Hired Help
Espionage Part 2
The night was uncharacteristically cool for Costa Del Sol. Brushing off some sand from his baggy black pants and adjusting his black sunglasses, 'Bryon Matthews' was undercover. His unruly spikes temporarily died black and slicked down, Cloud Strife looked like your typical goth, dressed in a black turtle neck and sporting brass knuckles. His Ultima Weapon was hidden under his long black leather jacket. About 10 yards in front of him was a group of young people dressed in black, gathered around a campfire. They seemed to be having a heated discussion and the wind carried a few of their words. Cloud distinctly heard 'seven', and 'chicks'.
'Those are them.' Cloud thought as he confidently strode to the misguided group's leader. The tall built man looked to be about 25 to 30 and over 6 feet tall with at least 300 pounds of bulky muscle on his pale frame.
'Barret shaped.' Cloud thought with a smirk.
The man towered over Cloud, and with the piercings all over his face, and the short black hair, he didn't even need the ball and chain at his side to look intimidating.
"You Byron Matthews?" The man asked, his eyes distant with intoxication. Some of the other sitting members stopped smoking pot long enough to look up at their confrontation.
"Yeah." Cloud grunted, searching the group for a familiar face.
"Get your sponsor then." He commanded, scowling.
Cloud turned to the group and met eyes with a man in black, wearing a red cape, the only member of the group not doing something remotely illegal. The man's frightening red orbs pierced Cloud as he stood and came to Cloud's side.
The leader frowned. "Valentine? You wanna waste your sponsorship on this punk?"
Vincent Valentine nodded, solemn as ever.
"Alright then. I'll give you two a few minutes to prepare." The leader joined his followers, leaving Cloud and Vincent alone to discuss their strategy.
They walked a few yards away from the group and sat, staring across from each other. Cloud had to settle carefully, so as to not expose the Ultima Weapon.
"You're late." Vincent stated flatly.
"I know, it's just Tifa wanted to come, and sometimes she's so stubborn when it comes to dangerous situations." Cloud whispered back.
Vincent nodded, understanding.
"Well, what now?" Cloud asked, glancing at the dark gathering.
"You fight Malice. Their leader." Vincent replied gravely.
Cloud's brows furrowed. "Do I kill him?"
"Not unless you want to be the leader."
"Have you fought him?"
"Yes. He's strong, but surely no Sephiroth." Vincent replied.
"Well, if you've already been hazed, how come you haven't learned if they're the murderers or not?" Cloud asked, skeptical, and disappointed.
Vincent sighed. "I have to sponsor someone first. That is you. Are you done with the questions now?"
Cloud turned to study the group. 'Malice' shot him a dirty look.
"Looks like he's ready to fight." Cloud said calmly, standing up. Vincent did so also, and they approached Malice.
Malice slowly stood and popped his neck and knuckles menacingly. Cloud turned to Vincent, who appeared to be admiring the scenery. Even Cloud had to admit it had an ethereal beauty to it. Still, there was something disturbingly sinister about a starless black sky. The dark clouds covered the moon, and cast eerie shadows on the ocean surface, the waves shimmering as the current came in.
Cloud was snapped out of his thoughts as a huge meaty hand roughly grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Let's go, punk." Malice growled, sneering.
Cloud smirked. "Lets get this over with."
Malice led Cloud to a large clearing in the sand. His lackeys had cleared away as much of the sand as they could, making the ground basically smooth and hard. It was surrounded by rocks in a large circle, forming a type of arena.
The two entered the circle and Cloud glanced at Vincent, who was separated from the rest of Malice's followers. Vincent was intently watching the crowd, as they surrounded the makeshift arena, just in case any of them decided to break the rules by breaking rank.
But Cloud couldn't worry about that now. If it happened, he trusted Vincent enough to take care of it. Even if it was a raging mob. The two combatants faced each other off waiting for the other to show signs of weakness. Suddenly, they advanced on each other Malice aiming a strong punch at Cloud's head, and Cloud dodging. Unfortunately for Malice, his lack of speed and agility made up for his monster-truck-esqe body. Cloud spun as Malice passed him, and came back around, punching Malice in his side with the brass knuckles. Malice crumpled to his knees in pain.
"That was a little easier than I expected." Cloud said, honestly surprised.
Malice was clutching his side, yet still had enough breath to make a retort. "Shut the hell up you stupid piece of-" He was cut off as a piercing scream interrupted him. A black clad figure shot across the beach, running amazingly fast. But Cloud couldn't mistake that body outline anywhere.
"TIFA!"
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"Damnit! Too slow." Tifa murmured as she sprinted down the beach, ignoring the campfire and the flicker of bodies, as well as calling out of her name, sounding distinctly Cloud-like. All she cared about reaching the person that scream came from, and helping them. It appeared to have come from an old storage building that they used to store beach supplies in, until the new ones were built. As she ran around to the entrance of the building, she could hear a scuffle from inside the structure. Without even thinking, she immediately kicked in the door, sending it halfway across the room, it's hinges screaming in pain. Dashing into the room, the sight she beheld hit her like a ton of bricks. Blood. Everywhere. Mangled lumps of flesh splattered across the room. Dismembered limbs twitching, nerve endings and tendons ripped from their proper places. Tifa noticed a roundish object with matted brown hair attached to it. She was too shocked to scream, or cry, or do anything but stare in horror and disgust. Her eyes scrolled up the far wall, where she read a message.
Where are your stars now?
Reading the words, Tifa fell to her knees, too numb to react. Blood soaked into her clothing, but she took no notice. All she could think of were those silver eyes with their black pupils, glaring at her through the shadows.
Author's Notes: Hey guys. Sorry to keep you waiting. And a very special shoutout to BikoNeko for keeping me motivated, and helping me out. Thank her for the coming chapters. Well, finally the story has gotten interesting! Believe it or not, this is where the summary comes into play. I almost changed the rating to R cause of this chapter. What do you think? And stay tuned for next chapter, because the bouncer is FINALLY REVEALED!!!!!
