Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no money from this work. Anything recognizable to the Final Fantasy VII series and its associated parts belongs to Square Enix and affiliated companies.
Green Dreams
Chapter Seventeen: Caught in the Undertow
Tonight was a good night, Reno thought. He'd managed to get Cloud totally sloshed, and even though he'd been a boring drunk, after a couple of drinks even Cloud's mumbled and slurred stories had been hilarious. How they'd managed to get back to Shinra, Reno would have a good laugh later about. He knew Cloud probably wouldn't remember, but Reno would cherish knowing Cloud could cuss like a pirate. When Reno had gone and "passed out" in the parking lot, Cloud had quite a few choice words and colorful phrases to say about it. Reno knew he tended to curse when he was drunk, but Cloud?
He snorted, and the sound echoed strangely in the big copy room. It bounced around vacantly and Reno shut up fast. He was here to do one thing: prove Cloud wrong. It had only seemed a good idea after the third beer, but now it was downright brilliant. Maybe he shouldn't have done those whiskey shots.
No, no, he'd call it evidence. It was evidence that Reno was perfectly capable of sneaking around Shinra Headquarters and doing whatever the hell he wanted, even when a little alcohol got into his system. Proof to Cloud it'd be worth it to answer his question.
At least that's what he'd tell Cloud. Reno was mostly just doing this for the hell of it.
Reno had seen this main copy room during the day, and it was like the office equivalent of a mosh-pit. Reno was pretty sure he'd been stabbed by duller knives than some people's elbows the one time he'd come in here. It was actually a bit eerie in the dead silence of three in the morning though. Reno wouldn't admit that it freaked him out a little, especially with no backup to speak of, but he'd downed enough liquid courage tonight that he could easily brush it any concerns.
Resolve bolstered, Reno headed over to the least abused copy machine in the room. This one didn't have any paint chipping or unreadable buttons yet and looked sturdy enough to hold his weight. Reno hit the green power button and waited for it to warm up, while the redhead lazily folded papers into misshapen origami. When the machine hummed to wakefulness its parts inside groused loudly and there was some ominous creaking. It sounded ten years older than it was, and Reno had the sudden fear it would collapse under him. Then the image of him sitting on a flattened copy machine made him choke back laughter.
Reno popped open the lid and took a surreptitious glance around. If there were security cameras here they'd get an eyeful, but at the moment he didn't care if someone in some room across the compound saw him. Whatever. He'd get a slap on the wrist and have to clean the bathroom. Big deal.
And just like that he unbuckled and unzipped his pants and dropped them, then pulled his boxers down to his knees and hopped up onto the copier. It was more difficult than he'd anticipated, especially with his pants tangled around his, but he made due. A bruised heel was the only casualty as he hit the machine when he jumped up. Just as he'd firmly planted his bottom on the platen and hit the button to copy did he realize there was someone standing in the doorway.
It was a large silhouette, easily taller than Reno and quite a bit broader. As the guy took a couple of steps closer Reno could tell the cut of the suit was fine and that big physique fit it like a glove. Tailor-made clothes always meant grievance with Shinra—the only people who could afford it were the ones who could make your life hell.
Shit, this isn't security.
The blue suit gave him away as the far end lights were flicked on.
There weren't a lot of people with that dark skin tone, so Reno recognized him immediately as a face he'd seen around Shinra before. The man was perfectly bald with a small goatee and an impressive number of earrings, but otherwise unmarked and his face unmoving. It was neither cold nor tense, just blank.
Even though Reno couldn't see his eyes behind the sunglasses—and really, sunglasses at 3am in a dark room?—there was something altogether unfriendly about his gaze. He just silently stared at Reno, who still with his pants down seated on the now unmoving copier. The beeping of the machine as the photocopy of Reno's ass was finished was obnoxiously loud.
Something told Reno the guy wasn't going to stand there much longer though. Deciding to get out before the linebacker of a man tackled him or worse, pulled a gun, Reno sat up straight and gave the newcomer his most mischievous grin. And then, because he had been drinking after all, and Reno wanted to thoroughly give the middle finger to Shinra authority, he hit the button again and let the machine scan his ass one more time.
He hopped down from the machine when the copier's started beeping again, taking extra care not to act the least bit self-conscious that he'd just flashed a man who didn't need a gun to kill him. With a half-assed salute he pulled up his pants and did up his belt again, making sure he didn't even look at the guy as he did so. Sometimes it paid to play up inebriation, at least when it came to faking confidence.
With a jaunty wave and an extra strut in his step, Reno headed for the door. He passed within a foot of the guy, and Reno's heart skipped two beats as he did it. He couldn't help peeking out of the corner of his eye as he passed. The man's dark eyes had slid over to watch him, and even behind the sunglasses his eyes were guarded. Reno wasn't sure what to think, so he kept walking rather than tempt fate. Just as he got to the door and almost home free, a shadow fell across the threshold.
Fuck.
Reno kept up a litany of curses in his head even as he approached the latest arrival at the door. The newest guy merely watched Reno approach in silence, his face similarly devoid of expression. He reminded the redhead of a classic mafia leader with all the big guys—like Mr. Linebacker there—backing him up when he himself didn't look all that scary. Then again, that had been a totally incorrect first impression. By now his leadership was well ingrained in Reno, and the redhead knew better than to push the line. Reno hid the uncomfortable sense of walking the edge of a knife under another brilliant grin and a saucy wink, making sure to shake his ass a little more as he turned away.
Take that Tseng.
The moment he turned the next corner he was sprinting.
"Desperate for porn, Rude?"
The larger man didn't respond, though he did put the butt-print down on top of the copier, hitting the off button as he did so. Rude's eyes didn't linger on the rounded image, already putting the delinquency behind him. Tseng looked thoughtfully at the print but didn't say anything else as he left. Rude shook his head and tossed the copies into the trash on his way out.
Juveniles…
When he woke up, he knew he should have just gone back to sleep.
Cloud blearily sat up in the chaos of the room, the noise a thundering drum pounding out of synch with his head. The alcohol had shot his natural alarm for four AM and everyone else was awake by now.
Just thinking about last night was enough to make the hammering in his head worsen. The hangover he was sporting was phenomenal, and Cloud could only remember a headache this bad when a bandersnatch had knocked him out for a couple of minutes once—at least then there'd been something to kill in revenge. This time it was Reno's fault, and the blasted redhead didn't even seem to be suffering like he was.
In fact though, there was a lot of mayhem in the room at the moment, and Reno was hard to see. Boys were running around frantically, opening bags and personal belongings, ripping open mattresses and pillows, shouting at each other and generally making the loudest ruckus Cloud thought he'd ever heard this early in the morning. Were there bed checks happening? he wondered tiredly.
"Cloud! Hide your stuff! They could be coming anytime! Barker got caught with some bad stuff and you know they'll have our hides if someone here has some too!" Dan's panicky voice was hardly coherent above the roaring of Cloud's head. Cloud tried to tell Dan to get away from him and to just shut the hell up but Reno popped into existence just inches in front of him.
"Painkiller Cloud?"
The blond didn't even thank him until he'd pop the pills and swallowed them dry. He wondered how long it would take to kick in—he hadn't taken medicine like that in at least ten years. Cloud shook off that thought. His voice was scratchy and still thick from sleep. "What's going on?"
Reno's open mouth shut as another boy came tumbling into their room at the same moment. Cloud knew he was in the bunker but couldn't put a name to the face. "SECONDS ARE COMING!"
There was a lot of sudden cursing, and people kicked into frenzied action. Dan and one other were hurriedly trying to peel back some of the concrete wall to hide something while a couple others had found a loose ceiling tile and were pushing bags of suspicious looking pills and needles in it. Barker, who Dan had said was the first one caught, was suspiciously missing. Cloud was still fumbling to understand why SOLDIERs were coming here and why people were panicking, but Reno seemed to know just fine.
"You're clean, right Cloud?" He looked only mildly concerned, more amused at the situation.
"Clean?" Reno's good humor wasn't contagious. He didn't seem to be suffering a hangover at all, much to the annoyance of Cloud.
"For drugs. You know, 'performance-enhancing' and all that." Reno made little quotations with his fingers around the word.
Cloud frowned at him. Of course he didn't do anything like that. Mako was notorious for not mixing well with other chemicals. It had been known to mutate people before, and that was the least of some of the side effects. Not that Cloud was supposed to know that.
"No." Cloud frowned. Drugs were a far more permanent way to get an edge and far more dangerous. Not to mention it was an easy way to get kicked straight out of the army with a dishonorable discharge.
Before Reno could get another word in, Dan came rushing back over, flailing his arms around and generally working himself up even more. Cloud didn't find this remotely funny though, because this was a drug bust happening in his bunker and he was still hungover.
"Can I hide some stuff in your pillow case Cloud? Some guys from bunker C lent it to me to hold, and I think it might not be completely legal. I don't know where to put it." Dan almost looked on the verge of tears. The kid probably had no idea what anyone handed him and hadn't thought to ask.
Reno wasn't the least bit sympathetic though. "No way. You'll get Cloud in just as much trouble. Stuff it in your mattress and smooth it out and hope to the Planet nobody goes hunting for it." Dan gave Reno a final look, anger warring with gratitude, before darting up his bunk to do just that. Cloud and Reno exchanged a look though. They both knew that was the first place anyone was going to look.
The craziness of the room comically froze as the door was suddenly kicked in.
"Cadets of the SOLDIER program!" It was a big Second Class SOLDIER who filled the doorway, huge in both stature and voice making everyone jump. This obviously wasn't someone you messed with, and he was looking quite annoyed to be up early on a Sunday. "It has come to our attention that some of the cadets have been abusing performance-enhancing drugs and similar substances. The illegal substances have been traced back here to this bunker. In order to clean out this mess, everyone is to be escorted upstairs while the room is thoroughly swept. Anyone who disobeys those orders or refuses to cooperate is out!"
And so the siege began.
Cloud wasn't even dressed yet, but all the sleepiness in him had fled at the sight of four Second Class SOLDIERs and their officer standing in the hallway outside like a prisoner's guard. This had never happened before. There was no way he'd have forgotten a shock like this.
The entire bunker was marched down the hall with their SOLDIER entourage. Not that any of these cadets were particularly dangerous, but the escort was there so no one bolted. It doubled as a walk of shame too when other cadets popped their heads out open doors, crowding to get a look at both the SOLDIERs in full uniform looking menacing and their prisoners.
Their jeering faces and the whispers didn't really bother Cloud as much as how bad this situation was. This didn't happen before, Cloud was sure of it, and that frightened him more than he thought possible. He was walking blind. Not that he had anything to really be afraid of—he certainly didn't have any drugs on him or in him—but he was now associated with it through his bunkmates, and that could really stain him in the future.
It was a domino effect Cloud didn't even want to consider. To say the least, he'd have to revise his plan for SOLDIER if they kicked him out on suspicion of possession, sale, or use of drugs. This would likewise mean he'd lose Zack over distance and Sephiroth before he even knew him, since he wouldn't stay in Midgar to be in the regulation army. It would also force the blond to do things from a physically and socially lower level of power. While the other boys feared expulsion and punishment, Cloud was more concerned he'd have nothing but materia and a cheap sword to face down Jenova.
Shinra looked down on illegal activity, especially since it basically wrote the laws, but much of the company secretly encouraged those exact activities from behind closed doors—but not everything was condoned, and SOLDIER was stricter than any other department. They were a far more closely-knit group, and there were some things that just weren't accepted. Drugs were among those, and not only because of the potentially devastating effects when mixed with mako.
Cloud had known from Zack's memories and stories how important fighting was to SOLDIER, particularly as you moved up the ranks. Challenges were hard to come by unless someone had leave to go to the roughest places on the planet and kill some of the powerful beasts there, so within Shinra fighting was a highly coveted sport. SOLDIERs could really only find challenges from other SOLDIERs, so any advantage other than natural ones (excluding mako) were heavily frowned upon. Not only could it get someone in legal trouble—and likely a visit from the science department—but he'd also never get promoted with that reputation. Getting in and up in SOLDIER on your own two feet was probably the biggest unwritten rule in Shinra.
Of course, none of Cloud's bunkmates had gotten that memo, and somehow his own bunker had been the drug dealer's stash hold. Cloud hoped it just meant forking over a little blood to clear his name, but considering what the room they just entered looked like, that didn't seem likely.
The seven boys left in the bunker were grouped together and lead into an unmarked, completely empty room. It looked like it could have been some sort of storage room, without windows and just one lone light bulb. It was cramped and bound to get hot with so many people in it, and Cloud was annoyed at how SOLDIER was toying with them. Reno next to him was watching the other boys with interest and not a little glee. He must have been clean too and utterly unconcerned about consequences for him to be so happy.
"Think they'll take us out back to the firing squad, Dan?" Reno nudged the shaking boy, almost causing him to stumble.
"Shut up Reno." Cloud grumbled under his breath as the SOLDIERs left the room with their first hostage in hand. The other six boys in the room were left alone then, and murmurs broke out after the first couple of minutes in the thickening silence. People wondered aloud what had happened to Barker, who from the sounds of it had been caught red-handed last night, and what was happening to the kid who'd just been pulled out. No one had any idea what to expect, so the tension built up more as they theorized and slowly began to get hysterical together—and hysteria was always multiplied in groups. Reno quietly egging it on wasn't helping at all. A couple of not-so-innocent comments would be enough to snap the already dangerously nervous Dan, which would set off the whole room. Add in a small, empty closet and no information whatsoever, and it was obviously a deliberate ploy to get them to talk.
Reno was being more of a Turk than usual, SOLDIER was being more ingenious than usual, and Shinra was letting everyone get away with it because it was, well, Shinra.
Cloud was pretty sure he was feeling more fear than nervousness right now; there was no way he could be immune to the atmosphere of the room. His stomach had stopped roiling with nausea and instead lurched with anxiety. It wasn't an improvement, even with the headache slowly fading. Cloud couldn't wait for this to end. He was clean and he knew it, but that didn't make him feel all that better. Dan may have asked to hide something in his things, but most guys wouldn't do that, and Cloud knew someone could have slipped something under his mattress while he was dead to the world. His sleep was far deeper than usual—just his luck—and if someone was covert about it, there could be something under his bed he wasn't aware of. Not only had he been drunk, he'd been exhausted too. Cloud couldn't rely on Reno to have kept it all at bay because he'd been just as drunk as Cloud last night.
Cloud clamped down on the tide of worried thoughts before he lost himself. He was human too and was just responding to the panic. One guy looked on the verge of tears, and Cloud knew he'd probably be the next one taken out. They were slowly eating the numbers away without telling anyone where they were going or what happened to them. Without knowing if anyone else confessed or pointed fingers, the noose was tightening around all of their necks. Somebody would cave.
"Clever huh." Cloud said to himself, but Reno must have overheard him.
"Panic 'til they talk. Guess SOLDIER's more than just brawn." Reno was positively beaming, though Cloud spied a bead of sweat slip down Reno's neck. "Knew I joined for a reason."
The door swung open with two SOLDIERs standing in the doorway, effectively blocking any sight of the hallway. Instead of pulling out the guy in tears, Dan was called out. Cloud watched in mild confusion as Dan was walked out with a SOLDIER at his side. He hadn't really expected that, but maybe they were waiting for more guys to succumb first. Dan did look like he was going to hyperventilate soon.
The wait was longer this time, and the anxiety in the room spiked with it. Just as Cloud was becoming convinced the breaking point would be soon, the door opened again. This time a First Class SOLDIER was at the door, and he looked just as unhappy to see them as Cloud did to see him. There were only a handful of Firsts, so for one of them to be getting involved with a cadet drug bust meant there was something bigger happening.
"Cloud Strife. Reno… Reno."
The redhead didn't snicker or comment, belying how nervous he actually was. No matter how bad Reno might have been under the plate, he'd probably never had SOLDIERs boring down on him like this before, especially ones at this level.
They were escorted out of the room with a small contingent of SOLDIERs, though Cloud figured they were more for the intimidation factor than anything else. Maybe they were off-duty and needed something to do. Scaring cadets had to be more fun than the usual training exercises. As much as Cloud tried to make himself feel better, he knew he was giving in to his nerves. This was just getting more serious. Maybe there was more than just performance-enhancing drugs in the bunker? A bomb? Or some kind of conspiracy happening?
His legs had goose bumps on them and he tried to tell himself it was from the cold. He was only in his t-shirt and boxers from last night, without shoes even, and the hallways were heavily air conditioned here. Cloud didn't feel self-conscious as much as he felt fearful. Not that he could have done anything to these SOLDIERs, but he always felt more comfortable with armor and a weapon on him—or at least pants.
Reno was better off than Cloud was; at least he had more than just sleepwear on. He'd managed to get on a pair of pants before being dragged out the door and his hair had been pulled back. With his usual sarcasm and a little early-morning bite, his words could be sharp as Vincent's with the right encouragement.
"Cadet Reno and Cadet Strife." They were stopped together at the end of the hall. To Reno's left were the elevators, one normal and one glass. On Cloud's right was another door at the end of the hall, devoid of all decoration. There was something intimidating about seeing a solid metal door on a carpeted and otherwise normal hallway that gave Cloud the chills.
"Several of your members have pointed to you as close friends of Daniel Gavish. You'll be interviewed and tested separately from the others."
Cloud couldn't see Reno's face without completely turning, so he settled for focusing on calming his own rising fear. Of course, somebody would rat, and Dan was a perfect choice since nobody was overly fond of him to begin with. Top that with something really illegal and this was inevitable.
He did feel bad for Dan though in the corner of his mind. The poor boy had been asking for it with his attitude and naiveté, but it didn't mean Cloud didn't have sympathy. He could understand the peer pressure as a cadet to help out others, especially given his own past. Still, Cloud felt mildly annoyed that it was a friend that had landed him in such a volatile situation. Moments like this reminded him of why he trusted so few.
The groups split, with Reno going to the elevators and Cloud to the metal door. As they approached it, it buzzed to be opened, which was always a bad sign.
The room inside was a standard interrogation room. One desk sat facing the wall opposite the door with a stiff metal chair in front of it. Classic to keep a prisoner's back to the door to unconsciously reiterate that he had no power. The walls were concrete without any markings, just nails set in at even intervals marking it as some kind of powerful steel and definitely soundproof.
Cloud noticed too how the desk and chair were both nailed to the floor and how the door was actually reinforced steel triggered to open only by a control panel somewhere else. Most likely behind one of the blank walls on either side, one of which he knew was probably a one-way mirror for viewing purposes. It had to be Zack's memories that told him these things, because Cloud couldn't recall if he'd ever actually been properly interrogated in a room like this before.
Unfortunately, rooms like this were also designed with psychology in mind; to make some crack faster. At the moment it was working. Cloud hadn't been self-conscious before, but he was now distinctly aware of his lack of clothing. He had his skin and some thin cotton covering him, and no shoes against the cold floor. He felt naked and prone to attack, a feeling Cloud had not revisited in years and one he knew he hated.
His stomach was finally settling though, probably because it was much too late to back out or hide. His headache though had come back. The room was too tight, too plain, too much like a prison cell for his comfort, and he wasn't sure if the throbbing in his skull was from his hangover or something else.
One SOLDIER detached himself from the group at the door and led Cloud over to the chair. The blond felt like he should be shackled or something, or at the very least handcuffed to the desk leg, but no one restrained him. The SOLDIERs retreated and he was left in the room alone.
Zack flopped down on to one of the plastic seats before the window. Cloud was sitting stiffly at the table in the interrogation room, looking nervous and clearly trying to hide it. Zack gave him points for trying.
"Any bets Seph?"
The General didn't respond, merely watched Cloud carefully. Zack shrugged at his silence and slouched into his seat as much as possible. It was technically a posture chair, but he managed to get around that.
There were two other men in the side room. One was the control officer, who activated the door and the lighting along with the controlling the temperature and other features of the room if necessary. He wasn't really needed, but the guy was probably bored and wanted something to do. Next to Zack and standing by the General was Kunsel, usually a foreign duty SOLDIER who was conveniently back in Midgar this week. He was Zack's old friend and a trusted officer of Sephiroth's.
"You sure you don't want to back out now, Kunsel?"
Kunsel turned to look at Zack, a smirk on his tan face and his copper hair all mussed up. "Ha! Like I'd lose that bet, Zack. I'll just bark a bit, no bite, and I'm sure we'll see who's right." He winked cheerily at Zack.
"Just know that I warned ya." Zack threw in cheekily, "Don't take him nearly as lightly as he looks."
Kunsel was a SOLDIER Second, stationed on Mideel and at the cusp of the SOLDIER First level, though was unable to become one at the moment for lack of space. He made up for it though with his general Turkish-ness. Zack was glad Kunsel wasn't a Turk as he'd told the man before, but Kunsel just laughed in response. He didn't seem that opinionated either way.
Kunsel was second in command of all foreign duty SOLDIERs in Mideel, Fort Condor, and on the surrounding islands. That was his official job at least. He reported back to Zack, and therefore Sephiroth, on various events in the area, along with the three First Class SOLDIERs on the field in his area and their lieutenants. Within SOLDIER there was more loyalty to the General than to Shinra, and sometimes reports to the brass were "edited" whereas the ones that landed on the General's desk were not. Kunsel was among those who reported back without omission, essentially one of the many spades in the General's pocket.
Since the Second was back in Midgar for tests, in-person reports, and other busywork, Zack had called an old favor of him. The First never thought for a moment Cloud had anything to do with performance-enhancing drugs. Still, it was unfortunate his bunker was implemented in the crime, and even worse Cloud's friend had been the biggest holder of them in their room. Granted, Gavish had blubbered like a baby and so far proved himself to be pathetic, but not guilty of anything more than idiocy. Everyone was bound by the rules though, and for something as serious as this all leads had to be investigated.
That's why Zack asked Kunsel to do Cloud's interview. He was an established interrogator since the war, and Zack knew the guy could be trusted not to go too far with Cloud. The General had already assigned Kunsel to do one anyway if an interrogation was needed, so Zack liked to think he hadn't really done anything he shouldn't have.
Sephiroth's disapproving look had been worth the bet he'd made with Kunsel though. Zack's friend had no idea what he was getting himself into. Even if Cloud didn't make an intimidating picture with his wild, bed-ridden hair and boxers—boringly plaid too, which Zack was going to remedy the next excuse he could find—the First pegged the blond as formidable and harder to break than Kunsel would expect.
"Daunting, huh, Zack? At least he doesn't have cactuars on his pajamas." Kunsel had one of his famous boyish grins, all teeth and dimples.
Zack pretended to look affronted and punched Kunsel in the arm. "Stop belittling my cadet."
"Thought you were gonna say chocobo there for a second, Zack." Kunsel was still snickering, but this time Zack took a shot at the man's kidney. "Hey hey hey, low blow." He put his hands up in mock surrender. "I'll lay off, I get it."
Zack snorted but let it drop. Kunsel would get his comeuppance soon.
The General left not long after coming in. He had to make rounds to where the other boys were. Drug abuse, especially performance-enhancing ones, was considered a serious issue in the army, but this time they'd gotten in deeper—how was still being investigated. Other bunkers were being threatened with the consequences if they didn't talk, but this bunker got the worst windfall.
The investigation didn't really need the General's supervision, but Sephiroth needed to stretch his legs anyway, and Zack knew he would take any legitimate chance to get out of the office. That, and now he needed to pop in on the bunker's interviews. The redhead would probably cause trouble. Not that Zack thought Tseng couldn't handle him, but he did wonder why the Turks had offered to help by interviewing Reno. Maybe that had their eye on him and wanted to snatch him out of SOLDIER recruitment if he did well? The Turks did that often enough.
Well, Sephiroth would be coming by later and hopefully Kunsel would be quick and painless. Still, if he wanted to do this questioning his way Zack wished he'd brought popcorn.
The door buzzed and Cloud fought the sudden urge to flinch as a doctor walked around the side of the desk to him. He had the generic white coat with a bland smile on his face in front of an unreadable expression. There was some relief it wasn't Hojo, but the sight of the needle was enough to make Cloud break out in a sweat. He dug his fingers into his legs to focus on something else, grinding his teeth as the technician went to work. Cloud looked away towards the opposite wall as blood was drawn into a needle. He focused as hard as he could on the nails, trying to imagine how much teasing he'd get from Zack when this was all over.
When the scientist was gone, it was just Cloud and one other man.
He was clearly a SOLDIER, top notch no doubt although he wore a nonspecific uniform that could mean he was of any rank. He was fairly handsome and probably had his nose broken on several occasions from what Cloud could tell of his profile. He had burnished-gold hair, maybe not as tall as Zack, though he was leaner, built for speed. Cloud had never seen him before, but the man's hard attitude was already coming across. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, biceps flexed enough to draw attention to harsh looking tattoo of a hook. He looked down at the seated Cloud with a mixture of boredom and vague arrogance.
Cloud instantly disliked him, though his expression didn't show it. His hangover might be painful, but antagonizing the interrogator could put him in for far worse than that. The consequences of a bad interview here could be very far reaching.
"Cloud Strife… country boy from nowhere trying to get a leg up in the world." The interrogator wandered around the table lazily, only sparing Cloud the briefest of glances. "This is your chance to get out of the sleepy town, no? If you're found guilty on any drug related charges that future disappears. Helping out the investigation will grant you leniency. You could still be an officer in the regulation army."
Cloud remained silent following the unappealing offer. He didn't know anything about the drugs, so the deal was pointless to him. The interrogator had to offer it though to see if it would sweeten his tongue.
"All right then, let's be frank. The supply of drugs was too large for any one man, and your bunker had quite the haul. Were you associated with the 'business'?"
"No." Cloud met his eyes flatly, refusing to be afraid.
"I'm inclined to disagree."
Cloud stayed silent. There was no response to that other than a repeated no.
The interrogator didn't look away, but he suddenly moved faster than Cloud's sight, abruptly leaning over the desk and invading his personal space in seconds. Cloud flinched back before he even realized it. Knowing that was what the man was going for, he tried to physically relax a bit and not show any sign of being unnerved. Any tell might make him look guilty.
"You knew about the drugs at the very least, and instead of reporting it like a good boy you kept your silence. Or maybe you were even in on it. Am I right?" The SOLDIER had a really confrontational tone to his voice that just begged to be argued with. Cloud did his best to be immune, though a small part of him dearly wanted to put this guy in his place. That was what the SOLDIER was going for though.
"No."
Here the interrogator's hands held the other side of the desk as he leaned back from Cloud, perhaps contemplating his next move. There was something incredibly conceited about his whole stance that irritated Cloud. "Then you actually helped in the trading of them? Or bought some yourself?"
"No."
"Were you associated or not?"
"I wasn't." He shifted his feet to rest against the legs of the chair before he thought about it. The sudden cold felt good on his hot body. The tension was getting to him even as he denied it. He didn't miss the way the interrogator's eyes jumped down to the table, and Cloud knew he'd seen the action.
"But you are now."
"No." He resisted the urge to cross his arms defensively. That could be a real tell in interrogation and a sign of lying. Cloud only wanted to cross them as some kind of unconscious defense against the accusations the interrogator was making. He was trying to get a rise out of Cloud by making the blond sound unfairly guilty, and it was slowly working.
Too slowly though. The interrogator switched tactics and started to fire off rapid questions. He got worked up as he did, and Cloud's voice echoed as he responded to the increasing volume too. It was impossible to think while he defended himself, because pausing for even a moment would give the guy an inch.
"Where did they get the drugs from?"
"I don't know."
"Who are they selling them to?"
"I don't know."
"Who else used them?"
"I don't know."
"What kind of edge were you looking for by using drugs?!"
"I don't use drugs!"
"Do you know that drugs like those are illegal in Shinra?!"
"Yes!"
"You know that it will end your career here if you use them!"
"Yes!"
"Do you use them?!"
"No!"
"You aren't good enough to be in SOLDIER!"
Cloud didn't respond to the last one, his stunned silence more than enough. That was a hard blow and the interrogator knew it—though he had no idea how much. The SOLDIER just smiled, and it was a little sinister because his voice was a calm as though they hadn't just been shouting at each other.
"You were weaker than your classmates so you resorted to drugs."
"No!" Cloud nearly shouted that denial. It reverberated in the room and the SOLDIER's smug look made Cloud's face flush with rage. Physical weakness wasn't something Cloud coped well with anymore; it had been too long. He could feel insecurity about himself creeping up, the ever-lingering fears that mako was the only thing that made him strong, and he ruthlessly shoved it away. Mako didn't equal a great strategy in battle or the ability to lead others, but the interrogator had hit the underlying flaw.
His answer hadn't even been conscious, and Cloud felt stupid as soon as he realized he'd given in to that trick. Great emotion caused great slips, and the interrogator had obviously been looking for the nerve. He'd hit it too, but Cloud was above this game. He knew what the interrogator was up to, and he should have been prepared for that.
Sensing this change, the interrogator's green eyes became much sharper than before. Cloud hoped there wasn't a deeper motive to getting him to confess to having drugs, because it didn't look like this was slowing down any time soon.
"Then what do you call that jump in ability, Cloud? Your records show it plain as day. It's around the same time you befriended Reno and Dan, isn't it?" The SOLDIER's hands were clenched around the edge of the desk and were actually wearing holes into it in the shape of his fingers. The smirk playing at his lips when Cloud's eyes darted to the white-knuckled grip meant he knew what he was doing too. It was an unspoken threat: I could crush you with my hands.
Cloud, his eyes lingering on the slowly bending metal of the table—a feat he'd once been able to do without thought—brought to mind a ludicrous idea:
Telling the interrogator. Spilling the whole story about the time traveling and the Planet's part in all this. They'd definitely think he was on drugs then, talking about how he'd killed the greatest swordsman in the world and never been happy about it, how he'd saved the world from Hojo and Shinra, how the remnants had run amok, and how suddenly he'd woken up sixteen again and completely alone, forced to start over.
Cloud only entertained it for a couple of seconds, actually finding the thought rather funny. The interrogator's expression of surprise and disbelief might be worth it at the beginning, but getting kicked out of Shinra for "mental instability" wouldn't.
The blond must have paused too long because the interrogator launched right in again.
"Tell me the drugs had something to do with it!" His hands broke off the desk and actually took chunks with it. Cloud was hit with some of the debris and he knew this guy had to be First or Second class if he was strong enough to do that. Cloud actually felt a small sting of fear. He knew he wouldn't actually be physically hurt, but it didn't help that Cloud knew how easy it was for the enhanced to hurt regular civilians—and from personal experience too.
"They didn't." It was a little weaker than Cloud had hoped it sounded.
The interrogator's lips twitched up for just a moment, but he hid the feral grin. It was enough though to tell Cloud he'd caught that slip. Guess he wasn't an interrogator for nothing. "Then what did Cloud?" His voice was soft, hardly a whisper, and Cloud had to lean forward slightly to hear it. He knew this wasn't going anywhere good but if he didn't cooperate things would be far worse. If he stayed totally silent it would just put more pressure on him. "Zack?"
Cloud flinched.
"Ah… Zack Fair. He's been helping you out, hasn't he? For… some favors, you got some real help and maybe more, is that it?" His voice rose again at the end, an innocent look about him that clashed horribly with the picture he painted. Cloud was frozen in his seat, horrified and nearly seeing red at the accusations.
"N-no." It came out more choked than he intended, but there was a hot bubble of rage in his stomach at the thought that was cutting off his words. Favors?! Him? With Zack?! Not to mention the Second was implying the Lieutenant-General of SOLDIER might have given him or even allowed him to use performance-enhancing drugs.
"No? You're not protecting anyone Cloud." That struck another nerve, this one worst than the last. Cloud and Zack's relationship was a sensitive topic and even AVALANCHE had treaded carefully around that issue. Even the most graceless of bastards—Cid for one—knew better than to poke it. To say that Cloud wasn't guarding anybody when that was all he was trying to do made him genuinely angry.
Cloud's fists were clenched under the table and he wanted to lash out and hit the interrogator so bad his nails were about to draw blood. What did he know about him and Zack? How dare he imply Cloud slept with Zack to get something from him? Like he was only worth his body and nothing else! There were some lines, even in interrogation, that shouldn't get crossed, and for Cloud that was one of them.
"There's nothing. I have nothing to do with the drugs and Zack isn't related to this." He spat out the words more harshly than he originally meant, but he relished in the silence it brought. That was his stance and this guy had nothing on it. There was no way he could think Zack condoned drugs, and no way Zack would let some Second accuse him of extorting sex.
The response was in a smooth, even voice, saturated in malice. "I think Fair is related. Some of that stash was laced with mako. Now where would a bunch of cadets get that if not through a 'friend'?" The interrogator looked like the cat with the cream at this, and his overbearing confidence was really setting Cloud's ire off. Worse though, he had a point. Cloud was the only connection in that bunker to any SOLDIERs. Not that SOLDIERs had standing access to mako either, but they interacted the most of any department with the science department. It wasn't an impossible conclusion but it was still flimsy by the blond's measure. Even so, the look on the interrogator's face said he was already writing Cloud off.
"I. Don't. Know." He ground out the words, tightly leashed anger in every one of them. The interrogator's answering smile wasn't as full as it could be, and Cloud knew he was getting to the man.
"Damn, did you see Kunsel's face in the beginning? You missed it Seph, Cloud threw him for a real loop." Zack leaned back in his chair smiling stupidly at the ongoing proceedings. Kunsel's words and Cloud short responses were in the background.
The General stood by the window having come in to watch as Cloud's fists tightened under the table. Kunsel had hit a nerve by bringing up Zack, even though everyone knew the idea of Zack selling drugs was perfectly ridiculous. Technically Zack was a lead through Cloud, but only because he had easier access to mako then most. Kunsel was poking this beehive to see if Cloud would implicate himself in a bid to defend his friend—admitting he'd stolen Zack's ID card or something to that effect.
"I didn't think Kunsel would have to go that low, but he can't exactly play good cop/bad cop this late in the game," Zack added. He'd given Kunsel permission to drag his name into this. Even Zack was immune from a bit of curiosity about Cloud, and Kunsel thought he might be able to get something out of Cloud through his handful of friends.
Sephiroth didn't respond to the comment though, his focus still on the vividly furious boy. Cloud seemed to take poorly to the idea of sleeping around for favors, but that wasn't surprising. Sephiroth was more interested in what else Kunsel could draw out of the cadet. The Second had been briefed on Cloud and seen his profile. The General had hinted that Strife's sudden change of grades was of mild concern to him too.
Sephiroth knew though that Kunsel took Zack's opinion to heart, and from what he'd heard Cloud didn't seem the type to use drugs for an edge. Sephiroth agreed on that point, even when taking into account Cloud's abrupt change, but the interview had to be thorough nonetheless.
"I think he's really pissed Cloud off now." Instead of sounding pleased to see Kunsel take some heat as Sephiroth expected, Zack looked concerned, and the First left his chair to stand with him. "See his face. Total shutdown."
Sephiroth looked back over in surprise. Cloud had gone from noxiously angry to cold. His blue eyes watched Kunsel as he questioned him about materia practice and his sessions with Zack, but he didn't respond with anything longer than a flat no. Kunsel tried a different tactic, weaving questions together that required more than two word answers, but if it got too complicated Cloud sat silently, relentless and frigid. It was… disturbing to see, and out of character as far as Sephiroth knew.
Zack wasn't laughing now as Kunsel glanced discreetly at the one-way mirror. He was clearly taken aback. Cloud had been tolerant before, but he'd obviously been reacting to the accusations behind a stoic façade—clenching fists, twitching toes, the burn behind his eyes. But now it was, as Zack put it, a total shutdown. He'd gone cold; wasn't giving an inch anymore and looked frighteningly blank.
Kunsel was winding down as he realized he wasn't getting any reactions anymore no matter what he said. The blood work would come back soon, and they'd have results to match this against. With a nod from the General, the buzzer sounded and Kunsel left the room. Cloud was left staring stiffly at the wall, unmoving.
Zack turned to greet Kunsel grimly as he entered the booth. "General. Zack." He nodded to them both. He was smiling slightly but he also looked concerned under it. "You weren't kidding Zack, he really isn't like the outside package."
Zack turned to look back out at Cloud, who was staring stonily at the one-way mirror, almost like he could see through it and right at them. Zack was a little thankful Cloud's stare wasn't directed at him, but out of the corner of his eye the SOLDIER noticed the hairs on Kunsel's arm rising. Cloud was glaring right at him.
Zack visibly shivered. Weird.
"I wasn't expecting that at all." Zack turned back to Kunsel confused, and it looked for a moment like he'd had a chill too. Sephiroth watched the interaction from the sidelines, contemplating as he watched Cloud from the corner of his eye.
"You laughed when I went in aggressive and arrogant, but he does look effeminate and easy to crack. Records even say he got bullied a lot—you know being a bully is a surefire way to rile up a victim. He was definitely getting worked up in the beginning at all the accusations, but it wasn't like that." Kunsel waved over at the blond's back to indicate the still coldly reserved cadet. The Second leaned back against the wall in a casual pose, like he was trying to dismiss the tense atmosphere. He wasn't completely convincing. "I thought for sure when I said you were selling him the drugs he's snap, especially since I'd been so close with sleeping around. But well…"
"Yeah," Zack agreed, and they both looked back into the interrogation room to where Cloud had been sitting. "I've never seen him cut off like that, just bam!—cold. That's Sephiroth territory, not Cloud's."
Sephiroth didn't react to that comment. He privately agreed with him.
"Well there's definitely something there I'd say. In my opinion, General, the cadet's clean when it comes to the drugs. The rest though… the recent records do look a little funny." Kunsel shrugged a bit, looking a little more relaxed now that someone was inside the interrogation room to escort Cloud out. The Second wasn't being glared down so hard anymore. "As for that… non-reaction, he's a teenager, Zack, and he's got a simple profile. There's only so much that could have caused that—abuse, trauma, abandonment? Maybe you remind him of a friend or his father or something, and making a slur on you is like a slur on him?"
Kunsel didn't look particularly convinced of his own logic, and Zack looked a little ill at the thought.
Not long after Kunsel gave his thoughts, the two SOLDIERs left the observation room in strange moods. Sephiroth didn't have a word to classify it, but he hoped it faded in time. Zack would be unbearable if he didn't sort himself out soon. Kunsel at least didn't spend hours at a time with Sephiroth, but the quandary Cloud possessed would probably eat at him too. Kunsel had always liked puzzles a little too much. Sephiroth at the moment just wanted to get to the bottom of it before this got out of hand.
He pulled the screen closed for the one-way mirror and stepped out of the room a moment later, dismissing the control technician as he left. The man turned off the controls and left after buzzing the interview room open. He headed down the corridor while Sephiroth exited into the hallway and looped back to the reinforced steel door.
A burly SOLDIER had just stepped out of the room with Strife in tow when the General addressed him by name. "Grant, leave Cadet Strife there one moment. I'll have a word with him."
Grant stiffened a little in surprise and Sephiroth ignored it. The Second Class SOLDIER walked Cloud back inside the room to the desk and seated him again, then held the door open for the General. "Knock when you'd like to be buzzed out, sir."
Sephiroth nodded before entering the room.
Cloud Strife was seated with his back to the door, his hair spiked up in all directions, still tussled from sleep. He had a thin grey t-shirt on and boxers; Sephiroth could see his bare legs and feet from under the chair. His heels didn't quite touch the floor.
The General took his time perusing the cadet, knowing the only thing watching him was the camera in the far corner, and even that was turned off. Strife was of a short stature, a little leaner than Zack with broad shoulders and a narrower waist. He was hardly intimidating in his pajamas, but his cold demeanor, though lessened now, still gave the area around him a frosty quality. He sensed irritation and tension from the cadet.
"Cloud Strife."
The boy didn't jump as expected, didn't even flinch. Sephiroth refused to be impressed.
He kept up a steady pace as he walked from side to side behind the boy, making sure to stay only on the edge of his peripheral vision. Not seeing the demon was far more frightening than the actual sight, were his self-depreciating thoughts.
"You have been charged with potential smuggling, drug-use, and the sale of illegal performance-enhancing drugs. The charges carry triple the punishment and guaranteed jail time because of the inclusion of a protected and highly volatile substance."
Strife didn't move or even twitch. It barely even looked like he was breathing. Sephiroth didn't doubt the cadet was listening though.
"Do you maintain your position?"
There was a hesitation before he spoke. Whether out of fear, a lie, or something else, Sephiroth didn't know. "Yes."
It wasn't a man's voice, but not that of a boy either. And that was exactly what Cloud was. Something in between established norms, and it irked Sephiroth now more than ever as he realized it. Strife certainly hadn't been anything extraordinary up until recently: average marks, below average physicals, a black and white personal history. But then he'd impressed Zack, won the First's favor, looked Sephiroth directly in the eye, and seen a sharp upturn in marks in all classes, even materia, that had even Zack raising an eyebrow. Why now? It couldn't just be Zack's tutoring that explained it. Kunsel had gotten nowhere when he'd tried to hit at that particularly issue.
The General came to stop just centimeters behind Cloud. He heard the catch in Cloud's breath and could see the increased pulse rate in his wrist, the blood pumping frantically under pale skin. It was the first true reaction since he'd shutdown with Kunsel.
Sephiroth wasn't sure what he wanted out of this boy. He only knew that he'd been a persistent niggling in the back of his mind since their first meeting that had now become full-blown. He had a prime chance to see if he could unravel some of the mystery now, but the General wasn't sure how to go about it or if he'd even get much, given how far Kunsel had already driven him. Still, that didn't stop him. Sephiroth did what he thought might work best, regardless of how it might be viewed. He'd always functioned like that. His instincts were still well honed even after the war, and he liked to keep his claws sharp. Even Cloud Strife couldn't change that.
Besides, he had every right to do this; after all, a Turk was doing the other interrogation.
Sephiroth leaned over Cloud, catching both of the boy's wrists and pinning them to the table, hands splayed. Using his superior mass and weight, he flattening the cadet's palms onto the desk, his chin brushing the sides of those golden spikes as his hair pooled around them. Cloud's skin felt clammy but smooth, and he could feel the outline of the tight muscles in his lower arms and hands. His hair smelled just like the cheap shampoo made and distributed by Shinra but was quite soft.
This close to Strife, Sephiroth could detect any lie—the faintest hint of hesitation, sound, movement, he'd be ready for it. Not to mention the intimidation and fear aroused by the predator literally breathing on your neck, hands locked to the table, had made some of the toughest Wutain warriors wet themselves. Normally he didn't like this kind of personal interrogation, but Strife was different.
"Did you have anything to do with the drugs?"
The blond's pulse shot up under Sephiroth's hands as his voice ghosted his ear. The cadet was staring straight ahead, but he turned ever so slightly into Sephiroth's words and leaned his head forward, unconsciously bowing to the pressure. He didn't answer immediately, but Sephiroth could see the darkening tint of Cloud's neck at this angle. He couldn't be sure if that was adrenaline or embarrassment, but probably a mixture of both.
"No." Cloud breathed out, and it didn't sound very solid to the General's ears, but it was sincere, Sephiroth knew that much immediately.
The General's tight grip on Cloud's wrists was just short of bruising. He didn't know why that soft murmur affected him so strongly, but he knew Cloud Strife was only proving to be stranger with every meeting. The urge to do something more physical to get the words out of Strife was growing, but the General stifled it. Now was neither the place nor time.
He still had one more question and there was no point being subtle about it. "What are you hiding, Cloud Strife?"
The cadet didn't move; he'd practically turned to stone except that his pulse was flying under Sephiroth's fingers. With all the patience of a cat holding the mouse in its paws, Sephiroth waited for some response.
Cloud licked his dry lips, shifting forward even more. Sephiroth's nose was almost buried in the blond's hair, the texture very soft against his skin. Cloud's scent was overwhelming for a second—woodsy even in this metal city.
"I-"
Sephiroth didn't move, made no sound at all. His breathing was so quiet he had trouble hearing it over the staggering breaths Cloud was taking. From his angle he could see a line of sweat sliding down the boys collar and into his shirt.
"I don't know." Cloud Strife turned his full head away then to the right, shadowing his face in the poor lighting of the room to hide it. It was a dead giveaway that Cloud definitely knew what Sephiroth was talking about, but already the red was receding from Strife's neck. One more question would probably push him back into stoicism and the General would get nothing more.
After a prolonged moment he released Cloud's wrists, pulled up and stepped back in one swift movement. Sephiroth hesitated, not sure what to say to end this. As the General he couldn't offer encouragement or his opinion on whether Cloud would be suffering punishment or not. He didn't feel in the position to be more cordial after that intimidation factor he'd just used, and he felt unaccountably awkward. He'd done what was necessary, he told himself. Cloud was hiding something and they both knew it.
So he finally just nodded his head and slipped out a smooth "Strife". After a moment he turned his back on the cadet, displeased and filled with a strange energy. He was sure that talk had been both successful and unsuccessful, though how he couldn't quite describe. Sephiroth rapped the door soundly as he mulled over that conundrum. It buzzed open and the General strode out.
Cloud, meanwhile, was frozen to his chair as Sephiroth made his departure. He couldn't believe that had just happened. Had Sephiroth noticed? His boxers didn't hide anything and the man had been leaning over him like a-
Cloud stopped that thought immediately before he could fully process it. His erection wasn't fading and he tried to stop himself from thinking about what had caused it. The General's hair, his velvet purr, and the way he held Cloud down, how everything about him was more real than anything Cloud could imagine.
Cloud wrenched his stiff arms up and rubbed them down his face, trying and failing to find that blank space again now that Sephiroth was gone. The room was heavy with his fear and embarrassment. The last thing Cloud wanted to think about was Sephiroth's last question, but the only other thing he could think about was Sephiroth's shoulders framing his own, the grip and strength of his hands… Cloud shook his head violently. He needed to think about something else, anything else so he didn't have to walk down that hall with a SOLDIER and a hard-on popping out of his shorts.
A little frantic that someone would come in soon, he did the only thing he could think of. Standing up was a little painful, but he moved to the corner of the desk pressed his rigid flesh against the side. The metal desk was ice cold from the air conditioner they pumped into this room. As soon as the heated skin touched it Cloud wanted to cry out. His arousal flagged in time for him to stand up as the door buzzed. He shifted away from the desk and let his face fall back into a standard, blank expression. He knew he was probably still red, but hopefully that could just be passed off for an encounter with the General.
The SOLDIER that came to get him was the same one. He must have been talking with the General while Cloud sat there because Sephiroth could be seen striding away down the corridor. Cloud couldn't dwell on the way Sephiroth's hair flicked from side to side as he moved because the SOLDIER grabbed his arm to snap him back to reality.
"You blood test says you're clear. I'll escort you back to your bunker."
Cloud let out a loose breath, though it wasn't out of relief. He had to keep his body in control right now because images of the General breathing down his neck and the feeling of his lean hands on Cloud's were invading his mind with every step. He just needed to get back to the bunker and see who else was clean, and then go off somewhere private for a while. Long enough to clear his head at least.