GAWAIN hadn't even been working on paperwork when the call came. Shocker, I know. As a matter of fact, the man hadn't been working in much of anything at all for a good hour now.
He simply had been sitting on his desk all day, phoning his increasingly agitated secretaries every 10 or so minutes for more paperwork of any kind, anything he could do to actually get something done.
Unfortunately, it seemed he had accomplished the borderline impossible task of eliminating all paperwork for the day.
Or rather, for now. Which left him to simply waste away on his seat, not even bothering to get coffee. Not much need for the sweet nectar when he wasn't even really working. He was just watching the clock tick by.
Needless to say, he almost jumped at his phone when it began ringing.
When lacking in caffeine as much as he currently was, he was usually pretty languid, but he could recognize that unique ringtone any day of the week.
He almost dropped the phone from going at it too fast. Please Autumn Nevada , save him from this monotony.
"Helllooo, Agent Nevada." He drawled lazily, playfully as he leaned against his seat, the chair craning back under his weight. "Are you going to save me again? Please do. I'm dying here."
“It’s my friend Gawain. He’s a first class-” Autumn whispered with her hand over the receiver as she attempted to answer he brother’s question. She cut herself off as the familiar masculine voice answered on the other end.
“Sir Gawain.” Autumn responded. Her tone sounded more serious than he probably expected based on their usual interactions. She spun her chair to face away towards the corner so she could easily hide the involuntary smile that came to her lips at her co-worker's joke behind the hand that gripped the phone to her ear.
Her best friend Gwyar was one of the things that she actually enjoyed about her job but, given the difficult time her brother was having with his own assignment, she didn’t want him to get the wrong impression.
“I’d actually love to have your assistance in my office, since you’re not too busy. I’m meeting with an asset and your expertise would certainly come in handy.”
"a first class?" he started before noticing the sudden change in her tone which he rarely saw this tone change only really occured when she got mad before he could respond to anything "gwain?"he started before watching as she spun around away from him in her chair 'id actually love to have your assistance in my office,since you're not too busy. i'm meeting with an asset and your expertise would certainly come in handy' he heard her speak into the phone unfortunetly there was a word in what she was explaining to this 'gwain' that made him feel like property as he heard it not only from their uncle but from the people in avalanche, they called him an 'asset' simply that, he knew that she had to do her job here but it made him feel worse now hearing her say that she was meeting with an 'asset' as he took an empty seat
GAWAIN tilted a confused brow at the serious voice that answered, pulling away the phone to blink at it before slowly pulling it back to his ear.
"Are you mad at me?" He asked, wondering if he had done something without realizing it. He tended to do that... or so he had been told in the past.
Thankfully, it didn't seem like she was. Based on her words, he guessed she needed to look professional for... whoever this 'asset' was.
"I see. Luckily for you, I can make time on my busy schedule for you. I'll be right over." He said cheekily before setting down the phone, immediately leaping up to his feet and stretching with a grin before all but flying out of his office.
"Gottagocallmeifmorepaperworkseeyoulaterbyeee~!" He parroted at sonic speed as he walked past his bemused secretaries, saluting playfully before making it to the elevator.
Mere minutes later...
The elevator opened on another floor and out came the SOLDIER, dead serious and stone faced (but smiling all the same, naturally), marching through the department like a man on a mission as he made a bee line for Autumn's office, coming to a stop right at her office's door.
Knock-knock-knock!
His hand slowly pulled away from the door, the blonde folding his arms behind his back in a regal, military stance.
Autumn’s jaw went slack for a moment but she cleared her throat to compose herself. "It’s nothing like that… I’ll explain when you get here.” Fortunately, Gawain was not so insecure as to linger on his concerns about her being mad at him. He offered an expectedly cheeky response and she nodded at his confirmation that he would be coming to help her soon. She managed to sneak in a quick thanks before he hung up the phone and she followed suit.
The turk exhaled and looked up at her brother who was sitting in one of the empty chairs across from her desk. He looked hurt.She wasn’t certain if it was her resistance to the idea of him becoming a SOLDIER or maybe her tone on the phone that had upset him but she hoped he would forgive her. “Sorry about that, Lucas. You can never be too careful with technology these days. I’d rather introduce the two of you in person.”
“Speaking of hackings.” Autumn clapped her hands together in a getting down to business gesture as she made her clumsy segue. “Are you aware of the incident on the train? Someone hacked it to turn off the security sensors with the intention of bombing the entertainment district.”
“I was forced to eliminate the threat and…” She stood up and rummaged through a cabinet to produce a manila folder before returning to the desk. The turk remained standing as she hesitated for a moment, contemplating what she held in her hand. She would much rather have captured the man alive. It would have been so much easier to get the information she needed from the suspect and she could have spared her brother the trauma of viewing her handiwork. “This might be unsettling but I need you to identify the man in these photos. If you can.”
She flipped open the folder and placed a photo on the table. It was focused on the explosive device that was strapped to the man’s chest but his face was just inside the frame; eyes vacant and an exit wound from Autumn’s bullet in his forehead.
Note: The photo is of a man named Saburo. He was a member of SWITCH’s Avalanche cell and a citizen of Wu-Tai Lucas might recognize a burn scar on the side of the man’s face. Autumn has no idea who this man is but Lucas might recognize him.
Autumn jumped a little at the sudden knock at her door. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath until it returned to her. She moved to the door and opened it for Gawain who stood on the other side looking more proper than ever.
“Thank you for coming!” She gestured for him to come inside before closing the door, “This is my brother Lucas."
looking at her, he nodded at the question of the train incident "yeah who pretty isnt?" he asked before watching her stand up and producing a manilla folder from a cabinet before returning to the desk as he looked up at her as she remained standing, he could tell she didnt want to show him something 'this might be unsettling but i need you to identify the man in these photos. if you can' she said to him as she opened the folder and placed a picture of the device strapped to the mans chest and his face was just inside the frame as he saw an exit wound where he could tell a bullet went through his head with his eyes vacant as he too a few minutes to examine the mans face "this is saburo hes a member of an avalanche cell led by a person named switch and this man is also a citizen of wu-tai ontop of that...i can tell its him because of the burn scar on the side of his face"
at the sudden knock lucas also jumped standing up and ready to attack the person or people on the other side of the door as he held his fists up ready to attack gawain before she opened the door and welcomed in a blonde haired man who seemed to be looking very proper "uh..hi..autumn who is this?" he soon asked her now curious at this person while keeping his guard up
Gawain's facade of military regality lasted for about as long as the office's door was open. As soon as it was closed...
"So this is that younger brother of yours I've heard so much about?" He asked as he sauntered around the office, moving around her desk before unceremoniously dropping unto her seat. From there, he winked at the youth as he reclined back, his elbows landing on her desk as he steepled his fingers together.
"Pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Mr. Garret. I've been curious about our inside man for a while now!" He said cheerfully. "So I looked through your files! Hope you don't mind."
He turned his green, bright gaze towards Autumn Nevada , tilting his head as he smirked.
"So what do you need me for, Agent Nevada? You should know a 1st Class' assistance is a hot commodity around these parts." He said, winking once again.
Gwyar had swept in like a tropical breeze and had found his way into her seat before she’d had time to close the door behind him. She moved back to her brother’s side and slid the photo off the table and back into the file that she tucked under her arm. Her movements were casual but Lucas might have recognized the expression on his sister’s face. It was the same face she’d made when she’d kicked the shattered pieces of their mother’s favorite vase under the curio cabinet.
She didn’t want to talk about the man she’d killed in front of Gwyar. It wasn’t that she thought he’d judge her or anything. Gwyar had killed many people. He’d killed them with a smile on his face. He was her closest friend and she loved him more than she loved herself but she wasn’t like him. It never got easier for her and the feeling of satisfaction that had washed over the turk as her bullet hit its mark made her queasy now. It was eating her up from the inside out even knowing the lives she’d saved by pulling the trigger when she did.
Autumn’s worst fear was that her friends and family would somehow figure out that she’d just been pretending to have what it took to be a Turk for all this time. She was certain that someday her bubbly facade would be discovered to be more genuine than she generally liked to let on. There was no monster hidden inside her; just a scared little girl.
“This is Gawain.” She explained to Lucas as she walked around the desk to stand at Gwyar’s side, “He’s my best friend. He’s also a member of the round table and a first class SOLDIER. If you were to join up he’d be your boss.” She folded her arm at the elbow and rested it upon the top of his head to lean playfully on her friend before winking at her brother and giving him a quick finger gun.
“Gawain. Please explain to my brother why it’s a bad idea to join the SOLDIER program… I mean… tell him all about being a SOLDIER.” She gave Gwyar a pointed look and hoped that he would catch her intentions.
"its um...its nice to meet you Gawain?" he greeted back unsure of this litteral whirlwind of a man entered the room as he sat in her chair before mentioning that he looked his files making him nervous now "uh sure...i hope there wasnt anything bad in those files i hope.." he said before noticing how quickly autumn hid the folder that she had just shown him before this man entered and recieved a proper introduction for him as he watched her move before standing at gawains side with a folded arm ontop of his head and giving him a quick finger gun making the young man look at his sister with the finger gun his eyes saying 'really?...you really did that?' before turning his attention to the man but as soon as he took a breath to speak with gawain about getting a reccommendation to join the solider program she beat him to it but to explain why it would be a bad idea for him to join the program
"At once!" He responded to Autumn's request cheerfully, reaching for one of her drawers and pulling it back to reveal a stack of papers before taking one for himself. He then produced a pen from underneath his suit, casually writing 'IMPRESS ME' upon it before folding and placing it in front of himself like a plate name-holder.
"Well, Lucas -Can I call you Lucas? I'll call you Lucas-, as a SOLDIER, your responsibilities will all be military in nature." He informed the youth, seemingly uncaring for the way Autumn used him as a prop. "Though SOLDIERs are technically part of the Public Safety Department, we do not generally take part in the daily operations of it; such tasks belong to the many troopers at the Director's command. No, SOLDIERs are only ever deployed on missions of critical importance and/or extreme high-risk and mortality rates. Our strength does not facilitate our operations, but rather, simply allows for them to even be accomplished in the first place. It is not uncommon for new recruits into the Program to die on their very first mission... But then, it is also not uncommon for recruit candidates to die in the process of becoming SOLDIERs. For better or worse, only the strong make it into SOLDIER."
His words were grave, but his tone was cheerful, his smile pleasant, and his body language generally matching Autumn's own.
"3rd Class SOLDIERs may receive semi-permanent postings on areas of critical importance, such as the Mako Reactors or the abodes of the many Directors of Shin-Ra. The president himself is escorted everywhere he goes by at least three 3rd Class SOLDIERs at all times. 2nd Class SOLDIER, however, are rarely if ever employed outside of important, and deadly, operations, usually as Commanders of the operation. 1st Class SOLDIERs..."
Well, they were being employed all around the globe in order to keep down insurrections, further push the President's world domination agenda, and generally do very non-nice things.
"You'll probably not see many other than myself with any regularity." He informed him. He stopped talking after that, making a show of looking at Lucas up and down, seemingly taking in every detail about him, before humming. "If I had to give you some odds, I would say you have... about a 50/50 chance of surviving the Mako infusion procedures."
He then shrugged.
"Of course, there's a long list of tests, not to mention a particularly arduous bootcamp, that must be completed before one is even considered for the procedure."
He glanced over his shoulder, smiling at Autumn Nevada.
Autumn continued to lean against Gwyar but the upturned corners of her lips began a slow journey down her face as he droned on about the duties of a SOLDIER. By the time he had finished revealing the 50/50 survival rate for the procedure alone she had slid back to perch upon the arm of their now shared chair. She stared at the back of his head and wondered what this man had endured to lead him here.
She nodded solemnly as their eyes met and she stood up. He’d said plenty. No sane person wouldn’t be deterred after hearing such candid information. The Turk felt a little guilty for asking Gawain to disparage the thing he’d dedicated his life to but this was her baby brother’s life at stake.
She could have told him the same things but coming from her mouth he would have questioned the validity of her information. He’d have been right to be suspicious. She would have said anything to keep him from risking his life any further.
“I’m sorry, Lucas. It’s just too big a risk…” She shook her head before focusing her attention solely on him and giving a weak smile. “I only have one brother.”
Autumn cleared her throat. “Let’s just focus on getting you through your current mission and then we can discuss other options with the company.”
hearing his chances of survival being 50/50 now just to proceed through this procedure he imediately began to falter at what he was hearing and it was not good 'lets just focus on getting you through your current mission and then we can discuss other options with the company' he heard her say after she cleared her throat making him clenching his hands tightly into fists "and when am i gonna get through this mission huh?! tommorow?,next week?,next month?,next year?! you dont know what switch can dc!" he told her rolling up a jacket sleeve showing her burn marks on his right arm that look to be recent
GAWAIN seemed both unsympathetic and unimpressed. Maybe. It was hard to tell, as his expression remained unchanged from before. His chuckle at the sight of the burn however, was not a good sign.
"Lucas." He intoned simply, interrupting the youth, his gaze on the young man's eyes. "If a less dangerous job is what you desire, then I'm afraid SOLDIER is most definitely not the place for you." He informed the youth flatly, still smiling as he straightened his spine, his friend no longer leaning upon him.
"This is without mentioning that one cannot simply abandon a terrorist Cell. The moment they discover you've been an insider for us this entire time... Well, it goes without saying that your life will never be safe again, until we root out every single one of them." The youth would have to either see the mission through or die trying- his fate was sealed from the moment he inserted himself within Avalanche's ranks.
"But nevermind that." The blonde said suddenly, looking very interested as he stared Lucas down even from where he sat, his smile stretching slightly. "Who is this... 'SWITCH' you speak off?" He asked somewhat casually, his eyes moving back to the youth's injury once again.
"She must have... a great deal of authority, if she can just injure her members in such manner. Avalanche struggles as it is with its numbers." He commented, tilting his head. "Well?"
Autumn was on her feet. She moved around the desk and took her brother’s arm in her hands without asking permission. Her brow furrowed as she examined the wounds. They seemed recent and untreated. Is this why he had risked coming to HQ?
“You should have told me about this earlier.” She whispered loud enough for Gawain to hear. Her voice shook with emotion and it very much seemed like she was trying not to yell. Keeping secrets wasn’t going to help him survive his assignment.
“Is your cover blown?” She asked rather sternly. She knew SWITCH was a leader of sorts. The woman had sent her own man on a suicide mission and killed countless civilians but abusing her own men wouldn’t have served any purpose that Autumn could understand. If she had hurt him it was probably because she suspected he was a spy.
Autumn sighed and backed away. She didn’t need to hear the answer to know that the operation was blown. Her brother couldn’t handle the assignment. If they didn’t know he was Shin-ra before they would have figured it out the moment he stepped into this building.
"i couldnt tell you...i didnt want to worry you.."he told her his voice shaking haggardly his eyes beginning to shake a bit which already was spelling trouble right now for autumn back when they were younger how he needed someone close to him to watch him due to his mental instability which had to fall on autumn back then "SWITCH is a leader of an avalanche cell here in midgar but is %$#@^& insane! she sent a man on a suicide with several civilian casualties..." he explained as best he could for gawain before nodding "my whole operation may as well be blown!" he said