Chapter Summary:
Planning a rescue mission, dealing with fidgety executives and Soldiers, executing the aforementioned rescue mission, and dealing with its aftershocks—all within the span of eighteen hours. All to receive one more gut-wrenching call from Gast claiming to be as important as looking after an injured family member. Vincent can't help but wonder when will the storm centred around himself end.
—
Vincent was curled up on an armchair in Elena's room at the medical wing, typing away on his tablet. The tapping of his fingers on the screen mixed with the beeping of Elena's heart monitor and the deep, even rhythm of her breathing. Her left arm was in a cast, her head, torso, and right ankle were heavily bandaged, and several bruises and cuts covered a large part of her body. An IV delivered painkillers and she wore an oxygen mask. The doctors said she was out of danger but she hadn't woken up since Vincent and Rude rushed her to the medical wing.
Kunsel was in the room across the hall with a broken leg, several cracked ribs, a broken nose, and assorted cuts and bruises. His forehead was heavily bandaged and there was a net around his head from the surgery to repair his cracked skull. Like Elena, he had yet to wake up after passing out on the evacuation chopper on their way to Shinra HQ.
Vincent was writing up the report of the events leading up to and including Elena and Kunsel's rescue from an Avalanche hideout near Kalm. He was wearing a patch over his left eye while it healed from a stray knife jab, and a bandage on his right forearm. Even though his healing rate was faster than even Sephiroth's thanks to Chaos's presence, Gast had tried to get him to rest in his own room; however, Vincent refused to let Elena out of his sight. Tseng, Rude, and Reno were busy interrogating Heidegger, Scarlet, and Ginga—Avalanche's leader in the region—while Cissnei coordinated information with Lazard and Sephiroth. Angeal had stayed behind at the factory to gather all documents that hadn't been destroyed during the raid in hopes of finding information about other Avalanche cells and their plans for the summit and other upcoming events.
Zack was in Kunsel's room, loth to let anyone else look after his pupil. Cloud had been excused from the mission altogether when Vincent put him in charge of all the data and items they had gathered at Nibelheim, but he had found the time to call Vincent and Zack as soon as he heard they were back to check on Elena and Kunsel's condition.
From their kidnapping to their hospitalisation, the Turk and the Soldier's ordeal lasted about thirteen hours, and they'd been in the medical wing for at least four. All in all, no more than eighteen hours had passed, and yet Vincent felt like an entire week of his life had been spent trying to save the life of both operatives.
As soon as they landed at the top of the Shinra building, the four men inside the helicopter sprung into action, their plan having been detailed on the flight over from Midgar.
Cloud stayed behind guarding the cargo and waiting for Gast and his team to arrive to start transporting everything to the Science Department. He had strict instructions to make a copy of the Fail-Safe binder for Vincent and to hold on to it until the situation with the moles had been resolved. Vincent, Reno, and Zack rushed to the Turks' floor, where Tseng and Cissnei waited along with Lazard and Rufus. Sephiroth had wanted to be there but, for obvious reasons, he was ordered to stay away. Angeal was already on the field, surveilling Elena and Kunsel's last known location along with Rude.
Vincent and the other two barged into the conference room, seething and ready to bash someone's head in. Chaos was still restless within Vincent, making the Head Turk's skin ripple now and again with the threat of a transformation. Rufus and Lazard looked at him warily.
"It's fine," Vincent grumbled, Chaos's voice echoing around the edges. "He's behaving. What's the situation?"
Tseng nodded and brought up surveillance photos on the overhead projector. They showed a run-down factory of sorts in a valley between two mountain ranges near an ocean shore.
"The Avalanche surveillance team was able to locate their main hideout in the area on Monday. It was about an hour after the summit meeting where it was decided that Zack would replace Sephiroth as Soldier's rep. We now know that it was Heidegger that tipped the local Avalanche leader, and their conversation allowed Elena and Kunsel to pinpoint Avalanche's location. It's an abandoned seafood processing plant about three quarters of the way between Midgar and Kalm. They managed to stay off radar by using the facility's built-in tunnels. Communication up until a couple of weeks ago was done mainly via radio because there weren't enough wireless towers in the area."
Rufus's stare darkened. "That bitch made us invest in the area under the pretext that a new testing facility could be built there. She said she wanted more towers there to be able to better communicate with the prospecting teams." He punched the table, cursing. "I can't believe she was doing it to help Avalanche."
"Calm down, Rufus. We'll have plenty of time to think of a way to handle them once we get Elena and Kunsel back," Lazard said.
Rufus exhaled slowly and nodded. Tseng kept going.
"It was a good thing that we invested in the towers, otherwise we never would've intercepted the call between Heidegger and Avalanche. It also helped us in programming the drones to take the surveillance pictures. As soon as we realised they were there, we sent out Kunsel and Elena to stake out the facility in order to come up with a plan of attack. At the same time, Rude was interrogating Palmer about his attempt at selling the plans in Junon. He caved easily and ratted out Scarlet and Heidegger. That's when things snowballed south."
He switched the pictures on the projector and showed pictures that Elena and Kunsel had sent before disappearing. There were notes attached to each picture that detailed how many people guarded the access points as well as the timing of the shift changes.
"Almost ten minutes after we received these pictures, all communication with Elena and Kunsel was lost. The GPS units built into their phones stopped working and the instruments monitoring their vitals went offline. The same thing happened with Scarlet and Heidegger's phones—they stopped transmitting their location as soon as they stepped out of the building."
"How did they know we were on to them, yo?"
"A member of the Security Department saw Rude taking Palmer in for questioning and tipped Heidegger off," Cissnei said. "We were forced to detain all security personnel in the building to make sure there were no more information leaks, but the damage was already done."
"I hate being the one asking this, but… if we lost all contact with them, how do we know Elena and Kunsel are alive?" Zack asked.
Tseng's expression turned grim as he switched the images on the projector once more.
"Because of this."
One of two pictures showed Elena tied to a chair; her jacket had been torn into strips and used to bind her to the chair and to gag and blindfold her. There was a large cut on her left temple and her lip was split. The picture right next to it showed Kunsel on the floor with his hands tied behind his back and his ankles tied together. He was also gagged and blindfolded and there was a lot of blood on the lower half of his face. There was no way to know if they were conscious or not until Tseng played an audio file that had been sent along with the photos.
"This is Ginga, leader of Avalanche. We have Elena of the Turks and Kunsel of Soldier as our hostages. We demand Rufus Shinra's resignation as President of the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company and the discontinuation of all mako reactors effective immediately. You have twenty-four hours to comply, or your lapdogs will die."
In the background, Elena and Kunsel could be heard screaming in pain even through their gags. The audio ran for a few seconds more before stopping entirely.
Those who had already seen the photos and heard the audio bit back their outrage. Reno and Zack cursed and were visibly restless, while Vincent remained stock still, his eyes closed. The only outward sign that he was in any way affected by the situation was the flickering of his eyelids.
"How long ago did you receive this?" Vincent asked, eyes still closed.
"Five hours. I called Reno as soon as I finished going over the photos and audio," Tseng said.
"Do you know where they are?"
"The abandoned plant," Cissnei answered.
"Have you heard anything from Angeal and Rude?"
"There has been some movement inside the plant but nothing outside. We believe they're sticking exclusively to the tunnels now that they know we've found their location. There hasn't been any sight of Scarlet or Heidegger but, again, they could already be inside."
"Just say the word, Bossman. I'll fly us all up there, we'll get the kids out and then we'll burn that den of snakes to the ground."
"We need Scarlet and Heidegger alive," Lazard said. "We need to know just how much information they've leaked out to Avalanche and our rivals. It would also help if we could capture Ginga."
"You've gotta be kiddin'!" Reno snapped. "They fucking sold us out and you're expecting us to let them live?"
"Believe me, they won't have particularly long lives," Rufus hissed.
"We'll deal with that later," Vincent said. "Right now we need a plan. Barging in guns blazing might do more harm than good, particularly when dealing with a ragtag troupe of easily frightened, trigger happy incompetents that have nothing to lose. Elena and Kunsel will endure; we just need to play our cards right."
Lazard relaxed, obviously relieved that someone in the room was thinking logically, if only for the time being.
"I think the best course of action would be to cut the power to the facility. It would kill their security cameras and leave them in a state of confusion that we could use to our advantage," he said.
Cissnei took the remote from Tseng's hands and brought up the blueprints for the factory that she had procured as soon as Elena reported the location of Avalanche's hideout.
"That should be relatively easy," she said, using the laser to point out the small shed that housed the plant's generator. "It's just a matter of infiltrating this small construction here and switching everything off."
"We know that the tunnels come out in this area," Tseng said, taking the other laser pointer and indicating a small way station. "We can have a small team here to catch any strays while we raid the plant. According to Kunsel's notes, security is very thin and sloppy on the east entrance. That seems like a safe access and egress point."
"Where are Elena and Kunsel held?" Zack asked.
"We have narrowed it down to either the cargo area near the tunnels or the packing section on the second floor. Angeal and Rude are trying to figure out which of the two areas is the right one but visibility from their vantage point isn't very good and there's really no other place they can try to get a better view from."
"We need three teams, then," Zack said. "One positioned at the way station, and two to infiltrate the factory. One would focus on the hostiles and the other would look for our friends and the moles."
"I'll take care of the hostiles," Vincent said. "Let Soldier patrol the way station while the Turks take Elena and Kunsel to safety and capture Scarlet and Heidegger if they're there."
Zack and Lazard looked at Vincent with twin looks of skepticism. When they turned to Rufus, they were surprised to see him nodding in approval.
"I'm sorry, Director Valentine, but… are you sure? We don't know how many people they have inside," Zack said cautiously.
Vincent's lips curled in a menacing grin. When his eyes finally opened, they shone with a cold, golden glow, and his voice as he spoke was more Chaos than Vincent.
"The more the merrier," he intoned.
It took a bit of convincing and a stern order from Rufus for Lazard and Zack to shut up and do as they were told, but in the end they went with Vincent's plan. Zack asked for two hours to rally and outfit enough Soldier operatives to barricade the tunnels; Reno used that time to prepare the helicopter that would take the Turks to the location. With Heidegger and Scarlet gone, Rufus had to authorise the use of two Gelnika airplanes to transport the Soldier units, and Lazard personally oversaw their preparations. Cissnei contacted Angeal and Rude and relayed the plan to them as soon as the meeting was over. After that, she set up a secure network for the extraction team to communicate in case any Avalanche informants were still at large in the building.
While the preparations were under way, Vincent took the chance to eat. He knew he'd need to keep up his strength for Chaos to be able to raid Avalanche's hideout on his own. He was in his office eating take-out from a nearby café when Rufus entered. The young President's expression was grim as he sat across from the Head Turk with his arms folded over his chest. The gunman took the blond's overall appearance before offering him some of his food. A small smile curved Rufus's lips as he shook his head minutely.
"You need it more than I," was all he said.
Vincent shrugged and took another bite from his chicken parmesan. He chewed slowly, trying to gauge whether Rufus would say something or if it was up to him to start the conversation. As he swallowed, he realised the younger man had no idea where to begin.
"I told Reno I'd have a long chat with you about absolute confidence votes and the hassle they can be. Now, though, I don't think I need to."
That seemed to hit the nail on the head. Rufus slumped in his chair, covering his face with his hands and grunting in frustration.
"It's my fault. I knew those three weasels were nothing but trouble even before I took over, but I never imagined they'd go so far as to sabotage the company and allow my employees to come to harm. If something happens to Elena and Kunsel, I—"
"Nothing will happen to them," Vincent said sternly. "Elena's my family—"
"She's my family, too!" Rufus interrupted, sitting on the edge of his chair and punching the armrests. "The Turks are the only family I have left, Vincent! They kept me safe from my father, for Planet's sake. And now…"
He rested his head in his hands, trembling in anger and fear.
Vincent wasn't shocked to learn that Old Shinra had tried to get rid of his son in one way or another. He'd met the man and knew he was nothing but bad news all around. He wasn't surprised to learn that Tseng and the others, possibly spurred by Veld, had decided to protect the young man from the old bastard's ambition, either. What Reno had told him back at Nibelheim made a lot more sense now, and he made a mental note to get the whole story from the others as soon as there was a chance.
However, seeing Rufus so shaken up was a surprise. There was a rumour circulating the company stating that no one had ever seen Rufus bleed or cry. He didn't know anything about that, but he did know that the young man had a flinty disposition. He had rarely seen Rufus outside of work so he had no idea if it was just an act or if the blond really was like that. Right now, however, he supposed the man was as multifaceted as himself. There was no way to fake such concern and guilt over the fate of another person.
Leaving his food aside for a moment, Vincent stood up and walked around his desk to stand behind Rufus's chair. He placed his hands on the blond's shoulders and squeezed reassuringly. Once he felt the younger man relax, he spoke.
"If you feel so strongly about Elena and the others, then I know exactly how you feel right now, sir. That being the case, I hope you believe me when I say that I will do everything in my power to bring Elena and Kunsel back alive. Afterwards, I will let you and Lazard deal with the weasels, and then the three of us will figure out how to protect those we hold dear in the future. We dropped the ball this once, Rufus, but I assure you that no one is going to threaten our family again. If they try, they'll have to deal with me and Chaos."
Rufus nodded, slumping back on the chair and tilting his head back to look at Vincent's face.
"Lazard and Zack are worried that Chaos might get trigger happy, to use your term."
Vincent grinned. "I know. We like it that way."
The blond frowned and twisted around in his chair to look at Vincent evenly. "I'm not kidding here, Vincent. I don't know exactly what's going on with you and… Gast's son, but if there's a chance, any chance, that you might lose control of Chaos and endanger everyone, I need to know."
"There is not the slightest chance of that happening. It's Galian we have some issues with, and as long as Gast's son stays away from us, everything will be fine. Chaos regards the Turks as his family, too, and as such he would never allow himself to put them in harm's way. I give you my word, sir."
Rufus nodded and relaxed again. "Good." He waited until Vincent returned to his chair to continue. "I know what Lazard said about needing Scarlet and Heidegger alive, but… it wouldn't be a tragedy if they fell off a flight of stairs and broke their legs or something similarly accidental."
The gunman laughed around a bite of pasta.
Bad weather held their departure back for an hour and a half and added another forty minutes to a flight that would have otherwise taken a little under an hour. By the time they made it to the vicinity of Avalanche's hideout, Elena and Kunsel had been missing for nearly twelve hours.
Reno landed the chopper two kilometres away from the outer edge of one of the mountain ranges that created the valley where the factory had been built. It was as close as they dared get—they didn't want Avalanche to hear them coming. A short call with Zack told them that the two Gelnikas had landed safely on the shore and the Soldier operatives were on their way to barricade the entrance to the tunnels that led to the factory's basement.
Rude and Angeal joined the Turks at the foot of the mountain and provided an updated report. Scarlet and Heidegger had just arrived at the factory and were greeted by a stocky guy in his late thirties that seemed to be running the operations in the hideout. Unlike everyone else, the ex-Shinra executives accessed the building through the northern entrance after arriving to the site in an unmarked vehicle.
"Let's go through this again," Vincent said. "Reno and Cissnei will cut the power off. We'll take that chance to infiltrate through the eastern entrance. I'll deal with the hostiles while the rest of you find Elena and Kunsel. Now that we know that Scarlet and Heidegger are here, you'll also take them under custody. Angeal and Rude, if you see the man that they talked to, bring him in, too. It's likely he's this Ginga character that recorded the ransom tape.
"I expect most of the rank and file will try to flee once they realise just what kind of trouble they're in and I'll do my best to cover you all, but if any strays try to attack you, take them down. We only need three prisoners."
Everyone nodded and checked their gear and weapons one more time before moving into the clearing that housed the factory.
Vincent saved his progress and stretched, rolling his head to relieve some of the tension on his neck. A quick glance at Elena told him she was still sound asleep; her vitals remained steady, too, and that brought him some degree of relief.
Rubbing his right eye, he reached into his jacket's pocket for a chocolate bar. He really should have gone to the cafeteria or at least the vending machines for something more substantial but he was more concerned with keeping an eye on Elena. He'd barely taken a bite out of the bar when the secure phone Cissnei gave him before they left for the factory vibrated in his pocket. Nearly inhaling the piece of chocolate in his mouth, he answered.
"Vincent speaking."
"It's Rufus. Just checking if it's all right to see Elena now."
"You can come if you like, sir, but she's still sleeping."
"I see. I think I'll stop by, anyway. Do you need anything?"
"Decent food would be nice."
"By 'decent' I take it you mean not from a vending machine or the cafeteria," Rufus said in obvious amusement.
"Right now even that would be acceptable. It's slightly better than the chocolate bar I'm about to wolf down."
Rufus chuckled. "Understood. I won't take long."
"All right. See you soon, sir."
"See you soon."
Vincent stood up and took another bite off the chocolate bar before walking to Elena's bed. He gently pushed hair out of her face and straightened her sheets. He squeezed her hand and kissed her forehead softly before heading back to the armchair. He was reading through the last thing he'd written on his report when there was a soft knock on the door. Before he could answer, a nurse came in to check Elena's vitals. While she did that, Vincent popped the rest of the chocolate into his mouth and resumed his report.
It took Reno and Cissnei less than five minutes to infiltrate the generator's shed, disable the lights, and rejoin the party at the eastern entrance. As predicted, the lack of electricity caused enough of a confusion that it was easy for the six of them to access the building without confrontation. The night-vision goggles Cissnei had procured greatly assisted them as they bypassed the guard shift and entered the factory's lobby. Disposing of the lone guard stationed there was no problem, either.
However, as soon as they were inside, all hell broke loose.
The terrorists were better trained and equipped than Vincent had given them credit for and they had apparently been waiting for them. He heard at least three different people shouting orders: kill the intruders, evacuate the execs and the boss, get rid of all the evidence. When another voice ordered for the hostages to be disposed of, Vincent glanced quickly to his left. He was just in time to catch Tseng's determined glance as he sprinted towards the staircase leading to the second floor followed closely by Reno, both of them shooting the confused hostiles getting in their way. Cissnei and Rude were on their way to the far side of the factory, their goal the cargo area near the tunnels. Angeal had apparently spotted Avalanche's leader or the Shinra traitors and was making his way to what appeared to be an office, his Buster Sword doubling as a shield against a flurry of bullets and thrown objects.
How do you want to do this? Chaos asked.
Vincent grinned, his canines elongating until they were full-fledged fangs.
Wraith, was his reply.
Chaos laughed his approval.
Vincent had left his three-barrelled gun behind and chose instead a set of twin revolvers the Turks had given him for his birthday last year. They were a lot easier to reload and handle, particularly when he decided not to allow Chaos a full transformation and settled with his wraith-like form.
He didn't know how it worked, only how it felt. In a word, it was disturbing, the only sensation close to it being the painful pins-and-needles feeling you get when circulation returns to your limbs after a long period of being asleep, except it didn't hurt. Instead, there was a tingly sensation all over his body, accompanied by a maddening adrenaline rush and an astounding ethereal experience.
Visually, Reno's description was spot on: fucking freaky.
It looked like Vincent's body became a blur of fabric and something leathery, very likely Chaos's wings and skin. After some time, the Weapon had taught the gunman how to control the transformations and he could easily switch between the wraith and his own body, sometimes staying in an in-between state where he was encased in a fluttery mass, allowing him to shoot and reload without becoming a target. If he chose to, he could also partially transform his arms and legs, replacing them with Chaos's claws and talons.
During this particular raid, he hopped from place to place, shooting terrorists that were far away with impeccable aim and snapping the necks of anyone who managed to come close enough to him for close quarters combat. A few times he found himself surrounded by the boldest or more reckless enemies. His solution was simple: he became a deadly spinning top, lashing out with claws and talons. By the time he was done, all that was left of his attackers were severed limbs and a lot of carnage.
Unflinching, he kept moving through the main floor, dispatching anyone foolish enough not to be on the run already. He dodged knives and bullets with nearly ridiculous ease, all the while keeping an eye on the three teams scattered across the factory. They were all wearing earbuds to communicate but all he kept hearing from the other Turks was 'clear' whenever they kicked a door down; Angeal had yet to say anything and Zack had only checked in once to say the hostiles were under control on his end.
Long minutes dragged by and the hostiles began to thin out inside the factory. The main floor was clear and Vincent flew to the first floor. As soon as he landed on the catwalk, a rain of bullets centred on him. He cartwheeled along the bridge, returning fire and easily disposing of the marksmen. Soon he was flanked by foot soldiers, making his situation slightly more challenging. Still, no matter how much he had underestimated the enemy before, he had now reassessed them and acted accordingly.
It didn't take him long to dispose of the two dozen or so hostiles coming at him from either side of the catwalk. When only two of them remained, Cissnei's voice on his comm unit informed him they had found Elena and Kunsel alive. The immense wave of relief that washed over him turned out to be distraction enough for one of his attackers to come close to him while he was stationary in his normal shape. Thankfully, the man was more panicked than anything else and only managed two wild swings with his hunting knife. One clipped Vincent's left eye and the other met his right forearm as he tried to defend himself. A well-placed kick sent the attacker flying off the bridge and he put a bullet between the other one's eyes.
After making sure no one else was coming at him, his attention returned to the chatter coming through the comm unit. Tseng had joined Angeal in pursuit of Scarlet, Heidegger, and the man they had by now confirmed to be Ginga. Cissnei, Reno, and Rude had stabilised Elena and Kunsel and were already on their way back to the chopper.
Tearing the sleeve off his jacket, Vincent used it as a makeshift bandage for his eye and forearm before deciding to join Tseng and Angeal.
He was about a hundred metres away from the generator's shed when he saw that Angeal was guarding Scarlet and Heidegger, who were handcuffed with their backs against the shed. Ginga was still trying to fight his way out in a hand-to-hand duel against Tseng, who seemed to have run out of bullets and throwing knives. Vincent knew his second in command was holding back, very likely trying to rein in his anger in order not to kill the man that had caused them so much grief over the past few years. He also realised that the Wutain's self-control was quickly slipping and he was dangerously close to just killing Ginga.
Not that Vincent would blame him if he did.
Images of Elena and Kunsel beaten up and tied to chairs flooded Vincent's mind. He didn't snap but that was nothing short of a miracle. He closed the final sixty metres or so in full wraith mode; all Angeal and the rest saw was a black shadow tackling Ginga to the ground and enveloping him like a living, sentient bank of sable fog. Ginga's panicked screams were so loud that not even the strong wind that had began to howl in the valley could carry them away. By the time Vincent solidified into his human form less than a minute later, Avalanche's leader had a broken nose and fractured cheekbone, both shoulders dislocated, a fractured clavicle, his left leg broken and twisted like a candy wrapper, and several lacerations all over his body. He wasn't screaming anymore.
Vincent was kneeling over Ginga with one hand wrapped around the man's neck while the other one was holding a revolver to his forehead. The gunman's breathing was perfectly even, which only made his overall appearance all the more terrifying.
His face, hair, and arms were covered with blood and bits of what seemed to be flesh. The bandages he had applied before leaving the factory had fallen off, showing his left eye was now swollen shut, making the intense golden glow of his right eye all the more apparent and sinister. His lips were curled in a vicious half grin, half snarl that showed his fangs. His clothes were all in disarray, and the missing sleeve of his jacket made the dark blood staining his usually pristine white shirt a focal point.
Angeal and Tseng were frozen for a moment. Scarlet fainted at the sight and Heidegger was screaming at the top of his lungs that Vincent was a demon and that he didn't want to die at his hands. Before Angeal could react, Vincent leapt off Ginga and unto Heidegger, wrapping two clawed arms around the heavyset man's broad neck. That brought the former executive's screaming down to panicked blubbering.
"I should end you right now," Vincent snarled.
His face was less than an inch away from Heidegger's and some of the blood dripping from his black tresses fell on the other man's face. Heidegger's high-pitched whimper apparently was too much for Vincent's straining patience and the gunman shoved the large man against the wall, knocking him out.
With a disgusted grunt, Vincent stood up and walked away from the scene without looking at Tseng or Angeal, disappearing into the shadow of the mountain.
Tseng exhaled heavily and went about the tedious business of handcuffing Ginga even though it was unlikely the man would try to escape given his condition. He could sense Angeal fidgeting behind him but he paid the man no heed until he was done with Avalanche's leader. When he was, he stood up, stretching his back and legs before turning towards the Soldier.
"What the hell was that, Tseng?"
"The Director doing his job."
Angeal's blue eyes, clearly visible in the dark thanks to their mako glow, narrowed and fixed Tseng with an icy stare.
"How is nearly mutilating a suspect part of his job?"
The smile Tseng gave Angeal made him as uneasy as Vincent's cold demeanour before stepping into the shadows did.
"I would have killed him, Angeal. One more minute of dancing around with him and I would have snapped his neck."
"Because of Elena?"
"Because of Elena, because of Kunsel, because of everyone who has died as a result of Avalanche's narrow-minded ambition. Because of the constant headache Avalanche has been for the President and all the other executives, including Vincent and Lazard. Because I can't kill Scarlet, Heidegger, or Palmer. Because he doesn't deserve to live."
"Who are you to decide that?"
"We're Turks."
Vincent had returned without either of them noticing. He was standing a few metres away from them, still mostly covered in blood but looking more composed. His eyes were back to their warm crimson colour, at least the one that was still open, and his arms were back to normal.
"You can't understand, Commander Hewley, and that's fine. But don't judge us."
He casually flicked some blood off his chin while staring evenly at Angeal. The Soldier returned the stare but eventually he sighed heavily and turned away.
"Cissnei and the others are probably waiting for you to return to Midgar. Leave these three with me—it might get too crowded in the helicopter with all of you and the weather is still rather foul," Angeal suggested. "I'll send Zack ahead with the prisoners while I stay behind with a few Soldier operatives to retrieve whatever documents Avalanche didn't destroy."
Vincent and Tseng exchanged a brief look and Vincent nodded.
"I think that's a good idea."
Without warning, Vincent grabbed Tseng by the waist and, enveloping him in a black shroud of leathery mist, disappeared.
After materialising a few metres away from the chopper, Vincent grunted as if someone had kicked him in the guy and fell to his knees. Tseng helped him up and Reno, who got off the bird as soon as he saw the two men appear out of nowhere in the field ahead of them, helped carried Vincent into the helicopter.
As soon as everyone was securely on board, Reno took off towards Midgar as fast as he could given the still uncooperative weather. Both Kunsel and Elena had been awake when Cissnei and Rude found them but had drifted in and out of consciousness on the way from the factory to the helicopter. Kunsel had inquired about Elena after being strapped to the stretcher and promptly given in to exhaustion as soon as Cissnei told him the blonde was fine. While he remained down for the count the rest of the flight, Elena kept waking up every half hour or so. Rude remained at her side, holding her hand and reassuring her when she came to.
Tseng had just finished hooking a saline IV to Vincent's uninjured arm to help rehydrate him after all the blood he had lost and was now busy bandaging his eye. Anyone else would have needed stitches but Vincent insisted that Chaos would take care of it.
"Stop fussing, Corvus. I'll be as good as new by tomorrow."
"You're still bleeding, though. We need to at least stop that."
"Why are you still bleeding?" Cissnei asked while she tended to Kunsel's wounds. "It should've already stopped."
"Chaos was too worked up to keep an eye on Galian and he got slightly out of control. He can't spare the energy to close my wounds until he's done with him."
"Did you find anything at Nibelheim that might help Gast figure out how to control Galian?" Tseng asked.
"Possibly, but we didn't have much time to go through the files so I'm not entirely sure."
Vincent felt his secure phone vibrate in his pants' pocket and he fished it out with his left hand.
"Valentine."
"I'm not going to make a big deal out of you not calling me as soon as you got on the chopper, but I need to know how Elena and Kunsel are doing. I just got a text from Zack saying the operation was over but he didn't give me any details."
A weary smiled curved Vincent's lip and he grabbed Tseng's hand in his to stop the Wutain from trying to clean blood off his face while he talked to Rufus.
"Apologies, sir. Both of them are alive—a bit worse for wear but they should recover fully given enough time."
A ragged sigh of relief came from the other side of the line and he could hear Rufus slumping on his desk.
"Thank Minerva," he breathed. "How is everyone else?"
"They all performed admirably and got away with minor bumps and cuts here and there."
"And you?"
"Got sloppy and have a couple of bothersome knife wounds as a reminder not to let my emotions get in the way of work."
"Anything serious?"
"Nothing that won't heal in a day or two."
"What about Scarlet and Heidegger, then?"
"Alive, too. Zack will bring them in along with Ginga."
Rufus nearly growled. "Good. Do you have an ETA? So I can alert medical and have them on the helipad waiting for you."
After consulting with Reno, Vincent informed Rufus that they expected to be back in Midgar in an hour and a half, at the most. After promising to have everything ready for their return, Rufus ended the call. As soon as Vincent closed his phone, Tseng went back to trying to clean Vincent's face. The gunman didn't bother trying to stop him this time. He did lick blood off his lip again, catching the Wutain's gaze.
"What? You're looking at me like Angeal did back there."
"I'm sorry. I just don't remember you ever doing that before."
Tell him it's my fault.
Is it, now?
Yep. It's a way to recycle energy while you can get a decent meal and rest. We were doing it at the factory, too, you just didn't realise it.
Lovely.
"Chaos says it's his fault. He needs energy and it seems like this is the only way he can get it, at least until I get actual food and rest."
Tseng smirked as he continued to wipe blood off Vincent's cheek.
"You had Angeal positively spooked, Vin-sama."
"Good. That'll teach him to second-guess us."
When Rufus entered Elena's room about an hour after his phone call with Vincent, he found both the blonde and the Head Turk similarly fast asleep. The gunman was still on the armchair, curled up with his tablet hugged to his chest. His head was slumped back on the chair's back and he was snoring softly. The young President couldn't resist the urge to take out his phone to take a picture of one of the company's most mysterious and feared men sound asleep and looking not only vulnerable but borderline adorable.
He'd barely snapped his phone shut when a sliver of crimson became visible through thick eyelashes and Vincent curled on himself like a cat.
"That better not make the rounds around the office, sir," Vincent half yawned.
Rufus grinned and handed Vincent a brown takeout bag.
"Don't worry—that's for my eyes only, Vincent. Unless I need to talk one of the Turks into doing something they don't want to."
Vincent made a small noise that Rufus had no idea how to interpret before opening the bag and inhaling deeply. The appreciative sigh and the impatient grumble coming from the gunman's belly were not difficult to understand at all.
"I had to ask around what you like. I hope I got it right."
"Shoyu ramen from Leviathan's Scales? The only thing better than this is Tseng's home cooked version. Thank you, sir."
Rufus nodded and went to look at Elena's still form. A flicker of anger passed through his blue eyes before softening. He caressed her hair and kissed her forehead.
"Hey, Elena. It's me, Rufus. Just… Rest up, darling. We'll be here when you wake up."
Vincent was already eating his ramen, trying to enjoy it rather than just inhaling it like a starved man. Hearing Rufus's soft tone helped him slow down. Again, here was a facet of the young President Vincent had never seen. He supposed he would've seen it sooner if he'd bothered to talk to the blond outside of work, but he'd been too busy rebuilding himself to socialise much outside of the Turks and Cloud.
It's not too late.
I hope so.
"Sir? Why don't you take a seat? She's not going anywhere and you look exhausted."
Rufus nodded and brought the visitor's chair next to Vincent's armchair. He sat down with a heavy sigh and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Vincent fished about on the takeout bag and brought out an orange cookie that he handed to the blond.
"Elena says you're as big of a sugar junkie as she is. I don't want you biting my hand off if you decide you wanted the cookie, after all."
Vincent rolled his eyes and practically shoved the cookie at Rufus.
"There's more in the bag and it looks like you could use a picker upper."
The President smiled and took the cookie, taking a small bite out of it. He moaned in surprise and gave Vincent a wide-eyed look.
"I know," Vincent said with a grin. "They're amazing."
"Reno keeps going on and on about this place but I always dismiss him. I'll have to organise an outing or something as soon as the dust settles."
"That's a great idea."
Rufus let Vincent finish his ramen in peace before tackling a subject that had been bothering him since Angeal's return to the building an hour and a half ago.
"Angeal was rather unhappy when he got back. He said you unnecessarily harmed Ginga and Heidegger. On top of that, Tseng had a bit of a meltdown and you justified him by saying that Turks can decide who deserves to live and who doesn't."
"That seems accurate enough."
The blond scoffed and shook his head slowly.
"It's not a big deal, really. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't exaggerating about… It doesn't matter."
"He wasn't," Vincent said before biting into a cookie. "And it does matter, although perhaps not in the way you think. Angeal shouldn't have said anything to you. What we do in the field should remain in the field unless it directly affects the company. That's what we have reports for—by the way, I filed mine not long ago, if you want to check it.
"What I did back there might've broken protocol but it didn't affect the company. On the contrary, the two moles and Avalanche's leader are alive and undergoing questioning. Did I overreact with Ginga? Perhaps. I know I felt myself lose some control over Chaos and he stepped in more than was absolutely necessary, but that son of a bitch kidnapped a member of our family and one of the few people I can entrust top level matters to. I hurt him on purpose, yes, and I did it out of revenge, yes. And I would do it all over again, particularly if my stepping in will keep Tseng from doing something stupid like, say, kill a target out of sheer anger and frustration."
Rufus couldn't help a small grin from curving his lips.
"That's what bothered Angeal the most, I think. That you didn't seem at all sorry about the way things went down. He's also worried about your reputation. The few survivors of the raid claim it was a demon that attacked them. 'Shinra's Dark Avenger', I think they're calling you."
Vincent laughed and a bit of Chaos's own mirth came through.
"I didn't even fully transform into Chaos," he said after getting his breath back.
Rufus shrugged, stealing another cookie from Vincent with a small smile.
"I didn't think you'd mind. I actually told Angeal it might work to our advantage."
"As a deterrent, you mean?" Rufus simply nodded and Vincent did the same. "You're right, I don't really mind. I'm not on the field enough for anyone to recognise me and having a bit of a myth might make Avalanche and other groups like them think twice before messing with us again."
His regular phone vibrated in his pocket and he frowned when he saw it was Gast calling. Knowing Elena was in good hands with Rufus, Vincent excused himself and took the call in the hallway.
"Professor? Is something wrong?"
"Not exactly. I just wanted to let you know I've gone through all of the files you brought back pertaining to you and the project Hojo called Fail-Safe."
Vincent didn't like Gast's tone and he felt his stomach knotting.
"Yes?"
"I think you need to have Cloud deliver the dossier to you and read it as soon as possible. I know you want to stay by Elena's side, but this is just as important, Vincent. It's not life or death yet but it could be."
Fucking Hojo, Chaos seethed.
"All right. I'll arrange things so Elena's not alone and then I'll return to my apartment and read the files."
"Good. I'll make sure Cloud gets you copies of the relevant video and audio tapes so you can check those, too. Call me as soon as you're done, I don't care how late or early."
"Will do."
He disconnected the call with a curse and raked a hand through his hair.
When will this storm end?
He was surprised to find Elena awake when he returned to her room. Rufus was beaming next to her and had completely forgotten to call a nurse or doctor to check on the blonde Turk.
Elena smiled when she saw Vincent approach and tried to say something but the gunman stopped her.
"Shh, Lena. Don't exert yourself." He took her hand in his and squeezed gently, sighing in relief. "It's really good to see you awake, Bushy-tail."
"Bushy-tail?"
Vincent blushed a little, realising his slip-up, and shrugged.
"I'll explain later. Right now we need to get a doctor here to check on her and…" He looked apologetically at Elena. "I'm sorry, Lena, but I'll have to leave you in Rufus's care shortly."
Elena frowned but it was Rufus that spoke up.
"What? Why?"
"It was Gast just now on the phone. He wants me to go over some of the files we brought from Nibelheim right away."
Rufus's blue eyes widened slightly and he nodded.
"I understand. I'll stay with Elena for as long as I can. If I have to leave for any reason, I'll make sure someone stays with her at all times."
"Thank you, Rufus."
Vincent smiled at Elena and kissed her cheek.
"Rest up, Elena. I'll come see you as soon as I can."
She smiled at him and waved with just her fingers as he stepped out of the room.
Once outside, Vincent called Cloud and arranged to meet him outside of his apartment.
Cloud was already there when Vincent arrived, carrying a file box with tapes—video and audio—, a tape player, and two binders. One Vincent recognised from Nibelheim and the other seemed to be a compilation of other files and notes Gast had put together for him.
The blond Soldier smiled when he saw Vincent but there was mild concern in his mako infused eyes.
"Are you sure your eye will be all right, Vincent?"
The gunman smiled as he took the box from the younger man.
"Yes. No need to worry, Cloud. Thanks for everything."
"No problem. If there's anything else you need, just give me a call."
"Actually…" Vincent pondered his request for a minute before deciding to voice it. "Elena just woke up. Rufus is with her but I don't know how long he can stay with her, and we don't want her or Kunsel to be on their own. If the need arises…"
"I'll stay with her," Cloud said cheerily. "I'll bring her some flowers and candy. Tifa made fudge last night and I'm sure there's still some left."
Vincent smiled and, leaving the box on the floor, hugged Cloud. The blond seemed at a loss for a moment but returned the embrace.
"Thank you, Cloud."
"Like I said, anything I can do to help." His expression turned serious as Vincent picked up the box and opened the door to his apartment. "Vincent… whatever is in those files…" Not really knowing how to go on, Cloud simply shook his head. "We're all here for you. There's no need to shoulder anything on your own."
Not wanting to repeat himself, Vincent simply nodded and entered his apartment.
With a heavy sigh, he locked the door behind him and left the box on the couch while preparing tea. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told him it was seven in the morning; that would make it Wednesday already. He hadn't slept properly in over twenty-four hours but he found he wasn't sleepy or particularly tired. That's how it used to be during that first year back from Nibelheim, back when he could function for over seventy-two hours with little naps in between, sometimes without them. When eating was more of an acquire taste than a habit, when leaving his apartment seemed an insurmountable challenge.
He looked at the box and found himself not wanting to go anywhere near it.
You won't go back to those bleak days. You have the Turks now, plus Cloud, Rufus, even Tifa and Kunsel. Whatever is in those files is in the past. You only need to focus on whatever can help our current situation.
Vincent exhaled shakily and decided to prepare his tea Wutain style. He took his time, meditating over each motion and its meaning, taking in the scents and sounds around him. He drank the first cup in the kitchen, thinking of nothing but the beverage in his hands, repeating a prayer to Leviathan that his mother had taught him as a child.
The memories of simpler, more peaceful times enveloped him and eased some of his agitation. He went around the apartment lighting incense and stopped at the little shrine he kept in his studio to meditate for a few minutes before returning to the living room and staring at the file box.
With a decisive nod, he carried it to his studio and unloaded the contents on his recently cleared desk. He soon realised that Gast had labeled everything with numbers so Vincent would know the order in which he should go over the information. Once he had everything arranged in the proper order, he steeled himself and began to read.
—
Hi, all!
Sorry it took so long to upload this—I had a heck of a week. Next chapter is in the works and should be up in about a week or so. Then I'm afraid you'll have to wait until after Valentine's for chapter 9 'cause I gotta work on my girlfriend's present!
Hope you enjoy this! Thanks for everyone's reviews and faves/follows—means a lot to me!