Sorry to my dear reviewers, but I was on vacation for a long time. But here's the next chapter, ready for your reading pleasure. And this story officially has more chapters than any other story to date! I feel so proud of myself…
Lady Deathstryke: Awesome chapter? I'm getting a big head from all of these great reviews…but I love them all the same. Hope this chapter is just as good as the others.
Nevan: I'm glad you think this story is one of the best ever. Seifer/Quistis is one of my absolute favorite pairings too.
Chapter Eleven: Research Center Assault"How gone do you mean?" asked Zell calmly, although Quistis could see his eyes narrowing in concentration. He wasn't as lackadaisical as he sometimes pretended to be. "Kind of gone, as he may be in this inn, or really gone, as in nowhere to be found?"
"Absolutely, completely, 100 percent gone," Gary said. "All I can find that might help us are some tire tracks that follow ours, then drive away from here toward Winhill. We're the only guests, so they must be from the kidnappers."
"So they were following us. Damn," Seifer hissed. "How did we miss that? They must be professionals."
"That or they knew that we were coming here," Quistis whispered. The silence was so thick that had it been an actual silence, a freshly sharpened knife would have been needed to cut clean through it. No one wanted to deal with the possibility that someone they had taken into their confidence had betrayed them.
"Oh man, I'm going to blow this mission," moaned Gary, collapsing onto a bench near their table. "This is not going to look good on my record. My first command, and I've lost the person I was charged to protect." Quistis cleared her throat.
"Don't beat yourself up about this yet. We need to think logically about this. Who specifically did you tell our plans to, Gary?"
"All I told was Headmaster Cid of Balamb Garden and Headmaster of Galbadia Garden. They were the only people that I needed to alert about our movement."
"Someone at the train station could have seen us, and told a politician who asked too many questions, as well as reinforcing it with some gil."
"Who would have been watching us that closely, though? We haven't been the least bit suspicious, Seifer. In fact, that attempt on Caraway's life only strengthened our position in Deling," Zell pointed out.
"That's true. We hid very well. Whoever found us must have been aiming for this all along, not just seized the opportunity. Maybe we should call Natalie, as her to snoop around," Quistis said.
"I'll get a hold of Spikes again, and ask him to call my cell phone," Seifer said. "I was the one who spoke with him the first time, after all."
"You should do that right now," Quistis said. Seifer nodded and walked away to a corner for some silence as he pulled out his black phone. Quistis turned to Gary, who was still sitting on the bench, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. She got down on her knees, and looked straight at his head. "Gary," she said, causing him to look up. "You need to take command."
"I can't; I've already failed. I'll never be a SeeD with this black mark on my record. My chances are shot, my options gone. I'm – "
"Listen to me a moment! Everyone makes mistakes. It's learning to pick ourselves up and go on that proves who is and isn't ready for something. What will really make a black mark on your record is if you sit by idly and do nothing. If you get out there, and take responsibility for repairing your mistakes, then you'll prove to the world that you can handle anything."
Gary looked at her a moment, his face still pale. But he nodded to her. "…You're right. I can still recover, can't I? I'm alive, aren't I?"
"You are," she said, smiling at him. He jumped up, a new look of confidence on his face. She stood up as well, and looked him straight in the eye.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"Yeah," he said. "Thanks, Quistis. I know I took your command, and for once I feel sorry. Someday you're going to make a great leader, and a great teacher."
"Thank you," she said. Then he walked off, getting together supplies, and she turned back to where Seifer stood, anxious to hear the outcome of his conversation.
"Spikes? Hey, it's Seifer, and I spoke with you before, about getting a hold of Natalie Illuna. Is there anyway you could ask her to call my cell phone, if you happen to see her?"
"She might be nearby," he said. "Is now a good time?"
"Now would be excellent," he said, and waited a moment as two voices spoke in the background. Then someone spoke.
"Seifer, how good to hear from you again," said her cool voice. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"
"I need some information, as quickly as possible."
"Go on."
"I want to know who was interested in General Caraway's movements; specifically, within the last three days or so. If you can tell me where the place is where they got information about Caraway, that would also be appreciated."
"Why, that's easy. I know that right now. And as soon as you transfer a modest amount to one of my secondary bank accounts, and we confirm the transaction, I will tell you."
"What constitutes a modest amount?" Quistis walked over in time to hear that comment, and looked curiously at him. He noticed that she'd managed to get Gary up and moving; how she managed to motivate people like that would always be beyond him.
"Say, ten thousand."
"Ten thousand." Quistis' eyebrow rose, but she didn't say anything.
"Take it or leave it."
"All right. One moment while I get to my computer and pull up the files." He moved toward his room, Quistis following him.
"What's happening?" she asked as he pulled out a laptop and called up the internet, typing in the address for their SeeD bank account.
"She'll give us all the information, who was snooping around and where their intelligence is, if we send her ten thousand. Since it seems reasonable, I've decided to go ahead. But tell Gary for me anyway, would you?" She nodded, and left the room. He finished logging on, then filled out the amount and turned back to the phone. "Where am I sending the money?"
"Account number 110-1821-555z," she said. He typed in the number, repeating it back to her, then hit the transmission key. He waited for it to process, then he spoke with Natalie.
"Have you received it?"
"We have, and everything is in order. The person who was curious about General Caraway was none other than Darius Deling."
"That was what I suspected. Where is their information coming from?"
"Why, from me," she said, as though that should have been obvious. "Anyone who wants to know anything comes to me. I'm the best, after all. And you came to me, didn't you?"
"I never expected you to betray us." Natalie laughed.
"Betray you? Seifer, I'm not a SeeD. I don't fight for other people's ideals, and I don't lend myself to their causes. I'm after something basic, money. It's as pure and simple as that. You never paid me to keep your dealings a secret, therefore the knowledge I had gained of your interest was for sale to anyone who wanted to know about it. I thought you were aware of the way things worked down here. Perhaps I was mistaken."
"Maybe," he said. "Are you going to tell Darius we know?"
"Only if he asks. I don't like governments, so I don't volunteer information to them, but I am willing to take their money. And I am willing to offer you some information, if you'll pay. And believe me, you would like to know this."
"What do I need to pay for this information, and security with our dealings?"
"Maybe I could teach you a trick or two after all," she laughed. "Let's say five thousand, shall we?"
"Same place?"
"110-1821-555z." He retyped it, typed the amount, and sent it. "Everything's in order," said Natalie on the other end."They mentioned that there was a research center near Winhill that they were using for something. That was going to be their transmission point. From there I don't know where Caraway was going. I don't even know what they want him for. But I can tell you that he will be held there twenty-four hours, so you'd better get a move on."
"Okay, then. Thank you for your time."
"Of course. Good luck. It would be a shame if such good customers died." There was a click, and the line went dead. Seifer put his phone back, then went to find the others. There wasn't much time.
The Research Center looked much as Quistis remembered it. The only difference was that it was now off the coast of Winhill instead of in the middle of the ocean. Seifer whistled as he looked at it.
"That's big," he said. "I mean, the pictures I looked up didn't do justice to the size of this place at all."
They had separated into two groups upon arriving at Winhill. Zell, to the confusion of Gary and the annoyance of Quistis and Seifer, had insisted that he team up with Gary to leave them some 'alone time'. Not that she was complaining…it was just annoying when your friends ganged up on you like that. She decided she owed Squall and Rinoa a bit of an apology when she got back to Garden.
After an hour of searching, it looked as though Squall had been right all along. There was really no place they could enter without causing a commotion of some sort. Something really big is going on here… she thought apprehensively.
"Quistis, are you alive over there?" asked Seifer, waving his hand in front of her face. She blinked, and then grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry. I was just thinking." She started off down the cliff face to avoid further questioning, making Seifer run to catch up with her.
"So, what should we do?" he asked, not our of breath because of his training.
"Regroup," Quistis said. "It's time to, and Gary will want to form a plan."
"That guy is really starting to get on my nerves," grumbled Seifer. "Even I have more battle and SeeD experience than him."
"I know he's nervous, but this is the first time he's been in charge of a group of SeeDs. And it probably doesn't help that we're all famous war heroes or, in your case, infamous among the Galbadians."
"I know, I know. That doesn't make me like the situation any more, though," he complained as they reached the beach area, where Zell and Gary were supposed to meet them. He immediately sat down on a rock, looking off toward the west where the sun was beginning to set. "You know, this would be the perfect time for us to attack."
"Because we can sneak up on them under the cover of night?"
"Exactly," Seifer said. "And I have a brilliant plan, too."
"I'm not sure whether to be worried or impressed," Quistis said dryly, earning her a shove into the sand for her comment.
"Excuse me, but I thought we had something special and supportive going on," he said, acting as though she'd wounded him. She had hurt his ego, but it needed a little deflating anyway.
"We do," she said, sitting up and glancing at him. "That doesn't mean we have to stop teasing and tormenting each other. If we did, it would go against all the laws that were set down since we met."
"True, true. I wouldn't want to throw the whole universe out of balance, would I?"
"No," she said. Then she frowned, thinking back to something that had been on her mind through the day. She supposed now was the time to mention it. "Seifer?"
"Yeah?" he asked absentmindedly, scanning the horizon impatiently for Zell and Gary."
"Does this mean…we're, you know…an item?"
He blinked, obviously thrown by this statement, and looked down at her. "You mean…dating?"
"Yes."
"Uh, I guess. I mean, it is a little odd, isn't it? Garden's biggest protégé and Garden's biggest failure."
"Look at it this way. We're keeping the balance," she said, laughing. He laughed too.
"I always knew I was good for something."
"What, kissing every female in sight?" asked a very cheerful voice from behind them. Zell was standing there, his arms crossed, grinning wildly at the two of them.
"And how would you know?" retorted Seifer, smirking as Zell's face wrinkled in disgust. Gary cleared his throat.
"While I agree with Zell's sentiments," he said, shooting Seifer a nasty look, "We need a plan now," he said, looking between the three. Quistis gave him an innocent look, smiling as sweetly as she could.
"Ignore them," she said.
"I have an idea," Seifer added, turning business-like. "I think if we act quickly, everything could be in place before the sun completely sets."
"Hmm, a dusk attack. Not bad," Gary said, considering the implications. "Okay, fire away."
On the dimly lit and newly built dock, Zell stood near a huge pillar, which was currently holding up a crane, clinging to the shadows. He had out a pair of night-vision goggles, and was currently scanning the dock. But the peaceful town of Winhill seemed to have lulled them into a false sense of security, because there were only a few half-awake guards roaming around the area. He waited ten minutes, watching their patterns. A guard usually came by once every two to three minutes. He was working with a small window frame, but he could manage it. He'd made it to the crane, hadn't he?
The pillar was suspended in the water, with part of it against a command building, meaning he had to go into the line of vision of the guards to get to the opposite side of the pillar. As the guard meandered away from his hiding place, he crept quietly toward the other side of the pillar.
Once there he tied the end of a rope around of the supports, double knotting it to be sure he didn't fall into very cold and very salty ocean water. He pulled against it, and the knot didn't give; now he could be sure it would probably hold his weight. Tying it around his waist, he took a deep breath, and walked off the edge of the dock, keeping the rope in a death hold.
After a moment he stopped swinging violently, and reached out to steady himself against the pillar. Letting go of the rope he dug into a small backpack that was slung across his back. Zell pulled out a small bomb, and attached the clips into the wood of the pillar. Pulling himself up the rope he placed a few more, even swinging out a bit to the placement wasn't so linear. Reaching the top, he waited until he saw a guard pass to jump lightly over the edge. He undid the knots on the rope, and slid smoothly back into the shadows. His job wasn't over yet.
Roughly a mile away, in the middle of the ocean near Winhill, Gary stood near a side entrance to the Research Center. He was cold and shivering, having just swum there from the mainland, but that didn't deter him from his job. Pulling out the same type of bombs that Zell had finished placing moments ago upon the dock, he stuck them around the entrance. The area was oddly quiet, and no guards were visible except at the main entrance. This was slightly unnerving to them, but they had pushed aside this information. Hopefully, it was just stupidity on their part and not part of a plan.
Each bomb placed, he made his way to the back entrance. There was a small protrusion there, probably a sensor station of sorts. He'd made sure that what ever it was, it was disabled when he'd reached the Center. Now he hid behind it, just in case there were guards he was unaware of. Then he waited.
Ten minutes later a water-logged Zell joined him in his hiding place. No words were spoken; they knew what needed to be done. Gary pulled a detonator out of his back pocket, and pulled it out of the waterproof container he'd placed it in. After a moment's wait, he pressed the button.
Instantly the sky turned an angry crimson and gold as the bombs exploded simultaneously. Warning klaxons blared to life, and soldiers began running about, trying to calm the panicking workers and stop the blazes. One fire in particular, in the middle of the dock, was flaring up higher than the others were. Counting the blazing areas, Gary noticed there were five instead of the four they'd mapped out. He turned to Zell, but the blonde-haired man seemed to have anticipated the question.
"I found a bonus," he said, grinning as he started readying his fists for the assault on the back door. "A gas truck."
Quistis and Seifer had been in position well before the others, so they had no idea when the explosions would go off. But when they did they were hard to miss. He nudged Quistis, and the two of them silently left their hiding place, working their way quietly toward the front door.
It had been his idea, of course. After all, it would be what they least expected. Create a diversion, go in through the back – it was the stereotypical plan for everyone. Who would expect them to literally knock on the front door? Gary and Zell trying to get in the back would make it seem as though they were following that plan, and if the two got in it was only an added bonus.
There were five guards at the front gate. It was crucial that they kill or incapacitate them before they could raise the alarm that there were people at the front gate too. For that, they needed to draw at least one or two away – and if most or all of them left, they would sneak in while they were distracted.
Picking up a heavy stone, Seifer threw it with all of his might against the metal wall. It hit the wall with a clang, causing all of them to look up. Finally, one started off to look at it.
"Wait, Summers! Shouldn't we report it?" called a nervous voice. Seifer and Quistis tensed; they had been afraid that they would do this. But the one called Summers laughed.
"They'll just laugh at us unless we have proof," he said. "Remember when we called in an intruder and there was only a monster there? When those five platoons got here we were the laughing stock of the base for weeks. Do you want to go through that again?"
"No, not really…" said the other one. "Okay, but we'll go together. There's strength in numbers, right?"
Seifer said a mental prayer of thanks to the god or goddess that had put these two on guard duty tonight as they worked their way over to the wall, and his hiding spot. Only a little further…
As the guard reached them, he leapt out, pulled up the mask, and shoved a cloth with chloroform over the man's nostrils. He struggled a moment, then went limp, the agent doing it's work as he passed out. Next to him, Quistis had managed the same thing. They reached down and pulled off the uniforms, and put them on. Quistis made a face as she pulled on the jacket.
"These are sweaty and gross, just like I remember," she muttered. "I'm glad to know that while they're going downhill they continue to have the same high standards for their uniforms."
"When were you ever in a Galbadian uniform?" Seifer asked, curious.
"For a mission I had during the war," she said. She smiled slyly at him, and he blinked, unsure as to what this meant. Then she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Wha…?"
"That was just for luck," she said, grinning evilly as she pulled on her face mask. He glared at her, but he didn't really mean it. Her mean streak was just one of her charms.
"Damn, I can't reach them!" Zell complained, keeping his voice down as much as possible. He and Gary had indeed managed to get past the guards, and were currently hiding in a storage area behind some crates. Zell was trying to reach Quistis and Seifer to tell them that they were in the base, but the phone wasn't working.
"Zell, I'm sure they're either busy or the phone is getting interference," Gary said. Zell frowned.
"I know, I know," he said. "But we didn't have a very clear plan as to what we were going to do when we got in here."
"I think we should wait a moment, they head out to draw their attention," Gary said. "That gives Quistis and Seifer the optimum amount of time to find Caraway, and maybe even sneak around a bit."
"Good thinking," Zell said. "I have a few of these bombs left; should we use them?"
"No, I don't think so. That would just draw a lot of people down on us. Instead, let's ambush people as they walk by, then set up another ambush so they don't realize where we're going to strike from next."
"All right," he said, taking a quick peek around the crate. "There's a small group right over there? Do you want to take them?"
"Sure," Gary said. He pulled out a silencer, and attached it to the end of his handgun. After he was sure it was in place, he nodded to Zell. The two of them crept around opposite sides of the boxes, and pounced.
The first two didn't know what hit them. One moment six of them were milling around, wondering what to do, and the next they were unconscious. Their companions were good; with only a moment's hesitation they reached into their pockets, and withdrew their own weapons. The bullets poured out of the guns, but Gary and Zell hadn't waited for the soldiers to get their bearings. They had already moved away, circling around the guards. Gary got off two shots, which both downed the man they were aimed at. Zell kicked one in the back of the legs, causing him to keel over, then punched him in the face, knocking him out. Zell turned to the next guard, and kicked the gun out of his hands. Since the gunfire of the guards had probably attracted attention already, he grabbed the gun and turned in on the guard, neatly dispatching the final guard.
Zell grinned in triumph, and was about to turn around when someone kicked his legs out from under him. Given how low the kick was, it was probably from the guy he'd punched earlier. Apparently he wasn't as unconscious as he'd thought. He felt something connect with the back of his head, and started to see black engulfing his vision. In the distance he heard a struggle, then a shot. I hope that was Gary's gun and not the other guys… Zell thought, then he lost consciousness.
"Do you think they managed to make it in okay?" Quistis wondered as they made their way to the prison cells, still disguised. Seifer frowned.
"I don't know," he said. "Probably. I mean, wouldn't we have heard if they'd been captured? After all, they think those are the only two that are trying to get in."
"Yeah, probably," Quistis said, forcing a smile. "And if not, we can always rescue them while we're down here."
"Also true," he said. They rounded a corner, then stared at the sight before them.
"Put down your weapons and remove your masks," said a familiar voice, connected to a familiar face. "And do it slowly."