Final Fantasy VII: Black Gold

The young SOLDIER waved, but frowned to himself. He just realized he wasn't old enough to drink (and secretly wondered how old Zack was), but that was something he could play off later. For the moment, now that Zack was gone off to train (and he had just finished training), he had nothing to do. "Wish I could check out the SOLDIER training room..." He muttered as he turned around and started walking.

Legas' mind was filled with thoughts. The girl was part of AVALANCHE? That means she has information. That means he has the potential to get that information. That means that Shinra has the potential to get that information. That means that he has the potential for a big paycheck. That means...that he'd have to apprehend this pretty girl, ruin his chances with her and with the other girl, make a scene, and possibly be banned from the bar. Ah, what should I do? He kept his face calm as he looked straight ahead and put his glass to his lips while holding his cigar in the other hand. "Just sayin' it don't seem like a smart idea to be spitting out AVALANCHE's name in Midgar, the HQ of Shinra. That's assuming, of course, that a pretty little thing like yourself is part of that group?" And he finally gave the girl a good look, tilting his head so his shades fell ever so slightly to reveal the one green eye looking at her.

 

Aveline swallowed; she had only heard rumors of AVALANCHE from work; being second class SOLDIER, she wasn't privy to lots of information about rebellions, but she knew this was serious.

She glanced over at the tatooed woman next to her, her eyes more scrutinizing now, really taking in her appearance; if Caleigh really was part of that ridiculous group, her father's orders immediately rang into her head, clear as a bell: crush the opposition; Shinra keeps everything the way it should be: positive... the people, the politics, the income, the jobs... people like AVALANCHE want to destroy how perfect Shinra and SOLDIER made this city. Aveline felt her anger rise at the memory of her father's words; she did not really know if she felt the same way, but right now it sounded right. It made sense the way things were, and people like Caleigh sure as hell weren't going to ruin it.

She glanced over at the man in the suit, and her breath caught in her throat at the look he was giving the woman next to her; he knew a lot, and that look confirmed her suspicion: he was a Turk... and a powerful one at that. They were on the same side, to a certain extent, but... she was breaking rules, too. Dammit, she swore silently. Where do I belong here? Aveline's hands moved off her empty beer glass and down to the sides of her shorts where her sharpest knives were hidden at the top of her knee-high boots. Whatever either of them will do, I'm ready...

 

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you," Caleigh replied smoothly, drawing a cigarette from her box and twirling it between her fingers. "I only dream of being a part of that group." She sighed dreamily. "No, I don't have the courage to do the things they do." And it wasn't a complete lie. Her role in AVALANCHE was mainly to be a safe house for the others and only get involved in fights when absolutely necessary. She returned Legas' glance completely. "I take it you don't like AVALANCHE?"

 

"Oh, well, don't you be gettin' my hopes up like that again, beautiful," Legas said in a disappointed tone as he winked at her. He turned his head back around to stare at the shelves of alcohol. Damn it, why'd I say that? He asked himself. It was like his mouth was acting on the plan he had yet to fully form. "I've been lookin' for AVALANCHE," he said in a whisper. "If you dream of joinin' them, surely," he paused to finish his drink and continued after swallowing, "You must know of at least a...rumor or somethin' of the sort. Somethin' to get me at them?"

 

"I know a thing or two," Caleigh started, her composure cool but her brain rapidly trying to work something out. Then she continued, "How are you going to make it worth my while?" This was finally her chance. The only people who were looking for AVALANCHE either wanted to join the group or wanted to end the group, and this guy certainly seemed like he wanted AVALANCHE gone. He had to be a Turk. She didn't take the time to glance around the bar but she knew there was a fair amount of people lounging about. If a scene was caused here, there'd be witnesses -- but was that a good thing or a bad thing for her?

-------

Rae's eyes opened. She hadn't rolled in the bed, dreamed, or even slept. She started ahead blankly, her stomach gurgling. A shallow inhale and rough exhale passed her lips as she debated on whether to get out of the bed or not. Barret had walked her to the bed and she'd needed ever bit of his help. There wasn't much of a chance of her making it to the kitchen without him or Caleigh to help her. So to distract her thoughts from food, she changed her focus to all the questions that had risen before. Why had Barret and Caleigh been so shocked when she'd told them she was from Kalm? Was that memory of explosions and talk of Mako real? How had she heard Barret and Caleigh have the same conversation twice? Why did she feel so run down and weightless?
"Caleigh...?" Rae's voice cracked. She felt dimly scared and wanted the woman back in the room with her.

 

With a frown, Legas replied solemnly, "Well, I ain't got nothin' much to offer, save for my gratitude," he said, winking at the girl, and emphasized the last word. "I could offer my paycheck, though it ain't much. Well, I guess I could offer a pretty little thing like you somethin' else," he said. Before continuing, he waved to the bartender and pointed to his empty glass. Getting a nod in return, he turned back to the girl. "And I don't mean nothin' provocative by that. Unless of course, you'd be interested?" He raised an eyebrow, but kept going, "You give me information and I'll give you information. Assumin' that that you'll admit to that little fib about not bein' part of AVALANCHE. Otherwise, this information'd be useless to you."


"Guess I could stop by that church and see...nah, I'll do that later," Reno muttered as he walked through the streets of Sector 5. He had enough information on the general area of where he was to search for who he was looking for, but the information was old. She may be somewhere else. Savvy to the way information moved, Reno started to walk to the first type of a place that would have it: bars.

 

Give her information? Not likely that was going to happen. Admit to being a member of the force that wanted to crush Shinra? That'd earn her a one-way ticket to death row. No, there had to be some way out of this. But Caleigh liked to play dangerously. After all, when would she get another chance like this? She put the cigarette she'd been twirling back in its box and gave her full attention to the Turk. "Answer my questions first, stranger, and I'll answer yours."

 

Aveline clenched her teeth, looking between the two during their tight conversation. Third class SOLDIER or not, she knew her limits, and their was no way she could possibly imagine taking down a Turk in a busy bar. Caleigh, on the other hand, might be someone she could handle, especially if she flashed her Shinra title around for crowd control. Her father would be so proud of her, maybe even pull some strings to get her into second class, if she made such a discovery as an AVALANCHE member.

She was intrigued by their conversation, yes, and wanted to hear the Turk's response, of course, but this wasn't what she was here for: when Aveline had mentioned Sephiroth, Caleigh had tensed and obviously had something about him. She couldn't read the Turk well enough to tell if he knew anything, but right now all she needed was a tip, something that could lead her in the right direction. If I could just speak with him, she thought, her hands balling into fists. I could tell him how I feel, what I want, and how I could achieve it... this is the only way I'll be able to make any difference... I just need a push in the right direction...

 

Legas frowned a bit. He still hadn't finished the plan in his mind, but it looked like he was going to have to put it into motion anyway. "Well, ya' pushed my hand. Ya see, I'm a former Turk," he said it in a whisper, but leaned over, just to make sure she could hear. "As a previous occupation, I can't say it keeps me up to date with their current workins' and such, nor about their employers, ya know, Shinra. But what I do know how they operate. And I know a decent amount about...things and other things." He looked up to see the bartender placing down a full glass in front of him. The former Turk-turned Shinra freelancer nodded his thanks and turned back to the woman. "I never wanted to be a Turk, mind you, it was just the...most advantageous road to take at the moment. I want to be on the other end of Shinra, and AVALANCHE could help." He realized it was all a gamble. The girl may not know anything. But it was still a chance. "Legas Storm's the name," he said as he held out a gloved hand for her to shake, "and the pleasure is all mine."

 

"Give me some time to talk to the people in charge of AVALANCHE and see what I can do for you," Caleigh took Legas' extended hand and shook it. Fuhito and Shears would be surely be happy to accept another member into AVALANCHE. The group was only about twenty strong at the moment. She grabbed a napkin and a pen from over the counter; she wrote the address of her safe house on the napkin and handed it to Legas. "Go to the place written there later tonight. I should have an answer for you by then." Now she needed to see if she could get anything about Rae. "Now I have a question for you. What do you know about what happened to Kalm four years ago?"

 

Legas dropped his sunglasses again, revealing his bright green eyes, and winked a thanks as he grabbed the paper. He stuffed it into his sleeve before asking Caleigh, "Anythin' else you'll have for me tonight? I still need to show ya my gratitude, after all." He took a sip of his new drink and answered her question, "Kalm? Nothin' in particular, sweetie, but rumor in 'Turkville' is it had somethin' to do with the Turk leader. A man named Vel-" He stopped, realizing he shouldn't give too much information at first (and unsure if leader of the Turks was public information or not). Needing an excuse to stop talking to Caleigh for a moment, he found one when he realized something. The other girl, the one that had asked for a cigarette and a light earlier, had remained quiet and Legas had forgotten she was there. He scowled himself for forgetting his black ops training, but assured himself that his absence from the battlefield was a legitimate excuse. He flashed a look over at her. He noticed her short, pale hair. From his days as a Turk, he knew that a bar was the place to get information. Not that this fact wasn't common sense or anything, but Turks would always go to a bar first for information and not always in their uniform. He didn't suspect her to be a Turk, but he wondered what she overheard and what she thought. Legas had two principles in life: 1. Suspicious until proven innocent and 2. Pretty until proven otherwise. "So, prettiful," he said, ignoring Caleigh for a moment, "You look like you could use a friend." He winked, his favorite habit, though it went unnoticed beneath his shades.

"Green Dragon it is~" Reno mused as he reached the door. Not his favorite bar, but it was the closest. He only needed a little information. If someone had seen a strange girl, he could close in, do a little scouting, report to Veld (or most likely Tseng who would then report to Veld), and go take a nap. "Come on...information!" He said as he walked through the door.

 

Aveline blinked once, turning slowly to face the Turk. What's he playing at? she thought quickly. He's smarter than he looks, Ave... he must have heard me say Sephiroth, and all details of first class SOLDIER members are classified Shinra information she did not have clearance to access...

Her heart was racing in her chest, but she swallowed and straightened her back. She tilted her head back slightly, her eyes slowly running over him from foot to head. "Always," she replied smoothly. "But... now that I look at you... I don't think you're my type."

Lightning made her way back toward the training floor of Shinra headquarters. Not having a direct assignment at the moment was making her fingers itch; she needed an objective, something to keep her busy, and right now she was in an even worse mood than usual because of her lack of destination.

She spotted Zack emerging from one of the SOLDIER training rooms; hell, the kid was hard to miss. She shook her head, swallowing a smile. Yes, she found him extremely annoying, but she saw his potential, and she knew it was greater than anyone else she knew. Except that new kid... the infantryman that Zack was friends with... he gave her an odd feeling as well.

"Hey," she snapped harshly when she came up behind him, landing a sharp right jab to Zack's shoulder blade. "Are you ready or what? I'm thirsty. And... is that little friend of yours tagging along? Cloud?"

 

"Well, that sure is a shame, I'm disappointed to say. Ya sure I can't convince you otherwise?" Legas asked with a suggestive voice. "I promise I won't disappoint. I just wanna get to know a pretty, blue eyed girl like yourself as much as I-" Then it him. He was too focused with Caleigh to have noticed the other girl's eyes. It wasn't that her eyes were blue, it was that they glowed blue. "SOLDIER," he whispered. "You're SOLDIER." And now it was too late. She had heard his and Caleigh's entire conversation. If she knows who I am, my cover's as good as gone! If she doesn't, then she thinks a former Turk is betrayin' Shinra and I'm on the company's bad side! He silently panicked. She wasn't wearing uniform, could she be First Class? No, he didn't see a weapon on her. Maybe she was off duty. As he wondered what she would do, now that he outed her as SOLDIER and she had heard the entire AVALANCHE conversation, he heard the door chime as someone walked in. Not daring to take his eyes off of the girl, he folded his fingers slowly, inserting them into his sleeve in order to retrieve something as his body tensed.

Reno's footsteps were the only sound in the bar as he walked in, despite there being a good number of people there. "Geez, is this tension in the air?" He joked as he stopped walking. He looked towards the bar and imediately noticed Aveline. Not that she knew him or that she knew him personally, but as was meant to be up-to-date on all SOLDIER files, as were all Turks (though only the higher level ones were absolutely required to know this). Realizing she was off duty, he looked at the suit next to her. It was the same black suit the spiky-haired red head wore. "Hey now," he smiled, recognizing Legas Storm. "The Legendary Death God of the Battlefield himself," he mused to himself as he took a step towards the bar.

 

Aveline tensed, but exhaled quickly, relaxing her muscles and her heartbeat as well as she could. The man's sudden change of body language was obvious to her, but she knew how to stay light on her feet; with her weapons being so small, this was an ideal battleground for her, if it came to that.

"Guess I need a pair of glasses like yours, huh?" she replied softly. He knows he's stuck; and if he hasn't attacked yet, then I've still got a chance to get something out of him... or Caleigh, for that matter, before things explode... Aveline reached her hand down to her boot, pulling one of her smaller daggers out of its protective sheath. Underneath the cover of the bar, she slowly trailed the sharp blade up the side of the Turk's thigh, careful not to cut his fine dress pants. She let the tip of the knife finally rest just above his hip bone.

"Don't worry," she whispered, tilting her head a little bit closer to his. "I'm sure you'd like to get out of here right about now... and I'll let you go and not say another word... if you do one thing for me."

 

Legas stayed tense as he felt the dagger on his leg. It was under the counter so he was sure no one else could see it. In fact, it probably looked like Aveline was doing something else to his lower area, something he would have preferred much more than threatening him. Now where did she keep a blade like this? He felt his fingertips touch something hard and metal in his sleeve and almost sighed, but restrained himself. He was very cautious and suspicious of her statement. A girl who happened to be SOLDIER overhearing a former Turk making plans with a member of AVALANCHE and she would let him go? He doubted it, but he played along. "If it pleases ya, I could surely direct ya to the store from which I got these," he said in a low voice, referring to his sunglasses. "Now what is this thing you wish me to do?" His eyes glanced to the door and he saw the newcomer. Another Turk. His red hair gave him away: Reno, ranked third among the Turks. This sure ain't turnin' out the way I originally had hoped.

Reno saw Aveline lean forward and stick her hand near the man's pelvis beneath the counter. "Oh, you dirty dog," he said, grinning at the naughty thing he saw happening. "Didn't think she was that type of girl," he chuckled to himself as he walked over and sat down at a table. While the trio couldn't see him directly, especially Aveline who's back was to him, he had a good view of them. He'd let them finish their 'business' before he talked to them about his mission.

 

Aveline held back for a moment, thinking about what she should say next; her father's idea was what to do clear as day in her head, almost blinding: heading directly back to Shinra, with this peculiar man apprehended (if possible) along with the information Caleigh had given him would surely be enough to get her up a rank... or two.

But she stopped that thought immediately; that's not how SOLDIER worked. She would most likely (because of being a woman and lacking 2nd or 1st class skill) get a pat on the back and be dismissed. Besides, she could senes, either from sitting so close to this man or just by intuition, that he was much more powerful than he let on. And she knew enough about men to not be fooled by his flirty behavior and nonchalant attitude.

Stick to your plan, Ave; you know what you want and he might know something. If not, put the knife back, give him a little kiss, and walk out before something else goes wrong... and don't come back to this bar for a while.

Aveline took a deep breath, leaning as close as she could to the man. Obviously shorter than him, her lips almost brushed the bottom of his neck as she spoke: "Tell me everything you know about first class SOLDIER Sephiroth."

 

Caleigh's hands had formed fists the second she'd seen Aveline's knife. She had no weapons on her person, unless you counted a lighter and cigarettes as weapons. She was about to put the SOLDIER into a choke hold, when she realized Legas had something up his sleeve -- literally. She poised herself so that she could intervene if she needed to, but she was also interested in what Legas' response would be to Aveline's demand for information on Sephiroth. That information would be very useful to AVALANCHE. If she could relay it to Shears or Fuhito, they might be able to adjust their plans for the future.

 

"Sephiroth?" Legas asked in surprise. She had mentioned being interested in the SOLDIER earlier, but he had brushed it off. Behind his dark shades, he looked to see Reno eyeing them. He let out a sigh and decided it was time to put his plan into full swing. "Well, the man is legend among SOLDIER as I was among the Turks, but that's about all I know, miss," his fingers were now almost entirely around the object in his sleeve. He moved as slow as possible so that she wouldn't notice the movement. "However, that man over there can help you. He's the Turk assigned to...supervise Sephiroth," he pointed over her shoulder to Reno with his other hand, doing so slowly so she wasn't startled by any sudden movement.

"Who, me?" Reno said, looking around to see who else was near him. Realizing that Legas had indeed pointed to him, he wondered what he was talking about with Aveline. "I don't need that kind of favor right now, man," Reno blushed to himself.