Tracking a Killer
Ch. 5
~ Motel Room: Deling City. ~
"Wilkinson, open up!" A gruff voice yelled through the door that startled Rinoa awake. "This is your last warning!"
Rinoa felt a screaming headache and her vision was blurred. She couldn't tell if she was awake or still passed out at the bar, dreaming. The door suddenly blew off of its hinges and Galbadian Soldiers stormed the room.
"Where is he?" The apparent leader screamed at Rinoa. "Where is he you bitch?" This time he slapped Rinoa across the face.
Rinoa was puzzled. She wanted to protest, but she was brought speechless. The soldier unhappy with her silence, slapped her across the face even harder, this time knocking her off of the bed. When she went down, the soldier repeatedly kicked her until she fell unconscious. "Take her to the prison. I'll get her to talk."
~ Deling City, Clock Tower ~
Seifer had led the group to the clock tower. He wanted to meet somebody here. He refused to tell whom.
"Seifer, we've been here for an hour," Zell complained.
"Patience. It's all you need." Seifer said calmly.
Selphie was curious on what Dante was doing. Dante was looking into the city, mainly at the arch where they had captured the sorceress Edea for a short time. She walked over to him, and stood by his side. "What are you thinking about?"
"The spot where Irvine missed his one and only shot. He told me it was the bane of his existence. He hated that he missed and forced everyone into a spot where they would have to fight the Sorceress head to head."
"His only miss. You're forgetting one other miss. The one that caused his own death." Selphie got watery eyes thinking of this moment. "I only wish he had stayed with me, traveling around the world."
"That wasn't his miss. It was mine. I let my guard down, and I allowed that bastard to kill him."
"They've made it." Seifer announced to the group.
A pair of men dressed in Galbadian Soldier uniforms, one in red, and the other in blue, walked up to Seifer. Seifer paid them a large sum of Gil, and they both took a step back and gave him a salute.
"I don't think Galbadian Soldiers are needed for this mission Seifer," Zell stated coldly.
"They're not Galbadian Soldiers anymore."
Zell glared at Seifer, then faced the two men. "There's something I don't trust about them."
The man in the red smiled, and the one in the blue chuckled silently.
"They will help us get into the D-District Prison. They know the access codes, and they haven't been changed in 12 years. Supposedly they are all still the same. Biggs, Wedge, are you armed?"
The two men nodded.
"Hell no, this isn't going to happen." Zell said. "These guys will turn on us the first chance they get."
"Zell, relax. They aren't going to try anything," Quistis assured. "They know they can't beat us."
Wedge put a gun to Quistis's head. "We can't beat you, eh?" Wedge chuckled to himself and holstered the pistol.
"Selphie, Dante, we're going to prison." Seifer said and left the tower, followed by Biggs and Wedge.
~ D- District Prison (confession room) ~
Rinoa sat tied to a chair under a bright white light. Rinoa was slapped brutally across the face for the tenth time in the last hour, and the fact the guard was wearing a ring with the jewel turned facing the same way as his palm faced didn't help, giving her a new cut every time he hit her. "Now, what is your relationship with Paul Wilkinson? Don't bother denying any knowledge of who he is, cause you woke up in his penthouse, and you wouldn't be there if you didn't know him."
Rinoa had been to tears since the beginning of the confessional. She had no idea who the guard was talking about, and she had given up trying to protest she had no knowledge of whom he was.
"I give up. She isn't talking. She has to be of a high rank in the resistance group." The guard said to the two others standing at the exit. There was a knock on that door, and the guards let in a young messenger.
"Sir, I have a note for you from the Galbadian defense department." The young man said as he handed the note over, then was dismissed.
The guard smiled as he read. He pushed Rinoa over while she was still tied to the chair, and then he kneeled down on her shoulder with all his weight and got his face to hers. "Why'd you hire SeeD?"
~ D - District Prison Entrance ~
The group of SeeDs where handcuffed as Biggs and Wedge escorted them past the guard at the entrance, who was beaming at the sight of the group in cuffs. Past the initial entrance was a large security door made of solid steel 3 inches thick. It could only be electronically opened and had two armed guards on each side of it.
Biggs went up to the lock release panel and punched in a five digit code, and a buzzer sounded to signify that it was incorrect. The guards shifted their attention a little more closely as Biggs tried again, and failed.
"For crying our loud, you can't remember a simple code?" Wedge said and pushed Biggs aside and put the correct code in himself, making the guards a little less suspicious.
The vault door closed behind them and Wedge released the cuffs. "Their aren't any more guards around. We have access to the cells. Guards will only come into this area to feed the inmates and solve any domestic disturbances. Those are basically the only conditions."
"Basically?" Seifer eyed Wedge.
"Well, there are other circumstances like there is a confessional going on or there might be an execution."
"Alright, where do we go to find the inmate list?" Seifer asked impatiently.
"Already on top of it." Biggs said while at a small computer console. "Sub Level 12; death row. Cell sixteen."
"Who on death row do we need to talk to Seifer?" Zell asked in a low, almost threatening tone.
"Fujin and Raijin were both convicted for terrorist activities against the Galbadian Government. They admitted to it and were placed here. If we are looking for a rogue Galbadian Soldier, they might know something." Seifer explained, then gave Zell a cold glare. "We will see Fujin since Raijin has already been executed."
"I'm sorry to hear that Seifer," Quistis said lightly.
"Yeah, I was too." Seifer muttered, leading everyone down the stairs.
~ Confessional Room ~
"Goddamnit! I told you for the last fucking time, I hired SeeD to find a murderer for Squall Leonheart!" Rinoa screamed into the guards face, now bleeding more than ever.
"To find a murderer wouldn't require you to hire five SeeDs."
"Neither did I, but it is suspected that the man has protection from the Galbadian Army. That would require a lot of manpower in case of resistance."
"So you admit you're after the Galbadian defense."
"No!"
"Too late, you already admitted it! Guards, take her to her cell. She's gonna be our guest for a while."
"What the hell! I didn't even get a goddamn trial!" Rinoa screamed at the top of her lungs. One final slap quieted her down.
~ Cell 16, Sub Level 12 ~
Biggs opened the cell by using another override code and the electronic door opened. Biggs walked in and was instantly tackled and smashed against a wall. Fujin moved from him and then attacked Wedge, who quickly countered and put his pistol to the back of her head after pinning her to the wall.
"Fujin, don't worry. Cooperate and you are free from here." Seifer said to her.
Fujin recognized the voice, but she didn't reply.
"I need to know what you can tell me about an assassination of Squall Leonheart." Seifer said.
"Seifer, I've been here for nearly a goddamn year, what would I know of an assassination of Squall."
"Well, first of all, you normally would be intrigued by the fact that Squall was assassinated, even a little shocked. I know I was, and I never liked the guy. I will get you out of here now if you share."
"The assassination has been in the plannings ever since Galbadia's newest dictator took control. The resistance grouped was wiped out before it could original take place, and it was delayed until the group regained it's footing. Raijin and I were part of that new resistance regime. Of course that was stalled by yet another event breaking the regime up. I figure the only reason Squall was assassinated was that the man who originally thought of it is still alive. He has been around since the beginning."
"Who? Tell me who it is and where I can find him." Seifer demanded.
"We have company fellas," Dante said while ducking down with is two pistols outstretched.
"Terrorists!" A guard yelled as he hit an alarm, and then ducked down for cover with another guard whom held a prisoner in custody. The two began firing back at the group.
"Dante! Get those bastards!" Seifer yelled. "Biggs, Wedge, help him out. Cover us!"
Biggs and Wedge knelt down beside Dante and returned fire. Seifer led the others towards the staircase, and were met by more guards firing at them. Quistis hit the first two with her whip, and the next one that came down shot both Quistis and Fujin before being killed by Seifer's blade.
"Quistis!" Zell shouted as he helped her keep to her feet. Quistis was shot near her collar bone and it was bleeding profusely. Selphie was tending to Fujin, who took a shot in the abdomen and was fading fast from life. There was nothing to be done for her, and Fujin passed away in a matter of moments.
"This is why I protested the ban of guardian forces so much," Seifer muttered. "I think losing a little memory is worth saving lives."
"GFs also cost lives with their destructive capabilities," Selphie said to Seifer. "It really was for the best."
"It's clear the other way," Biggs said in a solemn voice while walking over. "They shot Wedge though. He can probably make it out under his own power. Dante is making sure nobody tries coming up the back entrance to this area."
"Goddamn. Biggs, which way are we more likely able to get out?" Seifer said in a hurried tone.
"Back where Dante is. It's not the quickest way, but we'll find less opposition."
"Alright, hurry up. Are you gonna be okay Quistis?" Seifer asked without waiting for an answer, and jogged off.
Wedge was holding a wound to his chest and guarding the exit while Dante was tending to the prisoner that was held by the guards. "Rinoa's been beaten, badly." Dante informed.
"Rinoa? How in the hell did she wind up here?" Zell asked Dante.
"How would I know?" Dante snapped back.
"We can all ask later," Seifer said as he knelt down, gently picked Rinoa up in his arms and carried her to the staircase that would lead them to the outside. Biggs and Wedge used what they knew to divert them around all basic interference and they escaped through a large ventalation chamber with little opposition.
Outside, everyone was struck down in shock, especially Selphie, as they witnessed from a distance the complete destruction of the Ragnorak, repeatedly bombed by a rocket launcher until it was fully destroyed. With no transportation, there was only the long walk through the desert ahead of them.
Ch. 5
~ Motel Room: Deling City. ~
"Wilkinson, open up!" A gruff voice yelled through the door that startled Rinoa awake. "This is your last warning!"
Rinoa felt a screaming headache and her vision was blurred. She couldn't tell if she was awake or still passed out at the bar, dreaming. The door suddenly blew off of its hinges and Galbadian Soldiers stormed the room.
"Where is he?" The apparent leader screamed at Rinoa. "Where is he you bitch?" This time he slapped Rinoa across the face.
Rinoa was puzzled. She wanted to protest, but she was brought speechless. The soldier unhappy with her silence, slapped her across the face even harder, this time knocking her off of the bed. When she went down, the soldier repeatedly kicked her until she fell unconscious. "Take her to the prison. I'll get her to talk."
~ Deling City, Clock Tower ~
Seifer had led the group to the clock tower. He wanted to meet somebody here. He refused to tell whom.
"Seifer, we've been here for an hour," Zell complained.
"Patience. It's all you need." Seifer said calmly.
Selphie was curious on what Dante was doing. Dante was looking into the city, mainly at the arch where they had captured the sorceress Edea for a short time. She walked over to him, and stood by his side. "What are you thinking about?"
"The spot where Irvine missed his one and only shot. He told me it was the bane of his existence. He hated that he missed and forced everyone into a spot where they would have to fight the Sorceress head to head."
"His only miss. You're forgetting one other miss. The one that caused his own death." Selphie got watery eyes thinking of this moment. "I only wish he had stayed with me, traveling around the world."
"That wasn't his miss. It was mine. I let my guard down, and I allowed that bastard to kill him."
"They've made it." Seifer announced to the group.
A pair of men dressed in Galbadian Soldier uniforms, one in red, and the other in blue, walked up to Seifer. Seifer paid them a large sum of Gil, and they both took a step back and gave him a salute.
"I don't think Galbadian Soldiers are needed for this mission Seifer," Zell stated coldly.
"They're not Galbadian Soldiers anymore."
Zell glared at Seifer, then faced the two men. "There's something I don't trust about them."
The man in the red smiled, and the one in the blue chuckled silently.
"They will help us get into the D-District Prison. They know the access codes, and they haven't been changed in 12 years. Supposedly they are all still the same. Biggs, Wedge, are you armed?"
The two men nodded.
"Hell no, this isn't going to happen." Zell said. "These guys will turn on us the first chance they get."
"Zell, relax. They aren't going to try anything," Quistis assured. "They know they can't beat us."
Wedge put a gun to Quistis's head. "We can't beat you, eh?" Wedge chuckled to himself and holstered the pistol.
"Selphie, Dante, we're going to prison." Seifer said and left the tower, followed by Biggs and Wedge.
~ D- District Prison (confession room) ~
Rinoa sat tied to a chair under a bright white light. Rinoa was slapped brutally across the face for the tenth time in the last hour, and the fact the guard was wearing a ring with the jewel turned facing the same way as his palm faced didn't help, giving her a new cut every time he hit her. "Now, what is your relationship with Paul Wilkinson? Don't bother denying any knowledge of who he is, cause you woke up in his penthouse, and you wouldn't be there if you didn't know him."
Rinoa had been to tears since the beginning of the confessional. She had no idea who the guard was talking about, and she had given up trying to protest she had no knowledge of whom he was.
"I give up. She isn't talking. She has to be of a high rank in the resistance group." The guard said to the two others standing at the exit. There was a knock on that door, and the guards let in a young messenger.
"Sir, I have a note for you from the Galbadian defense department." The young man said as he handed the note over, then was dismissed.
The guard smiled as he read. He pushed Rinoa over while she was still tied to the chair, and then he kneeled down on her shoulder with all his weight and got his face to hers. "Why'd you hire SeeD?"
~ D - District Prison Entrance ~
The group of SeeDs where handcuffed as Biggs and Wedge escorted them past the guard at the entrance, who was beaming at the sight of the group in cuffs. Past the initial entrance was a large security door made of solid steel 3 inches thick. It could only be electronically opened and had two armed guards on each side of it.
Biggs went up to the lock release panel and punched in a five digit code, and a buzzer sounded to signify that it was incorrect. The guards shifted their attention a little more closely as Biggs tried again, and failed.
"For crying our loud, you can't remember a simple code?" Wedge said and pushed Biggs aside and put the correct code in himself, making the guards a little less suspicious.
The vault door closed behind them and Wedge released the cuffs. "Their aren't any more guards around. We have access to the cells. Guards will only come into this area to feed the inmates and solve any domestic disturbances. Those are basically the only conditions."
"Basically?" Seifer eyed Wedge.
"Well, there are other circumstances like there is a confessional going on or there might be an execution."
"Alright, where do we go to find the inmate list?" Seifer asked impatiently.
"Already on top of it." Biggs said while at a small computer console. "Sub Level 12; death row. Cell sixteen."
"Who on death row do we need to talk to Seifer?" Zell asked in a low, almost threatening tone.
"Fujin and Raijin were both convicted for terrorist activities against the Galbadian Government. They admitted to it and were placed here. If we are looking for a rogue Galbadian Soldier, they might know something." Seifer explained, then gave Zell a cold glare. "We will see Fujin since Raijin has already been executed."
"I'm sorry to hear that Seifer," Quistis said lightly.
"Yeah, I was too." Seifer muttered, leading everyone down the stairs.
~ Confessional Room ~
"Goddamnit! I told you for the last fucking time, I hired SeeD to find a murderer for Squall Leonheart!" Rinoa screamed into the guards face, now bleeding more than ever.
"To find a murderer wouldn't require you to hire five SeeDs."
"Neither did I, but it is suspected that the man has protection from the Galbadian Army. That would require a lot of manpower in case of resistance."
"So you admit you're after the Galbadian defense."
"No!"
"Too late, you already admitted it! Guards, take her to her cell. She's gonna be our guest for a while."
"What the hell! I didn't even get a goddamn trial!" Rinoa screamed at the top of her lungs. One final slap quieted her down.
~ Cell 16, Sub Level 12 ~
Biggs opened the cell by using another override code and the electronic door opened. Biggs walked in and was instantly tackled and smashed against a wall. Fujin moved from him and then attacked Wedge, who quickly countered and put his pistol to the back of her head after pinning her to the wall.
"Fujin, don't worry. Cooperate and you are free from here." Seifer said to her.
Fujin recognized the voice, but she didn't reply.
"I need to know what you can tell me about an assassination of Squall Leonheart." Seifer said.
"Seifer, I've been here for nearly a goddamn year, what would I know of an assassination of Squall."
"Well, first of all, you normally would be intrigued by the fact that Squall was assassinated, even a little shocked. I know I was, and I never liked the guy. I will get you out of here now if you share."
"The assassination has been in the plannings ever since Galbadia's newest dictator took control. The resistance grouped was wiped out before it could original take place, and it was delayed until the group regained it's footing. Raijin and I were part of that new resistance regime. Of course that was stalled by yet another event breaking the regime up. I figure the only reason Squall was assassinated was that the man who originally thought of it is still alive. He has been around since the beginning."
"Who? Tell me who it is and where I can find him." Seifer demanded.
"We have company fellas," Dante said while ducking down with is two pistols outstretched.
"Terrorists!" A guard yelled as he hit an alarm, and then ducked down for cover with another guard whom held a prisoner in custody. The two began firing back at the group.
"Dante! Get those bastards!" Seifer yelled. "Biggs, Wedge, help him out. Cover us!"
Biggs and Wedge knelt down beside Dante and returned fire. Seifer led the others towards the staircase, and were met by more guards firing at them. Quistis hit the first two with her whip, and the next one that came down shot both Quistis and Fujin before being killed by Seifer's blade.
"Quistis!" Zell shouted as he helped her keep to her feet. Quistis was shot near her collar bone and it was bleeding profusely. Selphie was tending to Fujin, who took a shot in the abdomen and was fading fast from life. There was nothing to be done for her, and Fujin passed away in a matter of moments.
"This is why I protested the ban of guardian forces so much," Seifer muttered. "I think losing a little memory is worth saving lives."
"GFs also cost lives with their destructive capabilities," Selphie said to Seifer. "It really was for the best."
"It's clear the other way," Biggs said in a solemn voice while walking over. "They shot Wedge though. He can probably make it out under his own power. Dante is making sure nobody tries coming up the back entrance to this area."
"Goddamn. Biggs, which way are we more likely able to get out?" Seifer said in a hurried tone.
"Back where Dante is. It's not the quickest way, but we'll find less opposition."
"Alright, hurry up. Are you gonna be okay Quistis?" Seifer asked without waiting for an answer, and jogged off.
Wedge was holding a wound to his chest and guarding the exit while Dante was tending to the prisoner that was held by the guards. "Rinoa's been beaten, badly." Dante informed.
"Rinoa? How in the hell did she wind up here?" Zell asked Dante.
"How would I know?" Dante snapped back.
"We can all ask later," Seifer said as he knelt down, gently picked Rinoa up in his arms and carried her to the staircase that would lead them to the outside. Biggs and Wedge used what they knew to divert them around all basic interference and they escaped through a large ventalation chamber with little opposition.
Outside, everyone was struck down in shock, especially Selphie, as they witnessed from a distance the complete destruction of the Ragnorak, repeatedly bombed by a rocket launcher until it was fully destroyed. With no transportation, there was only the long walk through the desert ahead of them.
