Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Undercover Lovers ❯ What have you gotten yourself into Squall? ( Chapter 64 )

Chapter 64: What have you gotten yourself into Squall?

 

After hanging up the phone Cid Highwind went down to his basement and entered his security code into the computer that was sitting on the oak desk. Pulling out a cigarette he lit up and waited for his clearance check to pass. Inhaling the smoke he blew it out and he remembered when he had first met Squall Leonhart.

 

He wasn't much of a drinking man but after he had left the hospital where his beloved wife Shera had just died he went to nearest bar and fell into a bottle of whisky and he drank himself numb. He was so drunk that he wasn't thinking clearly so he crawled behind the wheel of his car and thought he had it in drive but it was in reverse. He sobered up enough to realize that he had hit something when he heard that distinguishing clunk of his car hitting something.

 

Pulling out from behind the wheel he staggered to the rear of his car to see what he had hit and was relived to see that it was only another car and not a person. While he waited for the driver of the car to show up he started to cry, he blamed himself for Shera's death. Whenever he was away on assignment she wouldn't check her blood sugar like she was supposed to and this last time she had slipped into a diabetic coma that she hadn't woken from.

 

He wiped the moisture off his cheeks and looked up and saw a man approaching the Mercedes that he had dinged. “Is this your car?” He slurred out and pointed at the car.

 

“Yes.”

 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business car and handed it to him, “Here take your car here and they will bill me for the damages.” Then he started to stagger away.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

The soft caring voice stopped him and he turned around again and stared at the young man and saw the concern that was on his face. “No.”

 

“What's wrong?”

 

He had started to cry again and sobbed out what had happened. He was baffled when the brunet had ask him if he could drive him home and his heart broke in his chest even more when he had given his answer. He was equally confused when the young man had taken him to his house and fixed him a bed on the sofa. He had smiled when the man had placed a bucket by the couch and had said, “Just in case.”

 

He hadn't really thought about it at the time since alcohol was clouding his judgment but whoever this guy was he could have murdered him or worse. But those thoughts slammed into his mind the next morning when he woke up with a raging headache and vowed to himself that he would never drink that much again. He had jumped when a soft voice asked, “Would you like some coffee and Excedrin?”

 

Sitting up he rubbed his temples and replied, “Yeah that would be great.”

 

“How do you take it?”

 

“Black and strong.”

 

The response was a soft chuckle and he was quickly handed the cup of strong black brew and the bottle of extra strength Excedrin. When he gazed up he was momentarily stunned at the ethereal beauty of the young man who was standing before him. He smiled and knew that he had died and this elegant man was the angel of death that had come to collect him and take him to his Shera. “I'm ready for my sins to be weighed.”

 

“Excuse me?” The deep tenor voice asked.

 

“Your not an angel?”

 

The man had chuckled and replied, “Not hardly.”

 

“Who are you?”

 

“Squall Leonhart and you are?”

 

He shook his head to clear away the cobwebs that still clung there and instantly regretted it when it started pounding again, “Cid Highwind.”

 

He watched as Squall sat down in one of the chairs, “Would you like to talk about it?”

 

For some reason he felt that he could talk to this young man and had started to cry yet again and told him what had happened. When he looked at Squall he saw the compassion on his face and tears in his eyes and had quickly apologized for his behavior and had also said that he was much to young to have ever lost a loved one so he had been stunned when the young man had told him that his mother had been killed by a drunk driver.

 

“Why didn't you call the police when you saw I was drunk?”

 

He smiled again and replied softly, “You seemed like somebody who needed to talk and not spend the night in the drunk tank. Cid I can't tell you that I know what you're going through because I don't. I do know what it likes to lose someone that you love and I can honestly tell you that grief counseling does help and it does get easier.”

 

They had spent the next two hours talking and before he left Squall gave him his number and told him to call anytime he wanted or needed to talk. And he had, several phone calls and visits had led to a friendship.

 

He had to be cautious in his line of work and once he had gotten a little bit of control of his grief he did a background check on Squall Leonhart and was impressed by what he had found. He didn't tell Squall that he knew that he was a cop but let him divulge that information. He had told Squall that if he ever needed any help or information on somebody to call him and he would get it to him ASAP.

 

Now here it was three years later and Squall had called him for help. Oh he had called before but it was mostly just a standard background check on a business that he wanted to invest in but other then that nothing to major. Now he had two people to check. He punched the name William Gentry in and waited while the computer went through its process. That name sounded vaguely familiar but he couldn't place it off the top of his head. Gene Caraway he had never heard of but that didn't necessarily mean anything.

 

When the computer finally pulled up the information he read what was printed on the screen and sat there in stunned silence. Stubbing the cigarette that had burned down he quickly lit another one and muttered, “What the fuck have you gotten yourself into Squall?” Downloading the file he pulled up the other names that had appeared in William Gentry's file and copied those as well. Before he checked on Gene Caraway he made two phone calls, one to the airstrip to ready his jet and the other to one of his associates, telling him to meet him at hanger in two hours. This was information that he wanted to hand deliver and he wanted backup when he did it.

 

When he saw the file on Gene Caraway he was a little baffled, the man didn't seem to be too important that was until he got to the last page and saw that he had dealings with one of the names on William Gentry's file. He reiterated the question again, “What the fuck have you gotten yourself into Squall?”

 

Picking up the diskettes he made his way upstairs threw some clothes in a suitcase and packed another bag of electronic equipment and was soon on his way to the hanger where his private jet was.

 

When he arrived he saw the man whom he had called and greeted him, “Tseng, thanks for coming on such short notice.”

 

Tseng stood 6'3” with naturally bronzed skin. He had long straight black hair that flowed down to his waist and his eyes were deep and probing and resembled black opals. He was full blood Cheyenne and he took his heritage very seriously. Other then that there wasn't a lot known about him except that he was one of those that was in the `don't ask don't tell' business and when you needed a good strong arm he was the one to call. It was a good thing that he was one of the `good guys' although for the most part that term was used loosely. He didn't answer Cid's greeting but nodded as he picked up his own luggage and boarded the plane.

 

Cid boarded the plane and made his way up to the cockpit before he strapped himself in he tossed the diskettes to Tseng and said, “Reading material for the flight.”

 

Reaching into one of his suitcases the tall dark haired man pulled out a laptop and started to read the files that were on the disks. His facial expression didn't show it but he was also a little stunned by the name that kept appearing on William Gentry's file. When he finished reading he finally spoke, “What the fuck has your associate gotten into?”

 

Cid replied over his shoulder, “Actually he's a friend and I don't know that's why we're on our way to San Francisco.”

 

Tseng sat back in the seat and closed his eyes and started to think. That one particular name on the file had actually startled him and he wondered if Cid Highwind's friend in Frisco had any idea what or whom he was fucking with. Mother of God he had thought he had seen the last of that psychopath in Moscow two years ago and could have sworn that he had perished in that chemical fire but apparently he hadn't.

 

Then of course there was the other name that was always linked with Hojo Odine's, Sephiroth Jenova. He wondered why someone hadn't put a bullet in that nutcases head several years ago. He cracked his knuckles and hoped that perhaps Jenova would still be in San Francisco when they got there and if he were, well he would make sure to eradicate his existence off the face of the earth.

 

When Cid landed the plane five hours later he was tempted to hop in a cab and go straight to Squall's but thought better of it and called him instead.

 

Squall paused with his fork halfway to his mouth and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, seeing Cid's name on the little screen he quickly pushed away from the table and exited the kitchen flipping the phone open as he walked through the swinging door. “That was quick.”

 

Cid said, “I'm in Frisco even as we speak, I wanted to get the files to you as quickly as I could since the information they contain is highly sensitive is it okay if my associate and I bring it over to your house?”

 

Squall replied, “No! I have family staying with me right now. My partner and I will meet you at the Four Seasons, book a room and call me back and let me know which one.”

 

Cid agreed to the request and disconnected the call and smirked a little after he had done it, until he had met Squall Leonhart he always had said bye on the phone but after a short acquaintance with the blue-eyed brunet he stopped. Especially after he had called the younger man back one time since he thought that his network had dropped the call. He remembered that Squall had laughed and explained that he never said goodbye on the phone and told him why. Cid thought it was a good habit to get into and had adopted it himself, true it annoyed the hell out of his friends but there were times when they wouldn't shut up.

 

Hailing a cab Cid and Tseng went to the Four Seasons and booked a suite, before he made the call back to Squall he opened up one of his bags of tricks and did a quick sweep on the rooms making sure there were no hidden wires. Satisfied that they were clean he made the call and told Squall what room they were in.

 

While Cid was on the phone to Squall Tseng called and ordered room service for them then crossed the room and sat down on the couch. After Cid had hung up he asked, “Tell me about this Squall Leonhart.”

 

Cid gave him a brief overview on Squall. He left out two things that he knew but didn't feel was any of Tseng's business. If Squall wanted him to know then he should be the one to tell. One was the fact that Squall was a cop. When the friendship had started to develop between them he did a thorough background check on him, after all in his line of work he couldn't be to careful. He found out that Squall was obnoxiously rich and would never have to work so it had surprised him when he found out that Squall was a cop and he wondered why. He didn't tell Squall that he knew, he surmised that if Squall wanted him to know then he would tell him and eventually he had, swearing him to secrecy.

 

The other thing that he didn't divulge to Tseng was that Squall was gay. It didn't bother Cid one iota that the intense young man was but he knew that certain people in his line of work would automatically think less of him. He wasn't sure if Tseng was one of them or not so he also kept that information to himself.

 

Tseng raised an eyebrow and said, “You're hiding something Cid.”

 

Cid smirked at him and replied, “Yes I am. But it's not for me to tell you. If Squall wants you to know then he should be the one that tells you.”

 

“So what is he with the mob or something?” Tseng half joked.

 

Cid laughed and replied, “Sure why not.”

 

A short time later their meal arrived from room service and it was while they were eating that another knock came on the door. Pushing away from the table Cid crossed over to the door and growled, “Who is it?”

 

Squall smiled at the still closed door and said, “It's Squall.”

 

Cid unlocked the door flung it open and blasted him, “What the fuck have you gotten yourself into?” Then did a double take at the brunet. Squall had changed in the two years since he had last seen him face to face. He had grown a mustache and he could have sworn that Squalls eyes were silver blue not dark brown.

 

An inquisitive eyebrow shot up high on Squalls forehead and he replied dryly, “Hello yourself.”

 

Cid grabbed him in a rough friendly hug and growled, “I'm serious you rapscallion. You've changed.”

 

Squall returned the hug and he said, “I know.” Breaking away he continued, “I know that you're serious Cid. Otherwise you would have just sent the files to me via email. So are you going to invite us in or what?”

 

Cid clapped him on the back and laughed, “Yeah come on in. Contrary to popular belief I wasn't born in a barn or raised by wolves.” He stepped away from the door and allowed Squall and the tall blond that was standing behind him into the room.

 

When the three men had made themselves comfortable, Squall introduced Seifer to Cid Highwind then Cid introduced Tseng to them.

 

Tseng was quiet as he observed the room's two new occupants, he was still curious as too what line of work this Squall Leonhart was in. He had dismissed Seifer Almasy, seeing him as hired muscle. He picked up the gin and tonic that he was drinking and took a healthy draw off of it. When his question came it was abrupt, “So what kind of work are you into Mr. Leonhart?”

 

Squall glared evenly at him and replied sarcastically, “I'd tell you but I'd have to kill you.”

 

Cid and Seifer laughed at the comment but Tseng's face went dark with anger, “I'm serious.”

 

Squall's face remained perfectly blank and he said coldly, “So am I.”

 

Tseng turned his head towards Cid and said, “Look Highwind. I didn't fly out here for my health. I think I have every right to know what the hell is going on here. And if that information is not forthcoming then I'm leaving.”

 

Cid's face flushed red in his anger and he shouted, “Jesus freaking Christ Tseng if your so god damned curious as to what he does fine I'll tell you. He's a Mafia Prince.” He had laughed for a good fifteen minutes when Squall had told him that during their conversation earlier that day.

 

Tseng snapped his head back around and stared at the intense young man again, “You're with the mob?”

 

Squall replied darkly, “Yes.”

 

Tseng was confused, “I thought I was familiar with all the Mafioso Families, the name Leonhart doesn't strike any cords though.”

 

Squall glared at him and said in an icy voice, “Michelangelo Valentinius. I'm Angelo's nephew. Now is question and answer time over? Or is there anything else you want to know about me?”

 

Tseng sat back abruptly, he knew about the Valentinius family and knew that they were ruthless even though he had never had any personal dealings with them. He only had one more question and when it came his voice had stopped being condescending and was polite, “Just one more question Mr. Valentinius. Who the hell is Squall Leonhart?”

 

Squall replied in a quiet even voice, “My alias. When I moved to the West Coast I wanted to make a name for myself and not rely on the Valentinius name, so I invented Squall Leonhart.”

 

Seifer remained silent. When they had left the house Squall had tossed him the keys and on the drive to The Four Seasons he had taken on the personification of Michelangelo Valentinius again.

 

When he had asked why, Squall's answer had been that even though Reno had told the goon squad to back the hell off, that didn't mean that Gene Caraway had done the same thing. And as an added precaution from now until this case was over when he was seen in public he would be Michel Valentinius. Squall had traced his fingers up Seifer's leg, starting at the knee and going all the way up his inner thigh and back down to his knee. Then he had said, “I promise that when this shit is over I'm going to make this up to you Seif. Even though it's only for show I hate treating you like a muscle bound moron.”

 

They had stopped at a red light and he turned slightly in the seat and scratched his head and did a perfect initiation of Ulysses, “Dat's okay boss.”

 

Squall had chuckled and said, “I love you, you dork.”

 

“I love you too babe.” He had replied and laughed along with his lover.

 

Even though he was silent that didn't mean that he wasn't paying close attention to what was going on. When Cid handed Squall the laptop computer and the diskettes he started to rise from the couch and leave `the boss' to read the files without him eavesdropping like the good little flunky he was supposed to be.

 

He stopped when Squall said, “Stay. You need to know this too.”

 

Seifer sat back and started to fling his arm around Squall's shoulders but stopped in mid-motion and turned it into a stretch instead.