Disclaimer: I might not own Final Fantasy VIII but I still own my SANITY! *Sees it fly out of a window* Oh shit…

Chapter Five

He ran straight, never turning, into the darkness. He could barely see a thing, however he could hear muffled voices coming through the walls and they seemed to be very confused indeed. Good, it would buy him some thirty seconds… and sometimes, thirty seconds was all that was needed.

He stopped a moment, taking out his flashlight from his inside jacket pocket. He turned it on and pointed it right in from of him. He wouldn't really want to slam into those double doors and spoil the element of surprise, would he?

He spotted a shining doorknob only two feet away that was attached, no doubt to a door. He spotted another doorknob. Wonderful… double doors. Silently, he turned one knob… and entered the room, shutting the door noiselessly behind him. So quietly, so swiftly that the two people inside didn't know he had entered at all.

So there he stood, caliber aimed straight in front of him, waiting for the power to come back on.

"Don't worry, Stephanie… don't be scared. Daddy's here…" A cooing voice said. The assassin froze on the spot, rooted there. Daddy's here… Did Jason Banks have a daughter?

It was only a matter of seconds before the lights turned on again. He still had a choice. He had never failed a mission before, why should this one be any different? Why should he be so afraid, so reluctant this time? Kill all witnesses present…

There was no choice. The lights snapped back on as the generator began to operate. The first thing that Jason and Stephanie Banks saw was a tall man, dressed in black… with a revolver pointing at the both of them.

The girl let out a shrill scream. She was only around seven years old… the age of his son. 'Oh Hyne…' He thought. 'Don't make me do this… oh Hyne…'

Ignoring his conscious, the assassin in him possessed the moment. "It's over, Banks."

***

He couldn't believe it. The aftermath of murder had come back to haunt him. He had gone through with it and even now as he thought of it, it seemed all just a blur.

Shooting once, the decibels of the bang reduced significantly by the silencer. Shooting once more. Taking away a child's life. She wasn't any older than his own son. What had he been thinking? Was he even human now?

These thoughts did not have time to numb him with guilt, for the assassin instinct took over. The bodies did not have to be dealt with, however, his escape route had to be found. The DNA detectors were up again and there would be no chance of Zell shutting down the generator again.

Unable to help himself, Squall glanced at the bloody body of the seven-year-old girl. She wasn't supposed to die this way; he shut his eyes tightly, not wanting the guilt to pierce any deeper than it already had.

His mind back on his current situation, the assassin inside him opened the double door. 'They could come after me if they wanted to. No one'll catch up, I'll be out of this place in 2.5 minutes.' He thought to himself and then he began to run, down the corridors, turning, remembering his exact route, and setting off the alarms.

***

Sitting safely in a train, Squall Leonheart had resumed to be a normal man. Without blood on his hands, without guilt stinging his conscious. He would soon be back home where he could forget everything… or almost everything.

The cell phone in his pocket began to ring and, his moves as fast as reflex, fetched it and answered, "Yeah?"

"You were supposed to go unnoticed." The rough voice barked and Squall could identify the frustration.

"Sorry, Mr. Ackroyde, sir… I couldn't find another way," Squall answered dully. He too was doing his best to contain the concrete hatred he possessed for his boss at the moment. Never, had the work file ever mentioned Jason Bank's daughter.

"Don't give me bullshit, Leonhart," The boss snapped back. "You underwent training that cost the government a hefty sum of sixty-thousand dollars! There were other ways out, you were just being an impulsive bastard!"

Squall gritted his teeth and responded, in a very cool manner considering the fact that he was boiling over with anger. "Well I supposed you couldn't spare the funds to keep your other man on the job long enough to disable the generator."

"What other man? You were on this job alone!" The boss spat back.

Squall stayed silent for a moment, slightly confused. Had he not been so angry he would have warned his superior of the immediate threat to the agency, a blond haired man named Zell, however… this was an entirely different situation. "Never mind, sir."

"Hyne, go home and get some sleep or something. Though I gamble on the fact that this is quite hard due to your two kids. Just… I don't know what the fuck is wrong with you." He heard a faint click at the other end and he too pressed the 'Off' button.

He stared out the train window, observing the scenery that was flying by. He was finally going home and he felt great relief towards that fact. He was going home to Rinoa… an angry Rinoa, but a Rinoa nonetheless. He would finally see his kids again.

Kids… Jason Banks had a kid too. Probably he had wanted to spend some time with his daughter that day and instead he got a bullet to the head and his daughter got the same. He was the one who shot them. What if it had been your family, Leonheart?

His growing rage towards his chief grew. 'Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't he say what I was to expect, Hyne, I would have never taken up the job! Man, that kid was no older than… than Alessandro, by the blood of hell, what have I done?'

Squall buried his face in his hands and rubbed his temples wearily, 'Rinoa… is going to hate me for this. She's… never going to even look at me again.'

***

"I swear when he gets home I'm going to wring his neck!" Rinoa muttered curses under her breath as she cracked an egg on the counter.

Alessandro cast nervous glances back and forth from his mother and the kitchen clock that read '7:23'. Morning had come… and his math homework was still not done. He wasn't about to tell his mother either. Riana seemed to know when mommy was in a bad mood and this morning she had shook her tiny finger at him warningly, 'Mom's not in it for jokes this morning so you might not want to show her that note from your English teacher…'

It would just have to pile on with the note from his gym teacher, his failed math tests and his principal's warning letter. "Where's daddy gone?" Riana asked, her head resting on the kitchen table. She was only in kindergarten so everything was easy for her. No wonder she didn't get any stupid notes from her stupid teachers. He pouted slightly awaiting his breakfast, 'There's a big difference between kindergarten and grade one…'

"He's working," Rinoa replied, checking on the bacon, "But that's not the point, he's not back yet… that's the point!"

Point… point… Alex's seven-year-old mind formed a question, "Mom… why are ball point pens called ball point pens?" Then immediately regretted saying so since Riana shot him a glare.

"Ball point pens are called ball point pens because a moron, much like your father might I add, decided to name them ball point pens. Alex, I don't know why they're called like that! Don't ask me stupid questions right now… and forget that I said the word 'moron'…" Rinoa fumbled around a drawer for forks. "Did you finish your math homework?"

"Uh… well… I only have two problems left." He lied. "And… they're really easy… so… I'll… do them… before math class."

"Show me." By the look on her face, Alessandro guessed that she knew, just as well as he did, that his math homework was light-years from being done. "You didn't do it…"

His guess was confirmed so he fumbled around his school bag for his math and emerged with a very tattered looking sheet. "Here." It was utterly blank of any answers.

Rinoa sighed, "Alex…"

"Agh, you're so mean!" The seven year old exploded suddenly.

"I am rubber you are glue, what bounces off of me, sticks to you!" His mother stuck her tongue out at him.

"I bet you all the other kids' moms don't make them do their homework."

"Noooo, that's right… which is why there are so many applicants to be a garbage man!" Rinoa said triumphantly and when her son didn't reply she laughed, "HAH! Beat you!"

"It's not fair…" He mumbled.

"Isn't it?" Rinoa threw a pencil at Alessandro's paper, "But you still have to do it, don't you?" She glanced at the sheet, "Four plus eight is twelve. Nine plus six is fifteen … come on… write."

Alessandro picked up his pencil in defeat and began to write the numbers that his mother was dictating to him. He should be thankful, at least she hadn't chucked a calculator at him. Actually, considering the fact that she was mad at his father, he should have been thankful with a calculator aimed at his forehead.

Rinoa turned around and began cooking breakfast again. Riana asked meekly, "Mom… are you really that mad at daddy?" She asked this question after she had glanced over her shoulder at the door that she had heard open only a few moments before.

Her father stood there smiling slightly at her. Rinoa, however, didn't notice this at all, "Let's put it this way, honey… if he isn't here in 15 minutes… when he does come back I'll just throw him out again." She said buttering toast and handing them to Riana. She then realized why her daughter was asking that question.

The dark haired man leaned in the kitchen doorway, smirking cockily, "So I'm on time then?"

Sammy: Ok then, uhm … yaay … chapter five has been written, WOO! Ok, thank you to all of those who reviewed, you really have no idea how much I appreciate your heart-warming comments. I really hope you liked this chapter and I promise many Squinoa moments in the next chapter. Things will begin to get REALLY interesting in the following chapter … I promise you a storyline, heh heh … Anyways, please review! Thanks!