EIGHT

Just over a month after the train wreck and Mom's death, I slipped quietly into her office. I'd been back home for almost two weeks, seeing to Mom's funeral arrangements and the like after spending at least that long in the hospital. But it didn't feel like home anymore. It wasn't, not with Mom gone. I was still trying to sort through all her things, decide what to keep and what to give away. When I could manage it, that was. Sometimes the grief was just too much, and all I could do was sit there as the tears came again and again.

Today had been one of my better days, so I decided it was time for me to get off my ass and start digging into what happened. I'd had Cait sneak into the wreckage of the station for me to see what he could find while I was still laid up in the hospital. I had known that time had been of the essence since Shinra was surely going to do everything that they could to cover up the fact that the train wreck hadn't been an accident. And that included removing or altering any possible evidence proving it wasn't. Fortunately, Cait had gotten there first.

What he'd found had confirmed my suspicions. Charred fragments of wiring and explosive material in the wreckage and debris along with traces of blasting agent. I'd worked under Scarlet long enough to know the components of a bomb when I saw them, and the pictures Cait had shown me had been clear as day. This had been no freak accident. Not a chance. It was sabotage, no doubt about it.

Everything Cait had collected from the site of the train wreck—the remains of the bomb along with visuals of the blast patterns and where it must've originated from near the tracks—had been safely stored in a secure vault at the Shinra Building that only Reeve and I had access to. Until we could have everything analyzed by someone we could trust, it was too risky to let anyone else know about it.

I sat in Mom's chair and turned on her computer, hoping I'd find a clue on there about what had happened and what she had known. This was the first time I'd been in her office since her death, although I tried not to think about it. But it was always there in the back of my mind. I missed her so much. I still do.

She'd had her phone with her when she died, of course. It had been destroyed when the train had derailed. So there was no way I could use it to find the answers I was looking for. So that left her computer. Mom had always kept a lot of stuff on it from her work as head of Shinra's PR Division, but I hoped she had also made a backup of whatever files she had been taking to Sector 7 to get checked.

Scouring through her email, I froze when I spotted a message she'd received day of the Reactor 3 massacre. The timestamp read 9:47am. It had been sent less than an hour after the incident. I checked to see who the sender was, and my eyes widened when I saw the address. I read it again to make sure I wasn't seeing things:

aburrows429

Aria Burrows! The reporter from the Shinra Information Network News. The one who had told me the truth about the massacre and had been killed in a truck accident on her way back to the news station. But just before that, she had sent someone a copy of the unaltered security footage she'd obtained. I had never known who it was until now. And I could still hardly believe it. Mom was the one she'd sent it to! But why? I leaned forward and read the message to find out:

Amanda,

I don't have much time, so I'll get right to it. I've been monitoring the video feed from Reactor 3's security cameras like you asked me to. I think I understand now why you wanted me to do it. Something horrible's just happened there, and I've got it all recorded and stored on a secure server. You can access it with the code we agreed on earlier. Looks like you were right. You must've known something like this would happen.

Luckily for us, I know people who can hack into the reactor's security systems for me. I just hope that you and I can find a way to get the truth out there before Shinra comes down on us. I'll keep in touch, but I've got to go. I'll call you once I get back to the station, though.Be careful, okay? The server address is included just below this message. So get the footage checked as soon as you can. And stay safe.

Your friend,
Aria

For a moment I just sat there, stunned at what I'd just read. I went over it again, taking in every word. Mom had known Aria. They'd been friends. For how long, I didn't know, but I figured it had to have been a while for them to go in together on something like this. Why had Mom been expecting something like the massacre to happen, and why there? What else had she known?

I realized that as head of the PR Division, Mom must've had access to some of Shinra's classified information, though I doubted now that it was even half what what the company so carefully kept secret. Because of her job, she'd often had to oversee Shinra's responses to any inquiries made by journalists and the media except when the president or one of the executive directors issued a statement of their own.

The server address was listed right below Aria's message just as she had said it would be. I didn't know what the password was, but maybe I could find something in Mom's desk. I looked through the drawers, but besides the usual clutter of pens, papers, file folders, a small calculator, and other office supplies, there was no sign of the code.

Oddly, though, there was a drawer I couldn't get into. It was locked up tight, and although I searched through the rest of Mom's desk again, I couldn't find a key anywhere. What could she have in there that she'd keep secure so no one else could get at it? Mom must've had the key on her when she'd boarded the train, I was sure of it. She always kept all of her other keys with her whenever she left the house. That one was lost, but maybe she'd kept a backup somewhere.

With a sigh, I went back to Mom's computer and scanned the other messages, hoping I might find something else that might help. Most of them didn't have anything of use, but then I came to another one, sent a month before the Reactor 3 incident. This message was from Mom to Aria—it was in her outbox—and it chilled me to the bone:

Aria,

I'd like you to start monitoring the security cameras at Reactor 3 and find a way to capture footage from them if necessary. I've found out that my husband had Scarlet send him the schematics for the roboguards that normally guard the facility. He intends to have them reprogrammed and adjusted so they can be activated remotely. I don't know why yet, but I'm afraid he's planning something terrible.

I'm sure Jessica doesn't know, however.She's very proud of her work, in being able to create things that can help protect people and keep them safe. I've always believed that her working for Scarlet was a mistake, but I didn't want to keep Jessica from her dreams, either. She'd be devastated if she knew her designs were being used to hurt others. Reeve is doing the best he can to look out for her, but she's in a difficult position. I just wish I knew how to help her.

But in any case, we need to be ready. I hope we can prevent whatever it is Richard's planning, but if we can't, we need to have a record of what really went on. You know as well as I do that Shinra will do everything it can to cover up any incidents that would expose the company for what it really is. We can't let that happen. You have to find a way to get access to the security cameras in Reactor 3. Whatever Richard is setting in motion is bound to happen very soon, I'm certain of it. So please hurry, Aria. We don't have a lot of time.

Your friend,
Amanda

I wasn't as surprised as I thought I'd be. Somehow, I had known my father had to have played some part in all this. And I remembered now how Scarlet had asked me to send him those schematics that day. I had done it without even thinking about what might come of it. How could I have been such an idiot? Anger burned within me, both at him and at myself for letting him and Scarlet trick me the way they had. My hands clenched into fists, and I squeezed my eyes shut for a minute, unable to deny the rage and guilt swirling around inside me.

So, my father was the one responsible for the Reactor 3 massacre. I hated it and shuddered as the words went through my mind. Mom had to have found out the last time she had searched his office. That had to have been what she'd been telling me about, the leverage she'd had over him. But where was the rest of the evidence? The camera footage alone wouldn't have been enough. There had to be something else. Hopefully it hadn't been destroyed in the train wreck.

A soft knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts, and then the door opened. I braced myself, but it was only Nan. I relaxed and let out a long, shaky breath as she walked over to me. I'd been afraid that it might've been my father, home early from work. He hadn't taken a day off since Mom died. Not the least show of grief. And I hated him for it. I was due back tomorrow, but now I wasn't sure how much I wanted to be there anymore, especially considering what I'd just discovered. I had to go, though. There were things I still needed to check, answers that I could only find in Scarlet's office as well as my father's.

"Hello, Jessica," Nan said. "I thought I might find you here."

I managed a weak smile. "Yeah. Just… looking for answers. To find out what really happened. What Mom knew."

Nan nodded. "Of course. And I have something that might help. It was hers, but I think she'd want you to have it now."

"What is it?" I wondered.

She reached into her pocket, her once-broken arm now well on the mend, and pulled out a small metal object. My eyes widened when she held it out to me. It was a key! I took it and stared at it for a moment as it lay in my palm. Mom had kept a backup after all. It would open that locked drawer in her desk, I was sure of it.

Nan's answer was simple enough. "Your mother gave that to me for safekeeping a long time ago. She wanted to be sure that if anything ever happened to her, what she knew wouldn't be lost."

"Thank you," I breathed.

Not wasting a moment, I slid the key into the lock on the drawer. It turned easily, and I pulled the drawer open, my heart pounding. Inside was only one thing. A book. A thick, leatherbound diary. I picked it up and skimmed through it, seeing my mom's curving script on the pages. And the code for the secure server Aria had mentioned was right there on the inside of the back cover.

Sitting down again, I pulled up the server on Mom's computer and entered the password. And sure enough, the camera footage was there. But that wasn't all. Mom must've found a way to get hold of my father's phone somehow without him knowing about it, because along with the recordings were several log files showing transmissions from his phone to the mechs in Reactor 3. Most were just tests, but when I opened the last one, I shivered, my fears confirmed.

It was the activation signal for the mechs, to switch them over and send them after the protesters. The time and date were a perfect match, and it fit exactly with the transmission I'd found in the Shinra security office. There was no doubt about it now. The logs were clear, cold, and undeniable. My father had killed those people. And… he had used my designs, my enhancements to the mechs, to do it. He had altered them, used my work for murder and death.

I gripped the desk with hands that weren't quite steady and fought to stay calm. Rage and heartache were all I knew. I took my right hand, clenched it into a fist again, and slammed the bottom of it into the top of the desk even as tears leaked from my eyes. I made some kind of soft noise in my throat that might've been a gasp or a growl or both. I guess it didn't really matter. Reeve would've told me this wasn't my fault, but I couldn't bring myself to believe that. My weapons and work had been used to kill those people. Mine.

And then I thought of Scarlet. If my she and my father had altered these few mechs, it was a good bet that they'd done the same thing with the rest of my work. I almost didn't want to know, but I had to find out. And I would, first thing tomorrow. Whether she was there or not. I just didn't care anymore. This had gone far enough.

"Jessica?" Nan asked, looking at me with concern.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. "It's alright, Nan. I just… need to be alone for a while."

She nodded. "Of course. Let me know if you need anything."

After she left, I sat back in the chair and slowly let my fingers relax. I couldn't change what had happened, as much as I wanted to. So I just sighed bitterly and backed up everything I'd found onto my flash drive. There wasn't much else I could do for now. When I was finished, I put the drive away, shut down the computer, took Mom's diary, and went to my room to start reading.

"Just what do you think you're doing in my office!?"

I whipped my head up to see Scarlet storming in, shoving her way right past the soldier who'd been watching the door for me. In the time I'd been working here, I had formed an odd sort of friendship with him and the other soldiers that she bullied and used as footstools. I'd hated having to use them like that as well, but Scarlet often watched to make sure I did exactly as she had ordered, and I couldn't risk setting her off and being fired before I could find the answers I needed. I didn't have a choice but to be here, at least until now.

The soldiers, though, they never complained. The first time Scarlet had left me in charge, when she had gone to Corel last year, I had tried to avoid engaging in Scarlet's twisted little game, but one of the soldiers had quickly taken me aside after seeing my hesitation. He had told me that he and the others understood and that they didn't blame me. They knew I didn't care for it any more than they did and that Scarlet would rip me a new one if I didn't do it.

The soldier and his friends, those guys, they had done the sweetest thing for me that day. He'd said that they'd rather have Scarlet tear into them than let her go after me for disobeying her, and if that meant they had to act as my footstool while she was gone, then they didn't mind. I had just stood there for a moment, grateful and quite overcome, as the soldier had gone over to Scarlet's chair and bent over, assuring me that it was alright and not to worry. I had been so touched by their concern for me and their thoughtfulness that I hadn't known what to say. I had thanked him—after I had found my voice, that was—and had sat down in that chair and reluctantly done as Scarlet had told me, though I was much gentler about it than she was.

Bringing my thoughts back to the present, I straightened and stood tall, my blood blazing with fury. I'd gotten into her computer while she had been at a meeting upstairs, and using the passwords I'd stolen from her, I'd been able to search through her files and confirm my fears and suspicions. Scarlet had definitely modified my designs behind my back and had turned them into tools of death and destruction. The casualty reports alone made me want to throw up.

The hell house, for example, had been deployed down in the slums like we had agreed on when I had designed it, but what I hadn't known until now was that its targeting sensors had been reprogrammed to key in on human lifesigns instead of monstrous ones. And according to the reports, hundreds of people had been hurt and killed by those things. I wished I had never made it, and guilt ate at me for all the pain that my work had caused to so many people.

Nearly every mech and weapon I had designed and developed here had been tampered with and altered to suit Scarlet's destructive, deadly agenda. And I had made dozens of projects in my time in the division, such as the hell house, moth slasher, sword dance, and more, as well as the weapon enhancements I'd developed for the grunts and soldiers in the Peace Preservation Division.

I stared at Scarlet without flinching. "I know what you did."

"And what would that be?" she narrowed her eyes.

"You lied to me, Scarlet! I shouldn't have trusted you! You took my work, my designs, and changed them behind my back, made them into killing machines! You used me!"

Scarlet sneered. "Don't take it personal, dear. I do it to everyone."

I wasn't finished yet, though. "And I know exactly what you did in Corel, too. I saw it all in your messages to my father! Those troops that were deployed never did any weapons testing. That was just another lie you told me. They destroyed that town, and you ordered them to do it! With the weapons I made for them! The blood of all those people is as much on my hands as it is yours!"

"Shinra's enemies must be put down," she pointed at me. "You'd do well to remember that, Jessica."

"Like hell they do! I've read the reports, Scarlet. They were miners, not terrorists. They didn't want to lose their way of life. But you… you went and butchered them anyway! Right after guaranteeing their safety and livelihood. You lied to them just like you lied to me!"

Scarlet slammed her hands on the desk. "Do you remember what I told you the day I hired you? If you want to get anywhere in this world, you can't be afraid to step on those around you. Did you really think it didn't include you as well? I used you because I knew I could. You have a rare gift, one I was eager to take advantage of."

I was practically quivering with rage now, my fists so tight that my nails dug into my palms. "So that's why my father wanted me here, isn't it? He was using me, too. That bastard!"

"Whining about it won't get you anywhere," she snapped. "So pull yourself together and get back to work!"

"No!" I shook my head. "Not anymore! I quit!"

Scarlet stared at me. "You think you can just walk out of here?"

I hurried past her toward the door. "Find someone else to do your dirty work! Because I'm out!"

Before she could say anything else, I burst out of her office and ran over to my drafting table. There was one other thing I had to do before leaving this hellhole. I grabbed my binder, my eyes almost blinded now by angry tears, and ripped it apart page by page, snarling and crying as I tore the papers and my designs to shreds until nothing was left. Then I tossed the broken cover on the floor and got up to leave. My dreams, they'd been twisted and warped into something horrible and cruel, and people were dead because of it. Because of me.

On the way out, I passed that damn chair, and on impulse, I kicked it over. Scarlet was livid as she came out of her office, but I didn't care. I was through being her puppet and plaything. She stormed toward me, her eyes blazing, but I just headed toward the elevators, determined to get out of here as soon as I could

"Don't let her leave!" she told the soldiers. "She's a security risk!"

I froze and glanced over my shoulder, but they didn't move. Scarlet caught up to me in that moment and seized my arm, her grip like iron. I didn't know what she had in mind for me, but I didn't want to stay to find out, either. And there was something else, something she deserved after all she had put me through. I yanked my arm free, glared fiercely at her, and slapped her across the face. Hard.

"You've had that coming for a long time, bitch!" I spat.

"Arrest her!" Scarlet ordered the soldiers, staggering back, her face red with fury. "Take this obnoxious little shit into custody! Now! Shoot her if you have to!"

But they didn't. One of them looked at me. "Run! Hurry!"

"Idiots!" Scarlet fumed. "I'll do it myself!"

I turned and ran, ignoring the elevator now and going for the door to the emergency stairwell instead. The sounds of a scuffle erupted just behind me, and I took a quick glance over my shoulder for a second to see Scarlet punching the nearest soldier and grabbing his gun. The rest of them tried to get in her way, but she shoved them aside like paper as she waved her weapon around before fixing it on me. My heart racing, I sped toward the door as fast as I could.

I yanked it open and dove through as gunshots erupted behind me one after the other, nearly deafening me as I tumbled into the stairwell. Then I gasped, wincing in pain as I felt something sting the side of my right arm near my shoulder before the door slammed shut behind me. Not waiting another second, I raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time as I held my arm with my other hand.

I kept going until I reached the 63rd floor. Materials storage. It was a place I could be alone to gather my thoughts before deciding what to do next. As I went to one of the storage rooms and sat down amidst all the crates and boxes, I let go of my arm for a moment, thinking to take out the transmitter Cait had given me so long go. But then I saw blood on my hand and stared in disbelief.

It was on my arm, too. I sighed, pulled out the transmitter, and hit the left button to have Cait come see me. I'd have talked to him, but my arm was hurting too much for me to concentrate on anything else. So I just sighed and leaned back to wait for him, knowing it wouldn't be too long before he showed up. In the meantime, I put the transmitter away and took hold of my arm again.

It looked like one of the bullets had gone right through it. Scarlet's aim had been pretty good. I managed a weak laugh as I thought of how much I must've pissed her off for her to have shot me. I'd left her a little surprise of my own, though. While I'd still been digging around on her computer, I had discovered schematics for a new superweapon she was developing, some huge robotic thing that she and my father were going to operate themselves. Proud Clad, it was called.

Knowing them, I was sure it would be used to hurt and kill a lot of innocent people, and I wasn't going to let that happen. And I'd also felt that turnabout was fair play. It was my turn to alter Scarlet's design. So I'd added a subtle weakness to the weapon, a hidden vulnerability that, when activated, would trigger an overload in the Proud Clad's systems and destroy it. I still had to develop a special device in order to do that, but I was sure I could pull it off. An explosive capable of triggering the backdoor I'd inserted into Scarlet's pet project.

"Hello, lassie!" Cait ambled in a few minutes later. "I got yer call. Is everything alri—w-what happened!?"

I grimaced as he stared at my arm. "I quit working for Scarlet."

"She did that to ye?" he blinked.

"Yeah. I made her pretty mad, Cait. But I don't care. I'm not letting her use me anymore."

He nodded. "That's good tae hear. Now, c'mon, lass. We need to get ye fixed up on the double. Let's go doun tae Reeve's office. We can take the stairs so nobody sees ye."

"I'll go," I said, "But I need you to do something for me."

"Ahn what's that?" Cait asked.

Slowly, I stood up, a little dizzy but determined to finish what I had started. "My father's phone. It's the last piece of the puzzle. Go upstairs, sneak into his office, and get it for me. Can you do that?"

He grinned. "Aye, lass! Just leave it tae mae!"

"Good. And let Reeve know I'm coming, alright?"

"Will do," Cait promised. "Take care of yerself, ye hear? I'll be doun there as soon as I can, Jessica."

Gritting my teeth against the pain, I left the storage room, making my way back to the emergency stairwell. Cait waved goodbye before he slipped out of sight into a ventilation duct on the way. I tilted my head in acknowledgment, not wanting to let go of my arm unless I had to, as he left. Then I went through the door and headed down the stairs, one by one now, as I struggled to make my way to the 57th floor and Reeve's office. Six flights of stairs, but going down was at least a bit easier than going up had been. Even so, I had to stop a few times to get my balance and catch my breath. How much blood had I lost?

It was over halfway down my sleeve now, staining my blouse red as I finally stumbled through another door and onto the 57th floor. Reeve was there in the waiting area, hurrying across the blue carpet when he saw me, his eyes wide. I walked over to him, my steps more than a little unsteady, and probably would've fallen if he hadn't caught me and held me up with one arm lightly around my shoulder.

"Jessica!" he breathed. "Cait told me you were coming and that you needed help but… not this. What's going on? What happened?"

I leaned against him. "Scarlet…"

He sighed. "Damn! I should've known. You can tell me all about it later. Right now, we've got to get you taken care of."

"Reeve… I found out… about Reactor 3," I told him.

"I knew you would, Jessica," he said, leading me toward his office. Then he turned to the receptionist for a minute. "Janice, get one of the nurses up here! Now!"

She gasped and reached for the phone. "Yes, sir! Right away!"

I let Reeve take me into his office, where he helped me sit down in one of the large cushioned chairs opposite his desk before ducking into the executive washroom. He came back out only a moment later with a thick, soft towel in his hands along with a large cup full of water. Then he pulled off his jacket, tugged his sleeves up to his elbows, and turned his attention to my arm.

Reeve had me let go of it so he could check the wound. "Looks like it went all the way through, fortunately. So all we've got to worry about is stopping the bleeding. How are you feeling?"

I tried to concentrate. "A little light-headed. Hurts like hell. Guess I wasn't fast enough…"

"She shot you?" Reeve asked.

"Yeah…" I managed. "She… she was really pissed."

He sighed. "You can't go back there."

I gave him a small smile. "Not planning on it. I quit, Reeve. After I found out about… Reactor 3 and… Corel. And how she took… all my work, my designs… and twisted them. Used them to kill and hurt… so many people. She's been… lying to me from the beginning. I should've listened to you and Mom, but I… I just wanted…"

"I know," Reeve said, getting the towel damp with the water before wrapping it snugly around my wounded arm. "You care very much for those around you, for others. It's a wonderful trait, but one that Scarlet clearly took advantage of. I'm sorry for what she did to you. Try not to blame yourself, though. It's not your fault."

"But it is, Reeve. I… I trusted her. I believed her."

He put a hand on my other shoulder. "Jessica, you didn't make the weapons for the same reasons she did. You never intended for them to be used the way they were. Whatever Scarlet did, that's on her, not you. Do you understand?"

I closed my eyes for a moment. "I guess so…"

I knew he was trying to help, but I couldn't shake my sense of guilt so easily. It would be with me for a long time, I knew. So much pain, so much death. All caused by me, my creations, my designs. It wasn't what I had ever wanted, but it's what happened. As I sat there thinking about it, Reeve went back to the washroom and brought me another towel so I could clean the blood off my hands.

Although it came off easily enough after he'd gotten the towel wet, I could still see it in my mind, and I wondered if it would ever really be gone. Only a few minutes later, the nurse finally arrived and took over. There were always a few in the building in case of an emergency. Reeve stayed by my side as she worked, though.

A little while later, my arm was neatly bandaged, though the nurse had to cut my sleeve off to do it. I didn't mind, though. She had treated and disinfected the wound before binding it up and cleaning it off, and I was beginning to feel a little better now. I grimaced when she handed me a small glass vial with a pale blue liquid inside. Healing potions are totally gross. It's funny but true.

I wrinkled my nose. "You sure I have to take this?"

Reeve chuckled. "Yes, Jessica. I know they're not the most pleasant thing, but it'll help your arm heal faster."

"I was afraid you'd say that," I sighed.

Bracing myself, I opened the vial and drank the hideous thing in a single long gulp before I could think twice about it. I barely kept myself from gagging as it went down. The stuff was like the worst cough syrup you can imagine, only not as thick. I'll never understand why medicine always has to taste so bad, healing potions especially.

Still, it did its job and took the edge off the pain. My arm still hurt, but not nearly as much now, and it tingled a little bit as the flesh began to slowly knit itself together. It would still be some time before my arm was fully healed, but I didn't think I'd have to wear a sling. I'd still have to be careful how much I moved it, though. I was sure it was gonna be pretty sensitive for a while.

Reeve gazed at it as I handed him the empty vial. "Better?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "A bit."

There was a light flutter nearby as Cait Sith emerged from a nearby air duct. Reeve saw him and sent the nurse away at once, and after she was gone, Cait hurried over to me, my father's phone in his hand. I was glad he'd succeeded, but at the same time, I was almost afraid to look at what was on there and confirm what I'd already begun to suspect in my heart, what I knew but didn't want to believe.

Swallowing heavily, I took the phone and switched it on.