Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 1: Arrival

TWENTY-ONE

Later that night, the six of us crouched behind the wall outside the Shinra warehouse. Jessie and I were in our normal gear again, Buster in its usual place on my back. Lena was wearing a short-sleeved gray top, black shorts with a matching leather belt, gloves that went nearly to her elbows, and a pair of sturdy, knee-high brown boots. At her hip hung a loaded handgun similar to the one Biggs used.

Barret pointed along the wall, showing the way Jessie and I were to go, and we both nodded. Exchanging a determined glance, we hurried quietly away from the others and around the perimeter of the complex. A few minutes later, we reached the other side of the warehouse. There was a back entrance here along with some loading bays. The place was, as Jessie had said, huge. A storage facility located near the boundary in between Sectors 7 and 6. Also known as the 7-6 Annex.

No one was outside except for a pair of bored Shinra guards. They never even saw us coming. Jessie winked, tossed another smoke bomb to mask our approach, and darted in. I followed her, drawing Buster as I ran. We moved quickly and quietly, taking down the stunned soldiers before they even knew what was happening.

By the time the smoke had cleared away, it was over and the guards lay unconscious on the ground. While I dragged them out of sight and swiped a few potions from their pockets, Jessie moved to the middle of the enclosed area, took a flare out of her belt, lit it, and sent it shooting up into the gloomy night sky. It was a streak of bright, white fumes that the others would clearly see from the front of the warehouse. Satisfied, Jessie met me at the back door.

She took out a Shinra ID card and swiped it through the reader by the lock. There was a beep, and the light fixed above the nearby keypad changed from red to yellow as a message scrolled across a small screen next to the keypad, asking for an authorization code. Jessie punched in a long sequence of numbers and letters, and when she was done, there was another chime as the light finally turned green and the door hissed open. I glanced her as she put the card away.

"How'd you know?" I asked.

Jessie's laugh was more sad than funny. "My employee access code. It still works after all these years. You'd think Shinra would've erased it or deactivated it by now, but they haven't. That's bureaucracy for ya. It's come in handy for me quite a few times."

I didn't doubt it. "Think they'll ever catch on?"

"Dunno. Probably, sooner or later. So I take advantage of it while I still can, you know? All mid-level and higher Shinra employees get one of these codes to let them enter certain places around the city. Like the reactors, warehouses, and different floors in the Shinra Building itself. The higher up you are, the more places you can go."

"And how high were you?" I wondered.

Jessie looked away. "Pretty high..."

I wasn't surprised. To get into a place like this, she probably had to have been. Before we could talk more about it, though, we both looked up as the sounds of battle—shouts, explosions, weapons fire—suddenly filled the air. It was coming from the front of the warehouse, where the others were keeping the Shinra forces occupied.

"That's our cue," Jessie whispered, drawing her gun.

I met her determined gaze. "Ready?"

She grinned. "You bet, SOLDIER boy. Let's get this done."

The entrance to the warehouse stood open in front of us. We could see a short but brightly-lit hall with other doors on either side and also one at the far end. Far overhead, the moon was full, its pale light filling the area with its soft glow. Buster in hand, I took one last look around, then followed Jessie into the 7-6 Annex.