Cloud doubled back again, and tried a different route. His limbs had long since started trembling from fatigue, and he was feeling yesterday's lack of food keenly. Cloud was kicking himself from not at least trying to eat, despite the tension. Some of it probably would have stayed down.
Floor sixty-three was a long way from the ground, and that meant a lot of vents to travel. Every time he came to a junction he'd need to cross through a room for, there were people there; sometimes groups of them. He had written it off as coincidence, at first. The building was on high alert, and so the usual traffic patterns wouldn't apply. Except, with sense active, it soon became obvious that every time he crawled into a new area, there would be clusters of people that hadn't been there before, and would leave after he did.
He had made his way all the way down to where he had left the bomb's components before, and the passage that connected to the garbage chute "exit" was sealed off. If he had a blowtorch, he might be able to get through, but nothing he had on him would do it. His next-best on the list was blocked as well. They knew he was in the vents.
The groups generally following his activity had changed from your standard employees, with a Turk or SOLDIER thrown in, to mostly Turks with a SOLDIER, to SOLDIERs and Turks in equal number. There shouldn't be that many of them in the building. Then Cloud caught a glimpse of Genesis, and then Hewley, and realized that he had been stuck in the vents long enough, that they'd had time to return to Shinra Tower. Stupid! Cloud thought, but now wasn't the time to address his mistakes. He was almost to the third-best choice on his list, and that's when he caught a glimpse of long, silver hair through an air-vent. A wave of despair washed over him, and his head thunked down on the cold metal. Why couldn't that man stay dead? Cloud paused long enough, he heard a snippet of conversation from a nearby search-party. It sounded like they were looking for people small enough to crawl in after him.
Cloud thought frantically of some way to...there was a junction on floor thirteen that led to the ground floor, but had so many veering paths, he had avoided it. If he could fake everyone out, thinking he was down one of those, but took the vent that led to floor seventeen, which came out in a janitorial closet...he could slip across the hall there to that cheek-pinching secretaries office, get in that vent...and come out in the stairwell between floors two and three. That was almost to an exit, one that only opened with a special keycard. It was a simple mechanism, though, and Cloud should be able to short-circuit it with his Lightning materia.
This would have to be fast, Cloud thought. Very fast. He left his rucksack behind, and took Little Friend off the stick, and tucked it into his jacket pocket. The staff was too awkward to maneuver in the vents; he wouldn't be able to use Little Friend on a group that size before being caught, anyway.
He made it as far as the stairwell. Maybe they were just that good, or maybe Cloud's senses were too muddled from exhaustion, but when he dropped from the vent to the landing, there were people on the stairs above him, and below, and by the time he'd be able to get back in the vent, they'd grab him. Cloud looked around wildly, and old visions of Scarlet's robots, and troops with red visors crossed his mind. This was it then, and it would be a worse end than Zack had. At least he went out fighting. And succeeded in his goal, in a manner of speaking.
"Cloud."
That was...Genesis. What...Cloud wasn't on a cliff outside Midgar, he was on a stairwell in Shinra Tower.
"Cloud?" Genesis was a few feet from him, and was half-crouched, half kneeling; making him eye level with Cloud. Incidentally, there were a few ways to defend yourself from that position. Or go on the offensive.
"Cloud Strife, can you hear me?" Genesis asked, gazing at Cloud intently.
Cloud shook his head to clear it; it made him kind of dizzy. "Yeah." Cloud replied, sounding shakier than he wished.
"Why were you in the vents?"
"I was trying to escape."
"Escape from what, Cloud?"
Seriously? Cloud eyed the SOLDIERs and Turks on the stairway. If he bolted, would they aim to kill?
"Answer, Cloud." Genesis' voice was commanding, and jolted Cloud's attention back to the man.
"Shinra Tower."
"Why?" Genesis was unrelenting.
What, did they want a confession as well? "I detonated the bomb, and I would really prefer to be shot." Cloud didn't think he'd get a say, but he'd try; there were worse ways to go.
"You...prefer to be shot." Genesis voice sounded odd.
"I'd rather be shot than gassed. Or dissected. I don't want to be experimented on!" Cloud finished, his voice rising. What if they just handed him over to Hojo? Cloud had tried to kill his pet project, and that did not end well last time.
"Calm down, Cloud. No one's going to shoot you." Genesis said soothingly. "You're not going to be gassed or...dissected." He kind of choked out that last one.
"Do you remember the room you stayed in when you first came here?"
It took Cloud a moment process the subject change. "Yeah."
"I'm going to take you there, and we're going to have a long conversation. I'll ask questions, and you will answer. Actually answer, not give the run-around like you do to Freyra." Genesis said, raising his eyebrows in emphasis.
"But if Science decides to-" Cloud started.
"No one is going to hurt you." Genesis interrupted firmly. "I'm just going to ask you some questions."
Cloud knew this could only end badly. But there was no way to make a break for it without massive casualties, and they knew about the air vent trick, now. If escape was possible later, the cell wouldn't be any different than this stairwell. Maybe. Cloud slowly nodded.
He was escorted to the nearest elevator, and a sequence was punched in. Soon, Cloud was in a familiar cell. It looked about the same as last time, except there was also a chair, now. A Turk handed Genesis something at the door, and then closed it, leaving the two of them alone. Besides whoever was listening on the other side of the mirror.
Cloud was suffering from a medium version of one of his episodes. His memories were getting swimmy, and he started feeling slightly disconnected from his body. So when he tried to back up a step when Genesis reached for his shoulder, Cloud just stumbled, rather than dodged.
Genesis steered him to the cot, and pushed down firmly until Cloud sat. While he blinked in confusion, Genesis wrapped the blanket loosely around Cloud's shoulders, and handed him some sort of bottled energy drink.
"Drink it, Cloud." Genesis said tiredly.
Cloud did, and the bottle wasn't very steady, but Cloud resolutely did not look at his hands. Breathe evenly, and it would pass. Eventually.
Then Genesis pulled the chair forward, and sat down much closer than Cloud generally allowed. He wasn't exactly in a position to complain, though. Or move away.
"Now, I'm going to ask you questions, and you're going to answer. Not with those long pauses where you drift off and seldom return. Understand? Good. Why did you detonate the bomb?"
Answer questions in this state? That was a terrible idea. Worse than every mistake he'd made to date. A fiasco in the making. If Cloud wasn't so experienced, he'd say the situation couldn't get worse. But he knew it could be far, far worse than this.
"Cloud!"
Cloud startled, and fumbled with the bottled drink. Genesis sounded exasperated. As well he should, but Cloud didn't know what to do. He opened his mouth, but then snapped it shut.
Genesis sighed, and ran a hand down his face. "You're not going to be dissected, or gassed, or meet any other gruesome ends your macabre mind has come up with. Just answer the question."
Cloud felt a little more focused. Still not looking at his hands, though. This was definitely a terrible idea, but at this point, it was just another drop in the bucket. After all, if he was now slated for execution, how would explaining make it worse? If they weren't going to give him over to Hojo, then he might as well cooperate...what had Genesis asked him?
"What was the question?" Cloud asked hesitantly.
"Why did you detonate the bomb?" Genesis repeated.
"To kill Sephiroth."
"Why did you try to kill Sephiroth?"
"He's going to destroy the world."
ooOOOoo
Genesis swept into the conference room, strewed a sheaf of papers on the table, and addressed the room at large. "There is the transcript, for what it's worth; make of it what you will." He threw himself into the nearest chair, folded his arms on the table, and slumped down until his forehead rested on them. He half-moaned, half murmured, "Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest."
"Honestly, Genesis, the dramatics are-" Lazard stopped. "What is this gibberish?" He asked in disbelief.
"That, Director, is the product of several hours interview with our dear, darling, would-be assassin, Cloud Strife."
"This looks like four separate sessions." Tseng stated, and looked inquiringly at Genesis.
"The first set I asked him while he was still visibly rattled, and required prompt responses. I followed by asking the same, phrased differently, and allowed him a reasonable amount of time to reply."
"The third and fourth sets appear to be the same pattern." Veld interjected.
"Yes, only I allowed him to wait as long as he liked to answer for that last set, and you can see difference in response." Rhapsodos explained.
"The only thing he never contradicts himself on, is that Sephiroth is going to destroy the world." Here Rufus Shinra looked archly at Sephiroth, "You've been holding out on us. We had no idea you were capable of such a feat."
Sephiroth looked contemplative, and said something just under his breath.
Genesis turned to him in surprise. "You hadn't mentioned that before."
"I thought it was nonsense." Was the rejoinder.
"Could you say it loud enough for the unenhanced to hear?" Lazard asked.
"Just before he attacked me in the VR room, he said 'I'm trying to save the world.'" Sephiroth replied.
There was some shuffling of papers while they absorbed that, reading more of the transcript.
"What are these marks for?" Asked Veld.
"Even when he answered the same questions back to back, Cloud seemed mostly oblivious to the fact he was contradicting himself. Those marks are by the answers he did seemed confused by after he said them. He tried correcting that one, where the past, present and future are all messed up, but I'm still not sure what his mother had to do with it." Genesis said, frustrated.
"I think Shinra would have noticed if an entire town was sent up in flames, even if it was a remote one." Rufus said dryly.
"Besides my 'destroying the world', the next thing he seems obsessed with is AVALANCHE." Sephiroth noted, moving on.
"Yes, he claims he built the bomb himself, but a member of AVALANCHE taught him how. In another...here, it says that someone else made the bomb, he was just a 'hired merc'." Lazard pointed out. "What are the chances they're the ones behind this?"
Veld replied, "We are still acquiring evidence, but I can send for what we already have." Here he glanced at Rufus, who nodded slightly.
The door opened and Freyra walked in.
"Did you two time that or something?" Lazard asked, giving Veld a look.
"Freyra isn't working on that part of the case." He replied, gazing expectantly at the newest addition to the room.
"Kid's asleep. Actually asleep, not faking." She reassured her skeptical audience. "Let me see the transcript, he said something I want to double check." A copy was handed to her, and she skimmed quickly. "I thought so," she said pointing to the most problematic answer. "Why does he think someone's going to burn his mom up?"
"What? How did you get that out of it?" Genesis asked in disbelief.
"Cloud's from Nibelheim, and he mentions his mom in the same sentence as 'the town burning, everyone dying', when he's talking about Nibelheim. How did you miss that?"
"Cloud is from Gongaga." Veld said, staring at his subordinate.
"No, Cloud got the touch-me in Gongaga, but he's from Nibelheim. Don't look at me like that, you think I talked to the kid for an hour every day for the last six months, and didn't find out anything about him? Didn't you read my reports?" Freyra replied, sounding increasingly indignant.
"That was Tseng's job, and until the child set off a bomb he wasn't high enough priority for me to concern myself with." Veld said bitingly, and turned to Tseng.
Tseng ignored them, and switched to a different page of the transcript.
"How many times are you going to read that, Tseng?" Genesis inquired.
No answer was forthcoming, and the door opened yet again, to admit another Turk. He handed a report to Veld, who skimmed it quickly, re-read a few portions slowly, then handed it off to Tseng.
"The bomb was one of AVALANCHE's 'special messages'. To date, we've had two of these detonate in remote research facilities. There was one intended for a reactor, but we caught it in transit. They send an ultimatum, when we ignore it, they send the 'special message', and after their intended recipient in caught in the blast, they send a threat about the whole company going the same way. This is the first time they've aimed for someone so high-profile. They've never used such a unique delivery boy either."
"There were no threats, either, sir." The Turk added.
Tseng put down the report. "You're dismissed." He said flatly. "You'll be briefed with further details on a need-to-know basis." He added with a slight nod to Freyra. She and the other man left the room.
The two remaining Turks shared a conversation with Rufus that consisted of raised eyebrows, pursed lips, and sideways glances.
"Could you say it loud enough for the SOLDIERs to hear?" Asked Sephiroth, dryly.
"There...have been threats. They just weren't aimed at you." Veld replied, inclining his head toward Sephiroth. "They've mostly been aimed at the President, primarily about the reactors, but also a lot of anti-war pacifist speeches."
"That's a laugh, considering their usual methods of delivering said 'messages'." Lazard interjected.
They all fell silent for some minutes, digesting this strange series of events. Then Rufus turned to Tseng. "Have you formulated a theory, yet?"
Tseng slowly nodded. "There are still questions, and perhaps their answers would change the shape of the facts as we know them, but...based on this report, the transcripts, and Freyra's notes, I believe I have the most likely sequence." He paused, and furrowed his brow.
"Cloud Strife left his hometown of Nibelheim to join SOLDIER. On his circuitous route here, he ran into a member or cell of AVALANCHE. They coerced him into cooperating with them, most likely threatening to burn his hometown, thereby harming his mother. He must have made contact that day he left the Tower, and they gave him the bomb, or handed him the components then. Hewley checked the aquarium, did he think to check the cart?" Tseng asked Lazard.
"I don't have the faintest idea." Lazard replied, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Tseng motioned to a section of the transcript. "It says here, 'Sephiroth was the only target; Cloud didn't want anyone else to get hurt like the other times'."
"That's transcribed wrong." Veld commented.
"No, it is not." Genesis said wearily. "He actually referred to himself in the third person. If you will note, that is the first set of questions, when he was still jittery, and wasn't given time to contemplatethe existenceof the universe before answering."
"That is the part the doesn't fit." Tseng concluded. "The threats have been against the President, and the company. Not against SOLDIER in general or Sephiroth in particular. If he was fixated on joining SOLDIER when they gave him the mission, maybe he transferred targets of his own volition. He was unnecessarily violent in that initial confrontation."
"Maybe AVALANCHE never expected him to get a bomb near the President." Lazard shrugged at the surprised looks he received. "Even the Directors go through a security check before talking to him, and a kid here to join SOLDIER wouldn't even get close. So, they tell him to set a bomb off where it will make an impact. That would be why they chose him. No one expects that kind of threat from someone so young."
"That still doesn't explain why he thinks I'm going to destroy the world." Sephiroth said, perturbed.
"I couldn't get him to extrapolate on that. You can see how I tried, but..." Genesis waved at the transcript.
"This is an excellent opportunity." When Rufus had their undivided attention, he continued. "AVALANCHE is actively targeting the President. All the Turks will need to investigate this threat that is far closer to home than Wutai. It is imperative that we destroy this threat to Shinra's might before we seek out more conflict. Having this terrorist group be a credible threat is an embarrassment to the company. We will need all of SOLDIER nearby to provide protection for the President and Directors. After all, if Sephiroth was targeted, who is next?" Rufus formed a tight-lipped smile, and he received a few in return.
"I'm going to go explain this situation to the President. Get me hard, factual evidence, written into convincing reports to show him by this time tomorrow." Rufus rose, and headed towards the door.
This galvanized the others present as well, the Turks swiftly moving to flank the younger Shinra.
"Rufus," Lazard asked quietly before they all dispersed, "What do we do about the boy?"
Rufus sighed, and turned to answer. "Has he shown any aggression or hostility to anyone else?"
Tseng shook his head. "None at all, sir."
"Is there a mental health clinic that is capable of holding him?"
"Probably not, sir."
"Then I'll leave handling him to SOLDIER." Rufus said, but his statement was directed at Sephiroth rather than Lazard. He turned back to Tseng. "If I hear his name connected with 'bomb' ever again, I'll hold SOLDIER and the Turks personally responsible."