THE RENEGADE
The Screaming Pigeon was dark and dreary. The floor was littered with trash. The lights above the tables, when they worked, barely gave off enough light to illuminate the people sitting beneath them. The air was full of cigarette smoke and the smell of alcohol. The jukebox was playing some mournful country song about a lost love, the kind of song that no one ever really paid any attention to, yet somehow managed to lend an air of melancholy to the place. This time in the early evening, the establishment was mostly frequented by laborers recently released from the hellhole's they all called work. The men in the bar worked hard and played harder. There were no casual drinkers here. This wasn't a bar you brought your date to to sip wine. In other words, the place was a dive. Merlot, sitting at the bar squinting into his beer, liked it that way. It matched his mood.
Working in a steel mill in the slums of Midgar was no easy task. The hours were long and the work was back breaking. For most of the workers here, home life, such as it was, was not much better. On their salaries, it was difficult to make ends meet. Coming to the bar was the only chance a lot of them had for relaxation, and perhaps a chance to forget for just a moment the hard lives they led. Every moment here was precious, as was every beer. So it was that Merlot snarled angrily when Rafael, one of his coworkers at the mill who happened to be sitting right next to him, suddenly nudged his arm with an elbow, spilling some of his beer onto the counter.
His angry retort was cut off, however, as Rafael nodded toward the door, and he saw the man who had just entered.
He was a young man, much younger than most of the crowd here. He wore a dark overcoat, with a hint of blue underneath. In spite of the heavy boots he wore, he made no sound that could be heard above the squawk of the jukebox as he made his way over to an empty table in a dark corner of the room. His blonde hair was spiked up in a way Merlot hadn't thought was possible. None of this was particularly interesting, nor would have warranted the nudge his friend had given him. No, it was his eyes that had caught his friend's attention, and no doubt everyone else's in the bar. The glow in his smoke blue eyes marked him quite clearly as a member of Soldier.
People who worked for Shinra weren't welcome in the slums in general. Shinra employees knew that, and the wise one's stayed away. Even Shinra security was reluctant to make an appearance here. The riots that had ensued whenever Shinra had come into the slums in force had convinced them only to make an appearance when it was absolutely necessary.
Unless he was completely clueless, and Merlot didn't think anyone involved in Soldier would be, the newcomer must have been aware of the dark looks he was getting, yet as he sat down, leaning back in his chair and staring coldly around him, he didn't seem to be in the least bit phased by it.
Merlot looked around slowly. For the moment, the dark looks were the only reaction from the others in the bar. Though most of the men here had no love for Shinra, they were mostly honest workers who didn't want any trouble. Even those that did would be reluctant to openly confront a member of Soldier, at least, not by themselves. Word would get out though. Even now Merlot was sure the news was spreading through the slums. He was quite sure it was only a matter of time before something came of it, that is, if the man hung around long enough. Merlot leaned back and took another draught of his beer. Entertainment was slim in this part of town. It might be interesting to stay and watch the fireworks.
"Do you think that's him?" his friend spoke.
Merlot frowned.
"Him? Him who?"
"The renegade."
Merlot shook his head.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Rafael gave him a look of exasperation.
"Don't you watch the news at all?" he questioned.
"No I don't watch the news," Merlot stated firmly. "All you hear about is how wonderful Shinra is or how someone killed someone else in the slums. I don't need to hear any of that crap."
"Well, if you did you'd know what I'm talking about," Rafael replied. "I'm surprised you didn't hear about it from someone in the mill. Supposedly one of the new Soldier recruits just lost it last week. He went crazy in the barracks. When they tried to restrain him he ended up killing two Shinra guards, then took off into the city. He just vanished. They've been searching for him ever since, but they haven't been able to catch him. Rumor has it he's been hiding in the slums, knowing that Shinra would be reluctant to come in here looking for him. From what I've heard, they're desperate to get him back."
Merlot grunted in agreement, keeping his look one of slightly interested boredom. He could understand that they'd want him back pretty badly. As far as he knew, they screened their recruits very carefully. They wouldn't infuse anyone with mako they weren't sure of. If someone did turn renegade after that, it would be a severe embarrassment to the program. He was sure they'd want to get him back as soon as possible. Still, what were the odds this renegade would just happen to wander in here?
"You don't know for sure it's him," Merlot said slowly.
"Well, who else from Shinra would come wandering in here like they owned the place?" Rafael replied.
"Who knows," Merlot replied. "Maybe this guy really works for Shinra, and it's some kind of trap."
Rafael shrugged without replying, though the look on his face made it obvious he was not convinced. Merlot really didn't care what the man's story was, all he knew was that whether the man was a renegade or not, it was likely things would get interesting around here pretty soon.
In that at least, he was correct. Slowly people began to filter in. Someone not familiar with the area would not take any notice, but Merlot and most of the others, who were well acquainted with the gangs that considered the slums there turf, recognized a lot of the newcomers as members. With each new person that came in the talk got louder, the tension increased. Merlot watched the man closely, but still he seemed to be paying no attention to the now plainly hostile crowd. The place was rapidly becoming a tinderbox where one small flame could set off a conflagration.
Yet in the end, it was not the gang members who ignited the flame. Instead they heard sudden shouts from outside. A moment later the door burst open and half a dozen Shinra guards came rushing in. They paused for a moment at the entrance, looking around, but it didn't take them long to spot the young man with the glowing eyes sitting in the corner. Four of them approached him, while the other two stood watching the rest of the crowd for anyone who might be thinking of interfering, weapons drawn and ready. Without saying a word to his friend, Merlot got up and slowly started to make his way toward one of them.
"Don't move! You're coming with us!" one of the men, who appeared to be in charge, proclaimed.
The young man hadn't stirred at all as the Shinra guards had entered. He seemed no more interested in them than he had been in the gang members surrounding him moments before. Being directly addressed, however, finally seemed to draw his attention. He looked the Shinra guards over for a moment, the expression on his face making it seem clear he was unimpressed.
"Well, which is it?" he said slowly.
The man who had addressed him just looked at him.
"What?"
"Which is it?" the young man repeated. "You told me not to move and to come with you. Which do you want me to do?"
The guard looked flustered for a moment, then angry.
"You have been accused of crimes against the state," he announced, apparently deciding the man was just baiting him. "We're here to take you back to Shinra headquarters. Put down your weapons and come quietly and no one will get hurt."
The young man looked at them with a bemused expression. Finally he raised his arms.
"Do you see any weapons?" he asked.
It was true, the man appeared unarmed, but there was no telling, of course, whether he had anything concealed beneath his long coat.
"Keep your hands in the air," the guard replied. He nodded toward one of the men beside him. "Check him for weapons."
The second man hesitated for just a moment, then nodded.
Merlot wasn't sure if the guards were expecting the man to resist. Considering the man had been in Soldier, it seemed foolish to think otherwise. He figured that the guards would be ready for the slightest movement from the man, that nothing he could do would surprise them, yet even so, when the man did move, it was so quickly that in spite of all their caution and vigilance, he still somehow managed to get the jump on them.
The young man's booted foot kicked out, and the table in front of him flew up into the air. It took only a moment for the guards to step back out of the way, yet in that moment, though it didn't seem possible, the young man had covered the distance between himself and his adversaries. Apparently he had been unarmed, for Merlot saw no weapon, at least not until the man savagely knocked one of the guards down with a vicious punch and tore the man's gun from his hand.
It was hard to say exactly what happened after that. It seemed as if all hell broke loose. Shots went flying through the air in all directions, and moments later, so were people. Most of the patrons found themselves suddenly more concerned with self preservation than watching to see what would happen, ducking for any cover the place afforded. Merlot, who just happened to have made his way to a position right next to the Shinra guard, saw the man trying to get a bead on the renegade with his gun, or at least he tried to until Merlot's heavy mug slammed down on the back of his head. Merlot quickly stepped away as the man crumpled to the ground. The steel worker couldn't see what was going on anymore, there were too many people running or fighting in front of him to get a clear view. Using arms strengthened by years working in the mill, he forced his way through the crowd. Coming upon another Shinra guard he grabbed hold of the man from behind, yanking him backward and throwing him to the floor like a child. The man's gun spun into the crowd.
Merlot had a clear view of the renegade now. Two guards lay on the floor in front of him, unmoving. Even as he looked, there was a flash of gunfire and another one went down. A tear in the renegade's coat on his left shoulder was stained red, but it didn't seem to be slowing him down at all.
There was a shout. Merlot turned and saw more guards rushing into the bar. There were a lot of them, a lot more than one man could handle, even if he was mako enhanced.
By now Merlot and the stranger were standing no more than a few feet apart.
"This way!" Merlot yelled, pointing toward the swinging doors that led into the kitchen.
Glancing back to see that the stranger was following him, he barreled through the doors. There was an exit out into a back alley through the kitchen, but Merlot did not head toward it. Instead he turned to the right, running toward an unobtrusive door wedged between a walk in refrigerator and wooden pallets stacked high with bags of flour and grain. He pulled the door open to reveal narrow wooden steps leading down into darkness. Without hesitation he plunged down them.
It had seemed dark after the well lit bar, but it was not completely black. The steps led down into a small basement, illuminated only by a single small watt bulb dangling on a cord from the ceiling. More pallets of foodstuffs were stored here, as well a dozen barrels and a large and mostly empty wine rack. The air was stale and had a moldy odor to it.
Opposite the door was a small alcove that held various cleaning materials. Merlot quickly walked over to it and pushed the mops and brooms out of his way. He felt around for a moment along the wall, then pushed, and a hidden door suddenly swung open. With a nod toward the stranger, who had followed him silently the whole time, they both disappeared into the darkness beyond.
Sephiroth stepped into the Screaming Pigeon and slowly surveyed the room. He was satisfied to see that he had given Cloud enough time to clear out before he entered. He wanted the people here to think this 'renegade' they were after was important, important enough to send the General himself after him, but, of course, it would not have furthered their plans if they accidentally ran into one another.
So he had timed his entrance to be fashionably late, but not so late that he wouldn't be noticed.
Though their was still a crowd on the street outside, most of the customers had either been cleared out or fled the bar itself. The few employees that remained had been escorted out until Shinra was through conducting its 'investigation'. The only people that now remained were the Shinra guards. He walked over to where the group of guards, some obviously wounded, stood near the back of the room.
"I take it he got away?"
The guards looked at him, their faces draining when they saw it who it was. For a moment they just looked at one another. Finally one of them spoke.
"I'm sorry sir," he said hesitantly. "He took us by surprise. We didn't expect him to be so strong."
Sephiroth did not reply, just stood there looking around, his face expressionless. He saw he had chosen wisely. This had not been staged, at least, not as far as the guards in front of him knew. In order for this to work, it had to look as real as possible. The guards had not known that Cloud was really working for Shinra. As far as they knew, they really were after a genuine renegade. It was a risk, yes. The bullets they were using were real. The guards didn't know it, but Sephiroth had hand picked them for the express purpose of using people that he felt confident would fail. All of them had poor records, none of them had shown any initiative or willingness to do more than follow their orders and collect their paycheck. He had assumed, correctly as it turned out, that they would be no match for Strife. Still, he had been concerned. Nothing could be plotted out perfectly. The unexpected could always happen with a mission like this. One of them could have gotten lucky and ruined the entire plan.
"We did the best we could," the man in front of him spoke again. All the guards were looking at Sephiroth now, trying to gauge his reaction.
Though he was pleased at that, looking around there was something else he was not pleased with. Cloud had been told, of course, that the Shinra guards would be coming, and he also been told that they knew nothing of his real purpose. They were to do their level best to stop him, and he was to do the same to escape, no matter what harm he might have to do to succeed. Sephiroth had thought he'd made it quite clear that these men were expendable. The mission depended on the Nighthawks believing that Cloud was indeed a renegade. Any doubt would threaten the mission's success.
"Sir?"
Sephiroth could think of no way to convince the Nighthawks that Cloud was the real thing better than his eliminating a few Shinra employees. Harsh as it might be, Sephiroth was a pragmatist. He hadn't won a war against Wutai by being nice, or fair. He did whatever he could to achieve his goals. He wasn't completely heartless, but, since he had no family of his own that he knew of, his loyalty was limited to the other members of Soldier, who he considered his surrogate family. He cared not a whit about these men in front of him. It wasn't something he did lightly, or out of maliciousness, of course. He didn't enjoy killing anyone who was not his enemy, but he would do it if he deemed it necessary.
He had hoped he had gotten that concept across to the young Strife, but apparently it had not quite sunk in. They needed to convince the Nighthawks Cloud was genuine, and to do that, they needed some deaths. Cloud hadn't provided them.
In which case, it seemed it was up to him to remedy the situation.
The guard's eyes grew suddenly wide as the masamune slid out of its sheath.
"General?"
"Why are you helping me?"
They had come out of the basement into a dark and deserted alley not far from the bar. The man Cloud had been following turned toward him and shrugged.
"I've got no love for Shinra," he said gruffly. "What were you doing in there anyway? Didn't you know Shinra would be after you?"
Cloud just looked at him for a moment.
"Frankly, I don't have anywhere else to go," he replied. "I know Shinra is not welcome down here in the slums. I figured it was safer here than anywhere else."
"That might be true," Merlot said, "But that doesn't mean Shinra never comes here. For someone like a renegade Soldier, I've got a feeling they'd go to hell and back to catch ya."
"I guess I just didn't realize how important I was," Cloud stated.
Merlot looked up and down the alley.
"Well, you're safe now, for the moment. They know you're in the area though, and somehow I don't think this little setback is going to make them give up looking for you. Do you have a place to go?"
Cloud looked at his companion with more than a little suspicion.
"I don't know," he replied slowly. "Did you have someplace in mind?"
After a moment, Merlot nodded.
"Yeah, I think I can find a place for you to hole up for a few days."
Cloud paused as if to ponder that for a moment, then gave a curt nod of his head. The man led him down the alley, then across the street. Looking back Cloud could still see Shinra vehicles in front of the bar, as well as a crowd. He quickly turned away as the man led him in the opposite direction.
Cloud remained silent, not exactly sure what to make of his new companion. The man obviously had a thing against Shinra, but that wasn't all that uncommon in these parts. He was looking for the Nighthawks, of course, but he suspected he couldn't openly say that without arousing suspicion, at least, not yet. The only intelligence they had was that some members of the gang frequented the Screaming Pigeon. The story of his turning renegade had been carefully thought out before it was planted in the papers. They all agreed that someone who had been in Soldier and had intimate knowledge of the inner workings of Shinra would be a considered extremely valuable to any rebel group. Hopefully his value would make the Nighthawks come to him. He hadn't failed to notice how the man he was following had taken down at least one Shinra guard. If he wasn't an actual member of the Nighthawks, Cloud was hopeful he would at least have some contact with them.
Still, he thought it would be best to play it cool. They hadn't been given any specific time limit on this, and infiltrating a rebel group was not something that happened in a day. He knew moving too fast or asking the wrong questions would be the worst thing he could do. He had to somehow gain their trust, and that wouldn't be easy. These people were probably suspicious enough as it was. They would be suspicious of any stranger, no matter who it might be, but especially of someone who worked for Shinra. His fight with the guards would probably help, but he was sure by itself it wasn't enough. He had been more scared when he was fighting than he cared to admit. He had never done anything like that before, and frankly, he had been surprised when Sephiroth had told him the guards would not know the truth, that they really thought he was a renegade and would be doing their best to apprehend him, and that it was up to him to escape. He had also been surprised when the General had hinted that the men's lives were expendable. In fact, it had seemed to Cloud that Sephiroth had almost wanted him to kill them, or at least some of them. He seemed to think it would make Cloud's status more believable to the Nighthawks. Cloud had to agree that that was probably true, but nonetheless, when it had come down to it, he had found he was just not capable of killing someone who was working for the same side as he was. Whoever those guards were, they were not very skilled. That had been obvious from almost the moment the fight started. He could have killed them all quite easily. Instead he had fired only to wound, and only when necessary. He just couldn't be that cold blooded.
He didn't think he'd compromised the mission by doing so. He had still fought them, and the fight had been serious. It was obvious that they were after him. He was sure Sephiroth would understand.
"My name's Merlot," his companion said suddenly.
The man looked at him but Cloud did not respond.
"You have a name?" the man tried.
"It's not important," Cloud replied.
Merlot pondered that for a moment.
"I have to call you something," he ventured eventually.
Cloud was trying to keep track of where they were going, but the twists and turns in the dark alleys they were following made it difficult.
"Call me whatever you wish," Cloud answered not at all helpfully.
Merlot shrugged and fell silent.
Occasionally they passed someone walking along the street, but for the most part the road they traveled was deserted. Still, keeping a sharp eye out, Cloud sometimes noticed a furtive figure in the shadows, or appearing momentarily on a nearby rooftop. Perhaps it had nothing at all to do with them, but he had to wonder if someone was keeping an eye on them.
Eventually the reached a run down residential area with dreary looking lines of apartment buildings lining the streets. Merlot led him up the door of one of them and they quickly entered. Cloud found himself looking down the length of a narrow hallway. The walls were painted a dull gray, paint that was chipped and stained in places. Bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling cast a stark light around them. Cloud could see a dark stairway near the back of the hall. Except for lines of doors on either side of them and some garbage littering the floor, the hallway was unadorned. Somewhere in the distance, Cloud could hear an infant wailing.
Merlot walked up to a door halfway down the hallway and slipped his key in the lock. Twisting the knob he pushed open the door.
The sound of a television blaring assaulted Cloud's ears. He slowly stepped inside and looked around.
The apartment was small. The front door opened into a small living area. Two young children, a boy and a girl, sat on a couch nearby watching the television. Beyond them was a bookshelf/room divider that separated the living area from the kitchen. A woman was standing beyond the divider, in front of a stove where Cloud could see a frying pan sizzling.
"I'm home," Merlot announced.
"Late again, I see," the woman stated. "Dinner is almost ready. If you could just..." she stopped as she turned around and saw that Merlot was not alone.
Cloud saw just the trace of a frown appear on her face.
"I wasn't expecting company," she said slowly.
"Sorry," Merlot said. "It was kind of a spur of the moment thing."
The woman stood there for a moment, then with a weary shake of her head turned back toward her cooking.
"I think we have enough here to make do," she said. Suddenly she turned her head again. "How do you feel about liver and onions, Mr..."
"Strife," Cloud said. For some reason it didn't seem right to withhold that information from her. "And it doesn't matter, I'm not hungry."
The woman looked at him for a moment more, then shrugged and turned away again. Merlot walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and extracted two beers.
"You can stay here for a day or two," he stated, handing one to Cloud. The spiky haired blonde saw Merlot's wife's shoulders tighten when he said that, but she didn't speak. "Until we can find you someplace better. I have a few friends who might be able to help you."
Cloud nodded. For some reason, the fact that Merlot was a husband and father had taken him by surprise. Stupid really, but he hadn't expected rebels to have families. Hadn't even thought about it. He looked at the two young children watching the tv. The girl was a little older, maybe seven or eight, the boy around five. Of course, he didn't know for sure yet if Merlot even was a rebel, or a member of the Nighthawks. In spite of the fact that it might be a setback for him, he was beginning to hope the man had nothing to do with the Nighthawks.
Merlot led him into another room.
"You can stay in here for tonight," he said. "The kids can stay in our room. It ain't much, but you're not gonna find any better around these parts."
Cloud had to agree. The room wasn't much bigger than a closet. A small bed and a dresser were the only furnishing. A few toys were scattered on the floor. Cloud almost objected. He didn't want to take the kid's room away from them, but he thought the less fuss he made the better. It didn't seem like something a renegade would complain about.
"Dinner's ready," came the call from the kitchen.
Merlot lifted his head.
"Are you sure you don't want anything?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Cloud replied.
"All right. If you need anything, just let us know."
Cloud nodded and the man walked out of the room. Cloud looked around for a moment, then sat down slowly on the bed, pushing a toy out of his way with his foot. He felt very awkward, knowing that he was using these people. When he had left Nibelheim his head had been filled with all sorts of notions. Become a Soldier, fight in wars, be admired by all. Be a hero. He had thought his job would be straightforward, to take the field and nobly fight Shinra's enemies. He had expected both battle and hardship, but never any ambiguity about who was the enemy and who was not. These people were not soldiers. The man had a wife and kids. He had taken Cloud into his home.
Cloud lifted his head and looked out the single small window in the room, unadorned by curtains or blinds. The street beyond was dark. He could see no one out there. A wind blew down the road, gusting and blowing papers and debris in front of it. Though the apartment was clean, there were few furnishing and what was there was obviously old and most of it in need of repair or replacement. It was apparent that these people were struggling just to survive. In fact, it was apparent that that was the case with almost everyone who lived here.
It seemed so strange to Cloud that these people here were living in such abject poverty when just above them, just over their heads there was a whole other world where the streets were clean, the buildings in good repair and nearly everyone was well off. He wondered how many of the people up there had ever been down here, or had any idea what it was like. Given the situation of these people, was it such a surprise that they were working against Shinra. What had the company ever done for them? He knew Shinra had plenty of gil, surely they could find some to spare to clean up down here in the slums, or at least to make an attempt.
The roar of a car racing down the street momentarily caught his attention. The lights flashed as it drove by. A moment later it was gone and the sound of the engine faded into the night.
He shook his head. What the hell was he thinking? There were plenty of people out there who came across as very nice who were really just in it for their own gain. Merlot might have a family and a tough life, but if he was really a rebel, that was no excuse. If the man was sabotaging Shinra equipment he was breaking the law. No one was forcing him to live down here. There were plenty of people who, though hard work and perseverance had made it out of the slums and onto the upper plate. Shinra might not have done anyone any favors down here but were they really obligated to? Just because life was hard for you didn't mean you had the right to do whatever you wanted. There were plenty of people down here in just as bad a situation as the rebels who still didn't resort to violence or sabotage. If Merlot was involved in this, he knew the score, he knew what would happen if he got caught. Anything that happened to him or his family was his own damn fault.
Cloud lay back on the bed, propping his hands behind his head and looking up at the ceiling. In spite of that, in spite of the fact that he knew Merlot was in the wrong if he indeed was one of the people Cloud sought, he still couldn't shake the feeling that what he was doing was wrong as well. He had a feeling he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight.
Later that night Merlot slipped quietly out of the apartment, standing for a long time before the door to the stranger's room before he departed. He didn't want the man to follow him. The streets were dark and quiet now. No one bothered him as he made his way quickly down the road. Though he saw no one, he knew his passage was not unmarked.
He worked his way westward, deeper into the sector, turning seemingly at random and doubling back at times to make sure he wasn't being followed. Eventually he reached a road with long rows of warehouses running the length of it, most of them dark and silent. He walked quickly down the street, took one last look around, then turned and rapped on one dark door. A moment later the door was pulled open. He stepped in and the door quickly slammed behind him.
The short young man who had let him in remained at the door as he strode down the hall without a word. He quickly made his way through the turns in the corroder, the slap of his feet echoing on the cold concrete floor, until he came to an open doorway that led into an office. A man sat inside with his feet propped up on the desk. He dropped them to the floor as Merlot entered.
"I was wondering if you'd be in tonight," the man said. "Is the renegade safe?"
Merlot wasn't surprised by the question. By now Marcus must know what had happened at the Screaming Pigeon. They had heard, of course, all about the so called renegade. Marcus had told them all to keep their eyes open for him. If the story was true, if he really had been in Soldier and had turned against Shinra, he could have information that might prove invaluable to them. If given the chance, they had been told to make contact. They had men all over the slums looking for the guy, probably even more people than Shinra had looking for him.
"Yes," Merlot replied. "He's at my apartment right now."
Marcus nodded.
"So what do you think of him?" he said slowly.
Merlot paused. He wasn't used to Marcus asking his opinion about anything.
"You mean, is he on the level?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Marcus replied.
"Kind of hard to say," Merlot replied. "He didn't have much to say, but that's not surprising. He didn't strike me as obviously false, but that doesn't mean much either. He did have a fight with those Shinra guards, but that could have been staged."
"He killed six of them."
"What?"
"All six Shinra guards that he fought with were killed," Marcus stated. "It was in the news. You didn't know?"
Merlot frowned, thinking back to the fight. He had definitely seen two guards down in front of the man, though he had no idea of the extent of their injuries. Two he had knocked down himself, and his blows almost certainly hadn't been lethal. He had no idea what had happened to the other two. The man had obviously been mako enhanced, there was no mistaking that, and as such would have been perfectly capable of killing four of those guards. Plus, even after they had fled, there had still been plenty of other people in the bar, plenty of people who had no love for Shinra. Who knows what might have happened to the guards left behind, who might have decided to take out their frustrations on the men he had knocked out. They or any of the other guards could easily have been killed by the crowd after he and the stranger had left.
"Well, I don't think he killed them all himself," Merlot said slowly. "But if they all died, he certainly must have gotten a few of them. I'd say that's a strong indication that his story is on the level."
"Strong yes, but not definitive proof. For all we know, those guards could have been a set up."
Merlot frowned. He wouldn't put it past Shinra to do something like that. Nevertheless, it was hard to believe they would sacrifice their own people like that no matter what the reason.
"I suppose it's possible," he conceded. "In any case, what's the next step?"
Marcus mulled this over for quite some time before he finally responded.
"We don't know whether we can trust him," he said, stating what Merlot thought was pretty obvious. "Nevertheless, if he's on the level he's too valuable to dismiss. We'll find a safe place for him to hole up and watch him for a while. We need to know what he has planned, and what his motivations are. He didn't tell you anything, did he?"
"No," Merlot replied. "We didn't engage in any small talk. He was reluctant to even tell me his name."
"I suppose that's understandable," Marcus replied. "A lot will depend on what his plans are. For all we know, the only thing he wants to do is get as far away from Shinra as he possibly can. If he just wants to get out of town, we'll do what we can for him, but I suspect if that was what he wanted he's already be gone. We need to know more of the details of what caused him to turn against Shinra in the first place. I think that will go a long way towards determining if he's the real deal or not."
"In the meantime, we have to treat him with suspicion. He could very well be a Shinra plant. As such, we don't want him to have any contact or knowledge with any other members or the Nighthawks. If he is a spy, the fewer of us he knows, the better. You're already known to him, though he doesn't know you're one of us."
The inflection at the end of the sentence and the way Marcus looked at him told Merlot that was half a question.
"I told him nothing," Merlot confided.
"Good. Keep it that way, at least for now. You'll have to be our contact with him. I'm depending on you to find out exactly what he's doing here. Why he turned against Shinra and what his plans are, or if he's really a spy. Since you've already met him, it's going to be up to you."
Merlot nodded. He was of course aware of the risk involved. If the man really was a spy, he was in great danger. He was the only Nighthawk in direct contact with the man, and as such, the only one who was in danger of being apprehended by him. Whether he decided to trust this stranger could very well turn out to be a life and death decision for him.
Nevertheless he didn't hesitate in nodding his agreement. He'd been with the Nighthawks for almost two years now, ever since his father died. His father had worked at the mill too, had been the one that had gotten him the job, in fact. The man had spend thirty three years in the steel mill, twelve hours a day, until a steel beam had broken free from a crane and fallen on him, killing him instantly. Shinra hadn't paid any compensatory wages or death benefits, claiming his father had been in an area that was supposed to be off limits to workers and as such had been at fault. There were a lot of things Merlot hadn't liked about Shinra, but that had been the last straw. He had known about the Nighthawks. Almost everyone in the mill had heard of them. A friend had put in a good work for him, and here he was. He didn't have any illusions. He knew what he was doing was dangerous, he knew that if he got caught he'd probably be killed. It hadn't stopped him before and it wasn't going to stop him now.
"I won't let you down," he said confidently.