Chapter 5
Adom recounted the battle as best as he could, apparently I had fought like a madman, which surprised me very little. Wielding the large war sword with uncanny finesse. After getting him to explain just what the hell he meant by that I heard the rest of the story. I'd jumped, from a standstill, to head height on the monster, swinging the sword and cleaving Jet weapon in two.
It had regenerated and fled.
I had snapped out of the effect of the Blue Materia and carried Roarke and Ed to the haunted house inn while Adom carried Werner. And that left me where I currently was, lying on a bed attempting to sleep with through the loud fabricated screams. Not that they were disturbing, just that every time I was nearly asleep there was some noise or another. Right about now I was in the mood to strangle the freak who'd created this place.
I heard a rustling noise and instinctively aimed my outsider at it; Mr. Hangman had never had a more perturbed look on his face.
"Excuse me, sir. There is someone asking for you at the front desk."
"Thank you." I holstered the pistol and walked down the stairs to meet my guest. "Well, you're the last person I expected to see." I stopped several steps from the bottom. Tseng shifted his gaze from the odd flower he'd been looking at, his typically blank expression in place.
"No guns, no tricks, I just want to talk."
"So, talk."
"You may not remember but several years ago, we, I, the Turks."
"Murdered my father." I finished for him.
"Yes," I couldn't believe it, the great Tseng feeling guilty, or. "Your father," he continued. "Was, my. partner. I just did my job, as I am now. You have been offered a position with the Turks, one that you cannot turn down."
"Is that so?" I commented, wondering if Tseng had pulled strings or if this was genuine, or worse, a trap.
"Our president was quite impressed with your fighting skills." He stopped short, staring for a second.
"What?!" I heard an odd sound; I recognized a little too late, a silenced gun shot. Then I saw the laser beam aimed at my chest, and felt the bullet strike. I fell back and rolled down the last several steps to the floor.
"Reno, you are out of line."
"The hell with that! I can finish him, if not at least tell him we gave his sis."
"He was about to decide." Tseng interjected.
"Ow, bastard, that hurt." I clutched my chest. The thin vest I'd been wearing had stopped the bullet itself, but not the force with which it hit.
"Well?"
"I'll consider your offer. Meet me at Round square tomorrow morning."
"Consider it well, if you refuse, your sister dies." Reno shouted after me. I started up the stairs and into my room. I sat myself down on the floor and stared out into a rainstorm I knew wasn't there. What the hell was I supposed to do.? Now I had to choose between my dedication to my job, and to my family.
"Where's my PHS?" I muttered, finding it in the pocket of my jacket. I dialed the number for the president's office.
"Hello?" His new secretary answered.
"Connect me to president Dorin."
"Sir, I'll need you name."
"Just connect me goddamit!" I shouted, losing my patience. The phone clicked and I was on hold for several seconds, then it was picked up again.
"Hello? President Keith Dorin how can I help you?"
"Sir, I need some help."
"David! How's your vacation going?"
"Good, well up until a minute ago it was."
"Really? What happened?"
"Turks. They want me to join them, they've kidnapped Sarah and they are going to kill her if I refuse."
"I'd like to say I can help you, but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do."
"What?!" I hoped I'd heard him wrong.
"You will have to decide for yourself what the best course of action." I hurled the PHS against the wall and watched the shards of plastic hit the floor.
"The company will always be there for you. You remember that promise?!" I was yelling at no one. "Where are your damn promises now?!" I sat down on the floor and leaned against the bed. "The company will solve all your problems." Already I heard their reply, 'this isn't covered by our policies, we never planned for it to happen.'
I finally figured out what to do. I picked up the rooms phone and re-dialed the company.
"He."
"Give me the president." I got no argument. "I'll do it." I said as soon as president Dorin picked up.
"Don't worry, Adom will take your place in Black Ops until such a time as you can return. Good luck on the other side."
********
Tseng, where the hell are you? I thought to myself as I stood under an overpass near the entrance to Round square. The throng of visitors bending around me. Then I saw Reno, walking towards me, and stopping a few feet in front of me. Rude approached me from the opposite side, and there was Tseng, walking side by side with Elena.
"Your decision?" Tseng asked bluntly. I drew my outsider, spinning it expertly and finally casting it over the railing, hearing it strike several supports as it plummeted to the ground. Tseng got the message behind the act, to him, the act of throwing away my standard issue weapon was significant.
"Let's go." I said, making to walk off.
"Hold it." Reno placed a hand on my chest and pushed my back. "How do we know he's serious?"
"What exactly do you have in mind?" Elena asked him rhetorically.
"I have here, his hotel phone record." He held up a sheet of paper. "Fourteen phone calls, it's all here, see, one call to Domino's, and another and another, Damn this guy eats a lot of pizza., wait there! See T.L.L Inc." He sounded triumphant.
"I called to find out what to do. they wouldn't do anything. So much for them always being there for me." The bitterness I still felt must have convinced them.
"Alright, let's go." We filed down to the air car and left.
********
All my Black Ops stuff was taken and burnt, then replaced by Shinra imitations. My world was suddenly upside down, old friends were enemies and enemies' friends. Places I could go I couldn't now. A day later I was on my first assignment. I was a sniper, Tseng was along to make sure I actually did it.
I was aiming, the rain was pouring, a family friend passed into my sights. I squeezed the trigger, and watched as his silhouette fell out of my vision. The deed done I began disassembling the rifle. Tseng rested a hand on my shoulder, imagery flashed through my head and, at that moment, I realized why Tseng was the way he was, he had to be ready to kill anyone at anytime. From what I gathered out of the occasional blurb from Tseng and the constant bickering between Reno and Elena, my father had been a Turk. One day he started secretly supporting T.L.L; Shinra had found out and had him removed, permanently.
Being a Turk was surprisingly a lot like being in Black Ops. I had full access to the Shinra building, although there were some floors I tended to stay away from, the science labs for one. Hojo had been a madman and a few of his monsters were still locked away inside the rooms. Several times I could have sworn I saw a platinum haired man wandering those corridors, but he disappeared every time I got close.
But, cutting through the science labs was the quickest way to my office. Which is why I was there now. I sped up to a quick walk, trying to appear calm even though there was no one there to see me. Except for him, I ran to catch up with him.
"Hey, who the hell are you?" I asked. The silver haired specter turned to face me, wearing a smirk that faded as it drew an immensely long katana from thin air. "Beware, it is at hand." The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. He swung the sword as hard as he could; it disappeared inches from my throat, along with the rest of him.
"Creepy." I continued down the hall, turned left and made a right at the end of the hallway. Opening and entering a door marked 'David Boekal'. Instinctively I drew the quicksilver I now carried in place of my outsider. I crouched and flipped on the lights, aiming at my desk.
And there was Reno.
"What do you want?" I asked as I holstered my gun and unbuttoned the jacket of my Turks uniform.
"Two things, One, we have released your sister, and two, good job on that sniping mission. It's been a custom, ever since I showed up to go drinking with the newest Turk." He took his feet off my desk and stood up.
"Oh really." I started to light a smoke, saw the look Reno gave me and handed him one.
"You know, you're more fun when you're not shooting at me."
"I could say the same about you."
Adom recounted the battle as best as he could, apparently I had fought like a madman, which surprised me very little. Wielding the large war sword with uncanny finesse. After getting him to explain just what the hell he meant by that I heard the rest of the story. I'd jumped, from a standstill, to head height on the monster, swinging the sword and cleaving Jet weapon in two.
It had regenerated and fled.
I had snapped out of the effect of the Blue Materia and carried Roarke and Ed to the haunted house inn while Adom carried Werner. And that left me where I currently was, lying on a bed attempting to sleep with through the loud fabricated screams. Not that they were disturbing, just that every time I was nearly asleep there was some noise or another. Right about now I was in the mood to strangle the freak who'd created this place.
I heard a rustling noise and instinctively aimed my outsider at it; Mr. Hangman had never had a more perturbed look on his face.
"Excuse me, sir. There is someone asking for you at the front desk."
"Thank you." I holstered the pistol and walked down the stairs to meet my guest. "Well, you're the last person I expected to see." I stopped several steps from the bottom. Tseng shifted his gaze from the odd flower he'd been looking at, his typically blank expression in place.
"No guns, no tricks, I just want to talk."
"So, talk."
"You may not remember but several years ago, we, I, the Turks."
"Murdered my father." I finished for him.
"Yes," I couldn't believe it, the great Tseng feeling guilty, or. "Your father," he continued. "Was, my. partner. I just did my job, as I am now. You have been offered a position with the Turks, one that you cannot turn down."
"Is that so?" I commented, wondering if Tseng had pulled strings or if this was genuine, or worse, a trap.
"Our president was quite impressed with your fighting skills." He stopped short, staring for a second.
"What?!" I heard an odd sound; I recognized a little too late, a silenced gun shot. Then I saw the laser beam aimed at my chest, and felt the bullet strike. I fell back and rolled down the last several steps to the floor.
"Reno, you are out of line."
"The hell with that! I can finish him, if not at least tell him we gave his sis."
"He was about to decide." Tseng interjected.
"Ow, bastard, that hurt." I clutched my chest. The thin vest I'd been wearing had stopped the bullet itself, but not the force with which it hit.
"Well?"
"I'll consider your offer. Meet me at Round square tomorrow morning."
"Consider it well, if you refuse, your sister dies." Reno shouted after me. I started up the stairs and into my room. I sat myself down on the floor and stared out into a rainstorm I knew wasn't there. What the hell was I supposed to do.? Now I had to choose between my dedication to my job, and to my family.
"Where's my PHS?" I muttered, finding it in the pocket of my jacket. I dialed the number for the president's office.
"Hello?" His new secretary answered.
"Connect me to president Dorin."
"Sir, I'll need you name."
"Just connect me goddamit!" I shouted, losing my patience. The phone clicked and I was on hold for several seconds, then it was picked up again.
"Hello? President Keith Dorin how can I help you?"
"Sir, I need some help."
"David! How's your vacation going?"
"Good, well up until a minute ago it was."
"Really? What happened?"
"Turks. They want me to join them, they've kidnapped Sarah and they are going to kill her if I refuse."
"I'd like to say I can help you, but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do."
"What?!" I hoped I'd heard him wrong.
"You will have to decide for yourself what the best course of action." I hurled the PHS against the wall and watched the shards of plastic hit the floor.
"The company will always be there for you. You remember that promise?!" I was yelling at no one. "Where are your damn promises now?!" I sat down on the floor and leaned against the bed. "The company will solve all your problems." Already I heard their reply, 'this isn't covered by our policies, we never planned for it to happen.'
I finally figured out what to do. I picked up the rooms phone and re-dialed the company.
"He."
"Give me the president." I got no argument. "I'll do it." I said as soon as president Dorin picked up.
"Don't worry, Adom will take your place in Black Ops until such a time as you can return. Good luck on the other side."
********
Tseng, where the hell are you? I thought to myself as I stood under an overpass near the entrance to Round square. The throng of visitors bending around me. Then I saw Reno, walking towards me, and stopping a few feet in front of me. Rude approached me from the opposite side, and there was Tseng, walking side by side with Elena.
"Your decision?" Tseng asked bluntly. I drew my outsider, spinning it expertly and finally casting it over the railing, hearing it strike several supports as it plummeted to the ground. Tseng got the message behind the act, to him, the act of throwing away my standard issue weapon was significant.
"Let's go." I said, making to walk off.
"Hold it." Reno placed a hand on my chest and pushed my back. "How do we know he's serious?"
"What exactly do you have in mind?" Elena asked him rhetorically.
"I have here, his hotel phone record." He held up a sheet of paper. "Fourteen phone calls, it's all here, see, one call to Domino's, and another and another, Damn this guy eats a lot of pizza., wait there! See T.L.L Inc." He sounded triumphant.
"I called to find out what to do. they wouldn't do anything. So much for them always being there for me." The bitterness I still felt must have convinced them.
"Alright, let's go." We filed down to the air car and left.
********
All my Black Ops stuff was taken and burnt, then replaced by Shinra imitations. My world was suddenly upside down, old friends were enemies and enemies' friends. Places I could go I couldn't now. A day later I was on my first assignment. I was a sniper, Tseng was along to make sure I actually did it.
I was aiming, the rain was pouring, a family friend passed into my sights. I squeezed the trigger, and watched as his silhouette fell out of my vision. The deed done I began disassembling the rifle. Tseng rested a hand on my shoulder, imagery flashed through my head and, at that moment, I realized why Tseng was the way he was, he had to be ready to kill anyone at anytime. From what I gathered out of the occasional blurb from Tseng and the constant bickering between Reno and Elena, my father had been a Turk. One day he started secretly supporting T.L.L; Shinra had found out and had him removed, permanently.
Being a Turk was surprisingly a lot like being in Black Ops. I had full access to the Shinra building, although there were some floors I tended to stay away from, the science labs for one. Hojo had been a madman and a few of his monsters were still locked away inside the rooms. Several times I could have sworn I saw a platinum haired man wandering those corridors, but he disappeared every time I got close.
But, cutting through the science labs was the quickest way to my office. Which is why I was there now. I sped up to a quick walk, trying to appear calm even though there was no one there to see me. Except for him, I ran to catch up with him.
"Hey, who the hell are you?" I asked. The silver haired specter turned to face me, wearing a smirk that faded as it drew an immensely long katana from thin air. "Beware, it is at hand." The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. He swung the sword as hard as he could; it disappeared inches from my throat, along with the rest of him.
"Creepy." I continued down the hall, turned left and made a right at the end of the hallway. Opening and entering a door marked 'David Boekal'. Instinctively I drew the quicksilver I now carried in place of my outsider. I crouched and flipped on the lights, aiming at my desk.
And there was Reno.
"What do you want?" I asked as I holstered my gun and unbuttoned the jacket of my Turks uniform.
"Two things, One, we have released your sister, and two, good job on that sniping mission. It's been a custom, ever since I showed up to go drinking with the newest Turk." He took his feet off my desk and stood up.
"Oh really." I started to light a smoke, saw the look Reno gave me and handed him one.
"You know, you're more fun when you're not shooting at me."
"I could say the same about you."