From the back seat of the rumbling van, Zack watched as the Shinra Building inched closer into view. The cold, metal building stuck out from the center of Midgar, looming over the eight sectors like a dark sentry. Zack once viewed the building as a beacon of hope from which the Shinra would advance Midgar with its wealth and technology. Now all it seemed to be was a black hole, literally sucking the life out of the city. All Shinra executives operated out of the central tower, including the Heads of every department and the top dog himself, the President.
"Happy homecoming, man! It's been a while since you've been to HQ, huh?"
Zack tore his eyes away from the Shinra Building and looked over to the idiot who'd just spoken to him. Tseng had called him Reno and he was a wise cracking, red headed fool. He looked like an imbecile, but Zack learned long ago never to underestimate a Turk. Reno most likely had deadly skills hidden underneath his goofball demeanor.
"Hey, just trying to make conversation, dude. No need for the silent treatment. I get enough of that from Rude," said Reno, jabbing his thumb towards the front seat. Sitting next to Tseng was the other man who had apprehended Zack. Zack had trouble figuring him out. He hadn't said one word since they had all gotten into the van and his eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses. Rude would be harder to predict than Reno.
"Leave him be, Reno," said Tseng as he directed the van down the dark highway. "I'm sure Zack is less than thrilled to be going back."
Zack gritted his teeth. Nothing could have been closer to the truth. Especially after what just happened back at the church.
She'd been right there, wrapped up safe and sound in his arms. She even smelled the same as he remembered, like cut flowers, fresh ginger and earth. Pressing her into him and feeling her skin against his made him finally feel at peace after years of turmoil. All Zack had been working for ever since he'd left Nibelheim was to be reunited with Aerith. To finally hold her, kiss her, love her. And he'd done it. Only to have her ripped away.
Zack bit back his fury. One of the most important things he'd learned from his years in SOLDIER was that high emotion bred low judgment. It was one lesson that Zack had always had trouble with, his emotions constantly getting the better of him. But after everything that happened with Angeal and Sephiroth, Zack felt he'd matured tremendously. So even though he wanted to reach over and wipe the floor with the three Turks in the van, Zack sat still, painfully restraining himself.
"So what do you want with me?" asked Zack, diffusing his anger with curiosity. "Why didn't you guys step in before I got massacred in the field, if you wanted me alive?"
"That wasn't us, man!" blurted Reno. "We tried to scoop ya before all that went down, but we didn't get there fast enough."
Zack furrowed his brow. Even though there were hundreds of small division with in the company, Shinra Inc. always operated as an united front. The divisions might have all had their own agendas, but what one department did was supported by all others. It would make the company look weak to have internal opposition. So if the Turks wanted Zack alive, the rest of the company should have supported that.
Zack leaned forward against his restraints. "Who ordered the attack then?" The van fell silent for a moment. Only the rumble of the engine and the whir of the tires echoed in Zack's ears.
"It was Professor Hojo." The sentence emanated from none other than Rude. Both Zack and Reno stared open mouthed at Rude, astonished that he'd actually spoken.
Hojo? That was the last person Zack had expected. He'd figured that Heidegger or even Scarlet would be the type to pull a stunt like that. Maybe even the President, in an act of trying to eliminate loose ends. But not Hojo.
"Why?" Zack demanded. "I'm just another of his failed experiments. Why'd be care enough to send three hundred men after me?"
"Don't know," said Reno. "We Turks are just here to follow orders, man. Guess you'll just have to ask him yourself."
"I think I will," said Zack. And then I'll use him as a test subject for the end of my sword, he thought.
"But not today, Zack," said Tseng, piping back into the conversation. "There's someone else who'd like to talk to you. We're bringing you to him now in fact."
"Who?" asked Zack.
"Why, President Shinra of course. He's dying to meet you."
Zack felt his stomach sink. He was being sent right into lair of the beast to have a meeting with the back-stabbing, fat demon himself. The President was the last person he wanted to see.
The rest of the ride over went by quickly and smoothly as Zack lost himself in thought. He tried desperately to put the puzzle together, but too many of the pieces were missing. The picture was only half complete, with gaping holes distorting it. What was going on? Why did the President want to see him? What really happened at Nibelheim? Where was Cloud? Why did Hojo try to kill him? Zack's mind reeled. It was just too many questions.
Once the van was parked in the underground parking garage and Zack was safely inside the Shinra Building, Reno and Rude split off from the group, leaving Zack under Tseng's supervision. Tseng led him through the labyrinthine corridors of the Shinra underbelly and into one of the many elevators that ran the length of the tower.
The President's office looked out over Midgar from the topmost floor. Zack had never been to the top floor before, SOLDIER employees were only given a clearance up to the 61st. Even Firsts needed special permission to visit the higher floors. Except for Sephiroth of course.
As the glass elevator scaled the outer wall of HQ, Zack could see the rest of Midgar spread out beneath him. It was impossible to discern which Sector was which, but he sought out the familiar spires of the abandoned church anyway.
"So you and Aerith, huh?" said Tseng, breaking the silence. Zack didn't bother turning around and continued to stare out over the city. And to think he'd used to like the guy.
"Yeah. Can't put anything past you."
"Did you really think she would still be waiting for you?"
Zack leaned forward and pressed his forhead against the clear glass. The vibration from the elevator's motor gently massaged his skull. "I did actually. It was the only thing that kept me strong. Even though everyone I ever trusted was gone, I knew she'd still be there."
"And if she wasn't?"
"I had no reason to think she wasn't. I didn't realize that I'd been away as long as I was. I thought we'd only been apart for a few months."
"But when you did realize, did you think she would still come back to you?"
"What's it to you Tseng?" said Zack, becoming irritated. He pressed himself off of the glass and turned back around to see the Turk smirking at him.
"I was just speculating," said Tseng, glancing nonchalantly at the electronic numbers on the panel flash 67. "What if you had come back and she was no where to be found? Or married with three children? Or you had just simply fallen out of her favor? What would you have done then?"
Zack fumbled around for an answer but one wouldn't come to him. Because he honestly didn't know what he would have done. He didn't want to think about it at all. Who did Zack have to rely on? Angeal was gone. Sephiroth was gone. Aerith was the only thing that Zack had left. If she hadn't been there waiting, Zack probably would have fallen apart.
The elevator dinged, announcing their arrival at the 70th floor and granting Zack a reprieve from Tseng's invasive questions. He blew out a sigh of relief as the door whooshed open.
"Must be my lucky day today!" said Zack as Tseng tugged him out of the elevator. Just in front of them were two staircases that curved into each other and met at the top. Plush purple and red carpet cascaded down the steps and spread out across the floor in front of them. A giant chandelier hung in the center of the lobby and glinted shards of light all along the walls. Emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and a number of other rare jewels glittered upon it, dazzling Zack's eyes with an array of color. He had never seen anything so expensive in his life.
Tseng led Zack up one of the staircases and into the President's main office. The room was empty except for a massive metal, U-shaped desk. It had bulletproof glass anchored all the way around the edges creating a shield against would be assailants. And seated in the impossibly huge armchair in the center of the desk was President Shinra.