Barret felt a sense of unease as he stepped out of the cab, standing in front of the Shinra Compound he fought against the memories that came flooding back whenever he set foot in Midgar, memories of Biggs, Jessie, Wedge...he'd said his goodbyes to the former Avalanche members as best as he could in his head and told himself he was at peace...but somewhere out there he knew there bodies were buried beneath the rubble.

He couldn't even give them all a proper burial.

The Shinra were to blame...those god damned Turks first and foremost.

But those had been the old days of Shinra, Barret reminded himself that he was here to help build a new Shinra, a better Shinra that didn't suck the life's blood of the planet like a twisted Corporate Vampire, Reeve was at the helm now and things were beginning to take shape, the old City of Midgar was rising out of it's own ashes like the preverbial pheonix.

"Still...Never thought i'd be making a deal with the damn Shinra" barret muttered to himself

Then again he'd never thought he'd be elected Mayor of Corel either.

Two men used to being in positions of Authority now found themselves thrust into the spotlight, This was one of the reasons Barret had come to like Reeve so well, he handled his workload with grace and fairness like a true leader should have.

Moving across the compound Barret fought against the unease, a light rain had begun to fall and thunder rumbled in the distance, but this wasn't the cause of his worry, the armed guards patrolling the area walking pairs was what disturbed him, this was his third trip here over the last two months and this was the first time he'd seen such a show of power from Reeve.

It looked like the compound was on lock down and accepting only important visitors, such profiling wasn't necessary in Barrets opinion.

(Unless something happened)

A small voice inside his head pondered, this disturbing thought caused him to quicken his pace, damn it if something had happened to Reeve there would be hell to pay!

One of the patrolling Soldiers saw him storming up the pathway and chased after him.

"Mister Wallace sir!"

Barret spun around narrowing his gaze

"What's with all the man power here kid? Did something happen to Reeve?"

"Sir i've been ordered to escort you as long as you're here, there was an attempt on the Presidents life last night and we've been ordered to double security for the time being"

"The hell!" Barret growled and redoubled his fast walk "Who attacked him? Is Reeve alright?"

"We're unsure as to who attacked him, and President Reeve is fine...he dispatched the Assassin himself" the Soldier said struggling to keep his pace with the larger man

"Why wasn't i informed?" Barret stopped as he came to the doors which required a key card to enter

"President Reeve felt it best if he kept contact to a minimum with all Avalanche members, his phones could be bugged and he doesn't want the rest of you getting hurt on his behalf"

"Stubborn Jackass" Barret growled punching his fist into his open palm, the fist smacked against the mechanical appendage that looked like a real functioning hand and fingers, most thought it was a real hand unless they were close enough to hear the soft whirring sounds of the gears at work, Barret found it useful though he prefered the snug feel of his gun arm in case the situation went array.

Barret supposed now that he was a dignitary that sitting down at the table to discuss deals with a gun on his person would make for some uncomfortable business dealings, he'd even gone as far as to change his speech to a less intimidating growl, this worked for the most part unless Barret was angry

Much like now...

"Hurry up with that damn door!" Barret growled as the Soldier slid it through the scanner

"President Reeve was uninjured Mister Wallace I assure you he's ok"

"He wont be when i'm done with em!" Barret said shoving his way past the Soldier as the door opened and marching down the hall past surprised Soldiers to Reeves office door, muttering all the while.

"Stupid Jackass...Gonna get hisself killed...not if i do it first" he muttered under his breath ignoring the Soldier struggling to keep up with him

Reeve had no idea of the thunder storm heading his way.

--

Reeve was going over paperwork when his door was flung open, his hand was halfway to the gun when he realized that it was an angry Barret Wallace that had nearly knocked the doors off the hinges.

"Jesus Barret" he said letting out a sigh of relief "That's a good way to get yourself shot"

"Sounds like someone already tried with you!" Barret shot back "When the hell were you going to let me in on this?"

Reeve motioned for the out of breath Soldier to close the doors, when they were closed he stood up and put a hand on the big mans shoulder as if to calm him.

"I wanted to keep it quiet until we were on our way" he said "If i broadcast the fact that i was attacked it might give others idea's to try the same thing, besides after facing the assassin I've come to the conclusion that this may not have been a simple assassination mission"

"An what makes you think dat!" Barret said feeling no less encouraged by what he was hearing "Did he tell ya sumthin?"

"No..." Reeve said shaking his head "He didn't need to...he couldn't"

"Why not!" Barret asked

"Because his tongue had been cut out" Reeve responded calmly

"Fuck..." Barret said taken back, he moved to the front of Reeve's desk and sat down in the chair "Who the fuck woulda cut his tongue out...it's...it's..."

"Standard practice for Wutai Assassins" Reeve said taking his seat "But it hasn't been practiced since the Shinra war...Their assassins willingly cut out their own tongues so as not to reveal information to the enemy"

"Dat's just wonderful" Barret said shaking his head "I guess yer canceling da trip then?"

"No" Reeve said "We go to Wutai as planned"

"WHAT!" Barrets fist hit the desk with a resounding Crash that echoed throughout the room and caused the Soldiers outside to cringe "You crazy Reeve?"

"I probably am..." Reeve said "But being crazy has gotten me this far Barret and i'm not going to stop now...besides i'm wondering if this is really an isolated incident"

Barret took a deep breath and tried his best to calm himself.

"What do ya...what do you mean" he asked

"I'm worried that whoever sent this assassin after me wouldn't send others after the rest of Avalanche..." Reeve sighed "I think once we get in touch with Yuffie we should get in touch with the rest of the team"

Barret winced at the mention of Yuffie

"Remind me again why we have to deal with that little theif?" he asked

Reeve turned and gazed out the window

"For several reasons...the first being that with Corels coal i can produce a new fuel source for Midgar...Yuffie has spoken to her father and they've agreed to pass on to me a method of burning the coal that will increase it's fuel output and make it safer for the enviroment...it's a step in the right direction to heal the rift that the Shinra war caused the people, I plan on making a generous donation of Midgars resources as a gesture of peace"

"But you said the assassin was Wutian..." Barret said "It sounds like someone doesn't want that rift repaired"

"I said it was standard practice for Wutai assassins...it could have been someone trying to start another war by using Wutian methods, i'm not going to point a finger until i know exactly where to point it...and when i know where to point it the axe will follow"

Barret was impressed at how Reeve was handling things, having known nothing about the man behind Cait Sith up until a few months ago he saw a leader beginning to emerge, a leader that wasn't easily intimidated...when push came to shove Reeve it seemed would push right back.

"I know you've got all these plans made..." Barret said "And I know you want peace between Wutai and Midgar...but I aint going to let you go" he quickly added "Just yet"

Now it was Reeves turn to be surprised

"And just what do you have in mind Barret"

"You're too important Reeve, I can't just let you mosey over to Wutai when there could be another assassin waiting for you...hell there could be an army waiting for you...so what you're going to do is send me over there as an emissary, I'll deliver your generous token of support to Godo himself, I'll scout things out...and if everything is clear, then you can come"

"Barret you're just as important as i am, Corel needs you...I can't ask you to..."

"No one's askin Reeve" Barret cut him off "I'm tellin you...that's the way it's gunna be"

Reeve opened his mouth to speak and then stopped, he smiled realizing Barret was only looking out for him.

"Fine" he said "But let me send Cait Sith with you..."

"Like hell" Barret retorted "I'll toss that Mog out the Helicopter before we even reach Wutai...damn thing bouncing around all over the place...s'gonna make me motion sick just watchin the fucking thing"

Reeve chuckled

"Alright...I'll just send Cait...I don't need the Mog, I just need a way to communicate...Don't deny me that "

Barret considered the offer and nodded

"Fine...but no Mog...I'll fry its ass if i even catch sight of it"

Reeve chuckled again

"You're a good man Barret, thank you for looking out for me"

"That's what Avalanche does for it's own" Barret said before turning and opening the door "You just wait here and don't go getting yourself killed" without waiting for a response from Reeve he shut the door behind him.

Reeve was caught off guard by Barrets parting words...Avalanche looking after its own...Cait had always been a member of Avalanche, and though it had always been Reeve controlling him he'd never considered himself a member of the legendary group, it was an honor to be considered a member.

And Honor had never been a companion of Reeves

Until now.

AN: For some reason i re-wrote this chapter 3 times, I wanted to portray a growing respect between Barret and Reeve and give Reeve a little more backbone, make him a little bit stronger, Barrets speech gave me the most trouble so in the end i decided to "Edumuhcate" him a little bit and make him "Smerter" ;

-Lotuss