Don't Play With Fire (Turks FFVII)

XXVI) Assisting Avalanche

"Oh gods, why me?" I groan, stomach lurching as I clutch the toilet bowl and vomit for the second time today. I'm gonna be late. But, I can't ditch Reeve in this effort. If I do, he's screwed.

I drag myself to my feet, brush my teeth, and hurry out the door. The hotel staff nod as I walk past, eyeing me curiously. I flew out to Junon last night under the pretense that I will be here if extra security is needed. I hurry across the town to the section of Junon that Shinra inhabits, slipping inside the research facility when a polite young soldier holds the door for me. Reeve left me an earpiece on his desk yesterday, so I press the button to turn it on, hearing a tune ding into my ear when it connects.

"Hello? Kat?"

"Yeah?" I mutter, standing alone in the stairwell.

"Good. I need you to head to Hojo's lab."

"You disabled the cameras?"

"They're disabled as long as the guard's asleep."

"Reeve, they can watch the footage back!" I hiss, looking around sharply to see if anyone can hear me.

"They're off, Kat. When he wakes up, he'll turn them back on."

"Why didn't you just say that to begin with?"

Rolling my eyes, I climb higher until I reach the door to Hojo's lab, taking a deep breath to my nerves. Feverish, I shudder. Bet Reno gave me this crap.

"There's a man that leaves at eight-thirty every morning."

I check my watch. Two minutes. Huffing, I shake my head. Close call, Reeve. Could've warned me we'd be on a tight schedule. I press my back to the wall, sticking to the shadows of the dim stairwell. Sure enough, just as the clock hits eight-thirty, a soldier steps through the sliding door and hurries down the stairs. I dash through the opening, keeping my head low. Hurrying through the large, dark hallways, I follow the directions Reeve gave me last night. The door he mentioned is slightly ajar, but when I poke my head in, no one's there. This can't be right. Something paces in a large cage, followed by a bright, flickering light. They left him unguarded?

"Hey," I whisper, hurrying into the room. The creature looks up. "You're Red, right?"

"Yes." His golden eye flickers up and down, sizing me up. "And you're a Turk."

"Yeah, well, not right now." I pull my gun out of my pocket, checking to see if my makeshift silencer is secure before firing at the lock. The door of the cage creaks open. Red pokes his head out, his large nose quivering. He frowns up at me, enormous paws hitting the tile floor softly.

"I remember you. You locked us up."

"And?" I tuck my gun back into my waistband, nervous.

"How can I trust you?"

"I just broke you out," I scoff. "Your friend inside sent me."

"Is our friend your authority?"

"Well, no. But he's a friend of mine, too." When he doesn't follow me to the door, I roll my eyes. "Look, cat. I can't stand around waiting. My career is on the line, Tifa and Barret are up for execution, and I've gotta get Cid's sorry butt out of a prison cell. Sound good?"

"I'm not a cat," he mutters, padding past me and stepping into the hallway.

"Fine."

"There should be a back entrance to the hangar. Go down the elevator and exit there."

"Won't people notice?" I ask, crossing my arms. Red frowns back at me, but I ignore him.

"You're taking another prisoner to the Highwind for transport."