Vincent found Veld's neat evasion of going to medical for his arm rather hypocritical, but given the stress he was under didn't press so much as file the moment away for later reference.

Veld was perfectly aware of that the moment he'd gotten a single raised brow from his partner, but knew better than to address it and leave an opening for commentary. Instead, he found himself stripped to the waist in Reeve's workshop while their newly minted president worked on fixing his arm. It was, Veld reflected, probably a much more comfortable task for him.

"This isn't a shield, you know," Reeve said mildly, carefully undoing the outer casings to get in where the bullet had pierced half way through. "You could have gotten a hot shock before the failsafe kicked in."

"Still better than it going somewhere more vulnerable," Veld said. "What were the odds they'd have rounds that could pierce it?"

"Even mythril-based alloy can be pierced with some armor-piercing rounds when it's beat this thin," Reeve said. "As evidence shows, clearly. Something heavier duty would also be heavier, too heavy for your shoulder to take long term, and thus pointless as a prosthetic."

"It kept it from going somewhere that bleeds, I count that a win," Veld said. "You can't say it's not easier to repair than flesh."

Reeve grumbled at him, but admittedly didn't have a ready protest for that. And sure enough, he made quick work of it. "There."

"Temporary fix, or are we good?" Veld asked, watching him carefully put the casing back on.

"No, you're good. I'd still like to upgrade this eventually, but I know you'll want things to settle first," Reeve said.

"I can't afford to be adjusting to a new arm in the middle of all this," Veld said. "This one does me fine."

"You've been saying that for years," Reeve said. "There have been advancements."

"Maybe after the dust settles on all this," Veld said.

Reeve sighed, but let it go. "And how is 'all this'?"

Veld considered that, absently redressing now that Reeve was done. "SOLDIER's settling. Things with AVALANCHE are… slow."

"Any contact with the parties you were concerned with?" he asked delicately.

Veld smiled faintly at the care. "I saw her, but we didn't really talk. She wants to, at least there's that."

Reeve nodded. "Should we be expecting another invasion here, then?"

"I have no idea," Veld said. "Maybe. A crude but effective way of drawing me out."

"I suppose we'll see, then," Reeve said. "You might talk to SOLDIER about it. Last I heard, Zack was getting discharged today."

"Already?" Veld arched a brow. That would be good to check on on principle. A lot was riding on how Zack was doing. "We'll see where he is, then."

"Oh I doubt he'll go far for long, his friend's still there," Reeve said. "But he'll be out and about a little now."

Veld nodded thoughtfully. It fit what he knew of him, that he'd stick around no matter how much he had to want out of there. "I'll see him, then. Have you been by?"

"Briefly, earlier. He seemed surprisingly happy to see me," Reeve said.

"He was in favor of your appointment," Veld said. "He seemed to remember working with you in the past."

"We did, a little," Reeve said. "He was an extraordinarily busy young man. As far as I can tell, he's assisted throughout quite a few branches of the company."

"Which means he could conceivably have quite a few people who remember him fondly," Vincent mused. "Perhaps a more strategic choice for general than expected."

"The board likes to brush SOLDIER off as a lot of brainless muscle, or at least people with no interests or intelligence outside fighting," Veld said. "That is a mistake. Especially with the Firsts."

"So I'm learning," Vincent said. "Are we going to talk to them next?"

"Might as well. I need time to think on the reports before making another move," Veld said. And it wouldn't be a bad idea to get Zack and Kunsel's take on it all.

"Well, then I leave you to it," Reeve said. "And I'll catch you later when Cait gets back to me."

Veld nodded. "You do that."

"Freedom!" Zack crowed, plastering himself to the outside wall of the elevator and staring out at Midgar with a longing he hadn't felt for the city in a long time. "I want the most ridiculous junk food we can possibly get. Like those burgers with the special sauce that you have to practically unhinge your jaw to eat from down on Main, with a side order of mozzarella sticks. And onion rings. And one of those fancy coffees!"

"Whatever you want, babe, there's nothing wrong with your stomach." Kunsel chuckled.

"Can we get Cloud something?" He asked. "What about pizza? He likes pizza. And breadsticks!"

"Yeah, he's fine," Benji said, grinning. "We can see what the doc'll let us do. I am not above bribery."

"Neither am I." Zack grinned back, bouncing on his heels. He probably wouldn't have been quite so lighthearted about it all if Cloud had been alone, but Aerith was with him, and Drew, and Balto and he really couldn't ask for better.

Besides, if he didn't get out of there, he was going to lose his mind. The pale blue walls were okay, but with his eyes closed the beeps of monitors and scent of antiseptic harkened back to things he couldn't let himself think about.

Phantom bonds encircled his wrists and he shuddered, shaking his arms out. Not thinking about it.

The ringing of Kunsel's phone was a welcome distraction, and he glanced over as he answered it. Enhanced hearing - even sharper than before, Rayleigh had been right about the jump in his ability - picked up Cissnei's voice clearly.

"Hey, heard he got out," she said. "That's great!"

"Yeah, we're thrilled," Kunsel said. "It's a real relief. But I doubt this is a courtesy call… what's up?"

"It could have been!" Cissnei sighed. "But no, not this time. Chief and Valentine are back from Junon and would like to catch up with you. Figured I'd give you a heads up."

Kunsel arched a brow. "Yeah, thanks. We'll keep an ear out for them."

"Sounds good, I'll let you go," she said. "Have a good time. Tell Zack I said hi!"

"I'll do that," Kunsel said. "See ya."

"Your little Turk friend?" Benji said when he'd hung up.

"Yeah, we always got on well," Zack said. "She didn't know. Sounds like most of them weren't in on it."

"But Faraman was," Benji said.

"Yeah." Zack sighed. "I mean, I'm not cool with that, but… it wasn't personal either, if that makes sense? Like, dude, we've done things, you know? It's not like my hands are clean."

"So you're letting it go," he said.

Zack ran a hand back through his hair, frowning. "Look, I just think it's better to sit on that and keep them as allies, whatever caused the change of heart. I know enough about strategy, and about the Turks, to know I don't want that fight. Not if we can help it."

"Yeah, alright," Benji said. "That's… er."

"Fair?" He grinned as they groaned. "Sure is!"

"So, we'll go with that, for now," Kunsel said. "So long as they stay in line, we'll let it go. If there's going to be a fight between departments, it won't be because we started it."

"Alright." Benji saluted casually. "Whatever the general wants."

"Oh don't even." Zack huffed, shoving his shoulder.

"Alright don't you start, we're still going out to get food. They can just come find us," Kunsel said. "They're Turks, and we're not hiding. Should be a piece of cake."

It took far less time than Kunsel was expecting - they were met in the lobby by the two men in question, though if Valentine hadn't had a very distinct energy the drastically different attire might have been a cause of confusion. Mako red eyes aside, he very much looked the part of a Turk, even with the darker colors. He suspected it was a deliberate reference.

"We're going to get food," Zack informed them. "You're welcome to join us, but I need fed."

"Never get between a SOLDIER and their dinner, y'know?" Benji said.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Veld said. "Lead on."

Zack was, admittedly, a little surprised, but not really put out; if they were going to let him eat, he'd be fine with talking over it.

The place he'd been eyeing on Main did have a seating area, but he suspected the Turks would rather not have even a borderline-confidential discussion in the middle of the local greasy spoon.

Tough luck, that. He was getting that burger.

But no, Veld was perfectly patient with it all. In fact, he ordered a strawberry shake and pushed it at his partner before getting himself some fries, seemingly content to settle into the booth. "Glad to see your appetite's still in order."

"Yeah, seriously. That'd be a problem with this metabolism," Zack agreed. He'd been rather fixated on his first burger, but had slowed down enough for conversation on the second one. He glanced at Vincent thoughtfully, arching a brow. "So, uh, not to be rude or anything -"

"- that's never a promising start," Kunsel muttered.

"No, seriously, but uhm. Has anyone talked to you?" Zack asked. At Vincent's blank look, he waved a finger by his eyes, mako blues deliberately widened for emphasis. "You're sporting one hell of a glow. I don't know what does red, but you've got some serious enhancements. Those take adjustment. Did… I mean… look, the Professor wasn't exactly nurturing even to people he liked and… are you laughing at me?"

"I appreciate the concern," Vincent said, and was indeed quite clearly amused. "I seem to be adjusting."

"Good. That's great. 'cause I mean, I'm sure what went down was probably different and I'm not asking for you to spill your story or anything but I've lived with enhancements since I was fifteen. I had training and everything for how to deal with it. And this new set is still a bit of a curve ball," Zack said. "I'm adjusting because I was taught how to adjust and, well…"

"A set of tools he does not have," Veld observed, arching a brow. "You offering?"

Zack mirrored the gesture. "I mean, sure, but I'm still adjusting. I was thinking more like, Benji. But we could fumble through it together. Odds are good I'm not going to be too long figuring it out. And I can walk him through it for sure."

"That may have benefits," Veld said, glancing at Vincent. "So you know what you're capable of."

Vincent stared at him a moment before sighing quietly. "What did you have in mind?"