The sun now hangs just over the horizon in the slums of Vector City's seventh sector. Civilians crowd the filthy streets, the occasional run-down junker of a vehicle passing through prompting the sea of people to part to allow it through. There were a number of shops in the town square, selling various commodities such as street food and even more illicit items such as hard drugs and hand-crafted firearms. Near the eastern edge of the large shanty town was a small bar, the exterior just a tiny bit more presentable than those of the other buildings around it. Above the door hung a flashy light-up sign that read "The Chipped Arrow".
This small bar was a front organization for the local chapter of N.O.R.A., a sizeable facility having been constructed underneath the foundation in recent months so that the insurgent cell could engage in their activities out of Sanctum's sight. Dubbed "Nirvana", This facility not only serves as a base of operations for N.O.R.A. in Sector 7 but also as living quarters for some of its members. Three figures emerge from the alleyway to the immediate right of the bar's front entrance.
"Markus, log our status," Lightning orders. "On it," Markus responds with a soft tone, turning on his earpiece. "Assault Unit XIII has just returned to Zone 7. Coming up on base now. All unit members, once again, are unharmed. Please, prepare the elevator," Markus says into his earpiece. Snow walks on ahead, opening the door before holding it open for his two allies. All three of them walk towards the counter, Lightning giving the older male bartender the order to step aside, allowing the three of them behind the counter.
Markus stops for a moment, turning around to face the man. "Rayn," Markus calls out. The middle-aged man with medium-length white hair raises an eyebrow. Markus reaches into his pocket, pulling out a wallet that had been nabbed from the man that they had held hostage earlier on. He fishes out all of the bills before presenting them to Rayn. "522,600 Gil to go towards your daughter's operation. Don't question how I got it. Just accept it," he says as he tucks the wad of bills into Rayn's shirt pocket. The blind, mute bartender gives Markus a small nod of gratitude before leaning down and giving him a light hug. Markus then moves to catch up with the others.
They walk down a small staircase leading to the bar's cellar, walking towards a metal rack near the back end that held an assortment of bottled wines. Lightning begins to feel around the bottles, eventually finding one with a unique red/white label wrapped around it. She pulls it outward. It appears to trigger some sort of mechanism that results in the stone wall to their left splitting to reveal a doorway. The three of them proceeded to walk through the opening, which led to a small, cramped space. An elevator.
The buttons along the wall numbered from 0 to -12 with an additional button labeled as "Basement" resting below those. Markus hits the button labeled as -9 before the wall begins to close back up in front of them. The elevator then begins to go down slowly, taking a period of roughly thirty seconds or so for it to reach its destination.
A pair of metal doors resting in front of the elevator begins to open up, revealing a relatively large space. Inside were a number of individuals. While the majority of those present were dressed in a similar fashion to the three friends, with tactical gear and weapons strapped to various points on their bodies, there were a few individuals that stood out. One, in particular, was a dark-skinned male who appeared to be in his early forties, wearing a long, olive coat over khaki trousers, a white button-down shirt, and black buckled boots. He was talking to a group of fellow N.O.R.A troops, handing down orders to them from above.
As the soldiers walk off past the trio, Snow approaches the man. "Your little slip-up is gonna have some real ramifications, you know that!" he shouts, grabbing the man by his shirt collar. "Snow! Snow, drop him!" Lightning yells, attempting to yank Snow back. "Four men dead... I killed four men today for no reason! No Sanctum soldiers! No paid thugs! Explain to me, Sazh! How am I supposed to maintain faith in our leadership at this point?!" "W-Whoah... Cool it, Snow... I-I can explain what happened. Just calm down."
Snow breathes in and out through gritted teeth as he tightens his grip on Sazh only to loosen his grip just a few seconds later. He drops Sazh to the ground. "You better,"he says as he continues to tower menacingly over the shorter man. Markus rushes over to Sazh's side. "You okay, Mister Katzroy?' he asks as he helps the man to his feet. The dazed man gives Markus a nod as he raises both of his hands to touch up his afro. Markus looks to Snow, a frown on his face. "Apologize to him now, Snow!" Markus shouts. Snow shakes his head, ignoring the request as he turns his back to the two. "What for?" he asks bluntly as he tugs at the collar of his trench coat with both hands. Sazh looks at Snow with a look of mild disappointment before shaking his head. He sighs. "Sit down... I'll explain," Sazh says as he motions over to an empty table with four chairs. Snow grumbles as he takes a seat, the others following.
"What happened, Sazh? Why were we given botched information? Why were we sent to neutralize a non-threat target?" Lightning asks with narrowed eyes. Sazh crosses his arms. "Interference from Eden." Markus raises an eyebrow. "From Eden?... So is our cell compromised?" he asks, now a little on edge as he stands up, his palms resting on the table as he leaned forward. Sazh shakes his head. "We don't know for certain if it's severe enough to say that... But a Sanctum plant has apparently infiltrated our ranks." Snow stares down at the table, shaking his head as he clenches his fists. "Do we know who they are?" he asks. Sazh shakes his head. "We're still running additional background checks on all of our forces. But it's only a matter of time. They will be found out."
A small avian creature with yellow feathers emerges from within Sazh's afro, flapping through the air a bit before landing on the table. "A new Chocobo chick? I thought you were finished raising them," Markus says as he gently pets the top of the chick's head with his index finger. Sazh shrugs. "What can I say? Look at this adorable thing. You really expect me to say no to it?" he responds as he begins to feed it a handful of sunflower seeds. Markus and Lightning softly laugh, Snow just continuing to stare sternly at the tabletop with his arms crossed. "You do make a good point," Lightning says with a light smile. Snow suddenly stands up, turning his back to the group. Markus looks up at him. "The infiltrator will be dealt with, Snow. You just need to give it time. We've come too far to just lose hope now..." Markus says calmly. Snow tilts his head to the side before giving out a low sigh. "Do we even have time?" He then proceeds to walk off, entering the elevator once more before it begins to go up. Sazh leans back slightly in his chair. "I get how he's feelin. We've haven't been in such a vulnerable position in quite a while..." He sighs. "Moving forward, don't take on any assignments unless they come directly from either me or Commander Barret. No middlemen, no opportunity for sabotage." Sazh leans his head down, the Chocobo chick flying back into his afro. He then stands up, dusting the sunflower seed bits from the front of his pants before walking off.
Both Markus and Lightning watch as Sazh leaves the scene, Lightning quickly turning her attention to the elevator. "I should probably go and find Snow before he gets into some drama," she says with a quiet laugh. Markus chuckles softly. "Yeah... That's probably for the best..." He stands up. "I'm gonna go and catch a shuttle home and try to get back before my curfew hits. It's a real miracle that my dad hasn't caught onto my involvement here." Lightning nods in agreement. "Let's hope it never comes to that point, Markus. Your father is Senator Lloyd Sinclair... it would be deeply troubling for N.O.R.A. if such a high-profile figure were to learn that his own child was serving as one of our infantrymen... He may even possibly attempt to squeeze some information out of you." Markus thinks. This idea genuinely scared him... He did not want to be the reason for N.O.R.A. being stamped out of Sector 7. They had already gained so much ground here. And it would be a bullet in the foot of their cause if they were to lose everything they had worked for over the past several months. "There's not a chance at all of that happening. I swear to you...," he says as he deposits his rifle into a small storage rack by the wall.
Markus gives Lightning a small wave as he walks towards and enters the elevator, pressing the button for the ground level. As the doors close and the elevator begins to go up, Markus begins to talk himself. "I have to preserve my secret at all costs... If he were to find out that I haven't been participating in extracurriculars and instead have been working for N.O.R.A., then..." He sighs. "I shouldn't think about it. That'll just... Make me more likely to slip up. Can't let my anxiety win..." The elevator then opens up in the cellar, Markus marching back upstairs, through the bar's floor, and out the door. He then begins to walk down the busy street, heading towards the nearest bus station.