Chapter sixteen

Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Final Fantasy universe

It's been ten days and Zack was bored out of his mind. Lazard had benched him from all missions as punishment for not returning with the two Firsts, thereby allowing Genesis to escape. Like that was HIS fault! Genesis was one of the three top Firsts, if he wanted to escape he was going to escape.

At least they had Angeal who was still sleeping it off. Whatever Cloud gave him, it sure packed a punch but he was already looking better or so the doctors assured him. He hadn't exactly gone to see him past that first day. Zack tried to spend time with his mentor, he really did, but he just couldn't get past the fact that Angeal didn't trust him. That even though Zack told him they had a cure, he still wouldn't listen. He still made Zack almost kill him and would have if not for Cloud.

He might have also maxed out on his allotted hours in the VR room by the fourth day. Soldiers were only allowed so many hours a month in the VR rooms. It supposedly save on wear and tear. Personally, he didn't know what they were talking about, they were always in perfect pristine condition whenever he used one.

So, Zack spent a lot of his time with Aerith helping her sell flowers. He was getting quite good at chasing down customers who clearly didn't know they wanted flowers for her. She kept telling him he didn't need to do that, but so long as she kept smiling at him he'd keep running them down for her. She was so beautiful and so gentle. Just being around her helped him figure out some things. She always seemed to know just what to say to make everything better. He really needed to introduce Cloud to her.

Cloud…

There's an idea! He could find Cloud, and maybe get some more answers. He just had to track down the illusive blonde. He hasn't seen hide or hair of him since they parted ways at the elevator. He'd been told to leave the blond be for a while when he started nagging Lazard as to his whereabouts but it's been ten days now, that's more than enough time!

Zack flopped back onto his battered couch. The monstrosity was as ugly as sin; however it was the most comfortable thing he ever sat on in his life! He found it at a flea market a few months after making Third. His roommates complained about the eye sore, but it didn't stop them from curling up in it themselves. He brought it with him when he was promoted to Second Class and again now that he was a First.

Now, how to find a wayward Chocobo.

…He couldn't ask creepy Hojo.

…Sephiroth kept disappearing, and probably didn't know anyways.

…Kunsel might know, but he didn't want to risk bringing his friend into the chaos that surrounds Cloud Strife if he didn't and just mentioning it would be a surefire way of dragging the Second down with him.

…That girl Tifa also might. But she spent most of her time training with Reno and Rude on the Turk's training arena.

Zack paused on that thought and rewound it. If going to the Turks, what about Tseng? The Turk was already involved anyhow. Though Zack still didn't know what happened between him and Cloud in the mansion. But if anyone knew where Spike was it would be him, and Zack knew exactly where to find him…maybe.

With the thought still fresh in his head, Zack jumped up and ran out the door. Being a First gave him a choice location for his rooms but there was still a lot of people in the hallway blocking his path to the elevators. But Zack easily ignored their shouts and cursing as he raced past them, they should be used to his behavior by now. He checked the time on his PHS while he waited for the elevator to reach him, it was still early enough in the day so his best bet was the administration offices on the 49th floor.

Also known as the Turk floor.

Luck was on his side when the elevator doors opened just moments after he called it. It had to be a sign that he was on the right path. He hit the floor, entered his code (everything required a code these days) and rode it up humming along with the cheesy music.

The doors opened into a professional beige lobby complete with a cute receptionist. Zack sauntered up to her desk with the most charming smile he could deliver. She may be cute, but the bubbly blonde was also as deadly as they come. As the first line of defense, no one got past her without her permission.

"Zack Fair, you handsome devil! What brings you down here?" Cindy the receptionist asked cheekily.

"Oh, a little business, a little pleasure." Zack drawled flirtingly, leaning over her desk slightly "But mostly I'm lookin' for some information."

"Well sugar, information is the name of the game. What'cha be lookin' for?" Cindy played along.

Zack knew Cindy was delaying him until she had the reason he was here and received permission to allow him to pass. Zack also knew that if he said or did the wrong thing he would end up with a gut full of lead from the gun she had hidden under her counter.

"I'm actually looking for Tseng. Is he by chance in?" Zack told her honestly. He really didn't want lead poisoning.

"Hm, let me find out for you." Barely a moment passed as she waited for clearance "Looks like he's still in his office. You know the why?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

Cindy's curls bounced enthusiastically as she flipped a hidden switch that unlocked the security doors that lead into the Turks domain. Zack pushed off the desk with a smile and wink, strolling through them confidently as Cindy giggled behind him.

As with most of the Shinra office areas the Turk headquarters were bland grey and off-white everywhere Zack looked. There was never any color until you reached the executive or personal living levels. He made his way through the maze of desks occasionally waving at a few people he recognized. In the back was the Director's office where Tseng should be as… well as acting Director.

With Veld still M.I.A. on his super-secret mission, all of his duties have fallen onto Tseng's shoulders on top of his own. No one really knew what the head Turk was doing but he'd been doing it for a long time, and many of the Turks were already looking at Tseng as the new head. Zack wasn't sure if Tseng appreciated the show of support or resented the added responsibilities, knowing they were most likely temporary.

Zack rapped on the closed door "Hey Tseng! You in there?"

He could hear the faint sound of rustling papers and a weary sigh of a man pushed beyond his endurance. Zack smothered his grin. Any reaction out of Tseng was a good reaction.

"Come in Zack."

With enough drama to do Genesis proud, Zack propelled the door open and waltzed into Tseng's inner sanctum. He had a reputation of an overexcited puppy that he worked hard to maintain and step one was always how he walked into rooms. There was a science involved. His dramatics were brought to a halt when he caught a look at the place.

Almost all of Shinra's executive and Director's offices were basically the same thing at different price tags. All steal, glass, and chrome everywhere you looked, and don't forget the blood red luxury carpets which were no doubt Scarlett's idea. Even Lazard's office and boardrooms were all white and technical. He had literally just got done thinking that!

Instead of all that cold blandness, it was full of warm woods. Cherry shelves, which Zack hadn't seen since leaving Gongaga, lined the right wall. A great bay window took up the back wall filling the room with natural light, what little you could get in Midgar. And the left wall had a giant blue and green tapestry of a great serpent. It dominated the area. He's seen something very similar to that before…in Wutai.

"It's Leviathan." Zack blurted out.

Zack cringed slightly. He lost his awesome entrance and got caught staring at something very personal, and illegal, but we won't mention that.

Yeah…

Let's just hope Angeal never, ever, hears of this.

Any of this…

"I…uh…sorry?" Zack stuttered out rubbing his hair in embarrassment.

Tseng dropped the files he was reading onto the solid oak desk. At least Zack assumed it was oak. It looked like oak, not that he was an expert on trees or anything.

Don't judge.

"Why are you here Zack?" He sounded exasperated.

"Do you know where Spike is?" Zack asked, once more focused on his mission.

"Spike?"

"Uh…Corporal Strife." It took a second to remember that Cloud had an actual rank.

"What leads you to think I would know?"

Tseng has got to be playing with him.

"Because Turks know everything, and you're a Turk. More like you're THE Turk."

Tseng arched an eyebrow at him.

"Also, you personally have a vested interest in keeping tabs on the guy." That might have come out a little accusing, but come on!

Tseng stared at him for a few seconds, then silently gestured to one of the very ornate chairs in front of him when Zack didn't back down.

"Will this even hold me?" Zack asked.

"That chair will hold Heidegger."

"That's reassuring."

Zack gingerly sat down. He relaxed fully when it didn't as much as creak under his weight. An amazing feat as he was a lot heavier than he looked. Wasn't very comfortable though.

Just saying.

He looked up in time to catch Tseng's amusement before the man could wipe his face of any emotion. Zack grinned up at him. Tseng ignored him and turned his attention to the only visible tech in the whole room. A single computer monitor and keyboard. Even those had an organic look to them.

"So, your ah…picture there, you bring that back from Wutai, right?" Zack gestured to the tapestry.

Sure, that wasn't the most important thing here, but once he was curious about something he had a hard time letting it go. And seeing contraband in one of the most powerful Turk's office was definitely something that caught his curiosity.

"Why ask something you've already figured out?" Tseng commented without looking up from the monitor.

"Just trying to make conversation." Zack continued "Besides it's very interesting…to look at."

Tseng kept ignoring him. That won't do at all.

"Did you bring it here with you?" Zack tried again.

"Classified."

It was pretty much what he expected from the other man. Just having something like that could get him killed here so it only made sense that he didn't want to discuss it. Besides Tseng's décor wasn't what he was here for. He needed to know where Spike was!

"Okay so where's Cloud?" Zack asked.

Tseng continued to ignore him in favor of his computer. Probably playing Justice Monsters or something.

"Come on Tseng! Talk to me!" Zack tried again "We're part of a conspiracy now. We're partners in crime. We're cohorts. We're…"

"I found him." Tseng interrupted his rant.

Zack jumped out of the evil chair and tried to lean over the desk to see the screen for himself. Tseng reached over and pushed him back without stopping whatever it was he was reading. Zack fell back into the torture chair with a huff. Tseng was a lot stronger than he looked.

"Well? Where has he been?"

"He's been in the same place since we returned from Nibelheim. Professor Hojo's private labs in the sub-basement. Records show he hasn't left the labs once."

The small crease the formed on Tseng's otherwise smooth forehead could almost be taken as concern for the blond. It was a concerning situation. They both knew that any length of time spent in Hojo's private labs was never a good thing.

"That doesn't make any sense. He was just supposed to go down to report on the mission. What's he still doing down there, and all this time?"

Cloud should have been safely out of there. Zack wanted him to be safely out of there.

"Maybe it has something to do with his injury." Tseng guessed.

Wait. What?

"What injury Tseng?" Zack asked alarmed.

He didn't remember Spike being hurt!

"The one he received when we crashed on Modeoheim."

"He was injured!?" Zack all but shouted.

This was not good. This had bad written all over it.

"What if he's locked up in a cage? What if Hojo is holding him prisoner and doing horrible experiments on him and he can't fight back? What if…"

"I'm sure he's fine now." Tseng cut him off again "The records show that miss Lockhart has been down there every other day. I'm sure if something bad was happening to her friend she would protest it, and Reno would have heard and reported it to me."

Zack sighed in relief as Tseng's words made sense. He still wanted to see for himself that Spike was really alright, now more than ever. Now that he knew where Spike has been all this time Zack was starting to feel really guilty for not looking for him sooner. He should never have let them convince him to wait.

Well, it didn't matter now. He knew where Spike was and nothing was going to stop him from seeing his friend.

"Okay, well anyway, thanks for letting me know where he is."

Zack got out of the chair from hell and with a cheerful bow, made for the door.

"Zack," Tseng's voice stopped him dead before he left the room. "You can't go to the labs yourself, you don't have the codes."

Damned codes.

"But you just said Tifa goes to see him all the time!" Zack whined.

"Miss Lockhart has special permission to enter from Professor Hojo and she's always accompanied."

"That's not…" Zack turned around gesturing wildly at the unfairness of his life only to stop when Tseng stood up and walked around his desk. Tseng walked right past him and out the door. Zack watched him cut through the maze like it was nothing.

"Come on." Tseng ordered him without looking back.

"Where are we going?" Zack asked, jogging slightly to catch up with the Turks' fast pace.

"To visit Strife. We are comrades after all, and I have my own questions for him."

Awesome.

Cindy was still at her post into lobby but this time she remained silent. Only giving him a small wave and smile when he waved at her before sobering quickly in Tseng's presence.

They waited silently for the elevator door to open. Fortune wasn't smiling on them this time though. Zack privately blamed Tseng for the bad luck. But it wasn't too long a wait before the doors opened. They stood back to let the people in the cab a chance to exit before they could enter.

One of the people was Cissnei. Zack smiled and waved at her but didn't stop to chat. He was afraid that Tseng would make him wait for the next one.

"So I take it you do have the authority to enter Hojo's playroom?" Zack asked when they were alone.

"Yes."

"Okay then."

They spent the rest of the ride down in silence. Tseng was perfectly still while Zack kept rocking back and forth on his heels. He considered humming again but a quick look at Tseng killed that impulse. If there was anyone in the world who could and would shoot him in the head for simply annoying him, it would be Tseng.

They finally reached their desired level and the doors opened to controlled chaos. Just about every lab he'd ever been in was the same. Scientists were running to and fro jabbering away in what Zack thought was supposed to be 'Midgardian', but he couldn't understand a single thing any of them were saying. He wasn't even certain they were using words at all and not just making complicated sounds.

Tseng cut right through the middle of all the bustle and Zack dogged his heels to keep from getting lost in the tide. An occasional shriek from one of the surrounding labs causing him to flinch minutely. Like all Soldiers, he hated the labs and Hojo's domain was the worst one of them all. Nothing good ever happened here.

When they reached some heavy-duty doors with a keypad off to the side Zack knew without being told that this was where Cloud was kept. Only something that solid was capable of holding the moody blond.

Tseng wasted no time in entering a long string of numbers only to be interrupted by an ugly heavyset man in a lab coat. He looked like a balding goat that stank of moldy cheese. He carelessly pulled Tseng away from the keypad physically preventing the Turk from finishing the sequence. Zack carefully balanced Tseng then released him.

"You can't go in there 'sir'." the foul-smelling goat told them nastily.

If it wasn't obvious, Zack didn't like scientists.

"Turk business. Out of my way." Tseng demanded.

Zack pulled the goat out of the way careful of his strength and Tseng resumed entering the code until he was stopped again. The fat goat once more standing between them and Cloud. The commotion was attracting attention from people around them but Zack didn't care. All that mattered to him was that this foul excuse of a human being was preventing him from seeing his friend. It was starting to piss him off.

"I must insist! The specimen isn't ready for viewing!"

Specimen?

Zack has had enough. With a hard shove, he pushed the goat-man back. The scientist stumbled, almost falling to the floor. When it looked like he was going to try a third-time Zack got right in his face, drawing on the mako in his blood to make his eyes flare brightly. It had the desired effect. The vulgar man stopped dead in his tracks turning white in the face of a Soldier First Class.

"We're going in so stay out of our way." Zack threatened darkly.

"As you wish." He sneered weakly.

With that oaf out of the way, Tseng finished off the code and the doors opened. Zack barely waited long enough for the doors to open enough to let him in. He quickly jogged inside only to skid to a halt after three steps. He barely felt Tseng run into his back, or the strangled gasp he let out. All he was aware of was the sight that would haunt him forever.

"I told you, the specimen wasn't ready."