Now that I was a trusted member of Danau's crew, I was let in on lots of secrets. I knew much more than the other girls, and I suspected they hated me, but I didn't take it personal. I had a job to do and there was no purpose in getting into it with a bunch of catty, jealous girls when I was supposed to be infiltrating the realm of the drug lords. They didn't make it easy on me, though. They stole my personal things, my underwear, all my spare ammo, sometimes they even took things like deodorant and shaving gel from my bathroom. The girls also used every opportunity to report back to Danau about me. Not that I gave them much to report back with, so they made things up. I hated those girls for interfering with my mission, and sometimes it was hard not to fight back.
No matter what they did to me, though, I remained professional. "They're just jealous of you, Rogue," Danau told me, after they'd spray painted the walls in my dorm with obscenities. I think he liked the way they treated me. It made him feel like some kind of demented God or something.
The Garden Tech Department had set me up with some pretty cool stuff. Around my neck, I wore a silver locket with a false bottom that housed a tiny microphone that could transmit sound over a large distance via sattelite feed. In addition, I'd also been given a birthstone ring that monitored my heart rate, respiration and body temperature. It's purpose was to monitor my condition around the clock, so that they'd know if I ever got into trouble. It was programed to recognize the difference between normal and extreme exertion, sleep and wake patterns, and even pain response.
In late April, I was trusted enough to make my first big exchange without Danau present. He sent me to Dollet to meet one of his suppliers; I had the money, the supplier had the cocaine. It was easy. I took along two of his most skilled girls as back up, though they weren't really needed. I'd met the supplier before, and he knew and trusted me. When I returned to Timber with more than fourty kilos of pure, uncut Centra cocaine, I knew that things were falling into place. After that, I made every exchange on my own, and I learned more about drug trafficking than I ever cared to know. I now new names and locations of all the major suppliers, and I had much of their dealings on tape, and I had enough to go home.
That is, until Danau dropped a bomb on me.
"You know Rogue, I've come to trust you very much," Danau told me as he watched his girls unload my latest take, a 65 kilo drop that I almost got busted for. "You've proven yourself loyal and honest. In just a few months time, I've come to trust you more than I trust some of the people who have worked for me for years."
"Thank you, Danny," I said and stuffed a stack of Gil into my back pack. My reward for this latest exchange. If I'd been allowed the keep all the money I made working for Danau, I'd be a rich woman now. Unfortunately, I only kept a third. The rest was divided between Timber and Garden.
"You've allowed me time to focus on bigger things, Rogue. I've been free to set up new contracts, beyond this little thing I've got going here."
He waited for me to comment. When I didn't, he continued. "I'm getting into politics, Rogue. What do you think of that?" His expression was smug, confident.
"I never much cared for politics, Danny. Politicians tend to be dictators rather than leaders. Especially in Galbadia."
"Yes, you experienced that first hand, didn't you?" he asked. He was refering to my ficticious time with the Galbadian army, where female soldiers had been mistreated and abused for decades. He assumed this was Rogue Amos' reasons for going AWOL. I let him think what he wanted. "I have a proposal for you. One I think you might like."
I looked into his dark blue eyes. "What sort of proposal?"
He stood and admired a painting that hung between two tall windows before responding. "You know that no politician has never been elected to office without a woman, a wife, by his side. To stand a chance, I'd need someone willing to play along. Someone I could trust." He turned to face me and his eyes passed over me, making my skin crawl. "You're just the sort of woman fit to be a dictator's wife. You're ruthless, corrupt, self assured and most important, you're exceedingly attractive."
I was disgusted, though I did my best to hide it. "You have a hundred other girls to choose from. Why me?"
He laughed. Apparently, my question amused him. "Because you are ten times classier than those other girls. Ninety percent of them jumped into bed with me the night I met them. The other ten percent surrendered soon after. They don't believe in themselves. They're so needy and eager to please. But you, you don't seek to please anyone but yourself, and you have yet to surrender to me. You made it very clear to me that you are not here to be loved or taken care of. You don't thrive on emotional rewards, you're in this purely for your own gain. Like me."
I stared at him.
"When someone is sure of themselves, everyone can see it. You'r confidence is intriguing, and so it shall be to the public, too."
"What's in it for me?" I asked, my fingers itching to pull out my switchblade and slit his throat. Daddy, that's one thing I got from you - my temper. I have always had a short fuse, and Danny was trying to light it.
"Ahh...right to the point." His eyes glittered in the feeble light. "To begin with, wealth, power, prestige, the freedom to do whatever you want. The possibilities are limitless. With you by my side, I could rule the world."
The man was a megalomaniac. What was this crap about ruling the world? In what lifetime did he ever think he could be elected? "Give me some time to think this over," I said.
"If it is your chastity you're concerned about, rest assured, you're safe with me. A union between us would be strictly business," he said. "Separate beds, and only a little PDA required. Unless of course, you'd be interested in more."
Relief washed over me, though I was disgusted at the very thought of being this man's wife. I hoped right then that Squall would not say to do it. That would be the straw that broke the chocobo's back. "I'm interested only in business."
"Fair enough. I have ladies a plenty to satisfy my physical needs."
"I'm not saying yes," I told him. "I'll get back to you."
"Of course," he purred. "I have the perfect opportunity for you to think about it. There is a man I want you to meet, in FH. He holds the key to my next step towards power."
"And what might that be?"
"My man Leon has a full set of blue prints for sale. I want you to go and get them as cheap as you can. Take three days, and then come back and we'll discuss my proposal." He gave me the details of the exchange, and for the first time in my life I was truly scared of something.
I wished I was still his cocaine buyer.
His contact, Leon, had managed to steal blueprints for the Timber Missile
Silo, located just north of the city. The missile silo contained
your standard, run of the mill bombs and such, but it also had an underground
depot containing nuclear weapons. Danau, of course, wasn't interested
in the selection upstairs. I left his office trembling. Whatever
he had planned couldn't be good.
Back in my room, I entered the bath and turned the water in the tub
on. Here, I could make a private call to Garden using a scrambler
that attatched to my cell phone. No one would be able to understand
a word said, should the call be intercepted. I dialed Squall's number
and waited impatiently for him to answer. When he did, I passed on
the formalities and went right to the point.
"When you get the blueprints, fax or mail us a copy," he said.
"I think we should bring him down now," I said. "After this, I may get too far in over my head."
"Give it another week. Try to stall on the marriage thing,"
"Sir, I don't know what he plans to do with the nukes, but I'm pretty sure it's his ticket into office. I don't want to give him the opportunity to use them,"
"He won't. Just play along for now, and I'll contact you before you leave FH," he said.
"Yes sir," I said reluctantly. I didn't like this at all. Why not just take him down now? Why not stop him before he even had a chance to make his plans?
He paused. "Rinoa and your mother are on me all the time about not saying what I'm thinking . . . but I want to tell you, you're doing a great job, Micala. I never tell you that, and it's not because I don't think you are. You're the best I've got. So I'm sorry if I haven't praised you enough."
"No appology needed," I said. I felt terrible. Did Squall believe the reason Gideon had left was because he hadn't given him enough positive reinforcement? "I'm not a SeeD to be praised. I'm not in it for validation."
"Still," he said. I'd embarassed him. Squall Leonhart was a strange man. On a professional level, I respect and admire him. As a child, I'd hoped to be as good as he was as a young man. However, over the years, I've gotten to know him on a more personal level, and sometimes it was hard to tell where he was coming from. Every time he spoke from the heart, he got flustered and he reminded me of a shy little boy. But I guess you already know that.
"I understand what you're saying," I said gently, "and I appreciate it."
"I'll talk to you soon," he said, "and be careful."
In the morning, I packed my bag and showered. Danau had given
me a stack of cash, mostly thousand gil bills, and instructions on dealing
with Leon. I wondered what I'd do with myself for three days.
Perhaps as soon as I'd negotiated the deal, I could sneak away to visit
my family. But I didn't trust Danau, no matter how much he claimed
to trust me, and I figured he'd have me followed. I'd just have to
stick it out. Trouble was, there's not much to do in FH but fish
and complain about all the violence in the world.
As I walked, my mind wandered back to Gideon. I couldn't help it. I tried not to, but the harder I tried, the harder it was to get rid of the memories. Maybe if he'd given an explanation when he'd left, it would all be easier to understand. But all of us missed him and we didn't understand at all. It was difficult to ignore the sadness in his family's faces or sense the longing they felt for him. It was exactly as Gideon said. I hated him a little too for running away.
When I reached the edge of the disk, I had no idea that I was about
to see him again for the first time in four years.