Notes: Thanks to Kaze for plot help!
Chapter Seven
Zack regarded the death threat in outraged indignation.
"How did someone even get this in here?!" he exclaimed. "Wasn't the car all locked up?"
"It was," Sephiroth said with a frown. "Someone breaking into it should have set off the alarm, unless they were skilled enough to manage to get around it."
"And how did they manage to get around us?" Zack objected. "Wasn't at least one of us always where we could see the car?"
"Yeah, but there were other things to concentrate on," Cloud said. "Someone easily could've snuck this thing in while me and you were talking to people and Sephiroth and Angeal were fighting those creeps."
"Well, they certainly aren't a congenial lot," Dalton commented, reading the note over Angeal's shoulder. "And they seem to think we're all in this together, since they're threatening to decimate the lot of us."
Zack blinked at him with a frown. "Do you ever get unnerved at all?" he wondered.
Dalton shrugged. "It really wouldn't help matters to react to this, would it?" he said. "The whole purpose of the message is to unnerve us."
Zack crossed his arms. "Well, when you put it like that . . ." He sighed, leaning back into the seat. "So are we gonna hail down the police about this or not?"
Angeal peeled the note off the steering wheel, using a handkerchief just in case there were any fingerprints. "The person who put it here could still be in the area," he said. "If we tell the police now, maybe they can do something about it."
"And then there would be no excuse for not showing them the box with the photograph," Dalton mused. "Or do you plan to conceal it from them? Of course then we really might be in trouble for withholding evidence." This he said with a shrug. Hiding the box really would not bother him, but he had the feeling that Sephiroth and his friends would not want to do it at all because of their upright natures. When he thought of it, though, he did not see a great need to tell the police about the note. The culprit was likely far away by now. And the note, as far as he was concerned, was their own problem and not something that would help the police find that missing girl.
Sephiroth sighed. Both Angeal and Dalton had points. He really did not want to waste time and lose the chance to show the picture to Thorton. But on the other hand, it would help matters if the trespasser could be found.
"The police have driven away now," he said, looking ahead to the squad car. "Instead of trying to catch up, let's just go on with the original plan."
Zack nodded, looking around at the other occupants of the limousine. "Or maybe one of us could even stay behind to look for whoever left the note," he suggested.
"Then perhaps it should be that spirit," Dalton smirked. "If he found the culprit, he could haunt a little sense into him."
Gunju laughed as he appeared in the car. Zack started. The creep had been sitting right by him and he had not even noticed!
"I have a name," Gunju announced.
"Yes, and unfortunately I don't remember it," Dalton returned, completely unsurprised by the sudden manifestation.
Azazel sighed, regarding his brother with a put-out look. "Gunju . . ."
"And I'll take care of the search for you," Gunju added with a shrug. "I'll join you at the bookstore later."
"Don't try to scare anyone there," Azazel retorted as Gunju departed the limo.
Sephiroth had the increasing urge to massage his eyes. When this was over, he would be only too relieved to never interact with any of these people again. From Zack's expression, he felt the same. This was a nightmare waiting to happen.
"Before we leave, we should search the car for bugs," Sephiroth announced.
Zack's mouth dropped open. "You think they left one in here?!" he gasped.
"It's possible." Sephiroth was already turning around to examine the back of the seat.
Angeal reached down to feel between the seats in front. "There's nothing along here," he reported.
The entire group began a thorough examination of the car. But after some time, nothing had been discovered. They were forced to concede that hopefully they had not been bugged. As Angeal started the engine and drove away, they had to hope it was really true.
It was hard to say who was more surprised when they arrived back at Thorton Books and Antiques. Mr. Thorton himself was not behind the counter when the group entered. Instead, a harried younger man with short black hair was looking over the objects that had been placed on the glass shelves in the case. As he counted them up, he scribbled on a clipboard that was on top of the counter.
Zack exchanged looks with the others before stepping forward. "Uh, hello?" he tried.
The man started and looked up. "What do you want?" he demanded, his voice abrupt.
"Hey, no need to get so uptight," Zack frowned, crossing his arms as he hoped that the guy did not treat all potential customers this way.
"We came to see Mr. Thorton," Sephiroth added.
"He's in his office, laying down," the man replied, not any less abrupt. "He doesn't need disturbances right now."
Zack stared. "What happened?!" he exclaimed. "We were here earlier and he seemed just fine then!"
"Oh, you were the crew trying to help him catch that weirdo?" The man shook his head. "He told me about you guys. He said you came to tell him about Jessie."
"That's right." Sephiroth looked at him. "Is your name Dave?"
A blink. "Yes," Dave admitted. "I came back from picking up an order and found Mr. Thorton in a state of hysteria. He'd just received a phone call about his niece."
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. "What was said?" he demanded.
"They must think he knows something about this business," Dave said, anger seeping into his voice. "They told him that if he wanted to see Jessie alive, he wouldn't 'spill the beans.' And that they'd be sending another communication about how to get her back."
Zack's mouth dropped open in alarm. "Did they let him talk to her?" he asked. "So he'd know she really is still alive?"
"No," Dave frowned. "That's part of the reason why Mr. Thorton's so distraught. He said he wouldn't make any promises unless they let her come on the phone, and the caller said he couldn't do that because she was unavailable. Then he hung up."
"Was there a number on the I.D.?" Cloud frowned.
"Yes," Dave said, "but it was for a pay phone. Carol called the police anyway and they went to investigate, but I don't think they'll find anything. Whoever made the call must be long gone by now."
He looked at them all. "What is it you want to see him about?" he said.
Sephiroth indicated the box. "We were at the remains of a burned house and discovered something we thought he might be able to identify," he said. "It's a photograph that has his niece in it."
"It might make him more upset right now," Dave objected. "Maybe you should come back later."
"No, that's alright, Dave."
Everyone turned to look as Mr. Thorton appeared from a doorway in the wall behind the counter. He looked tired and pale, his hair in every direction. But his eyes were determined.
"I want to see the photograph," he said. "Please, everyone come back here." With that he stepped aside, making room for them to come through the doorway. Beyond it, the hallway with the offices was visible.
Sephiroth nodded, walking around the counter to get to the doorway. The others followed. Zack could feel Dave watching them. The guy probably thought they were a bizarre bunch, Zack decided. They did look rather mismatched, especially with the Fragmented Triangle crew.
Thorton led the group into his office, where his light was on and the rumpled couch had obviously been laid upon. A half-finished glass of water was on the edge of the desk, and Thorton hastily pushed it further along so it would not fall. Paper airplanes and origami creations were in various stages of completion on his desk, on top of the filing cabinet, and all around the room. One airplane had landed on top of his framed business license, and had apparently been there a while, as it was turning yellow.
The man grabbed up a handful of what looked like cranes from off a chair. "Sit anywhere," he said, dumping them into an open drawer in his filing cabinet.
"My, you do have interesting hobbies," Dalton commented, strolling further into the room.
"I don't usually do this," Thorton admitted. "It just happens when I'm bored or nervous. My brother Burt collects good luck charms and stress balls because he's edgy a lot . . ." He trailed off, blinking in confusion at Dalton. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked.
"He's Dalton," Azazel replied. "I'm Azazel Rakesh. We run Fragmented Triangle."
"Oh, I see. . . ." But Thorton looked even more bewildered.
"We just happened to run into them," Zack put in. "The guy that was eavesdropping here said he'd also been hired to follow these guys!"
Dalton raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he frowned. "We weren't informed of that incident."
Thorton sat on the edge of the desk. "More friends of yours?" he wondered.
"No," Sephiroth grunted. "For the moment, they're necessary allies." He held out the box, anxious to change the subject. "We found an address for Marcel and went to where his house should have been. It had been burned. This was found in the debris." He snapped open the lid, revealing the picture inside.
Thorton stared at it, his face draining of any remaining color. "It can't be," he murmured. "Why would Marcel have this?"
"What is it?" Zack exclaimed, concerned over Thorton's reaction. Maybe they should not have brought the photograph right now.
"It's Jessie with her sister," Thorton explained, passing a hand over his forehead.
"What happened to her?" Cloud frowned.
Thorton shook his head, staring at the picture with a far-away look in his eyes. "No one knows," he said. "She was in the car with their father--my brother Tom--when he was killed, but they never found her. Jessie was devastated. Of course, we all were, but she had been so close to her sister. . . ." He snapped back to the present. "I can't imagine why she would give this to Marcel!" he exclaimed. "He must have gotten it through some other means."
"You said Jessie wouldn't tell you how she knew Marcel," Sephiroth said. "What if she had gone to him hoping that he could find her sister?"
Thorton blinked, taken aback. "Well, I . . . hadn't thought of that," he admitted. "Their argument looked so intense. . . ."
"Maybe she'd found out he hadn't been able to learn anything," Cloud said. "Or maybe he was crooked and didn't even try, and he just wanted her money." He crossed his arms.
"Oh dear . . . !" Thorton looked sick. "And you think he might be connected with the smugglers that took her, too?"
"It's possible." Sephiroth frowned.
"Pardon me," Dalton interrupted. "What does this Marcel looked like?"
Thorton looked surprised but again repeated the description of the blond man with the crewcut. Dalton was less than pleased.
"He was one of the men holding me captive," he said. "In fact, I delivered a harsh punch to his jaw in order to escape."
"Why were they holding you captive?" Sephiroth looked at him.
"To be perfectly honest, they claimed to be smuggling through my own company, and that I endorsed it," Dalton said. "They tried to say that they were keeping me there while I healed from a . . . terrible accident." For the moment he decided to leave out the rest, that they had claimed someone from Jenova Corp had pushed him over a cliff.
Zack was stunned. "But Marcel works for Jenova Corp, not Fragmented Triangle!" he exclaimed.
Angeal's expression darkened. These mysteries really were connected. For some reason, both of their companies had been targeted.
"You don't say." Dalton's eyes narrowed. "This is an unexpected twist. The man gets around."
"Can you describe anyone else involved?" Sephiroth frowned.
"Oh, of course," Dalton said. But none of the other descriptions meant anything to anyone from Jenova Corp. The other people involved were all strangers, except for a couple Azazel remembered as being Fragmented Triangle employees.
"What was it they were smuggling?" Angeal asked then, hoping that by learning that information it would help with their own part of the case.
"They were smuggling small gems both in and out of the country by concealing them in the battery compartments of the electronics," Dalton replied. He dug into his pocket, pulling out the two-way radio he had purloined last night. Turning it over, he removed the battery door and held up the device. The jewels caught the glow of the lights overhead, shimmering and glistening in splendor.
"And they had these in every radio?!" Zack cried, reaching out to poke one of the gems. How could there be so many? Where would they all come from? Either these guys had a mine somewhere, they were stealing from someone else's mine, or the gems had been taken from various locations all over the world. This was big stuff.
"It would seem so," Dalton said.
Sephiroth looked at the jewels with thoughtfulness. A logical place from which the smugglers could operate was the shipping department. He had focused on it when he had searched for suspicious Jenova Corp employees, and it would not surprise him if Marcel worked there. But of course he did not plan to concentrate only on that department; there could be smugglers everywhere, depending on how large their operation was. And for it to include their rival company too, it must be extensive.
"Did Dave say why he was delayed?" he asked now, looking to Thorton.
The older man blinked. "Well, yes," he admitted. "He said when he got there, the order wasn't ready and people were scurrying around trying to get it done. He was really angry about it, too. Ranting and everything. He managed to get a good bluestreak in before I finally could interrupt and tell him about the telephone call."
"What did the voice sound like?" Sephiroth wanted to know.
Thorton frowned. "It was deep," he said slowly, "but not in a realistic way. It was almost like it was being electronically distorted by some portable device."
"Well, that's a big help," Zack moaned.
"Dave said the police went to where the person was calling from," Angeal said. "Where was it?"
A sigh. "Just a random pay phone near a restaurant," Thorton replied. "I think they said it's right outside the building, so they wondered if the caller might've been having lunch in there."
Zack stomach growled. "Maybe we should go stake the place out," he suggested. "Then we could have lunch, too! I dunno if I can think much more about this case on an empty stomach," he added, upon seeing Seph's raised eyebrow.
"What restaurant is it?" Cloud asked.
"It's some other nationality," Thorton sighed, "and now I can't remember whether it was French or Italian!"
Zack's mouth watered. "I hope it's Italian," he said. Images of spaghetti and pizza danced through his mind. At the moment he could not think of any French dishes except escargo, and that did not appeal to him in the least.
"I wrote it down somewhere," Thorton added, looking to the mess on his desk. "I hope I didn't already fold it into an airplane or a crane. . . ."
"I hope you didn't, either," Dalton returned.
Thorton eased himself off of his desk and walked to its other side. Brushing the origami to the side, he looked through the normal papers and other odds and ends covering his desk. At last he held up a jagged scrap of paper. "Here it is!" he declared.
Sephiroth took it, glancing over the scribbled contents before passing it to Zack. "You have your wish," he said. "It's Italian." He sighed, seeing Zack's hopeful look. "The police have probably already seen everything there that's worthwhile."
"But it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?" Zack said. "Maybe the guy eats there a lot and some other customers or the staff have seen him!"
Dalton peered over Sephiroth's shoulder at the slip of paper. "How odd," he said.
Sephiroth frowned, looking to him. "What is it?" he wanted to know.
"That restaurant is one that Marcel and his cronies frequent," Dalton said. "In fact, I believe I overheard one of them say that an associate of theirs owns the establishment. Or maybe it's that he's a silent partner."
Thorton stared. "Then this is a wonderful clue!" he exclaimed.
Sephiroth grunted. In that case, the police might or might not find anything. The criminals would probably be expecting officers to come. In fact, why would someone even make a call from a location near their establishment unless they were trying to draw in the police?
"We'll go," he said.
"Yes!" Zack cried, punching the air with a fist.
Dalton gave him a sidelong glance. "I take it you're very much a fan of the culinary arts," he commented.
"Sure," Zack said, forgetting to be guarded around his enemy, "as long as I can eat them!"
Sephiroth smirked, but then frowned as he looked at Dalton. "Should you even be seen there?" he said. "If the restaurant actually is run by our enemies, they may try to imprison you again."
"In the company of so many people?" Dalton returned. "I quite doubt it. And do you really think I'd stay away, good sir?"
Sephiroth grunted at the return of the mocking address. "No," he retorted.
"Then let's be on our way," Dalton said, walking past Sephiroth to the door. "If I'm along, I may be of some assistance to you--especially if I see anyone there I recognize."
That was true. This alliance was still abhorrent on principle, but there was no getting around it. Sephiroth moved to follow after his enemy, the others trailing behind him.
"We still have to make one other stop first," he said, his voice flat.
Zack blinked, then nodded. "Oh," he said in realization, "the police department. Right." He looked at Dalton. "Are you gonna show them that radio thing?"
"Right now I'd rather not," Dalton said. "Since it's a radio from my company, I want to investigate on my own before bringing in the police."
"Okay then," Zack said. He could not really make any protests, since he and the others wanted to look into the smuggling at their own company with or without the police.
"Hopefully the police won't later find it in your possession and think you are involved," Sephiroth remarked. "Especially since you say the smugglers were trying to tell you that you are part of the racket."
"Hopefully," Dalton agreed, not appearing swayed by Sephiroth's argument.
Thorton watched them worriedly as they reached the door. "Good luck!" he called.
Zack turned and gave him a mock salute. "We'll need it!" he said.
Ambrogio's was located in a fairly high-class part of town. The buildings were well-kept, the sidewalks were pristine, and the neighborhood seemed safe and inviting--at least for a visit. The police had already come and gone, as the sextet had learned when they had taken the photograph to the station. Indeed, the officers had not found any trace of the caller--or anything else odd. Now, the phone booth was vacant and did not appear unusual in any way. The restaurant behind it featured a green awning over the door and large plate glass windows to see both in and out. Waiters in full tuxedos milled about, taking and delivering orders.
Zack glanced down at himself as he hopped out of the limousine. "Do you think we're dressed good enough to go in there?" he suddenly wondered. "Except for Dalton and Azazel, none of us brought suit jackets!" His tie was hanging loosely around his neck, underneath the open first button on his dress shirt.
Angeal eyed his appearance. "It'll be fine," he said. "But you should probably button up and tighten your tie." He was already working with his, which had been returned to him back at Marcel's house after the police had snapped handcuffs on the captured thugs. Azazel had long ago replaced his own, but Sephiroth's tie was once again wadded in his pocket. And his shirt was also unbuttoned at the top.
Unlike Angeal, however, Sephiroth saw no need to alter his current appearance. He walked up to the revolving door and pushed on it, admitting himself into the lobby. The others followed suit.
Zack was goggle-eyed at the sight of the many round tables and fancily-dressed people. At lunchtime it was certainly not as crowded as it would be that evening, but it was still impressive. Most of the guests looked like they were business people who were having combined lunches and conferences. One man in a corner, however, was alone--and drinking a glass of wine faster than he probably should have.
"Wonder what's eating him," Zack mused.
Cloud shrugged, not really caring. "Bad business deal?" he said. He turned his attention to the approaching host, who was regarding the strange party with a raised eyebrow.
"Good afternoon," the man greeted in a moderate Italian accent. "Welcome to Ambrogio's! Do you have a reservation?"
"No," Sephiroth said, unconcerned. With the number of vacant tables, they should not have any problem getting seats.
Indeed, the man nodded. "It is a good thing you didn't come at dinnertime, sirs," he said. "We're almost always filled to capacity! Come." With that he unhooked the red velvet barrier to let them through. As he watched them come in, his gaze rested on Dalton for much longer than the others. Dalton returned the look in cool defiance. The headwaiter finally shook his head, looking away as he stepped to the right.
"We have available tables in all directions," he said. "Do you have any preference?"
"Something with as few people around as possible," Sephiroth replied.
"A corner table then?" the host suggested, already weaving his way around the furniture. The others trailed after him, shooting inconspicuous glances at the customers when they could. No one looked familiar. And no one seemed interested by them, either.
At last the man came to a halt by a table near one of the large windows. "Is this suitable?" he asked, turning to look at the party. In addition to being in the corner, the area also featured a railing that came halfway across the aisle, further isolating them from the other customers.
Sephiroth nodded. "This is fine," he said, stepping forward to take a seat.
"Very good," the host said, watching as the others moved to the table as well. "The waiter will be with you shortly." With that he departed. Cloud noticed that he paused by a cook emerging from the kitchen. He spoke in an undertone, nodding in their direction. The cook looked over, seeming thoughtful as he nodded in response. Then the headwaiter walked on, disappearing around a corner.
"That was weird," Cloud frowned.
"Do you think we should order anything at all?" Zack wondered, even as his stomach rumbled. He winced, listening to it. "I mean, what if the guy's planning to poison us?" he rushed on, clapping a hand over his mid-section. "He was telling something about us to that cook."
Sephiroth looked to Dalton. "Did the smugglers act like they still required your services?" he asked.
"I believe so," Dalton said, leaning back in the chair. "They seemed to want me alive, though now that I've escaped I suppose I'm not sure what they want from me."
"Oh no!" Zack suddenly gasped, slapping his forehead.
Everyone turned to look at him. "What is it?" Sephiroth frowned.
"Gunju didn't turn up while we were at Thorton's," Zack said. "If he goes there and finds we're not there, maybe he'll scare Thorton trying to find out where we are!" He ran a hand over his eyes. "I don't know if Thorton can take another shock today."
Azazel gave a dark chuckle. "Gunju will find us," he said. "He always seems to."
Zack blinked at him. "You mean he has some kind of spirit sixth sense or something?"
"More like a brother sixth sense," Azazel shrugged.
"Oh? You're close, then?" Dalton wondered.
"He's my brother," Azazel said. "We don't hate each other."
To Zack, that sounded very vague and almost as if Azazel was saying that they did not like each other a great deal, either. He and the others had only rarely seen the Rakeshes interacting, though Azazel usually acted put-out when they did. Gunju had protected Azazel from being shot today, according to Seph, and he had called Azazel his "dear brother", but it could have been said mockingly for all they would know. It was hard for Zack to believe that such cruel people as Dalton and the Rakesh brothers could care about anyone, including each other.
Apparently Gunju thought the same as Zack when it came to Azazel's comment. "Ouch," his disembodied voice purred from the direction of Azazel's chair.
Zack nearly tipped over in his own chair. "Don't do that!" he burst out, glaring at the empty space--which, of course, would look ridiculous to anyone passing by.
"And don't make yourself visible, either," Azazel muttered. "We may have walked right into the enemy's lair." He stared at the menu as he spoke, not giving any indication that he was startled by his brother's sudden greeting. Over the years he had learned to steel himself for Gunju's abrupt entrances--though he had definitely been shocked the first few times it had happened.
"Understood," Gunju's voice answered now, as if he was in a spy movie. "I didn't find who wrote that note."
"You didn't go scaring the guy who owns the bookshop, did you?" Zack frowned.
"No," was the reply.
The sound of a throat being cleared brought everyone's attention upward. A waiter had approached their table and was standing with a pad and pencil, looking uncomfortable. Zack suddenly flamed red. If the guy had heard Gunju, hopefully he would just think it was Azazel throwing his voice.
"May I take your orders?" the waiter asked.
"Sure thing!" Zack chirped, and promptly ordered lasagna. That was agreeable to everyone else, so they decided to order one full pan. The waiter, pleased to have it taken care of so quickly, nodded and turned to leave.
"I can watch them making it in the kitchen, if you're worried they'll poison it," Gunju said to Azazel. It should have been a whisper, but from the others' expressions, it looked like all of them had heard. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. The waiter was walking away, so if they were lucky at all, he had not heard the comment.
"Do that," Azazel said with a wave of his fake hand.
Zack slumped back into the chair. "Well, that's . . . handy," he said, for lack of something better to contribute. It was hard enough to know how to fully relax and be himself in the presence of their past enemies, and when all of them had a mutual nemesis possibly watching them right now it got even more complicated. He shifted in his seat, looking to Seph.
Sephiroth met Zack's uneasy glance. They would have to act as natural as possible if they did not want anyone here to grow suspicious--or at least, to keep them from growing all the more so. Of course, when Jenova Corp and Fragmented Triangle were not on friendly terms, it would look extremely unnatural to make-believe that they were getting along fine. Zack's awkward comment, if heard by any enemies, would likely help to establish their strange and unsettled alliance.
Azazel looked to Dalton, lowering his voice. "Do you think they want to kill you for knowing too much?" he asked in an undertone.
"It's always possible," Dalton said. "Except they probably realize by now I've already spoken of what I know. I wonder if they discovered the missing device?"
"Unless they're stupid, it's not likely that they didn't," Sephiroth grunted.
"Well, they aren't complete imbeciles," Dalton shrugged, "though they did underestimate me."
Cloud was silent. While this conversation was taking place, he was watching the staff and the kitchen door. Yet still no one looked their way. If anything, that seemed strange too, as if they were being deliberately ignored. But it was probably his imagination. This mystery stuff was getting to him.
His gaze wandered to the other customers. That guy was still in the opposite corner, pouring himself another glass of wine. And at the table nearest to the railing, a young couple was having lunch. They seemed happy and mushy together, with the girl giggling over something the guy had said and the guy looking shy yet pleased with himself. Cloud averted his eyes, bored.
As it turned out, absolutely nothing happened. Gunju returned to report that the food was fine, the meal was satisfying, and no one gave them so much as an odd look. After finishing, they departed the restaurant to attempt planning their next move.
"So what was the deal?" Zack frowned. "Did they realize we must be there staking the place out and decided to mess with our heads?"
"Possibly," Sephiroth grunted. "We might not find out anything at all unless someone they don't know comes here."
"And then they'd pretend to be mixed up in the racket?" Cloud said, eying the phone booth again as they walked past it.
"Something like that," Sephiroth nodded. "Maybe our spy would pretend to blackmail the criminals."
"But who would you get to do the task?" Dalton spoke. "Surely you wouldn't use an employee. Any one of them could be recognized."
"We wouldn't use an employee," Sephiroth said. "It would have to be someone else." He unlocked the car as they approached it. This time he leaned inside, checking for any odd notes. Finding nothing, he climbed inside. He would drive this time.
The others got in as well. "Who could we even get?" Zack exclaimed. "I mean, it'd have to be someone who could fit in at a fancy restaurant. Barret and Cid really wouldn't."
"Maybe Vincent?" Cloud suggested. "He used to be a Turk, after all."
"Call him," Sephiroth said.
"And what about Dave's story?" Angeal frowned, watching as Sephiroth started the engine and began to pull out of the parking space.
"Apparently it was either true or else he put on a convincing act for Thorton," Sephiroth said. "Or maybe he actually was angry about something, but not what he claimed."
"He acted like he was really worried about Thorton, though," Zack said. "He didn't want us to do anything that might upset him more."
"Hmm. Unless he just didn't want you to show him the photograph because he suspected what it was and he didn't want Thorton to tell you," Dalton said.
Zack groaned. "Why does everything have to be so complicated?!" he cried.
"When is a mystery not complicated?" Dalton returned. "I, for one, don't trust the gentleman."
Sephiroth was half-listening. They were coming to a semaphore just ahead, but even though he needed to slow the car down, it was not willing to cooperate. He stepped harder on the brake pedal, gritting his teeth.
"Seph, what the heck are you doing?!" Zack yelped. A semi truck was approaching the semaphore from the left corner. If Seph did not stop, they were going to have a collision!
At the last moment Sephiroth swerved wildly to the right, plunging the front of the limo into a snowbank. The truck driver honked in exasperation, not making a move to stop and see if they were alright. The heavy vehicle roared past while the limo's dazed occupants stared after it.
". . . I really didn't take you for such a reckless driver, good sir," Dalton said at last. His voice was dripping with mock politeness, emphasizing his annoyance and anger at the situation.
"What happened?" Cloud frowned.
Sephiroth leaned back, taking his foot off the brake pedal to look down at it. From here, it looked normal. "I couldn't stop," he said, his voice flat. "The brakes have either been disconnected or removed altogether."
Zack's mouth dropped open. "We were sabotaged?!" he exclaimed.
Sephiroth nodded. "It must have been while we were in the restaurant. The brakes worked fine before that."
"Well, of all the dirty, rotten . . . !" Zack fell to muttering just what he thought of the creeps, clenching his fists.
Angeal crossed his arms, deeply disturbed. All of them could have been killed, or at least seriously injured. His eyebrows knitted as he stared at the packed snow. No doubt it had saved their lives.
"Now we know one thing."
Angeal turned to look as Sephiroth spoke. "What's that?" he asked.
"We're on the right track. They wouldn't have done this if we weren't." Sephiroth pulled out his phone. "I'll call a tow truck."