FFVII: Gaian Hymn

R.1.2

"Who were they?" Cloud asks, shaking rain from his damp spikes.

Reeve is ringing out his own jacket in the bathroom of the W.R.O. headquarters, a disgruntled look on his face. He waves Cloud after him, out into the hall and then into his private office. He hands Cloud a towl, taking a second to dry his neck, his dark hair shot with grey and curling against the nape of his neck. Cloud doesn't bother to ask why reeve has towels in his office; the man has always been prepared for just about anything since he took over as the head of the W.R.O. He also knows Reeve will answer his question once he's made himself comfortable and has had time to get his thoughts in order; the man is methodical to a fault.

Reeve sighs as he sinks inot his desk chair, an uncharacteristic weariness briefly revealed on his face for just a moment before he fortifies himself. "It never really ends, does it?" he asks rhetorically with a touch of rancor before he's back to his usual genial self. "Renegades," Reeve says succinctly in answer to Cloud's question. "Our newest extremist group, one of many, but so far the most fanatical and the most deadly."

"What about the other three?" Cloud asks.

Reeve's eyebrows shoot up a fraction. "The gunner and their two associates," Cloud clarifies.

"Ah," Reeve says. He seems to be considering how to answer. "They're just a trio of vigilantes from Edge. They haven't been a problem so far; they're just a couple of people playing at righteous heroes. They've never caused any problems, mostly stick to the rougher areas of Edge, playing good samaritans, stopping muggers, the like."

Cloud raises one eyebrow slowly. "Good samaritans with impeccable military training?"

"Can't put one past you, can I?" Reeve asks with a rueful smile. "Yes, their marksman is.. Particularly well trained," he hedges. "They haven't been causing the WRO any problems so we've been content to let them be. But, yes, they all have ex-military level training."

"The marksman shot a grenade out of the sky," Cloud reminds Reeve with his blank tone in place. "I haven't seen anyone except Vincent shoot like that."

"Me either," Reeve admits. "We are keeping watch on the trio, but right now they're only intriguing whereas the Renegades are rapidly becoming a threat."

Cloud lets Reeve steer the conversation back to the topic at hand, although a small part of his brain keeps replaying the fight in his mind. He's been around a lot of warrior and military personnel in his life but he's never quite seen something like that small marksman, shooting with that kind of accuracy and moving with that kind of agility. They hadn't hesitated after hitting their target, running across rooftops with a feline grace. Reeve is right that the Renegades are the bigger threat, but years of fighting has taught him there is never just one story thread to follow.

"So what are they after?" Cloud asks, folding his arms. "Have they made demands or waxed poetic about Jenova?"

Reeve sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face. "We're not sure what their endgame is yet, but lately they've been raiding medical facilities and weapons depots which is more than a little worrying. The professor from the Memetics lab postulated that the stolen supplies would likely help the Renegades mimic Shinra experimental techniques, possibly focused on mako grafting based on the amount of stabilizers they've been stealing from emergency medical clinics.

Cloud knows the professor Reeve is talking about, a nondescript man in his forties who was one of the hostages they'd debriefed after the attack. The professor leads a research group within the new Memetics department, focused on studying the possibility of genetically coded memories. Cloud had let Reeve handle the conversation once the professor had started using the kind of scientific lab jargon that reminded him uncomfortably of the past. The man had been enthusiastic and effusive about his research but cagier about the other hostages identities', something that now strikes Cloud as odd.