Disclaimer-I own the color red. Not Final Fantasy or any of its affiliated copyrighted material though...
The elevator hummed as the lights indicating the different floors slowly flicked on and off. Palmer seemed to be capable of constant speech and was rambling on about something or other, occasionally motioning towards Cid with a smile on his face. The pilot did his best to pay attention, but was soon lost among all the different people and places Palmer was describing. Vaguely aware of Palmer's hand on his shoulder, the elevator doors opened and Cid was lead into what looked like a library. Books ranging from facts about Mako energy to Wartime weapon designs. "... and here we are in Shinra's executive information database, where all the knowledge we have ever obtained is collected and organized. I don't know how much you like to sit and read, Captain Highwind, but I never quite developed the thirst for it as some do. We aren't all scholars, eh?" Palmer smiled knowingly, and gave Cid a slight poke with his elbow.
"Some of this stuff is kind of interestin', but nothing really all that breathtaking about a bunch of books, no matter how nice and neat you stack them." Cid replied, "Is there anything to drink around here? If I ain't got to do anything until tomorrow, I might as well enjoy the night."
Palmer bowed slightly with a look of regret, "No I'm afraid not, all of our Shinra headquarters is strictly a non-alcoholic area, and none of our permanent employees are permitted to drink at all, I'm sorry to say." He was silent for a moment, as if debating something, "But I'll tell you what, since you're not really a Shinra employee... it wouldn't technically be a violation of the rules to let you go out and maybe get something for yourself? Let's keep this hush-hush between us though, no need for unnecessary risks or to panic the higher-ups."
"Of course!" Cid answered, "Just between you and me."
"Right." Palmer said, "Unfortunately the only sort of business in the area is somewhat... lower class, 'Wal-Market', or something like that, is directly below the Shinra headquarters. But here, take this at least. All of the senior executives here are members of the best establishment around." He handed Cid a fancy looking black card, with golden yellow text advertising "The Honey Bee Inn".
"Thanks," Cid said, and put it in his front pocket, "Now what about my stuff? We both know how important this crate is, so do I got a room somewhere in this joint?"
"Oh don't worry about that Captain, I assure you it will be taken care of with all the comforts and precautions Shinra has available. Is everything in this crate? Everything about the Space Program?
"Yeah, that's all of it."
"Excellent excellent, now you go on and have a good time tonight and don't worry about it. Shinra takes care of things that are important to it."
Cid set the crate down gently on the lush carpet floor, and Palmer lead him over to an awaiting elevator. Cid stood in the elevator door, and nodded to Palmer, who began to wave goodbye frantically as the automatic doors swished shut, and took the Captain down to ground level.
As soon as the doors closed, Palmer immediately hurried over to the crate and pushed a button inside his coat. Within a few moments the elevator had come back up, and two Shinra employees exited to lift the crate and take it to the back of the library for filing. "Be careful with that, you idiots!" Palmer spat, his voice changing from its pleasant misdemeanor to a spiteful hiss, "We had to ship that stupid alcoholic all the way from Rocket Town just to get our hands on that. How talent to build a spaceship ever came to a fool like that, I don't know... but be damned careful or you can become a pair of Hojo's new experiments!"
After everything had been but away, the two employee's went down the elevator, and Palmer turned to a staircase in the back of the room. He pulled out a small golden key, and the lights dimmed out, showing hundreds of red detection lasers shooting through the room. Chuckling to himself, Palmer walked up the stairs, and turning another keyhole, slide the stairway doors closed behind him. Alone in the library was Cid's suitcase and other personal belongings, completley forgotten about in the dark.
Cid meanwhile was standing outside the Shinra building, cupping his hands and trying to light up a cigarette. Finally succeeding, he inhaled deeply and looked around him. Dimly below a neon glow faded in and out, and a large sign could be read with the name "Wal-Market". He exhaled, and pinching the cigarette between his teeth reached in his pocket and pulled out the Honey Bee Inn Membership card. It was actually pretty plain, except for the golden cursive letters reading 'The holder of this card is entitled to enter the finest gentleman's club in all of Midgar, with all bills and fees sent directly to Shinra Inc.' "Sounds good enough to me!" Cid thought, and started to slowly amble down the hill, dragging off his cigarette and looking at the world around him.
Wal-Market seemed like a grimy place, plagued with ill-favored businesses and small shops. Smoke seemed to wreath the sky, which Cid hadn't noticed on the way in. It was somewhat comforting to not be the only one blowing smoke into the sky, as his own puffs blended into the murky air above. Nothing special seemed to stick out among the drab scenery of dilapidated buildings. Never being one to ask for help, he wandered through the streets looking for any sign of the Honey Bee. He found a gym, a few shops, and even an old fashioned looking regular inn, but nothing with the name he was looking for. Eventually he saw flashing lights at the end of a street, and a group of men gathered, looking nervous or even afraid. At this point Cid realized he was walking around what was one of the most desolate areas he had seen in his entire life completley unarmed. He stooped down and picked up a rock, which wasn't much but was better than nothing. Cautiously he walked up to the crowd, his teeth clenched and his knuckles white around his most primitive of weapons.
When he reached them, and saw what the commotion was about, he almost laughed at himself. All the men were either eyeing each other, the ground, or what appeared to be a bouncer outside of a giant building. Neon lights buzzed, and high powered spotlights shone through the smog above, streaming up into the sky. Cid had found the Honey Bee Inn. One man seemed to be conversing with the bouncer, who didn't look very impressed by his efforts. To Cid it seemed pathetic, as he watched the man steadily becoming more desperate to get in. He started begging, and when that didn't work, took a swing. The bouncer, nearly twice the offending mans size, easily took the hit, and then proceeded to lift the aggressor off his feet and slam him against the ground. The rest of the group watched the whole affair, and shuddered as their apparent leader was destroyed. The bouncer didn't show any sort of emotion– dark sunglasses hid his eyes.
Cid was watching too, and after the affair flicked his cigarette on the ground and dropped his rock.. The club didn't seem very gentlemanly so far, and he wondered if there was more than one Honey Bee Inn, as he pulled the card out to examine again. One of the men looked up from aiding his fallen comrade, and seeing the black token in Cid's hand, let out an exclamation. "Holy shit! You's a member!" which got the attention of the rest of them. They hurried over, leaving the unconscious person lying in the dust. The bouncer for the first time showed an interest beyond keeping down troublemakers and glanced in Cid's direction. Immediately after being discovered, Cid instinctively raised his fist. "Stay the hell away from me!". Regardless, he soon found himself surrounded. Someone tripped him, and he fell down onto his trusty rock. "Damnit!" He yelled, and gripped the card as tightly as he could. Not that he wanted to go to the club all that bad, but at this point he was simply trying to hold onto his pride and not be mugged by a band of desperate nobodies outside of a bar in the big city with his own rock dug into the small of his back. Just as they all started grabbing at his hands, there was a loud meaty noise and one of the attackers was beaten aside by the Bouncer. Some gave up the fight after this unwanted intrusion, and fled down the street. The rest shifted their attention, and rushed the Bouncer. Only three remained. With another swift move, the Bouncer threw another aside. While he was taking care of that, the other two made a move towards him. Caught off guard, the Bouncer was only able to tackle one of them to the ground. The other brought his foot back for a crushing blow, but Cid had not been idle. Weaponless he wrapped his arm around the man from behind, and headlocked him into submission. After a few moments struggle he went down. The Bouncer had finished his fight, and helped lift Cid off the ground. Re-adjusting his sunglasses, he patted the dust off and looked at Cid, speaking for the first time in a gruff voice. "Your card please, Sir."
Smirking at the fallen would-be-theives, Cid put his admission slip into the Bouncer's slightly swollen hand. Without a second glace, it was handed back and the Bouncer bowed his head and pointed his arm off to the side, gesturing for Cid to pass through the curtained door behind. Cid nodded, and walked by. Once the Pilot had entered and the curtain fell closed, the Bouncer sneered and muttered "They don't pay me enough for this..."