Rebirth

Chapter 13 - Cloud's Rage

Cloud turned off the light and closed the bedroom door softly. He stood there for a
moment with his hand on the door knob and rested his forehead on the doorjamb. The
full weight of the day's events finally came crashing down on him. He was powerless to
stop the tears that fell down his face. He banged his head quietly into the jam again and
again, willing the tears to stop.

Slowly he regained his composure. Tifa was out there somewhere and she needed him
now. He had made a promise to her, to himself, and he wasn't going to fail her this time.
Not this time.

He pushed himself away from the door and stood up straight, brushing the tears away
with the back of his hand. He took a deep, jagged breath, turned on his heels and walked
towards the stairs.

Cloud walked into the kitchen to find Rude sitting on the floor, propped up against the
kitchen cabinets, nursing a sore head. Reno was stirring in the other corner of the
destroyed room. He stood looking at them for a few moments, clenching and
unclenching his fists, struggling to keep his emotions under control. He crossed the room
to the coffee machine and stood in front of it, his hands on the counter, with his back to
them both.

Rude watched in silence as the man stood at the counter with his back to him and knew
that his life hung in the balance. Rude may outweigh Cloud by about 100 lbs but he
recognized rage when he saw it. Cloud could snap him in two without breaking a sweat,
and at this point he didn't feel like giving him an excuse to do it.

"What happened here," Cloud said, his voice dark and dangerous.

Across the room Reno slowly pulled himself into an upright position and sat against the
shattered wall, rubbing his throat. Rude hoped that the stranglehold Loz had on him
would keep him from speaking for a while. The last thing he needed was Reno's smart
mouth making matters worse.

Rude chose his words carefully. "He was enhanced. We tried to stop him but he was too
fast, too strong. She tried to stop him . . ." his voice trailed off as he saw Cloud's fists
clench and his back muscles strain at his last words. That probably wasn't a smart thing
to say, he thought to himself.

Rude sighed and struggled to his feet. He picked up the last unbroken chair in the room
and sat down on it.

"What happened to you?" Rude asked, trying to change the subject.

"They were waiting for me. They knew I would come. It was a trap . . or a diversion. I
should have known they really wanted her."

Reno shifted his weight as he watched Cloud. His throat hurt and he could barely breathe
but he couldn't resist a final dig. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could
croak his insult he felt the sting of a piece of wood hit his head. Stunned, he looked over
at his partner and immediately shut his mouth. The look on Rude's face was all he
needed to know for now.

Cloud ignored the exchange between the two behind him. He had regained his
composure. Lashing out at them would not get him Tifa back and he needed them to stay
here with Marlene.

He turned around to face them both.

"I am going to look for her. There is a sleeping 6 year old girl upstairs. Her father is due
home tomorrow. No one is looking for her. Do you think you could possibly keep her
safe for a few hours, or is that too much for you too?"

Rude winced at the insult.

"Hey man, look around you. Do you really think we just gave her up?"

Cloud looked around the kitchen. His eyes landed on an unbroken cup sitting on the
counter next to his hand, the same cup Reno was drinking from when Loz burst into the
bar. He could feel the anger building in him again. With a guttural growl, he grabbed the
cup and threw it at Reno, missing his head by inches. The cup splintered into a thousand
shards and flew across the room. Reno and Rude both ducked, not wanting to be hit by
anything sharp flying their way.

"Hey, what the fuck!" croaked Reno, his voice recovered.

"Don't . . . say . . . a . . . word," Cloud growled at him.

Reno shut his open mouth and sat there staring at Cloud's dark face. He had never seen
him in such a state before.

Cloud slowed his breathing and relaxed his jaw and his fists.

"Tell Barret what happened here when he gets home and tell him to call me" Cloud
turned his back on the two and walked back out into the growing dawn light.

"What do we charge for babysitting these days?" Reno asked his partner.

Rude just picked up another piece of wood and lofted it at Reno's head.