Rating: R
Disclaimer: Jarad is mine (you can tell as he's not much of a character). Everyone else belongs to the talented and mighty Squaresoft. The chapter quote is actually a line paraphrased from the Star Wars novel, 'Assault at Selonia'.
A/N: Argh…every time I give an exact time frame for updates, something goes wrong. Heck, I think I jinx it that way. This time, my main computer decided to die on me. *Viciously kicks load of junk, experiencing an Office Space moment.*
Lest We Forget
Chapter 8: Deception
"Once you start playing the game of wheels within wheels, it's hard to stop."
The soldier's words hung in the air, propped up by the tense silence.
Telltale signs of shock marred Quistis' usual aura of calm confidence, the raised eyebrows, wide eyes and slightly open mouth acting like cracks in a mask. Her questioning gaze found no answers in the man's expression. He merely looked bemused, a sardonic smile playing on his lips. He seemed to be waiting for them to reply. She was reminded of the feeling of unease that had registered when those thugs showed up. Something had not been right. Maybe it was just their body language. Hell, they were trying to rape her. They hadn't demanded money, which was by itself, odd but not extremely remarkable. What now bothered her more was how this man had turned up at exactly the right moment to save them. She was never that lucky, and this world did not run purely on chance. Though reluctant to turn her back on an enemy, especially one that hadn't attacked yet, she moved to glance hesitantly at Seifer. Quistis didn't know what to expect. The fear that he would join the Galbadian, and then triumphantly reveal his amnesia to be mere pretence, caused a sinking feeling within her. As she saw how he recognised the soldier, she could only imagine one thing…that somehow, her fear had become reality, and Seifer had betrayed her again.
***
"Gamma Scout checking in."
"Report."
"Sir, the agent has made contact with Trepe and Almasy."
"Good. Carry on."
***
Quistis backed against the alley wall, her gaze flicking from Seifer to the soldier and back. She should have known that this would happen. She, who had criticised trust and naiveté, had herself fallen gullible to the world. Never again. It will never happen again. Her fingers were white from fearfully clutching the whip handle. Anger at his betrayal and her own stupidity made her grip even tighter, causing the leather to bite painfully into her skin.
"Who are you?"
Seifer's question caught her by surprise, sparking the hope that perhaps she was mistaken, but after recalling his look of recognition, her features hardened once more. This whole conversation was probably for her benefit, with the sole purpose of gaining her trust.
"Don't you remember me, Almasy?"
Oh, whoever that man is, he's good. Must be a top-notch agent. His eyes even narrowed at the right moment. Quistis crossed her arms tightly over her chest, closing herself off to the possibility that Seifer was innocent. She continued to watch, convinced that everything was staged. She wasn't sure why she hadn't attacked or tried to escape yet.
"Should I?" Seifer barked, frustrated. He wanted clear answers, not bloody mind games. Increasingly irritated by the ever-present scornful smile, he glared at the soldier. Note to self, don't ever smirk at Quistis like that again.
"I'm hurt that you would forget an old friend," the man replied sarcastically, placing a hand over his heart in mock-agony. "Going senile, Almasy? Your faulty memory wounds me deeply."
Quistis frowned. Those words seemed to contain a whole host of meanings and implications.
"Enough," Seifer snarled, pointing Hyperion threateningly at him. "Who are you? Name, rank, whatever."
The soldier didn't even flinch. Instead, he straightened and stood with parade-ground stiffness, reciting with out-of-place formality, "I'm Jarad, previously lieutenant of the Galbadian Army's 1st regiment during the recent Sorceress War."
The information wasn't that surprising. Nothing useful had been revealed. Ignoring the disappointment, Seifer raised an eyebrow. "And now?"
"Just Jarad," the man muttered, seemingly deflated.
If I didn't know better, I'd say all this was real. Their deception sickened her, sickened her more than the fresh corpses that still lay haphazardly around the alley. Rivers of blood flowed into the earlier puddles of rainwater, dyeing them crimson. Her trust had been tainted in much the same way.
"Why were you watching us in the bar?"
Her head shot up. Quistis looked at Seifer, confused. What?
"Cause I recognised you," Jarad replied evenly, before turning to face her. "And your lady was a real stunner."
She hated the way his gaze trailed up and down her body, lingering on certain places. It was degrading.
Seifer didn't seem to like it either. Walking right up to Jarad, he stood belligerently in front of him, blocking his view of Quistis. "Why did you disappear?"
"Huh? I went to the bathroom. By the time I got back, the place was a mess and you were gone. Some green-nosed private was muttering about a sex goddess with a whip."
Quistis grimaced. If Trepism spreads to Galbadia, I won't wait for SeeD to kill me, I'll kill myself. So Seifer had been right about the man he saw in the bar. She hadn't believed him then. It explained how he recognised Jarad. She wanted to doubt Seifer's betrayal, and believe that she had over-reacted, but… Never again. It will never happen again. Nothing would happen, if she kept him at a distance. She did not want to give him back the power to hurt her.
***
"Is everything going according to plan?"
"Yes sir."
***
Ignoring the asshole in front of him, Seifer glanced back at Quistis. She hadn't said a word since Jarad came along, instead, merely choosing to stand there and observe them with a strange look on her face. It was extremely disturbing behaviour for her. He hoped nothing was wrong. Turning back to Jarad, he asked, "Why were you looking for me?"
"More questions? You're getting predictable in your old age, Almasy. No one's heard from you since the war ended. After the huge reward was posted for your capture, nearly everyone was ready to haul your ass to the war crimes tribunal."
"And you're one of them?"
"No. I wanted to repay a favour."
Jarad's reply hardly reassured him. For all he knew, the man might just want to torture and kill him. He really wished Quistis would say something, anything, even one of her pet comments designed to get under his skin. Oh don't tell me she's fallen for jerk face here. Women. He growled at Jarad, "What was it?"
"You saved my life during the war." His tone was serious.
Seifer swore he had heard those lines before in numerous B-grade movies. They were usually followed by "there was an ambush" or "we were outnumbered".
Jarad continued earnestly, "Don't you remember? We were ambushed by SeeD."
Seifer could not help rolling his eyes. Close enough.
"Where was this?" Quistis' voice startled both of them, and despite her frosty tone, he felt nothing but relief.
"D-District Prison," Jarad replied, stepping around Seifer so he could get a better look at her. "What's it to you?"
Narrowing her eyes, she spat the one word which summarised what Squall had experienced there, and what his friends thought of the place. "Hell."
***
"Do they believe him yet?"
"No sir."
"Very well, accelerate procedures."
***
"You haven't introduced us, Seifer," Jarad said, hiding whatever he thought of her vehement reaction behind his even tone.
Great, we're both on a first name basis now. Seifer remained silent. He had no idea whether Quistis wanted to reveal her identity. If she did, she could very well do so on her own. Besides, he received enough crap from her already without messing this one up.
"It's Quistis," she made no offer to shake Jarad's hand, not that anyone expected her to. "And I know extremely well who you are."
"I'm flattered."
She shook her head slowly as if silently chiding an insolent boy. The answer was not the one she wanted. Pushing herself off the wall, she straightened and matched his civil tone. "Let's dispense with these pleasantries. I assure you that they're perfectly unnecessary. What do you want?"
"To help both of you."
"So the life debt has been extended to cover me as well. Why?" she gazed curiously at him. "I assume you're speaking for the military here."
"We received word of your plight," his sardonic smile was back in place. "You're not very popular in Balamb it seems."
"Heard from a friend of a friend?" Quistis probed.
Jarad merely grinned.
She glared at him. At least, it had been worth a try. So news had truly spread. She'd guessed as much from the soldiers' conversation in the bar.
Nothing's for free. Suspicious, Seifer repeated Quistis' earlier question. "What do you want?"
"Mutual assistance." The reply was as expected, logical and deceptively reasonable.
***
"Sir, the offer has been made."
"And…?"
***
Quistis looked as if she was pondering over the offer, but her decision was already made. Balamb Garden had been well, almost everything to her. Having dedicated her life to SeeD, she hardly expected it to try and kill her. She was still holding out for a miracle. Everyone might already consider her a traitor, but she wasn't about to condemn herself further by joining Galbadia. If nothing else, she was loyal.
Watching her carefully, Seifer knew her answer long before she voiced it. He knew he could do nothing to change her mind.
Jarad seemed surprised by her choice. "You do realise that Garden won't show you any mercy."
"Perhaps."
He continued to stare at her, unable to believe what he was hearing. "They hate you. They'll kill you. You're no longer their child prodigy, their favourite instructor, or a world saviour. To them, you are a traitor."
Quistis almost winced at how he brutally enunciated the last four words. She chose to remain silent.
Smoothly switching gears, Jarad lowered his voice and reasoned, "You've done so much for them already, and look how they've repaid you. Galbadia appreciates competence and loyalty. We understand their worth, and you'll find we reward such qualities very generously."
"No thanks, I remember how generously Galbadia rewarded innocence," she replied sarcastically.
"That was a long time ago," he retorted defensively.
"Not long enough I'm afraid. I repeat, no thanks."
***
"The offer was declined, sir."
"Acknowledged. It was expected. Trepe is loyal after all."
***
"My superiors will be disappointed, but the offer remains open. Just contact us if you change your mind," Jarad stated clearly, gazing evenly at both Seifer and Quistis. Placing one foot on the corpse that housed his sword, he gripped the hilt with one hand and sickeningly wrenched the blade out. Its sides were caked with dried blood and entrails. Disgusted, he wiped it on the thug's rags before sheathing it. Then, he spun neatly on his heel and strode towards the alley entrance. He paused there just long enough to cry over his shoulder, "Don't wait too long. I heard Balamb sent its best after you. Take care. Oh, and it was nice to see you again, Almasy."
They watched him disappear around the corner.
"Shit. We need to leave this alley before someone else walks in," Seifer growled. "Everyone seems to know where we are these days."
"Could be because you tell them," Quistis' voice was colder than ice, absolute zero in temperature.
"You think I betrayed you? Fuck, how many times do we have to go through this? Why would I want to?"
She didn't seem convinced. "So you can run back to your old friends."
Seifer wanted to bash his head against the wall in frustration. "You seriously have issues, Trepe."
"It beats being dead."
He grimaced. There was no reply to be made to that.
Quistis arched an eyebrow, "Speechless Seifer? You're slipping."
Seifer scowled, and muttered something under his breath.
Enjoying this rare sense of control, no matter how temporary, she leant closer to him and asked, "What was that?"
"I wish I actually remembered Jarad," he bit out.
"Don't be a fool, that's probably not even his real name," she laughed harshly. "And why would you want to?"
Seifer stared at the bodies strewn around his feet, silent for a moment. He desperately wanted to believe that something good had come out of his past. With Quistis there to remind him constantly of his past treachery, there was no such luck. He looked up at her, his face a blank. "Quistis?"
"Yes?"
"Stop being such a bitch," he turned and stalked out of the alley.
She stood there, gazing after him…and smiled sadly.
A/N: Ever had the feeling where you know where you want to be, but don't know how to get there? Sorry, just a random thought that came up.
