AN: *claps* Halloween is just popping 'round the corner so I'll leave a heads notice here that I won't be updating this story next week. And probably the one after too. A whole bunch of papers and assignments are due at the start of November and I know if I don't kick my butt in gear, something will hit the fan. Namely my grades.

So yes, please and thank-you's for your understanding.

And once again, Aeros and Mars Bars for my faithful reviewers. You guys all really deserve a truck full of goodies: Dawn. Fire. Angel, mulberrie, vLuna, Vanilla Raindrops, gingerbreadbear, XoxoChocoXoXo, and purplesocks.


'A clock is ticking, but it's hidden far away
Safe and sound

- Snow Patrol


Chapter Four

The clock strikes three


Cloud dropped his foot on the gravel, slowly repeating his name into the crackling intercom installed at the front of the entrance. Moments later the machine buzzer sounded and the iron gates wrenched open, revealing a massive, sprawling building with many windows and thick walls, fortified by a mixture of concrete and steel.

He gripped the handlebars and Fenrir shot ahead, the gates groaning shut behind them. Tifa's hold instantly tightened around his waist so he consciously shifted forward in his seat. He didn't look back, his cheeks warming despite the chilly wind.

As they neared the building, the World Regenesis Organization logo could be seen emblazoned on one of several flags fluttering atop the central spire. There were no sentries posted here, nor strategically placed cameras, but a tall, barbed wire fence encompassed the large perimeter, its electric coils winking in the early light. A smattering of white tents sprouted next to the main building, people pushing and crying out in loud voices while they darted across the camp.

Cloud quickly cut the engine, swinging his left leg over. He felt a twinge of disappointment when Tifa easily hopped off the bike, smoothing her rumpled skirt. She threw her arms up, stretching, then caught his eye, and flashed him a sheepish smile. "Sorry. Guess I didn't get enough sleep as I thought."

He grinned, in spite of himself. When Tifa first stumbled into the kitchen this morning, her hair was a wreck and as she tried to fix herself a pot of coffee, she kept teetering to the side, rubbing her eyes in way that had him itching to pull the covers back over her head.

"You could have slept on the way here."

"And fallen off your gigantic bike?" Tifa snorted, looking nonplussed. "Not likely. I could get skewered by your swords." Stifling a yawn, she started moving towards the tents. The level of noise steadily rose as they approached and Cloud quickened his pace to fall in step beside her.

"Well, I wouldn't have let you fall," Cloud said defensively, fishing a slip of paper from his coat pocket. "And those swords won't snap out until I push a button. You know that."

"Still dangerous," she quipped, yielding to another surging crowd. The number of WRO officers present was surprising given the small space. Everywhere he turned a group of khaki clad men and women rushed busily to and from tents, clutching a sizable file of reports in their hands.

Frowning at the apparent snub to his beloved bike, Cloud swatted her arm in retort. "Anyways, according to this, Yuffie should be i-"

"Oi! Spiky, Tifa! Over here!"

He spun around, almost reflexively, at the familiar screeching. Tifa did much the same, squinting in the general direction, trying to locate her friend. After a few moments his vision honed in on the petite Wutian. She was a few meters away, bouncing on her heels and judging by the impatient expression on her face, Cloud guessed she was getting ready to holler again. He nudged Tifa gently. "There."

"Jeez, what took you guys so long? Didn't you miss me? Of course, ya did! How's Marls and Denzel? If you get a call from school, it was definitely not my fault. I haven't been teaching them anything! Hey –What's with that face, Spikey? Aren't you happy to see me?"

Yuffie was dressed in her usual ninja garb, but with the absence of a Shuriken slung over her back. This was not the only difference; the blue shirt she typically wore had been traded in for a green, the letters WRO sewn onto the breast pocket. She also sported a beret, much like the other recruits, except her was blue. Cloud silently admired Yuffie's energy. She always did have an infinite supply.

He smiled back. "Morning, Yuffie."

She returned it with a sunny beam. "Same as ever," she intoned, then pulled a face and glanced at Tifa. The two girls burst into giggles.

Cloud blinked but before he could respond Yuffie skipped behind them, ushering him and Tifa into a nearby tent. He stared. The inside was much larger than its appearance outside suggested, the ceiling high enough so he could stand at his full height without skimming the cloth. Suddenly, Tifa gasped. She lurched forward and his hand shot out to steady her. "Easy."

He looked down. The ground was tangled with red and white cables. They crisscrossed the whole length of the floor, disappearing underneath the brown tarp and emerging again when they connected to a faintly glowing computer, hidden at the back of the tent. The word MIME was stamped on its front for Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.

Yuffie gestured for them to grab a stool. Her face was serious. For a second, Cloud was thrown off balance. Even in the heat of battle, Yuffie carried a smile and always seemed to be on the brink of amusement. He grew nervous.

"So what's going on?" she demanded to Cloud, searching his face. "You told me there were two boys missing since Monday. When I ran a search for them on the network, nothing comes up. Zero, zilch," Yuffie shrugged her thin shoulders for emphasis. "Their names are Leron and Jerome, right? Family name, Lechten?"

Tifa's head jerked up. "What?"

Cloud jumped to his feet. "That's ridiculous. What do you mean they weren't on the network?"

Yuffie looked startled and her face tightened minutely. "Exactly what it means. Their sister reported them missing, didn't she? When I typed their names on Edge's police records, nothing showed up. No file, no statement. I didn't have anything to work with."

Cloud loosened his fists and heaved a sigh of relief. It was like the vice gripping his lungs lifted. There was still hope.

Tifa spoke first. She peered tentatively around Yuffie, her gaze landing on the computer. "Neely didn't report them, Yuffie. There was some cash involved. She was too scared her brothers got mixed into something dirty. That's why we came to you. We thought, maybe, you could .." she twiddled her thumbs, lowering her voice. "..run them up on WRO. Expand the search. They have to be out there. Neely's frantic for them to come home."

A wan smile flickered over Yuffie's face then vanished again. "You want me to hack the system?"

"Just to look them up. No one has to know." Cloud pointed out.

Yuffie frowned. They were still standing in front of the machine and its occasional beeps and dings filled the silence. It was so close. Cloud didn't think Yuffie would refuse them but neither was he going to march out of the tent without getting some answers. And maybe some of his determination showed in his stance because Yuffie surrendered.

"Yeesh, alright. But you guys owe me," she sighed, slumping her shoulders. "And me and my pals get to eat at free at the Diner. For a week."

Tifa nodded hastily. 'Sure, whenever you want."

Mollified, Yuffie flexed her fingers and entered the password to log in. Cloud watched curiously. Nobody in Edge could afford a computer. They were too expensive. Not to mention the strain on the energy bill, he winced. Plus they took up too much room.

The screen on the monitor blanked for an instant and switched to a red backdrop with a progress bar on the bottom. Yuffie waited until it cleared then clicked on an icon. When the window appeared, she typed in a name. "L-e-c-h-t-e-n- L-e-r-o-n."

The page immediately produced a familiar face. Leron's shaggy brown hair fell to his ears and he had a crooked grin. He looked younger than Cloud remembered. Sometimes Neely brought her brothers over to Seventh Heaven and from what he could recall, Leron was a cocky kid, but harmless. He was just at that age. Jerome had been the quieter brother.

Cloud was on the verge of confirming the identity when suddenly Tifa made a strangled noise behind him. He turned. She was sat crumpled on a stool, her hands flying to her mouth and her eyes were wide with shock.

"He's dead."

"What?" Cloud whipped around. Yuffie didn't answer but jabbed her finger at the profile. In big bold letters the words 'DECEASED' leaped from the page. Why didn't he see it before? It was almost mocking him. He had no idea. Another life gone, like so much else.

Cloud choked. "He's dead?"

His mind duly registered his repetition of Yuffie's earlier comment but it could not remove the horror of the phrase. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "But that doesn't make any sense. There was no news. No body was found this week. And if there was, Edge would have placed an ad asking for the public's help to identify it."

Tifa snapped to attention. "Check Jerome, Yuffie." Her tone was brisk. Cloud wondered how she felt. Did she too, feel like it was an ugly lie? Or had she already accepted it?

Obediently, Yuffie closed the window and ran a search for Jerome. This time Cloud didn't even need to glance at the screen. Yuffie's face fell and with it his hope of seeing the boy alive. Cloud felt crushed. Poor Neely. He didn't know how to break it to her. He groped for something solid, his hands balling into fists as the heat in his chest rose to his throat.

Yuffie gazed down at him, her eyes soft with pity. "I'm sorry. If I had known-"

"No, that's not it.' Tifa interrupted, glaring openly at the computer. "What Cloud said is right. There is no way this makes sense. If there was a body found in Edge, we would have heard about it. Mr. Bell died yesterday and the whole town knew. "

"Who's Mr. Bell?"

Cloud pushed the bangs from his eyes. "We'll tell you later," he said ruefully. "Does it list where his body was found? How he died?"

"No," Yuffie admitted. "But that's not too uncommon."

"How's that?" Tifa challenged. Her face was pinched, her expression set.

"Sometimes the information is kept confidential. Especially if the body is found outside of the town or city of their citizenship. There are certain policies and agreements between areas and the WRO won't usually intervene unless the town's police jurisdiction calls us for attention. Also, if the person seemed to have died of natural causes, that is the default assumption unless the profile says otherwise."

Cloud considered her answer carefully before continuing. It flashed into his mind that if indeed the brothers fled Edge, there would be one sure way to prove it. He stared at Tifa beside him, then across at Yuffie's sympathetic face, her brows knit thoughtfully beneath dark bangs. He was aware that Yuffie was already bending the rules for them but he could not abandon the boys. He could not explain it. The profile listed them as dead, there was nothing left to save and that he ought to concede.

Only he couldn't.

"You have access to the security files for the city gate's right?" Cloud let the question dangle, focusing instead on Tifa. He moved closer to her. "I need you to scan through them for me. Run a search for the boys under the list of names for this week."

Yuffie opened her mouth to object then nodded mutely.

"On Tuesday Leron Lechten left Edge through the west gate. The time stated here is 11:22pm. I don't think his brother followed him. His name doesn't appear at all," Yuffie recited, narrowing her eyes. "Why do you want to know?"

Cloud stood firm, his jaw tightening. "Because, if Leron went west that gives us at least one clue where he was headed. And the fact that he left under the cover of night probably means he didn't want to be seen. There's something suspicious going on. You can't possibly believe that two teenage boys - who disappear - would die of natural means. That'd be idiotic."

"And Jerome didn't follow Leron. He never left Edge. That should mean his body was found inside Edge." Tifa persisted, leaning far forwards, her hands, white knuckled were trembling on her knees. "Except that won't make sense because the report didn't say where he was discovered. Which brings me to another point," she drew in another breath, "how come WRO didn't inform Neely of her brothers' deaths? It's obvious they've confirmed it on the file."

Yuffie remained quiet. Then she slapped her hand on the computer desk, ignoring when the machine made a squeaky whine and fell silent. "I don't know," she said hotly, dishevelling her hair with a hand. "Argh, I just don't know! I guess it's too much to hope this is a glitch in the system, eh? – Yeah, I thought so. Man, this is so darned frustrating!"

Cloud agreed. But there was one more question he had to ask before they leave.

"Could you pull up the report on a Mr. Thaddeus Bell?"

***

Tifa paused beside a rusted lamp post, waiting for Cloud to rejoin her at the end of the crosswalk. She didn't know if he realized but his gait had slowed some after their meeting with Yuffie. Even during the ride back into the city he hadn't spoken much, and when he did, his answers only consisted of either grunts or one-word replies. It was as if though he was physically present, his mind was miles off.

The early October sun shone through the thick smog above the row of buildings. It was a little after one in the afternoon, and the streets were full with people middling about, their exchanges melting with the booms of construction, and angry car horns. And for all Tifa could see, it was as if the accident yesterday had never occurred.

Tifa brushed Cloud's shoulder. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked with half a smile. "I know you're thinking about Mr. Bell, Cloud. Don't bother denying it. What's wrong?"

Cloud stopped and stared at her for a few moments, gauging the hesitation in her, then as abruptly, looked away. "I think there's something odd, Tifa. Didn't Merain say the cause for Mr. Bell's death was cardiac arrest? That his heart failed because of the near-death accident?"

Understanding hit her, and Tifa nodded with a hint of distaste. "Yes."

"So don't you find it strange that on his file report the cause of death said 'Pending'?"

"I did think about that but maybe the processing takes time. It's only been a day. We can check up on it with Yuffie some other time."

They walked to the end of block and turned into Neely's neighbourhood. The feeling in Tifa's gut twisted. Could she break the news to the girl? Did they even have the right? Or would it be better if they simply left it alone, and pretend the meeting never happened? To give Neely the truth meant snatching away the last two remaining members of her family. She would not thank them for it and the news would shatter her.

It would be a living heartbreak Neely could never escape from.

Tifa tried to imagine greeting each new day as an empty existence, filled with disappointment and despair because the ones closest to her were gone. She succeeded but she wanted to weep.

In such a world, how could Neely find happiness again?

She inhaled shakily, climbing the porch steps. "Do we tell her the truth?" Tifa asked hoarsely.

Cloud swore. He moved to the door, and knocked. "We owe her the truth."

The door creaked open. Without saying a word, Neely motioned for them to come inside. She was dressed in a ratty shirt, the red dye having long since faded to a shade of dull pink, and when matched with her grey pallor, it made her appearance even more wraith-like. When they were all seated, she smiled bleakly at them. "What is it? Did you learn anything?"

Tifa's chest wrenched again at the innocent question. She shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Neely. I'm so sorry."

Bewildered, Neely blinked once, frowning helplessly up at Cloud. He averted his eyes. For a splint second it seemed she would brush the apology aside as ordinary then comprehension set and she clutched her shirt. Neely moaned. "Oh god. You mean…"

Tifa shifted and caught the girl in her arms. Neely's shoulders hitched and great heaving sobs wracked her small frame. Tifa bit her lip until she could taste blood. Her blouse was quickly become sodden with tears but she hugged Neely closer.

Cloud's lips pressed into a thin line. He was staring at his hands. The muscles in his jaw tensed fractionally and with a horrible jolt, Tifa identified the broken expression on his face.

Guilt.

"I can't believe they're gone." Neely whispered huskily. She made no move to sit up and Tifa didn't dissuade her. Even if all the comfort she could offer was fleeting, Tifa would still try. She knew from experience sometimes presence was enough to chase the nightmares away.

"I'll never see them again," Neely said in a very small voice. "This..and they're..."

Another sob sounded loud in the room and Neely buried her face in her hands. Tifa felt engulfed with a mixture of grief and pity, and a quiet fury for the sudden unraveling of events.

The depressing yellow wallpaper, already peeling, seemed to wilt even further in front of her eyes. Speculation about the brothers' death was now meaningless. At first Tifa believed their suspicions might buffet the blow.

Not anymore.

If later they found the bodies, it would be too cruel.

She glanced briefly at Cloud again then rocked the girl, slowly, gently this time.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…I'm sorry.."

***

It was with a heavy heart, Tifa shut the door softly behind her. After a whole week of utter sleep deprivation, patiently waiting for her brothers to return home, exhaustion had finally claimed Neely. The girl had fallen asleep crying on the couch and it was Tifa who made the decision not to wake her. At least in sleep, she could find some solace the waking world could not provide.

"That was terrible," Tifa said viciously. The double loss felt by Neely had struck her sharply and the unfairness ripped at the stitches of another old wound. She sucked in a breath. "I hate this! Why do these things have to hap-"

"Shhh." Cloud stopped abruptly, a shadow of distrust crossed his eyes. "There."

Tifa looked. The man, walking down the block towards them, waved. She would recognize that infuriating figure anywhere. "Merain."

"Hullo."

"What are you doing here?" Cloud asked coldly. "Shouldn't you be at the headquarters?"

Merain sneered. "On the contrary, this is where the boss sent me. I need to dig up more information about the old guy it seems. And since you both didn't help me much last night…"

Tifa chose to ignore the last comment. "And did you get it?"

"Maybe. But the neighbours here aren't very talkative." Merain said flippantly, shrugging his wide shoulders. "Why - What's it to you?" His smile broadened knowingly. "Ah, did you remember something of Mr. Bell's past that you've neglected to tell me yesterday?

A shudder of annoyance coursed through her and Tifa unconsciously tightened her fists. "No," she hissed between clenched teeth. "Sorry to disappoint but we don't spread lies."

"I see."

She bristled with dislike. Perhaps sensing another provoked outburst, Cloud took a step forward, effectively blocking Merain's path. The Inspector made an affronted noise. "Where are you going?"

Merain looked at Cloud as if he had grown two heads. He pointed at Neely's house. "This house, of course."

"You can't."

"Excuse me?"

Cloud folded his arms. Tifa nearly laughed with relief. "I said you can't go in there."

"You can't tell me what to do," Merain sputtered angrily, "Don't you know who I am? I'm a WRO Inspector and I can go wherever I damn well please. Now stand aside."

The answer was simple. Tifa glared at Merain, thinking with his thinning hairline and high nose, he resembled more rat than man. "No. And I'll give you a warning, stop snooping. Isn't it enough Mr. Bell is dead? Can't you leave him some honour? Stop trying to claw your way up top."

"Why you!" His face turned a mottled purple but he controlled it almost immediately. Cloud shifted his body slightly in front of Tifa. His face was dark and he watched Merain carefully, ready to intercept if he made a move.

"Hmmph." Merain's gaze flickered between the two of them. He smiled sickly at them then raised his hands. "Fine, I give up. I won't go in," he agreed, casting a look around the street. "For now. But there will be a next time and you can't always be here. Then we'll see who gets the last words." And without any further form of farewell, Merain pivoted and walked brusquely towards the end of the road, hailed a cab and climbed in, slamming the door behind him.

It was a tiny victory however Tifa was still seething. She gave a frustrated groan. His parting threat fastened itself in her mind and as she and Cloud went home, she couldn't shake the feelings of dread and inadequacy, as if there were something else she should have said.