Zack XXIII: Arrival in Wutai

Reno still had his phone in hand when it beeped. He quietly read the message, scoffed, pressed a few buttons and put it away. "What is it?", Zack asked. Reno scoffed as he loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. "Just the boss asking for something impossible." The Turk was apparently done with the tidy act. "Anything I can do to help?" Reno leaned back and looked out the window as he growled with an unhappy expression: "Nah. Not your kinda job. We'll call you if we need you to beat someone up."

A short while later, their cars stopped in from of a multi-story building. The two soldiers got out and opened the back door from the outside. They stepped aside and saluted, letting them out. Zack got out and stretched, looking around. Their car was parked on a small plaza beside a richly decorated building with a large sign saying "Inn" over the entrance, surrounded by artfully arranged dark green pine trees. They were taken inside by the four soldiers and gathered around.

One of the Wutaian soldiers stepped forward and instructed them about what they were and were not allowed to do in the coming days. They were given free reign of the city as long they stayed out of restricted zones, but they were not allowed to leave the city or use their weapons against Wutaian citizens or soldiers. When the main party arrived the following day, they were to move to the west wing of Lord Godo's estate, but would stay in the inn for the first night. The estate would provide their high-ranking visitors with extra security (or so they claimed), but the palace was off-limits until that.

Them being allowed to move freely was according to the agreement that had been made with Wutai in advance of the visit. This was supposedly for the advance party to ensure that Director Tuesti and Vice President Rufus Shinra would be safe upon arrival. This was an unprecedented show of good faith on Wutai's part, and Zack supposed this measure was simply meant to get on Shinra's good side for the following peace negotiations. The soldier finished his speech and they were given their leave.

They were given four double rooms, and Zack would be sharing the room with Cloud again. They followed the elderly lady innkeeper, dressed in plain Wutaian robes, her grey hair done up in one of their typical hair styles, to the top floor, where she showed them to their rooms. Zack's and Cloud's room was quite spacious, but Zack was surprised not to find beds inside. Instead, what looked like two thick blankets were folded and stacked up in the corner of the room. Upon Zack's confused look, the innkeeper explained that these were futons to sleep on and offered her help in case they needed it later. She walked on to show the four remaining infanterists to their rooms.

Cloud followed Zack into the room, dropped his bag on the floor and himself next to it. "You okay?", Zack asked as he put down his own bag. Cloud rubbed his eyes. "I'm just glad to have proper ground under my feet." Cloud suffered from motion sickness and he had been sick during the helicopter ride, and the car trip through the narrow streets of Wutai City could not possibly have alleviated his condition. Cloud stood back up, unfolded one of the heavy futons and laid down on it. "How is it?", Zack wanted to know. "Tough", Cloud answered with a sigh. "Looks like we'll have a few uncomfortable nights ahead, so you might want to get a head start on sleep", Zack joked. Cloud covered his eyes with his lower arm and nodded. "Take your time, but remember that you're on standby." Cloud nodded again.

Zack left the room and closed the sliding door, noticing that the door had no lock. He found that surprising for an inn, but guessed that Wutaians had a different sense of privacy. And perhaps theft was not much of an issue in Wutai City. Petty and capital crime were prevalent in Midgar, and Zack did not know anyone who would leave their door unlocked and leave their house. Or go to sleep without locking their front door. He walked past Reno's and Rude room and heard Reno quietly talking behind the thin paper screen. He hoped that they would be a little more discreet this time, so that Cloud would sleep better tonight. But he was a little too embarrassed about the possible implications to actually point it out to them. Reno and Rude were not very public about their relationship status. They seemed too close at times, even for good friends, but never so unambiguous in the way they interacted that an onlooker could safely conclude that they were romantically involved. Or not involved. Our speculations about them were spurred less by their interactions than by Reno's over-the-top reaction when Rude started going out with a woman some one or two years prior to the present events. It did not last long, which had less to do with Reno's interference, and more with the fact that her motives for approaching Rude were rooted less in her personal interest for him than in the information she expected to obtain by spying on one of the veteran Turks. One might say that it was only due to Reno's due diligence that Rude was spared of more severe anguish, but his motives were equally questionable. Rude did not seem to harbor any hard feelings, however, because the experience appeared to bring them even closer, and most rumors about them secretly dating started around this time.

Zack climbed the stairs back down and nodded at the innkeeper, who was back at the reception desk and bowed as he passed, wishing him a good time. Behind him, he could hear Reno' voice, shouting out to him: "Hey, wait a minute." Zack turned around to see Reno and Rude coming down the stairs. Reno had lost the tie, his suit was unzipped and his chest exposed, just the way he usually looked. "Sorry, I thought you didn't have anything to do for me", Zack apologized. They caught up to him and ushered him out.

"There are a few things you should know", Reno said as they walked outside. He pulled out his phone and directed him a few streets further into a garden. "Wutai is full on ninjas", Reno began and Zack nodded. "Yes, I know that", Zack confirmed. Rude adjusted his shades and began: "It means …", and Reno interrupted him: "Don't discuss anything confidential unless you're out in the open where no one can hide nearby", Reno explained. "You should expect that they will look at your phone and your bag while you're asleep. If you have any confidential information stored on your phone, delete it before tonight and log out of all your accounts." Zack nodded again.

"Use the time to look around and familiarize yourself with the area. It's peaceful now, but we might have to make a quick getaway if things go south." After a short pause, he inquired: "The city is full of military, but most of them will be concealed. What do you think about the units you saw at the airport?" Zack reminisced for a moment. "The guy who received us was Argentum of the Crescent unit. He's the second in command of the first Crescent Squad. I think we can assume that the entire first Crescent Squad is in the city because they usually operate as a unit. But there may be more." Reno rolled his eyes. "What does that mean?" Zack folded his arms. "They are the strongest fighters in the Wutaian military as far as I know. I think I could take them one by one, well, except for their strongest, but if all of them came at me together, I wouldn't stand a chance." Reno looked at Rude and nodded. "I guess that means we'll have to wait for Sephiroth before we start any start trouble." Zack's eyes widened in surprise. "I thought we were here to parlay." Reno pinched his eyes and smirked. "There is more than one way to parlay. Anyway, go look around and relax a little. It won't be fun anymore once the VP is here." With that, he and Rude ran off into the direction they had come from and disappeared behind a corner.

Zack scratched his head. He wished they had given him more specific orders. The way it sounded, he might as well do some sightseeing. And delete all classified information from his phone. He might as well get started.