Ch 3 – Recruit Number Two.
There was a knock on Squall's door. He looked up from the paperwork he was doing, his grey eyes locking on the door, hoping the person who would walk in wouldn't give him any more paperwork. "Come in." He called.
The door opened, and Zell poked his head in. "Busy, dude?"
"I wish I wasn't. But come in anyways."
Zell nodded, walking into the room and shutting the door behind him. Walking over to the desk, he plopped himself into one of the chairs before the desk, placing his hands behind his head and smiling at Squall in a 'you'll never guess what I know' kind of way.
Squall shook his head, looking down at his papers. "Let me guess. You've figured out who contestant number two will be."
Zell's look of contentment took a nosedive, and he lowered his arms, clicking his fingers. "Shit." He muttered. He hated it when Squall guessed what he was about to say.
Squall smiled slightly, looking up at the warrior. "Well? Aren't you going to tell me who it is?"
Zell still looked slightly sullen, but leaned forward. "It's a woman. She's supposedly the best thief in the entire world. From the sounds of things, it seems like she'd be pretty good on the team."
Squall paused in his paperwork, leaning back in his chair, a frown on his scarred face. "Zell…Garden doesn't allow criminals to participate in their missions. It's just not done."
"Oh, come on! What about Julius? He's a criminal."
"Yes, but he's also ex-SeeD, A-Grade no less. We know he lives his life by the rules and regulations we apply. We can trust him…sort of."
"So, you'll trust a hacker who got me killed, but you wont trust a chick who steals things….I cant believe I just said that…"
Squall picked up his pen. "In a nutshell."
Zell leaned back in his chair, letting his breath out in a long, loud sigh. "You sure? I mean, this chick sounds really good."
Squall rolled his eyes. "Unless you capture her and strike a deal with her, you can't really do anything about it, can you…" His voice trailed off as he saw the look in Zell's eyes. He bolted out of his seat, pointing a finger at Zell menacingly. "No." he stated.
Zell tried to keep the smug smile off his face and held his hands up. "What?"
"Julius is an exception. Garden wont accept dealing with thieves – even if it means saving the world."
"Maybe it will." A commanding voice said.
Both men turned to see Commander Carpenter standing in the doorway. Immediately they snapped to attention, their hands rigidly forming the SeeD salute.
Carpenter walked into the room, shutting the door behind him. His tailor made suit rested snugly on him, a leather briefcase in his hands. He looked more like a businessman then the leader of the most powerful mercenary force in the known world. "At ease, boys. I'm not here for an inspection, or anything."
Zell and Squall relaxed, and Squall walked around the desk to face Carpenter. "How can we help you, sir?" he asked.
Carpenter placed a hand on Squall's shoulder. "Commander Leonheart, the mission that Zell is on is vital to the survival of this universe and countless others. I'm pretty sure that allowing a few outsiders into SeeD ranks for a little while wont be too bad."
"Sir…" Squall protested meekly, "An ex-SeeD I can handle – but an expert thief?"
"Squall…sometimes rules have to be broken. You of all people know that."
Squall shook his head, before nodding. "Very well. I'll help however I can, sir."
Carpenter smiled. "Good." He turned to Zell. "Now, about your first recruit…"
"Julius Garner, Sir." Zell said. "He's one of the best martial artists out there, sir. He took down our crack SeeDs when they raided his joint. Plus, he's proven his skills to us as a hacker numerous times…from the defence. But, I'm sure that when we finish this thing, he'll return to SeeD."
"Only for his girlfriend." Carpenter said quietly, looking down at the ground.
"…Yeah." Zell said, equally quietly. He had to admit – the entire notion of reviving a woman after being dead and frozen for a full day was, in the very least, insanity at it's best. Zell looked up, his words soft. "But all he needs, sir, is hope. It's been fuelling his fire all these years. I'm sure it'll get him through this."
"I hope so…for all our sakes." Carpenter muttered, his voice growing grim. "We've had some people come through the Arch."
Both Squall and Zell blinked. "What?" They asked simultaneously.
"They were carrying weapons – our SeeDs stationed just outside the Arch had a rough time defeating them, but they finally managed it – but all the people we've sent through with weaponry, or any metal for that matter, have all lost it by the time they got to the other side."
"Wait a moment – you've sent people through Universal Compression already?" Zell asked, his voice incredulous. "Why the hell did you do that?"
Carpenter's voice was ice cold. "All the men that went through were ready for anything, and were fully briefed on your experiences within Time Compression. They were ready for anything…except for the losing their weapons bit." He shook his head, crossing his arms. "Only five out of the party of ten came back. Most had only just escaped with their lives – and by only using magic. Which is why we need people who don't need weaponry."
Squall held up a hand. "Hold on. you said something about people coming through? Into our world?"
"Yes. Just after the remainders of the party came back, three foreign bodies suddenly came through." Walking over to the desk, he placed his briefcase on it and flicked the switched to the left and right of the opening, the locks releasing. Opening the briefcase, he pulled out a small folder, handing it to Zell.
Zell opened the folder cautiously, Squall coming around the desk to look over his shoulder.
Within the folder were several black and white photos of men that looked much like knights in shining silver armour, their metal coverings glittering menacingly in the Archways fluxuating dimensional light. One carried a large sword, chunky and heavy-looking, but hefted it on his shoulder as if it weight like nothing. Another carried twin Katanas, the Old World swords, slender with a slight curve. The last held a large axe, the edges dripping with blood from whoever he had slain before the picture was taken.
"They killed everybody who came out, selecting them from the groups and slaying them mercilessly, before trying to escape back through the Arch. It was only when we retaliated that they attacked us fully." He placed a hand on Zell's shoulder. "These guys are mean. It took three fully charged Flares to bring one to his knees. It was lucky that Emily was there…"
Zell's blood ran cold. Emily Strange. The Goth with a tendency to kiss people – the end result of such a magical kiss being having your chest explode and your head blow up. "What was she doing there?" He growled, his voice like cold steel.
"Now, now, Zell. She's a SeeD. She only did what she was told to do."
"What? Allow her brother to torture me? To nearly kill me? You told her to do that?"
Zell's fist crumpled the file into a ball, and Carpenter cleared his throat. "Control yourself, Zell. I'm pretty sure, under similar circumstances, you would have done the same."
"Not in a million years. Sir." Zell muttered.
Carpenter cleared his throat once more, before retrieving the now destroyed folder from Zell's hand. "Once you recruit this…thief, come and see me at Galbadia Garden. And bring your recruit with you. We'll wish to have them examined both physically as well as psychologically."
With that he closed and retrieved his briefcase, turned on his heel, and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
Zell pointed his finger at the spot where Carpenter had stood. "Sir, you're a son of a bitch who's life is hanging on a thread only because you're the only thing standing between here and the destruction of Gaia, and I'll make it my personal objective to kick your ass once I get back from this shitty mission." Clearing his throat, feeling pissed off and irritated, he turned to Squall. "I so should've said that."
"I'm sure he would have taken it gracefully…" Squall agreed, before frowning slightly. "Then have you thrown into the stocks for insubordination."
"Them's the breaks, huh dude." Zell muttered, placing his hands in his pockets before kicking the floor with his boot. "I'm going to go find this chick."
* * *
Night time.
Deling Presidential palace. Supposedly considered to carry the most sophisticated security system in the western world, it was a fortress – high walls, guards patrolling, spotlights, the occasional watch dog, laser beams – everything that a person could think of to protect the most important man in Galbadia.
That, and his masses of money and personal items in the most elaborate vault known to man.
Just outside one of the many windows, a silhouette lowered itself down on a rope like a spider from the roof, hanging upside down like a monkey. The figure, perfectly concealed in the shadows, reached into a small pouch strapped to it's back.
Pulling a small item from the pouch, the figure held it to the windowsill, setting it onto the metal sill firmly and pressing a button – before the item beeped, killing the vibration sensor on the large panes.
Replacing the item, the figure pulled out another one, this one looking much like a compass. Placing a little suction cup on one of the larger panes, the figured squeezed a little pressure ball, the cup sucking onto the pane, holding fast. Twisting the cutting implement down, the figure lengthened the cutter out slightly – before switching on the laser cutter, turning the bright blue energy beam around the pane, cutting out a human-sized hole.
Pulling the circular cut out of the pane, the figure held it out beneath it and allowed the cup to release, dropping the round glass.
It fell a good three stories before landing in some bushes softly, the only sound being the glass brushing through some leaves. A guard came to investigate the noise, but found nothing.
The figure wriggled through the hole, before releasing itself from the rope holding it up, allowing the person to drop down to the floor silently.
* * *
Moving through the room, a sort of dining room it seemed, the figure came across a door, trying the doorknob.
Locked.
One lock pick and a gentle click later, the door was open and the figure stealthily crept across the hall, tip-toeing straight past a guard, oblivious to his obvious incompetence as he looked down the hall to the main entrance.
The figure hid behind a large statue of a former president, the brightly lit hallway making the person feel uncomfortable. Looking across her flank, the person pressed a small button on a wrist-com, the screen flashing into view.
The person checked the digital map, running a finger over where she was supposed to go, before switching it off and cracking his knuckles.
The guard, hearing the noise, turned with a confused look beneath his helmet – before a fist suddenly smashed into his stomach, blowing the wind out of him. A swift knee to the head knocked him out cold, even before he could drop his gun.
After the person had dragged the guard to the dining room and locked the door, she tiptoed silently down the hallways, counting the doors to his right as he went.
Finally reaching door number three, she stopped and crouched, looking left and right for anybody coming from around any corners or out any doors. Looking at the door, he suddenly realised that it was slightly different from the rest.
The rest of the doors were simple thick wood, easy enough to smash if the figure had to escape. This one, however, had been painted to fool an amateur, the surface looking wooden – but the key card reader and indents around the frame of the door suggesting a metal of some kind.
Muttering a small curse the black figure reached into a different pouch, pulling out a small card with a small plug coming from it. Running the card halfway through the key-card reader, the figure plugged the lead into her wrist-comp, the tiny computer flashing into life once more.
A few minutes of unnecessary and risky waiting later, the comp vibrated softly, and the door slid open with a satisfying whir.
Retrieving the equipment, the person stepped into the room, the door sliding shut behind her. She would be able to open it again with the key card when she needed to leave.
The room was huge – a good twenty meters by six – and the floor leading to the other end was completely bare. It was completely pitch black as the door closed, the only light coming from the person's wrist-comp.
The person crouched once more and reached into another pouch, pulling out what looked like swimming goggles. Placing the goggles over her balaclava-clad head, she switched them on, the Thermal imaging showing the red laser travelling up and around the room.
It was like an intricate pattern – criss-crossing in some places, some close to the ground, other high above the floor – it looked daunting, even to the figure in black, and she began to have doubts…
…for about five seconds.
Stepping forward, looking left and right for any other place to infiltrate, the figure leapt up and through a thin hole in the first net, landing on the balls of her feet lightly, looking up to see the laser on the second set a mere centimetre from her face. Lowering herself to the floor slowly, she lay down on his belly and scooted forward, her lithe body not lifting off the floor an inch as she slid forward under two other rows of beams, her considerable chest barely keeping her back from skimming one of the beams.
Coming to a small break in the rows, the figure stood, letting out a breath before continuing. Looking over to the left, she saw a small break near the top of the roof. Jumping up and over the break, she landed – her legs sliding open as a laser stopped mere millimetres from her groin.
Cursing softly, she lifted her left leg slowly – to see a beam blocking her path. Lowering her left leg, she lifted her right up and over the beam, allowing her to stand at ease.
Sliding under the final row of lasers the figure finally reached the end wall.
Standing and leaning against it, she took in a few breaths before turning and placing a hand on it, feeling it's texture with her gloved hand. Moving down the wall, she continued to run her hand over the smooth wall, her hand never straying from her slim hip's height – before she finally found a rough section.
Kneeling, she pushed the rough section of the wall in slightly. The section moved in slowly, the small square about the size of a man's hand. Pushing it in fully, the section suddenly slid into the wall, revealing a glass panel. 'Good Evening, President Justice. Please enter your retinal scan now.' The computer's voice, a woman's charming tones, asked politely.
"Okay…" The black figure said, pressing a different button on the goggles before leaning her head forward, pushing her left eye into the small square slot.
A tiny red ray scanned her eye up and to the left, before there was a tinny chime. 'Thank you, Mr. President.' The computer said gladly, fooled by the impression the goggles had made on the woman's eyes.
"You're welcome, Voice." The girl murmured as the large wall suddenly rose, revealing a large, round vault door, complete with around twenty sealing locks. Made out of twelve inch thick adamantine, the figure was surprised to see a simple lock and tumble dial lock on the door.
Snorting and kneeling next to the dial, she reached into another pouch and pulled out a stethoscope – the ones doctors use to listen to people's heartbeats.
Pulling off her goggles and returning them to their pouch before lifting the balaclava up and over her face to reveal her small ears, she put the stethoscopes' to the door and listened in as she turned the dial slowly, her ears straining for…
…After turning the dial to the left for forty-eight degrees, there was a small click from within the large door. She smiled cheekily, before turning the dial to the right, also hearing for another click.
Eight clicks and a thud of a latch falling later, the twenty sealing locks thumped out of their sockets stubbornly, the humungous door opening itself slowly with a loud click. Gripping the side of the vault door, the woman opened it wide, the big door swinging out to reveal…
…nothing.
The woman blinked twice. All that effort – all that stealth – all that planning and payoffs and god knows what else – for an empty room.
The lights from within the room suddenly came on, blinding the woman suddenly, and she jumped into the vault, pulling the vault door closed desperately, leaving it open only an inch.
The sound of the door opening outside chilled her to the bone – the loud 'cling' of the laser being switched off froze her nerves. What she didn't expect was for her captor to taunt her. "Hello?"
She stayed still. If she could only taint the man closer, she could at least knock his ass out and escape.
"I know you're in there, you know. I've been monitoring your entrance ever since you scaled the wall."
Shit!! She thought to herself, her dark blue eyes darting left and right as she tried to figure out what to do next.
"You're way better then I thought. I almost lost you on the roof – but I spotted you again when you dropped the cut glass. Almost missed that, too. I saw the guard walking over to check it out, and figured you would have been trying to get into one o fthe windows. Luck, really."
The woman frowned. Why is he taunting me like this? Why doesn't he just come over and get this over with??
"Hello? Are you there?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm here, you nugget."
"Oh. Good. I thought you might have taken a cyanide pill or
something silly like that. You'd be no use to me then."
She scoffed at the accusation that she might had killed herself. "What a stupid
idea! What kind of idiot are you? Really…and what do you mean, 'no use to you'?
I'm warning you, I'm armed!"
"No you're not."
"Yes I am."
"No, you're not!"
"Yes, I am! Look, I think I'd know wether or not I'm armed!"
"If you were armed you would have killed the guard in the hallway – but that's not the way you work, is it Trish?"
Trish's blood ran cold once more. "How do you…I mean, that's not my name!"
"Of course it is. Trisha Jones, known to the thieves' guild as Trish The Dish. Said to have robbed several wealthly estates out of a lot of expensive stuff, as well as boasted to have been the only cat burglar to ever make it in and out of the Esthar Presidential pad unscathed and unseen."
Trish shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Great. You know me. You
want a medal or something?"
"Not really. Just your services, that's all."
Trish frowned. "What do you mean?"
The man sighed impatiently. "Look, can you come out of there? It's annoying to talk to someone behind twelve inches of adamantine."
"I'm not coming out until you leave."
There was a small pause, before she heard the man walk forward. Before she knew it, the door began to swing shut, the opening between the vault and the vault door closing rapidly.
"Hey! Wait!!" She squealed, quickly rolling out of the vult before it slammed shut with a resounding bang. She ripped the balaclava off her face, letting her long blond hair spill out around her black skin-tight jumpsuit, and stood defiantly. "What the hell are you trying to do, suffocate me or something? I swear, I'm gonna kick your ass five ways till Sunday, you blond son of a…" Her voice trailed off as she saw the face of her mystery man, the black tattoo licking up the side of his face, the cheeky grin as he pushed the door shut with one hand as if it weighed nothing at all.
"G'day. Or should I say, good evening." Zell said, barely able to keep his laughter in.
Trish pointed a finger at him, lowering her guard stupidly. "You're…you're…" she gasped like a fish out of water.
"Oh, hey, Zell Dincht, how ya doin?" Zell said, wiping his right hand on his shorts and holding it out.
Trish blinked – before looking over at the door leading out, the big metal frame invitingly open. Turning quickly, she bolted for the exit.
Zell sighed and shook his head. "Geez, nobody wants to shake my hand, even when I'm famous…" He muttered, reaching into a pocket and pressing a button on a remote.
A latticework of adamantine slid down over the opening, trapping the two inside the room. Trish arrived at the doorway just too late, slamming into the net and springing back. Regaining her footing, she rushed forward, slamming a fist into the network of metal – which gave the hand slack, allowing it to push out before being repelled back.
Trish looked at the latticework dumbfounded, before spinning on a heel to see Zell leaning against the vault door calmly, hands in pockets, a small smile on his face. She put up her dukes and shifted forward slightly, her words tumbling out defiantly. "Okay. Fine. You want it rough, you got it rough. I'll kick your ass so hard you'll be picking your teeth out of your butt for the next fortnight. I'll slap you around like a redheaded stepchild. I'll whip you so bad you won't wanna look at a girl for the rest of your life."
Zell rolled his eyes, not moving from his spot, and sighed. "Do you seriously think you'll be able to beat me?"
"Come and find out, tough guy. I bet you're scared. You're scared of the little girl, huh? Afraid of me, huh? Or maybe you have a thing about hitting girls? Yeah, that sounds like you."
"Hyne, for a cat burglar you sure can talk. Just shut it for a second and listen will you?"
"Let me out first, then you can talk all you want."
"Trisha!!" Zell yelled suddenly, slamming a fist into the vault door, a large dent suddenly smashed into the twelve inch adamantine. "I'm not letting you go wether you like it or not, so shut the hell up and listen!!"
Trish looked at the huge dent that had suddenly appeared in the vault door and shut her mouth, lowering her hands meekly.
Zell rolled his eyes, allowing his body to hang limp for a second. "Thank you…Hyne, you're just like Rinoa, you know that? Sheesh…okay. I'm not going to take you to the cops. I'm not going to turn you into the Galbadian guards. I'm even not going to knock your ass out and throw you in the SeeD detention centre…"
"What are you going to do then? You're not going to rape me are you? Cause I'm warning you, I'm not afraid to poke eyes…"
"Trish!!"
"Okay, okay!! What are you going to do, then?"
Zell's smile was broad and wide. "I'm going to employ you."
Trish looked at hi for a second – before face-palming. "Oh, piss off…" she muttered to herself.
* * *
Selphie was reading a magazine in her room, lying on her belly on her bed, when there was a knock on her door. "Coming!!" She cried, flinging the magazine over her shoulder and rolling off the bed to land on the floor with a loud thump, before springing to her feet and skipping to the door.
She palmed the door open and smiled at Zell. "Hiya Zell!! Who'se the girl with you?"
Zell rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly. "Uh…hi, Selphie. This is Trisha Jones – I've just recruited her for the Compression mission." He muttered, flicking his thumb over at the girl behind him.
Trish was looking around the Garden dorm hallway with amazement, her mouth wide open as she looked out the hallways window. "We're actually moving! This is incredible!!"
Zell looked at her as if she had never been in a mercenary school that flew all across the world and shook his head dismissively, before turning to Selphie. "Anywho, I was wondering if she could borrow some of your clothes? You're both about the same measurements and stuff…"
Trish suddenly elbowed Zell in the back, grinning at Selphie. "He had to ask me my measurement, and he goes 'Hey! That's just like Selphie!! You guys got almost everything in the same size!!'"
Zell blinked, watching as Selphie blushed hotly. "Hey, I did not! I just asked her if she was a small or a medium, that's all!! Look, can she borrow some or not?"
Selphie shrugged off the comment made by Trish and smiled up at Zell. "Yeah, if she wants."
"Sweet…" Trish muttered, brushing past Zell and walking into Selphie's room. "I've been wanting to get out of this damned cat-burglar suit all the way here…" She began to take off the skin tight shirt, before realising that Zell was still there. "Well, go on, vamoose you pervert!!"
Selphie smiled. "Yeah! Vamoose!!"
Zell rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms defiantly. "Not until she give me back my wallet."
Trish blushed and pulled the item from one of her pockets, passing it to Selphie who passed it to Zell. He opened it and looked inside. "The Gil too." He said tiredly.
"Hyne, you're no fun!!" Trish muttered, pulling out the wad of cash she had stashed and passing it to Selphie who passed it to Zell.
Zell took the money back with a smile, before stepping away from the door. "I'll be waiting outside, Trish. And Selphie, watch your stuff! She flitched my wallet three times on the way here!!"
And then the door closed.
Selphie turned to Trish slowly, who had opened her dresser drawer and was pulling out items of clothing. "Hyne, don't you wear anything black?" Trish muttered as she went through her blouses.
* * *
Well, how's that? I had lots of fun with this chapter – had a bit of trouble at the start, but we'll be finding out about those guys later on.
I'm going to have so much fun with Trish – it's gonna be a blast!!
