Chapter 2

The rust colored train squealed to a stop, throwing up bits of dust in the stillair.
Jessie followed Biggs and Wedge inside, and carefully found a seat.

This was where things got iffy. They were supposed to meet up with Tifa's
freind while on the train. He'd been briefed by Tifa, and took the job without
ever meeting the others.

Jessie didn't know about Barret, but the description Tifa had given them of
her freind was kind of... lacking. Spikey yellow hair and a big sword. What if
there were two such people on board the train tonight? She could just see
Barret trying to figure out which one was the right guy. It's not like you can
say, 'hey- did you agree to do a terrorist bombing for an old friend?' It might
be safer to stroll up to a likely person and ask if they used to know Tifa...
but around these parts, a lot of people knew Tifa. Her bar drew custom from
all over Midgar. Even the snobby upper-plate people came down now and again
to 'slum it' just for one of her mixed drinks.

While Jessie was lost in her circles of thought, a stranger approached
Barret. He had yellow spikey hair, and carried a big lump of metal on his back.
And he was cute!

"Are you Tifa's freind? The one with the job?" The unknown man stood there
diffidently, like it didn't really matter one way or the other. His odd blue eyes
flitted over everything before settling just beyond Barret's shoulder as he
awaited a response.

Barret was flummoxed. "? How'd you know that?"

The stranger shifted his feet and lifted an arm to scratch his head. "Well,
there aren't that many large angry black men with a gun arm on this train. I
figured it was a safe bet you were who Tifa wanted me to meet up with." He
smiled awkwardly, and looked out a window.

Barret started grumbling, usually a sure sign he was going to work his way up
to a full scale rant on the state of the earth and the role of Avalanche as it's
saviors. But he didn't get a chance to get started. The young man looked up,
and got right to the point.

"I don't know what Tifa's told you about me, and I don't care. I just want to
get this done with so I can get paid. What's our ETA?" The spikey haired
fighter stood under the dim lights of the train car, waiting with bored
patience for things to get going. He was so together, so professional! Jessie
found herself blushing, and turned to look out the window. Another time, and
she might have jumped to offer the information before Barret could mess
things up with his questionable people skills. But she didn't trust herself not
to stutter.

Get a hold of yourself. It's not like you've never seen real professionals
before... Just not so close, that's all. You can do this, just as good as him.
You know it. It's your bomb that's going to make this happen, so there's no
reason to feel so underclassed...

Wedge was staring at the stranger in fascination. This was the kind of guy
he'd always wanted to be... but life kept getting in the way. Biggs seemed
ready to go back to sleep, leaning against the far wall. Most of the other
passengers had seen exchanges like this far too often to be curious.
Curiosity was dangerous in the slums.

Barret's face turned red, and he started waving his gun arm around.

"Now listen, you! Don't be gettin' any ideas. Just because you think you're
some hotshot doesn't mean you're in charge. This is MY team, and you follow
what I say while you're workin' with us. Understand!"

The blond just crossed his arms and looked at Barret. Made like he was
looking at a watch, and recrossed his arms to wait.

Barret just about exploded, but Biggs broke in calmly without even opening
his eyes.

"We're getting off in two stops. The fun starts then. Let's save our energy
for when we need it, all right?" Biggs then settled against the wall a little
more, and proceeded to ignore the whole carload of people as best he could.
Which was completely.

Jessie smiled and shook her head. Biggs may protest it, but he had the
makings of a leader. He rarely blew his top, and never acted outside his
ability. If he didn't know something, he'd say so and let someone else speak.
Sometimes Barret's enthusiasm got the better of him, but he had the most
experience with this stuff, and he was the only one willing to take charge. If
Biggs had a fault, it was that he'd much rather not have to be the one to
make decisions. His last girlfreind broke up with him for that reason. She
wanted to leave Midgar, and he didn't want to be the one to make that choice.
So she did for him, by simply leaving. He didn't seem too heartbroken. Which
was just as well. There was a girl down at the HoneyBee who'd been eyeing
him when she was off duty for the past month now. They'd be so cute
together...

Jessie let herself be distracted with normal thoughts through the next train
stop before shaking her head and getting back on track.

I hope everything goes well. We've been planning this for so long. It'll really
make a difference, I'm sure of it!

Sometimes hope for a better future was the only thing that let her sleep at
night. That's why she'd joined Avalanche. To try and make her hopes come
true. It made her sick to see how this city just sucked the life out of
everything. It was like walking around with a bruise on her heart.

The lights flickered a bit, and the train started squealing to it's next stop.
This was it. Time to go. Biggs was the first one to hit the doors, and Jessie
made sure she was right next. This was it! Time to prove she could make a
difference.