As
the chocobo disappeared from sight, Sephiroth, Reno, Barret and Wedge scanned
the area around
them. Heading in a panic towards a small coppice, they were blasted by the
down-draught of the
helicopter blades. The four men reached the cover of the trees just in time,
as the helicopter alighted.
Two men stepped out, Tseng and Rude of the Turks, closely followed by a stooped,
shuffling figure.
As it moved forward into the light, its face was revealed. Sephiroth crouched
lower, growling under his
breath "Professor Hojo." Rude and Tseng stood on the grass, hands
shielding their eyes from the sun.
"No, sir. It's no use, they've escaped." Tseng saluted, turning
to face Hojo. Rude also turned, about to
speak, but was interrupted by a diminutive woman with short blonde hair "Sir!
There is absolutely no
sign of the Ancient, the Jenova Project Specimen, the three rebels, Specimen
Red XIII, or our fellow
Turk, anywhere." Hojo frowned, then ignored her, staring out into the
distance. "I do not care about
the rebels, or your Turk, or even Specimen Red XIII, I just want the Ancient
and Specimen 01." He
turned, climbing back up onto the helicopter, and paused. Looking over his
shoulder, he said, menacingly,
yet loudly enough to be heard by the men hiding in the trees, "Bring
them to me, and make it soon." There
was an unspoken 'or else' following his words, and the three Turks watched
the Professor warily, like
startled deer, as he entered the helicopter. Rude lowered his sunglasses and
gave the female Turk a long,
hard glare before walking into the helicopter. Tseng turned to her once Rude
had gone, "Elena, you must
stop getting so excited. You'll give our organisation a bad name." He
watched Elena's shoulders slump as
she hung her head, and with a muttered apology, she scrambled into the helicopter.
Tseng
stared out across the plains once he was sure the others were all inside the
machine. "I know you're
out there", he called, softly, but so his voice travelled to the fugitives.
"I admire your ingenuity in escaping,
which is why I'm letting you go this time. It would be a shame to spoil such
a marvellous escape plan so
early on, but it is only a matter of time before I am forced to rope you in.
I suggest you do everything you
can to keep Aeris away from us." Without another word, the dark-haired
man swung himself into the
helicopter. For a few minutes, the four men had to flatten themselves to the
ground in order to prevent
them from being blown away by the down-draught as the helicopter took off
and soared away, the
throbbing of its blades fading into nothing with the distance.
On
to part THREE of Chapter 9!
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