TWENTY-SEVEN

The basement actually had two rooms. The steps descended from outside into the smaller one. Although it was empty and didn't look to have seen much use, it was clean. I stood there with Biggs and Tifa for a minute as we joined Wedge, who'd gotten here earlier and unlocked it for us. The place was unfinished, just a simple concrete floor and walls, with rusty iron pipes and wooden beams running across the ceiling. It was a good start, and I thought we could easily work with it and turn it into a cozy little private space for us.

"So what do you think, Jessie?" Wedge asked.

I nodded. "Looks good. We could use this room for storage, maybe as a place for us to crash, too, if we're here really late and don't feel like walking home. Or if you pass out again, Biggs."

He snorted. "Oh, come on! I haven't done that since—"

"The other night?" I finished for him, smirking. "You really should quit having those drinking contests with Barret, Biggs. He always wins, and you always wind up either on the floor or with your head down on the table, snoozing away. It's so embarrassing."

"I don't remember that…" Biggs scratched his head.

Wedge grinned. "Oh, but we do! Jessie and I had to take you home last time. Plopped you into your bed myself."

I giggled. "Wasn't easy, believe me!"

Biggs sighed. "I wondered how I wound up there with a four alarm hangover the next morning. Thanks, guys."

"Anytime," I winked. "That's what friends are for."

"What she said!" Wedge added.

We all laughed, even Biggs. He did like Tifa's famous drinks a little too much, though Barret wasn't helping by encouraging him with these macho games they played. Wedge and I had half-carried, half-dragged Biggs home that night, with him hitting on me the whole time. I hadn't thought much of it—I had dismissed it as the booze—but after our talk this afternoon, I realized it was more than that. Biggs had actually been honest in his drunken haze with all his slurred compliments about how pretty he thought I was and how he liked my eyes.

He had expressed feelings to me that he never would have revealed when he was sober. At least, until today. But only because I had pressed him about it. I hadn't wanted things to be awkward between us, and so far, anyway, Biggs seemed to be taking my gentle rebuff pretty well, and I was glad for that. I cared about him a lot.

I figured Wedge had already known Biggs was interested in me, as tight as they were, but had wisely kept quiet and left it to us to sort out. Maybe that was why he'd come here first, to give us time to do that. He wasn't really the smartest guy—and he'd be the first to admit that—but Wedge had a way of seeing things in people sometimes. He had a huge heart and was very perceptive, although he did struggle a lot to believe in himself. So I always tried to encourage him.

There was a small door on the far wall. It led into the other room, a much larger one that I figured had to be right underneath the common room itself. Like the first room, it was unfinished, but I knew we could spruce the place up a bit easily enough. The question was, how were we to get in here without anyone else knowing about it?

We had to figure that out if we were gonna turn the basement into a secret hideout for Avalanche. I had learned even in the short time I'd been here that news got around fast in the slums, and there were some people in Sector 7 that loved to gossip. Derla was the worst, and I'd had to shoo her away a few times when she'd tried to pester me with chatter or snoop on something I was doing. She was a little older than me, but not by much. And irritating as hell. Being relatively new in town, I was a prime target for her efforts to get a scoop.

At least until Tifa had set her straight. That had been a sight to see, and I hadn't been able to hide a smirk as I'd watched Derla sulking her way down the street a few weeks ago, her dark red hair tumbling a little past her shoulders and her nose held up so high it was almost vertical. She had left me alone ever since.

I walked into the main room with the others, looking thoughtfully at the place and seeing what we had to work with. It was square for the most part, and just like the other room, it had concrete walls and more iron pipes reaching up to the ceiling and stretching across it. Not much there, but then as I made my way to the nearest corner, I saw an empty alcove about three feet across and six feet deep.

"Hey, Tifa," I asked. "What's this for?"

She looked at it with me. "I don't know. I've never actually been in here before, to be honest. Never really had a need. The previous owner used the basement for storage, I think. This little nook might've held a washer and dryer once. The outlets are there."

I nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right. But you know, maybe we can find another use for it…"

"What do you mean?" Wedge asked.

I gazed up at the ceiling. "We should be right below the back of the common room, right in front of the kitchen, and the alcove goes all the way up. So… what we need is an elevator."

Biggs blinked. "You serious?"

"Yeah," I said, folding my arms in front of me. "If we can gather all the materials, I think we can build one ourselves! We've already got the shaft right here. Just need to put together a lift and a machine to run it. So what do you say, guys? Wanna do this?"

"Sounds good, but… how do we hide it?" Wedge asked.

I stared at him. I hadn't thought of that. "I don't know yet. I'm sure we can come up with something, though."

Biggs smirked. "Yeah. You'll figure it out, Jessie."

"No pressure, right?" I teased.

"Don't forget you and I have a mission on Saturday," Tifa chuckled. "Gotta prepare for that, too."

I grinned. "I'll be ready, Tifa. Don't you worry!"

I hadn't forgotten about it, not for a minute. She and I had a job to do, scouting out that Shinra supply depot in Sector 4. My first mission for Avalanche. I shivered with excitement just thinking about it. Being a spy definitely sounded pretty cool, and I couldn't wait to get out there and get to work. It was gonna be fun!

"Good to hear," Tifa said. "In the meantime, how about we head on upstairs and have dinner before the evening crowd gets in? I think I've got enough time whip something up."

"Oh, you bet!" Wedge exclaimed, his eyes eager.

I laughed. "Knew you'd be all over that."

Biggs gave his arm a playful smack. "'Course he is! Wedge lives for Tifa's cooking. But then again, so do we."

"You got that right!" I agreed.

"Guess I shouldn't keep you guys waiting, then," Tifa winked. "Let's get going and I'll fire up the stove."

Wedge was already moving. "We're on our way!"

Dinner was as delicious as ever, and when I was finished, I sat back in my chair with my hands behind my head as Biggs took another pull on his drink and Wedge wolfed down more food. I had offered to help Tifa with the dishes, but she had just shaken her head and insisted that we all relax. So I did, my mind turning over the possibilities for putting together our new secret hideout.

I still wasn't sure how we were going to hide it, and that was what I kept coming back to. We had to be able to get at the controls, but at the same time, they couldn't be where just anyone could see them. Making the lift itself look like part of the floor was obvious, but how to hide the controls was the tricky part. Having buttons right on the wall wouldn't work. We needed something a bit more subtle.

Wedge finally pushed back his plate a moment later. "Boy, was that good! Tifa really knows how to cook."

"Sure does," Biggs agreed. "And we scarf it right up."

"Every time!" I nodded.

After taking a drink of his Seventh Heaven, an amber cocktail with a strong flavor, Wedge stood up. "Well, I think I'm gonna play a round or two of pinball, guys. Wanna join me?"

Biggs grinned. "Why not? Good way to unwind. Even if I do know I'm gonna get my ass handed to me."

"Hey, you might get lucky this time," Wedge chuckled.

"Not likely," Biggs said, standing up. "You're a damn wizard on that thing, buddy. I'll still give it a try, though."

I winked. "That's the spirit! I'll take on the winner."

"See you real soon," Wedge pointed at me.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll go easy on ya," I told him. Then I held up my index finger and smirked. "Psych!"

He laughed. "Bring it!"

"Consider it brought!" I fired back.

The guys went over to the first of the pinball tables, the one closest to the kitchen. Volcano Bombs, it was called. Pretty appropriate since it was themed around those bright orange bomb monsters that tended to blow themselves up when they got hit enough. Fortunately, they didn't lurk much in or around Midgar.

There was an L-shaped wall between the machine and the kitchen, separating it from the rest of the common room. The pinball table was tucked right into the corner where the kitchen wall and the one on that side of the room met. Two more pinball machines—Gold Time Pinball and Chocobo Challenge—stood in a row alongside Volcano Bombs. In the front corner of the bar was a jukebox, and a dartboard had been set up on the wall next to it. Wedge had the top score, as usual, but I wasn't far behind him. Maybe I'd challenge him later.

As Biggs and Wedge started playing, I got up and went over to join in the fun. Biggs went first, and as I watched, he managed to get a good start. But once his first ball drained and Wedge took over, I knew it was gonna be his contest. He was really good at it—I'd seen him play all the tables here enough to know he could rack up some impressive scores. I wasn't too bad at it myself, though.

I felt something start to push at the back of my mind as Wedge and Biggs kept on playing pinball, an idea that wanted out but was—for the moment, at least—stuck in the gears. I couldn't quite see the shape of it yet, but I knew something was there. So I continued watching the guys, my gaze on the ball, the spinners, bumpers, lights, and buttons. Beeps, bloops, and blops filled the air as my friends played. Sudden flashes of color and bursts of sound. It was a merry riot.

"These buttons must be sticking'," Biggs said, his hands tapping the bumper controls on either side of the pinball machine. "Just not having much luck tonight. Your turn, buddy."

Wedge took over. "Don't worry, Biggs. You're doing fine."

Biggs smirked. "Says the guy who's like, forty million points ahead of me. Still, thanks for the encouragement."

"Anytime, bro," Wedge said.

"So the buttons don't stick for you?" Biggs asked.

Wedge shook his head. "Nah, they're fine. All the table controls are wired together inside, underneath the playfield. The machine's in good condition, too. Just gotta get a feel for how it plays. I can show you how to do it sometime if you want, Biggs."

My eyes widened as it all fell into place. "That's it!"

"Jessie?" the guys asked together.

"I got it!" I grinned, slamming the bottom of my fist down onto the glass top of the pinball table. "And it's perfect!"

Biggs scratched his head. "Mind letting us in on it?"

"I know how to hide the lift, guys!" I exclaimed, my heart pumping with excitement. "Right in here!"

"The pinball table?" Wedge asked.

I beamed. "You betcha! I can build a second layer below the table's underside to hold the motor and connect it to the flipper buttons. And I could set it up so that once it's done, all we'd have to do to operate the lift is hold them both down for a few seconds."

Wedge gave me a thumbs up. "That just might work!"

"Damn right it will!" I laughed. "And it's all thanks to you. You're a genius, Wedge! The best!"

"I am?" he blinked, so stunned he lost his ball.

I hugged him. "Oh, yeah. I wouldn't have thought of it if you hadn't explained how the table was put together. And that's what switched on the light bulb in this little head of mine!"

He blushed. "Thanks, Jessie. Glad I could help."

"Sounds good, guys, but how do we keep other folks from tripping it and finding the hideout?" Biggs wondered.

I stepped back for a moment, thinking it over. Then I snapped my finger. "No problem, Biggs! We'll make the lift look just like part of the floor and fasten the table to it when we hook everything up. And then, we can just slap a nice big 'Out of Order' sign on the front. That oughta keep people from messing with it."

"Aw, I really like this table," Wedge sighed. "I'm gonna miss playing on it. But if that's what we gotta do…"

"Don't worry, Wedge!" I assured him. "I can rig the table so we can still play it even with it being part of the lift. Of course, we'll have to do that after hours so no one knows it still works."

He gaped at me. "You can do that?"

"Who do ya think you're talking to?" I grinned, pointing at myself with my thumb. "You'll still be able to kick our asses anytime you want. Well, at least Biggs. I'm not going down so easy!"

"Hey!" Biggs frowned. "I heard that!"

I smirked. "And I see you're down to your last ball. Wedge still has two more. Guess I'll be taking him on tonight."

He chuckled. "Seems that way."

"Your turn, buddy," Wedge laughed, stepping aside. "Then you can watch me trounce Jessie when we're done."

"Oh, you are so going down!" I teased, hands on my hips.

Biggs snorted. "You wish!"

And so it went, the guys and I enjoying ourselves with pinball and a little good-natured trash talking as the evening crowd slowly filtered in and Barret took his usual place at the end of the bar, waving to us as he did. Marlene sat on his lap, and Tifa stopped by now and then to see us in between serving her customers. Just another fun, busy night here at Seventh Heaven. I loved it, and my excitement about building the lift fueled my eagerness to play with the guys. Wedge did beat me, but not by much, and we all had a great time.

Three days later, it was time for the mission.

I met Tifa behind Seventh Heaven on Saturday night, just like we'd planned. It was late, but that was alright. We'd have less chance of being discovered under cover of darkness. Even so, I'd brought my gun and a half dozen raspberries with me. Tifa didn't have anything, though, and I wondered how she was going to defend herself if we got into trouble. All she did was put on a pair of sturdy red leather gloves before flexing her fingers a few times to loosen them up. She wore a firm, solid set of work boots, too. But no weapons.

"You gonna be alright, Tifa?" I wondered. "I don't mind saving you if it comes to that, but I am a little worried."

Tifa smirked. "Oh, I'll be fine, Jessie. Trust me."

I nodded. "Okay, then. Ready to rock?"

"Let's move," she nodded.

It would take us at least half an hour, maybe more, to travel across three sectors, but going on foot would also make it harder for Shinra or anyone else to spot us. Although Shinra mostly kept to the plate, I had seen a few soldiers here and there, mostly just passing through. But I'd kept my face away from them and stayed out of sight just the same. No sense taking any chances. They weren't looking for me, but if they saw me, they might realize who I was. I did look pretty different now, but I knew I couldn't make any assumptions.

We made our way stealthily down the street and into the outskirts, and in a few minutes, we reached the pillar complex. I shivered when I saw that thing, that huge column rising up toward the steel sky. I didn't know why at the time, but it frightened me. My eyes drifted up toward the middle, where the service platform was. The fifteenth floor. Lots of stairs led up to that place all the way from the ground, winding around and around past all the other levels.

The thirteenth stood out to me for no reason I understood. At least not then. I felt a chill race down my spine, as if I had looked at my own grave, and I swallowed and tore my gaze away in a hurry. I'd had a few dreams about this place now and then. Nightmares, more like. Fire and smoke everywhere. Bullets and blood, both of them mine. It was awful. I didn't understand what it meant. All I knew was that it scared the hell out of me. I shuddered as I kept moving.

"You okay?" Tifa asked.

I sighed. "I will be once we're past this thing. Just between you and me, it really gives me the willies."

She patted my shoulder. "You're not the only one."

"You too?" I said.

"Yeah," Tifa answered as we hurried onward. "It always feels like it's frowning down at me, you know?"

I did. "Yeah. I get that, Tifa. I really do."

"Was the one in Sector 5 the same way?" she asked.

"Funnily enough, no," I told her. "That one never bothered me. It's not as if I was there very long, but I hardly noticed it. I'm not sure why this one's so different, though."

As we reached the gate leading to the narrow road that would take us out of Sector 7, we slipped into the shadows a short distance from it and the two guards that were always stationed there. Normally, the gate was open at times during the day, but at this late hour it was locked up tight. And there was no way that we'd be able to convince the guards to open it up for us. The younger one could be reasonable, but his partner and senior officer was a real stickler for the rules. Totally anal about it, too. So we'd just have to sneak our way out.

Wasn't hard, actually. Tifa and I just grabbed hold of the chain link fence, climbed over it, and dropped quietly down to the other side. We also made damn sure not to get too close to the Train Graveyard. That was a mess we didn't need to get ourselves tangled up in. It was a maze of old, abandoned train cars around a ruined, empty warehouse. While I'd only been in Sector 7 a few months, I'd already heard rumors about the place. It was supposed to be haunted, and while I didn't believe that myself, I couldn't deny the place was spooky.

We hurried down the road toward Sector 6 before the guards could spot us. It took us longer to get there on foot than it had when Sam had first driven me here in his chocobo carriage that night. It felt like it had been another lifetime ago. I smiled at the memory of my little ride and the confrontation I'd had with Corneo before that. I hadn't told Tifa or the others about it, though. My troubled past was something I still kept mostly to myself. Old habits, you know.

At least Tifa and I wouldn't have to actually go near Wall Market. I wasn't in any rush to return there despite the friends I'd made. Andrea, Sam, and Madam M were an interesting and eccentric bunch, and they had helped me out just as I'd helped them. I hoped they were alright. It was a dangerous place to live in, and Corneo wasn't exactly what you'd call the forgiving sort. He was brutal.

After reaching Evergreen Park a little later, Tifa and I stopped for a quick breather and then took the longer but safer route toward Sector 5 instead of cutting through the collapsed expressway. That was fine with me. I didn't have any interest in running into Beck and his idiotic thugs again. Once had been more than enough.

I usually took this road on my trips across the slums for work, so I wasn't expecting any trouble. The most I'd ever seen out here was a few small clusters of eaters or hedgehog pies, but I was always able to avoid them easily enough even when pushing my cart along in front of me. If I did get noticed, I'd just toss a smoke bomb behind me and run until I got far enough away. I'd never actually had to fight them yet, and so far at least, there weren't very many.

Tonight, though, it wasn't monsters that got in our way, but rather, a group of bandits that suddenly slunk out of the shadows to get in our way. Four men sporting bright orange mohawks, sleeveless blue denim jackets over their bare chests, baggy pants, muddy boots, and a pair of bloodstained, fingerless red leather gloves. I'd never seen thugs like this around here before, and though I didn't know it yet, I'd be running into more of them in the future. A lot more.

"Vice bandits," Tifa murmured, her eyes narrowing.

"Who?" I asked, stopping alongside her.

She went on. "Brutish thugs that prowl parts of the slums. They've been pretty quiet lately, but I'm surprised you haven't run into them on your trips. This isn't really their territory, though."

"Oh, I've heard of them," I told her.

That moron Beck and his buddies had mentioned Vice during our encounter in the collapsed expressway. They'd been jealous of the gang, actually. And if they were starting to show up here, I'd have to be more careful when traveling for work. These guys didn't look too bright, but I could tell they were strong from their bunched muscles. I couldn't see their faces though, hidden as they were behind dirty cloth masks. But I did notice their eyes. Beady and cold.

One of the goons leered at us. "Evenin', ladies. This here's our road, so you're gonna have to pay up."

"One way or another…" another thug cackled.

I whipped out my gun. "Try it, asshole."

The first one swept his spiked club out and around in a flash, and I gasped as he knocked my weapon away. "If ya insist, bitch. Now, what's it gonna be? Gil or… havin' some fun?"

"We aren't paying," Tifa narrowed her eyes.

"You will, babe," he hefted his club. "Count on that. We're gonna be expanding our territory here. Got us a tough badass of a boss now, and so we're calling the shots here. Now do as we say! Or we'll take the both of ya in more ways than one."

She smirked. "I don't think so."

Before any of the Vice thugs could respond, Tifa moved, launching herself like a bullet at the nearest goon with her fists raised. She rained punches down on them, then backflipped with a rising somersault kick to his jaw that sent him flying away. Then she spun to the right as soon as she landed, knocking another thug's feet out from under him before driving her elbow into his gut. Tifa was a blur of motion as she moved, taking down the unfortunate men one after another, and for a moment all I could do was watch, totally stunned.

"Holy shit…!" I gaped, my jaw dropping open.

Tifa kept fighting, a whirlwind of punches and kicks as she landed blow after blow and easily evaded those of the bandits. She dove down low underneath the swing of a goon's knives and pummeled him in the chest, knocking the wind from his body before finishing him off with a dazzling uppercut. Then she smashed her fist into the face of the goon who'd been trying to grab her from behind.

When the last thug reached for her, Tifa used his own momentum to throw him over her shoulder, then sent him back into the dirt with a high, spinning roundhouse kick when he tried to lunge at her. When it was all over, Tifa was the only one still standing, looking in satisfaction at the men sprawled out all around her.

The fight—or rather, Tifa laying down a major beating—had lasted only about thirty seconds, and I still hadn't moved. She chuckled as she saw me staring at her in amazement. I was totally floored at seeing my friend dish out so much pain so effectively, and it took me a minute to finally recover my composure. Before I could say anything, though, she motioned for me to get moving. I retrieved my gun and followed her as she headed down the road to put as much distance as possible between us and the Vice thugs she'd just thrashed.

When we got to the outskirts of Sector 5, I couldn't keep quiet any longer. I flashed Tifa a wide grin. "That was totally awesome, Tifa! You never told me you could kick so much ass!"

"You never asked," she smirked.

"Well, that's true," I laughed. "Guess you ended up saving me, huh? Sorry I didn't pitch in, by the way."

Tifa waved it off. "It's alright. I know I surprised you."

"Blew me away, more like," I admitted.

"Guess you're not worried about me anymore," she teased.

I shook my head. "Oh, no. Not at all! But now that you mention it, you think you could teach me to fight like that?"

She glanced at me. "Teach you?"

"Well, yeah! I can shove someone off me or drive a knee into a guy if he's trying to get too friendly, but I don't know much more than that. I'd love to be able to do what you do, though, Tifa. Aside from keeping me safe, it's totally badass! So what do ya say?"

"I'll have to think about it," Tifa answered. "I've never really taught anyone before, Jessie. No promises, but we can talk more about it after the mission and go from there, okay?"

I nodded. "Sure. Thanks for considering it, at least."

Tifa smiled. "You're welcome. I learned how to fight back home in my village a few years ago. Kept at it ever since."

"Lucky for me," I chuckled.

"I'm just glad you're okay, Jessie," she told me, patting my shoulder fondly as we continued walking.

Staying outside town, Tifa and I moved on, following the road and taking the left fork when it split again not far past the train station. The one on the right would've led us to Aerith's church. As I thought about that, I figured that if she and Tifa ever met, they'd surely get along well. I wasn't sure if it would ever happen, though.

Tifa and I followed the narrow, junk-lined road toward Sector 4, a twisting trail of dirt bordered with empty, abandoned shacks as well as piles of assorted trash and debris. We were almost there, almost to our destination. We'd scout out the Shinra supply depot and find some way to get our fight for the planet going. My heart raced with excitement as we got closer, and I checked my handgun again to be sure it was loaded and ready to go. Then I slipped it back into the loop on the back of the belt hanging around my waist. All set.

Soon enough, the outskirts of Sector 4 came into view, more scrap heaps and dirt. We wouldn't have to actually go as far as the town itself, though. According to Barret's information, Shinra had built the supply depot farther from the undercity, probably to keep it away from prying eyes. Tifa and I both slowed down as we approached the area, slipping into the gloom and shadows and staying well out of sight. We'd made it this far, but that was only the beginning.

Now it was time for the real mission to start.