CHAPTER 29: US AND THEM
In which Aviva makes a resolution, Barret Wallace helps Reno, and Rufus shows his hand
Pages from Aviva's Diary: May 8th, 2003
Today when I was bodyguarding the President at a function, he did something that shocked me. He set a thousand gil note on fire and used it to light his cigar. Like it was just a piece of scrap paper. Probably that shows how naïve I still am. No one else seemed bothered by it.
I guess people who have everything have money to burn.
I've just realized something, Diary. She was like that. Cissnei. But not with money. With love…
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May 29th, 2003
I think we both knew from the start that it wasn't going to work out with Louis, didn't we, Diary? I cringed every time he tried to touch me. I didn't mean to; I didn't want to hurt his feelings. I just couldn't help myself. I felt so bad for him. I tried to explain that it wasn't him, that it was me, but I don't think he believed me. Who's going to believe that a Turk is too petrified to let a guy come anywhere near her?
And anyway, it's not the whole truth, is it? Louis was such a nice guy. But he was the wrong guy.
Which is really quite ironic when you think about it, because any girl with half a brain cell can see that R is the wrongest of wrong guys in every possible way. What is it about him? He isn't even all that good-looking. Maybe out of all of them Rude's the closest to what you'd call classically tall, dark and handsome. But R…. He's as skinny as a filleted fish, and he's kind of slouchy and slinky, and his lips are thin, and his eyes are so hard you can't see inside them. But when I least expect it, he'll suddenly walk in, and he looks so beautiful to me that my heart stands still, and I could go on looking at him forever…
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May 30th, 2003
I have got to stop pretending. The real reason it didn't work out with Louis is because I am totally screwed up. Too much of what I might have had to give a lover was taken from me too young, and maybe that's not my fault, but it's still my problem and I have to deal with it. So I've come to a decision, Diary. No more dating for me. I'm going to stop saying Yes when inside I'm screaming No! No! Keep away! I've got to get over this knee-jerk compulsion to please. I don't owe anybody anything just for treating me nice. The little Aviva inside of me is still scared of what will happen if she isn't nice to people who are nice to her – but I know what old Charlie would say to that girl. You owe yourself some self-respect, kiddo.
1.10 am:
I was lying in bed just now, thinking, and I suddenly thought, maybe the reason I'm so fixated on R is because it's completely and utterly impossible that he would ever notice me in that way or be interested in me. So he's safe. As long as I keep telling myself I'm love with a man who's never going to love me, I don't have to face the fact that I'm actually incapable of having a real relationship. I can worship him from afar forever without running the risk of my fantasies being shattered.
I'm not a child any more. I'm eighteen years old. I should act like it. I can't keep using R as my crutch. I have got to stop mooning over him. It's just ridiculous.
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June 18th, 2003
Resolution update: mission not accomplished.
Will keep trying. Turks don't fail.
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July 5th, 2003
Big drama in the office today. It started with R's phone ringing. I didn't pay much attention until I heard him say, "Who the **** gave you this number?" We all looked up then, and Hunter got up and made to leave the room. R said into his phone, "Can't you take a hint? If I didn't call it's because I didn't want to. Now get off the ****ing line, it's for business." And then he hung up and he yelled, "Honey!" because she was sneaking off all guilty-like. She started running but he caught her and held her by her ponytail, and he was really pissed off and shouted at her, "What the hell do you think you're playing at?" and she said, "I'm sick of the way you treat the women in this building. I think it's time you answered to someone–" and he shouted "Who the **** do you think you are to interfere with my ****ing private life, you stuck-up brat?" and then Rude came and put himself between them. And Hunter shouted at R from behind Rude's back, "You better watch out karma doesn't come around and bite your skinny arse," and of course R then said, "It can suck my ***ing **** for all I care and I hope it likes the taste." Naturally all the guys cracked up at that. Even Rude grinned.
And then the door to the stairway opened and this blonde girl comes running in, looking kind of crazed, and I remembered seeing her at a party about a week ago. I left early. She works in Accounts, I think. So anyway, she sees R and she goes at him, and she yells, "You don't hang up on me like that you ****ing bastard. You owe me an explanation. You might at least have had the decency to call me."
And he says, "Get the **** out of here."
And Hunter says, "Why do you have to be such an ****head?"
And R says, "She hasn't got security clearance, she needs to get the **** off our floor."
And this blond girl is crying because she's so angry, and she says, "You can't treat me like this. What do you think I am? You think I'd do those things with just anyone?"
"How the hell would I know?" he says. "I don't even know your name."
That sent her over the edge. She starts screaming, "It's Beatrice! Beatrice! You know that!"
And he's all "OK, whatever" like he actually wants to calm her down, and he says, "Look, Beatrice, you're reading way too much into this thing. The fact is, it was getting late, and I felt like getting laid, and I wasn't feeling too choosy."
So Beatrice starts wheezing like she's having an asthma attack, and she picks up the nearest thing, which was a hole punch, and she threw it at him. He ducked. It broke the glass on the company logo that was hanging behind him. Cavs and Tys were laughing so hard they sounded like they were going to be sick. But Rude wasn't. He was trying to grab Beatrice's arm to stop her throwing things.
And then Mr Tseng came out of his office, with his "what's going on here" and "what's all this noise"? But how could we say anything when she was standing right there sobbing her heart out? Anyway he didn't need us to tell him: he took a good look and he got the picture. So he tells Hunter to take her back where she belongs, and then he tears a strip off R and says he gives the department a bad name when he does things like this, and R says, "get real, Boss, I'm just living up to their expectations" and then Mr Tseng took him into his office, and none of us know what they said, even though Tys went and put his ear to the door. A while later R came out looking like he wouldn't mind killing somebody, probably Hunter. He went out. I haven't seen him again today…
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July 8th, 2003
I can't stop thinking about that girl Beatrice. It's like I know I ought to feel sorry for her, but I just can't find it in me. What was she thinking of? There's no way she didn't know what she was letting herself in for when she hooked up with him. There can't be anyone left in the entire building that doesn't know his reputation. Probably the whole of Midgar knows. Plate and slums.
I really have a hard time understanding these girls who throw themselves at him. Do they like being treated like dirt? I guess maybe some of them really do. Human beings can be very strange. But I think some of them believe that somehow they can change him. We all like to think we're unique and special, don't we? They probably believe that with them everything is going to be different.
But I do feel sorry for them, and do you know why? Because they'll never really know him. They bring out the worst side of him, so that's all they see. I know what a bastard he can be, diary, but the thing is, he's never been a bastard to me. I know the real him. I know I can trust him with my life. I'm his partner. His sidekick, too, for a lot of the time. And sometimes, when he's happy about the way a mission's gone or he's pleased with my performance, I'm his pal. I wouldn't trade that for anything.
So I guess I should be thankful he doesn't see me as a girl, chick, babe, whatever. God only knows how the department would continue to function if the guys remembered we were women.
You know what, Diary? I think that's the real reason he was so furious with Hunter. It's Us and Them, and she sided with Them…
8th May, 2002, 08.55 am
Reno was sitting at the surveillance bank in the secret room on the floor between floors. Though he was, technically speaking, upright, to describe what he was doing as work would be to stretch a point. He was, in fact, enjoying a catnap, his body sunk deep in the leather chair, his feet resting on the desk. A string of late nights had finally taken their toll.
Above him the wall-sized monitor had split itself into twenty-five separate colour images, each relaying a view from one of the CCTV security cameras on the lowest levels of the Shinra building. Garbage disposal - basement garage - boiler room – switch room - janitorial supplies…. Every thirty seconds the images dissolved, to be replaced by new scenes one floor up. In just over an hour the program could scroll through the entire building. It was not Reno's job, or any Turk's job, to watch it constantly; the guards in the security room off the lobby had their own monitors for that. But when the Turks were not using their wide screen for any other purpose, they kept the surveillance cameras running constantly in the background.
To Reno's left stood a double row of free-standing monitors, one for the each of the company's mako reactors: the eight in Midgar, the Shinra Number One on Mt Nibel, now repaired and fully operational, the defunct Gongaga reactor, the underwater reactor at Junon, the reactor at Fort Condor, and the construction site at Corel. Since the incident at Nibelheim new security measures had been put in place: all authorised reactor workers had been implanted with chips in the back of their hands, which were automatically scanned as they passed designated points in the building. Any motion picked up by the sensors that failed to pass the scan would trigger a remote alarm here in the Turks' control room, as well as an immediate attack by the on-site defense robots.
The beauty of this system, and the feature which made it a significant improvement over the security cards used on the trains, was that the chips had so far proved impossible to forge, as a ring of rogue technicians in Junon had recently learnt to their cost. The four of them who'd survived the bust had been publicly executed only last week: justice, live on TV. Kind of a new departure, Reno had thought at the time. The usual Shinra style was to brush the dirt under the carpet, spray round a can of air freshener, and put out a big vase of flowers to hide the stain. According to Cavour, who said he'd heard it from one of Reeve Tuesti's secretaries, the whole execution thing, and the publicity that had surrounded it, had been Rufus Shinra's idea…
Suddenly the alarm went off in Reno's ear, jerking him back to full consciousness. Disoriented, he kicked out. The chair went rolling backwards; Reno tumbled to the floor, arms and legs flailing. The alarm kept ringing, painfully loud. Still half-fogged with sleep, Reno got to his feet, squinting at the monitors to see which one was the source of the problem.
There. Corel. The half-built reactor.
On the monitor dark silhouettes could be seen moving along a metal catwalk suspended above the glow of the mako pit. Reno counted five people in all. The one bringing up the rear stopped, turned, raised their eyes, and for a moment seemed to be gazing straight at Reno. Then it – he, she – aimed their gun and fired. The screen went blank, but not before Reno had recognised them. Those blue goggles and pie-shaped headgear were unmistakable.
The cancer had returned.
He began flipping through the feeds from the Corel cameras. Nothing – nothing – nothing – Were those five it? – Nothing – Wait, there! Yes, that was the woman, Elfe, talking to some of her underlings. Not many, though. A dozen. And there was that big fucker Shears. Reno still had a score to settle with him.
He couldn't see Fuhito, but he'd have taken a bet the scrawny geek was somewhere close by. Charlie had said all along he was afraid the AVALANCHE leaders weren't dead – which was pretty honest of the old sod, considering it had been his job to get rid of them.
Reno pulled out his phone.
"Boss, whatever you're doing, drop it and get in here. There's something you'll want to see."
.
09.42 am
A sharp wind whipped across the roof of the Shinra Building, where three helicopters had been scrambled and were hovering, waiting. Tseng projected his voice. "Tys, you'll come with me. Mink, Hunter, go with Rude. Skeeter, you go with Reno. Where's Aviva?"
"On her way," said Rude.
Aviva at that moment was pelting up the stairs, ignoring the ache in her thighbone. She'd been in the canteen eating a late breakfast when she got Tseng's call. The first elevator had been full; the second had taken too long to come. So she'd run. Her knives rattled in their holsters. Breathlessly she burst through the door on the top landing. From here she could see down the corridor and out onto the roof. They were all waiting for her.
"What's happening?" said a silky voice behind her.
Omigosh, she thought, it's the Vice-President! "Mr Rufus, sir! I didn't see you there!"
"Something's going on. What is it?"
He's so good-looking… Girl! Get a grip!
"I asked you a question, Turk."
"It's AVALANCHE, sir. They've invaded the Corel reactor. I'm sorry, sir, but I have to go, I'm holding everyone up – "
"Go," he waved a hand.
She dashed away onto the rooftop. "There you are," Tseng shouted. "Go with Reno. We'll rendezvous at the north entrance to the coal mines. Rude, Reno, have you got the coordinates?"
"Check."
"All right, let's go."
Tseng's helicopter was the last to leave. He was just preparing to take off when his phone rang.
"It's me," said Veld. "I'm down in the surveillance room. I'll coordinate your movements. Oh, and Tseng – if Rufus calls you, tell him nothing."
"Understood."
Because knowledge was power, and the Old Man was hanging on to his like grim death.
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10.16 am
The door to the Turks' secret surveillance room hissed open. Commander Veld looked up from the monitor and saw President Shinra come staggering in, breathing heavily, one fist pressed to his heart. For a moment Veld thought the Old Man must have been shot. But there was no blood.
"Piet – Rufus has gone."
"What?" Veld stood up. "How did he find out?"
"I don't know."
"But how did he leave?"
"He took a helicopter."
"But they're under strict instructions – "
"He drew a gun on them." The Old Man pulled a hand down his face. His knees were trembling. "Sit," said Veld, steering him to a chair.
The Old Man collapsed into the chair and took a shuddering breath. "He was doing – so well, too. Don't you think? Chip off the old block. Have you seen the way he's got Heidegger eating out of his hand…."
"I've seen."
"Damned whippersnapper. I was starting to enjoy the board meetings again. Like pitting my wits against my own younger self. And now this. Fool. Fool!"
"I'll let Tseng know – "
"No! You have to go after him. If you leave now and go straight to the reactor you can find him before they do. Stop him from doing anything stupid."
Veld only hesitated a moment. "All right."
"Do whatever it takes," said the President. "Tell the Turks if you have to. Rufus is all I have left. I don't care about anything else. Please, Piet." He grabbed hold of Veld's hand and held on to it tightly. "We can rebuild reactors. Just bring my child home. That's all that matters now."
Veld grasped the Old Man's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I know," he said. "My old friend, I know."
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12.57 pm
The other Turks had been waiting on the ground for almost a quarter of an hour before Tseng's helicopter came in to land. In that time a small crowd of ragged children had gathered, and stood watching them from a short distance away.
"We'll need someone to guard the helicopters," said Tseng. "I don't want to get back here and find them stripped. Hunter, you'll stay."
"Oh, sir, that's not fair – "
Tseng disregarded her. "Right, the rest of you. We're going to split up and come at them from all four sides. Tys, you're with Mink. Aviva, you're with Reno. Skeeter, you're with Rude. I'll go alone. We're going in through the mines. The Commander's sent a map to each of your phones and marked your routes. When in doubt, use your compasses and keep a south-westerly course. Call me when you reach your contact point. This is still a working mine, so make sure you don't alarm the miners. If anyone asks, we're on a routine inspection. Got that?"
"Roger," they chorused.
"Then let's go."
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14.04 pm
"Reno," said Aviva, "Are we lost?"
He didn't want to admit it. "I think it's this way." He pointed at the mouth of the right-hand tunnel. "I think I can smell the mako."
"This map is useless," she sighed.
"It must be pretty old," he agreed.
"What does the compass say?"
"That way." He pointed down the left-hand tunnel.
"Maybe we should ask someone."
He shook his head vigorously. "No asking. Just give me a moment and I'll work it out."
"But at this rate we'll never get to the reactor -"
"Ssh," said Reno. "Listen."
Footsteps were coming from the right-hand tunnel, and they were growing louder. Reno and Aviva switched off their torches and drew apart, pressing themselves into the shadows. She put a hand on her knife belt. He drew his rod.
A beam of light shone out of the tunnel. As the footsteps came closer, the beam grew brighter, and in a few moments a tall, burly man appeared, wearing a miner's lamp on his head. He was stripped to the waist, and his body glistened with sweat. In the dimness it was impossible to tell whether his skin was dark by nature or from coal dust. Over one shoulder he carried a pick. The backwash of light carved his face into strange hollows and angles, like a mask, and in that mask the whites of his eyes were shining.
Aviva sneezed.
He turned the lamp on them, dazzling their eyes. "Hey, you kids – what you doin' in here? Damn fool place to go canoodling! C'mon, get over here where I c'n see you."
Reno had already put his rod away. Aviva let her hand drop from the knives.
"We could ask him," she said to Reno.
"Hey, I'll be the one askin' the questions. Too many strange things goin' on here today. You – " But now the miner had come close enough to see them properly. "Hold on a sec. You're from Shinra, aintcha? I seen them suits before, when that Scarlett woman came here. What the hell you doin' in my mine?"
"Do you know how to get to the reactor?" asked Aviva.
"Damn sure I do. I dug these tunnels myself. But you can't go there this way. Hell, don't you people communicate with each other?"
"What are you talking about?" said Reno.
"Ran into another Shinra type back there, 'bout ten minutes ago. Reactor construction guy. Told me they was shuttin' down the mine for some routine testing and I should clear everybody out."
Reno said, "Was he wearing blue goggles? And a sort of flat cap with a neck cape?"
"Nope. Technician guy. White coat. Glasses."
"Black hair? Kind of runty and geeky?"
"That's the one."
"Fuhito," Reno breathed. He and Aviva exchanged glances. "Let's go –"
"Whoa," said the miner, holding them back with a hand. "Somethin' ain't right here. First I got some Shinra guy tellin' me to get everybody out, and now I got more suits tryin' to get in. How do I even know you're legit? Could be you're them terrorists, plannin' to blow up our reactor like they did in Nibelheim. So first you show me some ID. Then maybe I'll help you."
Aviva looked to Reno for guidance. "Guess it can't hurt," he said. They pulled out their ID. The miner bent his head to direct the beam of light onto the cards. "Reno. Aviva. Investigative Affairs Section, Department of Administrative Research. OK, I guess you check out. I'm Barret. Barret Wallace. I'm one of the union leaders. This here's our mine, and that reactor – it's our reactor. You hear what I'm sayin'? We been waitin' a long time for life to get a little easier round here. All our hopes are pinned on that reactor. So if there's some kind of trouble, I think I oughtta know."
Once again Aviva turned her pleading face to Reno. He shook his head. "You heard the Boss, Veev."
"But Mr Wallace is right. And he can help us. I think we should tell him. I really do." By the light of the miner's lamp her black eyes shone up at him expectantly.
Like another girl's round, bright eyes, on another mission, in a different dark place.
"Fucking don't – " he snapped.
Aviva blinked, and shrank into herself.
Shit. Now he'd hurt her feelings. And that made him feel like crap. He should be more careful: she didn't deserve to get flakked by his shrapnel.
He sighed. "OK, Veev. Fine. Whatever you want. Look, whatsyourname – Wallace - the reason why we're here is privileged information. But if that reactor's important to you, then take us to it. That's all I can say."
Barret sucked his teeth thoughtfully, looking from one Turk to the other and back again as he slowly made up his mind.
"All right," he said. "Follow me."
.
Twenty minutes later, Aviva tugged on Reno's sleeve. He bent his head, and she whispered in his ear, "See? We were lucky we ran into Mr Wallace. We'd never have found our way through this maze on our own."
Reno was not prepared to concede the point. "I would've. It would just have taken us a little longer, that's all – "
He broke off because she'd stumbled, and had grabbed hold of his arm to stop herself falling.
"Are you OK?" he asked.
"Sure."
"You're limping."
"I'm fine. Come on, let's pick up the pace. I don't want everyone waiting for me aga-"
"Shee-it," whistled Barret, stopping dead. "What the fuck is that?"
"It's just a machine gun," said Reno. Even as he spoke, the weapon positioned in the tunnel ahead of them came alive and stood upright with a sequence of clunks and clicks. A red beam of light pinpointed Barret's forehead. The barrel began to spin. There was a spark, a bang, and next moment the disabled machine gun was toppling sideways. "Programmed to target body heat," Reno added, sliding his rod back up his sleeve.
"That's the unholiest goddamn thing I ever saw," Barret exclaimed. It was unclear whether he meant the machine gun or Reno's weapon.
"Really? Guess you must lead pretty sheltered lives down here. Well, let's go. And keep your eyes and ears open. There's bound to be more of those things around."
.
Three machine guns and one black-market gun bull head later, Barrett brought them out into the sunlight on the other side of the mines. They were at the rail junction, where the narrow-gauge coal bogies were emptied into larger hopper cars for transportation across the trestle to the railhead beside the reactor. As far as they could see, they were the only three human beings anywhere in the rocky landscape.
"That's the way," said Barret, pointing to the rollercoaster bridge.
"Pretty exposed," said Reno. "And probably booby-trapped. All right. Thanks, mate. We'll take it from here."
"The hell you are," Barret blustered. "This is my town and my mine. I'm comin' with ya."
"If that's what you want, fine." Reno still had his rod in his hand after blasting the bull head. Flipping the switch to stun, he threw a bolt straight between Barret's eyes. The miner slumped to the ground unconscious.
"Reno!" Aviva cried. "How could you? He helped us!"
"And I've returned the favour. He'll wake up later and go home with nothing worse than a headache. Seriously, Veev, you need to start growing up, OK? Amateurs like him are a fucking liability."
Reno took hold of Barret by the armpits and began dragging him towards the mouth of the tunnel. "How about lending me a hand?" he asked her. "This guy's no lightweight." After a moment's hesitation, Aviva came to help, lifting Barrett's legs by the ankles. They moved the miner out of sight and made him as comfortable as they could. When that was done, Reno turned his attention back to the problem of how to get safely across the bridge.
"We can't walk across. That would be suicide. Swim the river? Current looks too fast. What time's it now, Veev?"
"About three."
"Try calling Tseng."
She did. "His number's unobtainable."
"He must still be inside the mines. Try the Chief."
While she dialed, he lit a cigarette.
"He's not answering," she said.
Reno made an exasperated noise, and ran his hands through his hair. "Man, I wish we had an engine."
"But why don't we take one of the hoppers? It's easy – there's two levers inside, and you just push them up and down."
He stared at her. "How do you know that?"
"I used to play in them when I was little. I grew up here, remember?"
He hadn't remembered, but felt it might be better to let her believe he had. "Sure," he nodded. "Hometown girl. Great. Let's get in, and you can show me what to do."
The levers were well-oiled and not heavy. "You push up while I push down," she told him. Once they'd established a rhythm, the hopper began to move quite fast. Nobody sniped at them, there were no booby-traps, and the points were locked to the lower track. In five minutes they were across. It all seemed too easy.
As soon as they could they abandoned the hopper and made their way on foot up the barren, boulder-strewn hillside. There was very little shade. Beneath his suit, Reno's skin prickled with sweat, and Aviva's white face was flushed. At last they reached the brow of the hill. Keeping low to the ground, the two Turks belly-crawled up the last few metres of scree, put their heads over the top, and found themselves gazing down at the green glow of the unfinished Mount Corel reactor, shiny as a big tin can bobbing in a syrupy well of mako.
Reno rolled over and slid back down the scree, gesturing for Aviva to follow him. A little to the left, an overhang of rock cast a narrow shadow. The two of them crept into its coolness. Reno wiped his forehead on his sleeve.
"Try Tseng again," he said.
This time Tseng answered. He told them to stay where they were for now. The others were still assembling. He'd call them back in fifteen minutes.
"I guess it's breaktime," said Reno.
Side by side they leaned against the rock and looked east across the vista of jagged ridges and low, scrubby foothills. From this vantage point they could see in the distance the tarpaper rooftops of Corel Town, surrounded by a dense forest. Thin plumes of smoke rose from the town's many chimneys.
Aviva said, "When the reactor starts up, the mines will close. What'll happen to everybody? How will they live?"
"They'll get nice clean jobs in the reactor. You heard our friend. They can hardly wait."
He lit another cigarette. Aviva smiled and breathed in deeply, eyes closed. "I love the smell of tobacco."
"Want one?"
"Oh, no thanks. I tried one once, years ago. It made me puke."
"Suit yourself."
South beyond Corel the hills levelled out into grassy flatlands. Heat rippled the air, forming bands of distorted transparency. On every other side the mountains rose up, ridge after ridge, bare grey slabs of granite baking in the sun. What must it be like to live here? Reno wondered. God, the monotony. The boredom.
He turned back to Aviva. "So anyway. Our friend Mr Wallace – d'you know him?"
"Not really. Once we got out into the sunlight I did recognise him. He's a big wheel round here. But he wasn't…. He didn't…." She was stammering now. "I mean… I didn't have anything to do with him."
She fell silent. Her face was wistful, but not, he guessed, from any longing for the good old days.
He thought back to the day she'd first joined them, a scared, skinny child in a suit that didn't fit, her huge hungry eyes almost popping from their sockets with the strain of taking everything in. She was determined to do whatever it took. That was the first thing he'd liked about her. And then there were the assumptions she'd made about the people in authority around her, about what they expected from her, and her willingness to comply with those expectations – no, to excel. To show initiative. To do whatever they wanted, and more. To win. She'd told them her whole history right there that day, without saying a word. And Tseng had been shocked. The Boss had some weird little blindspots of naivety; Reno supposed it came from having been brought up in the office by the Commander. Tseng had been shocked, and then he'd got angry with Reno for not being shocked, and Reno had got angry with him… But not about Aviva. About Cissnei….
He would never say to Aviva, how bad was it? You wanna talk about it?
She would never say to him, how much does it still hurt? Do you think you'll ever stop missing her?
"Hey, Veev?"
She came back from wherever her own thoughts had been drifting, and turned her face towards him. "Yes?"
"I just wanted to say – you're all right, you know?"
A blush of confusion coloured her cheeks. She really was kind of cute when she got all bashful.
"You're a good Turk," he went on. "I always knew you would be. You're a good partner, too. You're upbeat and you don't whinge, you just get on with the job. I know I can be tough on you sometimes, so I wanted to let you know… You're OK, really. Is all."
"Well…" she stammered, "Thanks -"
Her phone buzzed. She answered it briefly. "It's time to move," she told Reno.
He stubbed out his cigarette in the dirt. "AVALANCHE are waiting for us in there. You realize that, don't you?"
Aviva nodded. He could see that she was scared, but was determined not to show it. Smart kid. If we all get out of here alive, he reflected, we'll be fucking lucky. This thought, however, he kept to himself.
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15.39 pm
The unfinished interior of the reactor put Tseng in mind of Aerith's church. It had the same vaulted silences, the same echoing emptiness, and he walked into it with the same carefulness, putting each foot down slowly, heel to toe, making no sound.
He was standing at one end of a girder bridge that spanned the pool of mako bubbling gently four stories below. Chrome pipes wide enough for a man to walk through arched over his head. Diametrically opposite, he could see from the flash of red that Reno and Aviva had taken up their positions. Skeet and Rude were in place at three o'clock, Tys and Mink at nine o'clock. They were all waiting for Tseng to give the word.
The problem was, Tseng wasn't sure what to do now. He had anticipated needing to fight their way in. But the reactor seemed to be deserted.
Two possible scenarios suggested themselves. One, AVALANCHE had planted bombs on a timer and withdrawn. If that was the case, the Turks needed to find the bombs and defuse them. Or, two, the reactor invasion had been a diversionary tactic, to lure the Turks away and keep them tied up while AVALANCHE pursued its real objective elsewhere. If that were the case, the Commander would have called him by now – but instead he'd gone incommunicado again.
Of one fact and one fact only was Tseng absolutely sure: AVALANCHE was no longer the big organization it had been a year ago. Charlie had achieved that much, at least. What remained was a mere rump – but a rump with leadership, and in some ways more dangerous, because they now needed to be more cunning. They could no longer afford to waste men in full frontal assaults like the one against Junon last year. Guerilla tactics had become the order of the day.
He decided the best thing to do would be to make a quick sweep of the whole building and perimeter, to ensure no terrorists were lurking inside, and then he'd leave one of the teams to check for bombs while he took the rest back to Midgar –
"You're late," said Rufus Shinra from behind him.
Tseng whirled round, thinking he must have imagined it.
Rufus smiled. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd given up and gone home."
"You can't be here!" Tseng exclaimed.
"Well, as you see, I am."
How could this be happening? How had the boy got here? And why? What had he come for?
"Now, I think that's everyone," Rufus added.
He wants to be where the action is, Tseng realized. Of course that was it: Rufus had always been fascinated by the Turks and angled to be included in their business. He must have found out about this mission somehow and flow himself here. Damn Reno for teaching him how to fly a helicopter!
"You have to leave," said Tseng urgently, "Right now, Rufus. It's too dangerous. Go home."
From the other side of the reactor Mink called out, "Sir, is that the Vice-President?"
"Rufus?" yelled Reno. "Boss, what the fuck is going on? Why's he here?"
"You shouldn't let your subordinates swear at you," Rufus advised him. "I wouldn't put up with it for a minute."
"Go home," Tseng repeated. "Now."
"I think you'll find you're not the one who gives the orders here," said Rufus. His face broke into a real, boyish grin, and he added, "I've always wanted to say that."
Heavy footsteps clattered loudly on the platform above their heads. Everyone looked up. "Sir!" they cried.
"All of you!" Commander Veld shouted. "Capture the Vice-President!"
"What?" they chorused.
"Excuse me," said Rufus, pushing Tseng aside and running off along the catwalk towards the reactor core.
"After him!" Veld ordered.
"What the hell is this farce?" said Reno to Aviva as the two of them broke into a run.
A gunshot reverberated in their ears.
"Don't shoot him, you idiot!" Veld yelled at Tys. "He musn't be harmed. Catch him! Keep him safe! Mink – go to your left. Rude – go around behind the exhaust shafts and cut him off. Skeeter, stay where you are and block his exit. Aviva, get the doors. Reno, run!"
"I am!"
Veld came rattling down one set of stairs, but Rufus had found another and was racing up them towards a door set in the reactor core's wall. Reno put on an extra burst of speed, flung himself forward, and grabbed the Vice-President's ankle. Rufus fell headlong, arms sprawling. "Got him!" Reno cried.
The others rushed over. Rufus pulled himself into a sitting position and reached inside his jacket for his gun, but Reno was too quick for him, knocking it out of his hand with the butt end of his rod.
Commander Veld held up his hand for silence.
He said, "President Shinra has authorized me to inform you that Vice-President Rufus is the one who has been controlling AVALANCHE."
There was a short, stunned silence.
"What?" rasped Rude.
"That's ridiculous," said Mink. "He's just a kid."
"Nevertheless," said Veld. "That's how it is. Stand up, Rufus."
"Rufus, is this true?" asked Tseng.
Rufus was looking at Veld. "How long have you known?"
"Since last December."
"What?" exclaimed Reno.
"Who betrayed me?" Rufus' voice was calm.
Veld shook his head. "That's classified, I'm afraid, and you no longer have security clearance. Until today, your father and I, and one other person, were the only people who knew about your – involvement. We had hoped that by wiping out AVALANCHE's headquarters and eliminating their leadership we could resolve the problem and keep your part in it a secret. But your actions today have made that impossible. You cannot be trusted not to do something that would irrevocably damage this company's future. By order of the President, you are to be taken back to Midgar and held in confinement until such time as he decides you've learnt your lesson."
Rufus tossed his head. "Is that all?"
Veld gritted his teeth, and Tseng could see he was fighting the urge to slap the arrogant smile from Rufus' face. "No," he said. "It isn't. You father also asked me to tell you that he understands why you've done what you've done, and he forgives you. All he wants is what any parent wants – that their children should be happy. But this is not the way."
"Hmm," said Rufus. "That's pretty much what I would have expected from the old fraud. The thing is, though, we're not on my father's turf here. Why don't you look up?"
Veld and the other Turks raised their faces. "Fuhito!" Aviva cried.
"Pleasure," said Fuhito, bending over the railing of the platform above their heads. Gravity pulled his glasses down his nose; he pushed them back up. "And as you can see, it is we who have you surrounded." He gestured at the score of AVALANCHE operatives running out from behind him to take up positions around the railing, their gunsights trained on the Turks.
"Good job," said Rufus. "I wasn't happy that you decided to occupy this reactor without my authorization, but since then the situation has changed. These Turks have been getting in my way for long enough. Kill them, and I'll overlook your insubordination this time."
"Rufus," said Tseng softly, "You cannot be serious."
"I've gathered them all here for you," Rufus called up. "It will be like shooting fish in a barrel."
"You fucking little piece of shit," hissed Reno.
Aviva clutched his arm.
The AVALANCHE operatives did not move.
"Kill them!" Rufus yelled. "All of them! But not Tseng!"
Fuhito giggled. "Tempting, but I'm afraid I shall have to decline."
"What do you mean?" Rufus shouted. "I'm ordering you to kill them."
"Please understand," said Fuhito, "It's entirely personal. We've been downsizing recently and you've become surplus to requirements -"
Commander Veld had begun to speak to his Turks in an undertone. "We have to get Rufus out of here. We're going to make for the east entrance. Once we put at least one floor between us and them they won't be able to get a clear shot. The important thing is to keep moving –"
"You can't do that to me!" Rufus was shouting. "Backstabber! Traitor! I'll – I'll cut off your funding!"
"I don't need your money, Shinra whelp. I've made alternative arrangements – "
"- Reno, Tys, you'll move first. Put some voltage into that metal they're standing on. If that doesn't knock them out completely, it should incapacitate them. The rest of you will surround the Vice-President. Protect him with your lives. Tseng and I will cover you and bring up the rear. No one gets left behind. Understood?"
"All right, everybody," Fuhito sang out. "Kill them!"
"Move!" shouted the Commander.
The rubber soles of the AVALANCHE operatives' shoes prevented the Turks' lightning bolts from running straight into their bodies, but wherever they rested their guns on the railings, sparks popped and the electricity buzzed up through their arms to their heads, standing their hair on end. In terror, nerve-numbed, and from sheer surprise, half of them dropped their weapons.
The rest fired wildly. Bullets ricocheted off walls, stairs, walkways. The Turks returned fire. Fuhito pulled out a mako gun and aimed it at Rufus' head.
"Duck!" shouted Skeeter, pushing him down.
"Keep moving," yelled the Commander.
Rude took a ball of materia from his pocket and cast it over his shoulder. It hit one of the buttresses holding up the catwalk: the metal shuddered, and, with a rumble, imploded.
"Nice," said Reno.
"Earth," Rude observed. "Wasn't sure."
Three AVALANCHE operatives, who had been standing on the catwalk when Rude broke it, were now clinging to the twisted wreckage, calling desperately for help, their feet dangling seventy feet above the green pool of mako.
"Keep moving," yelled the Commander.
"Stop! Fuhito, stop!" cried a woman's voice from high above them. "Our people are dying! Let them go. It doesn't matter."
"No!" cried Veld. He dropped his gun and curled into a crouch, both hands pressed over his ears.
Tseng sank down next to him. "Sir – Commander – did you get hit? What's wrong?"
The woman's voice rang out, "You, and you – go help your comrades before they fall!"
"Stop it!" Veld shouted. "How are they doing this? Stop it! Stop it!"
"Sir – " Tseng tried to pull Veld's hands away from his ears. "Sir – please – we have to keep moving – "
"What's wrong with the Commander?" cried Mink.
"No!" Veld groaned. "No! No! Felicia! Felicia! No!"
"Sir, please – your daughter's not here, she's dead – come on – " Tseng fought to get Veld back onto his feet.
Then, amidst the burst of gunfire and the rattle of bullets, a small voice, a girl's voice, said, "Daddy?"
The woman had come to stand beside Fuhito, gripping the railing tightly with both hands. One of her hands looked swollen and had a strange, unhealthy sheen.
"That's their leader!" Aviva exclaimed. "Elfe!"
"Daddy?" said the woman again.
"Sir – don't listen to them," cried Tseng. "It's a trick. Felicia's dead."
Veld raised his head and looked at her.
"Felicia," he said.
Next moment, Fuhito had twisted Elfe's arm behind her back and was holding the mako gun to her head. "So this is your daughter, eh, Commander? That's useful to know. Though I can't suppose you want her back, considering how you threw her onto the trash heap in the first place. Ah, Shears – " for the big man had this moment entered from the door into the reactor core – "Are the explosives in place?"
"What are you doing with Elfe?" Shears made his hands into fists. "Let her go."
"You know what?" said Fuhito. "I don't think I need you any more, either."
He fired the mako gun at a point just in front of Shear's feet. It cut through the metal like a hot knife through butter, and before Shears even had time to cry out, he fell. Veld lunged to his feet, but Tseng and Tys grabbed hold of him and held him back.
"We're going now," said Fuhito. "You should do the same." He pushed Elfe across the platform and through a doorway, shutting the door behind him.
"Come on," shouted Tseng. "Let's get out of here."
"Look," said Rufus. "Ravens."
Four of the black-clad operatives were blocking the doorway that led to sunlight and safety.
Tseng gave the orders: "Mink, Rude, keep close to Rufus – just get him out of here. Reno, Skeet, Aviva, deal with the Ravens. Tys, help me with the Commander…."
Veld was standing like one stunned by a blow between the eyes. They had to hit him, shove him, drag him towards the door. He was a dead weight. Finally, Tseng slapped his cheek. "Sir! This place is going to blow up any minute! Help us!"
"I don't see how it's possible," said Veld.
"Oh God," cried Tseng. "Just pull him, Tys. Come on, sir, come on – "
Finally they were all outside, squinting in the bright light, taking deep breaths. "Don't stop," Tseng told them. "Keep going…."
One after another they ran across the railway bridge, and when they finally reached the solid ground on the far side they threw themselves onto it gratefully, Rufus as well as the rest. The fresh air, or the sunshine, or both, had restored Veld to his senses: he brought up the rear as he always did, guarding his Turks' backs. Then he counted them. Then he said, "Where's Aviva?"
"There," Rude pointed.
She was standing in the doorway of the reactor, a hand pressed down on her thigh.
"Come on!" they shouted.
She tried to run towards the bridge, but she was limping badly. Behind her in the doorway, the bulky shadow of a man loomed.
Reno jumped to his feet. "I'll get her – "
Before he could move, the reactor exploded.