REVELATIONS
Cloud dropped silently to the ground. Crouching down quickly, he looked around, his keen eyes scanning the darkness, but all he saw was his quarry disappearing around the corner ahead of him.
He quickly trotted down the street, keeping in the shadows of the building on his left so as to avoid being seen by the lookout on the rooftops above.
He had been living with Merlot and his family for two weeks now. It had been obvious from the beginning that the man was either a member of an underground group or else had ties to them, but Cloud had learned little more than that and was starting to become impatient. He still didn't dare to bring the subject up, and Merlot had not mentioned it either, instead had only asked him what his plans might be and whether he wanted to get out of Midgar. Cloud had told him no, he wasn't ready to leave yet, that, in fact, he had unfinished business with Shinra first. Merlot hadn't pressed for details, but it hadn't gotten the man to open up either, as Cloud had hoped.
Cloud had quickly learned that Merlot slipped out of his home some nights after he thought the young Soldier was asleep. Cloud's hearing was quite good, and the man wasn't as quiet as he thought. Cloud had already slipped out his window a few times previously to scout out the area. That was when he discovered the lookouts covering the streets surrounding Merlot's home. He had soon observed they stuck to fairly predicable schedule, and on top o that, they weren't particularly observant either. Now he was pretty sure he knew where they all were and how to avoid them.
He wanted to find out at least where Merlot was going, if not exactly what he was up to. Merlot seemed in no rush to tell him, and he wasn't going to sit around waiting forever. He knew he was taking a chance. No one was pressuring him to produce results, at least, not yet, but he still felt the need to get something done.
It was after midnight. The streets were dark. Here in the slums half the streetlight didn't work. Although this made it harder for him to keep sight of his quarry, it also made it more difficult for the lookouts to spot him.
Merlot was careful. For a long time he seemed to be wandering through the streets at random. He often looked back and even doubled back on his trail a few times. In spite of that Cloud managed to avoid detection, though their were a few close calls.
They had left Merlot's neighborhood far behind now, and Cloud had to be more careful. He hadn't scouted this far out, and was unfamiliar with the area. By necessity this made his progress slower and a couple of times Cloud almost lost the man in front of him, but each time managed to spot the man again without being seen himself.
Eventually Merlot slowed down, looking around more often, being more cautious than ever and Cloud suspected they were nearing their destination.
Cloud was hiding behind a stairwell about fifty meters from Merlot when the man stopped in front of the black shadow of a warehouse. Cloud ducked down as once more the man looked around. When Cloud raised his head once more Merlot was gone.
Cloud made his way cautiously over to the warehouse. He could see at least one man on the floor of this building as well, and for all he knew, there could be more.
However, he made it to the side of the building without raising an alarm, and found himself crouching down under the canopy of a truck unloading dock, peering up at the side of the building.
Now that he was here, he wasn't quite sure how to proceed. The next obvious step was to try to penetrate the building, but he suspected that would be much more difficult than just following someone. He had the element of surprise and was trained in combat. Even if he was caught he was confident he could fight his way out if need be, but he didn't want to get discovered before he found out anything useful.
Well, actually, he had already found out something useful, now hadn't he? He had at least found out where Merlot was going. Who knows, for all he knew, Merlot could have just led him right to the headquarters of the Nighthawks. Just knowing that might be all they needed. He could go back, tell Sephiroth and have them raid the place, and that would be that. Considering the much greater risk of discovery if he attempted to enter, he had to admit that course of action was appealing.
Unfortunately, he didn't know for sure if this was the headquarters of the Nighthawks. Hell, he still didn't even know if Merlot was a member. For all he knew, Merlot could be sneaking off at night to go to a clandestine alcoholics anonymous meeting. Unlikely, that, but he wouldn't know until he entered. One thing was for sure, he didn't think General Sephiroth would be too pleased with him if he called down a raid on some innocent civilians.
So he continued to peer up at the side of the building, eyeing the windows, looking to see if any were open, or could be reached form the street. The windows at ground level were all dark, and upon further inspection he could see they were all boarded up. If that was the case with those above, he didn't think it would make his task any easier.
He was spared further rumination on the subject, however, when the door to the warehouse was pulled open and he saw a group of people emerge.
It was too dark to see any faces, nor could he hear what they were saying, though he could pick out Merlot's voice in the low murmur of their conversation.
There were four of them, and they immediately headed off down the road. Cloud hesitated. Should he follow, or investigate the building? It didn't take him long to decide. The building wasn't going anywhere.
He wanted to hear what they were saying, but staying that close was too risky, and he had to be content to follow at a distance. Even though they did occasionally look around, they didn't seem nearly as attentive to their surroundings as Merlot had been going to the warehouse, nor did he notice anymore lookouts on the rooftops. Apparently they were convinced that they were not being observed.
They headed east, at first back toward Merlot's home, but then they turned north, and Cloud saw they were headed for the industrial section of the sector. A dense swath of large building stood in front of them, with the blinking lights of one of the Shinra reactors that powered the city towering beyond them.
The group made their way methodically through the streets until the halted at the corner of one intersection, the edge of the building beside them shielding from the only streetlight still working on the block. They remained there for several minutes, and Cloud got the opportunity to get closer. They seemed to be having some kind of discussion. Cloud could hear a few words, but was still not close enough to pick up the entire conversation. From what he heard, however, it seemed like they were discussing strategy.
A few times they pointed at one of the building across the street, and that seemed to be the target of whatever it is they were up to. Cloud had been briefed on the entire area, especially any buildings that served the power lines of the city, since those were the targets the Nighthawks were known to strike. He felt a tinge of excitement as he realized the building they were discussing was a Shinra Power Line Substation. For the first time he had strong evidence that he was on the right track.
Once again he thought about heading back to Shinra headquarters. He was pretty sure now he had enough evidence to warrant a raid, but he quickly dismissed that idea. He didn't know who would be there. There was no certainty that building they had met in had been their base, or even a base at all. They might have just picked that building at random, and might have just been a convenient spot for these four to meet up. They couldn't be all there was to the Nighthawks. For all he knew, these people in front of him could just be small fry, soldiers working for their bosses who Shinra was really after. His job was to take down the entire organization, and for that he needed to know more.
Besides, he had to admit he was kind of curious exactly what they were planning.
Whatever it was, they seemed to have made up their minds. They were on the move again, walking quickly across the street to the side of the road the substation stood on. Cloud stealthily followed.
The substation was surrounded by a chain link fence topped with barbwire. The group walked down the street to the left, away from the streetlight. This was the back of the building, there was no gate here, or guard either, for that matter. They walked almost to the end of the block, then stopped again and Cloud saw one of them bend down beside the fence.
Cloud worked his way toward them once again until he saw one of them turn his head to look quickly in both directions. Cloud froze. The man seemed to look right at him, but he was in the shadows and was not spotted. The man nodded his head, and one by one they all slipped quickly through a hole that Cloud assumed had just been cut in the fence.
As they vanished into the shadows surrounding the building, Cloud quickly slipped through the hole himself. Ahead he saw them disappearing though a door in the building. He quickly made his way up to the door and put his ear against it. Satisfied that they weren't lingering by the door inside, he silently pulled it open and entered.
A sharp metallic odor filled his nostrils once inside. He looked around. Beyond the small entrance alcove where he stood was a long hallway with masses of wires and conduits running along both sides. The lights here were dimmed, as if this particular area of the substation was infrequently visited. He could just make out the last of the group he was following disappearing down the corridor.
There was no place to conceal himself in the corridor. He had to wait until they disappeared around a turn to proceed. He quickly padded down the hall, hoping he wasn't going to fall so far behind as to lose them. Even though it was only a substation, the building was still huge. He had been briefed on the power stations in the area, but he knew nothing about the inside of them. If he lost them he didn't know how long it would take him to pick up their trail again, nor could he afford run into any Shinra guards. No one here knew he was undercover. If he ran into any guards, he could only think they would assume he was an enemy.
Fortunately he didn't have to hunt for them after he turned the corner. Here the hallway opened up into a much larger room, which was filled with rows of metal racks holding the same conduits and cables that ran along the hallway, only much more. Cloud could see that the cables were made up of dozens of individual wires, maybe even hundreds, and there was dozens of them running through the room. He couldn't see how anyone could keep track of it all.
Not that that was important. He could see the group he was trailing up ahead. They seemed to have stopped and were busy at work doing something to some of the wires. Some kind of sabotage, he could only assume.
He slipped down the aisle, trying to get a better look, but he couldn't see very well between the aisles because of the mass of wires. He looked around slowly, trying to find a better vantage point. Eventually his eyes fell on a huge piece of machinery that stood along the far wall. It was in a darkened corner, didn't look difficult to climb and would afford an overview of the entire room. If the group he was shadowing was smart, they would have already put a man up there.
He quickly made his way over to it. The machinery wasn't difficult to climb, for it had plenty of protrusions, pipes and cables around it or running out of it. All he had to do was be careful to be quiet and not grab hold of something that couldn't hold his weight.
He made it up on top in a moment without any trouble. It was dark up here, and there were large pipes coming out of the top of the instrument heading up to run along the ceiling that he could conceal himself behind. Settling himself down, he cast a watchful eye over the room below.
It wasn't hard to see his quarry from here. He had an unimpeded view of them, and they were not far away. They all seemed to be working busily on the wiring, though Cloud still had no idea exactly what their intentions were. His Soldier training had not included any courses in advanced wiring. Even so, their exact intentions weren't that important to him at the moment. What was important was what he saw when he looked past them, two aisle farther away, where he could see at least six Shinra guards stealthy making their way towards the four would be saboteurs.
Cloud crouched down lower, watching the guards carefully. From the way they were moving, it was obvious that they knew Merlot and his companions were there and soon the guards would be in position to take them by surprise.
Quickly Cloud went over his options in his head. He could do nothing, or slip away. He didn't think they had seen him. If they had they would have assumed he was one of the enemy and realize they had been spotted. He could probably slip out without being observed, but that would get him nowhere. He had spent weeks trying to get a lead on these people and if they were arrested all that work would be for nothing. He was pretty sure these people weren't the planners, the brains behind the organization, and that was who he was after. These people were his only link.
On the other hand, he was reluctant to intercede on their behalf. After all, the Shinra guards were on his side, and he didn't want to fight against them. He had had no choice back at the bar, that had been deliberately set up, but he had tried not to kill anyone. Who knows if he could do the same here if it came to a fight? Not only that, but he couldn't help Merlot without revealing himself, and he had no explanation as to why he was here except for the obvious one that he had followed them. Even if they got away, how was he going to explain that?
It seemed he had little choice, however. If he let them be captured, he would achieve nothing, nor could he warn the guards not to interfere. Sephiroth had told him in no uncertain terms the mission was more important than any one power station, or any person.
In any case, he didn't have time to sit here pondering the ins and outs. The guards were at the corner of the aisle now and appeared just about ready to spring their trap. If he was going to do something, he had to act soon or it would be too late. In fact, even now, he realized reluctantly, he might be too far away to do anything but shout a warning.
He looked around, accessing the situation before deciding on his exact course of action. One of the thick wiring conduits ran up to the ceiling from the instrument he was perched upon. Thick plastic straps hanging from the ceiling held it in place. He wasn't much of a shout a warning type guy. He preferred more direct action.
He stood up and swung his sword, slicing through the cable above him just past the strap. The end of it, sparking like a gaudy firework, swung down through the air to slam into the wiring running along the aisle between Merlot's group and the guards. If Cloud had thought the cable looked like a firework before, he was even more impressed by the huge flash of light and shower of sparks that was emitted upon impact. In fact, it suddenly seemed as if the entire end of the aisle was awash in sparks and flame.
Cloud didn't spend time watching to see anyone's reaction. Instead he leapt down from on top of the instrument, racing down the aisle and suddenly emerging from the sparks to see Merlot and his companion's staring at him slack jawed.
"Get out of here!" he yelled. "It's a trap!"
It took a few seconds for their brains to process this quite unexpected input, but the sound of shouts from the Shinra guards went a long way toward bringing coherence to their slightly befuddled minds, and at first tentatively, but then quickly gaining speed, they let Cloud herd them back the way they had come. By the time they reached the opposite end of the aisle, the seriousness of the situation seemed to have impressed itself upon them, and they were running full speed.
And not a moment too soon. The guards had been as confused by the sudden turn of events as Merlot and his friends had been, and seemed a bit more reluctant to run though the showering sparks and flashing wires snaking across the aisle than Cloud, but eventually they steeled themselves and did so. Cloud could see them now, emerging from the very spot he himself had appeared even as he turned and raced after those he had warned.
The next few minutes seemed to go by in a flash. Merlot and his companions raced through the hallway, then out the door into the dark. Cloud brought up the rear, looking behind him frequently, but his surprise and the guards hesitation in passing through the spark filled aisle had given them some breathing room. The guards were just exiting the building when Cloud slipped through the fence, and a few minutes later they had lost themselves in the surrounding streets.
Apparently satisfied that they had given the guards the slip, they halted. They hadn't said anything to Cloud, being too concerned about getting away first. Now, however, one of the men suddenly turned toward him and Cloud saw he had a knife in his hand.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he said harshly.
Cloud gave him a cold stare.
"What do you think?" he replied. "I was following you."
"Why?" the man spit out. He edged closer with the knife, until it was inches from Cloud's chest. Cloud didn't flinch.
"Be careful with that thing or you might hurt yourself," he said dismissively. "Why do you think? I knew you were up to something. It didn't take a genius to figure out you were against Shinra. Merlot wouldn't have sheltered me otherwise. I already told him I had a bone to pick with them. If you were doing something, I wanted to be in on it."
The man turned around suddenly and cast a cold stare at Merlot.
"I thought you said you weren't followed!" he snapped.
"I...I thought I wasn't," Merlot stammered.
"It's not his fault," Cloud replied. "No more than any of you. I followed all of you from the warehouse and you didn't see me now did you, and you were all there then. You amateurs are no match for someone from Soldier."
The man turned back toward Cloud.
"That was because Merlot told us he hadn't been followed," he sneered. "He's endangered us all, which I'm sure the boss won't be happy to hear."
"Oh chill out Riley," Merlot spoke up for the first time. "In case you hadn't noticed, he saved our asses."
"Maybe," Riley said. "Or maybe he's just a spy."
"A spy?" Merlot retorted. "Didn't you hear what I just said? He saved us. Why would he do that if he was a spy?"
"There could be any number of reasons," Riley replied. "Maybe he has his own plan in mind. Maybe he wants us to lead him to the boss."
"Maybe," Cloud said, thinking quickly. He didn't like how close Riley was to the truth. "But if that were true, I could have just let the Shinra guards capture you. Once at Shinra headquarters, I'm sure they could persuade you to tell us who you're working for."
He stepped closer to Riley.
"Or I could just take you down there now myself."
Riley held his knife up, his face darkening.
"You think you can take us all?" he questioned.
Cloud's sword was sheathed. He hadn't taken it out. Or at least, it hadn't been a moment ago, but before Riley could even move, it was suddenly in Cloud's hand with the tip just beneath Riley's nose.
"It wouldn't even be a challenge," Cloud replied, sounding a bit bored. His head turned slightly to glare at one of the other men who's hand had slipped beneath his jacket.
"That hand better come out of there empty or you'll be saying goodbye to it," he warned.
It came out empty.
"It would be a waste of time to bring us to Shinra headquarters. We wouldn't talk," Riley said, defiantly.
"C'mon, this is ridiculous," Merlot interjected. "He helped us out. Besides, he killed those Shinra guards back at the bar. Would he do that if he was a spy?"
Cloud kept his face neutral, though he was surprised. He hadn't killed anyone at the bar. He had wounded a few of the guards, yes, but he was certain the wounds weren't fatal. Or at least, he had thought so.
"So Shinra says," Riley snapped back. "You told me yourself you didn't actually see him kill anyone."
"It was the middle of a fight," Merlot replied. "I wasn't standing around looking for details. He may not have killed them all but he certainly must have got some of them. What, you think they all died of fright?"
"I don't care what happened to them!" Riley retorted. "All I know is we don't know if we can trust this guy. We've made it this far because we've been careful not to let anyone we weren't sure of know about us. Now he's the second person we've run into in the last few weeks who knows more than they should. We're taking too many risks!"
The other two in the group were silent, looking back and forth between Riley and Merlot, obviously unsure of themselves. Cloud wondered for a moment who this other person they had run into was.
Merlot threw up his hands.
"Well, he knows about us now!" he exclaimed.
"Thanks to you!" Riley shot back.
"Be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact. He knows about us, you can't change that now. We have no choice but to trust him or kill him."
"Or try to," Cloud observed.
"Exactly," Merlot agreed. "You know he's mako enhanced, look at his eyes. He's not lying about that. Maybe we could take him and maybe not, but do you really want to risk it considering you may be fighting someone who could be a world of help to us if he's on the level?"
"If he's on the level," Riley stated.
"We have no reason now not to trust him," Merlot answered. "It's not like we're going to take him right to the boss. We can use the same procedure with him we use with any new recruit."
"I don't like it," Riley said, but his voice now lacked the conviction it once held. "We've hand picked the other recruits. This is too spur of the moment."
"Why don't we let the boss decide that?" one of the other men spoke up for the first time.
"I'm in charge here!" Riley growled. "I'll make the decisions."
Cloud glared at him.
"So make one," he said, his sword poised in front of him. "We may have gotten away but those guards could still be looking for us. I'm not going to stand around here all night."
Riley's face darkened once again, but there was nothing he could do. Even if he didn't trust Cloud, for all his bluster, it was obvious he was reluctant to get into a fight with someone from Soldier.
"Fine," Riley said, letting his frustration show. "I can't deny that you did help us. We'll let you live, at least, until we talk to the boss about this. We'll just have to see what he has to say."
Cloud didn't reply, but the look on his face made it apparent he wasn't much concerned about them letting him live.
Riley turned to Merlot.
"Take him back with you, and keep an eye on him. I don't want him sneaking off until we've had time to think this over."
Merlot nodded and started off immediately. Cloud followed. When he glanced back he saw Riley still staring at him. He wasn't much concerned. He was pretty sure that Riley was all talk and no substance. As he suspected, this was just a small part of the group, and though it was obvious they still didn't trust him at least now he had his foot in the door, he was making some progress. He could work on the trust thing as time progressed. All in all, it looked like his decision to follow Merlot had paid off.
"I'm kind of glad you followed me," he heard Merlot say when they were out of earshot of the others. "I wanted them to let you in on this right away, I know how valuable someone from Soldier could be to us, but Riley wasn't the only one who was reluctant. Guess I can't blame them for being suspicious, it's how we've survived as long as we have. Frankly, it's a relief to me that you know. It was a pain having to sneak around without trying to raise your suspicions."
Cloud nodded but said nothing, feeling a small pang of guilt. He had to admit Merlot had treated him pretty well. He wondered how the man would react if he knew the truth, that Riley was absolutely right, that he really was a spy.
With a shrug he tried to push that feeling out of his mind. He had a job to do. No matter how he might feel about Merlot, he couldn't change the fact that the man was involved in illegal activities and he was here to stop it. When it came down to it, he couldn't treat Merlot any different from the rest. Silently he followed Merlot into the darkness.
"We've got to stop meeting like this."
Zack grinned and looked in the rearview mirror of the taxi he was driving.
"What did you tell them?" he questioned.
"That I had to get some gil that I had stashed away," Cloud replied. He glanced out the window to see the streets of the slums passing by. It was three days after the events at the substation, and this was Cloud's first meeting with someone from Shinra since he had gone undercover. Obviously they tried to keep his contact with anyone from Shinra to a minimum to lessen his chances of being caught, but he had to get information out somehow. Zack of course, was wearing civilian clothes, and in the car no one could see his mako eyes, nor any other exact details. To anyone here, he looked like any other taxi driver who frequented this area of town.
"Sounds good," Zack replied. "So how's it going? Anyone getting suspicious?"
"Everything's fine," Cloud replied. "Great, in fact. I've made some progress."
He quickly recounted for his friend what had happened at the substation. When he was done, Zack nodded.
"Looks like you've been busy," he said approvingly. "I think Sephiroth will be pleased. At this rate, we may be wrapping this thing up in no time."
"I hope so," Cloud replied. "But I know they're still suspicious of me, and they haven't introduced me to any of the higher ups yet. I'm afraid it's still might be a while before we can go home."
"Well, at least we've made a start," Zack replied optimistically. "So where exactly was this warehouse they met at?"
"It was on Executer Street," Cloud replied, not really sure the information would be of any value. It appeared likely it had just been a random meeting place and not a permanent headquarters. "Not sure of the exact address. It was the third building on the left from the corner."
"Which corner?" Zack prompted. Cloud realized his directions had left a bit to be desired, even though he didn't notice the sudden frown that creased Zack's brow.
"Ummm, Magnolia," Cloud said, trying to remember. He had looked at the signs just so he would know this. "The third building, going north, on the left from the corner of Executer and Magnolia."
"Five fifteen?" Zack questioned. "Are you sure?"
"Uhh, yeah, but I don't know if that's the address," Cloud replied slowly. He looked up to see Zack staring at him in the rearview mirror.
"You might want to look where you're going," Cloud commented.
Zack's eyes shifted to the road just in time to prevent himself from hitting the curb. For the first time Cloud noticed how disturbed he appeared.
"What made you pick that address?" he asked. "Do you know that place?"
For a moment Zack didn't reply, then he shook his head.
"No, it...it was just one of the sections we had gone over at Shinra headquarters. I was just surprised that they actually got it right."
Cloud looked at him for a moment. For some reason, that explanation didn't seem to ring true to him, but he decided not to press, instead he had a question of his own.
"There was something they said after we got out of the substation that seemed a little strange," he stated.
Zack waited for him to go on.
"They said that all the Shinra guards that came after me at the bar, when we set this all up, were killed. They thought I killed them, but I didn't think I hurt them that badly. Do you know anything about that?"
Zack's eyebrows went up.
"You know, I was wondering about that myself," he said. "All the guards were killed. The story was all through Shinra headquarters the next day. It was even in the papers. I know Sephiroth had implied that people like that were expendable, but I didn't think you'd take it to heart like that. Are you saying you didn't kill them?"
"No," Cloud said quickly. "At least, I don't think so. I mean, I wounded some of them, but it didnt' seem like anything that would be fatal, and some of them I never even came close to."
"They were definitely killed," Zack confirmed. "Like I said, it was all over Shinra headquarters the next day. Even people who knew about our mission didn't deny it."
"That's weird," Cloud muttered. What could have happened. If he hadn't killed them, who had? There were a lot of other people at the bar, a lot of them had been fighting the guards too.
"Maybe they were killed by the crowd after I left," he mused.
Zack thought about that for a moment.
"I suppose that's possible," he replied.
"Yeah, that's probably it," Cloud reaffirmed, suddenly feeling better for some reason. He looked out the window again. "Well, I guess that's about it. You can let me off here. I don't think anyone tailed us, and I can walk back."
They had been traveling at random, Zack taking a route meant to shake any followers. It had been more circutuitous than linear. They were not all that far away from where they had started.
Zack obediently pulled the taxi over and Cloud opened the door.
"Thanks for the ride," he said. "Hope you're not expecting a tip."
"Just get outta here," Zack shot back. "And be careful!"
"I will," Cloud said.
Zack gave him one more quick nod, then the door slammed shut and he pulled away. Cloud watched the cab until it disappeared, then headed back to Merlot's house. He didn't want to be away too long.
Aeris stood up and brushed the dirt off her hands, looking down at her flowers with a satisfied expression on her face. The snapdragons she thought might be dying had perked up, and the first of the Painted Daisys had bloomed, the first sign in the garden the long winter was finally behind them.
She turned around, and her head jerked up as she saw someone standing there.
It wasn't easy to sneak up on Aeris. She wasn't exactly sure why but she could usually sense when someone else was nearby. She had a feeling it had something to do with her Cetra ability to sense the lifestream, and any disturbances in it, but she had been immersed in concentrating on her flowers, and, apparently, had not been paying attention to the signs.
Still, after a momentary intake of breath she let her self relax as she recognized Zack.
"Oh, you startled me."
"I'm surprised you didn't notice me," he replied. He hadn't failed to notice her penchant for detecting others himself.
Aeris smiled. She hadn't seen Zack since their night out. She had a feeling he was mad at her about it, and if he was, she couldn't really blame him. She had tried calling him a few times but he had never been around.
"It's good to see you again," she said.
He didn't answer, just stood there looking at her. His face looked...stern. Slowly the smile faded from her own face.
"Are you mad at me?" she questioned, deciding to get right to the point.
For a moment he still hesitated.
"The other night..." he began.
"I'm sorry," Aeris cut him off. "I shouldn't have chased you away like that after that wonderful evening but..."
"Who was that you chased me away to talk to?"
She stopped, looking at him.
"Who...you knew?"
"I'm not stupid Aeris. It was obvious you wanted me to leave for some reason. From what you said it didn't seem like it was because of what we were doing. Besides, did you really think I'd let you stay in the church at night all alone?"
Aeris stepped back.
"You spied on me?"
"We can talk about that later," he said firmly. "I need to know who that was!"
Aeris just looked at him, not sure what to think. She supposed it shouldn't come as a surprise, really. It had been silly of her to think he would just walk at her lame explanation. She should have known. Still, she didn't like it much.
Zack took a step closer to her. He was still staring at her. She didn't like the look. Zack was one of the most carefree people she had ever met. It was one of the things she found most endearing about him, but he wasn't wearing his usual smile today.
"Aeris, it's important," he said.
"It...it was no one," she stammered.
"No one?" he repeated.
"No one important," she amended. "Just a friend. It had nothing to do with you."
"Oh? How do you know that?" he said quickly. "I happen to think this person might have a great deal to do with me."
"What do you mean?"
"Tell me who it was."
"I told you, it was just a friend!"
Zack sighed and folded his arms across his chest.
"Just a friend huh? What do you know about this friend, exactly? Why were you so anxious to make sure that I didn't meet up with this so called 'friend'?"
Aeris just looked at him for a moment. She was rapidly getting tired of this inquisition.
"What has this got to do with anything? Why are you asking me all this?"
Zack didn't reply at first, wondering just how much to tell her, and how much she already knew.
"Ever hear of a group called the Nighthawks?"
She just stood there for a moment, then looked down at the floor.
"What has that got to do with anything?" she said slowly.
The fact that she wasn't denying it made him feel a little better. He had no idea how involved she might be with this group. He had been starting to wonder if she had known about them all along, that all this time she might just have been plying him for information, that was just using him and didn't care about him at all. It seemed far fetched. He had known Aeris for years and thought he knew her pretty well, and everything he knew about her told him she would never do something like that, but he couldn't stop his brain from thinking. There were no guarantees.
"I followed that girl after she left here," he told her. "She ended up going to a warehouse over on the west side of the sector. We've got undercover agents working to find the Nighthawks. Turns out one of them traced the group to that very same warehouse."
Aeris just stood there. She really couldn't think of any response.
"Aeris, what do you know about them?" Zack said very slowly.
Still Aeris said nothing. This was all a bit overwhelming. She needed time to think, but it was obvious Zack wasn't going to give her that. She was still resentful of his demands for answers, but she supposed she could understand if this was the mission he had been referring to when he told her he was working on something here in Midgar. What a strange coincidence.
"Are you working for them?" Zack questioned.
"No," Aeris replied immediately.
"But you do know who they are," Zack pressed.
Aeris hesitated, torn between the desire to tell him everything and to keep her mouth shut. She really didn't owe them anything. Marcus had threatened to kill her. By all rights she should tell Zack everything she knew, but what Mouse had told her made her reluctant. Still, she realized she would have to tell Zack at least some of what had happened.
"Just a few of them," she replied. "Why are you after them?"
"Do I really need to tell you?" he said a bit harshly. "They're breaking into power stations and sabotaging them. It's been in the papers."
"I'm sorry I'm not up on current events," she replied acidly.
Zack paused and visibly calmed himself.
"I'm sorry," he said. "It's just not everyday that you find out your girlfriend is consorting with terrorists behind your back."
"They're not terrorists!" Aeris refuted. "It's not like that at all. They're been breaking into the power plants to steal electricity that they can use to light and heat the homes of people who can't afford it."
Zack gave her a puzzled look. He hadn't been expecting that.
"Is that what they've been telling you?" he said after a moment.
"Yes," she replied. "It's the truth."
"How do you know that?" he shot back.
Aeris stopped, realizing that she really didn't have anything but Mouse's word to go on.
"I don't know. Mouse told me and I believe her," she replied, realizing full well how lame that sounded.
A realization not lost on Zack.
"So she just told you and you believe it," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "That's great Aeris, that's really great. Do you just believe everything everyone tell you?"
Her face clouded.
"Stop it Zack," she snapped. "I'm not a child. I'm perfectly capable of deciding whether someone is trustworthy or not."
For a moment his face reddened, and she thought for a moment this conversation was going to degrade into a shouting match, but once again he calmed himself.
"Look, I know you Aeris. I know you how trusting you can be. It's one of your best features, but these people...they're different. I've seen the reports at Shinra headquarters, not just the one's released to the general public. They're not just stealing electricity, they're doing a lot of damage. Half the power grid in Sector Seven was taken down by one of their hits two months ago. It was out for almost a week, in January. How many people do you think suffered from the cold because of that?"
Aeris glared at him. She couldn't respond, except to repeat that she believed Mouse, and she knew that wasn't going to get her anywhere. In any case, his words had an impact. She didn't think Mouse was lying, but she was sure Zack wouldn't lie to her either. Had they really knocked out a power plant for a week? It was a Shinra report and she knew she couldn't trust anything from Shinra. Not anything put out for the general public anyway, but why would they lie in an internal report?
Realizing being confrontational was getting him nowhere, Zack's voice became more conciliatory.
"Look, no matter what they did or didn't do, that doesn't change the fact that Shinra is after them. We're closing in on them. They're going down Aeris, and everyone associated with them. I need to know what part you've played in this."
Yet again Aeris hesitated.
"C'mon Aeris. I'm not trying to wring information about them from you, but I at least need to know how you're involved. I'm not the only one working on this. If someone else finds out you have ties to these people, I don't know if I'll be able to protect you."
She was tempted to tell him she didn't need anyone to protect her, but she held her tongue. She could understand the value of his argument.
"I don't know much," she said wearily. "A while ago I found Mouse hiding from some Shinra guards in the church. She was wounded. I cured her. The night we went out, she came back to ask me if I was willing to join their group. I told them I wasn't interested. That's all there is to it."
Zack rubbed his hands, seeming to ponder her words. For a moment she wasn't sure he was going to believe her.
"All right," he said finally. "That's all the contact you've had with them?"
"Yes," she said.
That didn't sound as bad as he had been worried it might be. In fact, he wondered why she just hadn't come out and told him that right away and saved them all this trouble, but he didn't think bringing that up would be helpful.
"That's not so bad then. I was afraid you might have become close friends with this Mouse person."
"That seems unlikely," she replied, remembering how angry the young girl had been at their last parting. "In fact, it's quite likely I won't be seeing any of them again."
"Good," Zack said. "If they do come around again, I want you to let me know immediately."
Again she didn't reply, but the look on her face made him frown.
"What?" he questioned.
She just looked at him for a moment, rubbing her hands in front of her.
"If...if someone comes here who needs help, I'm not going to turn them away Zack. I know Shinra says they're terrorists, that they've been sabotaging power plants, but I know for a fact that you can't always take Shinra at it's word."
"You still don't believe it?" he questioned. "They're criminals Aeris. Dangerous criminals."
"So Shinra says, but that's not the story I heard. I'm not going to condemn them on Shinra's word. I'm not going to join their group, but I'm not going to be your spy either."
"I'm not asking you to be a spy," he blurted out, once more becoming exasperated. Was she blind? Didn't she see what she was getting herself into? "I'm just asking you to let me know if they show up. It's for your own protection!"
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she said.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Aeris, these people were dangerous and yet you're just going to invite them in if they show up? You could very well crack this case wide open and you won't cooperate with your own boyfriend? Who's side are you on?"
"I'm not on anyone's side!"
"It doesn't work that way!"
"It does for me!"
They both glared at one another. Zack had occasionally had arguments with Aeris before. He knew how stubborn she could be when she got an idea into her head. He hadn't wanted this to degenerate into a shouting match, yet someone that seemed to be exactly what had happened.
He lifted his hand and rubbed his forehead.
"I don't know what else to say," he stated. "If you're caught with these people you could be killed or sent to jail for a very long time and there may be nothing I can do about it. In spite of how mad we may be at each other now I don't want that to happen. I'm not telling you this because I want to control your life, I'm doing it because I don't want anything to happen to you. This is no joke, Aeris, please take it seriously."
Aeris looked down at her hands for a moment, when she lifted her head, she smiled.
"What?" Zack said.
"I don't know, it just seems funny. Zack, the man without a care in the world, the man who never had a serious moment in his life, telling me to take something seriously."
Zack grinned, and with that, all his tension seemed to fall away.
"What can I say? This IS serious. I told you, I don't want anything to happen to you."
Aeris came over and he put his arms around her. She rested her head against his chest.
"I don't want to fight," she said.
"Me neither," he replied. "Believe me."
She looked up at him.
"I'm not going to betray them Zack. Not unless I'm sure."
He looked askance at her.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"
"I'm just doing what I think is right."
"No matter what anyone else thinks."
"Yes."
He shook his head.
"I should have known better than to argue with you. All right. You do what you think is right. I don't think I can stop you. You do what you want, but by the same token, so can I. If you're not going to listen to me then I'm just going to have to make sure you stay out of trouble myself. I'll just camp out here in front of the church every chance I get for as long as this mission lasts. I already know the Nighthawks don't really care for my presence. Maybe if I'm here they'll stay away."
For a moment she seemed not all that thrilled with that idea, but then she smiled again and squeezed him more tightly.
"So my saying I might help these people will make you stick around? Maybe I should have thought of this sooner..."
He laughed and ran his fingers through her hair.
"Maybe you should have indeed."