that might prove useful later on. For that reason, I recopied Sephiroth's list into a one of the spreadsheet tabs, noting which ones were also found in Gerald's phone. And now to start making some progress on actually transcribing these things. After all, Sephiroth is going to expect me to show something for the time I've spent here tonight.
I laid out the columns with what I could easily break apart. Date, entry details, and an indicator column for each unique contact where I could mark it as yes or no as applicable. Originally, I'd thought to have just the one column, and catalogue the initial contact ID in it. But if additional contact IDs showed up in the entry details, I'd rather have a good way of flagging those as well.
"That'll do for now. Once the information is all typed, then we'll see about more indicator columns to track the other stuff."
From there, the only sounds in the apartment came from the steady clack of my fingers on the keyboard. I worked steadily through the first three photos, though the second half of the last one was a struggle. Emmitt's legendary printing skills just couldn't compete with the relentless pounding behind my eyes. The migraine hadn't subsided, and was, in fact, growing stronger.
"If you don't do something soon, it's going to be Junon all over again. Only worse."
Question was- what should I do? I could probably make the argument that I'd done enough for the night. The hour was nearly 22:00, and I still had to get back to Shinra. Add to it that Angeal had me on the 8:00 watch again…perfectly reasonable to call it a day. One problem: Sephiroth hadn't emerged from the hallway since he first disappeared.
Not a smart idea to just leave without his permission.
Not much smarter to seek him out to ask for it, either. Which left me rather stuck. And with no good ideas of how to get myself unstuck, I took a short breather. Scooted the photos off to the side and rested both elbows on the tabletop while I massaged my aching temples. A few minutes and I'll try for the next page.
"Is something wrong?"
Bolting upright at the sound of Sephiroth's voice, I was just in time to see him crossing the room. Couldn't help being perversely amused at the commander's timing. He couldn't have walked out here five minutes ago when I was still working. No, of course not. He just had to pick the moment I would have preferred him not to see. And now I had to offer some explanation that wouldn't make this out to be anything serious enough to warrant additional questions.
"It's been a long day, sir. Just needed a minute to refocus before starting on the fourth photo."
And there's that stare again. I'm done for.
But then Sephiroth released me from his piercing scrutiny to cast a sideways glance to the wall beside him. A burnished steel clock hung between a pair of tall, narrow paintings. He considered it for a few seconds before looking back to me.
"That's far enough for the evening."
I did my best not to let him hear my relief at hearing those words as I replied, "Yes, of course."
Similarly, I gathered up my phone and rose from the table as casually as I could manage. Inside my head, though, I was calculating just how long it would take to get back to Shinra. Whether I thought I could make it back before the pain in my head reached critical levels. I'd be cutting it close. Very close. But I just might be able to do it. If Sephiroth would officially dismiss me so I could be on my way, that is.
"One last thing," he said, as if reading my thoughts. "No one is to discover that you are coming here."
Unlike the Junon mission, I got the distinct impression that 'no one' included Kunsel- even if I could find an advantageous argument in favor of him knowing. And if I could convince Kunsel of playing along with it. Which, all things considered, might be more difficult than changing Sephiroth's mind at this point. So perhaps it was best to keep him- and the rest of the guys- out of the loop.
What if you can't?
Preferring to know the consequences up front, I voiced that question aloud, "And if anyone were to find out?"
An enigmatic pause.
"Then I would suggest you endeavor to be very convincing when it comes to diverting them away from the true reason why you are here."