Chapter 34 – Bad Memories
"What did you do for ShinRa," Vincent asked quietly.
Tendo had been working in silence for ten minutes before he spoke. He looked up at the dark man with a start. He had been so engrossed in his work that he hadn't realized he was not alone. He peered over his glasses at Vincent and stammered "I worked in the ShinRa mansion, in their laboratories, for Dr. Hiro.
Hearing the name, Vincent pushed himself off the wall and walked into the light to face Tendo. The doctor breathed in sharply. He suddenly recognized the tall man standing before him. His eyes registered Vincent's long dark hair spilling over a blood-red cape, his claw-hand and the red headband he wore on his forehead and his deep blue eyes half hidden beneath strong brows. He swallowed and carefully placed the vials of blood down on the counter.
"I remember you," he said quietly, his voice shaking. He sat down on the stool behind him and looked down at his hands. "It was a long time ago." Both men stood in the silent room eyeing each other. Finally, Tendo asked "What's your name?"
"Vincent Valentine," he replied, his jaw set in anger.
"Vincent Valentine . . . yes, I remember now." Tendo looked up at Vincent and sighed. "Hiro was mad, you know. He went mad after Lucretia gave birth to that . . . thing. Maybe even before . . ."
Vincent stood silently watching the small man, his rage building as the memories of Lucretia came flooding back. Tendo sensed the tall man's growing rage and grew more fearful. His voice shook as he spoke.
"Vincent . . . there was nothing I could do to help her. He kept his plans to himself until it was too late. He had each of us working on a different part of the project and didn't let us discuss what we were doing with each other. Even Lucretia herself worked on Jenova."
"What did you do for ShinRa," Vincent asked again, this time with an edge to his voice.
Tendo sighed again and looked up at Vincent. "My job was to map Jenova's chromosomes. Did you know there are 23 chromosomes in human DNA? Well, Jenova has 46. I had only completed about two thirds of the job before I left ShinRa. I left after Lucretia had her baby, and I left because I didn't want to be a part of what was happening there, what was happening to you and to others."
Vincent walked over to the counter and picked up one of the two vials of blood that Tendo had been working with. He rolled the warm vial between his fingers, thinking back to his time in the ShinRa mansion basement. "Why? Why did they do the things they did to me . . to the others?" His voice shook slightly as he spoke. This was obviously a question that had been on his mind for a long time, thought Tendo. Suddenly Vincent appeared vulnerable, not the strong angry man who stood before him moments before.
"Hiro was mad, Vincent. He was sick, evil, crazy. There wasn't much method to his madness . . . except for Lucretia. He knew exactly what he was doing there."
Tendo stood and walked to the other side of the room and opened a small refrigerator. He reached inside and pulled out a small hard case. Closing the refrigerator door behind him, he carried the case back to the counter and opened it. Inside was a small clear glass vial that contained a frozen liquid of some sort. He picked it up and held it up to the light.
"I took this from the labs before I left ShinRa. It belongs to Lucretia."