Chapter 43
Soldier Boys
Vincent hated feeling useless. As frustrated as he remained over Cloud's coddled presence in Tifa's life, Vincent could do nothing to change it. She'd worry over the man no matter how deep his relationship became with her or how much time Vincent spent with her. Neither Cloud nor Tifa would see that their continued clinging to one another hindered them both. Vincent only hoped it wasn't his own selfish desires clouding his own judgment on the matter.
But he could at least help solve WRO's pressing issues. Investigations abounded. A rogue scientist. Shadows in the labs and pharmacy. A questionable collection excursion that led to the death of a WRO researcher, Dr. Taka. Increasing deaths of expecting mothers. A rising threat of former ShinRa employees.
He couldn't shake the feeling that all these issues were related and starting to point to one SOLDIER in particular. Vincent pulled up Luxiere's mission assignments from the previous winter onward, noticing that most led him to locations of mako springs and those that didn't, he had requested another squad leader be selected to go in his place. The young man seemed to have a keen interest in research collection missions, like when he accompanied Dr. Taka to the Mideel.
One in particular caught Vincent's eye, a special mission that led Luxiere to Wutai. Vincent noticed the mission concluded in May, and Luxiere's return to Edge coincided with Reeve's travel itinerary after Yuffie's wedding. Luxiere had been there a month for collection along with Dr. Simon and Sybil Shelley, during which time he had met with the Wutaiin liaison, Ambassador Eiko, on occasion to obtain official identification and vehicles for unmolested travel. A note was made on the schedule that his wife would meet up with him for the wedding at the WRO's expense.
Vincent paused at the name Eiko, certain he'd seen it or heard it mentioned before, but could not recall where or when. As he typed the name into WRO's database, his phone buzzed atop his desk. He let out a frustrated sigh and nearly threw it in the trashcan when he saw the sender.
Yuffie—Help!
Map coordinates and an image came next. She was in the building, on the opposite side of the hospital. Vincent prayed her emergency had nothing to do with her father. Though he had no patience to spare for their family drama, he could at least question her about Ambassador Eiko.
The WRO bustled with activity, not surprising for the middle of the week. Still, the corridors seemed to divide for him like he was a god and, for his part, Vincent ignored the gaping stares his appearance garnered. As he turned a corner and spotted the location blinking on his map, a hand flung out of a door marked 'Custodian' and Vincent found his cowl locked in the grip of a tiny, feminine hand.
"Ugh," Yuffie grunted and, with surprising strength for one so small, yanked him into the closet. "Dang! You're heavier than you look!"
Vincent nearly tripped over his sabatons and planted his gauntlet above her head to prevent flattening her against the wall, the hung brooms and dusters rattling on the wall behind her. As annoying as the princess could be, crushing her mischievous brain wasn't high on his to-do list.
"Anyway," she whispered, straightening Vincent's cape as she looked up, ignoring the scowl he beamed down at her. "Good. You finally made it."
His sigh filled the darkened closet as she closed the door behind him. "We don't need to sneak about the WRO, Yuffie," he deadpanned. "We work here."
"Shh!" She cracked the door to peek out and, not for the first time, Vincent wondered if murder was truly wrong. "Do you know how many SOLDIERs I've counted at the pharmacy today?"
Her eyes were lit by the thin stream of light coming from the door opening. How could this pocket-sized woman be so colossally irritating?
"Enlighten me."
"At least twelve!" She snapped the door shut and pulled at his cape. "But only ten of them work here! Do you know what that means?!"
He blinked and waited.
And waited.
His eventual breath carried a growl from his chest. "I'm guessing that two of them do not work here, Yuffie."
"Duh!" Her scoff seemed unnecessary, and he struggled to take it in stride. "They don't work here! So! What were they doing at the pharmacy?"
Vincent blinked again. And waited—again.
As patiently as he could respond without popping into a gigantic demon with foot-long fangs, he said, "I'm not a doctor. But I'm willing to bet they were picking up medications."
"Ha! Exactly! And why? Why do they need meds? And who is prescribing them?"
He dug a finger into the center of his palm as the corruptions stirred in his sternum, just enough to let him know their presence still resided in him. A few seconds passed as Yuffie waited for him to respond again. But instead, his eyes narrowed. Perhaps—
She could be unknowingly on to something—or at least something other than what she believed she was on to. His forearm shoved the mischievous, mini empress aside, and he cringed at her shriek.
"Hey!" Somehow, her high-pitch hiss alerted none of the employees hustling about the corridors, nor woke the dead—to his surprise. "Come on! Lemme see!" she protested, trying to elbow herself back into a position to peer out of the door.
Sure enough, her words rang true. None could miss the muscled height of the three men loitering in the hallway. Nor did they appear familiar.
"This—is—my—ugh!" Sharp jabs stung his ribs. "My lead! Grrr! You big, red gargoyle!"
"One second," he responded as the ninja stomped on his steel-toed boots.
Someone called out to the men, and they each turned toward the closet, their mako eyes shining a cerulean blue in the florescent light overhead. Vincent's line of sight was suddenly blocked by another tall figure who came to stand in front of the door.
The SOLDIERs greeted each other and moved as one toward the pharmacy. Another speared hand dug into Vincent's waist. "You know, I could hear what they are saying if you would be still and stop that whining."
"Pfft!" That seemed to be the ninja's favorite sound. "And I could do what I came here—ugh—" She wiggled and squirmed her way between his body and the door. "Just—ungh—move!" Yuffie managed to plant herself in front of his chest. "Oh! Look!" she whispered. "Is that?"
"Luxiere," he growled. "And—Taggert."
"Uh…heh. What a coincidence," she waffled with a chuckle.
A dark-haired SOLDIER leaned in close to Taggert. Though his words were spoken low, Vincent heard every word.
"You got any?"
"You need more?!" Taggert flinched when the SOLDIER returned his question with a glare. Seemed the young man tangled himself into a situation not in his favor.
"What are they saying?" Yuffie hissed from under his chin. Vincent pushed her head away from the door, again ignoring her whines as he watched the SOLDIER's face morph into a scowl.
Vincent thought he might need to intervene when the SOLDIER curled his fingers into Taggert's smock and pulled the cowardly technician closer. The snarl was unmistakable. "What can I say? My girlfriend is a nymph, and my boys never miss. Now get me…more." At the last word, the SOLDIER used his knuckles to punch Taggert, sending the technician stumbling backward.
Tagger nodded, his head bobbing with his frantic agreement as he rubbed at his chest. "Heh. Yeah, I bet. Um…I'll get it. No problem."
Less than 30 seconds passed before Taggert reappeared and handed the SOLDIER a paper pharmacy bag. The big man looked inside and rattled the meds. "Is this the good stuff? Or that crap the creepy girl sends—"
With a shake of his head and hands flaring out, Taggert gave the SOLDIER a hissing shush. "It's the good stuff," he responded with a loud whisper. "Doc Simon's treatment they give the patients here. I promise."
The SOLDIER thumped Shad on the chest, hard, eliciting another wince from him. "There. See? Not so hard, is it?"
"Oh, now look! It's that creepy Shelley!" Yuffie said, having taken a spot on the floor to peer through the crack at the bottom of the door.
Indeed, it was. The young scientist's head gave a single nod to Taggert as she passed, then the slick technician motioned his friends to follow.
"Oh! You know they're up to no good!" The ninja hissed.
The group disappeared down the hall, and Vincent opened the door. Yuffie fell out at his feet, giving a shriek as she toppled. "Ow! A little warning next time! Hey! Where are you going?!"
"To investigate a lead."
"A lead? What kind of lead? Is it based off my intel? Oooooh, I bet it is. How much do you think all this has to do with Eiko?"
Vincent stopped in tracks. "Eiko?"
"Yeah, Eiko! Remember? Lord Gorkii's daughter? The one who got pregnant and died? My father finally released her medical records to Reeve this morning. Did you hear?"
He studied her face and knew, without asking, Yuffie was coming to the same conclusions as him about their investigations.
"Maybe we should talk about this back in our office, Yuffie."
She acquiesced and followed him back to the WRIPer offices. He walked with determination, silent and eyes forward, and Yuffie chattered on about the post-ShinRa world needing more attention focused on the company's disgruntled employees. When he finally settled into his office chair, Yuffie held two fingers in front of her and set her legs wide.
"Get this! SOLDIER boys want to boost their numbers and live in caves like dumb cavemen, exposing themselves to Mako poisoning and corruptions, and all kinds of grisly ShinRa hoodoo.
"But they're too simple to make meds on their own. Are you with me? Wait for it! Wait for it!" She raised her eyebrows dramatically, a silly grin on her face. "You ready? Pilpub Inc! The secret nickname of their favorite hole in the wall back in the day." She snorted.
As theories go, Vincent thought Yuffie was doing a good job. He remained silent, offering no encouragement but curious to hear what else she'd assessed.
"I know you know what I'm going to say next! Breeding. Something they didn't consider until recently because it wasn't possible for them before without creepy Hojo and his fertility franken-spankin. Amiright?!" She snorted again. "And! They had an ignorant test subject who was baking a bonifide G baby! They practically preyed on that poor girl's desperation! And the whole time my father's doctors were clueless pawns.
"They may as well blast what they're up to over loudspeakers in the park! Are you with me?" She waited again, as if hoping to see her thoughts dawn on his face. "They're the ones ordering the meds! Pilpub Inc!" She reached out and grabbed Vincent's arm, forcing him to look at her. "But how the hell did they know what to order? Hmm?" Her eyes widened. "Who's working with them? They need someone on the inside—"
"Brilliant."
"Pfft! No kidding, it's brill—wait. Did you just say my theory is brilliant?"
"Brilliant."
Yuffie straightened, her chin rose a notch. "Alright! Bout time you see things my way. Anyway, I'm gonna write this up to Reeve right away. He's gonna poop himself!"
Vincent rose and draped his cape across his shoulders.
"Where're you going?" Yuffie asked, then rolled her eyes. "Oh. Nevermind, loverboy. I've got a commissioner to commission for more commissions."
Rayleigh glanced up in surprise when Vincent barged into her office. "Oh, Vincent. What can I do for you?"
"The girl's medical records…do these include DNA profiles of the fetus?" He didn't elaborate on which girl he meant.
"Uh…I don't think this is part of your investigations. The commissioner would need to authorize disclosure—"
"He'll authorize," Vincent interrupted. "I'll assume you're running it against all SOLDIER DNA profiles."
He turned on his heel and left her office, nearly running into Sybil Shelley, who stood just outside the labs. "You're thinking the same as me, I think," she said, a smile so sinister even Vincent felt a shudder run through him. When he didn't speak, only watched her in silence and waited for her to continue, she leaned close to whisper. "Let's just say I don't think he's the type to mourn a girl for too long. You know?"
"Sybil, get back to work!" Simon glared at the young woman's back as he joined Vincent near the lab's exit doors. "Apologies, Vincent. Sybil has a way of disregarding social etiquettes."
"What did she mean?" Vincent asked. "Luxiere seemed genuine in grief."
Simon let out a strained breath. "Uh...yes. He is quite grief stricken. But…Sybil really shouldn't have said anything."
"But she did," Vincent said, growing impatient with everyone around him. "So?"
Simon seemed to sense Vincent's mood and paled. "We…uh…observed the young man's roving eye during our collection missions."
"And you told no one? Didn't mention to the commissioner?"
He blustered a moment before answering. "Uh…it's not really the sort of observation we would procedurally include in a scientific report, Vincent. Please understand. It was a situation that could have strained relations with Wutai. We needed access to their caves, but no longer had Dr. Taka's influence…for uh…obvious reasons. Luxiere was already well-established as Taka's escort and seemed to know Godo's liaisons. And…well…not only that, I didn't want to jeopardize the young man's marriage…or his position here at the WRO."
"Hm," Vincent said. He considered Simon's explanation as he left the labs and darted through WRO staff with deliberate steps through the hallways. He could understand Simon's reluctance to share Luxiere's womanizing. It was a personal vice, one that was between the SOLDIER and his wife. But the circumstances weren't so simple.
Vincent rapped on Reeve's door not a minute later and opened it without waiting for the commissioner to speak. "Why didn't you mention Luxiere had been in Wutai for several weeks before Yuffie's wedding?"
Reeve stared at him, eyebrows lifted into his hairline with surprise. "Sandra, I'll have to call you back," he said into his desk phone before hanging up. "Vincent…I hadn't thought of it since—"
Vincent nodded at the phone. "What did Rayleigh have to say?"
The commissioner breathed out a heavy sigh. "From your questions—and the fact that she told me you stormed into her office asking about DNA profiles—I think you know what she said."
A seething resentment began to fill Vincent's mind on the lacking information he received, not only from the Turks, but those in the WRO, too. "And what will you tell Godo?"
"Nothing," Reeve replied with his hands held out defensively. "You may not agree with withholding the identity of the father, but I have the WRO and Edge to consider. I won't risk a war with the West."
"Don't be ridiculous. Godo doesn't have the resources to war with us and certainly wouldn't for an unwed mother's dignity."
"Dead mother," Reeve said, suddenly looking more tired. "And her father, Lord Gorkii, may demand it after all they've been through the last few decades. And he has pull with other officials in Godo's cabinet."
Reeve stood and put both hands on Vincent's shoulders. "I know you disagree with me…as you seem to do often. But we gain no advantage by telling Godo or, for that matter, Lord Gorkii that his daughter was impregnated by one of our SOLDIERs! I sympathize with the family, of course. But it solves nothing."
Vincent leveled Reeve with a hard stare, tried to ascertain any hidden meanings behind his words. He came up with nothing. Reeve was too sincere to lie, even if he sometimes withheld things Vincent should know. "What are you going to do about Luxiere?"
Reeve shrugged and shook his head. "Vincent, I understand the situation is delicate. But he's committed no crime. We haven't implemented a military judicial system within the WRO and I plan to keep it that way. Adultery is scandalous, but not something I will terminate an employee for committing."
"Government representatives are held to higher standards, Reeve. You know that. The offense is sufficient grounds for termination."
"I already spoke to Yuffie, Vincent." Reeve nodded in affirmation as Vincent's eyebrows shot up. "She called with her working theory while you went to the labs. She agrees…though she's unaware it's Luxiere in particular. We'll keep this information internal."
A seething breath released from Vincent's nose as he watched Reeve circle around his desk to sit. Reeve and his secrets. Vincent hated being kept in the dark.
"You often describe WRO/Wutai relations as precarious," Vincent began, not restraining the gold glint he knew blazed behind his eyes. "I would think one of your SOLDIERs jeopardizing that for a piece of ass would warrant more of a reaction from you."
Reeve looked shocked at the wording. But Vincent gave him no chance to respond and left with his own theories unspoken.
Later that evening as he ate dinner with Tifa, he poked at his meal, too preoccupied with the day's revelations to fully enjoy the fare.
"I hope you're not still upset about our fight," she said, running her hand along his thigh.
"I'm not upset," he replied as he leaned to kiss her forehead. "And it wasn't a fight."
She kissed him back and laid her head on his shoulder. "I was thinking. Maybe I can spend more nights at your place for a while. At least until the baby comes to live here." She turned her head to look in his eyes. "What do you think?"
Vincent knew she was trying to make up for the conversation from the previous night, probably an effort to reassure him of their relationship and placate his worries about Cloud. "Whatever you want to do is what I want."
She smiled, content with his response.
