SHIFT CHANGE REPORT 01-JUN
OFFICER ON DUTY: Healy, T.
Do people even read these anymore? It is day seventy-something or other of our squad stationed at [redacted] Hotel. Supposedly this is top secret but I am pretty sure everyone, their mothers, and their favorite Honeybee girls know already where we are and who is staying here.
There is still security everywhere. You can't sneeze without [redacted] knowing about it. You can still see the blue suits coming and going every day. Oh, the other kicker? The grunts like us? Totally barred from the top floors. Please relax this restriction just once and let us take a peek.
Guess you can't have top brass see the hoi polloi. Yes I said hoi polloi. If they ever go back and read this thing let it be known that Corporal Healy is a cultured man.
In any case, this is the thirtieth something or other of these I've had to fill out. Below is a copy and paste from the report contents of day three because absolutely nothing has changed.
D Squad has completed patrols of floors B2 through 6 between the hours of [redacted] and [redacted]. Nothing of note to report. We have also inspected stairwell areas and verified that the back alley and service areas are secure. All hotel service staff have been verified to be the correct ID holders. Nothing has been detected as suspicious or out of the ordinary.
Is anyone reading this? The corporate censors at least have to right?
Pst…Just in case you are, let me fill you in on some juicy gossip. Wardell heard from Feinberg who is bunkmates with Howard who heard from his Soldier buddy [redacted] so all this is true. The General was spotted in the mess hall having lunch with a no-name grunt, giving him the third degree. He was overheard asking stuff like "Where are you from?" "What are you doing with Genesis (pretty sure he heard that wrong)" "How did you kill those (he said he didn't hear all of it but maybe) dragons?" "Raised by wolves? Impressive." "Why are you a Turk?"
The grunt answered without skipping a beat (Must be the wolf thing, show no fear). Apparently, he is from some noble home (who's a noble in this economy?) and confirmed about the wolves but said that that was close to Midgar. Maybe he was born somewhere else but grew up with wolves near Midgar? Did his family from nobility ever take him back? He said Genesis came on to him, not the other way around (what?). And he was shifty about the Turks.
Do you think Turks are now undercover in the regular army? Think it has to do with [redacted] hotel and [redacted]? Maybe getting into the Turks is even harder than getting into Soldier if you have to be raised by wolves.
Okay, now that I shared that bit of hot gossip, please do censor all of this in the official files. Wouldn't want anything sensitive to leak.
By the way, the team has identified a potential area of vulnerability in the basement structure relating to [redacted] [redacted] and [redacted] however we have been advised to remain at our assigned posts unless provided other instructions.
Nothing further to report. Completed handover to the next squad and completed shift for the day.
IX. Recoil
A piece of paper fluttered down over Genesis's view, obscuring the pages of Loveless until only the line "ripples for on the water's surface" was visible. He snatched the offending document from the air and snapped the book closed, not caring that he might lose his place. After all, it was memorized in his heart.
"That is not going to work," Genesis said instead as he closed his eyes.
Only one person dared to interrupt him, and he is contemplating giving the boy a promotion as a form of payback. It had only been a few months since Cloud started in his role, and the blond quickly settled in. Both Sephiroth and Angeal were shocked to see the typically absent Commander spend more time in his office, "instructing" his protege.
And of course, Genesis knew now that the boy wasn't a cadet. He wasn't completely thick. (Actually, Angeal pulled him aside with an air of resignation and filled him in after Genesis asked Angeal why his forms came back denied. Genesis had to backfill some forms. Then all was well in the world.)
And thank goodness he saved Cloud from a wasted life buried in the science department or worse the regular army. The boy was on the cusp of fifteen, the cut-off age for the Soldier program after Shinra grew a conscience (ha, unlikely) and raised the minimum age to enlist. Genesis planned to make him a shoo-in for third at minimum the moment he was eligible. Now it was just a matter of convincing the blond in question, who hadn't dropped his coursework and only started working full-time for Genesis when classes ended for summer break.
"Don't you think you should be putting some more effort into these reports during working hours, Genesis?" Genesis opened his eyes again to the sight of Strife's upside-down face, his glasses reflecting glare from the morning sunlight as he peered down over the couch where Genesis had lounged instead of going through the intelligence reports as he was supposed to do.
In his arms, another stack of papers. Genesis groaned. Perhaps the boy was getting too comfortable. It took only a few days and a few spells aimed at the boy to get him out of the habit of calling Genesis "Sir."
Getting more comfortable, Cloud showed a bit of his true colors. Genesis was both horrified and a little proud. His own pupil. Genesis knew how to pick them.
"Does that ever end?" Cloud shrugged and answered the rhetorical question.
"Nope," Cloud popped the 'p' and said nothing else.
He's doing this on purpose, Genesis thought as he straightened on the couch, setting his feet on the ground to avoid the pile of folders stacked there.
"Don't you have someone else to bug," Genesis grumbles even as he grudgingly picked up the first folder in the pile even as Cloud set the one in his arms down, and flipped through it with a bored look fixed carefully on his face and exaggerated so Cloud might understand exactly how much of a pain he was. Cloud shrugged.
"Just you, 'm afraid. I'm on the clock after all," he grabbed the folder off Genesis' hands and replaced it with one in the fresh pile, "That's old. You are gonna want to sign these. I've already vetted them."
'Afraid' my lily white a-
Before Genesis could utter a sound, Cloud pushed a pen to his right hand, not missing a beat as he continued, "The last folder is the newest information. You'll want to read it before the briefing."
Genesis gave him a half-hearted glare even as he put his pen on paper without even reading the form. Cloud scowled. Ha! Genesis one, Strife...over nine thousand. Damn.
"Read it," Cloud said as he swept down to grab the now obsolete files. Genesis snuffed snobbishly in a way he knew drove Angeal crazy. Cloud just raised an eyebrow.
"Go boss around someone else, anyone else" Genesis dismissed imperiously. He knew it wouldn't work if Cloud had something else for him, but Cloud simply turned around to exit.
Genesis stretched and threw the papers onto his desk, uncaring where they might scatter. In half an hour he might regret that. But for now, it gave him a sliver of satisfaction.
The document on top was labeled Wutai Operation Updates. In the time since the attacks, Shinra's PR machine had been spinning. Multiple "experts" insinuate Wutai's involvement and funding of terrorist groups. Popular support for the Wutai campaign was at an all-time high.
And to think I coveted Sephiroth's position…
Suddenly, a wave of pain hit Genesis, radiating from his temples. Genesis closed his eyes, one hand reaching up. Aches had been more frequent of late. Both Angeal and Sephiroth noticed and they had been keeping exercises tame in the VR room. Not that Genesis played with them nearly as much anymore, now that he had a new chocobo chick to raise.
Still, with more and more signs of mobilization on the horizon, Genesis couldn't afford to be careless. He reluctantly thought of Hollander. He had been avoiding meeting the despicable scientist, but a check-up might be warranted. But first, time to bother Angeal.
"President Shinra has moved into view," Gun reported into the earpiece for the nth time as she scanned the adjacent buildings from her vantage point on the roof. Her sniper's nest in an adjoining building offered clear views over the roof and penthouse, which opened into a well-planted balcony. After months of waiting, she and her partner Shotgun turned the empty floor into something close to a flat.
For monotonous day after monotonous day, she watched over the president, a man who lived in a hotel where the cheapest nightly room rate would cost her a month's paycheck. The president who refused the established and vetted Turk bunkers in the interest of comfort, in the process putting everyone around him on protection detail in danger and further exposed to attack from all directions.
Not for the first time, Gun felt a hot stab of resentment.
Gritting her teeth, she peered through the scope of her sniper rifle as she combed the building window by window, looking for telltale flashes of enemy weapons.
The Palace was situated in a densely built part of Midgar, easily one of its commercial centers. The President was not a stupid man. He couldn't have been if he wanted to rebuild the Shinra Company from the simple arms manufacturer he inherited after the last war into the energy empire the company is now. And as it turned out, war and energy went hand in hand, boosting profits for both as Shinra established hegemony through not just one continent. However, the president only cared about the business, not about optimizing his security beyond the belief that the Turks would handle it.
The hotel was modernized, allowing him to keep in contact with all the connections he needed to run his company remotely. The former bank's walls, built three decades ago during Shinra's meteoric rise to power, were built solidly with defense in mind. Cement a foot thick isolated each room and was strong enough to contain a small explosion. Bulletproof glass was used as a matter of course. And the presidential suite was isolated from the main elevator banks, retrofitted during the hotel's renovation, thus minimizing the number of entry points to guard.
However, where it had its advantages, the building had downsides.
It was built in a different era. A hastily added helipad, crowded streets, and the dense highrises that rose as Midgar developed meant a logistical nightmare for locking the location down. The thick walls meant that communication signals in the building were spotty. And as a high-profile hotel amid packed surrounding buildings, the people targeting the president also can get a perfect vantage point. There were simply not enough people to guard every building in a ten-block radius. The streets below were also a liability, too narrow for armored cars and too busy to close down permanently.
"All clear here," Gun reported as she finished scanning the surrounding rooftops. The radio static was interrupted again with, "Reno and Rude here. Nothing on the ground. Airspace clear. Same old shit, yo." Rude grunted, further from the radio.
Gun heard, but could not see, the helicopters overhead. There were always two circling the area.
"Rod?"
Gun frowned when the static picked up.
"Rod, what's your status?" She asked impatiently. There was a click and a familiar voice came in.
"Relax, sweetheart," Rod replied lazily, "Nothing to report on the roof. Thanks for the concern, but I'll let you know if there's anything to report, yeah?"
"Shut up if you have nothing, idiot," Gun pointedly closed the connection with a click.
"Cissnei here. Civil protest in the square. Environmentalists. No violence, so I think we are clear."
"Katana. Lobby. All quiet."
Gun sat back again, leaning against her chair, her rifle propped in front of her. In for another shift waiting for nothing.
Everything hurts. Zack tried to open his right eye, only to realize he couldn't. There was blood in it. He was wet. Drenched. His one good eye stared into a grey, solemn sky. Thick clouds rolled past him. He was back in Junon. The rescue must be a dream.
But no. Instead of Angeal bent over him, it was Cloud. Sky blue eyes met darker blue, mirroring horror in their depths. But Cloud's face was slack, like he had no control of his facial muscles, so deep in terror he was. There were red rivulets down Cloud's cheeks. Like he was crying blood. Zack realized with a start that the blood wasn't Cloud's. It was Zack's.
He opened his mouth. To scream or to reassure Cloud, Zack didn't know. Without any control, Zack's mouth began to form words on their own.
"On my behalf-"
No no no no, this wasn't happening. He's not saying this. What is he saying?
"-You will continue living. You are proof that I existed. My dreams and pride-"
What dreams? What pride? And Cloud was just sitting there. Does he even realize what Zack is saying? How unfair this all sounds. What is dream him doing?
"I give it all to you."
"I am proof that you exist," Cloud closed his eyes and repeated the words, almost like a prayer. Wooden and in shock. Rain and blood mixed on his face and dripped down his chin. Zack struggled against his own invisible bonds, against his own muscles. Screaming inside. Then, as if the water was melting skin, Cloud's face dissolved to slowly reveal Scott Lee's.
No no no No NO
Lee's eyes snapped open revealing angry slits and an animalistic grow-
"NO!"
Zack sprung from his bed violently, swinging his arms wildly. Then, his mind began to awaken with his body.
Zack took a deep breath, then another, counting to ten in his mind. It was a trick of Angeal's, when dealing with a troublesome class or with Genesis. He rubbed his face roughly with his hands, rubbing what sleep remained away.
Though the curtains of his room were drawn, the early morning sunlight streaked through the cracks. Knowing he wasn't going back to sleep for a while, Zack turned and dangled his legs off the side of his bed, feet flat on the ground. He threw his covers back, roamed over to the windows, and slid the dusty curtains back.
The sunlight that glared into his eyes made him wince. Squinting them, he stared out into the Midgar skyline. Just what was that dream?
Zack's thoughts were interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. Memories of the dream faded rapidly as he walked only a few strides over and swung his door open. Cloud blinked back up at him.
"Dropped by the quartermaster. I hope this uniform is your size," Cloud waved as he took a step forward, then stopped with only a foot into Zack's room, "What's the matter? You look like you saw a ghost."
Zack sputtered at that, but the word "uniform" caught his attention. "Uniform? I have my uniform."
Cloud rolled his eyes at Zack. "You got promoted, remember? Paperwork went through finally. Genesis dragged Angeal off again so they sent me as errand boy -again."
Cloud threw the Soldier belt at Zack, who caught it without thinking. Zack felt a twinge of pain when he realized that the uniform was the dark purple of a Soldier Second class, in the sleeveless style Zack preferred. Seeing it now made him feel a wave of nausea.
Cloud stepped back to let Zack change, instead pushing some clothes to the side to make himself a seat on Zack's neglected, slouchy couch.
"Oh, Angeal said to meet them at the VR training room", Cloud said, as Zack shrugged on the ribbed top and swept his hair back.
"Alright," Zack replied, hopping on one foot to slip on his boots. He scanned his room for his trusty broadsword but Cloud grabbed the hilt absently before he could reach it and handed it over without any visible difficulty. Genesis must be giving the kid hell.
Cloud, as always, was dressed more casually, today in a light grey button-down and navy slacks. He rarely joined the Soldiers in any of the combat sims - sensical considering he was unenhanced - but did stay around to watch. Sometimes to wait for Genesis. Other times, Sephiroth would be around and drag him off to lunch.
And wasn't that an interesting development while Zack was laid up in the hospital?
Kunsel filled him in after. But whatever happened, Sephiroth took an interest in the blond. Genesis didn't like it initially, and some of the Firsts' combat exercises seemed less than friendly, leaving Angeal responsible for stepping in, aggrieved. But after a while, even Genesis left it well alone. Tagging along was awkward too. They really just ate and didn't exchange too many words. Yet even so, Zack couldn't help but feel like he was intruding.
On the one hand, Zack was happy for Cloud. The blond rapidly became one of Zack's closest friends and Zack was glad he was getting along with the firsts, who also needed more friends. In turn, Cloud finally seemed more comfortable around him - them.
On the other hand, Zack was concerned. Cloud wasn't a Soldier. Wasn't enhanced. And never indicated he wanted to join the ranks, even though with Genesis around that choice might already be made if Cloud didn't protest too much. Angeal once said that Soldiers sacrificed a normal life for power and that reality was finally sinking in. What would become of someone associated with them?
Gun sighed as she took her usual station. Another day of keeping watch.
"Rod calling in. Investigating the disturbance here. Something's not right." Gun took her eye off the scope and watched Rod take a running jump off the hotel roof onto the close adjacent ledge. She always hated it when he did that. Reno taught him and her heart jumped to her throat whenever they pulled stunts like this.
"Wait," Cissnei came in over the network, "I see movement on the roof of the red brick corner building to the west. Gun, can you get a visual?"
Overhead, the helicopters circled, one pulling away to survey the building Cissnei identified. Gun veered her scope to look over at the roof.
"Three people. Shit Rude, Reno, be on alert. They are crouched and blocked by the air conditioning unit. I can't get a clear view of them," Gun's thumb flicked off the safety of her rifle, and a finger pressed lightly on the trigger, ready to squeeze in a moment's notice.
In the distance, the sound of tires tearing into the pavement screeched.
"I thought we closed that road!"
"We did."
"Shit, Tseng-"
"The vehicle smashed through a barrier. Driver knocked unconscious and the car front ended into a building. Military police are containing the conflagration. Car bomb."
This modus operandi felt oddly familiar. The radio suddenly grew louder with operational chatter.
Through the chatter, Gun maintained her position. Sights on targets...
"Gun," Veld asked, "Status."
"Three men on the roof with a bag, sir. No clear shot."
"Stay on them. Take the first shot you get. Rod. Come in." Silence for a heart-stopping minute.
"No problems, boss. Arguing couple in the alley."
"Good. Go flush out the three on the west roof."
"On it, boss."
The helicopters were closing in when one of the men Gun was surveying stood up. Gun's eyes widened and she squeezed the trigger. It was too late. She opened her mouth to shout a warning. Several things happened at once.
Gun's rifle fired.
At the same time her round left the barrel, a missile jetted from the heavy tube on her target's shoulder. It left a plume of smoke and fire behind it and seemed to pause in mid air before setting a deadly trajectory towards the helicopters. Gun's shot made contact with the assailant as the helicopters fired decoy flares into the air, leaving a stark spray of red against the white-plastered rooftop.
"IT'S A MISSILE!"
"Oh shit. OH-"
One helicopter was struck dead center and instantly burst into a falling fireball. Its still-spinning propellers flew off, knocked away by the blast. Pieces of shrapnel pierced the side of another helicopter. Reno and Rude's. The impact knocked the helicopter sideways.
"Reno!"
"We're okay," the voice sounded weak against the blaring flight alarms, "But I need to land now."
Gun looked around the rooftops. "Too dangerous, there's still two more guys on the rooftop. Rod isn't gonna make it in time."
"Got no choice, yo," Reno retorted. His voice was too calm and for once Gun said nothing.
"Find a place to land. I'll lay down cover fire," Cissnei said into her mic. Gun bit her lip. Her sniper rifle had good range and accuracy but not in terms of rounds per minute.
The door to the nest opened and slammed shut. Tseng ignored the pistol pointed at him.
"What's the status?"
"Reno's finding a place to land- the President Is safe," Gun answered as she pushed herself up, "I need a better vantage point. Cover my six?" Without waiting for Tseng to nod, Gun stowed her pistol again then hefted up the rifle and walked out of the repurposed apartment. There was a staircase to the roof that would give her three-sixty-degree views.
"Rod, three more incoming. The other two are moving fast. Get to that rooftop," Cissnei chimed on the radio. Two pops and then a wet squelch of blades meeting flesh. "Make that two incoming."
Tseng spoke behind Gun as they both dashed up the stairs. "Soldiers are en route but they are too far out. We are on our own. Hotel squads. Report."
"This is squad alpha. Lobby area is quiet, sir." Ah, Tseng was on the common line.
"Delta squad. Hallways clear, over."
There was static again.
"Lambda squad. Come in." Gun searched her brain.
"That is the one stationed in the basement car park," Gun said, "Signal was especially bad down there."
Tseng grunted in acknowledgment, then tried again.
"Lambda squad. Come in." Gun felt a sinking feeling. Veld didn't believe in coincidences. That meant none of the rest of them did either.
"Katana. Come in," Tseng spoke as Gun hit the top of the stairwell, pushing open the access door for the roof. It opened to a view of rusted steel coverings for air conditioning heat exchangers and ventilation shafts dotting flat concrete. Decent cover.
"Yes Tseng?"
"Check the service area. We lost contact with lambda squad."
"Copy."
Gun plopped her rifle down on the ledge, laying flat, and looked in her scope again. Two men were running toward the flagging helicopter but they weren't moving fast. She followed them from her scope and counted her breathing. The men were weaving and ducking behind walls and air conditioning units. Breathe in, breathe out. Slowly squeeze the trigger. Don't blink.
A soft pop. Two blocks away, glass shatters and a man falls.
"One down," Gun said as she picked her rifle up again and ran down the length of the roof, her eyes on the last target, who ducked behind a protruding vent when his companion fell and didn't get back up again.
"Three left is still not good odds. These guys are trained. Rod, where are you?"
"East roof. Don't want to mess your count up, Tseng, but we got company." Gun pivoted her scope and cursed. "How the fuck did they get into the presidential suite?"
Tseng also cursed and looked in the same direction. "Rod. Change of plans. Get back to the hotel."
There were bursts of shots from the roof and Gun ducked down. The last goon ducked out and it was the last thing he did. "Rooftop clear. Rude, clear to land." Veld suddenly interrupted on the radio.
"Wait. Find another clear roof. If the chopper breaks down on top of the hotel, we will lose an extraction point. Rude, Reno, you are on your own. Rod-"
"Going!"
"Katana." There was static. "Shit." Tseng pressed a button and spoke into it. "Delta squad come in."
"Yes sir!"
"We suspect hostiles in the penthouse. Secure the president."
"Understood. Making way now."
The helicopter hovered shakily over the hotel. Peering into her scope, she could see Reno, his red hair recognizable, shake his head as Rude maneuvered the helicopter around, looking for another roof. On top of the nearest flat roof, more gunmen. Ah. The ones Cissnei was dealing with. A man with auburn hair- Rod- took a flying leap and landed, rolled, and pulled himself back on his feet on top of the hotel. Two shadows converged on the helicopter, a sitting duck. Four shadows in the presidential suite, flashes of gunfire. Gun cursed. She was severely limited now in what she could shoot at.
"Sir! I'm abandoning the roof to help!"
"Negative. Keep your eye on them."
"Rod needs backup. Veld-!"
"Stay at your post."
At this instant, Rod slid down from the roof onto the balcony that jutted from the hotel room via the steel ladder that connected the two. The action drew the attention of the assailants inside. Two appeared. Rod batted one away, leaving the man convulsing on the ground. The second kicked him, causing him to drop his baton over the side.
Gun took her shot. Missed.
The first man leaped on Rod, engaging in a wrestling match.
"Delta squad here. We are pinned outside the room. Engaging with heavy counter fire."
"I got you," Gun muttered to herself. Another pull of the trigger. The man who had straddled Rod reared up to punch him again then dropped like a dead weight before his fist connected, the bullet having entered one side of his temple and blown the other side out. Rod nodded vaguely in Gun's direction and then engaged the second in hand-to-hand combat. His opponent was tall and muscled, shrugging off the blows.
He put the thought on hold as he ducked a fist. The wall behind him was dented, plaster and paint chips flying. Gun gritted her teeth. Come on. Give me a clean shot.
Rod shouted into his radio as he blocked oncoming blows, "They're- " A blow to the face knocked his earpiece out. Static.
Behind him, there was movement on the balcony again as President Shinra dashed out from the room, looking behind him in fear.
"President Shinra sighted," Tseng spoke into the radio as Gun continued to follow the fight on the balcony. "Secure the president."
"Come on...come on," Gun said, "Just another clear shot..." While Rod had been kept occupied another assailant followed the president out.
"Fuck. Rod behind you!" Then Gun realized with a sinking feeling that Rod wouldn't be able to hear. The president ran from behind the two struggling men, barely glancing at Rod as he made for the fire escape to the roof, the second attacker in pursuit. Rod, seeing what was happening, threw himself out of the grasp of the first attacker bodily into the second. Gun took her shot, one more down.
"Shoot them," Veld's voice came in loud and clear, "President Shinra is the priority."
"I can't get a clear shot! If I shoot now, I'll kill them both!" Gun protested.
"Take the shot," Veld ordered calmly.
Gun closed her eyes and counted her breaths. She opened them and trained her crosshairs on the struggling pair. Rod was losing. Badly. She placed her finger on the trigger lightly. Rod. Please just give me a clear shot, she thought.
"Fire." A voice said over the earpiece. She squeezed the trigger and did not blink. She saw both figures crumple to the ground like puppets with their strings cut. Gun cut those strings herself. "Rod!" she screamed, "Get up you bastard. Don't scare me. Get up!" Her voice was lost in the wind. He did not get up again.
Out of the edge of her scope, she could see the President clumsily climbing up the ladder, not even sparing a glimpse at the man who died to save his life.
"Stop him!"
The voice's orders fell on deaf ears. The shadow emerged from hiding on the roof and launched itself at the fleeing Shinra. Gun squeezed the trigger again, her hands shaking, but too late. The president fell and laid still. Then the assailant with a bullet to the abdomen. They both fell.
The next few hours were a blur to Gun. Rude's silent attempt at comfort. Rod's body that she held close. The debriefing with Veld. Making arrangements for Rod's death. The President's death.
It wasn't until Gun stumbled back into her apartment that Gun realized- the voice on the end of that mic- the one that gave the last order wasn't Veld. It was Veld's frequency. But it wasn't Veld. It was Rufus Shinra.
End of Disc 1