Good grief, it's so cold here right now! It's definitely winter now, no matter what the calendar says. I know that I don't really have a right to complain, being that I live in California and all, but for people living in a place where it can get over 110˚F in the summer, waking up to 25˚F temperatures does not suit our blood well. The worst part is that it's not even snowing! Well, the frost almost looks like snow if you squint…

Anyway, thank you very much to all of those who reviewed the last chapter: Lucia-luce, Nekotsubasa, Kareian, Shinimegami7, b4k4 ch4n, chibi heishi, Aindel S. Druida, CloudedMirror89, flammula, Clockwork Phoenix, An Antique Heart, Shukakku the adorable raccoon, Dragi, ramen-is-my-goddess, DeNiSaY60, ooXloveXoo582, , RealityInABottle, xHanako, MadeInHolland, The Hollow Fairy Wolf, Kikurukina Bal Des'cagel, Hi Kitsune, Bane-Dane, bliss, Becca86, shebajay, and LoneBoy7!! You dudes rock! Extra special thanks go to LoneBoy7 for the awesome fanart drawing! Yay! I put a link to it on my profile, go check it out! You have no idea how much it makes my day to get these kinds of things! :D

Now get somewhere warm (unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere in which case I hope that you appreciate your summer) and please enjoy the next chapter! ^^

O

Chapter 15

Soon after Riku returned, they were ready to go, not wanting to wait around for their little disappearing act to be discovered by the Twilight Town PD. Squall didn't protest as Riku hopped into the driver's seat, mostly because he was fine sitting next to Sora in the back. Coming out of the cabin a few minutes later, Zexion hobbled down the stairs as gracefully as one could while one had a broken leg, and took his spot in the passenger's seat. Glancing back, he gave everyone inside a brief once-over, "Has everyone got what they need?"

Nodding, Squall buckled his seatbelt. He did not want to take any chances with Riku behind the wheel. "The food's in the trunk, Sora has his meds, and we carried out everything we brought in."

"Excellent. Well then, Riku, to Xigbar's house please."

Riku snorted but turned the ignition key, "Yes sir. What am I, your chauffer?"

"Of course not. I would pay my chauffer. Now get going before someone notices something went wrong."

"Keep up that attitude and you'll be walking back to Traverse, broken leg or not."

Squall smiled a little as Zexion fell quiet after that, not even he wanted to test the truth in Riku's threat. As the silver-haired man began to drive them out of the camp grounds and towards Twilight Town, Squall's attention was diverted by a tug on his jacket's sleeve. Seeing him look down, Sora frowned uncertainly, "So, I get most of the plan but, who is it exactly that I'm going to be staying with?"

Opening his mouth to answer, Squall was beaten to it by Zexion, "You will be staying with Demyx. To be more precise, you will be staying with Demyx's friend Xigbar, until this whole matter is solved."

Eyeing the man from behind, Sora's frown didn't fade away, "And who's Demyx?"

Zexion didn't even blink, "Demyx is my boyfriend and he will treat you well. He always has had a strange affinity for the younger generation, probably because they at times match his maturity level…"

Rolling his eyes, Riku tossed a glance over his shoulder, "Relax Sora. Demyx is a good guy and not in our, line of business. I can't say I know Xigbar, but Demyx will take care of you."

Sora gave the driver a weak grin and nodded. Biting his lip to stop a snide comment from escaping, Squall instead reached out and ruffled his brother's hair. The gesture seemed to calm the teen and his shoulder's finally relaxed and he turned his smile up towards Squall. Giving a small smile back, Squall looked into Sora's sky blue eyes, "You'll be alright and this is the best I can do for the both of us right now. So, stay with Demyx until I come pick you up. You'll have to miss a bit more school but that's better than the alternative."

Sora let out a half-hearted groan as he slumped against Squall, "I'm gonna get held back again after this!"

"Don't worry; I'll help you with your homework."

Sora sat up a bit, "You remember how to do algebra?"

"Fine. I'll have Zexion help you with your homework."

His response came as a quick scoff from up front, "I think not. I do not waste my time tutoring in algebra. Besides, it would be much faster to simply hack into the school system and alter your grades superficially. That too is beneath someone of my skill level so unfortunately you are on your own."

Shrugging at Sora, Squall's smile lasted a while as Sora fell back against him with a soft sigh of exasperation.

The teen remained pretty much where he was during the whole ride back to Traverse Town. At first Squall was surprised by how pouty Sora was being before he looked down and saw the concerned look on Sora's face. Well, on half his face, the other half nestled against Squall's leather jacket. Sora didn't want to let him go. And he couldn't say that he didn't like the feeling.

Not wanting to break the moment, he contented himself with keeping an eye on Riku's driving as they flew through the countryside, skimmed through the outskirts of Twilight Town, then raced back out onto the intercity highway. The sky had grown nearly completely dark by now but Riku didn't seem perturbed by it at all, keeping the car sliding through traffic at a pace that just fell short of reckless as the headlights cut sharply through the night.

After their first small bout of conversation, the ride was mostly silent, the quiet only broken when Squall or Zexion would yell at Riku for doing something particularly stupid. Only once the Traverse Town city limits sign blew by did Zexion turn around slightly in his seat so that he could look back at the Leonharts, "Do either of you by chance have a working cell phone?"

Pulling his out, Squall shook his head as he found that he couldn't even turn it on, "My batteries are out."

"Here, mine's still good."

Sora fished his own cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to Zexion who gave a small nod in return, "This will only take a minute. I thought it would be best if I called ahead first."

Frowning, Riku glanced away from the road as he was maneuvering them from the fast land back towards the off-ramp, "We're ten minutes away, and you decide to call now?"

"It is less to ask their permission than to see whether or not they are home. And for the last time, eyes on the road Riku, you almost sideswiped that truck!"

Dialing, Zexion ignored Riku's response and pulled the phone up to his ear, everyone listening in but only able to hear Zexion's side of the conversation.

"Hello, Demyx?...Yes. I have a favor to ask of both you and Xigbar…Are you at his house?...Good, stay there I will be there momentarily…Yes, 'for real'…Okay, see you soon. Goodbye…"

Zexion hung up and passed the cell phone back to Sora, "Is he home?"

"Yes, they are both there. Riku, do you remember the way?"

"Give me some credit, I was just there two days ago you know." Exiting the freeway, he drove them not towards the city center but out towards the back of the First District. Squall knew that they had a few housing developments there, mostly for the people who ran the stores downtown, but had never been there himself. As Riku navigated through the neighborhood, he tried to develop his own mental map of the place, just in case he had to come back by himself to pick Sora up.

Finally, they pulled over to the curb and Zexion motioned towards the house sitting across the street, "That is Xigbar's house." Squall frowned a little. The house itself was alright, but the yard looked like it was falling into a bit of disrepair, some of the window screens looked askew or torn, and he could see the trash overflowing from the side yard. It looked like a college kid's house, not an adult's. Catching his expression, Zexion raised a brow, "Admittedly it is not the cleanliest environment, but the interior is somewhat more inhabitable than the exterior would have you believe. Now," Unbuckling his seatbelt, Zexion opened the side door, "if you all would follow me in, there is another matter which I wish to discuss with Xigbar before we leave."

Riku shrugged but turned off the ignition as Squall and Sora climbed out of the back. Waiting for his brother to join him, Squall crossed his arms over his chest, "You have everything you need, right?"

Sora blinked, "Well, I have my meds."

"I guess that's all you really need for now..." Beginning to follow as Zexion slowly made his way across the street, Squall began to get that sinking feeling of questioning whether or not what he was about to do was the right thing, "You're going to need to stay with Demyx and this Xigbar guy until I come and get you, alright? Try not to leave the house and if anything happens try to call me. I'll see if I can find a way to charge my phone…I don't want you calling anyone else though, okay? Except maybe your doctor if you're having medical troubles, but that's it."

"Okay, I guess…How long are you going to be?"

"I can't be sure. Probably no more than a week."

"A week?! I have to stay here inside for a whole week?"

Squall sighed. He knew that his brother hated being cooped up inside. "That's right. Do your best."

Sora groaned but fell quiet as Zexion made it up to the front door and rang the door bell. Immediately the door was flung open to reveal Demyx's face, the man practically jumping out to throw his arms around his shorter boyfriend's neck, "You're really not dead!"

Zexion let out a breath but allowed the hug, going so far as to place a quick peck on Demyx's cheek before he pulled away, "I do not know why you keep insisting that I have been killed."

"Well, it's been all over the news recently."

That caught Zexion's attention, "What has?"

Stepping aside so that they could come in, Demyx closed the front door behind them. "All the shooting and stuff. And that wreck outside of Twilight Town, you know, where that car flipped? And they said they found a stolen car in the driveway of a house nearby and when they showed a picture of it, I knew it was the one you had. And it was full of bullet holes and those two cars were totaled! And then there was that shooting actually in Twilight Town a few days ago that they started talking about when all that was brought up and it's just been crazy! Well, I guess for most people it wouldn't seem too weird but every time I hear something about it I always think that something's finally happened to you."

"Hm. I had not counted on gaining the media's attention. You have not told anyone anything about us, have you Demyx?"

The blonde shook his head, "No way! You know I wouldn't do that!"

"I do know, sometimes I just have to check."

Demyx's face relaxed into a soft smile before he blinked, "Oh, right! You wanted a favor?"

At the question, Squall stepped forward, pulling a reluctant Sora from behind him, "I need you to watch my brother, Sora for me while we're gone. I know that it's not really something I should be asking of you but he's being targeted and I need to know that he'll be safe."

Demyx looked from Squall to Zexion then down to Sora and blinked before a smile spread across his face, "Sure, no problem." Bending down so that he and Sora where at the same eye level, he held out his hand, which Sora took after a moment in a firm handshake, "Don't worry Sora, I'll take care of you. Hey, do you like video games?"

Sora's face brightened and Squall instantly felt better about his decision, "Yeah!"

Demyx's grin widened, "Good! Now I'll have someone to play with while Xig's at work!" The man straightened up and motioned back behind him towards the house, "It's way too boring being study in here alone, so it'll be nice to have someone else stuck here with me! Um, there's not really an extra bedroom, but you can have the couch. Trust me, it's definitely comfortable enough to sleep on, I've been there a few times."

Clearing his throat, Zexion caught his boyfriend's attention, "Are you sure it will be fine with Xigbar?"

Before Demyx even had time to reply, another voice answered from one of the side rooms, "Is he sure what will be fine with Xigbar?" And just like that, Squall was back on guard. The man who stepped out from around the corner was nothing short of intimidating, an eye patch covering his right eye while a huge scar that rivaled Squall's own cut down his left cheek. His dark hair that was pulled back into a long ponytail was streaked with gray, making Squall wonder how old the man actually was.

Only he and Sora though seemed to be in any sort of state of shock, Demyx quickly turning to the man with a grin, "Hey Xiggy, it's cool if Sora here stays for a while, right?"

"Aw, man, another freeloader? Fine, but he's gotta be your responsibility Dem. It's enough trouble looking after one of you, much less guarding both of your butts.'

"Awesome! See, it's fine."

Squall gave a small nod in thanks, still trying to figure out exactly who this Xigbar guy was when Zexion stepped forward, "Thank you very much Xigbar, but there is one more matter that I wished to discuss before we disappear. Have you gotten rid of your 'collection' yet?"

Xigbar blinked, the man stilling for a moment before an almost feral smirk spread across his face, "As if! You interested?"

"At the moment we seem to have a need for some of your goods. Unfortunately I have no way to repay you for the rental as of now but I hope something can be arranged?"

"Sure dude. I'll consider your boyfriend your collateral. Follow me down to my office and I'll see what we can do."

As Xigbar turned to go back deeper into the house, Zexion glanced over his shoulder at Riku and Squall, "Come along, I will need the extra hands."

Checking to make sure that Sora was being occupied by Demyx, Squall obeyed, falling in step beside Riku as they followed Zexion. Turning the corner, Squall realized that Xigbar was taking them down into the basement of the house. "Riku, do you know what's going on?"

The assassin was looking around curiously, "I have an idea. Zexion mentioned Xigbar's weird hobby to me once."

"What do you mean by 'hobby', and what did Zexion mean by 'collection'?"

Riku tisked, "You just don't have any patience, do you? You'll find out in a minute."

Scowling, Squall saw he wasn't going to get any information out of his accomplice. Turning his attention instead onto the men in front of them, he watched as Xigbar walked them across the small basement and to a large metal door built into the wall. Entering a keycode into the high-tech lock, Xigbar addressed them from over his shoulder, "Now remember, this isn't something you need to go telling everyone about. I don't need every wacko off the street coming to me. Actually, I don't even think Dem realizes what goes down here, bless his naïve, seriously dense little heart."

Zexion only raised a brow as Xigbar pushed the door open, "I believe Demyx thinks you deal drugs. Certainly not too wild of an accusation given your countenance." Stepping passed the taller man, Zexion walked through the metal door and flicked on a light inside, pausing only to wave for Riku and Squall to follow.

Doing so, Squall's eyes widened as he brushed passed Xigbar, his footsteps halting as he just took a moment to look around. No wonder Xigbar's basement was so small, most of it seemed to have been converted into this, this, well, he could only really describe it as an arsenal. Hanging on the walls, sitting on shelves, and stacked up on tables in the center of the room were nearly every single type of gun and ammunition available to civilians and the military. Eyes skimming over the rows and rows of firearms, he gaze was immediately caught by one in particular and he walked over to it as if in a trance as Riku whistled behind him. "Just a hobby, huh? Do all these work?"

Xigbar crossed his arms, a level of pride evident in his voice as he watched the three men look over his collection, "Totally. Every single one is in perfect condition and ready to go! Usually I don't let people in here, but go ahead and pick whatever you guys want; I know you're good for it."

Reaching out, Squall delicately picked up the automatic rifle hanging on the wall in front of him. It was the exact model that SeeD used in combat. Just like his SeeD-issued handgun, the rifle felt right in his arms, the weight perfectly balanced up through his arms and onto his shoulder. Suddenly his eyes narrowed and he looked sharply over at Xigbar, "How did you get all of these? Civilians don't have authorization to purchase most of these weapons."

"There's this thing called the black market, heard of it?" Sticking his hands in his pockets, Xigbar walked over to him, his visible eye flashing, "Nice choice, by the way. Military issue assault rifle, fully automatic. Has some issues but you can beat the shit out of it and it will still work. You even look like you know how to hold it."

Without even looking up from his examination of small handguns, Zexion explained, "Leon was a member of the SeeD mercenary group. It is not surprising that he would choose a weapon familiar to him."

"SeeD, huh? Awesome." Xigbar shrugged as he moved to get some ammunition for the gun Squall had picked, "I tried getting in once but it didn't work out well. Apparently I don't know how to 'obey my commanding officer'. Whatever, the guy just wasn't letting me have enough fun."

Squall really didn't want to know what this man's idea of "fun" was, although he suspected that it had something to do with shooting things. "Why do you own so many weapons? Are you a local supplier?"

"As if! This is just my personal collection."

Choosing two new guns for himself, Zexion joined them, "Xigbar is simply eccentric, although he has been kind enough over the years to allow me access to his assortment of weaponry."

"Only 'cause shorty here stumbled into my vault. Little smart ass was just supposed to be visiting with Demyx and instead he disappears and the next thing I know my gun locker's been invaded and Ienzo's poking through my stuff!"

Zexion just shrugged, denying nothing. "I cannot be blamed for your substandard security measures. If you had not wanted me to investigate than you should not have made your vault so enticing—"

Interrupting from the other side of the room, Riku motioned towards a high-end sniper rifle, "I don't know how you got that, but I'll buy it off of you. How much do you want for it?"

"Sorry dude, not for sale. You can borrow it if you want, but that's it man."

"Fine." Snatching the mentioned gun off of the wall, Riku picked up the other two handguns he had selected and set the pile onto the table next to where the rest of the group had gathered. "But you're going to tell me where you got it."

"A true enthusiast never reveals his sources dude." Looking over what they had, Xigbar nodded before tossing them a large black duffle bag, "You might wanna pack those up when you take them out so no one asks any questions."

After following his advice, the four emerged from the basement to find Sora and Demyx still talking to each other, although now Demyx seemed to be showing off the guitar in his hands with some enthusiasm. Squall smiled just a little at the sight as he adjusted the weight of the duffle bag on his shoulder. It looked like Sora was going to be alright here. Well, he still didn't trust Xigbar but Demyx seemed half-way decent. And in a weird way he supposed that it was reassuring to know that Sora was going to be under the protection of a guy like Xigbar.

Waiting for a break in their conversation, Squall walked over to Sora, resting a hand on the teen's head to get his attention, "Hey Sor, I think we're taking off soon."

"Already?" It had been Demyx who replied, the rocker standing up as Zexion moved over to the door, "But you just got here. Do you want to stay for dinner or something?"

Zexion shook his head, "I apologize, but we have work that needs to be done. Also, the longer we stay here, the more of a chance there is that we are putting you at risk."

"How long are you going to be out this time?"

"I cannot be sure. Hopefully not too long. If all goes well then you should be hearing about our work on the news. Riku, Leon, it is time for us to go."

Nodding, Squall gave Sora's hair one last ruffle, "Behave yourself, but more importantly stay safe."

Sora frowned anxiously up at his brother, "I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about!"

"Don't stress out too much," Squall lurched forward as Riku swung an arm around his neck, the silver-haired man sending Sora a cocky wink, "I'll watch out for him."

Growling, Squall shoved Riku's arm off, reluctantly slightly grateful as he heard Sora let out a light laugh. "I can watch myself; I'm the one who'll probably end up having to save your ass."

"We'll see—"

"—If you two are quite done, we should be leaving. Now."

Squall frowned at the interruption but nevertheless walked towards the door as Zexion walked stepped out onto the sidewalk, Riku grudgingly following at his heels. Waving back at Sora, he closed the front door behind them and headed straight for the car, stowing their new cache of weapons in the trunk as soon as Riku had the vehicle unlocked. Riku slid into the driver's seat once again as the other two men got inside, "So, back to HQ then?"

Zexion nodded, "Exactly. I do not think that the Organization is yet aware of its location so it should be safe."

"Alright. I'll park in the back alley. I'll have to dump the car soon anyway…Shame, it's pretty nice."

Since they were already in Traverse Town, the drive back to the Third District didn't take long even with Riku taking the back roads and side streets. Pretty soon they had arrived at their destination and between Squall and Riku managed to get all of their supplies inside in one trip, Zexion insisting that he would be of little use because of his leg. Whatever, he could've carried a couple of water bottles at least.

It was strange how much of a relief it was for Squall to be back inside their little hideout. Dropping a bag of food on the table, he pulled the duffle bag full of weaponry off of his shoulder and set it down gently. Stretching, he turned to Zexion as Riku dumped the food supplies that he had brought it, "I'm assuming that you have some sort of plan about what to do next?"

Zexion took a seat at the computer, calmly booting it up as Riku flopped down onto the couch, "Of course. I have had a long while to think on it after all." Entering a password, he spun his chair around to look at them as he waited for his computer to log in, his face suddenly serious, "Although it is true that we may have made the first offense against the Organization, their retaliation methods were quite frankly insulting. Revenge at this point would not only have the benefit of personal satisfaction but it is required of us if we wish to maintain any sort of reputation in our profession."

Sitting down at the table, Squall crossed his arms, "So we're going to attack the Organization? They have a lot of resources, it won't be easy for us to do with only three people."

"I never said that it would be easy. But it is possible. In this case, we will be able to move differently than we have in the past as this will not be a heist but instead a simple statement to show that we will not be intimated nor are we to be trifled with. Also, an important aspect of this whole matter is that we might be able to get the detectives off of our trail as well."

Squall stiffened, "You're not thinking of going after them too?"

"To the contrary, I am thinking of working with them." The small smirk that had spread across Zexion's lips made Squall doubt it, "When we infiltrate the Organization's building for the second time, if we gather evidence of their illegal activities from the inside, then the law will finally have some proof and be able to prosecute some of the Organizations most prominent members. I am sure that even the Twilight Town detectives would rather bring down the Organization if given the chance than bother with freelancers such as ourselves."

Finally it dawned on Squall what the man meant, "You're going to cut a deal with them. How do you know that will work?"

Riku waved a hand dismissively, "It'll work."

"Done it before?"

"More times than you would think."

Rolling his eyes, Zexion turned back to his computer, "I am sure we will at least be able to manage a significant reduction in our sentences, depending on the type of information we are able to bring out. However, the one thing that we will have to remember is that we cannot be connected with the crime this time. You must be prepared to leave no witnesses behind."

Pausing, Squall gave a small nod, "I can do that."

"You will have to. Now, I will be unable to accompany you this time thanks to my little fall so I will have to wait outside again in the van and verbally guide you through the security systems. I will try to develop a program that can easily allow either one of you to hack into their computer network to download the necessary incriminating files. As for the revenge aspect…Riku, could you go into the back room and get something for me? It is in a metal box on the floor of the closet."

Letting out a rough sigh, Riku rolled off of the couch and onto his feet, "I'm getting pretty tired of you telling me what to do…"

"I promise that you will not mind this."

A moment of silence fell between Squall and Zexion as Riku dragged himself into the next room, the only noise the sound of Zexion's hands flying over the keyboard as he went to work on something. He heard rustling from the back room and metal scraping against metal before Riku's voice rang back into the main space, "Holy shit, Zex, this is awesome!"

Dread immediately filled Squall. Whatever Riku found so amazing was not going to be good. His suspicions were confirmed as Riku carried out a heavy looking metal container and set it down in the middle of the room. Fearing what was inside but too curious not to look, Squall got to his feet and peered over Riku's shoulder. "Zexion?"

"Yes Leon?"

"Why did you have a box full of C-4 in your closet?"

"For special occasions. Now, you had better begin to make your preparations because we are making our move tomorrow night."

Axel let out a sigh as he walked out of the station, the soles of his shoes scuffing against the ground as Cloud followed close behind, another small package in his hand for their convict friends up at the training camp. Cloud frowned at the noise but didn't bother to say anything, knowing that the argument it would start would not be worth it. Neither he nor Axel were in the best of moods after having spent all day yesterday trying to compile a legitimate case against Leon, Riku, and Zexion. Not to mention having to explain to Head Detective Fisher where the hell they had disappeared to the day before. Now today Axel had already gotten roped into being the delivery boy and Cloud wasn't about to test his luck with the redhead.

Rolling his eyes, Axel shielded his eyes from the late morning sun as he walked towards his car in the parking lot, "You hear about that car that was stolen yesterday from across the street?"

Cloud nodded, leaning against the side of Axel's car as he waited for his partner to unlock it, "I heard about it from Roxas. It's sad to think that someone could have their car stolen right from under our noses."

"Seriously, you think someone would have seen something…" Eyeing the small package in Cloud's hands, Axel walked over to the trunk and unlatched it, "Gimme that and I'll stick it back here for the ride. Wait a minute…what's this doing here?"

Turning his head, Cloud watched in mild interest as Axel picked something up from the middle of his trunk, a frown spreading across the redhead's face as he looked at it. "It's a playing card. Weird. I can't even remember the last time I held a pack of cards…"

Playing card? Cloud's full attention was now on Axel as he tossed the package he had been holding into the trunk, "Let me see it."

"Sure."

Taking the card from Axel, Cloud turned it over in his hands, a feeling of dread welling up inside of him. It looked like it had come from the deck of cards he had sent up with Roxas yesterday to give to Riku. It was one of the joker cards. What were the chances that the joker card would fall out… "Where exactly did you find this?"

"Just sitting in the middle of trunk. Why, what's the big deal?"

Cloud clenched his hand, the card folded and bent in his fist, "Damn it. We need to get up there, now!"

"What's the rush?"

Cloud wrenched the passenger side door open and jumped inside, "Just go!"

"Alright, alright!" Slamming the trunk shut, Axel slid into the driver's seat and started the car, not speaking again until they were on the road, "What's going on?"

"That was from the deck of cards that I sent up with Roxas to give to Riku. When I gave it to him, Roxas put the sealed deck into his pocket to take up and when he came back he said that he gave them to Riku directly when he arrived."

Axel frowned, "If Rox had the cards in his pocket then how'd one end up in my trunk?"

Cloud scowled, "Unless the joker card happened to get stuck in Rox's pocket and then somehow managed to fall out into the trunk, there's only one thing that I can think of."

Remaining silent for a second, Axel's eyes suddenly narrowed, "Riku was in my trunk?"

"And I doubt the fact that the joker card was left exactly in the center of your trunk was a coincidence. He was telling us something, and I'm guessing it's that we've just been played. Can't you drive any faster?"

"I'm going as fast as I can! I don't want to hit anyone just because of a hunch of yours!"

"Where are your lights?"

Axel frowned, "I'm not putting on my lights for your being paranoid! Now relax already, we'll get there soon, alright?"

The drive, although only lasting a short fifteen minutes, seemed to drag on for Cloud as he sat anxiously in his seat. There was no good reason for Riku to be anywhere near Axel's car, especially since the detective didn't actually keep anything inside the trunk of his car since it was his personal vehicle. The idea that the silver-haired felon might have used his younger brother's inexperience to make a move made Cloud's blood boil. It was one thing to try to pull one over on him or Axel but to get Roxas involved was way out of line. Of course, he shouldn't have expected anything better from them.

Finally the approached the police training camp after a brisk drive through the woods, Cloud immediately on guard as they were met with nothing but silence as Axel drove up to the main cabin. His suspicion finally seemed to wear off a little on Axel who narrowed his green eyes as he scanned the area, "I don't see anything weird...except you'd think that they'd at least check out the window to make sure it was us."

Cloud nodded, fingering his sidearm, "Are you armed?"

"Yeah." Cutting the engine, Axel cautiously opened his door, "I'll go first, you come in close behind me. But don't go barging in, they could just be sleeping in or something."

Somehow sleeping in the middle of the day didn't sound like something any of them, including Sora, would do, but Cloud kept himself from forcing his way inside immediately. Following Axel up to the cabin door, one hand ready to pull his weapon at a moment's notice, he waited tensely as Axel rapped on the door with his knuckles, "Hello? Anyone home?"

No reply. Eyes hardening, Axel gave a small nod and they both pulled out their guns. At this point, the best case scenario, and the least likely, was that all four men were asleep. The worst case scenario was that the Organization had already gotten to them and that there was an ambush waiting for them inside. Watching Axel take a breath, the redhead only gave a small warning before he jumped back and kicked open the door

The front door crashed open, apparently not having been locked and Axel and Cloud quickly rushed inside, ready for anything. What they found was an abandoned room. Still cautious, Cloud walked over to the beds to check underneath them while Axel slunk over to the bathroom, a second passing before he spoke up, "Clear!"

Cloud sighed as he straightened up, "All clear here too."

Holstering his pistol, Axel put his hands on his hips, "Looks like they skipped out on us!"

"Yeah." Cloud frowned as he sat down on one of the mattresses, "So Riku probably climbed into the back of the car without Rox noticing and got a ride back to Twilight Town, then somehow came back here and picked the rest of them up…Damn it, this means I have to reprimand Roxas now—"

He was interrupted as Axel started as if he had been shocked, "The car!"

"What?"

"That stolen car!" Spinning around, Axel's eyes were lit up, "I'll bet you that Riku was the one who stole that car across from the police station! It was reported missing not too long after Rox got back."

Cloud was instantly back on his feet, "That does seem like something he would do. We have the license number for the stolen vehicle on file already, we can put out an alert to see if we can't track it down."

Axel's face fell at the idea, "That probably won't do much good. They're too smart to hang on to a stolen car for that long."

"But at least we'll know what city they ended up in. I'm guessing that they didn't go too far."

"Why's that?"

"First off because they have Sora with them. I think it was pretty clear that Leon wanted to keep the kid out of it as much as possible so I doubt that they would have just driven off with him on board. They probably went somewhere familiar, at least somewhere Leon thought it was safe to leave Sora before driving off again. And second, because Zexion's boyfriend lives in Traverse Town. Roxas said that Zexion called him yesterday and they sounded fairly close so I don't think that Zexion would want to move too far away from him."

"Alright. Then we should start looking for places where Leon could've dropped Sora off. Maybe he'll still be there."

Cloud nodded quickly. They had been thrown back into the game. "We'll need to get a list of all of their relatives, friends and acquaintances. We can start with Leon's house and then check in with Zexion's boyfriend to see if he made any surprise visits. I think they mentioned something about him staying with a friend though, so we'll also have to build a list of all of the boyfriend's connections to try and find out where he is…" Cloud's voice trailed off as he noticed that Axel's attention seemed to be drifting, "Are you getting all of this?"

"Huh? Yeah. It just looks like they left us a note."

"What?" Axel pointed over to the kitchen table where the only thing left was the pad of paper and pen Cloud had sent up for them, something written across the lined paper. Both detectives quickly made their way across the room and leaned over the table. The lettering was a tight, neat scrawl with a sort of structured elegance to it that immediately let Cloud know that it had been Zexion who had wrote it out.

Detectives Strife and Flynn, etc.,

You are by now undoubtedly aware that we have made our escape at the expense of your momentary carelessness. I thank you for your concern over our safety but we are no longer interested in partaking in your hospitality. These walls have grown much too confining and we have decided to once again take matters into our own hands. For what it is worth, I can assure you that we no longer intend to go into hiding but shall instead focus our energies on reducing our necessary sentencing in the eyes of the law. There is no doubt in my mind that we will meet again soon, but perhaps next time it will be under more favorable circumstances. Until that time, may I suggest taking a vacation? Too much stress is not good for one's health.

Sincerely,

Z, R, and L

Cloud narrowed his eyes as he finished reading, waiting half a second for Axel to look up, the man's green eyes flashing, "They're totally making fun of us!"

"Probably, but what I'm more worried about is what he meant when he said that they were going to try to get their sentences reduced."

"Do you think they're going to return some of the goods they stole?"

Thinking for a moment, Cloud shook his head, "I don't know. That doesn't seem like them. Anyway, this tells me that I was probably right in thinking they didn't run off too far. If they're really not going back into hiding, it should be a lot easier to find them."

Picking up the pad of paper, Axel tore off the top sheet, "Let's hold onto this for a while and see if we can read any more into it." He folded it up and stuck it into his pocket before turning to Cloud, "Now, I guess we'd better head back to town, unless you want to take their advice and take a quick vacation."

Cloud sighed as he followed Axel out of the cabin, "Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to get a break until all three of them are behind bars…"

Before Squall even fully realized what was happening, a full day had passed and they were getting ready to head out. He hadn't stepped a foot out of the building for the past twenty-four hours, all three of them too busy trying to develop a plan that usually would have taken them at least two weeks to set up. They had even taken turns sleeping, Squall discovering that there was a small bed in the back which he gratefully used to take a brief four hour nap on. Usually he wouldn't have even bothered but he knew that he was going to have to be at the top of his game that night.

As they began to pack, Squall couldn't help but think that they looked like they were preparing for an all-out assault against the Organization rather than a quick break-in. Which, in a way, he supposed was true. Making sure that all of their firearms were loaded and working, Squall eyed Riku as he lifted up the box full of explosives to load into the back of the van, "Be careful with that."

Letting out a breath as he readjusted his grip on the heavy metal container, Riku threw him back a glare, "Yeah, like I was planning on throwing it across the room. I know how to handle this stuff."

So did Squall. Although it had definitely not been in their usual supply kit, every now and again SeeD managed to make use of C-4, usually using small amounts to blow open sealed enemy hideouts. "Just take it easy. It's bad enough we'll have to be riding in back with that stuff."

Riku scoffed then looked down into the box, "Hey, do you think that, since we'll be carrying this stuff in with us, if it gets hit by a shot, it'll get set off and we'll all just blow up?"

Blinking, Squall set the gun he was holding down. "I don't know…I've never heard of a round being able to trigger the explosion, but I haven't heard anything saying it wouldn't either."

"Let's hope it doesn't then. And try to take out everyone else with a weapon before they get a shot off."

"I do hope that the both of you managed to develop a more detailed plan than that."

Squall looked up as Zexion walked back inside. He had slipped out only a few minutes ago to pull up the van from whatever dark corner of the city he had it parked in. He had changed into clothes more suited for their job, back to wearing that hooded sweatshirt and those tight-fitting pants that literally made him look a decade younger than he actually was. Squall and Riku on the other hand were still wearing what they had came in with, not having had the luxury of having a change of clothes with them. Luckily, they were decked out in mostly dark colors anyway, so hopefully they weren't going to be at too much of a disadvantage.

Riku just grinned cheekily at the schemer, "Nope, that's pretty much it. Just run in and start shooting people. That's what you wanted, right?"

Zexion didn't look amused and turned his sharp gaze to Squall, "Please tell me he is just joking?"

Squall nodded and picked up his assault rifle and Riku's sniper rifle, "He's joking. But our plan's not much more complex."

"Perfect…" Heaving a sigh, Zexion unplugged his laptop and a few other electronic equipment, "As long as you get the job done, without being caught sight of, I suppose it does not matter which methods you use. After all, I will be in the van this time around so if you mess up, I will be able to make my getaway before the authorities arrive."

There was no doubt in Squall's mind that Zexion would actually go through with his threat if it came down to it. Hopefully they wouldn't have to test it. With that thought bouncing around in his head, Squall was hardly bothered by all the heavy lifting as he and Riku, mostly him, loaded up the back of the truck as Zexion organized it all. He was less surprised than he thought he was going to be when he finally stepped outside and found that it was dark once again, an entire day having passed by without him seeing one glimmer of sunlight. It made it seem like less than a few hours had passed since they had first arrived.

By the time that they were ready to go there was less space then ever in the back for him and Riku to stand, the space filled with Zexion's complex computing equipment, their new guns, and, of course, the box full of C-4. Riku scowled at Zexion as the man hobbled up to close them in, "You'd better drive fast, or else we're going to run out of oxygen back here."

Zexion had the gall to smirk at them as he momentarily set down his crutches so that he could get a firm hold on the door, "I am sure that you will manage somehow. Just try not to fall on any of the weaponry; it might garner a bit of attention on the highway if a small explosion suddenly erupts from the back of the van."

Squall and Riku exchanged a look. That was definitely not something that they were going to allow to happen. "Just close the door already and get us on the road. We're wasting moonlight!"

"If you insist."