Chapter 13
Seated on an upturned bucket, Hojo wrote down observations and the percentage amount of the injection. After the initial dose, it appeared that the rabbit was calming. It gnawed passionlessly at the carrot it had been offered along with other vegetable matter.
His studies and discoveries in genetics made it possible to be where he was that day. He could have what he wanted and anything more was just within his grasp. Students fought to work in his shadows while his colleagues either revered or despised him. After all the ridicule he received early in his career, he knew he became the very thing they said he would never achieve.
Hojo was not wholly sure what to expect when mixing Jenova's cells with the rabbit. In the back of his mind he knew that nothing was supposed to happen. Instead, not only were there physical changes, but behavioral changes took place as well. The only question he had was whether the rabbit would live long after the initial injections. There was the possibility that Jenova's DNA may be too unstable and cause a complete genetic breakdown.
The other thing that could either expedite or slow the process down was the introduction of Mako. Mako was certainly a strange thing where it could bring life and bring death in the same breath. Shin-ra had found when sent through a process to break the molecules, it could generate greater energy then any other process known previously. Hojo was quite aware that Gast's young assistant had already begun research on using Mako radiation for medical purposes, but he was not about to let some woman steal what additional achievement he could achieve over time. Then again, he might be able to use her idea to achieve his ambitions of replicating Jenova's DNA and eventually clone a Cetran.
His dark eyes drifted back to the huddle image of the white rabbit in the back of the cage. Closing the notebook, Hojo stood up and began to inspect the remaining animals. Finding them to be lacking in what the rabbit had, he ordered the soldiers to set them free and find something else. He wanted to make sure the animals were strong both physically as well as genetic to withstand the stress that injections and mutations produced.
After he gave the soldiers new orders, Hojo made his way back to the mansion. The reaction the rabbit had given when injected gave him hope once more about recreating a Cetran via Jenvoa's DNA.
Even though it was late, the air remained the same temperature it had been since the rainstorm past over the night before. Vincent had already removed his jacket and tie seeking some comfort. Making his last round, he walked up the stairs to find Gast and Hojo's doors closed. Before he descended the stairs, he paused finding Lucrecia's door was still open with a light shining behind it.
He came in and stood in the doorway curious to see how long it would take her to notice him there. The usual evening dinner was brief since both her and Gast needed to run one more test before the night was done. He found her sitting at her desk typing up the report she had been working at for the past week.
Lucrecia suddenly stopped typing and took off her glasses. "Good evening, Mr. Valentine. I am supposing you haven't been standing there very long."
Vincent leaned against the doorway, his shirtsleeves rolled up to the elbow. "I must be loosing my touch."
Lucrecia turned and shook her head. " Or it's just the simple concept of elimination. Gast knocks on the door and Hojo, well; you just kinda know when he is around."
The Turk entered her room and looked over some of the books she had stacked around. His eyes fell one titled "Corpus Mortis". It somehow reminded him about her comment of her father being a doctor.
"Tell me, Doctor, what got you into this field anyway? Cadaver study is not something that is taught to young daughters."
Lucrecia sighed. "My father was a doctor. He worked between three small towns and when I was old enough, he had me come with him and assist on minor calls."
Lucrecia would always remember that one time it was suppose to be a routine call when the patient had died during the night. That was the first time she had ever seen a dead body. The face always remained plastered in her memory. Lucrecia carried on when she realized she had drifted from the Turk's question. "You can say that I was raised to take my father's place. My parents raised enough Gil to get me started in a basic apprenticeship and eventually ended up where I sit now."
Vincent picked up another book on principles of radiation and free radicals. 'Mako radiation?' He picked up one of the books and handed it to her. "What has you into Mako research?"
Lucrecia she took the book and watched him. "I hope you are not doing that weird Turk profiling stuff on me." She teased. "I don't know. It was something that just happened. I had just started working under Professor Gast when I stumbled into some significant information that I found fascinating. If I can get the research grant money I need, I will pursue it and gain my official seat on the board. Only then will I be drinking with the best of them."
Vincent paced slowly to the window. There was a great deal of detail she had left out of the conversation, but he expected that. Lucrecia watched him wondering what brought up the questions so suddenly. 'You know, some guys actually bring flowers, candies and maybe ask to have dinner. Though, I suppose interrogation should be added to the list.' Lucrecia stood up and stretched.
"Ok, Mr. Valentine, it's my turn to play twenty questions. What brought to what you do? I know they do not teach how to use that in primary school." Lucrecia glanced briefly at the gun resting in the shoulder holster.
Vincent folded his arms. "Sorry, that's confidential."
Lucrecia gave a light snort. 'Confidential my ass.' As she moved closer, she found he was watching something outside.
"Tell me something, Doctor, is there a limited season to hunting around here?"
Lucrecia placed her hands on the back of her hips. "One would assume there would be a limited season, why?" She looked out the window trying to find what may have brought up such a question. Her eyes fell upon a faint glow out in the base of the Nibels. 'Now that is a little odd.'
"Campfire? Being so close to town, why would anyone want to camp there?" She glanced over at the Turk. He merely shrugged.
"That is what I was wondering." He moved his arms and tucked his hand casually into his pockets. Vincent turned away from the window his hands moved from his pockets. "Nice view by the way."
Lucrecia blinked feeling a little thrown by the casual compliment. "Thanks." Reaching back, she readjusted her hair slide, removing it briefly before clipping it back in a more comfortable position.
An uncomfortable silence quickly fell between them. Lucrecia shifted from one foot to the other in an attempt to alleviate the tension, but it only seemed to grow stronger. Her eyes began to wander only to fall on the Turk's face. The shadows cast by the desk lamp only made his tense eyes ever more so. Lucrecia swallowed trying to read what was going on, what he was intending. At this point, she felt like her heart was in her throat making it difficult to breathe deeply. In the corner of her sight, she saw his hand move. At first it seemed to move toward her, but at the last moment rerouted to his hair where he combed his fingers through it. He turned his face away seeming to return to its normal somber, placid appearance. "I should be going. It's late." The Turk began to make his way to the doorway.
Lucrecia did not know why, but she stepped forward as though she wanted to stop him from leaving. Her foot hovered before she forced back in its original position. Vincent paused only briefly in the doorway before disappearing into the darkness of the hallway.
Lucrecia stood staring at the doorway both in curiosity as well as in disappointment. She knew part of what she did last night was too impulsive, too irrational and yet felt right and it felt good. 'And this is why I don't like getting involved with anyone. I just get to know someone and it all goes to hell. But then again, this feels different. For once I am not the one playing hard to get.' Lucrecia closed her room door and locked it.
Rolling over on his side, Vincent picked up his wristwatch and found it was four in the morning and still had not gotten to sleep. Frustrated, he threw his pillow over his head as though it would quiet his mind. 'I took sedatives once. I certainly got to sleep, but slept past my alarm clock and made me late for work by two hours. So that definitely does not work. Maybe I should try drinking something. Though the last time I drank, it was enough to get me to say things I later regretted.'
He threw the pillow off his face and forced it back behind his head and stared at the dark ceiling. Normally, there were several things that kept him awake at night, but this night it was one in particular. 'I could have kissed her, should have. Maybe then I could actually sleep.' Vincent rolled to his side after feeling a metal bar of the cot pressing into his lower back. 'Perhaps I should think about something else.' The Turk sifted through his mind trying to find anything to obscure the images of that took place earlier. 'Well, I can think about making a report to Marcus. That will be due here soon. What should I report on? Gast's project is going well, Hojo is being his usual self and oh by the way, Gast's assistant isn't too bad after all.'
He growled. 'Scratch that, maybe I will prepare that in the morning. Gast mentioned he had an early morning phone conference coming up soon with Shinra. …Lucrecia should be taking her usual shower in the morning...' Vincent threw the pillow over his face. 'Stop that. I know that mouse is still alive. So for the love of hell, come out and bother me you stupid rodent.' He removed the pillow shoved it back underneath his head.
Vincent listened but all he heard was the mechanical ticking of the wall clock. Suddenly fascinated with the sound and not too long after that, the Turk finally fell asleep.
Taking a deep breath, the Turk made a running jump and vaulted over the side only to land in a triumphant splat. The only problem with the vaulting is there was not definite way to stop once you were on the other side.
'At least I landed on my feet.' Vincent winced as he felt the garbage and debris slip around underneath him. It had been raining sporadically through the day making a dirty job far worse. 'Okay, blue plastic bag.' He lifted up crushed boxes, bags of garbage, shoes and paper. There was also a half empty box with fruit covered pastries. 'Hey there's even danishes in here. Probably day-olds.' He then frowned realizing what he just thought.
"We don't have all night, Valentine."
Vincent growled and withdrew his hand in disgust after sticking it in something wet and slimy. 'Somehow not seeing that offers a little comfort.' Vincent straightened out and addressed Hank.
"If I can see what I am looking for, we can get out of here faster." Hank approached the side and looked over.
"Damn, glad it's you doing that."
Vincent snarled. "Just give me some light...oh hey!" Slip sliding over to the far corner; he grabbed a small piece of blue plastic that stood up from underneath a cardboard box. Vincent quickly produced a small bag, the one they had interest in looking for. Hank snatched it from Vincent and opened it up and dug through the contents. Finding the torn halves of a picture, he tossed the rest back into the dumpster.
Happy he found what they were looking for; Vincent had momentarily forgotten he still needed to get back out. Looking for anything to launch himself off of, he found only soggy trash. Taking a chance, Vincent attempted to vault back over. Ignoring the cold wet metal, Vincent lifted his left foot up to the edge and began to pull himself up. Instead, his foot slipped and he only backwards into the trash.
Hank looked back to only to hear Vincent yelp and a pair of hands flailing at the air.
"Valentine, I never thought you to be one to goofing around." Though all he heard in response was an "ow".
Lying still, Vincent reassessed his situation. 'Vaulting it is definitely out of the question. What did I land on?' He quickly scrambled to his feet the best he could, his back soaked in the bottom liquid smelling like a combination of vehicle oil, laundry detergent and fermented grapes. 'I suppose I could swing one of the black covers and climb over...' His thoughts broke when something furry brush past his ankle.
Vincent shrieked and jumped in response. Hank watched as his Turk companion scrambled up from inside of the dumpster and perched precariously on the edge with his gun drawn.
"Valentine?"
The dark Midgar sky gave a rumble followed by several large drops of rain. Soon those drops turned into a downpour.
"Mr. Valentine, we're a little wet aren't we?"
He turned his head and found he was back at Nibelhiem with Lucrecia. 'The rainstorm' was all that crossed his mind.
"Mr.Valentine?" He felt her warm, damp hands touch is flushed face.
The vague sound of a rhythmic beeping drew him from deep within his dreams. He reached out blindly and turned the small alarm off and turned to his side. Despite it being a dream, he felt his face tingling.