Thanks for waiting so long! Enjoy!!
P.S. You need to have read at least up to chapter five to understand this chapter. Remember we left Squall standing by the telephone? No? Reread the chapter!
**
Squall stood by the phone, dumbstruck. He was a little relieved, of course – he had thought she was dead – but of course, those two shots in the background could have changed that in an instant. She'd sounded so frightened, so alone. If only he could find her, tell her things would be ok. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her…he just wouldn't be able to. He'd always looked up to her, respected her…and now she was out there, needing his help.
Suddenly, he realised how stupid he was being. So stupidly, insanely dumb. Leaving the phone swaying on the hook as if inebriated, he stumbled into his office and picked up his cell phone, dialing in a flurry of digits in an instant. He knew that tracing a call didn't work unless both ends of the phone were off the hook at the time. Hopefully Quistis hadn't had time to hang up when…when what? He pushed the disturbing thought out of his mind and concentrated only on the ringing of the phone at the other end of the line. Pick up, pick up, pick up…
"Hello?"
Squall said a quick thank-you prayer to Hyne before breathlessly saying his request.
"Xu? Thank God…we have a lead on Quistis. Can you get me a call traced?"
The urgency in his voice must have made an impression on her, because he could hear her rifling through pages hurriedly. "You know I'm not supposed to…"
"It's life or death, Xu! I mean it! You can do it – if I was there with you, I would look it up myself, I swear. Please…"
A minute later he threw down the phone and grabbed a piece of stationary, scribbling down a name and address…
**
What do you mean, a system malfunction, you twerp? Nick ran a hand through his thick, tousled hair for the fourth time in frustration. The first lead they had on their suspect, and there was a system malfuction. Great. Just – great. He looked at his slim, pretty colleague, noting the embarrassed, slightly withdrawn expression embellishing her clean-cut, open features and her smooth coffee-coloured skin. How could this be happening? It galled him that he;d blown the chance to pinpoint Quistis' location. Maybe someone would phone in with news about a spotting.
"We picked up a lead on our suspect when she made a phone call, Nick. We tried to trace it – but we couldn't get through. As I said, there must be something wrong with the machines or something…"
Nick sat down heavily. They'd lost her. Completely and totally. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Melody's beautiful, innocent face, the face with the lovely eyes of Quistis Trepe. Those eyes he thought he would never see again…
Wise up, Nicky boy. You're supposed to catch the suspect – not fall in love with her!
The image of Quistis' lovely face with the bold letters, "WANTED FOR MURDER" flashed across his mind. He knew she hadn't done it. He knew. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a shadow in the doorway. Wait – that was Agent Bruton – a mess of beef and brawn, but a valuable asset to the police team. He sat up a little straighter. Sometimes, just sometimes, there could be hope…
"We have a lead. A boy from Balamb just traced a call and we picked it up on our radar. Squall Leonhart – a student at Balamb, calling from his room phone. Would you like a dossier on him? Or should we send some agents around there? He might be…"
Nick sat up, a slow smile spreading across his face. Maybe praying to god really did work. He slid a hand across the smooth, waxy surface of the table, papers wafting gently down around his hand. "Find that boy and make him tell us everything. Especially if he has a connection with the Trepe character."
He took a deep breath. Then, he slammed a clip of ammunition into his nine-millimetre pistol, shoving the gun into his shoulder holster and heading out of the door. I will find that girl, he vowed in a whisper, and find out the truth. Yet it seemed obscene, that a murderer and her victim should have the same lovely eyes.
**
Squall put down the phone and bolted towards his door. Now he knew her location, he was planning to drive halfway across the globe to get there, if he had to. Adrenalin pumped through his veins, urging him on forwards. He threw his battered leather jacket over his shoulders, smiling slightly as it squeaked reassuringly. However, just as he reached for the doorknob, the door swung open. Two uniformed officials stood there, poker straight with faces like Dobermans. Squall gulped as he noted the official-looking police badges on their uniforms. What was he going to do now? If they found out he'd traced a call illegally….
One of them was a woman, only of average height, but her self-assured air making her seem much larger.
"Squall Leonhart? I'm afraid you're not going anywhere, Sir. I'm from the CIA. My colleagues and I have some questions for you. I said, you're not going anywhere," she remanded, moving to block Squall's path. Her hand moved to her hip, parting her blazer just enough to reveal an automatic pistol in a shoulder holster. Squall groaned.
"What do you want?"
"Answers. We know you just spoke with Quistis Trepe. We want to know where she is."
"So you can kill her? How should I know? You're the secret agents, not me."
"Don't get smart, kid. Or we can make you're life real miserable."
Squall grimaced. This girl sounded like something out of a gangster movie. If she hadn't been so much shorter than him, he would have punched her there and then. However…
"If you were bugging my phone, you must know Quistis didn't tell me anything. Why didn't you just trace the call?"
Suddenly, the agent didn't seem so intimidating. "We – had an equipment malfuction."
Squall struggled to keep his smile off his face. He knew where Quistis was – or had been, a few minutes earlier. The CIA, however, knew nothing. If he could only escape from these goons, he might be able to reach Quistis before the CIA and the police – or worse – did. The armed murderer charges against Quistis were a big mistake. But only now was he realising just how badly the situation had ballooned out of proportion. It had expanded to include wiretraps, threats, and a network of agents! And what he was worried of was it exploding, now or later, in Quistis' beautiful, innocent face.
**
"Seifer…"
Quistis mumbled his name into her arm as she turned over on the dewy grass. Someone had thoughtfully placed a blanket over her body, and she snuggled against it, grateful for its warmth. A glow warmer than one the blanket could give her spread through her body as she thought of the blissful night she and Seifer had shared. She was in love with him – she wasn't afraid to admit it. And now – now, he loved her too. Nothing in the world could be more wonderful. She opened her eyes a fraction. The sun was just rising over the hills to the west, suffusing the sky with a beautiful dusky pink, mingled with hot violet. The tops of the trees were burnished with gold. The sun had wings, tiny little golden strips of cloud which beat ephemerally at its sides, spreading gold and indigo from their feathers. A glow was spreading across the horizon, beginning to burnish her golden hair, which fanned out across her shoulders, silky and damp. She glanced across at Seifer, lying curled up a few feet away, a lock of his tousled blond hair falling over his forehead onto his eyes. Pulling on her uniform, Quistis stood up, and started as a small bag rolled out of her uniform.
The diamonds…how could I forget?
She mentally kicked herself. She was in the middle of a major jewel heist, and she'd completely forgotten that they were probably the sole objects of many criminals's unwanted attentions. She dropped on her hands and knees next to Seifer, zipping the bag securely into her waist pocket. Smiling exasperatedly, she began to shake him gently. The lock of hair on his forehead bounced up and down endearingly. In a few seconds, his startlingly verdant eyes fluttered open. A slow smile spread across his face, lighting it up, when he saw Quistis kneeling beside him on the jewelled grass.
"Hey sunshine…"
"Enough of that", she replied, slapping him playfully on the wrist. "In case you hadn't noticed, we have a bag of diamonds on our hands. Priceless, rare diamonds. You interested in high-tailing it out of here?"
"High-tailing it where, Quistis?" Seifer's smile gave way to a frown of concern and exasperation. "You planning to be on the run for the rest of your life? We have to hand that over to the authorities, or we're gonna be watching our back for the rest of our lives! You wanna live like that, Quistis? You wanna live like that?"
"AUTHORITIES! And what happens then? Before we even manage to get arrested for jewel theft, I get nabbled for killing that Canon guy. Seifer, everybody thinks I killed that man! I'm armed and dangerous to them! I'll get shot before either of us get a word in edgeways – you know how they are around here – guilty till proven innocent. And there is NOBODY out there who can prove I didn't shoot that guy, nobody! Not even you! For all you know, I could have – you know…"
He placed a finger on her lips, his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners. "This isn't doing us any good. We have to find…you know…"
"But you killed him, Seifer. When we escaped. You killed Jeff…he was the only one who could prove we didn't kill Canon. Because…he killed Canon. But now, we just have…we really are armed and dangerous, Seifer!" Quistis' voice took on a tone of alarm. "We HAVE killed a man! Even if we get wrongfully accused of Canon's murder, we really HAVE committed another one! We're criminals…"
"But it was self-defence…that can't get you jailed on Gaia, can it?"
"I don't know…I just don't know."
The morning was misty, with tiny diamond jewels that sparkled in the mist like silver threads shot through a bridal veil. Quistis sighed. "You're right, Seifer. If we don't find on of Jeff's accomplices, there's no way we can prove we didn't commit those murders. Or, that one of them wasn't in self defence."
"And the diamonds?"
"Give them to the authorities, once we've got our evidence."
"And until then?"
Seifer sighed deeply, looking out across the dawn sky with a pensive expression. "We keep running."
*
In his mind, Squall replayed Quistis' voice and halting scream.
And hoped there was still time.
Some time.
**
TADA! Please review…this story is getting so complex its even confusing me! I like constructive criticism, but I like positive ones even better JJ please review!!!!