Wahh! I'm sorry for taking so long! But November's sort of turning into month from hell as far as schoolwork is concerned (and NaNoWriMo doesn't exactly help the situation…). To make up for the wait, I am attempting to bribe, I mean, gift you with a chapter that is longer that usual. This is definitely the longest chapter I've written for a story (perhaps the longest I'll ever write for a story). We'll see if it works… ^^;
As always, thank you so much to: Clockwork Phoenix, Emerald Moonrose, Becca86, Shinimegami7, DeNiSaY60, flammula, CloudedMirror89, LoneBoy7, Bane-Dane, Arid Tundra, Love-in-the-Stars, The Hollow Fairy Wolf, Dragi, An Antique Heart, jaks-phantom, Nekotsubasa, Canderjack, SlippingSanity, Aindel S. Druida, ramen-is-my-goddess, b4k4 ch4n, , RealityInABottle, iShiznitch, ooXloveXoo582, xacilia, and . Oh, by the way, 300 reviews?!?!?!?! You guys are awesome! XD
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Chapter 13
A sharp knock from Cloud on the front door was all it took to make Axel appear, the redhead grinning at his partner, "Well, you got here fast."
"Yeah. Where's Roxas?"
"Relax, he's in the next room watching TV." Axel's grin fell away as he finally met Squall's eyes, "Now, before you let this guy into my home, mind tell me what's going on?"
"Inside." Axel's eyes narrowed suspiciously but after a moment's pause he nevertheless stepped aside and allowed both Cloud and Squall to come into the front room, closing the front door behind the two men.
"Alright, we're inside. Now spill it blondie."
Cloud frowned at the nickname, and gave Squall a quick glance before speaking, "Not much to say besides what I told you over the phone. He was getting shot at and asked me to pick him up. He needs a place to stay for a while until the Organization lets up a little pressure."
"So you decided to bring him here why?"
"Because it's out of the way and we'll know if anyone's coming for him before they get here. Besides, it's your job to makes sure he stays alive too."
"Funny, I don't remember letting criminals stay in your house being part of the job description."
Squall frowned; they were talking about him as if he wasn't standing right beside them. Giving Axel a dry look, Squall put his hands into his pockets, "Personally, I'd be fine not staying as well, but you'd need to convince Cloud that I could run off on my own."
"Woah, hey, what's with the first name basis there, pal?" Turning to Cloud, Axel gave him a hard look, "Are you still compromising our case?"
Cloud's gaze grew fridged, "No Axel, this isn't about that."
"You sure? Because you're not acting like the Detective Strife I know."
"That's because we work in goddamn Twilight Town! We've never had to deal with anything like this before!"
Axel fell silent, his jaw tightening, "Look. Next time, think of a different plan, alright? I'm not a fan of your current one."
"Okay." Cloud paused, his sharp blue eyes flickering back to Squall before he continued, "On that note then, I figure I should let you know. You have more guests coming."
Axel's eyes narrowed, "Yeah? Go on."
"I figured that it would be good to get all our perps in the same location, so I may have instructed Leon to call Zexion and Riku and ask them to meet us here."
"Really? You really invited more psychos over to my place? My isolated country home where I sleep at night and which would be a ridiculously easy place to exact revenge on the detective who put said psychos away in jail?"
"Pretty much."
"You're an ass."
"I suppose I deserve that. But, while we're on the subject of deserving things, where's Roxas?"
Axel rolled his eyes, "He's in the next room, like I said. Go in and see for yourself if you don't believe me." As Cloud made his way toward the adjacent room, Axel green eyes drilled into Squall before he tilted his head, "You come too. I want to keep an eye on you."
"Thanks, I suppose." Following Cloud, Squall paused as he entered the doorway, scanning the room as Cloud's eyes focused in on a blonde head of hair sticking up from behind the back of a couch. It was a cozy room, though small, the kind of place you would read a book on a Sunday afternoon. Which made Squall doubt that Axel had been the decorator. The one piece that did seem to suit the redhead was a rickety looking entertainment stand, a TV sitting above a messy collection of video games and DVDs. That TV was currently on, showing some random police car chase, which didn't seem to make Cloud any happier as he cleared his throat.
The blonde on the couch jumped and spun around and Squall immediately recognized him as the secretary from the police station, "Cloud!"
Cloud crossed his arms, "Roxas."
The young man gave an unconvincing grin, "What's up?" Spotting Squall hovering by the door, his face drew into a much more real frown, "What's he doing here?"
"He's under protection. What are you doing here?"
"Just, you know, hanging out."
"Funny, that's a lot like what Axel said. And yet I still don't believe it."
Roxas's eyes narrowed in a way that instantly made the relation between him and his older brother clear, "Yeah, well, that's all you're getting so start believing it."
Cloud's frown grew deeper at the response but uncrossed his arms, glancing back at Squall as if remembering he was there, "We'll talk about this later. What are you watching by the way?"
Realizing what was on, Roxas scrambled for the remote and turned the power to the TV off, "Just a cop show, nothing big."
It seemed that they had stumbled across an old argument because Cloud's hands moved to rest on his hips, "I don't know why you always watch those."
"Because it's the closest I ever get to being out in the field!" Roxas pouted a little but Cloud didn't seem affected.
"Well if you'd get off your lazy ass and took your test you could join up as a beat cop."
The younger's pout fell away, "Whatever, who wants to be a rookie cop?"
"You do. You have to be a rookie before you can be a veteran."
The conversation between the brothers was interrupted by Axel from the front room, "A car's pulling up." Immediately both Squall and Cloud spun around and walked back into the next room to find Axel peeking through the blinds of the bay window, "White sedan, kind of sporty looking and it looks like that Riku guy's in the driver's seat with two passengers." Raising his head, Axel put his hands on his hips, "Two passengers? Something else you neglected to tell me Detective Strife?"
Cloud leaned in to look over his shoulder, his brow furrowing as Riku got out of the car followed by a brunette teen and finally Zexion after the other man fumbled around with his crutches for a moment. "The kid's Leon's younger brother; apparently he got taken along because he was being targeted by the Organization as a potential bargaining tool."
The redhead raised a brow before shrugging, "It wouldn't surprise me. They don't mess around."
Squall resisted the urge to join them at the window, thinking, correctly, that Axel wouldn't enjoy having him within a two foot radius without handcuffs on. Calling on his reserve of patience he remained where he was in the middle of the room, only starting forward a little when there was a knock on the door. Axel beat him to it and with a scowl yanked open the front door to reveal an indifferent Riku. Seeing Squall waiting inside, the silver haired man strolled in as if it were his own home, "Look who made it out of town alive."
Squall snorted, "I could say the same thing."
"Squall!"
Everyone in the room seemed surprised as the short brunette squeezed past Riku and ran at Squall, throwing his arms around the SeeD's waist. Keeping a smile off of his face, Squall gently rustled the teen's hair, "Hey Sora."
The boy pulled away, revealing two bright, indignant blue eyes, "What's going on? Are you in trouble again?"
"You could say that." Sora turned as the response came not from his brother but from the blonde still standing by the window, who blinked in surprise before continuing, "You must be Sora then."
Sora nodded and gave the redhead in the room a strange look as the man just stared, suddenly bursting out, "Holy shit, he looks just like Roxas!"
"Who's Roxas?"
"I'm Roxas. And what's going on out he—" Roxas's voice stopped in his throat as he stepped into the front room. His eyes immediately landed on Sora and the two stared at each other for a minute before Roxas blinked, "Cloud, did Mom and Dad have another kid that they didn't tell us about?"
"No, that's Sora. He's Leon's little brother."
"That's just…weird." Looking up, Roxas recognized the other occupants of the room and automatically took a step back as his eyes flashed from Riku to Zexion, who had snuck inside and closed the front door silently behind him, "What the hell are they doing here?!"
Riku smirked at the question, "We're here because Cloud here asked us to come"
"Hey, who said you could call me by my first name?"
"Well Leon gets to so I don't see why I can't either. Besides, I assume you inviting us over to your house meant we're friends now."
Ignoring Riku's sarcastic tone, Axel crossed his arms, "It's my house and if you so much as touch anything I'll shoot you."
"Well that's not very welcoming."
"Riku." The silver-haired hitman grudgingly fell silent as the command came from the until-then silent Zexion, "I would appreciate it if you did not get us sent back out onto the street before we have time to strategize."
Sensing a confidential topic was about to arise, Cloud glanced once at Squall before turning to his brother, "Hey Rox, how about you take Sora and get him something to eat in the kitchen? The kid's got to be ready for a snack."
Roxas's eyes narrowed at the fact that he was being demoted to baby-sitter but softened his expression as he looked at Sora, "How about it? I'm sure I can find something edible in Axel's kitchen."
Sora hesitated but, after receiving an encouraging nod from Squall, gave a tentative nod of his own to Roxas, "Uh, sure."
As the two younger boys left, Cloud turned to the remaining men in the room, "Meanwhile, how about we take this into the family room?"
He barely waited for a response before turning and leading the way back into the room with the TV, sitting in an overused armchair at the end of the coffee table as the rest filed in awkwardly after him. Well, Squall felt awkward anyway as Axel moodily pushed his way through to claim a seat. Riku's eyes were skimming everything as if were casing the house while Zexion's own gaze was on the windows and doors, trying to form a mental map of the home's layout.
Squall sat down on the far edge of the couch, Axel having claimed the side closest to Cloud's armchair, and let Riku fill the space in between, the hitman apparently having few problems with sitting next to the detective. Not wanting to lower himself all the way to the floor, Zexion delicately sat down on the arm of the couch next to Squall's elbow, leaning over to rest his crutches against the back of the couch before clearing his throat, "So, I suspect that the both of you would like to be involved in our planning process?"
Axel sneered, "If it's not too inconvenient for you."
Having spent too much time dealing with Riku to let himself to be flustered by such a minor use of passive-aggressive sarcasm, Zexion continued on unaffected. Squall let the man take over the conversation; he was the guy who made up all their plans after all, "Very well. It is my understanding that you have allowed our presence here because it is in the police department's best interest that we not vanish into the night, as per our previous plan. That being said, I will need to be convinced that you will be able to provide us with the proper level of protection before I will agree to submit to any sort of house arrest or any variation of the sort."
Cloud frowned, "If you give me twenty-four hours I can probably manage to set up a safe-house in Twilight Town where all of you can stay, even Sora and any other people close to you who are being targeted." He directed his gaze towards Zexion and the man frowned. Maybe, Squall thought, he shouldn't have mentioned Demyx to Cloud. Zexion was sure to give him an earful about it later. "Until then, we can keep you here."
"Do I get a say in this?"
Cloud looked over at his partner, a hint of annoyance flashing across his face, "Do you have a better plan?"
"To me, anything sounds better than letting them stay here! Let's drive them into Twilight Town and keep them at the station. That Sora kid can stay here I guess, he seems normal at least, but the rest of them need to go."
The blonde shook his head, "That's not going to work." Axel opened his mouth to protest but another quick shake of Cloud's head cut him off, "I'll tell you about it later."
"Oh," Riku leaned back, a hand going up to brush his bangs out of his face, "Is this about your informant at the station? Did you guys finally figure that out or did Leon have to tell you?"
Cloud glared at Riku and Axel blinked once before turning to his partner, "What's he talking about?"
Letting out a sigh, Cloud reached up to try and massage some of the building migraine out of his forehead, "Apparently we have a mole in the department who's been leaking confidential information to the Organization."
"Huh."
"'Huh'? That's all you have to say? Axel, somebody in our department is giving personal information about our suspects away to a bloodthirsty gang! Do you know how serious that is?"
Axel tilted his head in a half-nod before shrugging, his eyes flashing back to the three on the far end of the couch, "I mean, ya, it's bad and all, but you can't say that they don't deserve it."
"Whether they deserve it or not isn't the point! Besides, innocent people are starting to get involved and that is definitely crossing a line!"
"That's right," Riku interjected, a frown slipping onto his face, "Those bastards tried going after people who had nothing to do with our work. Even if you hate our guts, you have to do something about it otherwise the city's going to have a big problem on its hands when a kid or musician winds up dead because of gang retaliation. If you don't do something about it now, I think that's accessory to murder on your part since you know it might happen."
"Would you shut up?" Axel snapped back, "I know the law, okay? I don't need a criminal telling me what's legal or not. And I never said I wouldn't do anything about it either!" The redhead sighed, "You can stay here, but Cloud, you'd better work your ass off finding somewhere else for them to go. And I'm gonna go get my shotgun out of the gun locker…" His voice trailed off before he reached a hand towards a phone resting on a side table, "Should I call in then and let our supervisor know we won't be coming into the office for a while?"
"Don't worry about it, I already worked it out with dispatch. Well, for me anyway, you'll have to call it in if you want to take some time off to figure this out too."
"Wait," Axel waved his hand, "Dispatch? Twilight Town dispatch?"
"Yeah. Why?"
The redhead's face grew serious, the expression unnerving Squall since he had never seen it before. It didn't bode well and, with a sinking feeling hitting his stomach, he thought he knew what was coming, "Cloud, the reception doesn't come out this far. I know, I've tried before. I have to drive in like ten miles to get within range."
Cloud's face remained frozen for a few seconds before he closed his eyes, "Fuck."
Zexion sucked in a breath at the news, an eyebrow raising calmly although Squall knew enough about Zexion now to tell that the man was suddenly nervous, "Do you mean to tell me that you radioed in our location to an unknown party?"
Axel rose to his feet, "I'm going to go get that shotgun now."
Following his partner with his eyes as Axel left the room, Cloud looked up at Squall before addressing the small group as a whole, "Alright. Since the people who received the call pretended to be Twilight Town dispatch, I think it's fair to say that it was probably the Organization. I didn't tell them that any of you were with me but if they think about it hard enough, I'm sure they'll be able to put two and two together."
Zexion scowled, "Even if they did not immediately draw the correct conclusion, I am sure that they will send a unit out to check on the situation since they obviously now know that you are involved at least with Leon—"
Cutting the other man off, Squall leaned forward, his eyes on Cloud's face. "How long do you think we have before they get here?"
The detective shrugged almost helplessly before he got to his feet, automatically going over to the window to check outside, "I don't know. It depends on whether the Organization was tailing our car or the car Riku drove in. If none of us were being followed and the closest group they have to our location is in Twilight Town, then we have about forty-five minutes before they get here if they left immediately."
Zexion's eyes narrowed, "But Axel said that the range of Twilight Town's dispatch does not reach this far out, so it is safe to assume that the equipment the Organization is using does not either. That means that they would be a good deal closer than that, at a minimum at least ten minutes towards this location from the city, if Detective Flynn's estimation of the radio signal is correct."
"Then we have about half an hour max before they get here if they come out immediately."
Squall stood up, "Then we should get out of here. Since they know where we are, they'll be able to corner us."
"Hold on," raising his hand, Riku looked from Squall to Cloud to Zexion, "I thought we were staying here for a while? Where are we going to go after this, since Cloud here hasn't had time to set us up a bunker yet?"
This brought a frown to Cloud's face, Squall watching as a flurry of thoughts rolled through his eyes, "We'll figure something out. The important thing now is that we leave since this location has been compromised. I don't suppose there's anywhere any of you know that would be a good place for you to hide out?"
Zexion shook his head, "From the Organization? None, which was the beginning of our predicament this morning. If I had known that coming here would put us in an even worse situation, I never would have accepted the offer. The only option I see available is if Riku, Leon, and I immediately take our leave."
Cloud bristled, "I already told Leon that I can't just let you run now that you're here."
"I do not recall phrasing my last statement as a suggestion." Pushing himself onto his feet, Zexion stood, Riku watching lazily as Zexion crossed his arms, "Unless you can think of a more suitable option, we will be leaving. The odds that you have set up for yourself here were perhaps unwise on your part as there are three of us and only two, perhaps three, officers, depending on how you count your younger brother." The sharp man caught it as Cloud's eyes flickered briefly over to Squall, "Even if Leon refuses to take part, Riku and I are more than capable of handling ourselves, mildly incapacitated though I am." Zexion's eyes turned back to Squall, "And if you are smart, you will come with us. Remaining here will only put your brother further at risk."
Squall shook his head, "I can't just leave him here."
"I am certain that the detectives will take good care of him. One teen is much easier to protect than three wanted men."
Stepping away from the window, Cloud warningly rested his hand on his holster, "That's enough. Don't think I'm not prepared to use force to keep you here."
Zexion barely blinked as Riku finally rose to his feet at the thinly-veiled threat, "Do not think that we will not hesitate to use force as well Detective. You know that we are capable of it."
The sound of an action being worked on a shotgun stopped the conversation short as Axel walked back into the room, "Whose going to be using force on who now?"
Looking over, Squall's eyes immediately settled on the pump-action shotgun, a riot gun more specifically since the barrel was shortened. It didn't really matter what type of it was more than the fact that Axel had a gun in his hands. A loaded gun by the sound of it. It really made Squall miss his SeeD assault rifle; the handgun in his pocket wouldn't be much of a match against the redhead's more advanced firepower.
Cloud seemed just as shocked as the criminals in the room, "The hell…? Axel, you actually have a shotgun?"
Axel quirked a brow, "It came with the house. But you never can be too careful. Now, I suggest that the three of you relax and take your seats again until we figure this little problem out—"
He was interrupted, not by the expected Riku or Zexion but by Cloud who had turned back to the window, "Shh! Wait, be quiet for a minute!"
Squall was the first to disobey the request, his brows narrowing as Cloud leaned in towards the window pane, "What do you hear?"
"I said be quiet! But," Cloud fell silent for a moment and he frowned in concentration, "shit, I think I hear a car coming."
Resting his shotgun under his arm, Axel looked outside from across the room, "It could be one of the neighbors."
"Yet I for one believe that it is better to be safe than sorry." Zexion crisply cut in, his eyes still zeroed in on Axel's weapon, "Now, since you are clearly against letting us leave on our own, I suggest that you quickly come up with a different solution."
Cloud shook his head as he straightened up, "The only thing we can do for now is change locations. Ax, where can we take them?"
"I don't know, the abandoned warehouses down by the docks would be too obvious…Oh!" Axel snapped his fingers in sudden inspiration, "How about the cabins out by the police academy training camp?"
Before Cloud could reply Riku crossed his arms, "Cabins? Are you serious?"
Cloud rolled his eyes, "It's actually not a bad idea. The training camp's only about twenty minutes out of Twilight Town in the forested hills behind the city. It would be close enough so that we could keep an eye on you while far enough removed to reduce the possibility of the Organization finding out about it by accident."
Zexion delicately raised an eyebrow at the blonde detective, "I hope that this time you will refrain from radioing in our new location?"
"Yes, I will."
Squall broke their glaring contest with a soft grunt, "What about Sora?"
"It's up to you. But if you want Sora to come with you, he'll have to stay with you until this is over. If he goes back to school after missing a couple of days without a valid excuse it could raise some suspicions, and not just from the school administration."
Squall frowned. It was actually a fairly serious question. If he had Sora come along, he would be stuck with them and he would absolutely become involved in whatever happened next. Not only that, but he could be put behind in his school work and, after having already missed a whole year due to his leukemia, that wasn't really something that his younger brother could afford. On the other hand, if Squall left him out in the world, he would be open once again to being used by the Organization. The group had already shown that they were prepared to use Sora as some sort of bargaining chip and he doubted that they would deny themselves the opportunity if given the chance to kidnap him again. Sora missing a few days, or weeks of school was definitely better than Sora being kidnapped and murdered. "He'll have to come with us then."
Zexion's visible eye turned on the SeeD, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "I appreciate you taking the time to discuss this with us before you made your decision."
Surprisingly it was Riku who answered back first, "Lay off, Zexion. You know what will happen if the kid stays out here."
When Zexion failed to reply Cloud took that to be his answer. Cupping his hand around his mouth, he called back into the house, "Hey Rox, bring Sora in here, we need to leave!"
Axel eyed the group as Roxas and Sora appeared in the doorway, "How's this going to work? Cloud, either you or me should ride with these guys to make sure they don't try and make a break for it when they get back onto the road."
Waving his hand in the general direction of the driveway, Riku stood back up, "We could take our car."
Cloud shot that idea down with a quick shake of his head, "I don't think so. I'm pretty sure that if I ran those plates, your name would not come up as the licensed owner."
"I suppose that's a fair assumption."
"That's what I thought. And there's no way either Axel or I will be caught in a stolen car. That's staying here until we can send someone in from the station to pick it up and return it to its legal owner."
Axel filled in the blanks, "That means we have to take our cars. How are we going to split up the passengers?"
"Well, each car holds five so—"
"Um, guys?" Sora's hesitant voice drifted in from the entryway and made Cloud pause. Staring out of the bay window, Sora pointed through the glass, "I think those bad guys are here."
"What?!"
"A black van's been sitting out front for a few seconds now." Immediately Squall was by his side, pulling his little brother away from the window just in time to avoid the sharp shattering of glass as a warning shot was fired through.
"Shit! My house!" Axel ran into the entryway before waving for the others to follow, "Everyone outside to the cars!"
Roxas scowled, covering his head as another couple rounds came through the now empty window, "Are you kidding?! They'd shoot us!"
Axel shook his head and raised his shotgun up into position, "I'll cover for you, just get inside the car. Besides, they'll just bring this inside if we don't get out. Leave the driver seat open for me Roxy!"
"Ah, o-okay!"
"Alright! Everybody ready?"
Squall turned to Riku, pushing Sora towards him before pulling out the handgun he had under his jacket, "Riku, make sure Sora gets into their car. Sora, keep your head down, okay?" Checking that he still had some cartridges in the clip, Squall looked down to see his brother give him a shaky nod and attach himself to Riku's arm. The hitman gave an annoyed look at having his agility diminished but didn't push the teen off.
Waiting for them to finish, Cloud drew his own weapon and nodded at Axel, "Let's get out of here."
"On my count then, stay low and start running. One, two," Axel reached a hand out to grip the doorknob on the front door, "three!" In one motion, he heaved the door wide open then brought his hand back up to the gun to fire off a round towards the van at the far end of the front yard. The only thing Squall noticed was Sora and Roxas jumping at the sound of the shotgun firing off, before everything started to blur as they ran en masse towards the driveway.
Roxas had been standing closest to Axel and was the first one out the door, covering his head with his hands as he sprinted for the redhead's car, keys clutched in his fist. He used the car as a shield to block any oncoming bullets and practically forced the passenger's side door open. Close on his heels were Zexion, Riku and Sora. Zexion had apparently momentarily foregone his crutches, his face contorted with pain as he nevertheless ran to the same car on a broken leg. Behind him, Riku was blocking Sora from the Organization's line of sight with his body, an arm around the teen's shoulders keeping him moving as they sprinted towards the relative awaiting safety of the car, climbing into the back as Roxas reached over and started up the engine.
As Axel let off a second shot, Squall took the chance to run out, aiming blindly towards the people inside the van as he raced down the gravel driveway. Hearing his fire returned, he ran passed Axel's car and dove to the passenger's side of Cloud's car, leaning onto the hood after righting himself to fire off a few more rounds. His assault seemed to serve as a decent distraction because Cloud managed to escape the house and run all the way to the driver's side of his car to unlock it without getting hit. Then again, it could have been Axel who, having reloaded, fired off another two shots in quick succession, empty shotgun shells clattering to the ground to make room for new ammunition as he reloaded again.
Seeing that Cloud had the car unlocked, Squall stopped shooting in favor of climbing inside, Cloud's body tense as he started the car. "Axel's not going to make it out of there without some help!"
Thinking fast, Squall snapped a new clip into his gun, "Pull out and drive by so I can get at them from their left."
"Got it."
Revving the engine, and startling those in the other car, Cloud peeled out of the driveway only to make a sharp turn into the wrong lane in order to pull up beside the black van. The windows on the left were still rolled up, the heavily tinted glass making it impossible to see inside but it really didn't matter. For now they only needed a distraction. Rolling down his window, Squall stretched out his hand and aimed for the driver should be.
"Lean back!"
Glancing over, he saw that Cloud was also taking aim and Squall pressed himself back against his seat before the two of them unleashed a hail of bullets onto their opponents' blind side. The noise was so deafening that wasn't even able to hear it as the glass on the Organization's van cracked then shattered, Squall withdrawing his arm as they began to return fire. He let out a grunt of pain as a bullet grazed his leg, feeling like a sitting duck now that they had gotten the Organization's attention. He would have rolled up the window but it wouldn't have provided much protection since it was still cracked from his and Cloud's earlier encounter with the Organization that morning.
Luckily, the decision turned out to be unimportant as a breath later Axel's fully-loaded car zoomed past, Roxas waving for them to follow as they flashed by. Cloud obeyed and stepped on the gas, a final bullet ricocheting off of the door panel as they sped away. The Organization clearly wasn't going to readily give up however and gave chase, the van moving surprising fast as all three cars tore down the dirt road and speeds that were quickly becoming unsafe. Cloud knew that both he and Axel had received specialized training for police chases so they would be able to manage batter than most, but he was sure that the Organization's drivers were professionals in their own right.
Suddenly something began to vibrate in his pocket, Cloud jumping a little before he realized that it was his cell phone, "Leon, get that for me."
Squall frowned but reached into the detective's coat pocket, having to dig around a bit before his fingers connected with smooth plastic. Pulling it out, he glanced at the caller ID. "It's Roxas."
"Answer and put it on speaker."
As soon as Squall turned on the speaker function, Roxas's agitated voice filled the car, "What the hell was that little gunfight, Cloud?"
"A distraction. Did everyone make it into the car okay?"
"Yeah. Axel got in and we were all fine until we realized that you had pulled up for a short-range shoot out! Give me a freakin' heart attack, why don't you? Some of their shots definitely made it into the car, are either of you hurt?"
Cloud glanced down at Squall's leg but Squall answered for him, "We're both fine. What's the plan?"
"Axel thinks he can loose them on these side roads. How's your car holding up?"
Frowning, Cloud leaned over so that he could be better heard while still keeping his eyes straight ahead, "The car can put up with whatever Axel's can. Tell him I'll tail him wherever he wants to go."
"Alright! I'll call back if there's a problem! Be careful!"
"You too."
As Roxas hung up, the car gave a shudder as Cloud soared over another pothole. The country road wasn't necessarily badly kept but it definitely wasn't meant to be driven at eighty miles per hour. Behind them, the van was having even more trouble and was beginning to fall back, the bullets being fired at them becoming rarer and farther off of their mark as the distance between Cloud's car and the Organization's vehicle increased. Another pothole sent another jolt through the car's frame, mud splashing up onto the back windows as the tires kicked it up. Squall wasn't shaken by it though; on the contrary, it was eerily familiar. Driving through the desert in a SeeD humvee had given a similar effect, right down to the mud splattered windows. Mud and blood splattered windows…
Cloud glanced over, concerned as he saw Squall tense up, the man's face and his stormy eyes going strangely blank as he seemed to sink into himself. "Leon. Hey, you alright?" Not getting a response, even as another teeth-rattling bounce jarred the car, his worry only deepened. He had never seen the solider act like this before, so he didn't think it was just stress. Cloud hadn't known him long but he could tell that this was different. "Leon. Squall!"
Squall gave a violent start and Cloud had thought it worked before he glanced back over to find the man's eyes wide and hallow. Scared that he had triggered something, Cloud lunged over and slapped him sharply across the face. He knew that Squall had finally snapped out of it when his hand shot up to grab his wrist but instead of getting angry, Squall stayed quiet, his voice gruff as he finally spoke, "What happened?"
Scowling, Cloud tugged on his wrist, "Give me my arm back so I can drive!" Squall's grip on his arm loosened enough for the detective to pull free, returning his hand to the steering wheel, "You were having some sort of episode. Is there something you're not telling me about?"
"What do you mean?"
His voice was still rough, and Cloud ignored how similar it was to his voice when…well, this was definitely not the right time to talk about those things. "You're having psychological issues!" Cloud clenched his jaw as they went over a particularly rough patch, "It could be important for my case!"
"I don't have psychological issues…"
"Bullshit!"
Cloud tried to focus on the road as he heard Squall let out a harsh sigh after a long pause, "I went from a kid fixing motorcycles to a soldier cleaning brain matter off jeeps. I might be a little messed up."
The detective winced at Squall's words and didn't answer back, not knowing what to say in response to that. It turned out he didn't have to say anything, Squall filling the silence as he turned around. Cloud was suspicious that he was trying to say the subject until the other man spoke, "The van's giving up—"
"—That's good—"
"—But," Squall continued, frowning at the interruption, "it looks like they've sent in backup."
Cloud wanted to look but at these speeds he didn't want to risk taking his eyes off the unpaved road even for a second. If he hit one pothole at a slightly off angle they might get sent spinning off into the ditches lining the way. "What type of backup?"
"An SUV, maybe the one that went after us this morning, and a truck, both gaining fast."
"Damn." Both of the cars would be better equipped than his and Axel's sedans to the demands of the road. "Call Roxas. They might not be able to see them with us blocking their view."
Picking up the phone, Squall redialed the last number called, glad that Cloud had dropped the issue of his mental health. Ever since he had whited-out that morning during the gun fight he had been wondering if there actually was something wrong with him. The fact that Cloud seemed to think so too made him nervous and he didn't want to have to show it. As Roxas picked up his thoughts dissipated. Skipping formalities, Squall launched right into the reason he had called, "Two more vehicles are coming up from behind and gaining fast."
"What?! Oh shit, Axel!" Roxas's voice grew distant as he relayed the news to the redhead, Squall hearing the detective's reply clearly as a string of expletives sounded over the line. Returning to the phone, Roxas's voice was tense, "What's the plan?"
Squall held the phone up next to Cloud's face so that the blonde could speak into it, "Grab Axel's shotgun and hand it back to Riku." He heard Roxas splutter out something incomprehensible and even Squall's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "I know, but right now, with Axel driving, and the situation getting so dangerous, you need to make use of what you have. And the fact that you have a professional, though illegal, gunman in your car could be helpful."
"What about me? I could do it!"
"Roxas, your training is limited and right now we can't afford that." Cloud stifled a curse as the SUV came right up behind the car, tailgating for a few seconds before swerving into the wrong lane to pass them, Cloud tensing as he saw that the men inside were armed and training their weapons on Axel's car, "There's no time, you've got company!"
oOoOo
Hanging up, Roxas stared at the phone in his hand before glancing over his shoulder. Oh, there was a car coming up behind them. Inside, the passenger in front was aiming a rifle at them. As soon as he saw that, Roxas snapped into action and lunged down, straining against his seatbelt, and snatched the shotgun Axel had placed down at his feet were there was room to store it. Seeing what he was going for, Axel frowned, "What the hell, don't touch that Rox!"
"Don't worry, I'm just passing it along!"
"To who? Hey!" Axel's frown deepened as Roxas grabbed the gun and pushed it into the backseat, Riku blinking up as it was thrust into his hands.
The silver-haired man raised an eyebrow as Sora, who was sitting to his right, gasped in surprise, "Are you serious? You realize that you're giving me, the enemy, a weapon, right?"
Roxas scowled back at him as a dangerous glint flashed through Zexion's eyes who was seated to Riku's left, "Desperate situations and all that! To your left!"
Urged on by the building panic in the blonde's voice, Riku looked over to find that they were being targeted. "Fine, but I'm billing the police department after all this is over."
"Consider it a favor!"
Responding with a small, mirthless smile, Riku turned to Zexion, "Alright Zex, roll down your window and lean back, will ya?" Unbuckling his seatbelt, Riku motioned for Sora to stay down before leaning over Zexion, propping his elbows up on the shorter man's thighs as he positioned the barrel of the gun in the opened window, "Don't mind me." Zexion scoffed but any response was cut off as the Organization fired the first shot, Sora letting out a shout as the back window shattered, spewing glass all over the occupants of the back seat.
Riku answered back in kind and his skills shown through, only needing to fire once to send his target, the man with the rifle in the passenger's seat, pitching forward with a hole in his forehead. Scowling, he sat up and glared at the shotgun, "I hate these. They're so imprecise."
Roxas blinked, still finding it hard to believe that the man had managed to drop his target on the first try, "But, you got him!"
Rolling his eyes, Riku glanced at the young man, "That's just what I'd expect an amateur to say."
Zexion let out a small tut, "Unfortunately, the job is not yet over. It seems that the man was easily replaceable."
Looking back, Riku saw that Zexion was right; the old shooter's body had been drawn into the back of the SUV only to have his seat filled by another man. Smirking Riku didn't even have to look down as he ejected the used shotgun shell and pushed a fresh one into the magazine, "They can replace all the guys they want, eventually they're going to run out. Zexion, you can roll up your window now. They just made this a lot easier for me."
Winking back at Sora, Riku brushed some of the remaining glass out of the window frame before turning around and leaning out through the gaping hole, resting his upper body on the exterior of the trunk. Taking aim, he was just about to make the shot when the black SUV suddenly swerved wildly, slamming into the side of Axel's back bumper. The redhead let out a curse as he fought to keep control of the car as it was knocked off balance, Riku getting tossed back inside as the back end of the sedan swung around.
oOoOo
Behind them, a noise of concern escaped Cloud, the man watching helplessly as Axel's car was rammed from behind by the Organization's SUV, the smaller vehicle tossing about before finally able to regain its traction. Letting out a breath of relief, he saw that they had their own problem to worry about, the large black truck bearing down on them.
He had his hands full, literally as his fingers gripped the steering wheel, with simply trying to simultaneously outrun his pursuer and keep up with Axel as the redhead led them further and further out onto the back-country roads. Luckily he knew that his passenger knew how to handle himself, "Leon, are you feeling up to taking care of those guys?"
Getting the blonde detective's drift, Squall gave a stiff nod and switched the safety off of his handgun, "Line us up and I'll see what I can do."
"Where do you want to be?"
Squall glanced back at the truck before rolling down his window and unbuckling his seatbelt, "Just keep them behind us and drive straight."
"Wait, what are you doing? Hey!" Cloud struggled to keep his eyes on the road as Squall crawled half-way out of the window, the man actually sitting on the window frame as he locked his feet under the passenger's seat to maintain enough balance to release his grip on the frame of his car with his hands.
Closing an eye, Squall took aim and fired off a few rounds at the driver just as he heard more gunfire being exchanged between the two cars up ahead, the loud boom of a shotgun implying that Riku had managed to right himself. All of the bullets he fired hit the front windshield, the glass cracking but refusing to break. Like Cloud's car, the truck seemed to be equipped with bulletproof glass. "Shit. This is going to take too long…"
Seeing an arm reach out of the truck window with a pistol in hand, Squall slid back inside, ducking his head as heavy-grade ammunition slammed into the back windshield of Cloud's car. As he looked up again, Squall's gray eyes narrowed, "Can you get behind the truck?"
"Why?"
"Just do it, alright?"
Scowling, Cloud turned the wheel, sending the car flying towards the ditch on the side of the road then pushed down on the breaks, going eighty to forty in about one second. It wasn't a dramatic decrease in speed but the truck, caught off guard and not able to stop in time, zoomed past them. Switching his foot back to the gas pedal, Cloud returned to the chase, although this time the hunter had become the hunted.
As Squall began to climb back out of the window, Cloud shot a few uneasy glances in the man's direction, "What are you going to do now?"
"I'm going to put an end to this before one of us gets hurt. Get closer to them."
Cloud scoffed; his front bumper was almost tapping the truck's back bumper, "How close do you need to be?"
"Closer!" Squall leaned out the window a little more. What he was about to do was dangerous but it was an old SeeD maneuver and it had worked for him before. Of course, that time he had been riding in a 4x4 so the heights of the two cars had been about equal but the principal was bound to be the same. Moving fast, because he knew Cloud would try to stop him if he realized what he was trying to do, Squall grabbed on to the top of the car and pulled himself completely out through the window, crouching so that his feet were balanced on the edge of the window frame.
Cloud, of course, noticed. And he wasn't happy about it. "What the hell are you doing, you psychotic son of a bitch?! Get back in here!"
"Stay close, I'll need a pick up after I'm done."
That was the only thing Squall said before he jumped. Reaching back, his hands snagged the edge of the bed of the truck, his boot only scuffing against the dirt road once before he heaved himself up and over, tumbling into the bed. Not giving the driver and his passenger time to look behind them, with a few solid hits with the butt of his gun Squall managed to crack the back window. Although it didn't shatter, the glass crumpled a bit and in a smooth movement, Squall reached up and yanked the deformed glass out of its frame. With his other hand, he lifted his gun and, just as the two men drew their own weapons, fired one round and point- blank range into the two Organization members with all of the skill possessed by a trained special-ops soldier.
The two men were dead before they even knew what hit them, the driver falling forward as his foot seemed to collapse and slip onto the break pedal. Either way, Squall was pitched back, the truck suddenly spinning out of control and off of the road. Laying down in the bed of the truck, Squall braced himself for impact as they flew towards the ditch. The whole truck gave a huge lurch, Squall thrown up into the air about a foot and a half, and spun around once more before it slammed side first into a telephone pole. The impact tossed Squall from the back like a rag doll, the man managing to land in a roll as he roughly connected with the ground about ten feet from the wreck.
Pushing himself up from the grassy field, Squall shook his head as from behind he heard the sound of screeching brakes, footsteps running over to him a second later. "What the hell was that, you maniac?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"I'm fine."
"Just shut up! Is anything broken? Are you injured?" Squall looked up through his bangs to see Cloud crouching beside him, an angry, slightly concerned scowl on the detective's face.
"I said I'm fine. Besides, it got the job done, didn't it? One down, one to go."
"Yeah, you almost ended my job too." Not waiting for Squall to refuse a hand up, Cloud reached down and heaved the man to his feet, "Wasn't the whole point of this to keep you alive? Now get back into the car! We have to catch up with the others!"
Not quite following the agitated blonde's logic but knowing an order when he heard one, and wanting to get back into the chase himself, he hurried back to his seat. As Cloud jumped in and started up the engine, Squall could just make out the other two cars further up ahead, the large cloud of dust being spun up by their wheels the biggest giveaway.
In his push to catch up and perhaps still angry about Squall's little stunt, Cloud pushed his car to reckless speeds, the wheels feeling as if they were barely touching the ground as they flew over the potholes and mud puddles. Quickly buckling back up to keep from being bounced up and hitting his head against the ceiling, Squall leaned forward to hold onto the dashboard as Cloud stared straight ahead with fire in his blue eyes. Squall now recognized it as the look he made when he was fully engrossed in his work and, he had to admit, it was fairly attractive on the man's pale face.
About two tense minutes later, they were back in the game, though just barely. Drawing close, both men immediately noticed that the Organization's SUV's front left tire had been deflated, Riku probably having taken it out with the shotgun. The back corner of Axel's car was pretty beaten up, indicating that the SUV had tried to force them off the road a few more times. The fact that Riku was no longer sprawled out over the back of the hood meant one of two things: either he had run out of shotgun shells or he had been wounded, a splatter of blood across the light exterior or the car an ominous indication of which was more likely.
Taking in the condition of Axel's car, Cloud grit his teeth, "One more hit and the car won't be able to take it. The wheel will be crushed and they'll lose it!"
As if the driver of the SUV had read his mind, they changed course, aiming straight for the damaged area of Axel's car. Cloud reacted automatically and accelerated, Squall holding on as the blonde used his car to shield his partner's vehicle from the impact. It was a move that the SUV didn't seem to appreciate very much, the larger car puling away and falling back before suddenly swinging right to Cloud, Cloud cursing as the wheel ripped out of his hands. Fully expecting to fly off the road and end up like the Organization's truck, Squall was shocked when the car didn't drive off of the road. In fact, it was still attached to the SUV as if the two had been fused together during the impact. In a way they had.
Cloud swore again as he tried to turn the wheel, "Shit! Our frames are locked! They're going to force us off the road!"
"Can't you knock them off instead?"
"Are you kidding? They have way too much horsepower for that!" Cloud's knuckles whitened as he tried to regain control over the steering wheel to no avail. The larger, stronger SUV was pushing them off of the road towards the ditch where they were sure to become untangled, right before they flipped end-over-end, finally coming to a stop as a pile of scrap metal.
Seeing Cloud was growing desperate, Squall fought to think of a way out, "S-slam on the breaks then, and turn hard to the left!"
Not hesitating a second, Cloud did as he was told, a high-pitched squeal filling the air as he slammed the break pedal all the way down to the floor and turned the wheel as hard as it would go to the right. The SUV, driven by its own momentum, was caught up in the motion, the frames becoming detached as Cloud's car spun in a wild 360. The SUV tried to stop as well but the sharp turn was too much for the top-heavy vehicle and it went into a roll and then another before coming to a stop, upside-down, in the middle of the street.
Panting, Cloud stared, his fingers still gripping the steering wheel, as he looked at the wreck in front of them, it taking him a second to realize that the smoke was wafting out from underneath the hood of his own car. "Shit!" Turning off the ignition, he jumped out, tentatively resting his hand on the hood to check if it was hot. Feeling that it wasn't any hotter than it should have been after a chase, Cloud was convinced that his engine wasn't on fire and flipped the hood open only to be caught in the face by a billow of black smoke. Stumbling back, he coughed, blinking his eyes open as he heard Squall exit the car as well, "My engine's destroyed! We aren't going anywhere in this."
Squall grunted a little, covering his nose and mouth as he leaned over the car's inner workings. Cloud's initial impression had been right. Now that it had been turned off, the car probably wouldn't even start up again, much less take them anywhere. The car would have to be towed into a mechanic to have the engine repaired, or replaced. From where he was standing the break pads also smelled like they could due to be replaced as well.
The sound of a horn honking startled him out of his thoughts and he spun around to see Axel driving up, the redhead sticking his head out the window as his brows furrowed in concern, "You guys alright?"
Cloud threw up his hands, "We're fine, but my car's not going anywhere."
"Well." Axel paused, glanced back at his other passengers, before waving them closer, "it'll be a tight squeeze but we'll make it work. Get in."
Both Squall and Cloud gave the man the same incredulous look before giving in. Neither wanted to be left out here in the country to wait for the Organization's back up to arrive. Taking a moment to put the hood back down and lock his car up, Cloud pocketed his keys and joined Squall by the already filled-to-capacity vehicle. Immediately zeroing in on the lesser of evils, Cloud swung the passenger's side door open and motioned with his head towards his brother, "Get up, Rox."
The smaller blonde glared up at him, "What? Are you kidding me? Why should I?"
"Because you weigh less and you're going on my lap."
"Like hell I am!" Despite his protests, Cloud's gaze left no room for negotiation. Grumbling, Roxas got out and let Cloud get settled before gingerly sitting on his brother's lap as if it were the worst thing he could possible do.
Following his pattern, Squall opened up the back door to find Sora blinking up at him. The teen's face was pale but otherwise he seemed healthy enough, one of his arms pressing against Riku's arm where the silver-haired man seemed to be wounded. Immediately catching on, Sora bounced up, letting Squall sit before jumping back inside, seeming much less bothered by the situation than Roxas was as his hands went right back to putting pressure on Riku's flesh wound. Squall winced as he remembered that a bullet had grazed his leg but remained silent as Sora shifted a bit. He didn't want his little brother worrying over more than he already was.
As soon as they were inside, Axel took off back towards the highway, the sunset nearly blinding them as the sped towards Twilight Town. The occupants of the car remained surprisingly quiet during the trip, except for Roxas's occasional complaint or Sora's softly murmured question about how Riku was doing. Following the original plan, Axel drove right through the city and back out through the other side into the mountains, the day having appropriately settled into twilight as they finally reached their destination: the police training camp. As promised it was remote; although they had only driven twenty miles out of town, they had been fully engulfed within the surrounding woods, a series of small cabins appearing in a clearing as Axel slowed down to a stop. "Here we are." Putting his car into park, he turned off the ignition, "I suggest we all settle down in one cabin. That way, everyone will be able to keep an eye on everyone."
Cloud nodded as Roxas pushed open the door, happy to finally be free, "Plus, the generator always takes eight hours to warm up so there won't be any heat."
"That too. Body heat is underrated." Flipping open the glove compartment of his car, Axel dug around before he pulled out a small key ring. "Luckily, I never gave back the keys from our trip up here during the summer. Apparently irresponsibility has its perks."
They walked and limped into cabin number one, Squall quickly taking in the accommodations. There were only two rooms, the main room filled with two full-sized beds, each with a single pillow and a thin blanket, a raggedy looking couch, a small table and a kitchenette. He could only assume that the second, smaller room was a bathroom. It had actually been better than what he was expecting but Riku was apparently insulted.
"This is it? This is where we're staying until the Organization gets off our back?"
Zexion collapsed down onto the couch as Roxas quickly claimed a bed, Zexion glaring up at Riku through glassy eyes, "Would you shut up and just be happy your wound is not more extensive?"
"What's your problem?"
Closing his eyes, Zexion leaned back, "My pain medication, seems to have worn off. After all the activity today I may have strained myself a little too far." His eyes flickered back open as he looked up at Riku, "You know, I heard once that the Somatosensory cortex in the brain," he pointed towards the top of his head, "controls the sensation of pain. If you took a gun and aimed it correctly—"
"I don't think so." Riku cut him off before he could even finish, "Just suck it up and take it like a man. Or at least like a ten year old boy."
Shaking his head, Cloud turned to Axel, "We should take turns keeping watch in case we get any surprise visitors tonight."
Axel let out a sigh but nodded, "I guess…Alright, you take Leon and go out first, so I can stay here and keep an eye on things. I don't think anyone else is about to get up off their ass to volunteer and Leon's still standing."
Cloud glanced back and Squall who shrugged, "Okay. We'll switch off in," he looked down at his watch, "five hours. Try to get some sleep so you don't pass out on your shift."
"Gotcha." As Cloud and Leon stepped back outside, Axel clapped his hands, "Alright, you heard him, it's bedtime. We had a long day and I'm not even gonna think about what kind of day tomorrow's going to be…"
No one complained. As Axel flopped down beside Roxas, Sora looked at the last remaining bed then over at Riku, "Um…"
Noticing the situation, Riku sent him disarming grin, "Since it's freezing in here, I don't think there's a problem in us sharing."
"But, uh, I don't think…" Sora's eyes darted over to the front door to the cabin and Riku waved dismissively.
"Squall will get over it. Besides, we both need to sleep and I'm not sleeping on the floor and I'm not letting you sleep on the floor. So, bed." Riku nodded towards it and Sora finally went along with the plan, kicking off his shoes and laying down awkwardly as Riku lay down beside him. They weren't touching but the bed wasn't that big so they were closer than what seemed appropriate. Worse, Sora knew that he tended to toss around in his sleep. What if he accidently hit Riku or something?
"Is, is your arm alright?"
"Huh? Oh, ya." Riku glanced over at it as he pulled off his jacket to use as a pillow, having been just enough of a gentlemen to give up the real pillow to Sora. Tugging the blanket over the both of them, he smirked at Sora's tense expression, "Relax kid, you're never going to get to sleep like that. I'm not going to do anything to you."
"What?" Confused, Sora suddenly realized what he meant and blushed, "No! It's not that!" Riku raised a brow. The teen had answered so confidently that Riku wondered if any similar thoughts had even crossed his mind. How naïve. "It's just, just that, uh, well, everything that's happened today's been weird I guess."
"You get used to it."
"This happens to you a lot?"
"All the time." Riku winked down at him again, his silver hair falling into his face as he turned to look at Sora, "Welcome to the criminal life. Now, you'd better get to sleep before Detective Flynn here issues out some police brutality for disruption of the peace—"
"You know it!" Riku grinned as Axel snapped back from the other bed, "Shut up over there, some of us need sleep."
"Alright, alright…keep your voice down."
Sora grinned at Riku's response and his face finally seemed to relax, "Well, goodnight Riku."
The brunette let his eyes flutter closed, completely missing the soft, yet strangely blank look that passed across Riku's face, "Yeah. You too…"