The executive meeting that Rufus Shinra called the morning after the President's death had a somber mood to it. After expressing his personal grief to the distraught execs, Rufus informed those gathered that he was making the capture of the his father's killer top priority.
       "From the evidence we have gathered thus far, it appears that the killer was after some information contained within the Company's databases. He accessed some old archaeological files concerning an artifact that was recorded as being in Nibelheim. This particular database hadn't been updated in over a year, so it's likely the information he acquired is out of date. The Science and Weapons Development departments constantly move their respective artifact stores. At this point, the exact location of the item is moot. We know what he wants and where he's headed. Therefore, I have arranged with Heidegger to send a regiment of Shinra's finest to Nibelheim to intercept the killer."
       Reeve got to his feet. "Not to be rude, Mr. President, but are you nuts?"
       The other executives murmured between themselves as Rufus, brows pinched, replied, "You object, Reeve?"
       "You don't know what this guy is capable of," Reeve continued. "First-Class SOLDIERs wouldn't last five minutes against him. I'm sure you've all heard about what happened to those troops in the West Stairwell…"
       Heidegger shook his head, knowing full well what Reeve was talking about. "I understand your concerns Reeve, but as it stands, we don't have much of a choice. We can't send mecha… Nibelheim's terrain is too tough for such machines."
        "Well, what about the Turks?" Reeve countered. "I'm sure we can put the Neo-Midgar project on hold long enough to find the President's murderer. The Ancient isn't going anywhere."
       A pensive silence fell across the room. All of the executives knew that Neo-Midgar was the pet project of Reeve and the recently departed President Shinra, and most of them knew of Rufus' disdain for the project.
       Rufus raised an eyebrow. "You mean you'd be willing to set your little folly aside?"
       "For the moment, yes. I do realize that this is more important," Reeve replied, a new edge to his voice.
       Scarlet added, "You know, the Turks would be the best-equipped outfit for this sort of mission…" Palmer nodded in agreement.
       Rufus leaned back in his chair. Obviously the opinion of the room was swaying in favor of Reeve. "Very well," he said after a moment's deliberation. "I will send Tseng, Reno, and Rude to Nibelheim first thing tomorrow. If all goes well, they should arrive there sometime in the evening. Now for the next item on the agenda…"

*****

       The dimly-lit apartment smelled of mold and old cigarettes. The walls were a dark green that looked faded and dull when the morning light passed into the room from its only window. Dravven sat on a table looking out into the Sector Six slums. Wall Market was a busy place even in the morning. People were rushing about, hopelessly unaware that they were being watched. Dravven observed as a young man beckoned people to try the Korean barbeque at the local diner while a dress maker swept the entrance to his shop.
       Dravven turned from the window and stepped over a body laying on the floor. After Dravven had dealt with the Shinra President, he descended back into the slums in order to take care of business. Part of that was finding a place to rest. His powers were still developing and he could feel himself getting stronger; however, he had been weakened by the battle the night before. And he had not forgotten the man who challenged him on the roof. He felt something was different about him, and even though Dravven had sent him on the same path as the President, he doubted that he was dead.
       Dravven opened the door and stepped out into a dark, grimy hallway. In a few moments he was on the streets and walking amongst the people of Wall Market. All around him, they shouted to each other about this and that. Some were selling clothes, others were trying to bring people in to look at odd knickknacks or accessories. Striding over a drunk who had been passed out since the early hours of the day, Dravven peered over behind a diner where three children were playing with a mangy dog. The children all had short cropped red hair and the smallest wore a grayish blue dress. It was faded and the hem had come undone on the left side.
       Dravven peered at them as the dog turned and ran out around in front of the diner and down the street. The children with their chirping laughter chased after it, their hands in the air. Dravven pondered how he saw little difference in the condition of the mangy dog and that of the children. Both seemed to be on the brink of life, yet oblivious to their condition. These creatures do this to themselves, he thought. They step on each other and claw past one another, all of them trying to get to the top. His eyes roamed to the the plate above, it's pipes a blend of rust and gray iron.
       He continued walking through Wall Market. Up ahead of him he saw the faint glow of neon lights. That was his destination. His thoughts went back to the human creatures. Yes, they were wiling to crush each other to get ahead. He was fully aware of this, and he knew it was something he could use to his advantage.

*****

       "Nibelheim, huh."
       "Yes. That's where Rufus believes he's headed. Promise me you'll be careful."
       "Of course. After seeing what he's capable of, I know that I must be on my guard."
       "Right. This is no ordinary assassin you and your men will be up against. I'm not sure he's even… human."

       Silence.

       "Michael…"
       "Yes?"
       "The man in the red cloak, who, as you have told me, came to your aid last night… who do you think he is?"
       "I'm not sure… He knew Gerhard in some capacity, or at least knew of him. Somehow, he also knew about what happened to the crystal…"
       "Do you think he knows something about the man who killed the President?"
       "He did give me that impression… He seems to know more about what's going on than either of us do."
       "Perhaps I'll run into him in Nibelheim. Get some answers from him."
       "I… don't think that'll happen. Just a gut feeling I have."
       "Why is that?"
       "I think he's specifically interested in me…"

       Another silence.

       "…Damnit, not like that."
       Changing the subject. "You look frustrated."
       "It's because I'll be stuck here. I really wish I could join you guys tomorrow. There's something about all of this that bugs me…"
       "I… think I know what you mean."
       "By the way, I don't think I've told you yet, but I'm going to see Aeris later this afternoon. The man in the red cloak mentioned the Ancients on our last meeting…"
       "Hmm."
       "Listen. If you need me for anything--"
       "--I will contact you. Michael, please don't worry so much. We'll be fine."
       "I know… but--"
       "Besides, it's not like you can just jump on the Highwind and fly to Nibelheim if we have need of you."
       A glint of orange caught the light as he twisted the armlet on his wrist.
       "True, but there are more efficient modes of transportation…"

*****

       The Honeybee Inn. It was a spotlight in the usually dark slums. Several armed guards stood before the entrance. Men of all ages loitered around the place; some looked as if they had been there since the night before. Dravven glanced around for what he needed. It was never too hard to find vice. People always had a price and a way to push them. Dravven needed one such person now.
       He knew that he alone would fulfill his parents request, but he also needed eyes and ears in the places he was not. This is where he would come in. Off to the side he saw a guard leading two bums into the alley behind the Honeybee Inn. Dravven followed them and watched as the bums paid the man some gil to peep into the building.
       "Making ends meet, officer?" Dravven quipped. He was sitting on a pile of rubbish; an old stove served as his back rest.
       "None of your damn business, bud," was his smug reply.
       "True, true." Dravven jumped off the pile and sauntered over to the guard. "However, if you wanted to, I could make more than just your ends meet."
       The man cocked his head and peered at Dravven. The tall man merely returned a small smile.
       "What's the deal, mister?"
       "Simple. I see that you are employed for Shinra, Inc. Well I have some business to attend to and I will need someone to serve as my inside agent. Someone who can tell me what Shinra is up to."
       "Heh. And what makes you think I can do that? I'm just a guard here." The man shook his head and started to walk away, only to be stopped by Dravven grabbing his arm.
       "Do you have any Materia on you?" Dravven asked.
       "What does that have to--"
       "Give it to me."
       The man shook his head and pulled out a small green orb. "Its just a Level 1 Ice," the man said as he handed it over.
       Dravven took it into his hand and closed his eyes. In a few moments the man knew something was going on. There was no sound or anything to see but he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. When Dravven opened his hand the once green Materia was now red.
       "This is Shiva. Or rather a very small part of her. It should get you a good sum of gil," Dravven said as he handed the Materia back to the guard.
       The man stared at it, then back at the man in front of him. He quickly put the Materia into his pocket and swallowed hard. "What do I have to do?" he asked eagerly.
       "You seem like a man who knows…" Dravven started, searching for the right words. "…You seem like the type of man who knows people… People who can find out information that I want. I want to know when Shinra is moving any military or paramilitary units."
       "'Para-military'? You mean the Turks? Shit man, nobody but the President knows what they do, and he's dead."
       "Is he now?" Dravven smiled. "Anyway I want you to find out anything you can on where Shinra is sending its forces and contact me on this. Dravven handed him a strip of paper with a number on it. The number was to a PHS cell phone that he had taken from the now cold body in the apartment.
       "What is your name again?" The man asked as he put the number into his own PHS.
       "Dravven."
       "The name's Jeff Cluny."
       "Well, don't forget Mr. Cluny, if you do good enough I can give you even better gifts."
       With that, Dravven walked away from Cluny and the Honeybee Inn, and was soon high in the air, outside of Midgar.

*****

       Reeve found Aeris in her usual location: the abandoned church in the Sector Five slums. Even though his footsteps echoed off the old wooden floor, she kept on tending to her flowers, not once turning around to see who her visitor was. He stopped directly behind her.
       "Hello, Aeris."
       "Hello, Reeve. I've been expecting you."
       What? Reeve thought, taken aback by her foreknowledge.
       Aeris stood up, brushing her skirt with her hands. "I had a feeling you would come here today," she said as she turned to face the executive. "That's all."
       "Yes, well… I just have to ask you a few questions."
       "What about?"
       "I'm sure you've heard about the incident that occurred at the Shinra Building yesterday."
       "Only from rumors I've picked up in the slums. I don't trust the Shinra-owned media to tell the truth."
       Reeve sat down on the nearest pew and invited her to join him. "I will admit that there was some glossing over done in the papers. I'll tell you what really happened."
       Aeris sat next to Reeve and listened as the executive recounted the dark man's intrusion into the Shinra Building, his summoning attacks, his trip to the Corporate Library, the death of President Shinra, and the battle on the helipad.
       "Well, that is certainly some story," the flower girl said once Reeve finished describing the previous night's events. "I see some of the rumors are not entirely exaggerated."
       "Now… does what I've told you remind you of anything?"
       "What do you mean?"
       "There's a lot that I don't understand. I was hoping, as the last Cetra, that you would know something that I don't."
       Aeris furrowed her brows and concentrated. As she did so, she caught a small glimpse of Gerhard's necklace out of the corner of her eye; a few of the chain's Mythrill links were peeking out from Reeve's shirt collar.
       "What's that thing around your neck?"
       "Huh? You mean this?" Reeve replied, pulling the chain out from beneath his shirt.
       "Wow," Aeris gasped. "I don't believe it. And it looks just like I imagined it would."
       Reeve's eyes widened. "You mean you know of this necklace?"
       "Of course. When I was little, my mother often told me the story of the great spearman Gerhard who helped the Cetra in a great battle. The necklace that he wore is a lot like that one, though as I remember, it contained a crystal as well."
       "Wait a minute… did you say Gerhard?"
       "Yes. My mother once told me that Gerhard's battle is an old Cetran tale."
       Reeve's head was reeling. There was more to this than he previously suspected. He looked Aeris in the eye.
       "When I was a Turk, I worked under Eric Gerhard. He was the one who gave me this necklace… said it had been in his family for generations," he replied, consciously leaving out any details about the crystal.
       Aeris nodded. "So the tale has some truth to it?"
       Reeve didn't answer. So, Gerhard was descended from some race of spearmen? And they had dealings with the Ancients? Where was all of this leading? He glanced at his watch and was shocked to see that he was running late. He stood up.
       "Aeris, I have to get back to the office. I'd like to continue our conversation another time, if that's possible. Maybe then you can tell me that tale of yours."
       The flower girl nodded. "Just as long as you promise me that you and your men won't try to capture me any more."
       Reeve lowered his head in concentration. Finally, he muttered, "I promise, but I don't know if I'll be able to keep it."
       He looked up. "I want to, though. I could really use your assistance."
       Aeris nodded cautiously, then bent down to examine her flowers. Neither of them said goodbye to the other as Reeve left the church.

---

Completed May 2003 | Copyright 2003, Dravven and Reeve.

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