"So you think if it all works out, an attack on Midgar would be, as Genesis says, a gift from the Goddess Herself."
Another week passed. Then two, three.
Sephiroth, despite persistence and the simple intimidation his physical presence evoked, learned nothing at all about Angeal's current whereabouts. Official requests got nowhere, merely being returned as "Denied" with no explanation.
In spite of Sephiroth's orders not to involve anyone else in their search, Zack did find a way to have a conversation with Kunsel that he hoped wasn't too suspicious. Kunsel was sharp, though, and picked up on Zack's concern right away.
"Everyone knows Angeal was arrested," Kunsel said, "but I haven't heard anything about where he's being held. I'll keep an ear to the ground, but no promises."
When even someone as plugged in as Kunsel knew nothing, the security really was super tight. Zack didn't know what to do.
After another week, the decision was taken out of his hands. Lazard's words at the end of his debrief proved prophetic. Disturbingly so. Equally, the President's concerns were valid. The Genesis Army attacked Junon to free Hollander, and Zack found himself assigned to work with the Turks—people he no longer trusted—to defend the installation there.
Sephiroth was ordered to remain in Midgar to protect the HQ and the President from further attacks, and was quite pleased about it. "So it turns out that Genesis is alive, after all. I knew he wouldn't die so easily," he said with satisfaction. "If he's trying to get Hollander back, he will also try to rescue Angeal. That might help me locate where Angeal is being held."
"You think they'd come for him even though he betrayed them to us? Angeal did inform me and Lazard that they were Modeoheim. If he hadn't, it might have been months before Shin-Ra found them. Maybe they'd have never been found."
"Genesis will not leave Angeal as Shin-Ra's prisoner," Sephiroth stated with absolute certainty. "Despite everything that's happened, that much won't have changed. And if Genesis can find him, I can follow."
"So you think if it all works out, an attack on Midgar would be, as Genesis says, a gift from the Goddess Herself."
Sephiroth uttered a dry, humorless laugh and promised to use the opportunity to dig deeper and follow all clues that he could observe.
In the end, Zack and the Turks failed. The Genesis Army succeeded in reclaiming Hollander.
Worse, it seemed that Lazard had disappeared along with them. Why? Zack couldn't fathom it.
As everyone had feared, the Genesis Army also attacked Midgar, though Tseng didn't disclose any details on the helicopter ride back to headquarters. Zack couldn't wait to talk to Sephiroth. Perhaps Genesis had already led him to Angeal. If not, maybe at least there were some new clues to follow.
Note: In the game Angeal really did inform Zack that Genesis and Hollander were in Modeoheim, and stated that he had already told Lazard. After he walked out on Genesis in Banora, he seems to have spent his time on the run, helping Zack, fighting Genesis (that friendship really went south fast in Banora!), and apparently (given his knowledge) keeping tabs on Hollander.