Chapter 9 - The Discovery
Squall stumbled through the hall toward his dorm, exhausted from the long ride back from FH. He and Laguna had spent a good hour after landing, racking their brains for a possible answer to this developing mystery. He wished desperately that he had captured the soldier he'd sliced through the stomach for interrogation, but he hadn't yet realized just how big the puzzle was getting until it was too late.
He hated being caught off guard and that's exactly what had happened that evening. Sure, he'd known there was the possibility that Grease Monkey would be dead before they could get to him. As much as he hated to admit it, he was a little relieved about it. He felt awful that he couldn't have saved him, but it pointed almost directly to the fact that he was responsible for the leak in information about this weapon. They didn't want him being liberal with this knowledge to anyone else. Otherwise, the Shumi in the Village would have been slain as well, but lucky for them, they were hell-bent on staying quiet.
But the picture was still fuzzy. Squall couldn't figure out for the life of him why there were blueprints of the Gardens in Grease Monkey's possession. Was it totally unrelated? Or was there a connection? Why would anyone need these blueprints? Were they planted in there, or was Grease Monkey really up to no good?
Squall shuddered at the feeling of helplessness. There were too many questions and too few answers. He hated feeling this way.
He reached his door and fumbled for his card key, then swiped it lazily through the reader.
"Hey, you," a deliciously velvety voice said from inside.
Squall froze in the doorway, seeing the welcoming vision before him. "Hey..."
Rinoa sat on the edge of his bed, her legs crossed under her long black skirt, revealing a sliver of her creamy thigh through the high slit on one side. Her black hair was down, draping loosely past her shoulders, contrasting with the white of her plain tank top.
She smiled weakly at him for a moment, then she lowered her head, looking at the floor. "I was... worried about you."
Squall smiled at this, thinking how much he'd been missing coming home to her like this every night. He stepped forward, standing just inches from her. He put his hand under her chin and pulled her face up to look at him.
"I'm fine," he whispered. "Thank you."
She stood, making him step back from her. She began to step around him, saying, "I guess I should go..."
"Don't," Squall said suddenly, closing his eyes.
He was terrified. Terrified of being left at the mercy of his endless thoughts about this new mystery. Terrified that something would happen to Garden. Terrified that something would happen to Rinoa and all of his friends.
Terrified that she would walk out the door and he would be alone again.
Rinoa stopped and looked at him, unsure of how to react.
He opened his eyes and looked into hers. "I need you tonight," he whispered. "God, if only for tonight."
Rinoa stared into his eyes for several moments. It was easy to see the fear and desperation in them, and she couldn't stand it.
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, offering what comfort she could.
"I'll stay," she whispered in his ear. "Until you fall asleep."
Squall pulled back from the embrace, just far enough to see her face. He gazed into her warm brown eyes, allowing himself to get lost in them for a moment, before raising his hands to cup her face.
He leaned forward and kissed her, softly. He let his lips linger on hers for a moment after, relishing the taste of her, then he pulled back again.
"Okay," he sighed. "Until I fall asleep."
"And that's it?" Cid said, trying to quell his frustration. "They just... ran off?"
Squall and Laguna nodded.
"And no one was apprehended for questioning?"
Squall and Laguna shook their heads.
"Eve took out one of them to avoid the group being alerted to our presence if they weren't already aware of it," Squall explained. "She says was afraid that there may have been many more of them, and she didn't want the soldier to warn any others if he saw her. And the other soldier we took out... well, I thought he was attacking."
Cid sat back in his chair, thoughtfully.
"Let me look at those blueprints again," he demanded.
Laguna produced a large folder and placed it on Cid's desk.
"I'm trying to see if there are any marks or symbols singling out any particular area of any of these Gardens," Cid said, scrutinizing the sheets in front of him.
"Are you suggesting that someone wants to steal something from these Gardens?" Laguna asked, leaning forward in his chair.
"That or they want to put something in them," Cid said, looking up slowly at Squall and Laguna.
The three looked at each other in silence for a moment.
"If they just wanted to learn their way around they could have gotten a map from virtually anywhere," Cid continued, becoming more alarmed with each word. "They hand them out to visitors at the front gate if they ask for them. But a blueprint is going a little out of the way for that. They want to know where every little crevice is... and maybe every weak point."
"Fuck!" Squall hissed, getting out of his chair, the impact of Cid's words hitting him like a freight train.
Someone may be trying to destroy the Gardens.
Laguna cleared his throat, trying to gain some composure, then spoke in a clear and calm voice.
"Ok," he began, "Cid, you call Seifer and tell him what's going on. We won't inform anyone else of what's going on to avoid panic. Squall, assemble a team to search the entire Garden using these blueprints for anything suspicious, because there may already be something here. We don't know how long those blueprints have been floating around, or whose hands they've been in, so I doubt that if nothing has happened yet, that it will happen now. But, I'll contact every other Garden and tell them to do the same. If no one recovers anything, we'll assume that these mystery people haven't taken action yet. Are we clear?"
Squall stared at his father, dumbfounded. He had never seen him act with such authority. And he was a damn president.
"Yes, sir," Cid said, reaching for the phone. "I'll call Seifer right away."
Squall smirked in spite of himself and saluted his father. "Yes, sir."
Laguna rolled his eyes and smirked back. "Get outta here."
"I'm not feeling anything," Rinoa sighed, frustrated. "Either it's not working 'cause I'm defective, or there's just nothing here to be felt."
"We'll keep trying," Squall panted. "We can't give up so soon."
"Why are you breathing so hard already?"
"That was hard work, you know!?"
"Oh, please. You're such a lightweight. You need to get more exercise... it increases your stamina."
"Hey, don't question my stamina, alright? Besides, I get plenty of exercise."
"I know, I know... just giving you a hard time," Rinoa smiled at him.
"Will you shut up already so we can get through this?" Squall groaned.
"Sorry, didn't know it took such intense concentration," she said dryly.
Squall rolled his eyes. "Just keep looking. I'm gonna go back up to the control room area and see if I missed anything."
"Alright..." Rinoa said, feeling around the freezing cold walls of what used to be Norg's lair for any kind of difference in vibration. "Oh, and remember to breathe deeply when climbing those ladders... don't pant, you'll get dizzy."
"Yes, mother," Squall called, already ascending a ladder on the far side of the room.
Rinoa chuckled and continued to feel around, her hands never making direct contact with metal walls. There were certainly advantages to being a sorceress in these situations. If something was lost, she could usually find it within minutes.
It took concentration, but she'd gotten better at it with the help of Edea. Two years ago, the ex-sorceress had taken Rinoa under her wing and was determined to help her learn control over every aspect of her powers, which Edea never had during her reign in sorcery. She wanted to protect Rinoa from having to go through anything like what they had gone through during the time of Ultimecia, while teaching her to develop her abilities. Rinoa became very good, and Edea was very proud.
Rinoa smiled, thinking how much she needed to visit Edea at the orphanage again soon, when a slight change in the wall caused her hands to stop.
Rinoa looked at the area of the wall, carefully. There appeared to be some sort of large panel, but there was no handle or anything that she could see to open it. But Rinoa's heightened senses told her that it could certainly be opened.
"Squall!" she shouted. "I found something!"
She heard hard footsteps running on the metal platform way above her, then the clanks of someone descending a ladder.
She dropped her hands from the wall and turned, seeing Squall run toward her.
"What did you find?" he asked, urgently.
"Here," she said, pointing out the panel. "This opens up somehow."
Squall examined it, carefully for several moments.
"How the hell do we get it open?" he mumbled.
"Allow me," Rinoa said, pushing the sleeves of her black sweater. "Stand back, please."
Squall walked several feet away, grabbing a small radio from his belt. He wanted to be ready to call for the rest of his team, who were searching other areas of Garden, if they found anything inside.
Rinoa raised a hand and held it in front of the panel. She closed her eyes, and with a quick flick of her wrist, the metal panel went sprawling across the floor.
She opened her eyes slowly, and peered into the opening.
Squall stepped to her side and looked in, as well.
There was a small, empty room in front of them, no bigger than one of the Garden's standard dorms.
"An empty room..." Rinoa said, quizzically.
Squall got closer and finally stepped inside, looking around. The walls were bare cement, and the room was utterly and completely empty.
Rinoa sighed and walked into it, as well, unprepared for the overwhelming sensation she received upon taking the first step inside.
"Holy shit," Rinoa gasped.
"What?" Squall asked, turning to look at her. He grew worried when he saw her wide eyes.
"It's empty now," she replied. "But something BIG was here before."
"What was there?" Irvine asked into the radio. Selphie and Eve stood close by, listening intently to their conversation.
"Rin doesn't know," Squall's voice said over the static. "But she says it was here, and that it carried a strong negative energy."
"What the hell...?" Irvine said, looking around the quad.
"She can't sense anything else nearby, so we can assume there's no immediate threat to Garden for now," Squall continued. "If there'd been a bomb or something, she's sure she would have picked up on it by now."
"Alright, so what do we do now?" Irvine inquired.
There was silence for several moments.
"I'm not sure," Squall finally sighed. "But, we have to find out what was down here. We'll meet with Cid tonight and come up with our next plan of action. In the meantime, I'm getting the hell outta this ice box down here. I'll call for you later."
"Alright," Irvine replied. He put the radio away and turned to Selphie, who was sitting on the ground of the quad alone. "Where'd Eve go?"
"Oh, she had to go use the restroom," she said. "So, I guess we can stop looking?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Goodie! I'm gonna go check on Quistis. She was a bit sick again this morning."
Selphie ran off, leaving Irvine in the middle of the quad. He watched her go, feeling dazed. Mystery soldiers, mystery rooms...what the hell is going on around here these days!?
A/N: I could be wrong, but I think this chapter was a bit shorter than usual. Whatever. Keep reading!
To DBH- I corrected the error on the last chapter, if you didn't see it. Thanks! I also added a note to you there, too. Anyway, I'm glad you're so involved! Yeah, I like Eve, too... she's a bit of a bad- ass.
To Rinoa leonheartilly- I'm honored that you feel that way. Thanks for the great comment!