While in the Seventh Heaven bar, Alex and Dean silently watched Barret, who had sunk into deep thought after Tifa's story. Even after listening to all the arguments, Barret was not about to trust the uninvited guests so easily, even if they had brought a folder with precious compromising material. Years of such a dangerous life had repeatedly proven to him that one cannot trust unverified people, no matter what good intentions they declared. And toward those who called themselves former SOLDIER, he had zero trust at all.
Reasoning about how best to proceed, Barret frowned, and a moment later he still nodded to Tifa, acknowledging that extra help for the upcoming operation would definitely not hurt them. However, first he intended to talk with Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie to make a final decision. Tifa smiled warmly — she was sincerely glad that Barret had not arranged his usual rampage, but had calmly sat down and listened to everything to the end.
Noticing that their conversation had come to an end, Alex lightly stroked Aerith on the shoulder to wake her. A second later her eyelids slightly fluttered, and Aerith slowly opened her eyes. Sweetly yawning, she began looking around in confusion and immediately fixed her gaze on the frowning Barret.
Slightly batting her eyelashes, Aerith couldn't hold back the question of what exactly she had managed to sleep through and why the atmosphere around was like this. Hearing her whisper, Alex smiled and leaned closer, briefly retelling everything that had happened. Having listened to him, Aerith slowly nodded with an important air, pretending that she had fully grasped the essence.
"You said you needed a place to stay the night? Come on, I'll show you a place where you can rest properly," Tifa said with a smile, approaching their table.
"Hope there are at least two rooms, because crowding three in one is a real pleasure," Dean responded with a chuckle, rising from the chair and picking up their heavy bags.
"Yes, I think two rooms can be found. The manager of that inn is a good acquaintance of mine… In any case, if anything, we'll figure something out on the spot," Tifa replied with a warm smile, heading toward the exit of the bar.
Looking at Tifa, Alex only shrugged, picked up the remaining bags, and took the cardboard box of chocolates from Aerith so she wouldn't have to carry the weight. Leaving the bar after Tifa, Alex exited last and nodded slightly to Barret in farewell. To his surprise, the latter responded with an equally short nod.
Despite the deeply rooted distrust of outsiders, Barret still intuitively felt that for the time being this trio could be trusted. Shaking his head, he decided to temporarily let the situation go and see what it would all lead to. However, in the worst-case scenario he was ready without hesitation to kill anyone who would put those he considered his family in danger.
Rising from the chair, Barret headed to the second floor of the bar to spend a little time with Marlene, who in his opinion was a real cute little angel illuminating his life in this terrible place.
Meanwhile Alex, Dean, and Aerith followed Tifa, who was leading them to the local boarding house. Walking a little ahead, Tifa slightly slowed her step, thinking that she should apologize for Barret's impulsive behavior, who instead of a calm conversation had immediately started swinging his fist and machine gun.
"Listen… Don't blame Barret. He's just… Well, he is who he is," Tifa said with a strained smile, turning her head and looking over her shoulder at the trio behind her.
"And why should I blame him? This big guy wasn't going to fight with me, but with him," Dean responded with a sincere chuckle, poking his finger at Alex walking nearby.
"Ha-ha-ha! I understand. Hope you're not offended, Alex?" Tifa said with a slight chuckle, shifting her gaze to Alex.
"Nope! In his place I would have done exactly the same if some asshole was circling around my little princess. I would already be chasing that bastard to the other end of the city! So I sincerely respect such behavior. Umu!" Alex replied with a laugh, raising his index finger instructively and nodding wisely.
"Unfortunately, something similar has already happened in the past… And Barret completely lost it back then," Tifa sighed with a strained smile, remembering that unpleasant incident.
"That means it's another excellent reason to make friends with this old man!" Alex said with a wide smile, nodding his head joyfully.
Aerith and Tifa sincerely laughed at Alex's words, deciding that he had joked about the chase with a stick to the other end of the city. Dean, however, did not laugh — he knew perfectly well that this was not a joke at all. And what the Dean was one hundred percent sure of was that in Alex's hands at that moment there would have been something far more dangerous than some stick.
Looking at the laughing girls, Alex only shrugged and continued walking unhurriedly after them. While they made their way to the boarding house through the streets of the Seventh Sector, Alex was increasingly overcome by déjà vu. In such moments it seemed to him as if he had simply returned to his native places where he had not been for a very long time. Dean was also carefully looking around, because they were going to live here in the coming days, and he wanted to know what was where.
Noticing the guys' sincere interest, Tifa began along the way telling where the main shops and workshops were if they suddenly needed to replenish supplies. Listening to her, Alex nodded politely, however to himself he had already decided that serious purchases he would make on the upper levels of the Plate.
Or, in extreme cases, turn to Leslie so that he would place an order through the Black Market. Showing a couple more useful spots, Tifa headed further and soon pointed to a two-story house nearby. Raising their gazes to the two-story building, Alex and Dean could not help but note that the boarding house looked quite decent and well-kept compared to most of the local buildings.
"We're almost there. This boarding house is run by one elderly lady. Despite a slightly rough character toward strangers, she is an incredibly kind woman who helped me a great deal in the past. So please be polite with her," Tifa asked with a warm smile, continuing to lead Alex, Dean, and Aerith after her.
"Why do I have such a feeling that whenever we run into a place like this, it's always run by some rough old lady? This is some suspicious coincidence," Dean said thoughtfully, drawing level with Alex.
"Well, coincidences happen… The main thing is that we'll have a normal roof over our heads, and the rest is trifles. It's not the first time we're staying in places like this," Alex responded in a carefree tone, also noting this comical rule of life.
Alex and Dean slightly laughed at such a coincidence — they had never had the habit of arguing with old ladies who provided them with temporary housing. Besides, Alex knew perfectly well that Marle was actually an excellent woman who had more than once helped Tifa's group, providing them not only with shelter but also timely assistance. Approaching the boarding house, Tifa first of all looked at the second floor, wanting to check whether her friend had woken up.
Noticing that the door to Claudia's room was still locked, Tifa decided that she was still sleeping off after yesterday's events. Alex and Aerith also raised their gazes to the second floor, knowing perfectly well who lived there. Alex was already mentally building grandiose plans: how to swap Claudia's famous Buster Sword from her to replenish his weapon collection with this legendary blade. Slightly chuckling to himself, Alex sorted through options of what he could offer in exchange, not even suspecting that the one living on the second floor was not called Cloud at all, but Claudia with her memory gaps.
And while Alex was building plans for someone else's weapon, Tifa approached Marle's door and quietly knocked, hoping that the old lady was already on her feet. A couple of minutes later shuffling steps sounded behind the door, and then the lock clicked. When the door swung open, an elderly woman in a gray robe over a gray dress appeared on the threshold.
Her gray hair was styled in a hairstyle that strikingly resembled a kitchen broom. Seeing the boarding house's landlady, Dean involuntarily thought that this was exactly how classical witches from children's cartoons that played on TV looked. Slightly elbowing Alex, Dean simply could not leave such a spectacle without his signature commentary. Hearing Dean's whisper, Alex with great difficulty restrained a fit of laughter, although his lips treacherously trembled.
"Tifa! My dear, beloved girl! What brings you to me so early in the morning?" Marle exclaimed in an enthusiastic tone, giving Tifa an incredibly warm, loving smile.
"Sorry for coming at such an hour, Marle. Hope I didn't wake you?" Tifa said with a smile, folding her hands behind her back and looking at the old lady with slight concern.
"Oh, dear! I've told you a hundred times that you can come at any time! Did something happen with you? Maybe you need me to sit with Marlene? Did Barret take off somewhere again? Or didn't even bother to return?" Marle began softly, carefully taking Tifa by the hand, but immediately started grumbling at the mere mention of Barret.
"Ah, no-no, Marlene is fine… And Barret just returned, right now he's spending time with his daughter. I simply came to ask if you have two free rooms. For them," Tifa replied, shaking her head, and pointed at Alex, Dean, and Aerith standing a little behind.
"Hmm… And who are these yet?" Marle hummed, measuring the trio behind Tifa with a strict gaze.
Meeting Marle's gaze, Alex and Dean nodded slightly, and Aerith sincerely and cute waved her hand. Lingering her gaze on the good-natured girl, Marle smiled warmly and turned to Tifa, wanting to learn the details of their appearance. Tifa saw no reason to hide anything and quickly explained the situation in which her new acquaintances found themselves: the guys and Aerith had problems with Shinra, and they needed somewhere to temporarily lie low.
Hearing that the three guests had problems with the corporation, Marle only sighed heavily, not at all surprised by this. Shaking her head, Marle returned to her room and a moment later came out with two keys to rooms on the second floor. Seeing that Marle was ready to give them shelter, Tifa joyfully smiled and impulsively hugged the old lady.
The latter immediately broke into a kind grandmotherly smile and affectionately patted Tifa on the back. Slightly hugging Tifa in return, Marle turned to the trio and, before handing over the keys, read the rules in a strict tone — especially demanding not to disturb the other residents.
"Thank you, ma'am. We won't create problems for anyone, I promise," Alex said, taking the keys and unzipping the bag to pay.
"Don't call me 'ma'am'! I'm not that old. You can just call me Marle, boy," Marle declared, straightening up with a light smile, demonstrating with her whole appearance that it was too early to write her down as an old woman.
"I'll keep that in mind… Here's the payment for the lodging. Consider this an advance for possible future damage compensation," Alex replied, lowering an impressive thick pack of Gil onto Marle's dry palm.
"This is insanely much… And who did you three rob to be carrying such sums with you?" Marle muttered, staring in amazement at the money in her hand, after which she raised a suspicious gaze at Alex.
"Don Corneo…" Tifa quietly whispered right into Marle's ear.
"You cleaned out that wretched fatso who was harassing my dear girl?! Hope you thoroughly beat him up before taking this money?" Marle spat on the floor, expressing with her whole appearance deep disgust toward Don Corneo.
"Yeah, thoroughly! We even counted the steps on the stairs with his carcass a couple of times," Dean added with a smirk, lazily throwing his arms behind his head.
"What wonderful news first thing in the morning! And now stop hanging around my threshold, go up to your rooms and settle in. If you need anything — you know where to find me. That's it, shoo from here!" Marle joyfully beamed, after which she instantly switched to the mode of a grumbling landlady and began seeing the guests upstairs.
Looking at how Marle again started habitually grumbling, Tifa quietly laughed and with a wave of her hand called Alex, Dean, and Aerith to follow her. Climbing the iron steps to the second floor, Tifa pointed to the first door. Taking one of the obtained keys from his pocket, Alex unlocked the lock and looked inside.
Despite the modest size, the room looked neat and had everything necessary — from a separate shower corner to a wide bed. The only downside was that there was only one sleeping place in the room. But Alex was not the least bit worried about this — he had his own proven ways to arrange the softest and most comfortable night's rest for himself in any conditions.
Looking into the room, Dean thought that they had again returned to those times when they had to live in cheap motels, even if at that moment their bags were filled to the brim with money. Aerith looked into the room with interest and immediately slipped under Alex's arm to enter inside and look around better.
"It's a bit empty here, but everything most needed for rest is available. And this is really an excellent place to temporarily lie low from Shinra's bloodhounds," Tifa said with a smile, leaning her shoulder against the doorframe.
"Hmm… And I like it! And if you put a mattress on the floor, someone else can easily lie down here," Aerith beamed, curiously examining their new refuge.
"How about… no? This room is completely yours. Dean and I will settle in the neighboring one," Alex said, confidently placing the key into Aerith's palm.
"Hey! You're actually my bodyguard and are obliged to protect me! So you could well sleep on the floor, mister," Aerith slightly narrowed her eyes and insistently poked her little finger right into Alex's chest.
"Some other time. And for now settle in and rest… Besides, to put a mattress on the floor, that very mattress needs to be obtained somewhere first. Or were you expecting me to lie down right with you?" Alex responded with a chuckle, playfully flicking Aerith on the tip of the nose.
"And what, that's also an excellent option… I completely agree," Aerith said with a thoughtful look, putting an elegant finger to her lips and looking at the only bed in the room with a sly smile.
Shaking his head, Alex carefully patted Aerith on the crown and left the room together with Dean, leaving the pouting, like a hamster, Cetra hugging the box of chocolates. Approaching the neighboring door, Alex inserted the key into the keyhole and unlocked the lock. The moment the door swung open, Dean stepped inside first and with a swing dumped the bags onto the little table. Tifa remained standing in the corridor, anxiously glancing at the adjacent room where her friend was sleeping off.
She doubted: whether she should check how she was feeling, or better give her a little more rest. Alex meanwhile could only sigh heavily, assessing the Spartan conditions of their temporary refuge. Only Dean didn't care at all: he instantly occupied the only bed and collapsed to doze, completely not paying attention to Alex.
Looking at Dean sprawled on the bed, Alex only shook his head, thinking that it wouldn't hurt him to take a little walk and examine the surroundings. Opening one of the bags, Alex counted out several packs of Gil for small expenses, after which he securely hid the bags with money and Materia under the bed. Leaving the room, Alex slammed the door behind himself and turned to Tifa, who was still thoughtfully hypnotizing the neighboring door.
"Our neighbor — someone of your close friends?" Alex inquired, lighting a cigarette and leaning on the metal railings of the balcony.
"You could say that. More than five years have passed since our last meeting… And when we met again, it turned out to be far from such a joyful reunion as I imagined for myself," Tifa replied with a heavy sigh, leaning on the railings and looking at the bustling streets of the Slums below.
"Five years is not a small term. In such time people are capable of changing beyond recognition," Alex noted in a calm tone, turning to Tifa and exhaling cigarette smoke upward.
"Indeed… Five years is a very long time. No wonder that over these years she has become completely different," Tifa said thoughtfully, raising her gaze to the huge steel Plate towering over their heads.
"She?! This is… your friend?" Alex asked again, experiencing such wild shock from what he heard that he almost dropped the cigarette from his mouth.
"Yes. She, like you and your friend, is an ex-SOLDIER. She never really talked about what she went through… I just know that she had to endure a lot. And I sincerely hope that with time she will get better," Tifa replied in a heavy tone full of sympathy, completely not noticing how Alex's face stretched and changed.
Tifa continued to share her worries about Claudia's condition, while a real short circuit was occurring in Alex's head. Tifa herself didn't really understand why she had suddenly decided to pour out her soul to a guy she had met only a couple of hours ago. Probably she just wanted to talk to someone who was close to her in age and could understand her anxieties.
Alex himself could only slowly nod, taking a drag on the cigarette and trying with all his strength to digest what he had heard. At that moment it finally dawned on him that little Marlene had not erred at all and had not mumbled with her mouth full of chocolate, and she had pronounced Claudia's name absolutely correctly. The second insane thought that flashed in his mind was the suspicion: hadn't the transformation of Cloud into Claudia become a consequence of the fact that he personally finished off the Big Gray Whisper, thereby causing a small local shift in the timeline.
However, Alex quickly tried to brush off this theory, considering that he would definitely have noticed such global changes in reality. However, he still was not going to completely exclude such a scenario. And while Alex was feverishly guessing about the reasons why "He" had suddenly become "Her," and Tifa continued to share her worries about her friend's condition, the door of the neighboring room quietly clicked and swung open.
A young girl with spiky golden hair and piercing-bright green eyes came out onto the balcony. On her was a black high-collared tank top that tightly hugged her chest and covered part of her neck. She had metal shoulder pads on straps and loose black military pants. But the most noticeable detail of her appearance remained the massive Buster Sword resting on mounts behind her back. Seeing Claudia in person, Alex was no less surprised than when he first heard that she was Claudia and not Cloud. Tifa, upon seeing her friend, instantly beamed and jumped closer.
"Good morning, Claudia! How did you sleep? Did anything bother you?" Tifa asked with a warm smile, examining her friend from all sides.
"Normal. In the past I've had to sleep in far worse conditions…" Claudia replied in a cool tone and immediately latched her gaze onto Alex.
"Ah yes, allow me to introduce your new neighbor. This is Alex, he, like you, is an ex-SOLDIER. Maybe you even crossed paths in the past. There are two more with him, but they seem to still be sleeping," Tifa quickly said, noticing Claudia's frowning and suspicious gaze.
"Ex… SOLDIER?.. Agh!.." Claudia barely squeezed out when another sharp attack of headache immediately bent her.
Once again Claudia had a heaviest attack of headache. Before her eyes scraps of memories feverishly flashed that she was unable to make sense of. Even through the brain-burning pain she desperately tried to grab onto these pictures — they seemed completely alien to her, but at the same time felt like her own. Noticing that her friend had suddenly become ill, Tifa barely managed to catch Claudia before she collapsed onto the wooden floor of the balcony.
Alex, slightly frowning, silently watched this scene. He knew perfectly well into what mush Claudia's brains had actually turned after all those experiments she had endured. Seeing how she was suffering, Alex understood: Claudia was trying to extract from her false memories at least one hint about him, about their possible meeting or a casual mention of his name in the past.
Not wanting to force her to suffer more and try to remember what had never been, Alex stepped forward to help. But the moment he took a step, Claudia painfully frowned: through the veil of pain she saw before her not Alex at all. In his place arose a completely different personality — the one who was supposed to have died five years ago in Nibelheim.
Piercing green vertical pupils were looking at Claudia point-blank, and a familiar mocking smirk was playing on the pale face. Slowly moving his lips, the phantom through the ringing in Claudia's ears distinctly pronounced only one word: "Reunion." Still writhing in convulsions, Claudia suddenly felt a soft, warm touch to her forehead.
In that same instant the phantom of the past dissolved, the wild headache sharply retreated, and the exhausted Claudia for a brief moment closed her eyes, immersing herself in saving peace. Seeing that Claudia had become better, Alex sighed heavily and removed his palm from her forehead. Tifa also exhaled — she had not at all expected that her friend would again have such a strong attack.
"Hey, Chick, are you okay? Maybe you should still see a doctor?" Alex asked with a light smile, trying to defuse the tense atmosphere.
"No need… What did you do?!" Claudia immediately waved it off, slightly pushing Tifa's hand away and straightening up in front of Alex.
"I didn't do anything at all… Just put my hand on your forehead. Sometimes it helps cope with an attack during PTSD," Alex responded in a carefree tone, as if he really had not done anything unusual.
"I don't have any PTSD…" Claudia cut off in a dry tone, measuring Alex with a heavy gaze.
"Uh-huh. Just like I have absolutely no addiction to sweets… In general, an excellent first acquaintance it turned out, Chick. This I definitely won't forget," Alex drawled in a lazy tone, reaching into his pocket for another cigarette.
"I'm not 'Chick'…" Claudia hissed through her teeth, continuing to incinerate Alex with her gaze.
"Alright, enough, Claudia. You need to rest and eat properly. Come on, I'll better feed you," Tifa intervened in time and quickly led her friend after herself down the stairs before she managed to do something foolish.
Feeling Tifa's hand on her wrist, Claudia didn't even think of resisting while she was being led away. However, she still continued to intently drill Alex with her gaze, desperately trying to understand how he had managed to suppress the next attack of headache so quickly. But instead of an answer she only saw how Alex winked and with a cheerful smile waved after her.
In that same instant Claudia officially entered Alex into the category of the most irritating guys she had ever met and with a frowning hum turned away. The moment Tifa led Claudia downstairs, the smile instantly disappeared from Alex's face. Leaning his elbows on the metal railings, Alex wearily ran his palm over his forehead. When he touched Claudia's head, he felt on his own skin how badly everything was neglected there.
And his previous thoughts that the girl had "mush" in her head were too soft an understatement — in reality the situation turned out to be far more deplorable. Alex could not help but be amazed that it was a real miracle: Claudia still had not developed a full-fledged split personality or, even worse, had not turned into a will-less vegetable tied to a wheelchair.
Lighting another cigarette, Alex slightly tapped his finger on the railings. According to his observations, Claudia's current deplorable condition was connected not at all with the destructive effect of Jenova's cells, but with the fact that the Lifestream itself was supporting her existence with all its strength — even if glued together like a mirror smashed to smithereens.
And what struck Alex the most was that inside Claudia Jenova's cells were practically completely absent. Although by all laws everything should have been exactly the opposite. Taking another deep drag of cigarette smoke, Alex sighed heavily, feverishly trying to make sense of what was happening.
"And what the hell is going on here?… Did killing that Big Gray Fart really skew everything so much?" Alex muttered in a heavy tone, again rubbing his temples and marveling at how massively the details of the reality familiar to him were beginning to diverge.
At that moment Alex sincerely did not understand what the hell was happening around, and such uncertainty he disliked terribly — to such a degree that he wanted to slam his head with full force against something solid. Sighing heavily once again, the Alex took a final drag and decided for now to throw the reflections about the world order out of his head.
It was far more reasonable to focus on the original plan and solve incoming problems as they appeared. Finishing the cigarette and extinguishing the butt on the metal railings, Alex decided to take a walk. Approaching his room, he slightly opened the door and looked inside — from the premises the carefree, rolling snore of Dean immediately sounded.
Deciding not to disturb the sleeping Dean, Alex quietly closed the door and stepped to Aerith's room. Listening to the sounds behind the door, he understood that the Cetra had also managed to sweetly fall asleep. Realizing that the entire company was sleeping like the dead, Alex decided to go for a walk alone. Running his hands through his hair backward, Alex descended the steps and headed toward the center of the Seventh Sector. Thoughtfully reflecting on further steps, Alex raised his gaze to the gigantic Plate hanging over the Slums, and an excellent plan immediately matured in his head.
Slightly smirking, Alex turned into a dead-end alley hidden from others' eyes. The moment he took a step into the shadow, his figure instantly dissolved into the air. In the next instant Alex was already standing on the top of the Plate, not far from a lively shopping center. Squatting on the roof of a high-rise building, he watched with interest the people scurrying below and the bright neon signs. Everything that opened to his gaze painfully reminded him of the atmosphere of Night City, which even sincerely amused him.
"Somewhat resembles Night City… Only the scale is a bit smaller. Hmmm… And where in this corporate dump is the nearest terminal?" Alex muttered thoughtfully, stroking his chin and scanning with his gaze the people walking the streets below.
Watching the passersby below, Alex unhurriedly reasoned where an accessible terminal for connection could be found. Wandering his gaze over the lively streets and shop windows of open stores, Alex shifted his gaze to the monumental building of the Shopping Center, into which residents of the Upper City continuously entered and exited in a stream.
Slightly narrowing his eyes, Alex considered that inside the Shopping Center he was guaranteed to find a couple of open terminals to which he would manage to gain unnoticed access. Rising from his haunches, he walked with a lazy step along the edge of the roof. Reaching the very precipice, Alex, without stopping, took a step and immediately rushed downward.
Softly landing in an empty alley, Alex tugged at the edges of his clothes. The fabric instantly transformed, changing into a strict, insanely expensive-looking black suit with a charcoal shirt and a scarlet tie. Adjusting his slicked-back hair, Alex put on his face a barely noticeable secular smile and unhurriedly exited the alley, along the way taking elegant pocket watches from the pocket of his jacket.
Checking the time, which was already approaching ten in the morning, Alex reasoned that he had approximately a couple of hours for entertainment at his disposal. Calmly putting the watches back into the pocket, Alex lit a cigarette and with an unhurried step headed toward the main entrance of the shopping center.
Thanks to the impeccably tailored suit Alex absolutely did not stand out from the crowd of Upper City inhabitants, and for those around he looked at least like an influential corporate employee of Shinra in a high position.
Standing at the traffic light waiting for the green signal to cross the road to the Shopping Center, Alex quietly hummed along to the melody playing in his headphones. Noticing that the passersby had started moving, he unhurriedly stepped forward together with everyone. Approaching the large Shopping Center, Alex entered inside and immediately began looking around in search of a suitable access point.
Spotting a small jam of people near the information terminal, Alex approached closer and stood in line, along the way examining the interior of the Shopping Center. Looking around, Alex could not help but note: no matter what world the city belonged to and at what stage of technological progress it was, Shopping Centers remain absolutely the same everywhere.
Dozens of bright stores lined up in neat rows, noisy food courts, and a bunch of other attributes of consumer paradise. And perhaps the only unique exception of Midgar was that instead of banal weapons or gadgets, multicolored Materia was fully displayed in the windows of the local shops.
While Alex was indulging in these uncomplicated observations, his turn to the terminal came. Not wasting precious seconds, he took a phone from the inner pocket of his jacket and with a barely noticeable movement connected the cable to the service port.
"Well then, kid, let's see what you're capable of showing me. Just don't tell anyone what we're doing here with you. This will be our little secret," Alex quietly joked, instantly hacking the terminal's protection and gaining full, unrestricted access to it.
Having gained access to the system, Alex first of all disconnected the phone from the terminal and unhurriedly stepped aside. Sitting down on a free bench so as not to attract extra attention to himself, he began deftly tapping on the smartphone screen. First of all Alex engaged in creating impeccable false identities for himself and Dean, officially registering them in the database as well-to-do residents of the Upper City from the elite First Sector.
Spending a couple of minutes on processing the documents, Alex with a smirk moved to the next stage — namely to the legal opportunity to spoil the lives of Reno and Rude for the fact that these two idiots only figured out to back off the second time. Hacking the virtual accounts of the pair of Turks, Alex quietly whistled in surprise upon seeing the solid sums on the operatives' balances.
Stroking his chin, Alex without hesitation transferred a substantial part of their savings to his newly created account. Considering that this catch was a bit small, Alex decided at the same time to rob Tseng as well — purely for prevention, even if the head of the Turks had not even appeared on the horizon yet.
Looking at how rapidly his virtual account was replenishing with brand-new Gil, Alex satisfiedly stroked his chin and rose from the bench to continue the stroll through the shopping center. After all, now in his hands was the key to all of Shinra's systems, allowing at any moment to take control of absolutely any electronics in the city, which would definitely come in handy for him more than once in the future.
"Perhaps I shouldn't forget to buy some tasty food for dinner… After all, Reno and Rude are treating today! Heh-heh-heh," Alex muttered, chuckling to himself and being in a simply wonderful mood.
To be continued...
(Here comes Claudia, aka the fake ex-SOLDIER. Yeah, I can now officially blame all this nonsense on the death of the mega Gray Fart. Nah, why the fuck did he even show up? Damn bastard, he ruined Alex and Dean's perfectly normal first day in the new world. Okay, so we continue introducing the characters, after which we'll move on to the explosion of the first Mako reactor. And then, there's more. I'm going to go eat. Peace, love, and heh, Alex now rules Midgar.)
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