For Honor or Glory

A Brother's Instincts

Chapter 42 

Angeal was wearing a frown as he made his way up to the science department. He had not heard from his sister since late Wednesday night, and it was already Monday morning. He had gotten back late the night before and was even more worried when she wasn't already in the apartment. He knew she could have fallen asleep in her lab, but he felt uneasy.

His unease grew when he made it to her lab and found the door locked. He knocked a few times to see if she was in and maybe sleeping. When he didn't hear any sounds from within, he decided to check elsewhere. He could have just missed her. However, he didn't have time to search every nook and cranny. Instead, he went to professor Rayleigh. Alex didn't work directly for the woman anymore, but he knew they still collaborated. If anyone knew what was going on, it would be her.

He knocked and waited for her to call out before he entered the office, only to be shocked by her glare as soon as she looked up. "You are the last person I want to see this morning."

Angeal was taken aback by her tone, but not for long. He had come for a reason, after all. He tried to give her a polite smile as he said, "I apologize for any inconvenience. I was just hoping you could tell me where my sister might be? I haven't heard from her in a few days, and her lab is locked up."

Rayleigh made a disgusted sound, and her glare intensified. "Good luck finding that out. All I was told was that she had volunteered to help with a top-secret project somewhere out of the city. She just up and left and didn't bother letting me know she wasn't going to be able to help finish the project we were working on."

Angeal felt that knot of unease tighten. He could tell that Rayleigh wanted him out of her office, but he didn't move right away. "That doesn't sound like Alex. She didn't even tell me."

Rayleigh let out a heavy sigh as she rubbed her temple. "Look, I apologize for yelling at you, but this really puts me in a bind. I'm sure she had her reasons, especially after how stressed she has been. Maybe she just needed a change. Even I could tell she was struggling."

She then looked back up and tried to give him a sympathetic look. "Maybe she left a note for you somewhere? I can let you into her lab to look, but not until later. I'll have to ask for the master key. I need to try and find her notes on the stuff we were working on anyway."

Angeal nodded absently. His chest felt tight as he thought about Rayleigh's supposition. Leaving without a word was not like Alex, but burying her pain and trying to hide behind work was. That thought didn't make him feel much better. He finally gave the professor a nod as he thanked her and told her he would be back that afternoon. He then made his way back downstairs with a lot on his mind.

Angeal spent the rest of the morning distracted and trying to figure out how to at least contact his sister to make sure she would be alright. The more he thought about the professor's words, the more worried he was. Even if she had left to allow herself distance, that didn't mean that she wasn't going to struggle.

Unfortunately, he had been called to Sephiroth's office to meet about the war efforts and would have to see the professor again when he was done. For now, he tried to push his worry aside so he could concentrate on work.

However, that thought went out the window when he was the first one in the general's office. He barely even had time to consider if it was a good idea before he said, "Sephiroth, I think you may have been the last person to see Alex before she left early Thursday. Did anything seem wrong to you?"

Sephiroth looked away uncomfortably but didn't get to answer. Genesis had come in on the last part of the question and glared at the man behind the desk. "Did something happen? Did you try something with her?"