9pm, as it turned out, was not the way vampires defined 'early.' At least not vampires that had previously been in the employ of AVALANCHE. 9am, however, was not so far off the mark.
Vincent was waiting outside the door of the facility as the members of staff trickled in.
Lyla was, perhaps not surprisingly, the next to arrive, early as she so often strived to be, dressed rather more casually than she had been the previous day. Skirts and heels were just fine for the office, but inconvenient for field work. She would have decided against them the day before if she had known she would be accompanying Reno and Rude on such short notice; as it was, she had simply made an effort to avoid having to dispatch any of the sentries herself.
She smiled politely as she shifted the weight of a large messenger bag from one shoulder to the other. "Good morning. Why am I not surprised that Reno and Rude aren't here yet?"
The dark man turned his gaze her way for the first time when he was addressed, lofting his brows. "You've worked with them before?" He suggested dryly.
"Briefly," Lyla explained, taking a moment to tug at the cuffs of her jacket so that they were straight, though truth be told, they hadn't been terribly out of place to begin with. "Reno, mostly, and a bit with Tseng. Most of the field work I've done has been solo, though. Sometimes Professor Ingram comes along, but he mostly watches," she admitted.
Vincent watched her for a moment as if trying to decide if the joke had been too subtle, or if she was just particularly literal-minded. Then he looked away again, searching the long, flat horizon for the rest of their awkward party.
"And what is his hope we will accomplish in a large number?"
She looked back at him, puzzled and briefly wondering if she had said something to offend. She did that a lot, really. Quite by accident, of course, but it came from spending the bulk of the past few years working and studying rather than being social. "I think it's because of the nature of Professor Hojo's work. Professor Ingram doesn't want anyone doing data retrieval to get hurt. But without knowing for sure what's in there, we can't even estimate how many people it might take to neutralize some of the more violent samples. At least, that's what he insists." She frowned, only slightly, and it flickered away as quickly as it had appeared. "I told him I could manage it on my own, but he assured me I would need help. ... not that I'm not grateful. Thank you for agreeing to do the job, Mr. Valentine."
"I have my own interest." He replied, his tone as even as always. "You have Ingram's maps?"
She nodded. "Floor plans, coordinates, the works. The next target isn't too far from here, though it won't be a quick in and out like yesterday. It's near Fort Condor, and there's another close to Junon that will need to be visited as well."
So much for a short trip. Not that he had really been expecting one.
Vincent nodded, lifting his head to see the car as it crested the line of the horizon. "You'll be navigating then."
Lyla nodded a second time, lightly patting the bag at her side. "Mhm. All the information is in here," she assured him, following his gaze as best she could to spot the approaching car. "About time."
Rude parked the car at their feet. If he had any intention of explaining his driving, its need was nullified by a single look at Reno.
Vincent felt his blood pressure ripple in promise. Oh, yes. It would be rising soon, just you wait.
Aloud he only said, "On foot, or do we have transport?"
Reno was slow to pull himself out of the car, shades pulled down over his eyes for once instead of perched atop his head. He grimaced instead of smiled, giving a half-hearted wave before using the hand to shade his eyes further. "Yo," he said simply.
Lyla raised a single brow. "Transport," she told Vincent, fishing for something in her bag and surfacing a moment later with a small electronic device. Two button presses later and one of the walls behind them began to slide upwards, revealing itself to be a well-camoflauged door. Without further encouragement, a car rather larger than the one Reno and Rude had rolled up in slowly pulled out of the building, coming to a full stop beside the group.
"Should fit all of us and anything we need to bring back."
Vincent stared for a moment at the car. And then at her. He blinked once, but said nothing, only slipped silently into the passenger seat.
Rude snorted, climbing into the back.
Lyla blinked several times in rapid succession, once again uncomfortable with the staring. "What?" she asked even as she circled around to the driver's side. Reno helped himself to a seat in the back beside Rude.
"Sweet ride," he commented, his speech not quite as slurred as his demeanor might suggest.
The red-clad man opted to ignore the question. Or, was very possibly hard of hearing.
Rude opened his mouth, perhaps to agree, but was cut off by the loud 'popping' sound as a small body shot up in front of him.
"Ello, an good day t'ye!" It chirruped.
Vincent twitched.
Lyla froze with her hands on either side of the wheel. "Reeve?"
Reno stared at the cat from behind his shades, putting great effort into contemplating it's very existence. "The cat is here," he said finally.
"No." Vincent said flatly. "That is Cait Sith."
"Everyone's favorite fortune teller!" The cat agreed, swinging his small body up onto Rude's knee before climbing into the front. "How 'bout a prediction to start ye journey?"
Lyla turned her head towards the passenger's seat, giving Vincent a long, even look. "Yes, Cait Sith, who is controlled by Reeve, last I knew," she informed him.
Reno's demeanor brightened, only slightly. "Hey, read mine."
The ex-Turk only shook his head.
Between them, the small creature turned around in a flourish. "Al-right!" He cheered, pointing dramatically at the car ceiling with white-gloved paws. "'Ere we go!"
"No?" Lyla asked dubiously, dropping the volume of her voice and wincing only a tiny bit as the cat made a show of producing Reno's fortune. Reno himself looked on with interest, smirking and carefully lifting his glasses up just enough so that he could peer out from under them.
"No." Vincent repeated, emulating her drop in tone. "That," he made a small gesture. "Is Cait Sith."
The cat in question whipped a slip a paper from thin air, presenting it to the redhead with a wide, befanged smile. "Hoo, been a long time since 'ey 'ad th' chance tae do that! Nae much fortune tellin' in merc-work!"
The brunette raised a brow. "He's fully automated now?" she questioned, casting the cat a sidelong glance. Great. Because that was something she was so looking forward to.
Reno gingerly accepted the slip of paper and held it up to the dim light coming in through the tinted windows, squinting to make out the words written on it. "'Make two grins grow where there was only a grouch before.' Hey, I think this one is meant for you, PETA."
"Hmm," Cait Sith twirled again to eye the pair in the front seat- or, whatever it was he did, what with them being closed and all. "Or either of ye." He noted, flopping down on his behind. "How 'bout it, Vin? Can 'ey gitcha a fortune?"
"No." Vincent told him evenly.
Lyla stared hard at the cat. "Reeve. I cannot believe this is what you do with your free time."
The crowned feline cocked his head at her. "Ye wan' me teh tell Reeve ye said so?" he asked, the picture of innocence.
"Why are you here." Vincent prompted, rather than wait for Lyla's response.
"OH! Yeah! Reeve 'ad a message fer ye!"
"Wonderful."
"If you could get to delivering it, then. We have a lot to do," Lyla said plainly, turning the key in the ignition as she did so. Reno let out a brief snort of laughter, leaning back in his seat and tossing the slip of paper bearing his fortune aside.
"Hey Rude. What color car should we count on the way?" he asked casually.
Rude considered this for a brief moment, watching the cat scrabble through imaginary pockets. "Oh, yes!" He said. "Course, course. Ye need any help, do ye? I can be useful fer slippin' intae tight places! Where did I put that...?"
"...Blue."
"I wonder if we actually have an option," Lyla mused aloud, glancing back at Cait Sith. If these were fully automated now, it was likely that Reeve had a whole battalion of them ready to go at any moment. She privately wondered how long they could avoid a second if she tossed this one out of the car as they drove away.
"Blue it is," Reno agreed cheerfully, spreading his arms out across the top of the back seat. "Let Reeve's cat come, he's entertaining. And more fun than you guys."
"There, ye see? I'll be helpful!" Cait Sith chirped, still perched squarely between Lyla and the Galian beast.
Vincent sighed. "And the message?"
"Oh, that." He smiled. "I'll remember eventually. Los' the paper."
Lyla gave the cat a suspicious look, her foot hovering over the gas pedal. "Seems a little convenient. We don't have time to idle here all day, though. Assuming you'll be better-behaved than Reno, I suppose you can tag along for now. Might even lend a hand by keeping an eye on the two in the back."
"Ha ha," Reno snorted.
"Aye aye." He smiled, flipping around in his seat to face the pair in the seat behind himself. "Was something 'bout a job, Vin. Cannae remember what. Reeve said 'e needed yer expertise, though. Which I guess means th'whole bit where yer tough tae kill, an'work fer cheap."
Reno leaned down so that he was eye-level with the miniature robot. "Must be easier now that the stupid accent is programmed in, eh."
"Aye." He agreed.
Lyla slowly closed one eye as she began to pull away from the offices, squaring her shoulders as the vehicle quickly moved up from a full stop. She really, really wished Reeve had chosen another accent to program these things with.
The drive was eventless, save the occasional announcement of a blue car, and the idle chatter of the small robot as it attempted to recall the message it had been programmed to deliver.
Vincent watched the road quietly, whatever was on in his head a mystery.