Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy VII: Reverie ❯ Releasing The Hounds: The Slaughter's Beginning ( Chapter 42 )

"Are you seeing me now?" Reno's voice was muffled.

"Gawd, Wren, you look like shit!" she heard herself say. She had just put the new night vision goggles on her face. They weren't nearly as clumsy looking as the first prototypes. These goggles consisted of a black band that went around the wearer's head. Contained inside the long eyepiece were two tiny microchips. They allowed whoever wore to see in full live color but they had an adjustment to see in infrared as well.

"Lei, if I didn't love you…" joked Reno. He ran his hands through his thick red hair.

"Guy's, shut up I see 'em now." Rude interrupted the lovers.

"Take your positions." Tseng's voice crackled over the comlink in the goggles.

Rude waved to Leira who was carrying her trusty AK-47 and quickly dropped behind a bush. Leira ran off to the side of the road and took aim. She looked back at Reno, "Point! Point!" she shouted.

"I know, I know." Headlights started to cut through the darkness. Reno looked back at the six Shinra army officers supplied to them. "You heard her. Formation style now!!"

With his words the Shinra officers split up into two groups. They ran to either side of the road and knelt down. Each of them had their weapons ready for attack.

Leira remembered this mission well. She was stationed in Midgar. Her job was to bring down two escaped SOLDIERs, her own men, Zack and Cloud.

A pickup truck was coming into view. "This is it." Tseng's voice crackled over the comlink. The Shinra military men raised their M-16s and took aim. Rude was mainly hand-to-hand combat. His job was to pull the driver of the vehicle away from the fight. The Turks had been told that the driver, a resident of Nibelheim, was an innocent and that it would bring bad press if news of his death reached the public. Reno was the mission head on the ground. It was hard for him to tell if he was control or not with Leira there. He knew that one wrong move would mean his death. At least he'd die by her hand if he screwed up. He looked over at her standing at the side of the road. "Stone cold deadly." He whispered to himself.

Lieandra waved over at the Shinra soldiers as the truck came closer. She than took up a position that would put her right in the path of the yellow pick up truck. The soldiers edged their way out of the bushes. A sound could be heard in the distance. Leira looked up and ripped the goggles off of her face and threw them to the ground.

"What the fuck?!" Reno's voice came over the comlink.

"Son of a bitch." Rude cursed.

A Shinra helicopter had appeared over the target vehicle. Leira shook her head and dropped her weapon. She raised her arms up. This was not supposed to happen. She grabbed her goggles and held the microphone to her mouth. "Hello there. Identify yourself."

"It's Tseng, Leira." The head of the Turks said

"I'm in the middle of something here, boss." She said not hiding her aggravation.

"The truck has stopped." One of the soldiers shouted. "We need orders!"

Leira picked up her weapon and opened fire on the pick-up. She managed to shoot out the tires causing the vehicle to grind to a halt. "Okay boys, get 'em!"

The Shinra got up and ran to the disabled vehicle.

"Okay, Tseng, what's the problem?"

"Leira, I need you to board the helicopter. Reeve has you reassigned to watch the Vice President. These are also direct orders from the President himself."

"Rufus needs a babysitter? You're joking right?!" the last thing she wanted to do was baby-sit some punk kid.

"It's an order, Leira! Reno's in charge of clean up. Oh, and Reno, you're to head back to Midgar. Reeve wants to see you in person."

Reno looked over at Leira. What would her uncle want to see him for? "Dude, I didn't think my ninety day probation was up yet!" he said over the channel.

"AAAAAAAAAGHHH!!" a scream was heard coming from the truck. The Turks and Leira looked over in the direction of the sound. A tall black haired man dressed in a SOLDIER uniform and a shorter blonde haired man had emerged from the truck. The black haired one Leira recognized as Zack. He was armed with a huge Buster sword and had already taken out two of six men. The blonde one, she knew, was Cloud. He seemed disoriented and was unarmed. It looked like he was having trouble standing on his own feet.

Reno ran over to the fray followed by Rude. Leira was just about to join in when the helicopter landed. Tseng hung out of the bay door. "Come on. You're being expected."

Leira looked back at Reno who had stopped and was already watching her. He nodded at her and yelled back. "Go on! We've got it!"

Leira bent down and picked up her weapon and stomped over to the helicopter. Tseng reached out and took her hand as he helped her inside. "We're off to Costa del Sol." He told the pilot.

The angered Leira sat down on a side bench with the AK balancing on her knees. Costa del Sol is where she would rather have been with Reno.

The helicopter lifted off from the ground. From her vantage point she could see that the battle with the ex-SOLDIERs was almost over. Rude and Reno were watching the helicopter as it left the area and Zack and Cloud were laid out on the ground presumably dead. There were two Shinra military left. She knew the President wasn't going to be too happy about that.

Tseng stood at the door letting his long black hair blow in the breeze created by the helicopter. His slanted eyes gazed out in the morning dimness. "Costa del Sol is a great place to be reassigned. You're an Elite now, you've got to expect accommodations like that."

Leira sighed and turned her face away from him.

"I know you're pissed off. It was only four regular soldiers. The President's not going to demote you for that." He watched her unbraid her long hair. "You're not even listening to me, are you?"

Leira glanced up briefly, raised her left hand and extended her middle finger. The former citizen of Wutai sat down next to her. He removed his black tie and put it in one of the pockets of his dark blazer. "Well, you know I'll be joining you for the first couple of days." He took his blazer off and unbuttoned his white shirt. "Best get ready for some warm weather."

Leira looked at him. "What does Reeve want to see Reno for?"

"Who knows?"

"Didn't Reeve say anything to you about that?"

Tseng gave her his best-wounded look. "Why, Leira, you know as much as I do that when you're in this game you're never supposed to question your superiors."

"Heideger's your superior not Reeve." She scowled as she began to finger her weapon.

"Buck up, kid." Tseng said as he lightly punched Leira in the arm.

The Elite flashed an angry look at Tseng and let loose with a punch of her own. She pelted him square in the jaw.

Tseng recoiled and held his already swelling mandible in his hands. "I can see those sensitivity courses are really paying off…"