Chapter Three
Revisited Past
In front of him stood a tall man. He had dark hair that was cut very short, and dull grey eyes. He looked to be in his late 30's but he walked with a limp in his left leg.
"Hello Headmaster Cid." The man said in a dull voice.
"Good Afternoon Mayor Gilbert. You wished to discuss the development of a new communication tower with me." Squall heard Cid's strong but calm voice reply.
"That is correct. We need a team of SeeD's to survey the perimeter of the old tower to get rid of any monsters who might have arrived there since the tower was destroyed." Gilbert said, more emotion sounding in his voice.
Direct, Squall noted, doesn't waste time.
"Surely you should take the matter up with the Mayor of Dollet." Cid said keeping his voice level but Squall could feel the surge of suspicion arise in Cid's mind.
"We have. He says that his troops have been too busy surveying the damages done by time compression. It appears that monsters from the future somehow jumped through time to the present. They are much stronger than any monsters that have been previously encountered and so it is taking a long time for Dollet's forces to dispose of them."
"I see," Cid said, unconvinced, "If I agree to this, I will be putting many SeeD's lives in danger."
"On the contrary, Headmaster Cid, I'm sure it will be no problem for a force as strong as the SeeD's."
"You said yourself that they were stronger than any other monsters previously encountered." Cid accused.
Poor judge of character, Squall thought. He thinks that he knows how to sway Cid's decision. He's used flattery. What else?
"But that was only the opinion of Dollet's army. They are nowhere near as strong as the SeeD's forces"
"What about Galbadia? Have you requested the use of their SeeDs?"
"Galbadia Garden is on the move and I have not been successful in making contact to arrange a meeting with Headmaster Martine yet." Gilbert replied calmly.
An unspecific answer, Squall noted. Anyone could say that but we have no proof that Galbadia isn't on the move. He's thought this through very thoroughly.
"Why do you want to rebuild the communication tower in Dollet?" Cid enquired.
"With the Gardens on the move all the time it will be a good way to keep in contact with them. There are many benefits to having a communication tower, Headmaster Cid. You should know that."
"What will you do if I refuse?" Cid asked, not showing any signs of a decision.
"We shall keep trying to make contact with Galbadia Garden and if that fails then we shall wait until Dollet's army has cleared it's region of monsters and then request their help."
"What is The Mayor of Dollet's opinion of this project?"
"He is very enthusiastic about the prospect of the Tower becoming fully operational again. But he is more concerned about the safety of his town which is why he cannot spare any soldiers to clear the area. He has entrusted me with the responsibility of hiring SeeD's to clear the area for him."
"Did he specifically request SeeD's?" Cid enquired and raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Yes." The Mayor replied calmly without giving anything away.
"Why?" Cid asked after a pause.
"He does not tell me his reasons, simply his requests." The Mayor replied. Squall watched his face carefully and saw his eye twitch slightly. He had given away that he was working for the Mayor of Dollet.
"In that case," Cid said at last, having noticed the twitch as well, "I shall think about it and give you my answer in two days, if that is alright with you, Mayor Gilbert."
The Mayor looked slightly disappointed and then smiled weakly.
"Of course, Headmaster Cid, Thank you for your time."
The two men stood and shook hands and as the scene Squall was watching faded to white again, Squall took another good look at the Mayor and held the picture of him in his mind.
When the white faded into colour again, Squall was in the same office, standing behind the polished desk, watching the figure of Cid leave the room through the door.
'Good,' Squall heard the Mayor think, 'Cid will turn down the offer and then the Phoenix Wing will be safe.'
The Mayor walked over to a plant pot on a small table by the door and dug into the soil with his fingers. When he pulled his hand out he held a small black key.
With the key he walked over to his desk and reached underneath it. He fitted the small key into a hole and turned it. Squall heard a muffled click from the bookcase on the wall to his left. Mayor Gilbert pulled the key out of the hole and re-planted it in the pot by the door.
At the bookcase he reached his hand onto the top shelf and pulled away a panel on the wall. Pulling over a chair, he stood on it to look up at the wall where the panel had been. In it's place was a small silver safe.
The mayor turned the dial; 9 right, 11 left, 20 right.
Squall made a note of the numbers.
In the safe was a gold and red item in the shape of a wing. The feathers were coloured with blue and green lines and the whole thing shone dimly from inside the dark safe.
The phoenix wing, Squall thought to himself.
The Mayor took the item from the safe and took it to his desk. Placing it on his desk carefully he took from the top draw in his desk, a pile of thin white tissue paper which he placed the Phoenix Wing on.
After wrapping it carefully in the paper, he called for his secretary to bring in a box to put it in and when she did, Squall looked with dismay at the other things that she held in her arms.
As well as the small cardboard box which Mayor Gilbert placed the phoenix wing in, his secretary also carried four other similar cardboard boxes, all sealed with brown tape. The Mayor finished sealing the box he had with brown parcel tape and then placed it on the top of the pile that his secretary held.
The Mayor handed his secretary a sealed envelope.
"You know what to do. The locations are in here." He waved the envelope in her face.
"Yes, sir." she said and left the room.
Damn, thought Squall. There are five possible locations and I need to see that letter.
He cursed as his vision faded to white and then focused on the wall of the training centre at Garden.
Revisited Past
In front of him stood a tall man. He had dark hair that was cut very short, and dull grey eyes. He looked to be in his late 30's but he walked with a limp in his left leg.
"Hello Headmaster Cid." The man said in a dull voice.
"Good Afternoon Mayor Gilbert. You wished to discuss the development of a new communication tower with me." Squall heard Cid's strong but calm voice reply.
"That is correct. We need a team of SeeD's to survey the perimeter of the old tower to get rid of any monsters who might have arrived there since the tower was destroyed." Gilbert said, more emotion sounding in his voice.
Direct, Squall noted, doesn't waste time.
"Surely you should take the matter up with the Mayor of Dollet." Cid said keeping his voice level but Squall could feel the surge of suspicion arise in Cid's mind.
"We have. He says that his troops have been too busy surveying the damages done by time compression. It appears that monsters from the future somehow jumped through time to the present. They are much stronger than any monsters that have been previously encountered and so it is taking a long time for Dollet's forces to dispose of them."
"I see," Cid said, unconvinced, "If I agree to this, I will be putting many SeeD's lives in danger."
"On the contrary, Headmaster Cid, I'm sure it will be no problem for a force as strong as the SeeD's."
"You said yourself that they were stronger than any other monsters previously encountered." Cid accused.
Poor judge of character, Squall thought. He thinks that he knows how to sway Cid's decision. He's used flattery. What else?
"But that was only the opinion of Dollet's army. They are nowhere near as strong as the SeeD's forces"
"What about Galbadia? Have you requested the use of their SeeDs?"
"Galbadia Garden is on the move and I have not been successful in making contact to arrange a meeting with Headmaster Martine yet." Gilbert replied calmly.
An unspecific answer, Squall noted. Anyone could say that but we have no proof that Galbadia isn't on the move. He's thought this through very thoroughly.
"Why do you want to rebuild the communication tower in Dollet?" Cid enquired.
"With the Gardens on the move all the time it will be a good way to keep in contact with them. There are many benefits to having a communication tower, Headmaster Cid. You should know that."
"What will you do if I refuse?" Cid asked, not showing any signs of a decision.
"We shall keep trying to make contact with Galbadia Garden and if that fails then we shall wait until Dollet's army has cleared it's region of monsters and then request their help."
"What is The Mayor of Dollet's opinion of this project?"
"He is very enthusiastic about the prospect of the Tower becoming fully operational again. But he is more concerned about the safety of his town which is why he cannot spare any soldiers to clear the area. He has entrusted me with the responsibility of hiring SeeD's to clear the area for him."
"Did he specifically request SeeD's?" Cid enquired and raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Yes." The Mayor replied calmly without giving anything away.
"Why?" Cid asked after a pause.
"He does not tell me his reasons, simply his requests." The Mayor replied. Squall watched his face carefully and saw his eye twitch slightly. He had given away that he was working for the Mayor of Dollet.
"In that case," Cid said at last, having noticed the twitch as well, "I shall think about it and give you my answer in two days, if that is alright with you, Mayor Gilbert."
The Mayor looked slightly disappointed and then smiled weakly.
"Of course, Headmaster Cid, Thank you for your time."
The two men stood and shook hands and as the scene Squall was watching faded to white again, Squall took another good look at the Mayor and held the picture of him in his mind.
When the white faded into colour again, Squall was in the same office, standing behind the polished desk, watching the figure of Cid leave the room through the door.
'Good,' Squall heard the Mayor think, 'Cid will turn down the offer and then the Phoenix Wing will be safe.'
The Mayor walked over to a plant pot on a small table by the door and dug into the soil with his fingers. When he pulled his hand out he held a small black key.
With the key he walked over to his desk and reached underneath it. He fitted the small key into a hole and turned it. Squall heard a muffled click from the bookcase on the wall to his left. Mayor Gilbert pulled the key out of the hole and re-planted it in the pot by the door.
At the bookcase he reached his hand onto the top shelf and pulled away a panel on the wall. Pulling over a chair, he stood on it to look up at the wall where the panel had been. In it's place was a small silver safe.
The mayor turned the dial; 9 right, 11 left, 20 right.
Squall made a note of the numbers.
In the safe was a gold and red item in the shape of a wing. The feathers were coloured with blue and green lines and the whole thing shone dimly from inside the dark safe.
The phoenix wing, Squall thought to himself.
The Mayor took the item from the safe and took it to his desk. Placing it on his desk carefully he took from the top draw in his desk, a pile of thin white tissue paper which he placed the Phoenix Wing on.
After wrapping it carefully in the paper, he called for his secretary to bring in a box to put it in and when she did, Squall looked with dismay at the other things that she held in her arms.
As well as the small cardboard box which Mayor Gilbert placed the phoenix wing in, his secretary also carried four other similar cardboard boxes, all sealed with brown tape. The Mayor finished sealing the box he had with brown parcel tape and then placed it on the top of the pile that his secretary held.
The Mayor handed his secretary a sealed envelope.
"You know what to do. The locations are in here." He waved the envelope in her face.
"Yes, sir." she said and left the room.
Damn, thought Squall. There are five possible locations and I need to see that letter.
He cursed as his vision faded to white and then focused on the wall of the training centre at Garden.