I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters.
Infiltration
Cody waited until the Valkyrie stopped shooting before leaning out from behind the steel building he was using for cover, casting Slow on it. They had left the top of the crane along a walkway on a massive metal smokestack to the roof of a still-standing parking structure when the Valkyrie arrived and began to fire at them, pinning them down. One by one, they sprinted along the row of buildings, the Valkyrie shifting its target each time to try and target them. Finally, they reached a stairway leading back down into the and Cody sighed. They didn't have many options but to head down and in and hope the Valkyrie left, or that they'd find another way up to the plate. Personally, Cody was still in favor of taking bikes along the train tracks like before, barricade or no. At worst, they'd have to contend with Roche again.
It came to be Cody's turn, as the last, to take the stairs, and the moment there was a break in the Valkyrie's flood of bullets, he took off, sprinting down the stairs three at a time, then grabbing the end of the railing to slingshot himself around the corner and down the next section. After about four flights, he saw the others and slingshotted himself into the parking garage just before the rain of bullets reached the stairs behind him, narrowly missing him. Ahead of him, the others were trying to destroy a Blast Ray drone, a four-legged walking grenade launcher drone, except that it was currently blowing out air at such a high pressure and volume that they couldn't get close. Cody, however, was at a dead sprint, and was, therefor, able to get close just long enough to slash it up the front with his loose sword. He jumped backward as his momentum died, allowing the wind to throw him just as something in the gash he'd made sparked and the wind generator inside the drone died. Cloud shot forward instantly, splitting the drone in half, then stepped away from it before it exploded.
"Nice of you to finally join us," Barret said.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Cody said. "Next time I'll ask the Shinra heavy weapons platform that's trying to turn me into swiss cheese to please wait so I can keep up with all of you."
"Much appreciated!" Barret grinned.
Cody rolled his eyes, looking to Cloud, who was climbing a ladder attached to one of the building's massive metal support struts that were twenty feet side in each direction.
The others all followed him, Cody realizing that they had somehow gotten back to the crane, and were climbing to a much, much higher point than they were on before. He frowned. He was lost as all Hell, but as long as cloud knew where they were going, that would work for him. As they reached the top, the Helitroopers that had been escorting the Valkyrie when they first saw it arrived and Cody swore. It wouldn't be far behind.
"We need to move!" Cody shouted as he slashed at a passing Helitrooper, missing and getting kicked in the back of the head for his trouble. "We're too exposed!"
He spun, slashing at another and managed to break that one's spare propeller, but again failed to kill him. However, a moment later, Jessie shot both and killed them just as cloud and Barret both killed one of the other two.
"Come on!" Cloud said, running for a massive metal ball attached to the base of the crane's arm and along a path attached to it to a flight of stairs wrapping around it.
Again, it struck Cody just how lost he really was. As they reached the top, Tifa and Barret stopped to stare at the destruction again. The view from here was probably the best they could get.
"Cloud," Tifa said as Cloud was looking for a way up. He walked back over, stopping beside her and staring out at the destruction.
"I guess...we'll build another bar," Barret said.
"Yeah," Tifa nodded. "We will." She looked to Cloud. "You'll help too...won't you?"
Cloud turned away, pausing, though Cody could see the emotions warring on his face for a moment before he hid them. "For a price."
Barret and Tifa both laughed, Tifa nodding. After a moment, Cody finally spotted a spot they could grapple to.
"Found a way up," he said, pointing.
The others all nodded and they all grappled up to the top of a broken piece of support strut above them, then from there up to a metal platform. However, as soon as they arrived, so did the Valkyrie, opening fire at them instantly, all five turning and sprinting away from it. As they ran, Cody cast Barrier on them all, for what little good it would do, and dropped back a bit to get the Valkyrie's bullets further from Jessie. Its targeting was a bit simplistic, fortunately, in the sense that it targeted him where he was with an extended burst, so all he had to do was alternate what side of the platform he was running on between bursts, and the next would be where he had been. Not that it wasn't close. His barrier deflected more than a couple of shots, most of which would be leaving nasty bruises, and one of which likely left a welt. Finally, they leapt from the platform across a break to another platform that dead-ended. Barret raised his grappling gun but the Valkyrie flew around into his path.
"I was getting tired of playing tag anyway," Barret growled as Cody readied himself, looking around.
Aside from them and the deadly war machine trying to kill them, the platform had two huge piles of concrete debris that would probably last about five seconds a piece if the Valkyrie wanted to shoot through them to hit one of them. He glanced at Jessie, who nodded and ducked behind one. Cody turned his eyes back to the Valkyrie just as Cloud pulled the sword off his back, his own much larger sword resting against his own back. Cody nodded to Cloud as they both readied themselves to try and impale a flying machine with three miniguns. Cody laughed internally. They really were insane. The Valkyrie opened fire and they scattered, Barret firing back as Cody and Cloud began to close in, only for both to have to break off as the bottom minigun opened fire at Cloud and the other two arms launched rockets that targeted Cody. Cody swore, diving into a roll under two of the rockets then stood and jumped as they exploded, the blast hurling him at the Valkyrie. He drove his sword into it to his right of its eye, then leapt off of it, summoning his gunblade and using it to launch himself higher as it began to fire up at him, giving Cloud the chance to leap up at it as well, driving the other sword into the other side of its eye. The Valkyrie stopped firing and Cody launched himself toward the platform, using a second blast to slow himself just before landing, looking up at the Valkyrie as it sparked and shuddered for a moment. Cloud landed beside Cody as the Valkyrie raised its arms, once again opening fire, this time using bullets and rockets both, blasting the entire platform. Everyone dove for cover, Cody praying that the concrete would hold up against the bullets and rockets. However, after a moment, there was a deep groaning sound and Cody swore. The platform was going to go.
"Move!" Cloud shouted, sending a lightning bolt into the Valkyrie, the swords directing the bolt into it deeper and making it stop firing instantly as dark smoke curled out of it.
They all sprinted to the edge of the platform and leapt off just before it broke free and fell. Cloud, Barret, and Tifa all landed on I-beams, but Cody and Jessie didn't. Cody grabbed Jessie and fired their grappling gun into a stone ledge above them that was jutting out of a destroyed building further away. They swung up and landed on top of it a moment before Cloud, Barret, and Tifa all joined them using a single grappling gun for whatever reason. Then, the Valkyrie joined them, once again opening fire instantly, everyone scattering to avoid the bullets. Instead of piles of concrete this area had a massive chunk of metal sticking up from the center of it, which Jessie instantly ducked own behind. Her gun was practically useless against the Valkyrie's heavy armor plating, and she didn't carry any materia.
"This thing's annoying!" Cody shouted, sending a Thundaga exploding into it, the lightning itself carving through the plating like a blade, then following the swords.
A spot on the back exploded outward, flames and thick black smoke flooding out of the hole instantly. The Valkyrie shuttered, then dropped, the saw spinning before drilling about a foot into the platform before stopping. Cody was about to go make sure it was dead when the eye suddenly lit up and it began to spin like a top, the drill keeping it rooted in place. Its arms all turned sideways and Cody dove behind cover, the others joining him a split second before the guns opened fire, bullets spraying in every direction. As it did, it launched a cylindrical object into the air, which had its own propeller and began to shine a blue targeting laser on the ground, moving toward them. Cody swore.
"It's a laser drone!" Cody warned.
The bullets finally stopped and they all sprinted away from the targeting laser. Cody, Cloud, and Tifa all charged, Cloud and Cody slashing it along the sides as they passed just before the drill broke free of the ground. Then, Tifa jumped, both feet glowing orange before they slammed into Valkyrie, the force of the kick sending it streaking backward a ways before its drill caught on the ground and it crashed down, rolling a few feet before righting itself and lifting into the air again. Just then, the laser drone fired, the blast only narrowly missing Jessie. Cody looked from it to the Valkyrie as an idea occurred to him. He sprinted toward the drones aiming laser and waved a hand through it, getting it chasing him before charging the Valkyrie. It opened fire at him and he blasted himself out of the path of the bullets as they tore along the ground past him, then launched himself onto the Valkyrie's face, returning his gunblade to its sealing materia on the way, then catching the two swords' handles to hold himself in place.
"Are you out of your fucking mind!?" Tifa shouted.
"Probably!" Cody shouted back, just as the laser drone reached him, beginning to glow.
Then, at the last seconds, he pushed off the Valkyrie, barely getting clear before the laser exploded down from the drone, exploding into the Valkyrie and blasting it into the ground. He rolled to his feet, summoning his gunblade again before he and Cloud both charged. Cloud's sword began to glow mako green and Cody squeezed his trigger, sending his gunblade streaking forward. As it got itself upright again, their blades crashed into the guards of the SOLDIER swords, driving them through the Valkyrie as well as slashing it across the front and sides. The Valkyrie sparked and the back of it exploded before it crashed back to the ground, the light in the eye fading.
"You did it!" Jessie cheered.
Barret laughed. "We win again. Not that there was ever any doubt."
"I doubted," Cody said, raising a hand.
Suddenly, the eye began to flash, the light pulsating. Along with it was a high whine that was quickly growing higher.
"Oh shit!" Cody swore. "Bomb!"
He sprinted to Jessie, both ducking into cover as it exploded, one of its arms bouncing off ground a foot to their side. The stone outcropping they were on began to shake, pieces of it falling off as the whole thing began to break free, tilting away from the building it had been attached too. Tifa began to fall and Cloud leapt after her, catching her and firing his grappling gun into a higher, not collapsing section, Cody firing his and Jessie's into the same section a second later. Finally, Barret also fired his, just barely getting going before the platform they were on collapsed entirely. However, after a moment, his anchor broke free and he fell, shouting in surprise. Cody instantly grabbed one of Jessie's hands and moved it to the grappling gun.
"Hold on!" He shouted over the wind, before letting go and plummeting after Barret.
"Cody!" Jessie shrieked.
Cody sped after Barret rapidly before finally catching him as they were quickly running out of airspace. He grabbed him, summoning his gunblade as he flipped them, getting Barret over his left shoulder, then began to quickly squeeze his gunblade's trigger. After three blasts, they finally stopped falling for just long enough for Cody to begin squeezing the trigger to take them back up. However, every blast only threw their combined weight up three feet. It wasn't fast, and it certainly wasn't quiet. Several groups of Shinra troops began to fire at them, Barret firing back as Cody cast Barrier on them both and hoped to God that they made it. A pair of Helitroopers flew up to meet them, but Cloud managed to blast them with a Firaga, killing both. Finally, after nearly three full minutes of slowly launching them back upward, they finally crashed down on the ruin with the others. Cody released his gunblade, waving his severely burned hand before his Healing materia shone, healing his hand and successfully using up almost the rest of his energy. He groaned, holding a hand to his head, as Cloud used a Blizzard to cool his gunblade for him.
"You okay?" Cloud asked.
"I'm tapped out for a bit," Cody said. "At least for a while."
Cloud nodded. "We'll handle the fighting if you can't."
"I can probably still fight, as long as there aren't any other heavy weapons platforms," Cody said. "Just no magic."
"Got it," Cloud nodded. "Then if you can still walk, let's get moving."
Cody nodded, picking up his gunblade and standing as Barret set a hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks for the catch," Barret said. "I owe you one."
"No you don't," Cody smiled. "We're friends. You don't owe me anything."
Barret smiled, nodding. "Alright then. Let's go kick some more Shinra ass."
Cody chuckled and nodded, all of them turning and heading into the building they were in.
Cody stepped up beside Cloud, looking down at the security around the building, whereas Cloud was staring up at it. Security was tight. There were thirty-odd troops in front of the building, security checkpoints on every road, and the front of the building had been fortified with sandbags and razor wire. They looked like they were ready for a war.
"Rolled out the welcome wagon," Barret mused.
"Gotta say, I can't help but wonder if this is a lost cause," Tifa said.
"Beating Shinra, or saving Aerith?" Cody asked, looking at her.
"It doesn't matter if it's a lost cause or not," Jessie said. "We have to try. Because if we don't, who will?"
"Some lost causes are worth fighting for," Barret agreed.
"Let's just think this through," Cloud said.
"So, I got an idea," Barret said, pointing his gun at the front door. "Frontal assault, guns blazing. Make for a good story."
"Why'd we bring you along again?" Cloud asked.
"The parking garage," Cody said. "We can sneak in on a truck, as long as we stay low, and then once we're in, it should be less guarded than the front."
"Agreed," Cloud said. "Let's head down to the road."
They all turned and headed for the stairs leading down the metal structure they were on.
"Security's looking pretty tight," Tifa commented.
Barret snorted. "So they know what they're up against."
"It's probably not just for us," Cody said. "The Shinra higher-ups have been blaming Wutai. The military probably believes it and expects an attack."
"Can't be for Wutai," Barret said. "What about the cease fire?"
"That only put the war on pause," Cloud said.
"Either way, I'm gonna put the fear of AVALANCHE in 'em," Barret growled. "Their days of sittin' smug in this glass tower are over!"
"We're here to rescue Aerith, remember?" Cloud snapped. "We don't need more attention than what we're gonna get. We need to be smart."
"Yeah, I hear ya," Barret sighed. "But my soul's screaming for payback, ya know? I'm a tickin' timebomb, and sooner or later, I'mma have to blow up."
"Then make it later," Cody said as they reached a low bridge over the road.
As they arrived, a Shinra truck began to approach. Cloud, Tifa, and Barret all dropped onto it, but Cody held a hand on Jessie's shoulder, stopping her. Once the truck had passed, he carefully dropped to the ground, landing heavily, then turned and caught Jessie when she dropped. They jogged along the road to the parking garage, hearing shouts inside. They sped up, arriving just as Cloud and Tifa finished off the three Shinra officers guarding the access point.
"What happened?" Cody asked.
"Barret fell off the truck," Cloud said. "Where were you?"
"Five of us weren't going to fit," Cody said, he and Jessie ducking under the yellow and black striped poles across the road. "Hopefully there weren't many people in the garage."
"We'll find out," Cloud said as Cody summoned his gunblade. "Come on."
They headed deeper into the garage, working their way around the parked vehicles, stacked crates, and any other obstacles that got in their way, forming a serpentine path through it. There were a pair of small gates set up to stop people from just running through, and as they neared the first, a Shinra officer turned to them, eyes widening just before Cody vaulted over the gate and slashed him down across the torso, then spun, slashing the other troop manning the gate. The others let themselves through the gate just as several SOLDIERs rounded the next turn. Cody glanced at Cloud, who sighed.
"Just our luck," Cloud said. "Go ahead and use your gunblade properly if you need to."
Cody nodded and they both charged, along with Tifa, the SOLDIERs moving to meet them. Cloud's blade slammed into his opponent's hard enough to hurl the SOLDIER backward, and a moment later, Tifa flipped over her opponent, then slammed a kick down into his back, smashing him into the ground. Cody deflected his opponent's blade several times before ducking under it and squeezing his gunblade's trigger, his sword flashing up and splitting the SOLDIER almost in half, taking his right arm entirely off. Tifa stabbed her opponent with his own sword just as Cloud split his across the torso. They all turned, continuing along the path quickly.
"I thought SOLDIERs were supposed to be the baddest of the bad," Barret said. "But we've been takin' them down like it's nothing all day."
"These are only Third Classes," Cloud said. "They may have the enhancements, but they're not usually good at using them, and a lot of them probably haven't actually developed their full abilities yet. A Second Class will be a lot stronger and more dangerous. And if we meet a First Class, by some horrible twist of fate, he's mine alone."
"What rank was that one SOLDIER that we fought on the bikes?" Jessie asked.
"Third," Cody said. "But he definitely fought like a high Second Class."
"Given the fact that he helped us escape, and that when he was coming after us he actually ended up hurting, or maybe killing, two of Shinra's own troops, he's probably been demoted," Cloud guessed, then added, "Repeatedly. He'd most likely be high Second Class if he wasn't demoted."
"Agreed," Cody nodded as they reached the service entrance to the building. "Unguarded? Sloppy."
They walked through the sliding glass door, then up a quick flight of stairs, Cody using the escalator just to annoy Cloud, before heading into the entryway of the building.
"Bigger than I remember," Cody mused, looking around and seeing an energy barrier blocking off the second half of the lower level and the empty security desk, as well as seeing the stairs leading up to the second level on the right side were blocked off by blue felt rope, as he remembered it always being. "Stairs are still blocked off."
"Still?" Jessie asked. "Were they when you left?"
"Yup," Cody said. "I'm pretty sure those are the president's private stairs."
"Can we focus, please?" Cloud said.
"Well, since you asked so nicely..." Cody grinned.
"Nobody's home," Barret mused.
"Do either of you have any idea where they might be holding Aerith?" Tifa asked.
"I'm thinking a research facility, that'd make the most sense," Cloud said.
"You're right," Cody said. "She and Ifalna, her biological mother, and Hojo's original Ancient test subject, used to have their own room here. However, Hojo's not going to put her there this time. She'll be held in Hojo's lab this time."
"Where's that?" Barret asked.
"It takes up two levels," Cody said. "Sixty five and sixty six. I'm guessing she's on sixty six, but you'll have to work your way up through the lab to get there, you can't get to the main lab without going through the whole thing, even for President Shinra."
"Figures," Barret said. "How do we get there?"
"Well, first we'll have to deactivate security, and get you all an security badge," Cody said.
"'You all?'" Cloud asked.
"I'm going to be going to my old office to shower and change my clothes," Cody said. "It'll take ten minutes. By which time, you all will be maybe halfway up the emergency stairs."
"Stairs!?" Barret scoffed. "I ain't takin' no stairs."
"Cody's right about the stairs," Cloud said. "We'll be less likely to get caught that way. But you're coming with us."
"No," Cody said. "A new suit isn't the only thing I'm going to my office to grab. I left something there that I'm going to retrieve. It's...personal."
"Go ahead," Tifa said. "But what about the security?"
He held up a finger and grinned, walking over to the barrier around the security desk, grinning again as he saw that the troops who worked there left a security key card out, as always. The troops in charge of the desk had been constantly getting in trouble for doing it before he left, and he was glad to see nothing changed.
"Tifa," Cody said. "I'll give you a boost. There's an opening in the top you can drop through, and there's a key card on the desk, plus you can shut down the barriers at the computer."
Tifa nodded and ran at him, jumping onto his clasped hands before he threw her upward as she jumped, allowing her to flip onto the top of the desk. Cody straightened up, dusting his hands off before turning back to the desk as Tifa dropped in, picking up the card.
"Alright," Tifa said. "Now, let's see about this security."
She moved her hands to the keyboard, only for the barrier to instantly wink out. Cody's eyes narrowed as he looked around.
Barret laughed. "Hot damn, girl."
"But, I didn't do anything," Tifa said.
"Love from above?" Cody asked.
"What, like Shinra above?" Barret asked. "No way."
"Well, whatever it was, the barrier's gone now," Cloud said. "Let's head up to the stairs."
"Gonna need you to open the door to the elevators for me and Jessie too," Cody said.
Cloud sighed heavily but nodded. They walked up the stairs and to the glass door leading to the elevators at the back of the room. As Tifa was scanning her card, Cody looked to his right, through another glass door to an Exhibit Room filled with vehicles. He smiled as he spotted a motorcycle he'd like to steal, assuming it ran, but that would be a plan B for escaping. He turned as the door to the elevators slid open, thanking the others before he and Jessie walked over to the far right elevator. He pressed the down button and the doors opened, he and Jessie stepping into it.
"We're going down?" Jessie asked.
"That's right," Cody nodded, bringing up his watch's screen and pulling up one of his access codes. He pressed the button for sublevel three, then reached over tot he right, pulling a small hatch open and punching in the access number. After a moment, the sublevel's button lit up and the elevator began to descend.
After a moment, the elevator dinged and a feminine voice announced, "Basement level three, General Affairs."
"General Affairs?" Jessie asked.
"Well, we couldn't really list the entire level as Turks HQ, could we?" Cody asked.
"Wait!" Jessie gasped. "If this is Turks HQ, what about the other Turks?"
Cody chuckled. "Relax. I know what I'm doing. Cissnei hated through traffic, and I hated everyone else. So..." He turned right, walking down a short hallway with only one door at the very end, everything else being in the other direction.
The door had a handprint scanner, and he scanned his, the door sliding open instantly.
"Here we are," Cody said. "See? That wasn't so bad." He shut and locked the door behind them as Jessie looked around.
There were two beds to the right and left, a fancy desk at the back of the room with a big leather chair with wheels on the feet, a full-sized refrigerator and microwave on a small cabinet set beside it, and two doors out of the room on the right and left. Jessie stared at it all in surprise.
"What...did you and Cissnei...live here?" Jessie asked.
"Sometimes," Cody said. "We tried not to, but some jobs were just...long. The doors are to private bathrooms and changing rooms. Cissnei's was on the right. There should be towels, washcloths, and some clean clothes over there. And the metal door on the back wall, he gestured to it, is a special materia-powered speed cleaner. It should have our clothes clean and presentable within a minute. Your armor too."
"Oh wow!" Jessie said, staring at it. "Now that's awesome." A grin quickly grew on her face. "You sure you don't want me to help you wash your back?"
Cody laughed. "Believe me, there's very little that I want more than to shower with you. However, we don't have that kind of time." He pulled a bottle out of the fridge and pulled the cork, sniffing the glowing blue substance inside before shrugging and draining it, grimacing as he glowed blue for a moment. "Now, run along and get cleaned up. We're on the clock."
Jessie sighed and nodded, heading through the door on the right while he took the one on the left. he walked to one of the lockers and grabbed a towel and a loofah stick before walking into his bathroom, quickly shedding his dirty clothes and stepping into the shower. For about ten minutes, he scrubbed his body, starting with his face, using an entire bottle of shampoo, conditioner and body wash, then rinsed himself, dried off, brushed his teeth, then fixed his hair and walked into the changing room and grabbed a clean suit, complete with shoes and gloves, the shoes and left glove plated like his last ones. he got dressed in record time, even for when he was actively a Turk, then sealed all of the other clean suits into his gunblade's sealing materia with it. Once he had, he collected his dirty clothes and stepped out into the main room only to freeze, eyes wide.
Standing across the room from him was Jessie, hair down and in the process of being towel-dried, making it appear wavy, and wearing one of Cissnei's suits, including a pair of her gloves. Cody sucked in a breath before swallowing hard and walking to the metal door.
"I couldn't find any normal clothes, so I borrowed one of her suits," Jessie said. "I hope that's okay."
"It's fine," Cody said, putting his dirty suit in the speed-washer, Jessie adding her own clothes and armor. "For a second, I thought you were her. It just caught me off guard."
Jessie smiled sadly as he closed the door and pressed the green button beside it. "You really love her, don't you?"
"Yes," Cody said. "She was everything to me." He wiped his eyes, taking a steadying breath. "Anyway, more important things to do than think about her."
"Like what?" Jessie asked, only for Cody to pull her into a kiss.
Jessie let out a shuddering breath, kissing him back for a few moments before he pulled away. "What was that for?"
"For being you," Cody smiled.
Jessie smiled and nodded before Cody dropped into the chair that had been predominantly his, spinning around and smiling.
"I actually kind of miss this chair," Cody said, stopping himself facing the desk. He pulled his mask back up and ran a hand over the surface and it lit up with a touchscreen display.
"Fancy," Jessie said.
"Thank you," Cody said, typing in a passcode.
A moment later, the display winked out and the top of the desk separated from the rest with a hiss, swinging up like the top of a chest. Jessie's eyes widened as she stared at the contents of the secret compartment. A white and red shuriken that was longer from one point to the opposite than her arm, a bangle with a green materia identical to the one Cody carried his gunblade in, and a bangle with materia lining the outside of it, similar to Cody's other bangle, but with only one row. Cody pulled the two bangles out and closed the desk, holding them out to Jessie.
"Here," Cody said. "These will come in handy."
"What do they have?" Jessie asked, slipping them on.
"The sealing one is what Cissnei used to carry her shuriken in," Cody said. "Currently it's empty, but you can put your clothes and armor in it once they're clean. The other one has all four elemental materia, a Healing materia, Barrier, Prayer, and an Elemental materia linked to each elemental attack ones, protecting you from spells of that type. Oh, and the summoning Materia is for Carbuncle."
"I thought you didn't come back here after she died," Jessie frowned.
"I didn't," Cody said. "She left them all here when we left. She took a spare shuriken, and she thought we'd be back for the rest when Zack was safe."
"I...don't think she did," Jessie said. "These aren't the kind of thing someone would just leave behind and come back for later. I...I don't think she expected to survive saving Zack, for one reason or another. But, I think she knew you would be back someday, so she left them for you."
Cody remained silent. He had never considered that, but it made sense. Just as he was about to respond, the speed-washer beeped and he walked over to it, opening it and pulling out his suit, folding it neatly before sealing it with the rest. He glanced at Jessie as she sealed her clothes as well, then glanced at the door.
"Would it be alright for me to bring a couple of suits?" Jessie asked.
Cody smiled and nodded. "Feel free."
Jessie smiled and nodded, walking into the changing room again. Cody pulled a stack of blank key cards out of his desk and quickly used a key coder on the desk to give the cards his security codes, writing them on the faces of the blank white cars. Just as he finished, Jessie returned, nodding. He returned the gesture and grabbed the cards, slipping them into his pocket as they walked to the door. Cody took a deep, slightly nostalgic breath, then sighed, opening it only to freeze, staring at the blonde woman in front of them, dressed in a clean, freshly pressed suit and with an equally surprised expression on her face. After a second, she smiled kindly, laughing.
"Never actually had someone open a door as I was about to knock before," she laughed. "Hi. I'm Elena. I'm the newest member, and I was just greeting everyone."
"It's so nice to meet you!" Jessie smiled, not missing a beat. "There are way too many guys around here. I'm glad to finally have someone who'll actually be fun to talk to."
Elena laughed. "I can imagine. The bald one seems nice though."
"He's not too bad," Cody said. "Don't take Reno seriously. He's full of shit. And Tseng's not too bad, as long as you never question an order. He's practically a robot and his orders are everything."
"What about you?" Elena asked.
"He's a big softy," Jessie smiled. "As long as you have a soft voice and can bat your eyelashes, he'll do anything for you." she winked and held a finger to her lips. "But that's a secret."
"I'm standing right here, you know," Cody said.
Jessie smiled, reaching up and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Are you coming to the lounge?" Elena asked.
"Actually, we were just heading to work," Cody said.
"Aw," Elena sighed. "Alright. Well, good luck then."
"Thank you," Cody smiled, closing the door behind them before the three of them walked to the elevators.
Elena smiled and waved before the elevator door closed and Cody pressed the button for floor fifty nine, since that was as high as the elevator would go. Once it was moving, both slumped against the wall, sighing heavily.
"That was way too close," Cody said.
"Do you think Rude and Reno will raise the alarm when he finds out we were there?" Jessie asked worriedly.
"If they don't, Tseng probably will," Cody said. "We need to find Cloud and the others soon so we can warn them."
Jessie nodded just as the elevator stopped early.
"Twentieth floor, Research and Development," the elevator announced. "Doors opening."
A Shinra troop stepped into the elevator, not having his helmet or gun with him. Cody frowned. Either he was off duty and too lazy to change, or he was about to be really messed up by his superiors. The man glanced at Cody, dark brown, almost black, eyes flicking to his suit for a moment before he nodded, raising a hand to run his fingers through his light brown, slicked-back hair, making sure it was still in place. After a couple of silent minutes, the elevator stopped again.
"Forty fifth floor, Advanced Weaponry," the elevator announced. "Doors opening."
The troop nodded to Cody again before walking off the elevator. Cody watched him walk away before the doors closed and the elevator started up again.
"Do you know him?" Jessie asked. "Because it seemed like he recognized you. Or maybe your mask."
"That's what I was just thinking," Cody said. "Oh well. No alarms yet, so I suppose it isn't a problem."
Jessie nodded, and a minute later, the doors finally opened on their floor. Cody led her off the elevator instantly, then turned left and walked tot he emergency stairs. He opened the door and leaned over the railing, looking down, but the stairs were silent, so he knew the others weren't on them, since the floor was metal and even walking quietly made a lot of noise. He walked back inside and the two of them passed the reception desk, turning right again and to a sliding glass door. He pulled out the key cards, handing her half of them, then used one to open the door. She slipped hers into her pocket and they walked through the door, heading toward a door at the far side of the room that would lead them up after Cloud and the others.
Leave a review.