Tracking a Killer
Ch. 3
As they traveled in the Ragnorak, Quistis first noticed the stern and vengeful look Rinoa had been wearing for most of the ride to Deling City, where Dante was supposedly at. Selphie and Zell had been in the to pilot seats, catching up. They had not seen each other in over 8 months, since they were both highly expensive to hire, they hadn't been hired on the same mission since the defeat of Ultimecia. They ran into each other briefly once in Balamb.
Quistis focused on Rinoa, who had been totally speechless the whole entire trip. Quistis got up to from her seat and knelt down next Rinoa. "Rinoa, what are you thinking about?"
Rinoa raised her head from her stare at the floor, and looked over to Quistis. "You didn't realize it either? My father hated the fact I was with Squall. It was a Galbadian soldier who killed Squall. My father still has ties with the Galbadian Army, so he had a soldier kill Squall. This was just a plot to get me back home. He probably already has a new "man" set up to date and marry me."
"Rinoa, that's farfetched and you know it. Why would your father do that to you?" Quistis stood up, attempting to make Rinoa feel somewhat inferior down below her so that Quistis could easily get her point across.
"That's exactly what I'm going to find out." She stood up and walked out of the cockpit as the Ragnorak began to descend.
"Where's she going?" Zell asked after he saw Rinoa from the window of the cockpit, exit the ship and head into the city.
"She wants to go talk to General Caraway." Quistis answered. "We should let her go alone and go find Dante."
Zell nodded as they followed out of the ship and into the city. Selphie set the security on the Ragnorak before going to catch up.
Dante had a lease on a room in 'The Glamour Motel'. It was located in downtown Deling, and there was nothing glamorous about it. The building had been defiled by graffiti and the trash outside the building had piled up.
"This can't be the place." Zell spoke in monotone. "Anybody on even the smallest of SeeD salaries can afford a better place to live."
"He might be a wanderer Zell." Selphie pointed out.
"Still..." Zell muttered as the three went into the lobby.
The lobby was poorly lit and had the sour smell of boiled cabbage, though all three figured that nobody had been eating cabbage. Zell went up and hit a bell on the counter.
A gruff looking old man limped his way to the counter, leaning on a cane. "What do you need? I don't want to be wasting my time."
"I'm looking for Dante Alexander." Zell said.
"Never heard of him."
"He lives here, I have a record of his lease. Check your books, I'm sure you'll find the name and room." Zell impatiently tapped his fingers on the counter.
"I'm sorry, but I can't give out that kind of information." The old man tried to say politely.
"Leo, goddamn it. I'm right here!" A hoarse and irritated voice called from across the lobby. "You've got to stop being so damn secretive all the time."
The trio turned and faced the man across the room, stretched out on a beat up old couch. The man wore a baggy, black cotton shirt, even baggier khaki pants, a pair of light blue sunglasses, and had a holster on both shoulders, both holding small 9 mm. Pistols. Across his back was yet another gun, this one a rifle. The most noticeable thing about him was his height. He was slightly taller than 6 and a-half feet tall. His light brown hair was short and spiked with black tips.
"Dante, it's in the businesses best interest to keep files confidential." Leo griped across the room as he limped his way back out of sight.
"You could've just said something when we walked in!" Zell glared the tall, fairly thin man.
Dante chuckled to himself. "Are you always a prick or is it just when you meet new people?"
Zell grew red in the face with anger. Quistis laughed and added, "You'll get used to it." Zell got even redder and Selphie and Dante burst out laughing.
"C'mon Zell, lighten up a little." Selphie said.
"Let's just go get Rinoa." Zell muttered.
"Rinoa's busy. We will go get Seifer first."
"Seifer? Seifer Almasy?" Dante questioned.
"Yes." Quistis answered.
"I can't work with Seifer. That man nearly got me killed. He nearly got me killed in my own goddamn Garden. I can't take this mission. I apologize." Dante began relaxing in the couch again, and then lit a cigarette.
"It's not Seifer's fault." Selphie was surprised to find herself defending Seifer. "He was under hypnosis by Ultimecia."
"Look, if I'm stuck with Seifer, so are you." Zell stated bluntly.
Dante took a deep, long drag of his cigarette. "I said I wasn't going."
"You're going. I will personally see that you lose your placement as a SeeD." Quistis was now irritated by Dante's lack of tolerance.
Dante took another deep drag, and then put out the cigarette on the sole of his shoe.
~ Caraway's Mansion ~
"Rinoa, try and understand." General Caraway pleaded his daughter. "I couldn't have ordered anybody to kill Squall. I have no authority left in the Galbadian Army."
"No, you may not have authority, you have money." Rinoa accused her own father.
"What can I do to prove to you that I had nothing to do with the death of that petty mercenary?"
"Petty mercenary?" Rinoa's eyes gave her father an ice-cold glare. "You are talking about the man who saved my life, and the man I loved. The man I will always love."
"That doesn't change the fact that he was a murderer for hire, and I had no part in his death. The man had it coming after he chose the life he did. You're just like your mother. You don't stop thinking about loss and forget about everything else in your life. He's dead, and there is nothing you can do about it."
"I can avenge him. I've hired SeeDs for this mission, and they will track the killer."
"You can't afford to hire them! You work at a damn train station! If you wouldn't have ruined your life with that man, you could've gone to college and gotten a good paying job. Heaven knows I would've supported you in that!"
"You can only support things that go your way." Rinoa lowered her voice considerably. "Prove to me that you didn't hire that assassin. Hire the SeeDs yourself, and if the trail doesn't lead back to you, I can believe and trust your word."
~ The Rebuilt Trabia Garden (Seifer's Weaponry Hall) ~
Quistis, Selphie, Zell, and Dante walked into the back of the room as Seifer was giving a lecture to some junior classmen.
"Now," Seifer ignored the guests in the room even though he knew they were there. "You all have to choose a weapon to use throughout your career as a SeeD. All weapons are dangerous weapons of destruction, and must be used properly. All weapons have their advantages, and disadvantages."
Seifer walked over to a wall filled with various weapons, and pulled down a basic long sword, sharp and narrow. "Swords are the most commonly chosen by SeeD cadets. They give good damage, and it doesn't take an incredible amount of time to get basic maneuvers down. It does take years, however, to master the blade." Seifer put back the sword and pulled down his own personal gunblade.
"The gunblade is what I used when becoming a SeeD myself. It's incredibly hard, if not the hardest, to get to be a descent fighter with this weapon. It's heavy, has a recoil that can throw you off balance, and at anytime can back fire it ever becomes slightly damaged."
Seifer continued on for about 2 hours of lecturing on each weapon. He purposely saved martial arts for last.
"Martial Arts is a very ineffective form of attacking. It is basically self defense fighting. It deals no real damage, and is easy to get good at. Basically you can learn how to fight reading magazines." Seifer smiled as he got the attention of Zell. "Plus, I find using hand combat very cheap cause it is so easy just to give a shot to the groin." This made some of the junior classman chuckle. "We have in our presence a very rare thing. A man who luckily got into SeeD using martial art techniques."
The class turned around and looked at Zell, since he was the only one not equipped with a weapon. Zell decided to speak up. "I could beat you with my own hands and feet when you have your gunblade."
"Oh, is that a challenge?" Seifer induced the fight.
"I don't want to shame you in front of your class Seifer." Zell slowly walked up to the front.
"Don't be a chicken wuss." Seifer grinned as he said that name. "I too have learned a little about hand combat. I had to, ya know. I have a class to teach."
"Zell, we do have a bit of a time issue!" Selphie called up to him.
"This won't take long." Seifer assured. "Class, this may interest those of you considering hand combat."
Seifer initiated the first move, a quick leg sweep that Zell jumped above. Zell came down and kicked Seifer in the face, making him roll back. The junior classman gasped as Seifer received this blow, but he just got back up. Zell then charged and jumped to do a drop kick, but Seifer side- stepped and caught Zell in mid air, then slammed him to the hardwood floor face first, pinning him to the ground.
"The sad thing is Zell, I've been doing this for 8 months, you've been doing it for 6 years." Seifer released Zell to the applause of the class. "Alright, y'all got a little show. Now, I will be leaving Garden for about a week at the most, I suspect, so when I get back, I expect a 3 page essay on what weapon you wish to use and why. Just because you do the assignment doesn't mean you get to use the chosen weapon. You have to convince me. Class dismissed."
The junior classmen scrambled away as Seifer dusted his hands off and then walked out of the room.
"Damn Zell, he kicked your ass." Dante said louder than he had to as he tried to keep himself from laughing out loud.
"I fought to hurt and injure him, not beat him. I got too aggressive." Zell said in his defense.
"Oh, so he's right. Martial Arts is basically for self defense."
"I'll kill you!" Zell screamed into Dante's face.
Dante pushed Zell back, removed the rifle from the holster across his back, and aimed it directly at Zell's head. "I don't think you will."
"That's enough." Quistis glared at them both. "We have to learn to cooperate."
"Where'd Selphie go?" Zell asked, looking around the weapon hall.
"You two go deal with Seifer. I'll go find Selphie. We can meet at the Ragnorak." Dante said.
"Fine." Quistis said as she pushed Zell towards Seifer's office.
~ Memorial of the Original Trabia Garden ~
The disarmed missile was placed in the center of a huge hedge and flower garden. Dante found Selphie here with her face buried in her hands sitting at a long bench.
'God, now what the hell am I supposed to do?' Dante thought to himself. He slowly walked over and sat down next to her, then took a deep breath. He just sat there, to provide some company to her for the time being.
"Who are you, really?" Selphie asked between sobs.
"Dante Alexander. I thought you were told that before we met."
"No, I mean, who are you? Tell me something about your past."
"Uh, okay. I was born in Esthar, and I grew up in Deling."
"No, about your history as a SeeD."
"I haven't been a SeeD long. Not even a year."
"Damn it, the gun. Where'd you get that damn gun?"
Dante pulled the rifle out of its holster across his back. "You recognize it? Never knew he meant so much to you."
"How did you get it?"
Dante began to light a cigarette, but then chose against it. "Irvine was my partner, and my best friend. He was like a brother to me."
"Get to the point!" Selphie yelled at him as she lifted her head and stared him down.
"Damn it! Give me a chance!"
Selphie cried harder and she put her face back into her hands. "S..s..sorry." Selphie stuttered.
"No, don't be. I'm sorry." Dante put his arm over her shoulders in support. "Irvine and I was hired to stop an uprising in Galbadia to once again overthrow the newest dictator. We wiped out the entire group except for two. One of them caught us off guard, and Irvine sacrificed himself to save me. I use his gun in his honor for every mission now." Dante put the barrel under Selphie's face and revealed the side of the sight that Irvine had carved his initials into. "I think it means more to you than it does to me, so you can have it if you wish."
"That won't be necessary. It would only get me more depressed."
"I understand." Dante put the rifle back in his holster. Whenever you're ready, we can go back to the Ragnorak where everyone will be waiting."
The two had sat there for 2 more hours in total silence.
Ch. 3
As they traveled in the Ragnorak, Quistis first noticed the stern and vengeful look Rinoa had been wearing for most of the ride to Deling City, where Dante was supposedly at. Selphie and Zell had been in the to pilot seats, catching up. They had not seen each other in over 8 months, since they were both highly expensive to hire, they hadn't been hired on the same mission since the defeat of Ultimecia. They ran into each other briefly once in Balamb.
Quistis focused on Rinoa, who had been totally speechless the whole entire trip. Quistis got up to from her seat and knelt down next Rinoa. "Rinoa, what are you thinking about?"
Rinoa raised her head from her stare at the floor, and looked over to Quistis. "You didn't realize it either? My father hated the fact I was with Squall. It was a Galbadian soldier who killed Squall. My father still has ties with the Galbadian Army, so he had a soldier kill Squall. This was just a plot to get me back home. He probably already has a new "man" set up to date and marry me."
"Rinoa, that's farfetched and you know it. Why would your father do that to you?" Quistis stood up, attempting to make Rinoa feel somewhat inferior down below her so that Quistis could easily get her point across.
"That's exactly what I'm going to find out." She stood up and walked out of the cockpit as the Ragnorak began to descend.
"Where's she going?" Zell asked after he saw Rinoa from the window of the cockpit, exit the ship and head into the city.
"She wants to go talk to General Caraway." Quistis answered. "We should let her go alone and go find Dante."
Zell nodded as they followed out of the ship and into the city. Selphie set the security on the Ragnorak before going to catch up.
Dante had a lease on a room in 'The Glamour Motel'. It was located in downtown Deling, and there was nothing glamorous about it. The building had been defiled by graffiti and the trash outside the building had piled up.
"This can't be the place." Zell spoke in monotone. "Anybody on even the smallest of SeeD salaries can afford a better place to live."
"He might be a wanderer Zell." Selphie pointed out.
"Still..." Zell muttered as the three went into the lobby.
The lobby was poorly lit and had the sour smell of boiled cabbage, though all three figured that nobody had been eating cabbage. Zell went up and hit a bell on the counter.
A gruff looking old man limped his way to the counter, leaning on a cane. "What do you need? I don't want to be wasting my time."
"I'm looking for Dante Alexander." Zell said.
"Never heard of him."
"He lives here, I have a record of his lease. Check your books, I'm sure you'll find the name and room." Zell impatiently tapped his fingers on the counter.
"I'm sorry, but I can't give out that kind of information." The old man tried to say politely.
"Leo, goddamn it. I'm right here!" A hoarse and irritated voice called from across the lobby. "You've got to stop being so damn secretive all the time."
The trio turned and faced the man across the room, stretched out on a beat up old couch. The man wore a baggy, black cotton shirt, even baggier khaki pants, a pair of light blue sunglasses, and had a holster on both shoulders, both holding small 9 mm. Pistols. Across his back was yet another gun, this one a rifle. The most noticeable thing about him was his height. He was slightly taller than 6 and a-half feet tall. His light brown hair was short and spiked with black tips.
"Dante, it's in the businesses best interest to keep files confidential." Leo griped across the room as he limped his way back out of sight.
"You could've just said something when we walked in!" Zell glared the tall, fairly thin man.
Dante chuckled to himself. "Are you always a prick or is it just when you meet new people?"
Zell grew red in the face with anger. Quistis laughed and added, "You'll get used to it." Zell got even redder and Selphie and Dante burst out laughing.
"C'mon Zell, lighten up a little." Selphie said.
"Let's just go get Rinoa." Zell muttered.
"Rinoa's busy. We will go get Seifer first."
"Seifer? Seifer Almasy?" Dante questioned.
"Yes." Quistis answered.
"I can't work with Seifer. That man nearly got me killed. He nearly got me killed in my own goddamn Garden. I can't take this mission. I apologize." Dante began relaxing in the couch again, and then lit a cigarette.
"It's not Seifer's fault." Selphie was surprised to find herself defending Seifer. "He was under hypnosis by Ultimecia."
"Look, if I'm stuck with Seifer, so are you." Zell stated bluntly.
Dante took a deep, long drag of his cigarette. "I said I wasn't going."
"You're going. I will personally see that you lose your placement as a SeeD." Quistis was now irritated by Dante's lack of tolerance.
Dante took another deep drag, and then put out the cigarette on the sole of his shoe.
~ Caraway's Mansion ~
"Rinoa, try and understand." General Caraway pleaded his daughter. "I couldn't have ordered anybody to kill Squall. I have no authority left in the Galbadian Army."
"No, you may not have authority, you have money." Rinoa accused her own father.
"What can I do to prove to you that I had nothing to do with the death of that petty mercenary?"
"Petty mercenary?" Rinoa's eyes gave her father an ice-cold glare. "You are talking about the man who saved my life, and the man I loved. The man I will always love."
"That doesn't change the fact that he was a murderer for hire, and I had no part in his death. The man had it coming after he chose the life he did. You're just like your mother. You don't stop thinking about loss and forget about everything else in your life. He's dead, and there is nothing you can do about it."
"I can avenge him. I've hired SeeDs for this mission, and they will track the killer."
"You can't afford to hire them! You work at a damn train station! If you wouldn't have ruined your life with that man, you could've gone to college and gotten a good paying job. Heaven knows I would've supported you in that!"
"You can only support things that go your way." Rinoa lowered her voice considerably. "Prove to me that you didn't hire that assassin. Hire the SeeDs yourself, and if the trail doesn't lead back to you, I can believe and trust your word."
~ The Rebuilt Trabia Garden (Seifer's Weaponry Hall) ~
Quistis, Selphie, Zell, and Dante walked into the back of the room as Seifer was giving a lecture to some junior classmen.
"Now," Seifer ignored the guests in the room even though he knew they were there. "You all have to choose a weapon to use throughout your career as a SeeD. All weapons are dangerous weapons of destruction, and must be used properly. All weapons have their advantages, and disadvantages."
Seifer walked over to a wall filled with various weapons, and pulled down a basic long sword, sharp and narrow. "Swords are the most commonly chosen by SeeD cadets. They give good damage, and it doesn't take an incredible amount of time to get basic maneuvers down. It does take years, however, to master the blade." Seifer put back the sword and pulled down his own personal gunblade.
"The gunblade is what I used when becoming a SeeD myself. It's incredibly hard, if not the hardest, to get to be a descent fighter with this weapon. It's heavy, has a recoil that can throw you off balance, and at anytime can back fire it ever becomes slightly damaged."
Seifer continued on for about 2 hours of lecturing on each weapon. He purposely saved martial arts for last.
"Martial Arts is a very ineffective form of attacking. It is basically self defense fighting. It deals no real damage, and is easy to get good at. Basically you can learn how to fight reading magazines." Seifer smiled as he got the attention of Zell. "Plus, I find using hand combat very cheap cause it is so easy just to give a shot to the groin." This made some of the junior classman chuckle. "We have in our presence a very rare thing. A man who luckily got into SeeD using martial art techniques."
The class turned around and looked at Zell, since he was the only one not equipped with a weapon. Zell decided to speak up. "I could beat you with my own hands and feet when you have your gunblade."
"Oh, is that a challenge?" Seifer induced the fight.
"I don't want to shame you in front of your class Seifer." Zell slowly walked up to the front.
"Don't be a chicken wuss." Seifer grinned as he said that name. "I too have learned a little about hand combat. I had to, ya know. I have a class to teach."
"Zell, we do have a bit of a time issue!" Selphie called up to him.
"This won't take long." Seifer assured. "Class, this may interest those of you considering hand combat."
Seifer initiated the first move, a quick leg sweep that Zell jumped above. Zell came down and kicked Seifer in the face, making him roll back. The junior classman gasped as Seifer received this blow, but he just got back up. Zell then charged and jumped to do a drop kick, but Seifer side- stepped and caught Zell in mid air, then slammed him to the hardwood floor face first, pinning him to the ground.
"The sad thing is Zell, I've been doing this for 8 months, you've been doing it for 6 years." Seifer released Zell to the applause of the class. "Alright, y'all got a little show. Now, I will be leaving Garden for about a week at the most, I suspect, so when I get back, I expect a 3 page essay on what weapon you wish to use and why. Just because you do the assignment doesn't mean you get to use the chosen weapon. You have to convince me. Class dismissed."
The junior classmen scrambled away as Seifer dusted his hands off and then walked out of the room.
"Damn Zell, he kicked your ass." Dante said louder than he had to as he tried to keep himself from laughing out loud.
"I fought to hurt and injure him, not beat him. I got too aggressive." Zell said in his defense.
"Oh, so he's right. Martial Arts is basically for self defense."
"I'll kill you!" Zell screamed into Dante's face.
Dante pushed Zell back, removed the rifle from the holster across his back, and aimed it directly at Zell's head. "I don't think you will."
"That's enough." Quistis glared at them both. "We have to learn to cooperate."
"Where'd Selphie go?" Zell asked, looking around the weapon hall.
"You two go deal with Seifer. I'll go find Selphie. We can meet at the Ragnorak." Dante said.
"Fine." Quistis said as she pushed Zell towards Seifer's office.
~ Memorial of the Original Trabia Garden ~
The disarmed missile was placed in the center of a huge hedge and flower garden. Dante found Selphie here with her face buried in her hands sitting at a long bench.
'God, now what the hell am I supposed to do?' Dante thought to himself. He slowly walked over and sat down next to her, then took a deep breath. He just sat there, to provide some company to her for the time being.
"Who are you, really?" Selphie asked between sobs.
"Dante Alexander. I thought you were told that before we met."
"No, I mean, who are you? Tell me something about your past."
"Uh, okay. I was born in Esthar, and I grew up in Deling."
"No, about your history as a SeeD."
"I haven't been a SeeD long. Not even a year."
"Damn it, the gun. Where'd you get that damn gun?"
Dante pulled the rifle out of its holster across his back. "You recognize it? Never knew he meant so much to you."
"How did you get it?"
Dante began to light a cigarette, but then chose against it. "Irvine was my partner, and my best friend. He was like a brother to me."
"Get to the point!" Selphie yelled at him as she lifted her head and stared him down.
"Damn it! Give me a chance!"
Selphie cried harder and she put her face back into her hands. "S..s..sorry." Selphie stuttered.
"No, don't be. I'm sorry." Dante put his arm over her shoulders in support. "Irvine and I was hired to stop an uprising in Galbadia to once again overthrow the newest dictator. We wiped out the entire group except for two. One of them caught us off guard, and Irvine sacrificed himself to save me. I use his gun in his honor for every mission now." Dante put the barrel under Selphie's face and revealed the side of the sight that Irvine had carved his initials into. "I think it means more to you than it does to me, so you can have it if you wish."
"That won't be necessary. It would only get me more depressed."
"I understand." Dante put the rifle back in his holster. Whenever you're ready, we can go back to the Ragnorak where everyone will be waiting."
The two had sat there for 2 more hours in total silence.
