It came to no surprise that they would blame Wutai. The war is currently out on hold. What Cloud is surprised about is the fact rumors went around that there could be a mole.
And this became Cloud's and Elena's job to find this mole and deal with them. Meanwhile Tseng, Reno and Rude were busy trying to convince Aerith to come with them. He sent word to her, and he hopes it reaches her in time.
"Why are we stuck with the boring jobs?" Elena complains.
"Because we're still technically the noobs." Cloud sighed.
"Because I know you often go see her, Cloud. Therefore it's better that Reno and Rude fetch her. You grown too attached to the girl." Tseng appeared out of nowhere.
"But why am I stuck with him?" Elena pouts.
"Honey, that is so not your look." Cloud warns.
"Don't honey me!"
"Because I know you two will sniff this mole out." Tseng intervenes.
"How do we even know there is a mole?"
Cloud had to know. How could they figure this out so quickly? This disturbed him. If he had to then he might have to pull away and distance himself even more from Roche to keep them both out of trouble.
"Because their plan went smoothly. Too smoothly. And on top of that, I want to show you two something." He leads them to his computer to show the footage the security cameras caught the previous night.
"Is that a Soldier?" Elena frowns.
"Yes. He recently quit. Now he's hired as a mercenary for Avalanche."
"Roche as a mercenary? That's out of character even for him." Cloud crossed his arms.
In that moment something clicked in Tseng's head. Yes, it was out of character for Roche. Unless he was being sent by someone. He filed the suspicion for later.
Cloud noticed how his boss went silent. Inside he began to panic. Even Elena caught on.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing. Continue on with your search. You've got a lead. Go find Roche."
Cloud turned and left with Elena. All the while Tseng watched him leave.
Later that evening Tseng entered his lover's office. For all his worth Rufus didn't seem phased about the mako reactor being blown up.
"Found anything yet?"
"I suspect we have a mole, sir." He presents the folder on the desk.
Rufus opens it to see Cloud Strife staring at him. He frowns, looks up at the suit.
"Is this your idea of a joke?"
"I'm afraid not. There's a mercenary who was a former Soldier being hired by Avalanche. His name is Roche. He showed an interest in Cloud years ago when he first began as a Turk."
"And you believe he convinced this man to quit Soldier, and become a mercenary?"
"They are all aware the life span of a Soldier isn't very long. Roche could be approaching his end soon."
"So he plans to go out in a bang. Or cause some chaos before he goes." Rufus sighs. "I can already guess Cloud's motive."
"What should we do?"
"For now, nothing. I want to see how far my little brother can go." The blonde smiles.
xXx
After the second reactor was blown up, Cloud didn't expect the president himself to address Avalanche through the holograms. He was beginning to wonder if he really was in over his head with this plan.
Things got worse when Roche informed him that his degeneration began. He's not sure how much time he has. Some Soldiers last years, others months. So he informed Roche to search for Aerith and guard her from the Turks. And if he could, take her to safety.
"So your old boyfriend is protecting Aerith. Got any idea why?" Reno came to him all grumpy.
"What old boyfriend?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.
"Roche. And uh, he not looking so good."
"No idea. Haven't spoken to him in years." The blonde shrugged. Then he glared at the redhead. "And we never dated. So suck off, honey."
"Damn, babe. It was just a joke." Reno didn't expect him to be so hostile.
"Reno. I see you failed to bring me the Ancient." Tseng eyes the redhead.
"Relax, partner got it in the bag. I don't think Roche can stand against him, at least."
"What's he doing with the Ancient?"
"Dunno." Reno shrugs. "I just asked Cloud if he knew anything about it."
"As I told you, I haven't spoken to him in years."
Tseng's eyes lingered on Cloud. And the blonde began to feel uneasy. He was beginning to wonder if he was too paranoid, or if his gut feeling was being true. Soon as he left Cloud sighed.
"The hell you got yourself into, babe?" Reno whispers. Cloud sighs, almost groaning.
"I got nothing to do with - "
"Bullshit!" Reno hissed. "I'm not even in the loop with everything and I can already see for myself that you're involved somehow. So do me a favor and back out now. I don't want another Cissinei situation. Got it?"
Cloud glared at the name.
"For your information, I won't end up like her. I'm not involved and that's that. Believe whatever the hell you want, honey. Just know I won't be judged like her just because she trained me. I get enough shit as it is because of it."
"Okay, okay. Jeez. Didn't know that was a sensitive topic, babe." The redhead held up his hands. "I was just trying to look out for you. I care about you, babe."
"If you cared so much then why the hell you treated me different after my birthday? You even stopped pursuing me. Not that I give a shit now, but at the time it hurt." Cloud's glare made Reno want to shrink away.
"Look. I'm sorry, okay?"
"Sorry ain't gonna cut it, honey."
"Look, to tell you the truth, I was going through some shit. I didn't wanna involve you. And I didn't realize that instead I hurt you. So is there any way I can make it up to you? Please, babe?" Reno reached for his hand, grasping it gently.
Cloud almost wanted to let him. The sincerity was there. He could see it. And that was why he pulled away. He was in too deep already with Avalanche. He wasn't going to allow Reno get caught in the crossfire.
"Too late, honey." He said and returned to his desk.
Even so he couldn't help but almost cry at the pain in his chest. Seeing the hurt expression on Reno's face almost undid him then and there. Even so he had to go on. He had plans to go over.
