Don't Play With Fire (Turks FFVII)

XLII) Losers, Weepers

Months pass by as quickly as the days used to. I can only keep track by trying to catch a glimpse of light in the center of the cave and by watching my belly begin to grow. Kilmister doesn't approve of me sleeping on the ground, but I told him I prefer the hard ground to the bruising springs of the mattress. In reality, I figured Rufus wouldn't want to share and stayed at his feet like a loyal dog, gritting and bearing the pain. Once Rufus gets his cast removed from his foot, Kilmister comes to hand him a cut piece of pipe.

"A walking stick so you can stop leaning on the girl. Her leg's not healing well under that pressure. I found this somewhere in the Shinra Building."

"What's the situation in Midgar?" Rufus asks, eyeing the pipe.

"The disease remains widespread. The number of people infected continues to rise, but there're still a lot of people working hard in the new city to the east."

"Who's leading them?"

"Who knows? It seems a number of groups." Kilmister raises an eyebrow. "By the way, Mr. President, do you know anything about the Shinra Company's assassins?" Rufus shakes his head and Kilmister glances at me, thinking. "It seems letters have reached the people who managed to sneak into the Shinra Building and warehouses, threatening them not to do so again if they wish to stay alive. They're all so scared that they've been found out that they decided not to do it again."

I hide my smile, but Rufus lets his show plain as day, a rare sight these days. It gives me hope to know that the Turks are keeping Shinra's hold as long as they're focused on their work. My chest stings sharply, reminding me that I'd give anything to see Reno again instead of slowly dying in this musty old cave. I haven't ever gone this long without seeing him.

Kilmister seems pleased that he found us out. "Mr. President, I'm not talking about right away, but I want some of that machinery that Shinra possesses. Can you let your assassins know?"

"What do you want?" Rufus asks, cautious.

"Dr. Hojo's equipment."

"And you'll be using it for our treatment?"

"Of course. I will also be needing—"

"Jenova."

"Yes. Where is it now?"

Rufus nearly gives me a heart attack when he makes the quickest glance in my direction. Alarmed, I bite down on my tongue and flinch. Shinra, you idiot. He'll suck my blood dry.

"I don't know," the president replies finally. "I was going to look for it after I leave this place."

"Then we must find a new place. This one isn't suitable for any research."

"Research?" I ask. Kilmister glances down at me as if he hadn't expected me to speak. To be fair, I've said maybe four words to him since we got here.

Rufus speaks up, drawing his attention back. "Mr. Kilmister, are you a doctor or a scientist."

The silence lasts so long that I begin to count. I reach fourteen before Kilmister draws a gun from his jacket and aims it at Rufus. "Your treatment's over."

"Put that down," I demand, getting to my feet. Kilmister turns to me sharply, and in a split second, I'm staring down the barrel of a gun. I couldn't care less. "You're not getting what you want without him."

"No, but what's the point of keeping you?"

"What's the point of killing me?"

"I can't keep up with the demand for food."