Holy Crap, I'm alive!
That's right, and I'm back with more shenanigans and tomfoolery to boot!
I have had the most serious case of writers' block this side of the galaxy but have finally come out of it the victor. I've been reading a lot of Pirates of the Caribbean and Tin Man fanfiction recently, and it really kicked my butt back into gear. I highly recommend the works of Lirulin(PotC), Larael(PotC), and Glitterbee(Tin Man). Alright, now that my plugging is out of the way…
On to the story!
A Way In
By: Illusion of the Mirror
Mordecai Deslando was a decidedly unremarkable man, his hair graying and his eyes sporting crows' feet at their edges. He was about five foot ten, 210 pounds and seemed to lope about in a cloud of distraction. He drove an average car, managed an average hotel, and went home to his average apartment every night to cook dinner for himself and then go to bed.
If it hadn't been for the informant that reported the man's undisputable involvement in Darknation, Emily would have never even noticed him. At first, she had been upset that she and Cloud had been assigned this man. There were a dozen names on the list, and she had fought to be assigned to a more…promising member.
But Andrew had been steadfast in his decision. She was to tail Deslando and try to ascertain the location of Darknation's base of operations.
So far, the day had been disappointing. Although the hill behind their target's house made a perfect surveillance point to see strait into Deslando's windows, and it even had an unused dirt road leading up to the top, there had been very little to survey. Deslando had stayed home from work and opted to sit in his armchair and read the entire morning. It wasn't until about one o'clock in the afternoon that the middle-aged man even moved from his spot to refill his mug of coffee. At two-thirty, however, a silver suv pulled into the driveway. Deslando snapped his hardback shut, drew the gray curtains hanging in his front room, and went out to greet his guest.
Neither Emily nor Cloud could get a detailed glimpse of who sat in the driver's seat, his face being concealed by the large lenses of his sunglasses, but the man's sandy blonde hair shone in the sun shining through his open window. He nodded to Deslando, who had locked his front door, and then came around the back of the vehicle, looking both directions down the street. Satisfied, he slid on his own pair of shades and slipped into the passenger seat.
Emily placed a hand on Cloud's arm. This was it. He caught her eye as he turned the ignition key and started their car. "Alright, Em. Let's Mosey."
--- O ---
Cloud had proved very effective at tailing someone and remaining unnoticed. It helped that Emily's dark green sedan was a popular model. But as their target led them closer and closer to city limits and other vehicles became fewer and further between, Cloud had to increase the distance between them. Trees began to line the sides of the single lane highway and arc over the traffic below. A few minutes later, the silver suv slowed and turned left onto a private drive.
"What should we do now?" Cloud queried as he pulled to a stop on the shoulder of the road opposite the gravel drive.
Emily thought for a moment before answering. "Let's conceal the car and go the rest of the way on foot." She cast the arm strap of her binoculars case over her shoulder and then took a deep breath as Cloud maneuvered the vehicle into a thicket, wincing and the dry branches scraped along the doors.
Together, they made quick work of placing brush over the hood and roof of the car before setting out on foot through the trees along the side of the gravel road. Emily picked her way through the foliage carefully, hoping that the drive didn't come to a fork. That would slow them down, and the sooner they could find where Deslando had gone, the better. Luckily, that wasn't the case.
About half a mile down the curving drive, the two come to two large brick pillars on either side of the thoroughfare, a sturdy iron gate spanned the distance between them. Atop each pillar was a large glass orb. Emily pointed up at them. "Cameras," she whispered. Cloud nodded. This was definitely promising.
Emily crouched down, brushing a vine of poison ivy away from her boot with a gloved hand. "This is the place, Cloud, I just know it," she whispered excitedly.
Cloud looked warily up at the curly iron gate. It stood at least twenty foot tall, a good three feet shorter than the wall that spread out from each side. "We're not getting in this way. Even if we could somehow turn off the cameras from the outside, this entrance is no doubt guarded in other ways too."
"Hm," Emily replied thoughtfully. She followed the wall with her eyes. To the right of the drive, it continued straight for a good distance. To the left, it ran straight until it turned sharply out of sight just short of a ravine. Pointing to the latter direction, she spoke. "Let's follow the wall this way. Maybe we can find a way in."
Cloud nodded and stood, offering his hand to help Emily to her feet.
The two continued on in silence as Emily scanned the fortification for a possible way in and Cloud surveyed the woods for unfriendly guests. All the trees that were along the wall were pruned far enough back so that one couldn't use a tree to scale its height. But Emily's excitement bubbled anew when she spotted an opening.
It was a circular hole near the base of the wall that allowed runoff from inside the fortress to flow out after a heavy rainfall. It was only three feet in diameter and was obstructed on either side by hardy bars. But bars, they could be cut through.
Emily immediately halted and spun on her heel, nearly colliding straight into Cloud. "Look!" she whispered eagerly, her arm extended out toward the drainage pipe. Cloud took a step closer and narrowed his eyes as he scanned for cameras. There were none.
"Well?" Emily queried, nearly shaking from enthusiasm.
"I don't like it," he replied with a shake of his blonde crested head.
"What? Why not? It's perfect." Emily's brows drew down in a frown and she looked up into his face with disdain.
Cloud shook his head again, taking Emily's shoulders in his hands. "That's what I don't like. Never trust a silver platter, Em." He glanced up to survey the wall again. It was quiet out there in the woods. Other than the occasional squawk of some bird or chirp of a cricket, there was nothing. No signs of human habitation what-so-ever. "Surely they wouldn't be so careless."
"I don't follow, Cloud."
"Darknation would know about this drain. We may not be able to see any form of protection here…but-"
"Don't give them too much credit, Cloud. Darknation is cocky." Emily looked away, her frown turning into a full on sneer. "They never thought we'd find this place, let alone attempt to storm it."
"There could be cameras on the inside."
Emily met Cloud's eyes again, determination evident on her face. "Then let me go in and see. I'm small enough; I could squeeze through if we took out one bar."
"No."
"What do you mean, 'no'?"
"I mean, I won't let you."
Emily tried to pull loose from Cloud's grip, but he just held on tighter.
"Look, I know you're ready to go in there and finish all of this now, but the rest of the Resistance doesn't even know where we are now. Come on, Em. You're smarter than this."
The young woman went rigid and then heaved a sigh. "I know you're right…it's just…"
"I know. They have my friends, remember?" He gave her shoulders an affirming squeeze and then dropped his hands back to his sides. "You should report in."
"Right." Emily dug through the pocket of her vest and pulled out her cell phone but hesitated before lifting it to her ear.
"What is it?" Cloud asked but Emily held a finger up to her lips and then pointed to her ear. She had heard something.
A slight gust of wind wound its way through the trees and Cloud concentrated to hear any sound other than the rattling of leaves in the breeze. He rotated his neck on his shoulders slowly; one hand instinctively going for Emily's the other going to the knife strapped to his thigh.
The wind hushed and all was still once more. "Huh," Emily let out a breath that she'd been holding. "Sorry…I just thought…"
"You have very sharp ears, Miss Bordeaux," a baritone voice quietly responded from behind them.
Cloud whirled around, his blade immediately out to silence their attacker. But it wasn't an attacker. It was Vincent Valentine.
"Dammit, Valentine," Cloud spat harshly, "Couldn't possibly announce yourself like a normal person!" He lowered his blade, but didn't put it away.
Emily let out a relieved chuckle. "You scared us!"
"My apologies," Vincent replied emotionlessly.
Cloud didn't think he looked apologetic at all. "Right. Where's Cid? Weren't you on a team with him?"
"I'm right here," the salty pilot called from further behind them. He was patting down the many pockets of his cargo pants. Not finding what he was searching for, he muttered a curse and looked around the ground below him.
"What is it, Cid?" Cloud asked with a sigh.
"Dropped my cigs," was the older man's reply as he turned around to scan the woods behind him.
"It's not a big deal, you can get some more later," Cloud said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Yeah, well that's not the issue," Cid turned back to them and doffed the black knapsack he was wearing, no small amount of distress evident in his voice. "I had my wallet rubber-banded to 'em so I wouldn't leave 'em behind."
Emily looked back and forth between her three companions. "Is it possible you didn't bring it with you at all?"
"No." She turned to look at Vincent. "Cid never forgets his cancer sticks." Emily could swear he was smirking.
Cid made a face. "Funny, Valentine. Now how's about you do something useful and hold this." He tossed his backpack to Vincent and then nodded to Cloud. "You wanna help me look, Blondie?"
Cloud sighed loudly and sheathed his knife. "Alright. Where'd you come from?"
Emily waited until the two blondes had retraced Cid's steps a ways and then approached Vincent, who was surveying the great expanse of wall blocking their way.
Clasping her hands behind her back, she stepped up beside him. "So what are you doing here?"
"Followed our man," he replied without looking at her.
"Ah." She shifted her weight awkwardly and then cleared her throat. "We, um, discovered this drain here." She pointed limply to the metal grate and then let her hand fall to her side. "I was thinking it might be a good way to get inside."
"Indeed."
Silence.
"Maybe you could help my bypass the grate?" Emily prodded, craning forward to get a look at his face.
"It's possible."
"Well…would you?"
Vincent finally looked down at her, his face a mask of indifference. "That depends."
"On what?"
"On how you intend to do so."
Emily sighed. "I was hoping you would have an idea."
"Ah," Vincent replied with a quirk of his left eyebrow. He then dropped the strap of Cid's bag from his shoulder and unzipped it. He reached inside, shuffling through the contents, and procured a small cutting torch. He held it up with a gloved hand. "Is this satisfactory?"
"That's perfect!" Emily tried hard to contain her excitement. Vincent nodded his understanding and then knelt down to inspect the metal bars blocking the drain. Emily squatted next to him.
He held down the lever and a short blue flame shot out the end of the tool. He then made a diagonal cut through the top of one of the bars, and then through its base. After the deed was done, he clicked the apparatus off and met her watching eyes. He gripped the bar, and pulled it loose before the metal had cooled, and leaned it against the foundation of the wall.
Emily whispered her thanks and reached into her pocket. Pulling out small flashlight, she shot a glance over her shoulder. Both Cloud and the pilot were still bust searching the undergrowth and were now quite a distance away. She turned back to Vincent.
"I should be small enough to slip through these bars pretty easily." She clicked on her flashlight with her thumb. "I'm going to see what's in there."
Vincent narrowed his eyes momentarily, but nodded just the same as he backed out of her way. "Call if you run into trouble."
"I will." Emily maneuvered onto her side, her arms over her head, and pushed her torso through the hole Vincent had made. After she was through to her hips, she put her flashlight between her lips and looked around.
It was dark inside the drainpipe, and wet. Emily pulled her body further into the concrete tube and wriggled forward. It was tight work, but doable. Placing her hand flat against the top of the passage, she illuminated the way before her. It went on for about twenty feet and then twisted upward, a small bit of light shining down.
"Alright," she whispered back to Vincent. "It seems safe. I'm going a bit farther." Not expecting a response, she got up on her hands and knees and crawled cautiously onward. The grime and mold in the bottom of the drain was slippery and rank. The walls were dirty and several times she caught sight of some insect scurrying along them.
As she neared the end of the road, the beam of her flashlight caught a glint in the middle of the tube. Reaching out, Emily felt her fingers brush something silky. Spider web, she grimaced. Using her gloved hand, she waved about until she had cleared the way of the stringy trap and continued one.
When she had reached the end of the tunnel, she poked her head out into the small opening and look up. There wasn't another grate, like she had expected, but instead, there was a metal cap. Letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, Emily pulled herself into the bigger area and sat up on her knees, the top of her head brushing the cool metal cap above her. The circular metal piece was held off the ground by five evenly spaced four inch bars and Emily could see outside in all directions.
She was in an open area, with trees to her right, and the wall to her left. Between the trees, and in the distance, she could catch glimpses of a stone building. Biting her lip, she ducked back down. This is it! We've finally found it after all these years!
Excitement clutching at her heart and setting butterflies loose in her stomach, Emily started her journey back. They could come back with reinforcements in the night. They could no doubt make short work of the cap on the end just as Vincent had the grate! Things were beginning to look up.
--- O ---
No sooner than had Emily whispered back to him, Cloud and Cid approached Vincent's crouching form.
"You really should find a better place to put those," Cloud accused, his arms crossed over his chest once again.
Cid lifted a match and lit the fresh cigarette he had placed between his lips. "Yeah, yeah. I'll get right on it." He pulled the match away from his face and gave it a shake to put it out before tossing it into the brush. "Glad I dropped 'em in the dirt and not in that puddle."
"Hey, Valentine," Cloud asked curiously. "What are you doing down there?"
Vincent stood to meet Cloud's gaze. He much preferred being taller than the blonde to having him look down at him. "Waiting," he replied.
"Well, we're here now," Cid said, reaching out to take his gear pack back. "Wait, why is this open?"
Cloud glanced at Cid, then at Vincent, then his eyes shot down to the drain. His aqua eyes widened slightly as he took in the missing bar and then quickly scanned the immediate area. "Valentine," he began, his jaw set. "Where's Emily?"
Vincent was about to reply, "Haven't you already reached your own conclusion?" but he didn't have to. Just moments later, Emily stuck her auburn crested head out of the end of the drain. "I found a way in! It's perfect! Oh, Cloud, you're back." She climbed out the rest of the way and dusted off her hands on her pant legs. "Did you find Cid's wallet?"
Cid patted his back pocket and smiled. "Yup. Safe and sound, little missy."
Cloud, however, was not smiling. "What were you doing?"
Taken aback by his harsh tone, Emily replied, "Vincent cut the bar so I could go inside."
Cloud shot a glare at Vincent before scowling back at Emily. "After I already told you it was too dangerous?"
"But it wasn't," she argued. "I was just fine. I even found out that this is the perfect way in."
Cloud took a step forward, causing Emily to take a step back. "That doesn't matter! You didn't know it would be alright! What if you'd been caught?"
"But I wasn't." Emily sighed and reached out to lay a hand on Cloud's arm, but he shook her off.
"That's not the point!"
Vincent watched the scene begin to unfold before him and shot a warning glance to Cid, who was caught between looking amused, and looking frightened. The pilot caught the hint and stepped forward.
"Well, hey. S'not important right now, anyway. Ya'll should call this in so that we can get back to the-"
"No, it is important!" Cloud interrupted, his eyes flicking wildly to Cid and then back to an increasingly incredulous Emily. "I distinctly told you I didn't want you to go in there!"
Emily's face reddened and she bit her lip to try to keep from saying what she really wanted to say. "Cid's right, though. We need to check in."
Feeling that things had escalated far enough, Vincent stepped forward and placed a warning hand on Cloud's shoulder. "You need to settle down, Strife."
Cloud whirled around and knock Vincent's hand away. "Don't tell me what I need to do, Valentine," he spat irately. "Surely you saw how potentially dangerous this was!?"
Vincent remained cool, but for the twitching at the corner of his mouth. "Yes, but such a time would call for such risks."
The blonde laughed humorlessly. "And you would know all about putting others at risk, wouldn't you, Valentine? No doubt Tifa could tell me all about it!"
His tone was even, but the dangerous edge did not go unnoticed. "Do not make the mistake in thinking that any of this is about you, Cloud. And leave Tifa out of this."
Without breaking his scorching eye contact, Vincent reached into his pocket pulled out his cell phone. He passed it to Emily. "Call the others."
Emily took the phone from him cautiously, as though it would explode in her hands, but the she turned away to put in the call to Andrew and Aiden.
"So that's how it's going to be, then?" Cloud said more quietly, but with none of his former spite lost. "You giving the orders? That right, because Vincent knows best, doesn't he."
Vincent blinked, but never left Cloud's heated gaze with his own.
This time, Cid stepped forward between the two, having had more than enough tension for one day. "Shit, why don't you two just whip it out and measure it already?"
This earned glares from both of them, but he continues anyway. "This ain't the time nor the place to be getting' in a spat, so you," he pointed tersely at Cloud. "Shut the hell up! And you," he pointed just as fervently at Vincent. "Stop bein' so damn creepy!"
Cloud opened his mouth to retort to the pilot when Emily suddenly ran up, her face awash with worry and rage. "We have a huge problem," she puffed, trying to catch her breath. "Darknation besieged the base! Everyone's either fled or been killed!"
That stopped the three men dead in their tracks.
--- O ---
So how was that? Did you enjoy it? Did you hate it? Let me know! Reading is great, but I'd really like it if you would drop a review on the way out, even if it's just to say "HI!"
A great, big, special thank you to ChildofFate17, Valentinesbullet, Shtit, Uchiha Lolita, Ghedea, and Phantom-of-the-Opry for their lovely feedback and praise. Love you guys!
Thank you as well to all of my subscribers, readers, and favers. All of you make it so that a procrastinator like me has a reason to keep going!
Thank you to Kimmit the Ferg and P. Batman Owen for Beta-ing. Your feedback and support is greatly appreciated.
Okay, so I'm done for now. Now that I'm past this hideous writers' block, I should be able to pump out the next chapter fairly soon.
But I won't make any promises. .
Take care, and God bless!
Fight the Power!
--Illusion of the Mirror--
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