~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Twenty-One: Catch-22

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He didn't even bother checking to see if the door was unlocked. He didn't even bother to try and determine what type of lock that was on the knob, or what type of knob it was, or even the thickness of the wood of the door. He didn't bother preparing his muscles or his limbs to kick in that lock on the knob of the door he knew nothing about, either.

All he knew was that Cloud was in there, and he could hear him pleading.

"Please, don't do it. I'll do anything else," was enough for Kunsel to kick in the knob, shattering the tumblers from the frame and sending the fragments of the hardware across the storage room. He stopped short as he entered, the sight before him causing his body to be overwhelmed in shock and disgust.

Cloud lay over several crates with blood running down his face, and with his hands pinned behind his back. His eyes were hazed with tears and delirium as the man behind him was preparing to violate.

"Mejia, you sick fuck!" Kunsel unsheathed his broadsword from his back, gripping it tight. "Get off of him, now!"

Mejia straightened slowly, zipping himself back up with a smirk. "Always sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, don't you, sir?"

"Better than sticking my dick where it doesn't belong." Kunsel looked to Cloud who was feebly trying to lift himself from the crates, but his arms gave out beneath him and he slumped back down with a moan. "What did you do to him?"

"Besides fuck his mouth?" He shrugged casually, walking around the crates to face off against Kunsel. "Just gave him a little shock, nothing much."

Kunsel widened his stance, his leather gloves creaking against the hilt of his sword. "I'm detaining you. You're coming back to Shin-Ra." The SOLDIER's eyes flicked over as Cloud was trying to lift his arm up, reaching towards Mejia's backside.

Mejia caught the slight movement in Kunsel's eyes. "But of course, sir. Understood, sir." With one hand, he mock saluted him, with the other, he reached behind his back and removed the handgun from the waist of his pants.

Kunsel watched as Cloud grabbed onto Mejia's arm behind his back and began to struggle with the man as he tried to resist.

"G-gun!" Cloud's disjointed voice tore through the thickness in the room. He was savage – barbaric even – as he scraped and fought with the man, trying to pry the gun away from his hand.

"You little fuck!"

Despite all of Cloud's efforts, the arm was tugged away with relative ease, and the gun was aimed at his head. There was a moment of stillness, almost as if time had ceased as the finger was slowly depressing the trigger.

Kunsel moved swiftly, lunging at Mejia with his sword, but within that moment as the blade neared, a shot erupted through the air. Kunsel watched as Cloud slid off of the crates with a sharp yell, and disappeared behind.

Mejia darted to the side as the sword came down, slicing through several crates where he had stood. He staggered and tried to gain his balance, but Kunsel was already gripping him roughly by the shirt before he could compose himself. He was hoisted up, only to be slammed back down into another stack of crates, and the gun ripped from his hand. His body crashed through, splintering the wood and sending the contents spilling out onto the ground.

The steel of the blade reverberated with Kunsel's anger as it was brought back down towards the ex-SOLDIER with conviction. Mejia rolled out of the way, tumbling over the remains of the crates before the blade could reach him. He scrambled to his feet, his hand scooping up an item that had fallen to the ground.

"Give up, you're unarmed, now." Kunsel dropped the magazine from the 9mm and it fell to the ground. He kicked it off to the side, and arrogantly threw the gun in the opposite direction. "SOLDIERs don't use those things, anyway. Shows how much you never relied on your own power."

"I don't care where power comes from, as long as I have it," he said, brushing himself off. "It was enough to get Strife to blow me good, so apparently it works."

Kunsel's stomach turned, and his anger showed. He was trying to process in his head what to do. He knew if he went to check on Cloud, Mejia would either attack him, or take off. If he were to detain Mejia, he'd run the risk of not tending to Cloud fast enough if he were to be seriously injured. Of course, he could just kill the man right there, but Shin-Ra wanted the man alive. He cursed to himself. "Just keep your hands where I can see them."

"Sir, yes, sir," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He slowly obeyed, raising his arms up from his sides.

What's he up to? It was never this easy with Mejia. Kunsel watched him warily, but then glanced down to the contents of the crates on the floor. There were accessories and materia scattered about. And by the time Kunsel put that short clue together, the dim room began to glow with an intense orange light, and he soon found himself swallowed up by a massive inferno.


~*~*~
Graves had attempted to turn and leave several times, but Ratcliff would throw out any banter he had stored up in his arsenal to bait him to stay. It had worked for several minutes, but soon the man began to give shorter answers, and the weight on his legs would shift more frequently.

"So what do you plan on doing after you get revenge for Elici, yeah? You won't be able to come back to Shin-Ra."

He scoffed. "Look like I care? I got places to go, dun ya worry 'bout me."

"They'll come after you, yeah."

"Once again, dun care."

"They'll kill you."

"Are ya done?

"No." But he fell silent. His arsenal was depleted, bone dry with the feeling of helplessness. He was hanging onto the hope of being able to talk him out of leaving, but once that was whisked away by the man's stubbornness, he knew that he had nothing left. He certainly couldn't physically stop the titan.

Yet somehow, as the man turned to leave, Ratcliff found himself throwing himself against him, latching his arms around the man's broad shoulders. His feet barely touched the ground as he leaned his weight back, trying to stop him.

Graves just laughed, amused. "This is so cute. Yer tryin' to stop me."

Ratcliff growled, attempting to tug against his neck.

"Was that supposed to be a purr?"

"Graves, please! Have some sense!"

His voice suddenly changed, and the jovial tone he had been using was gone, replaced with a fierce, and obvious frustration. "No, Ratcliff, you have some fuckin' sense! Now get the fuck off me before I slam yer ass into the wall." He waited for the grip around his neck to loosen, but when it didn't, he did as promised.

Ratcliff slid to the ground, once he had been crushed between the wall and the wall of a man. He struggled to breathe, his hand going up to his chest, as if placing it there would bring air back into his lungs. He watched through watering eyes as Graves began to walk away.

He disappeared into the crowd, and Ratcliff found some sort of strength from somewhere mustering into his muscles and he managed to collect himself. He wasn't going to let Graves get away, even if it meant having the man pummel him until he was brain-dead.

He called out for him several times as he exited the alleyway. He searched frantically for the man, and he spotted him heading towards the south side of town. Ratcliff could see the row of shops on the upper level of the town come into view as he pushed through everyone around him. He cut his way through a break in the crowd and was able to finally catch up to Graves who was only just strolling through as if he were there to enjoy the sights and activities.

"Shouldn't ya be getting' back to yer post or sumthin'?"

"At least say 'bye' to Cloud, yeah."

"He's here?" This seemed to have sparked some sort of sense into him and he stopped walking.

"Yeah, he's down at the south side. By the steps."

His aura suddenly changed; he looked panicked. This caused Ratcliff to take a cautious step back at the unusual expression.

"Did I say something wrong, yeah?"

"Mejia is here."

"...What?" Ratcliff's eyes were flickering against Graves, searching his face for any sign of dishonesty. He had really hoped that this was a very sick joke. "I know that his family lives here," he said slowly, almost afraid to respond. "You don't think he'd be stupid enough to come back to his hometown, do you? Shin-Ra would look here first, Graves."

"Dun mean he ain't here."

"What are you basing this off of? It's not like you actually saw him, did you?"

"Might've."

"He has a brother, Graves. It was probably him that you saw, yeah."

"I ain't gonna risk it. Gotta find that fucker and quick." Graves started to walk again, but stopped when Ratcliff ran to stop in front of him.

"Graves!"

"Shouldn't ya be concerned 'bout Cloud with that fucker runnin' 'round?"

Ratcliff just stood there, actually managing a slightly intimidating glare.

But Graves simply growled as a rebuttal and cracked his knuckles. "If ya dun move, yer seriously not gonna walk away with the same face ya got now."

There was cluster of screams that sounded then at the south side of the town, and clamoring citizens began to run towards them in a frenzy. The two could see a flickering orange light reflecting off of the stone steps, and Ratcliff's stomach dropped.

"That's where Cloud is, yeah."

Graves took off running, and he followed.


~*~*~
The flames had erupted throughout the storage room and crawled through part of the alleyway. It had scared most of the citizens away in the surrounding area, and only left a few stragglers gawking as the fire died down quickly.

They reached the area and Ratcliff began running around and calling out for Cloud, searching to see if he had possibly escaped the small blast, or if he was trying to establish order in the panicky crowd. Yet he couldn't ignore the feeling he had that was trying to tell him that he was wasting his time, so he just followed Graves into the alleyway.

Graves ran through, stopping at the storage room, and he kicked the remains of the smoldering door to the side to enter. The wooden crates were crackling with fire, and several stacks fell into each other as the wood burned away.

And there he saw him, the man he had been searching for, lying on the ground with a sword wound in his side. And beside him lay Kunsel, the tip of his weapon dipped in the unmistakable color of blood.

"Mejia, ya mother fucker!"

The man stirred, sliding to his knees slowly. His hand went to his stomach, gripping his shallow wound without an ounce of pain in his face.

"I'm gonna kill ya for what ya did to Elici!"

"You might want to worry about Strife before you worry about me," he said, motioning to the back of the storage room as Cloud was dragging himself along the ground helplessly. His uniform was drenched in blood as well.

Graves' eyes darted from Cloud, to Mejia. Cloud collapsed back down onto the ground.

Ratcliff suddenly ran through, ignoring everyone. He kneeled down, muttering to Cloud frantically as he tugged up his trousers and began searching his shoulder for the source of the bleeding.

Cloud's head slumped off into Ratcliff's lap, but his eyes were half open and watching the entrance of the room in a daze. His mouth moved slightly, but no words came out.

Mejia took the distraction from Ratcliff and barreled past Graves into the alley.

"Fuck!" Graves turned to leave, but Ratcliff stopped him.

"What about Cloud!?" He stared at him with begging eyes.

But Graves turned, and left to follow Mejia.

"Graves!" Ratcliff began to set Cloud back down onto the ground to follow him as Kunsel began to move. He hoped that he would be able to take care of him if he were to chase after. But as he prepared himself to stand, Cloud was suddenly clinging onto his uniform and sobbing hysterically into him. "Cloud," he said, hushing him, and then cursing to himself. "It's okay, you're going to be okay."

Cloud's voice muttered something against him, and Ratcliff had to lean down to understand the incoherent words at first. It took several moments to make it out, but in the end it was only one word that he was saying repeatedly. He was calling for Zack.

I can't leave him like this. Ratcliff squeezed his eyes shut, his hands smoothing out Cloud's hair as he cried against him. I wasn't here for him.

"Haskin, can you read me?"

Ratcliff opened his eyes to see that Kunsel was up and kicking aside some flaming debris from the crates while speaking through the radio headset beneath his helmet. Ratcliff's eyes caught something metallic in the wreckage.

"3rd Class Angels Mejia, and Cadet Graves have been sighted and confronted in town. They may be heading your way at the entrance. Your orders are to intercept them and stop them at all costs. Use force if you have to."

"Sir! But Gr-" Ratcliff began.

"Here, give him to me," Kunsel cut him off angrily as he leaned down and picked Cloud up over his shoulder. Cloud just hung over motionlessly, save for his constant mumbling of Zack's name through sobs, and Kunsel carried him out into the alley. He lay him down some distance away and respectfully buttoned up his trousers for him, gritting his teeth at the memory of Mejia behind him. "Sick fuck."

Ratcliff exited a few moments later, fidgeting with his uniform blouse nervously as he stepped over the remains of the door. He hurried over and kneeled down beside them.

Kunsel's hand began to glow with a soft green hue as he gently placed it against Cloud's shoulder. "Sorry buddy, but Cura will have to do for now. Shin-Ra only gives us what they think we need," he said, trying to keep his tone calm as the boy continued to cry on the ground. "They don't think that things can escalate like this..."

"How...bad was it when you got there, sir?"

Kunsel ignored his question. "Up to the town entrance, now. Do not let either of them leave."

Ratcliff hesitated, glancing down to Cloud who was shuddering violently. "But...sir..."

"Now!"

Another moment of hesitation, but he stood and left, gripping his assault rifle in his hands.


~*~*~
The bleeding began to stop in Cloud's shoulder, and the wound on his face began to close with the magic, but he remained in a dazed state of consciousness, even as he was lifted and carried back to the Inn.

Ratcliff began tending to the bullet wound on his shoulder, and he could hear Kunsel in the next room over yelling at Zabalza and Kumpf who had apparently been too drunk and were passed out on their beds as everything occurred. His yelling had sobered them up, and he sent them back out to continue patrolling the festival, but not after threatening them with harsh punishment when they got back to Midgar.

He could hear Kunsel then talking to Haskin, who Ratcliff had to drag back as well. By the time he reached the entrance of the town, Mejia and Graves had already escaped, but took the time to injure Haskin in the process as he tried to stop them. Kunsel got to him quickly, and it looked like he had only suffered a broken elbow, and bruised pride.

"You still with me, Cloud?" Ratcliff had the boy propped up, facing him as he wrapped his shoulder in a bandage. The bullet had only grazed over his shoulder, and the wound wasn't as deep as he originally thought it was.

Cloud just moaned as a reply, his head slumped into Ratcliff's neck. He had been slipping in and out of consciousness for a while now, and Ratcliff had just wished that he would pass out so he didn't have to hear his bouts of hysteric crying he would go through when he was awake enough to comprehend what had happened as he tended to him.

Having found Cloud with his pants down could only mean one thing, and he assumed it was the worst. Mejia could do nothing less than the worst, he knew. "Okay, down you go, yeah?" He lowered him slowly down onto his back, and he stood, watching as Cloud's eyes would dart about beneath half-mast lids. Ratcliff sighed softly and wiped tears that were rolling slowly across his temples before they could disappear into his hair. "Don't cry, my friend, please."

"Zack..."

"No, I'm sorry," he whispered, wiping away a fresh pair of tears again on Cloud's face. "Not Zack. It's just...Ratcliff."

And he repeated Zack's name again, this time his voice rising in pitch, about ready to go into another fit of panic.

"Cloud, please," Ratcliff said, no longer able to keep his own composure as he found his own voice reflecting frustration. "Don't cry again, please. Calm down, it's okay now. Just get some sleep."

Zack's name was once more repeated, through sobs.

"Okay, okay," he muttered, patting his hand which was gripping the blankets tightly. He paused for a moment, pursing his lips from uncertainty. But when Cloud's breathing began to become more erratic and the tears began to flow more quickly, his mind was forced to make an awkward decision. "That's right, I'm here...Spikey."

"...Zack?" Cloud's eyes fluttered open fully, but the look in them was as if he couldn't see what was in front of him. They were lost, and foggy with pain.

"Yeah...it's...me," Ratcliff whispered and squeezed his eyes shut, ashamed.

Cloud's hand loosened its grip, and he released a quivering sigh before his head fell to the side.

"Go to sleep, okay Spikey?"

"...I...was...Angel...?"

Is that what Zack calls you, now?

Ratcliff tentatively passed his hand over Cloud's forehead, pushing back his matted bangs. He watched as his eyes released the last of his tears before they closed, and his eyebrows slowly relaxed on his face. A soft noise came from parted lips – it almost sounded content.

How...fitting.

He slowly found himself leaning down, his thumb brushing against the bruise on Cloud's cheek, tracing the contours of the swollen skin. "Goodnight, Angel," he whispered.

I'm sorry that I'm not Zack, Cloud.

Cloud mouthed Zack's name one last time, and Ratcliff could see a small tug on his lips, as if he were trying to smile.

The door to the room opened, and caused Ratcliff to jump, pulling himself away from Cloud, not having realized how close he was until the sound brought him back to his senses. Kunsel entered, cursing under his breath; he didn't seem to notice Ratcliff's awkward position.

"How is he?" he said, sitting down on the bed next to Cloud's with an aggravated sigh.

"Asleep, finally."

They fell silent for a while, just listening to the festival continue outside, and the soft breathing of the boy beside them. Neither wanted to speak the words in their mind, as one had a difficult question, and the other had a difficult answer. But the silence was finally broken as Ratcliff looked up to Kunsel, the lip he was biting between his teeth finally being released with his words.

"How far did he-"

"Oral."

Ratcliff nodded a few times, shuddering to himself.

"I guess you could say I got there in time. To stop...you know."

"Yeah."

Cloud stirred a bit, shifting against the mattress. He whimpered in pain quietly, but nothing more.

"How did you get him to calm down?" Kunsel said, looking up at Ratcliff with what could have been a look of concern.

"I...didn't." Ratcliff suddenly stood, not looking Kunsel in the eye as he moved to clean up the medical supplies scattered about. "He just did on his own, yeah."

"Zack," Kunsel started, and Ratcliff finally turned to look at him with wide eyes, "is going to kill us when he finds out."

"...Yeah." Ratcliff gritted his teeth and entered the bathroom to wash up. He could hear Kunsel standing and moving to the door again.

"Stay here with Cloud, I'm going to go out and try to get a hold of headquarters, and try and get some information on which way they went from the townspeople."

"Yes, sir."

And as quick as Kunsel came, he left.


~*~*~
After Ratcliff cleaned up the medical supplies, he poked his head back into the room to make sure Cloud was still asleep, and then decided to take a shower. He felt disgusted with himself for acting the way he did with Graves, and then for the mere thought of possibly leaving the injured Cloud to chase after that idiot. As childish as it seemed, he wanted to make things right again. He wanted Graves to come back, he wanted Cloud to be able to feel safe, and that no more harm would come to him.

But he has Zack.

Ratcliff also felt disgusted with himself for thinking that he could be the only one to bring him happiness. Zack was able to get Cloud to smile in a way that he had never seen before. The man pulled Cloud into his gravity, surrounding him in that lively aura, and it mended him; it made Cloud stronger.

And all Ratcliff could do was sit by and watch Cloud break.

After a long while of just standing idly beneath the stream, he thought he could hear sobbing through the sound of the shower, so he shut the faucet closed and listened. It was suddenly silent; nothing but the soft drops of water hitting the drain below. He groaned to himself and dressed, listening as there was a shuffling in the room, and then the sound of a body thumping up against one of the walls.

Ratcliff exited the bathroom and looked to the window where Cloud's form was slumped against the wall beneath, and huddled into himself. "You know, you don't have to stop crying just because I turned the water off, yeah," he said softly, walking over to him.

"I wasn't," he muttered, his voice heavy with the evidence of what he was denying.

"It's okay to cry, Cloud."

"I wasn't."

Ratcliff kneeled in front of him, watching as the boy curled into himself more, ducking his head down into his raised knees. "You should be resting, yeah."

"I don't want to."

"Kunsel said you were hit with Thundara. You shouldn't be moving around. Your nerves might be shot, yeah."

"I'm fine."

He sighed and sat beside him, then frowned when Cloud flinched. "Sorry, I can move, ye-"

"It's fine."

Another sigh, and a nervous hand reached out and patted Cloud's knee. "You know...you can uh...talk to me." He smiled awkwardly, but warmly. "I've...been through it, yeah."

He just shook his head, and Ratcliff could see through the faint light filtering through from the festival that there were tears rolling down his face once more. "Hey, c'mon, Cloud..." he said as he reached up to brush them away.

Cloud suddenly smacked his hand away angrily. "You lied to me."

Ratcliff was stunned. He knew exactly what he was talking about, and it was as all the excuses in the world flooded into his head at once, yet nothing but stammering came from his mouth. "I...never...I...Cloud, no, I-"

"Graves was there."

Ratcliff let his head drop back to hit the wall, and he stared up at the ceiling for a bit as they sat there uncomfortably silent in each other's presence. He wanted to think that he hadn't really lied to Cloud, as he just told him that he didn't know where the man was. And he honestly didn't know, but no amount of rationalizing it would take away from the fact that it truly was a lie behind all of the excuses.

"I'm sorry, Cloud, I just-"

"Save it, Ratcliff."

"...Yeah."

They fell silent again, and Cloud had tried to move away, but his coordination was clumsy, as if his body was confused about how to move. He groaned quietly, trying to mask his pain from the man who sat only a few inches beside him, but his strength was depleting. He slumped up against Ratcliff's shoulder unwillingly.

"I just wanted to protect you, Cloud," Ratcliff finally said, after Cloud's groans turned into soft breathing.

"It's hard to protect someone with lies," was the final thing that Cloud had muttered before he fell asleep.

Ratcliff turned his head into Cloud's after a few minutes, and he pressed his lips together nervously. He could feel his heartbeat matching the rhythm of the boy's breathing against his shoulder, and he slowly reached up across his chest, brushing a few strands of hair away from Cloud's face. He found himself leaning towards him, and his lips relaxed, and parted. He watched as Cloud seemed to nuzzle into him, or perhaps he was just trying to shift positions as he slept. But Ratcliff stopped himself and pulled away, once more letting his head hit the wall. His heartbeat no longer matched.

"It's hard, Cloud...but it can be done."

Ratcliff was tired, but the sound of Cloud crying in his sleep kept him awake throughout most of the night.


~*~*~
Kunsel flipped his phone closed, glancing over to Cloud who was propped up against the side of a building lifelessly. They all stood about silently, waiting for the truck to arrive. Everyone looked exhausted. Kumpf and Zabalza were suffering from obvious hangovers, Haskin an injured arm, Kunsel from being out most of the night trying to get information, and Ratcliff for watching over Cloud and listening to his bouts of hysteria.

And now the boy had his head dipped down to his chest, his eyes fluttering between being open and closed, with a mind that was going between being conscious and unconscious. He managed to snag a few hours of sleep during the night, between his crying and constant muttering of Zack's name, but he was now unresponsive to anyone who would speak to him, even while awake. They just figured he'd talk when he was ready, or conscious enough to.

The truck finally arrived after a while of uncomfortable silence between everyone, and they began to pile in. Ratcliff helped Cloud stand, who tried doing it on his own but only managed to stumble, and he set him down against the side of the trailer. He sat beside him and had to hang onto him as the truck began its journey through the plains. The boy just groaned to himself and pressed his head into the side of the trailer.

Everyone just sat and watched quietly. After a while, Cloud began to nod off, and he fell against Ratcliff's shoulder.

"So...like," Zabalza started softly, motioning over to Cloud, "what happened?"

"It doesn't concern you," was Kunsel's quick reply. He was already planning their punishment in his head, regretting all of the paperwork that would need to be filed, and fearing having to tell Zack what happened to his friend that Kunsel swore to watch over, all at once. "The only thing you should be concerned with right now is how you'll fair up when we get back to Midgar."

"Yes, sir."

"That goes for you two as well, Kumpf and Ratcliff."

They both nodded silently, and Ratcliff hung his head, ashamed. He knew he was in for some sort of punishment for having left his post, and having left his radio behind. He regretted it, and that was punishment enough for him. If he had only kept it on as he was chasing after Graves, he would have heard Kunsel calling for backup and Cloud might not have been in this bad of shape.

And he feared for his life for when Zack would find out. But whatever the SOLDIER might say or do, he knew he would deserve it. He would gladly take any repercussions from his actions, and his lack of actions, in this case. Nothing that would happen to him would compare to what Cloud had gone through.

The truck hit a bump in the dirt road, and caused Cloud's body to fall against him once more. The boy's head lay against his neck, and he could feel that his skin was hot with fever. Cloud murmured Zack's name into his ear.

"Don't worry, yeah. You'll see him soon," he muttered back, his voice being drowned out to the others by the noise of the truck. "He'll take care of you, Cloud. I promise."

Tears began to form in Ratcliff's eyes as he listened to the boy rambling the SOLDIER's name repeatedly through the rest of the ride back to Midgar. Ratcliff tried to talk to him quietly to comfort, he tried to soothe him with rubbing his back or his knee as he moaned in pain, but there wasn't anything he could say or do that could replace Zack's comfort for Cloud.


~*~*~
Kunsel stood before Tseng and Lazard, trying to control the facial expression his emotions attempted to make on his face, but he managed to keep it relatively stoic. Even as they told him...no – ordered him to stay quiet about it.

The Briefing Room fell silent then as the men stopped talking and looked as if they awaited Kunsel to just simply turn and leave. How could he just walk out after hearing something like that?

"Excuse me?" Lazard said, looking up from the computer screen he sat in front of.

Kunsel wasn't aware that he had actually spoke that thought aloud. He looked to Tseng who had a slightly less insulted expression.

"M-my apologies, Director," Kunsel said, nervously. Zack's bad traits were rubbing off on him, and he was surprised with himself that he had muttered that for them to hear. He usually had control over his tongue, but after hearing that...

Tseng glanced over to Lazard and held up a hand dismissively as he looked like he was about to reprimand Kunsel for his outburst, no matter how quietly it was said.

"I'll handle it." Tseng walked past Kunsel, motioning for him to follow.

They exited the Briefing Room with a hiss of the glass door, and they walked to the large window on the SOLDIER floor. A few other SOLDIERs that were nearby had enough brains to sense that the conversation was not meant for them to hear, so they walked off. Usually when a Turk – let alone it being Tseng – was nearby, it usually meant something serious.

"Sir, if I may speak?"

Tseng nodded, staring out at the window, watching the green haze of fumes rise from one of the Mako Reactors on the outskirts of the city.

"He will find out about this."

"Your orders were not to speculate. Your orders are simply to not inform 1st Class Zack Fair of the incidents in Kalm. That is all."

"But Cl-...Cadet Strife will surely say something to him about it. They are friends, after all."

"Cadet Strife will be debriefed thoroughly in the matter after his discharge from the infirmary."

"But Zack – he'll wonder where he is, and when he finds out that he's in the infirmary, he'll start asking questions."

"You and Cadet Ratcliff are to keep the matter to yourself, and that is all."

"But...why?" He couldn't even begin to wrap his brain around the purpose of keeping something like this away from Zack.

Tseng gave him an interested look, borderline shock, as if Kunsel should already know the answer. "As you are aware, we have recently lost two of our 1st Class SOLDIERs."

"Yes, sir," was all he responded with. He didn't want to say something that would let Tseng know that he knew more information than he probably should have. Knowing so much sometimes backfired, and he would forget what he was supposed to know, and what he shouldn't know, and mix the two up. He relaxed a bit when Tseng continued to speak without waiting for him to answer his statement any further.

"And as you are aware, 1st Class Zack Fair can be a bit..." He trailed off, thinking of the proper term for the rather spontaneous and thick-headed man. "...Zealous about certain things. He has showed some interest in making contact with Angels Mejia, and we fear that he might take drastic actions if he were to find out about this incident. We cannot afford to lose another 1st Class."

"...I understand."

"We will ensure that the matter is dealt with as efficient as possible to minimize loss to the company, and this includes following through with your orders."

"Yes, sir."

"That is all."

Kunsel saluted him and turned stiffly on his heels. He immediately pulled out his cellphone and flipped it open as he rounded a corner. There was no way that he was going to follow this order. Zack was his friend before anything else. He thumbed the buttons until the messaging program opened, and he began to type.

"Oh, and Kunsel."

Kunsel stopped, slowly returning the phone back to his pocket as he turned. He felt his heart beating heavy in his chest, and realized that Tseng had followed him. "Sir?"

"We'll be monitoring you until after this investigation is over. And that includes your phone."

Kunsel could no longer control his facial expressions, and Tseng seemed to smirk at his obvious discontent.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~
...To be continued in Chapter Twenty-Two: Run-Around.