Chapter Three: The Investigation

Lance Derikson took a slug from the can of soda, then put it back on the table and continued to work at the laptop in front of him. He was sitting at a large table covered with research papers, biographies, statistics, incident reports, and a whole hell of a lot of junk food. Five others sat around the table, and together they made up the elite analytical minds of SeeD.
"Okay," Lance said, "we've narrowed the list down to five people. Wanna rattle those names off again?"
Jacob Thomas nodded, "Right. We've got Terak Briggs, Joseph Bridger, Tom Barton, Erik Strauss, and Seren Harket."
Lance froze, "Say that name again."
"Which one?"
"The last one."
"Seren Harket. Did I stuff it up?"
"No, no!"
Lance tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and watched the information appear on the screen.
"Just as I thought. Alexian Harket was the name of the guy who started the Galbadian War twenty years ago. Is there any relation?"
Ronald Palmer pulled out the biography on Seren Harket, "Pretty flimsy, chief."
"What is it?"
"Seren's the guy's nephew. But he was born two years after the Galbadian War."
"So he's 18 now?"
"Yeah."
"How'd he get on an 'enemies of Garden' list?"
"He was one of the guys behind the Trabia Crisis two years ago."
Lance closed the computer, "Oh yeah. Well, that's something. Jasmine was a player in the Galbadian War. Bump him to the top of the list, and then take it alphabetically afterwards. I think we've got our man." He checked his watch, "It's only been ten hours too."
Everyone gave a slight grin and got up from the table.

***

His heart was pounding. Lance stood silently to the right of the door, his gun raised and aimed at it. Behind him, three others had their individual weapons prepared. On the left side of the door were three others, all prepared. He listened into the small radio headset, waiting for the command.
It had taken three days to track Seren Harket to his home on the Trabian continent, but they had done it. He lived in an isolated region, in a small cabin halfway up one of the mountains. A small team was quickly assembled, and, not to anyone's surprise, Miles Animus himself had elected to go along. He was at the command post, just a hundred yards off from the home.
"Okay, invasion team, are you ready?"
Lance slowly whispered into his set. The device he was wearing picked up the vibrations of the vocal cords, thus you could be very silent in talking, "Yeah, we're ready."
"Okay. Go."
Lance shot the doorhandle off, then kicked the door in. Him and the leader on the other side burst in at once, each quickly spinning to one side and covering it. The others came in almost the same way, just heading in different directions. The room was a large multipurpose. There was the usual couch and luxuries, and a small kitchen. It was clear. Lance picked himself up and gestured for his team to follow him. He stood by the next door, the one leading into the bedroom, and kicked it open, expecting to meet resistance. There was none. He spun around and moved to the bathroom, which the other team had just finished clearing. They all exchanged a few looks, then Lanced sighed.
"This is invasion team. We're clear."
Miles' voice returned, excited, "You got him?"
"He's not here."
"I didn't copy that."
"I repeat, he is not here. The target is NOT here."
There was silence over the line, then the voice of the on the team members came on, "Hey, I've got something here."
Lance holstered his gun, and then looked over, "What is it?"
"Loose floorboard."
The man kicked at the floor, then got down and began to pry at it. He succeeded, and the board came up and out.
"By Hyne…"
"What is it?"
"A body." The man pulled out the picture of Seren Harket from his pocket, and then looked back down. "From what I can see of the face… its our target."
Lance walked over to him, and looked at the face. It was mutilated, a scar running straight down the face, and one eye was missing. Lance grimaced and turned away, "Holy shit."
The man looked at the body a little closer, "Hey, there's a note here." He reached in and pulled out the slip of paper. There was a message written neatly.



Seed-
This is not a game. This is reality now. You cannot interfere, I know
you all well. I will destroy you. Just prepare for it. There is nothing that can be
done. Jasmine Animus was just the beginning.

There was no signature.
Lance took the note and pocketed it, "Alright, there's nothing else to see here. Let's go."

***

Miles looked over the reports. The stories were the same for Barton, Bridger, and Briggs. There were only bodies to be found.
It's like someone knows where we're going to be at all times. There is nothing that this person hasn't seen. But according to the list, all that's left is Erik Strauss. So…
Miles placed down the reports and looked at Lee across the table.
"So…"
Lee sighed, "Yeah, it's a sad story. Our threat notes and body counts are piling up."
"They're all dead…"
"Yep."
Miles nodded, "Okay, hunt down Strauss."
"Hang on. He's probably dead too."
"Well, double-check. Then hunt down everyone on the enemy list one by one if he is. We'll find this asshole."
Lee closed his eyes, "Miles…"
"What?"
"Quit it man."
"What?"
"Dude, it has been two weeks. Two weeks. Everyone was behind you on this one, we all wanted to find the bastard who did this to us. Not only did he kill one of our own, but he also hit us on our own turf. No one does that to SeeD. But man… that was two weeks ago. We've lost out on a lot of jobs in this manhunt. This isn't what SeeD does. We are not a police force. Balamb considers this a crime on their continent, so they're working on it just as hard. Right now, Garden has other matters. Tests and grades you need to look at and give your nod to. Students trying to learn. New students who need to be talked to and fucking met! Our SeeD test is estimated to be in about three weeks! Don't you get it man? You need to snap back and take your leadership position up. Damn it man, Jasmine was a great friend, I know you loved her, I know what you've done for her, but nothing we do will change the fact that she is dead. Right now, we just need to move on!"
Miles stared at his old friend, "Lee…"
"I'm sorry."
"You're right. Jasmine wouldn't approve of this."
Lee grinned slightly and pointed upwards, "I'm sure she agrees with the spirit, but we all know that we need to give it up. We'll get this guy. He obviously still wants us, so we'll get another shot. Right now, we just have to keep living."
Miles closed his eyes and lowered his head. Lee sighed and rose up his hand in a fist, "Never surrender."
Miles raised his hand in the same fashion and tapped his knuckles to Lee's, "Never die."


***

Miles looked out at the crowd of freshmen. There were the usuals, young childen, ranging from five to twelve, and then your gang of teenagers, thirteen to sixteen, the later ones would probably not make it very far. The younger ones had a lower drop out rate, since they had longer to learn. Miles coughed at the podium, and the chattering silenced quickly.
"Hi everyone, my name is Miles Animus, and I am the headmaster of this Garden."
There was the usual, everyone slowly said hello, and Miles noticed a small child, with bright blue eyes waving at him.
Miles nodded with a smile and continued, "I know that this speech is a bit late, and for that, I must apologize. I… I haven't been myself lately. The recent death of my wife has affected me deeply. However, I will carry on and this Garden shall prosper."
There was a brief silence, and Miles continued, "I'm not going to beat around the bush here, Garden is not easy to graduate or prosper in. Many of you won't make it; many of you won't become SeeDs. Let me start out by saying that there is no dishonor in that. Seifer Almasy was not a SeeD, but he was one of the two top gunblade users of all time. This shows one thing. If you don't make it into SeeD, odds are it isn't because of your ability, rather, your lack of ability to listen and follow orders. You are students at this Garden, and as such you must be shining examples of obedience. I look forward to the next few years with you all. Although I may not get to see many of you graduate, I nonetheless am proud to welcome you to Balamb Garden. Good luck to you all. I'll now pass over the mike to the head of SeeD's strategic element, Lee Reist."
Miles stepped down to applause, which continued as Lee stepped up. Lee raised his hands up, and everyone quieted down.
He began, "I know you all look at Miles and say… 'damn that guy is weak! I mean, look at him! Like he's ever done anything!' Let me tell you this guys: I said the same thing." There was a burst of laughter, and he continued, "However, that simply isn't true. Miles is… suffice to say it, one of the greatest warriors of all time, easily one of the top three gunblade users ever. He was instrumental in the rescue of Squall and Rinoa Leonheart from a prison complex in restored Galbadia. He alone has met and interacted with figures who were the pivotal players in the First and Second Sorceress Wars, as well as the Galbadian Conflict, and the Fisherman's Horizon incident. His recently departed wife, Jasmine, was the one who snuffed Seifer Almasy. He was a close friend of Laguna Loire. He even busted the guy out of a jam once or twice. Not many people have that kind of resume. I'm happy to say that he is my friend." Everyone applauded, and Lee silenced them after a few minutes, "Now, on to the point…"
Miles sighed from the speech. Now they had expectations of him. High ones. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder, and looked over at Lance Derikson.
Miles whispered, "Lance, what's going on?"
Lance nodded, "We need to talk, ASAP."
Miles grimaced, then nodded.

***

Lance shoved a small stack of papers at Miles, "We've got him. Or… we're close."
Miles grinned, "So soon?"
"Well, the Balamb authorities were kind and cooperated. Their investigation turned up some interesting facts. Mainly ship registers."
Miles nodded, "The names of people coming into and out of Balamb."
"Right, from there, it was a matter of narrowing down who arrived before, and left soon after the crime."
Miles nodded, "So sock it to me."
Lance pulled a sheet of paper out of the stack, "Three names: Xela Tsier, Jeahor Gabor, and Carey Laske."
"Fantastic. I assume Balamb is on the case?"
"Yeah, they've done a damned good job. But there's a problem."
"What is it?"
"Well… Gabor was arrested."
"Great!"
"The day he arrived in Balamb. He's wanted for other crimes. They let him go shortly after."
"Damn."
"Carey Laske… is dead."
"What happened?"
"She was killed in Balamb the day of the crime. Someone stole her identity and used it to flee the area. They discovered her body a few days ago."
"What about Tsier?"
"Well, we don't know where he is. Balamb authorities are tracking him down, but no nation seems to have any record of his existence. Ever."
"Alias?"
"We've checked, its not a known alias, but we're trying to match it up."
"Okay." Miles looked at all the papers, "What's the rest of this?"
"We sent the material we could scrounge from the wreck to Balamb for analysis. That's the final report."
Miles sighed, "It was a car."
Lance grinned, "Yes, but we've gotten a huge lead."
"What's it?"
"The material from the bomb, it's a rare material called tesuniam. It's only found in one area."
"Where?"
"Esthar."
Miles grinned, "So we know where to look?"
"You're damned straight. We've already made contact with the President. He's agreed to cooperate fully."
Miles got up and shook Lance's hand, "You're the right man for this job y'know. You should get into police work."
Lance laughed nervously, "Sir, my place is with this Garden. I'll use my skills as needed."
Miles grinned, "If only we had more use for it, I'd open up an investigative department and put you in charge."
Lance nodded, "Thank you, sir. But I think my work is nearly done here. All that's left is the hunt. The bastard is on the run now."
Miles closed his eyes and allowed a sigh of relief, "Soon."