It was a long flight to Nibelheim, no matter which way you went. They took a transport, Kunsel accompanied by three other Seconds, Cissnei and Emma accompanying Veld. Tseng held things down in Midgar, ready to act as necessary.
Hopefully, it would be an entirely unnecessary precaution, but being a Turk tended to put an end to most blind optimism.
The tension was high the whole way, nothing he hadn't dealt with before, but it was always a little different with the distinct vibe of predator that came with SOLDIERs. They were at the top of the food chain, and they knew it. And in many ways, a seasoned Second Class SOLDIER was easily as dangerous as their First Class counterparts. They may not have had the same sheer power, but skill and strategy were nothing to sneeze at.
Of course, in close quarters none of that mattered in a battle between enhanced and unenhanced, even Turks.
"Coming in, Chief," Emma said, always professional no matter how much stress was piled on. There was a good reason he'd chosen her.
"I would like to remind SOLDIER that their priority is recovering Zack Fair, and that I will be dealing with whatever staff is here," Veld said, looking back at Kunsel. "No matter what happens."
Kunsel was silent a long moment, taking in a slow breath. It was clear he wanted blood for this, but he wasn't stupid. "You do what you have to, Director. So long as I have Zack, no strings attached, I'll let you handle things."
Veld nodded, starting to look away, only to see a faint flare in his eyes.
Kunsel held his eyes, his own overbright. "Now, if that changes…"
"You'll get him back," Veld said. "We made a deal, didn't we?"
Kunsel nodded slowly, standing up at the slight bump when they touched down.
"Shinra Manor?" One of them said. It was impossible to tell who was who, with the helmets.
"That's where he'll be," Veld said. "You all follow me."
"Silva, stay at the gate," Kunsel said. "We'll trail through, so we're not… interrupted."
Emma glanced at him, but Veld shrugged slightly. He wasn't going to argue it. Fewer SOLDIERs when they got down to the labs sounded like a great idea.
They made their way quietly, Veld in the lead with Kunsel at one side and Cissnei at the other. There was a skeleton staff - Hojo got left alone in Nibelheim these days, and that was just how he liked it. He hadn't had many back in the day, either; Gast had mostly just cut him and Lucrecia loose, with Vincent to mind security.
And he really needed not to let his mind go there. This was bad enough.
Up the stairs, and down to the basement, and by the time they were heading for the labs it was just Kunsel, Veld, and Cissnei, which was the best he could ask for. He could feel the tension radiating off of the SOLDIER beside him, and if he was a praying man he'd have sent a prayer to someone that Kunsel kept his word. Because he wasn't sure what they were going to walk in on, but he had some ideas, and none of it was good. "Keep your head in here, James."
"I've got my priorities straight, thanks," he murmured.
Veld watched him a moment, then inclined his head and headed into the library. "Hojo."
"…and what, pray tell, are you doing here? With a SOLDIER, no less?" Hojo asked, glancing up from a readout.
"Fair's got an empathetic soulbond," Veld said flatly.
Hojo's brows rose and his gaze turned speculative. "Interesting. That would be fascinating to -"
"No," Veld said, knowing that tone. "We're here for Fair. You're done with him."
Hojo gave him a disappointed, and frankly unimpressed look. "I don't recall saying any such thing. Or hearing anything about it from the President."
"The President doesn't know you're playing with the best First he had left, either," Veld said coolly, holding up a hand at the little rumble from Kunsel. "We both know what this is about. Get over it. You're not getting him back like this."
Hojo's eyes narrowed, lips pressed in a thin line. Once upon a time he might have snarled. "Get over it. Rich, coming from you."
"Don't make this about me, Hojo. Just let the kid go," Veld said.
"And what, you'll bring him back to ShinRa where he'll just slide right back into line and everything will be nice and neat? You know better." Hojo shook his head with a smirk. "Why don't you just hand over this one and I'll forget this little trespass ever occurred."
"Because there's not a SOLDIER in Midgar that doesn't know about this," Kunsel said softly. "And if I don't come back with Zack? More than SOLDIER will know, about a whole lot more than just Zack."
Hojo's brows made a valiant climb for his hairline, smirk widening with genuine amusement. "Why Veld, if I didn't know better I'd say you were being blackmailed. Do you mean to tell me this child has outmaneuvered the head of the Turks?"
"My motivations are irrelevant," Veld said. "Quit stalling. I've made up my mind, and you're running out of choices here."
"I've made my choice," Hojo said, as if speaking to someone particularly dense. "The answer is no."
"Wrong choice," Kunsel hissed, surging forward.
Veld's prosthetic arm snapped out and grabbed him by his belts, jerking him back. "What did I say about letting me handle this?"
"Then make him let Zack go," Kunsel said.
"I'm not done yet." Veld had no illusions that anything but sheer shock was all that had let that maneuver work; there was no way a strip of fabric, no matter how reinforced, was going to keep a SOLDIER in place. But Kunsel settled, even if he was giving off an air of barely leashed tension. He wondered if it was paranoia that made him see a flicker of blue in the air, the threat of a limit. "I don't think you understand, Hojo. I'm not asking your permission to have Fair. I'm telling you, we're here for him. And you of all people ought to know there is absolutely nothing either one of us are going to be able to do fast enough to stop the SOLDIERs here from taking him by force if you continue to resist."
Hojo blinked at him. "That's it? You're just rolling over for a child? You already signed off on this, Faraman. You brought me the bodies. You don't get to pretend you have the moral high ground here."
"I never pretended to," Veld said. "But I know when it's time to adapt to survive. Now's one of those times. You made SOLDIER a force that no one could stop. Not even you."
"I really have no problem killing him right now," Kunsel said, voice dropping from his usual tenor to something eerily dark. "You have no idea how easy it would be, I don't even have to touch you, but let me tell you I'm not above ripping you apart with my bare hands."
"Easy, SOLDIER," Veld said quietly.
Hojo arched a brow, clearly unimpressed despite the very real threat to his life. "What makes you think you could take him? He won't survive without my aid at this point. You're too late."
"Why should I believe you?" Kunsel said. "And if I do, why should I let you live if he won't? If you can't save him from what you've done, I have no reason to let you live."
"James -" Veld started.
"Yo, Kuns, there's some freaky strong energy back here!" One of the SOLDIERs yelled, voice echoing through the basement.
"Holy shit, there are coffins in here!" Another said.
Veld half turned, incredulous. "Coffins?"
That was a mistake.
Kunsel pushed past him, past Hojo, following his senses to that bright, familiar spark of energy he'd know deaf and blind. "Zack! Zack, oh my god what did he do to you?"
Veld hurried after him, desperate to try and maintain some sort of control. "James - Kunsel, wait. You can't just break him out of there, there is a system for that."
Kunsel stood in front of the mako tank, fingertips just barely touching as he stared with wide, overbright eyes. He didn't notice when Veld came up behind him, overcome with emotion.
Zack was there. It was real. He was suspended in a mako solution, a stitched incision down his sternum that had to have been what he'd felt and yet was already healing. Little bubbles drifted up from the facemask he wore, a couple attached monitors stuck to his chest but no apparent IVs. He looked thinner, but not as bad as Kunsel had been expecting for three weeks at Hojo's mercy.
I could break him out, Kunsel thought. He didn't need to wait for Hojo. Didn't need to deal with that freaking psychopath who had done this to begin with. As long as he was careful not to break it in a way that might injure Zack further, just tear it open at the seams -
A sudden, deafening report of a gun echoed through the basement, startling them both.
Veld was moving before he'd even thought of it. None of the SOLDIERs had a gun, which meant it was Emma or Cissnei or Hojo, what would make them use a gun, he never should have left them alone -
He skidded to a stop in the doorway, staring in shock. A tall, lean figure draped in crimson stood over Hojo's dead body, a familiar three barreled gun in his hand. After a moment, he turned his head, glowing red eyes looking through a fall of silky black hair, face shockingly young and breathtakingly familiar.
Veld choked. "Vincent?"