Quistis sighed in frustrations and cursed under her breath.
     "There's a resistance faction that has been causing us some trouble, headed by a Paige Chastine. They're called The Blinders. Take care of them, in whatever way you deem necessary."
     She watched from underneath her lashes and Seifer herded a small group of people into the Eyes'-for that was the name of Rueday's band-van. He was yelling meanly, and managing to get the people into the van without his Hyperion. He really is good at being a callous jerk, Quistis thought bitterly, but her mind returned to the moment earlier that day when they'd almost-Almost what?! Nothing! She raised her eyes, only to find his, blazing green fire at her.
     "Rinoa," he snapped, causing a few to turn and stare at the 'sorceress', and other bolder ones to whisper,"Another sorceress' lap dog." Seifer's eyes flickered, but not with anger...with hurt. Quistis barely prevented herself from running to comfort him, forcing herself to hold her head regally high and not blink.   "Sorceress," he bit out again, about as respectful as he could get at that tone, and she pulled back her shoulders and stuck her nose in the air, trying to glide as she'd seen Edea do. "This is the resistance faction," he said in a low voice. "Doesn't look like much. If what Rueday says about the trouble they've caused him is true, they shouldn't have been as easy to capture."
     "We can't kill them," she responded out of the side of her mouth, letting her eyes rove over the group huddled in the back of the car.
     "No," he agreed," but we need a place for them to lie low." There was silence for a moment. "What about the hotel? Our excuse for going is to pick up Hyperion, and they can sneak in the back."
     "And maybe get some more information on Rueday. We still haven't reported to Squall, he could be worried." The last words were whispered, reverently, and filled with a wistful hope. Seifer gave her a sidelong glance before smirking.
     "You mean information on the train problem." At her surprised glance, Seifer glared. "I'm not that stupid, Instructor. The depot problem is connected to Rueday somehow, and don't give me any bullshit about it not being part of the mission, because you were going to check out the connection anyway, and simply omit it if it didn't relate to Rueday." Steadily his voice had gotten louder and more insulting, and Quistis put a hand on his arm, surveying the bound group that now stared at them with a combination of confusion and interest.
     "Seifer, you got some 'splaining to do," Quistis quipped, resting a hand on her hip, the other going to her head in dismay, almost an exact feminine version of Squall. Quickly, she folded her arms instead.
     "Me? You brought it up!"
     "Don't be ridiculous! You're the one who-"
     "I don't mean to interrupt, but, can someone please tell us what's going on," a calm, dry voice cut in.
     Seifer and Quistis turned to glare at the speaker. She was sitting closest to them, about their age, with stormy gray eyes and strawberry- blonde hair that fell around her face in layers. "Since you're not with Rueday, I have no idea why you've bound us, and we don't do anything to anyone else." She shook her hair out of her face and tilted it. "Are you SeeDs?"
     Quistis's blue eyes widened, and Seifer leaned against the side of the truck and laughed. "What makes you think we don't work with Rueday?"
     "You're conversation was carried on at a very audible level," the girl replied dryly.
     "But SeeDs?"
     "The fact that you even know what a SeeD is gives it away. Most people just think that the people who saved the world were military independents." The redhead smirked, with almost the same expression as Seifer. "The Sorceress' Knight and a world savior. To what do we owe the honor?"
     Quistis stared at the sneering girl in disbelief. They'd gone to such ends to keep their disguises and the girl had stripped them down almost immediately. Quistis was speechless. It was Seifer who spoke first. "I'm not the Sorceress' Knight, I'm a SeeD, and so is she. You're lucky it was us Rueday sent to dispatch of you, or you'd already be dead."
     "By way of a whip?"
     "And magic. Does Ultima sound fun to you?" Seifer threatened. The girl raised an eyebrow at him.
     "What's Ultima? I don't have any magic training."
     "Its-"
     "Enough!" Quistis burst out. She turned to the girl. "Just keep your mouth shut, we'll tell you what's going on when we get to the hotel."
     "I don't suppose you could untie us," another voice, a deeper male voice, chimed in from the back. Quistis turned toward the sound, and stopped, open-mouthed. Startled, she took a step forward to look closer at the speaker. He looked like Seifer, only with a darker shade of blonde hair and a squarer face. The eyes were the same jade color with a hint of blue, though it didn't seem like this man frowned or glared much.
     "No. We don't know when Rueday or one of his henchmen might drop in, and we can't kill every one of his men that crosses us," Seifer spoke up, frowning at the man.
     A dark look crossed his face and the girl's face. "Why not?" she demanded. "That's what they do to us."
     Both SeeDs started. "What did you say?" Quistis asked in horror.
     "They kill every one of us that they cross, even if they aren't one of us," the man said when the girl glared at the floor. Her head jerked up and she glared at him.
     "Why hasn't this been reported?" Seifer wanted to know.
     "What makes you think it hasn't?" the girl asked bitterly. "Balamb Garden isn't exactly open to helping people without a lot of money."
     Quistis shared an amused look with Seifer. Obviously the girl didn't know as much as she thought she did. Including that this was the way Squall and Cid were helping them, indirectly. Both SeeDs laughed in delight, and Seifer swung Quistis down from the back of the van.
     "We'll talk about this at the hotel," Seifer promised, but the girl didn't look convinced. "By the way, what do we call you?"
     Red hair falling in front of her eyes, she blew bangs out of the way to stare at the two soldiers uncertainly, but carefully. She swung her eyes to the man in the back, and then back to Seifer, before squaring her shoulders. "Paige. Paige Chastine. I'm the leader of this group."