Last Exit for the Lost Chapter 2
Fallen Heaven
By Damodred
"Damn you, Wallace, what the hell are you doing on our porch passed out again?"
Cloud yelled, exasperated as he saw the large man lying on their steps, limbs
strewn in disarray, snoring softly. When it was obvious that no answer was
forthcoming, he motioned to Wedge "Here, help me with Barret...we can't just
leave him out here, he'll freeze to death." While Tifa opened the padlock
and lifted the heavy bars blocking the way to Seventh Heaven, Cloud and Wedge,
groaning with the strain, carried the big man inside and laid him on the
couch, none too gently. Barret mumbled something, sighed and turned over,
the arm onto which his gun was grafted flopping to the floor, and the aroma
of alcohol wafting from him in waves. Cloud noted the sad look on Tifa's
face and asked "What'd he say?" Tifa answered "Myrna..." Cloud turned, looked
at Barret and, his face softening, said "Oh...well, let's go downstairs.
He'll be allright." Tifa looked at him gratefully, locked the door and followed
him down.
Downstairs, the group celebrated with some whoops of joy and a bottle of
wine brought from upstairs. Cloud shook his head and said "I still can't
believe we pulled it off...also, I don't think we'll be able to do it again..."
Jessie nodded "That's probably correct. ShinRa will undoubtedly triple their
security, not to mention increase the bounty on our heads." Wedge stuttered
"B, bounty?". Vicks barked a short laugh "Yeah man, what do you think, we're
heroes? Get real, fatso." Cloud nodded "Yeah. Nevertheless, we have to go
on...ShinRa's power will not be decreased by the loss of one reactor. We
still have a lot of work to do. In fact..." He got up and started checking
his gear. Everyone else, except Tifa, looked uncomprehending. Tifa explained
"We agreed that Cloud would go back tonight and scope out the setting for
our next mission. In the upheaval, no-one will expect the infamous Avalanche
to be snooping around the scene of the..." she hesitated. "Crime," finished
Cloud, looking grim. "Like it or not, that reactor explosion probably killed
a lot of people. That makes us all murderers and the other side doesn't care
that it was for the good of the Planet. But it is, and we have to believe
it. Otherwise, we lose sight of our goal and become as bad as ShinRa." He
finished, tightening the strap of his scabbard. Tifa nodded. "That's why
Cloud is going out tonight. He'll draw less attention if he goes by himself,
and he'll find if ShinRa is up to anything." Tifa's voice betrayed that she
really didn't believe this would work, but Cloud just gave her a cold look.
She pressed her lips together and drew a breath. They have discussed this
many times before.
Tifa followed Cloud onto the porch as he prepared to leave. "Be careful,"
she said, striving for a calm tone of voice. It obviously didn't work, as
Cloud stopped, gave her a mischievous grin and took her in his arms. He looked
deep into her big, brown eyes and said "Don't worry. I'll be back before
you can say 'ShinRa sucks'." Tifa embraced him and murmured in his ear "ShinRa
sucks." He grinned, kissed her and walked off into the dark, thinking that
he was a lucky man indeed. She could discern his muscular frame and the sword
on his back as he stopped at the far end of the street and waved. She waved
back, quelling the fear in her heart and went inside, checking on Barret.
He seemed to be completely blitzed, as usual. She shrugged and went upstairs
after letting the rest of the group know she was off to bed. She knew they'd
be partying for the rest of the night, Jessie watching the tube or surfing
the SRnet for news, Wedge munching on some snacks, and Vicks trying to hit
on Jessie while she blithely ignored him. Tifa smiled slightly, envisioning
the infamous Avalanche: a techno-freak, a wanna-be-playboy, a glutton and
a couple from a town which no longer existed. Her smile faded as she thought
of Cloud's task. She knew worrying did no good, but she loved him too much
not to. She showered quickly and fell into an uneasy sleep which brought
no rest.
The man called Barret waited until Tifa's footsteps faded and the pipes rattling
in the walls announced a shower in progress. He opened his eyes, jumped up
with surprising grace and stealth for such a large man and scanned the room.
Satisfied that no one noticed his sudden transformation, he tiptoed out of
the house, freezing everytime the floor creaked under his considerable weight.
As soon as he was out of the house, he began running down the street, in
the same direction that Cloud took. He soon disappeared from view and the
street was quiet again.
Cloud moved through the streets at a brisk, assured walk. He knew that the
best way to stay inconspicous is to look as if he had every right to be there.
He was getting increasingly wary as he approached Sector 1, but did not let
the wariness extend to his face, which he kept business-like and slightly
arrogant. He did take occasional quick glances into the alleyways he was
passing, though. He suddenly froze as he heard the word "Careful..." breathed
on the breeze coming out of an alleyway which flashed momentarily with a
soft white light. He heard "Turn back..." and the light went out. He kept
looking, but the light was gone. Shaking his head, muttering softly to himself,
he disregarded the warning and moved on. The sooner he was done, the sooner
he could go back to Tifa.
"What the hell are we here for at this ungodly hour?" Elena paced back and
forth, hands thrust deeply into the pockets of her blue suit. Tseng, bemused,
kept watch on the street below. "Does he think we're...security guards or
something? I didn't become a Turk to guard eggs that're already broken! This
is ridicu..." she broke off, hearing Tseng inhale sharply. "What?" She snapped.
They've had three alerts from ShinRa employees, all of them seeing members
of Avalanche parading on the streets. The regular troops took care of those
hapless citizens (who, by the way, didn't in the least resemble that bitch
Tifa or her gang), but Cid saw it fit to post the Turks almost on top of
the ruined reactor, as if any criminal was suicidal enough to go to a place
crawling with ShinRa security. And with Reno fired, there simply wasn't enough
of them to cover the entire area. So they followed Cid's "hunches". Elena
snorted silently and brought her thoughts back to the present. "What is it?"
she repeated impatiently when Tseng didn't answer. She liked his silence;
it went with his long dark hair and slightly feminine, expressionless face.
However, sometimes she wished she could get a straight answer out of him.
She walked up to the window and looked down. Tseng smiled and pointed. Elena
looked down as well, looked back at Tseng and without hesitation they moved
at a dead run towards the stairs.
By the time Cloud saw the two suited people running towards him, it was too
late. He turned to run, only to smack into a third one. This one was wielding
a large, blade ended pole which he held with ease and obvious familiarity
on his shoulder. His short blonde hair trembled in the breeze, and his hard
blue eyes were measuring Cloud calmly. The two others slowed to a walk as
they neared, steadily pointing their handguns at him. Cloud measured them
with a cool gaze, thinking that someone at ShinRa outsmarted him after all.
He wouldn't make that mistake again...if he survived this. He thought he
could handle the pair that just ran up. A tall, slim man with long black
hair and finely chiseled features accompanied an equally tall, short-haired
blonde woman. Their expressions were equally cold, but the woman's round
face seemed to twist cruelly as she flexed her fingers on her gun. He turned
back to the staff-wielder. He knew he was outmatched here and relaxed, knowing
he couldn't accomplish anything. The staff-wielder observed his resignation
and nodded. "Let's go, Strife." he said in a pleasant enough tone, but Cloud
somehow knew he wouldn't hesitate to kill him if given an excuse. He nodded
in reply.
Barret watched the Turks walk away with their prisoner. He shook his head
and muttered "Damn fool kid." He knew he could probably take the Turks out
with his gun arm, but that would bring the rest of ShinRa down on his head.
He had enough trouble just getting to this area, and he didn't even want
to think about getting out. He smiled grimly; at least he had protective
coloring. Sneaking around was much easier when your skin color matched the
night. He had to find out what ShinRa was up to. There was a good chance
they would talk about their plans on their way to ShinRa Tower. Barret shrugged.
It's what he would've done, knowing the captive is powerless to stop the
plans. Psychological warfare. He frowned. That is, if ShinRa was planning
anything. Then he smiled joylessly. When did ShinRa ever not plan
something? He followed.
Tifa woke up around noon, feeling awful. She yawned and stretched, heading
to the shower. She emerged draped in a towel, feeling much better. As she
dressed, she realized that Cloud never came back. A small flutter of fear
surfaced, only to be quelled ruthlessly by Tifa's force of will. He'd be
back. In the meantime, she had a bar to run, and would be opening soon for
the first shift of off-work, tired men. She went downstairs, noting with
surprise that Barret was gone. She shrugged; at least it was one less thing
to be done. Waking her staff after a night raid was always difficult, but
at least she wouldn't have to put up with hungover drunks, pitiable as they
were. She had no time for pity; not now, when there was so much work to be
done. She woke up Wedge, noting with a smile that Jessie was curled up, sighing
softly, in Vicks' arms, her head resting on his shoulder.
The day went by fast, not much different than the usual. She greeted old
regulars with a shout as she prepared the drinks, eyeing the newcomers carefully.
Vicks was standing at the door, ready for the first sign of trouble, but
sometimes the oddest types slipped by, unnoticed. At least she wouldn't have
to worry about anyone trying to make a move on Jessie, or herself. The staff
at 7th Heaven was known to serve you quickly, and throw you out even quicker
if you made trouble. Tifa herself had to step in only once, knocking out
three troublemakers in the space of a heartbeat. After that, most clients
behaved themselves. Tifa smiled, remembering that time. Cloud didn't even
have to get up...where was Cloud, anyway? Tifa's smile changed to
a frown as she looked at the clock. It was entirely too late for him not
to be back yet, even if he missed the train. She wondered if he ran into
some trouble in Sector 1.
All heads turned to the door which slammed open, revealing Barret's wide
frame. Most people turned back to their drinks, but Tifa kept staring, narrowing
her gaze. She wasn't sure, but something seemed different about him today.
Barret made his way to the bar, his large frame and the gun on his arm commanding
respect, and sat down in his usual spot. As she approached, he grabbed her
hand and pulled her closer, hissing, "We have no time! Grab your crew, and
let's get outta here!" He added, "I know about AVALANCHE and all that, and
I'm not drunk." Tifa drew back astonished, but he only tightened his grip
and said three simple words. "They got Cloud." She stared silently into his
dark, sober and dead serious eyes and made up her mind. She raised her voice
to be heard above the din, "The bar is closed tonight, everyone! Jessie,
Vicks, close up!" Vicks and Jessie stared at her for a moment, but moved
to usher out the protesting customers. That's why she picked them for AVALANCHE;
they obeyed orders unquestioningly. The bar slowly emptied as Barret explained
hurriedly.
"I been watchin' yer group fer 'bout 3 months now, Tifa. I quit drinkin'
about 2 months ago, when I realized what you were doing. I figured it was
a good disguise, ya know? Everyone still thought I was a drunk, so no-one
would look again. Well, it apparently worked, hehe...no one ever looked twice.
I din't wanna join you yet, 'cuz I didn't know if you'd trust me. Hell, I
didn't know if I trust myself." He added ruefully. He continued. "Anyway,
after Cloud ran off tonite, I thought 'Barret, that boy is doing something
brave but dumb, so I went after him to keep tabs on 'im. I followed him to
Sector 1, where he got nabbed by Turks. Looked like yer ah...activities brought
out the head honcho, 'cuz it wuz Cid himself that showed up." Tifa inhaled
sharply. Barret nodded and went on "It gets worse. I followed them all the
way over to ShinRa tower, and I heard what they're gonna do. Maybe it's bait,
maybe not. But they said they were gonna blow the Sector 7 Plate Pillar.
Tifa stared at him, horrified. "But that will drop the entire section..."
He nodded, sadly. "Yup, ShinRa totally lost it. He really wants all you dead,
and he don't care what gets in his way." Tifa shook herself out of her shock
and drew her mouth into a thin, determined line. "Let's go," she said, locking
the door to the bar behind her.
.