Legacy of the Past Chapter 2
New Secrets Untold, An Old Friend Found
By Nemo
"Where the hell is Reno?" Tseng said clenching his fists in frustration. "Grab two girls, that's all! That isn't hard! He properly stopped at a damn bar and got drunk off his ass!" Tseng sighed, he knew he should have more faith in his friend. He turned to talk his Turks but instead came face to face with Rude's angry scowl.
"Hello, Tseng." Rude said in a dark voice. Tseng froze, he knew Rude and they were the same age and they had been in the Turks the same amount of time. But everyone considered Tseng a rookie and Rude a professional. President Shinra loved Rude and let the man bask in power. With a snap of a finger, he could whip out as many men as he pleased. Tseng also knew that Rude hated Reno and he was always waiting for the right chance. If he found out that Reno was slacking off, he would grasp at that chance to get Reno kicked off the Turks. Reno would receive all hell. Tseng wanted to protect his friend. "What are you doing Tseng? Where are my prisoners? WHERE is Reno?"
"They are on their way sir." Tseng replied.
"Well they're late…go find them Tseng. Track down Reno with his PHS. Go, unless you want to say goodbye to your career?"
"Yes sir. I'll do it right down." Tseng took two Turks and turned his PHS to track. The signal came from somewhere in the Sector 5 slums. He felt his eyes grow big and he felt the lump grow in his throat when he saw that the signal wasn't moving. One of two things may have happened to his partner. One, Reno may have gotten drunk off his ass and passed out in the streets…again. Or two, the murderous girl may have escaped and killed Reno and the two other Turks without showing a glimpse of mercy. He glanced over his shoulder at Rude, the man was smiling, not the least bit worried about his fellow Turk. If anything, he was hoping that the man was hurt or dead. When Rude caught Tseng staring at him with a funny look he felt his smile fall off his face.
"What are you thinking Tseng?" he asked.
"Nothing." he replied quickly.
"You're lying. You are a very bad liar and I want you tell me the truth. Right now or I'll kick your ass out of the Turks faster than you can say, jobless."
"Um…I just thought that maybe you didn't care if Reno was hurt or dead. But…that's not true, is it?"
"Of course not. Where the hell did you come up with a crazy idea like that? He's my comrade; I care about all my Turks. Go find him and bring him back in one piece."
"Alright." Tseng turned away and started to walk away. Knowing that Rude was lying and knowing he couldn't care less about Reno. He shook off the feeling and concentrated on bringing Reno back in one piece.
Cloud was so surprised when she tackled him, holding the dagger to his throat; she was looking at him with a puzzled look, maybe even a surprised look. Ito took him a few minutes to recognize her and when he did he too was very surprised and puzzled.
“Cloud? Is that you? Is that really you?” she asked. She paused, studying his face and then she got a very angry look. She gritted her teeth and shoved the knife closer to his throat. “You can’t be Cloud Strife. Cloud is dead. Jeez, you Shinra ass's never give up do you? Well I have a message for you to deliver to the devil when you go to hell. Tell him I ain’t goin without a fight. You have some nerve to imposter him, trying to hit a soft spot eh? Well, I know you bastards too well and I’ll kick your boss's ass just for thinking of this dirty trick. Cloud is dead.”
“Hell? I ain’t goin to hell. Its me, I assure you it’s really me.” Cloud said trying to remain clam even though he was shaking in his boots. Would she kill him?
“Really? Prove it.” She said through gritted teeth.
“Um…alright. Nibelhem wasn’t hit by plague, it was burned by Sephiroth.” He said.
“Tsh, anyone could know that. They only told the public that it was hit by plague. They didn't want their best soldier to look like the devil himself. Any high top Shinra executive could know that. You’re…not …Cloud!”
“Um…okay still don’t believe me? How about…what the first thing Sephrioth said when we went into the library? Only you and I were there. Shinra scum wouldn’t know that."
“Okay smart one…tell me.”
“The first thing he said was ‘I thought I told you leave me…oh…it’s you…traitor.’ That’s what he said, his exact words…right?” She froze. She didn’t move, didn’t blink, didn’t even breathe. She just stared directly into his eyes. From the look she gave him, it looked like she was reading his mind. He held his breath, he wasn’t sure if she believed him or even if she remembered him. Maybe he was just a forgotten memory or just a memory. She tilted her head and looked at him. Then, out of no where she grinned.
“Cloud! Good God it really is you! I thought you were dead--.”
“Um…would you mind? The knife…” he said as he pushed the dagger away from his neck.
Oh sorry bout that.” She and she jumped off of him. She threw out a hand and Cloud grabbed it, she yanked him to his feet. Cloud brushed himself off and turned around and looked at Aerith, (who was still hiding on the roof.)
“Come on down Aerith!” Cloud called. Aerith popped up from her hiding place and slowly started to climb down the pile of junk. She jumped down and walked over to Cloud and the figure. It was a girl with fire red hair and deep blue eyes. She started at Aerith, her gaze was piercing and Aerith couldn’t help herself, she had to refuse to meet those eyes. She felt them hit the ground.
“Aerith, I want you to meet an old friend of mine…Karta. She used to be in SOLDIER with me. If my memory serves me correctly, you were a Third Class. But judging by your handy work on the plate and what you just did to the cyborg and that Turk, you’ve improved just a little.” Cloud said pointing to the girl, grinning. She glared at him.
“And judging by the way you ran from the battle you haven’t.” she replied flatly. Cloud felt his ears get hot. “Um…hi! It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is---.”
“Why were they after you?” Karta interrupted her. Aerith was taken back by the hostility in her voice.
“Long story…” Aerith replied fading off slightly. They stood in silence for a moment until there was a grunt from the direction of Reno. Karta sighed and walked over to man. She spit on his face and kicked hard him the ribs. He grunted and was out like a light again. Cloud and Aerith watched as Karta got some old chains from the pile of junk. She wrapped them around his arms and legs a couple time. After a moment she reached into her pouch and pulled out a pad lock. Typing in a few numbers the lock opened and she connected both ends of the chains. She then dragged him over to the church and leaned him against the wall. She brushed her hands off and looked at Aerith and Cloud staring at her. She walked over to her sword and picked it up and put it back in its sheath.
“Where do you live Aerith?” Karta asked.
“Sector 5, why?” she replied.
"All right, we’ll drop you off at your house. Are you coming with me Cloud or do you have something that needs to be done alone?” Cloud shrugged and asked
“Where you off too?”
“Sector 7.” She replied
“Guess so.” He said.
“Great.” She didn’t sound thrilled about it. Cloud could barely hear her grumble something about “Another back to watch.” She turned to Aerith and said, “ Let’s go before back-up shows up. I’ve killed enough for one night. Aerith lead the way.” Aerith nodded and went to their left, away from half dead Reno and the demolished cyborg. Karta smiled, things were always too easy, a challenge every once and a while would be nice. Cloud looked at his friend, she had changed a quite a bit from their last encounter. When he last saw her she was fourteen and he was sixteen. It was in Nibelhem on their mission to the reactor. Although the memory was a little fuzzy, the thing that was most clear was their ranks. He remembered her as a timid 3rd class that could barely lift a Buster Sword let alone a Rune Blade. He could remember her telling him something that happened in a laboratory and she joined to hide. He remembered her a little warmer to new comers and he eyes used to look a lot happier. But behind all that sat a lot of pain, that she never told anyone, let alone show it. As he examining her features he felt his eyes wander to hers. She was staring straight ahead but he could still watch in awe as they changed from sea blue to a blue green and then a forest green. He didn’t even realize he was staring intently until she turned and was staring back with an icy stare. He felt his eyes hit the ground in embarrassment.
“Why are you going to Sector 7?” he asked, eyes still on the ground.
“I have an old friend from Kalm that’s part of AVALANCHE. I’m stopping by to pick up some firearm.” She replied flatly. Cloud then noticed she was holding her right shoulder and on her shirt and hand was fresh red blood.
“You’re hurt.” He said.
“I’ll live.” She replied again very flatly. Cloud dropped the subject and didn’t bother to ask any more questions. Aerith took a right and there was her house. It was a happy looking place with flowers everywhere. Light poured all around and for a moment you forgot you were in Midgar. A woman came running out of the house. She wrapped her arms around Aerith and held her close. Karta and Cloud stopped a few feet away, Cloud in the light but Karta among the shadows. When the women looked up at them from over Aerith shoulder, her smile faded. She gently pushed Aerith away and whispered,
“Honey…you were followed again.”
"Oh no mother! They helped me escape when I was really followed. Mom, I want you to meet Cloud and Karta.” Aerith replied, “Cloud, Karta, this is my mother Elymra.” Cloud nodded in approval but Karta stood very still, still holding on to her left shoulder. Elmyra gasped at the blood.
“Oh my! Dear, you’re injured.” She gasped.
“I’m fine. Cloud, I have to get going. Are you coming?” she said eyeing him.
“I have no where else to be. Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you around Aerith…Elmyra.” Cloud said somewhat brightly. Elmyra smiled back at them and looked almost relieved to see them going in hurry. She seemed to be avoiding eye contact with Karta at all costs. He turned and went back into the house. Aerith turned too but Karta grabbed her with her bloody right hand. Aerith made a face at the feeling of someone’s blood on her skin.
“A long story huh? I want to hear it…soon. Better yet, make a long story short right now.” Karta said in a challenging voice.
“I can’t…but I will tell you. Come back to tomorrow afternoon around lunch.” Aerith said not looking in that glare. Karta stared for a moment.
“Your mom doesn’t seem to like me too much.” She said in a cold voice.
“Oh…then I’ll meet you in the church. Same time?”
“Fine.” She let go of Aerith’s wrist. In was covered in blood. Aerith turned and walked into her house and shut the door. Cloud stood puzzled, why did Karta want to know why the Turks were after Aerith so badly? Pushing away any question and knowing this wasn’t the time, he turned to Karta.
“Let’s go.” She said and she walked away from the house. Cloud followed but looked over his shoulder. In the window was Elmyra, watching them with a look of despair. Cloud turned away from house and jogged to catch up with Karta. Although he wanted to touch on the subject of where she had been the past few years, but decided not too. She didn't seem to fond of the past. They walked side by side until they came the door to Sector 7. Cloud looked at her and said,
"Karta, maybe we should take a break. You're not lookin too good, a little pale."
"I'm fine. We'll rest when we get to our destination." She replied but Cloud knew she wasn't 'fine' because only a moment later, she stumbled.
"Are you all right?!" he asked helping her to feet. She didn't reply she just pushed herself to her feet and trudged on. Cloud could tell by the look in he eye not to push anything. Before long, a bar came into view, it was called Tifa's Seventh Heaven. Cloud froze, where had he heard that name before? He racked his memory for that name, but nothing came. He looked up and saw that Karta was already half way up the stairs leading up the bar. Cloud jogged to catch up with her. Cloud looked and saw that the bar didn't open for another two and half-hours. He grabbed Karta's arm to stop her from going in.
"They're closed." He said.
"They're expecting me to come. In fact I wad due here a hour ago but I got…distracted." She replied and pushed the door open. Behind the bar stood a girl with long brown hair, polishing glasses. Nursing a nose and a jaw was a buff black man with a gun on his arm. They both looked up when they heard Karta and Cloud come in. The man with the gun arm looked away from Karta not wanting to look into her eyes. He looked upset. The girl looked straight into Karta's eyes. It looked like they were having a staring contest. Cloud could feel the tension growing in the room, and the walls seemed to be closing in. Cloud shut his eyes and thought, "Open spaces, open spaces." He couldn't believe that he was getting claustrophobic at a time like this. It always happened at the worst time. Karta made her eyes narrow as she and the girl behind the bar refused to let go of her gaze. The girl was the one to break the uneasy silence.
"You Bigg's friend from Kalm?" she asked flatly.
"Yeah, names Karta. This is an old buddy from SOLDIER, Cloud." Karta replied. The girl looked up very quickly and the man with the gun arm clicked a clip into place.
"Both of us are ex-SOLDIER." Karta grinned at their paranoia. "Did I neglect to mention that?"
"God damn you…you…never mind. I'm Tifa and this is Barret. Well, since you're a bitch and you seem to be in a good mood I might as well break the news to you. At the reactor the other night we lost three comrades. Wedge, Jessie and…Biggs. To make matter worse, we got robbed and now we have no firearms.” Tifa said to Karta in a hostel voice. The grin melted off Karta’s face like butter.
“Oh…we need a place to crash for the night. We’re gonna to stay here.” Karta said flatly. Tifa glared at her and she could feel her ears turn a bright crimson. She clenched her fists and forced herself not to scream at the dark Shinra scum before her.
You heartless b*tch, you don’t give a sh*t that Biggs is dead. You just found out that a friend dies and you demand that you’re crashing here for the night. Biggs really wanted to see you! Ya know what his last words were?! ‘Burn in hell Shinra, I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you’ and he died before he could get your name out! You Shinra freaks are so f******g self-centered; you couldn’t give a sh*t if someone asked you to kill your own parents. You would do it in a heartbeat if you could fill you f******g pockets with all the gil they could fit! Your hands are smeared with blood and you’re more than willing to shed more!” Tifa screamed at Karta. Karta just stared back at Tifa emotionless. She then moved with inhuman speed and grabbed Tifa’s collar and pulled her close. Tifa looked surprised and angry.
“Look, I know he’s dead but he didn’t die in vain did he? If you think your hatred towards Shinra is big than take that and times it by a hundred and you’ll have mine. Heh let me guess Shinra took everything from you. Well they took everything from me and then made my life a living hell since I was eleven. That nine years of pure hell. I may have blood smeared on my hands but so do you. When you blow reactors, do you have any idea how many die? Innocent people! I have the blood of my enemies and those who asked for death on my hands but you have the blood of children! And don’t even get into parents; they had to live the same torture as I did. I have nothing left and no one to turn too. No family, no friends, no home, they only thing that keeps me going is the fact that I despise Shinra. You want vengeance as do I, so we might as well become allies.” Karta said in dark voice. She let go of Tifa’s shirt and took a step back, “So is that a yes or a no on crashing here?” Tifa grumbled a reluctant yes and she refused to come in eye contact. The evidence that she didn’t trust them was shinning brightly. Cloud took a deep breath and held it in. Barret sat in silence staring at his drink.
“Well since we’re going to allies, let’s have a drink.” Cloud said hoping to break the uneasy silence between everyone.
“Why?” Tifa asked while Karta and Barret started at him with weird looks.
“Because…because I’m twenty-one God damnit and I’m legal!” he said slamming his fists on the table. Karta forced a smile,
“ Well I’m nineteen God damnit and it’s my natural right to get hung over! Hit me hard!” Karta said slamming her fist on the table. For the first time in two days, Tifa cracked a smile while Barret chuckled. The tension left and Cloud, Barret, Tifa and Karta all sat around a table with one of Tifa’s famous cocktails.
Tseng wandered the streets of the slums following the signal form Reno’s PHS. The signal hadn’t moved at all and Tseng feared the worst. He knew that Reno was the only friend he had and he also knew that he would go insane if he had to work with Rude (who had some grudge against him and Reno for some strange and unknown reason). When Tseng and Rude entered the Turks together they were pretty good friends. Rude was so buff and so good at his job that he was always surrounded by young secretaries and rookie Turks. Needless to say, his reputation reached the sly ears of the President rather quickly and within a week, offered him a job as Head of the Turks. But almost as soon as he said Yes to the job offer, Reno made it in. He was one of the youngest people to make it into the Turks and that caught the eyes of all of Rude’s followers. They dropped him and ran to Reno. He was handsome enough with red hair and gray eyes. Tseng found himself drawn away from Rude’s serious personality to Reno’s carefree way of life. They became quick friends and although he didn’t mean too, he slowly drifted apart from Rude. It was then that Rude started sending them on tough missions that he knew they couldn’t handle, maybe some sort of revenge. If Reno were dead, that would be revenge enough.
Tseng froze, that was why Rude didn’t like them. He hated Reno because he took the spotlight and he hated Tseng for ditching him. It all clicked, and Tseng felt terrible. He didn’t mean to stop being friends with Rude, it just sort of happened. One of the Turks that were with Tseng came over to him.
“Sir, are you all right?” the Turk asked in a quiet timid voice.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s keep going.” Tseng replied too quickly. The Turk seemed to except the decision without words although he didn't seem believe it. After they wandered around the Sector 5 slums for a while they came to back by the gate and the signal became stronger. He took a sharp right and came upon a broken down church. The first thing he saw was the cyborg on the ground. It was on its side a huge sword mark down the chest with sparks flying from his. It crackled and hissed. On the other side of the door sat Reno, tied up in chains that were bound together with a padlock. He red hair hung over his tilted head. He wasn’t moving and he didn’t seem to be conscious but he was breathing. Tseng walked quickly up to his friend and looked at him.
“Reno?! Hey, man, are you okay?!” Tseng asked.
“Damnit Tseng I’m a f******g dead man. Both of those b*tches escaped and it was MY fault. I let my ego take over and I let my guard down! I’m a disgrace to the Turks! Rude is going to kill me and you and I both know all he needs is an excuse to beat the sh*t of me. Tseng, I got my ass whooped by a girl!” Reno wailed.
"Pull it together Reno, you’re stronger than this! Don’t feel so bad, Elena can kick my ass. You’re delirious, come on man you’re not looking too good.” Tseng said pulling Reno to his feet.
“Damn man, there goes my raise right down the drain!” Reno screamed. He threw his head back and fell into Tseng’s arms. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue but this usually only happened when Reno got too carefree and he would get drunk. Tseng couldn’t count on both hands how many times she had carried his friend out of a bar. This was different Reno was hurt. The cyborg walked over and broke the chains that bound Reno and threw him over his shoulder.
“Will he be alright sir?” one of the Turks asked. Tseng sighed,
“Physically yup but Reno is a very proud person and this will hurt his ego. I think this is the last time he will get too proud.” Tseng said as he adjusted his sunglasses. With the condition of the cyborg outside, he could only guess the fate of the other two Turks and the other cyborg. Heaving one more sigh, Tseng went on his way back to the Shinra building. “This is going to be one tough b*tch to catch.” He thought.
Rude took a deep breath. The thing he hated more than traitors was reporting bad news to the President. He couldn’t believe that Tseng and Reno screwed up again. How many times was this? Now that he thought about it, it was believable that they would screw up. It happened a lot, maybe too many times. He felt like he had failed and it left a little scar on his ego. That little scar made him look weak. That was the third thing that he hated, the first was reporting bad news to the Presidents, then it was traitors and then it was weakness. Reno and Tseng had failed, not him. He had nothing to do with the mission he just gave the orders. Those orders were supposed to be followed but those two rookies couldn’t make a simple arrest. They made Rude look like an everyday fool. A fool…that word tasted bitter in his mouth. Taking a deep breath, Rude pushed the door to the President's office. President Shinra turned around when he heard the door open, he looked at Rude. "What's wrong Rude?"
I'm sorry to report that we had the murderer but the two rookies screwed up. I'm terribly sorry, sir." Rude said.
"Don't worry about it Rude, just make sure we keep our men out of the slums for a while. Besides, I have another mission for you."
"Anything, you name it and it will be done."
"I want you to send a helicopter to my house outside of Midgar and pick up my son. I think that he's old enough to uphold the responsibility and title of Vice-President. Today will be the day that I introduce him to the world. After living twenty years of living alone in a house with only my wife as his company, no contact with other humans. He will finally see how my company has grown and how huge Midgar is. He has been secluded my society, no civilian has ever seen him, only my top executives."
"Don't worry sir. I'll send my best Turks after him. To make sure everything goes well, I'll send two Turks just in case." A sly smile spread across Rude's face.
"Good thinking Rude, and people wonder why I picked you be in charge of the Turks. Send them right away." Rude saluted and left the room. Just as he closed the door, Reeve came running towards the door. Rude's eyes got big as he came plowing into his buff body. The skinny man fell to the ground with a loud thump when he slammed into Rude's body. He looked up at Rude with a look of disgust. Rude returned the look and walked away. He pushed the down button at the elevator. He folded his arms and adjusted his sunglasses. The doors swung open and Rude stepped in. He pushed the button for level fifty and the doors shut. The elevator jerked a little and started to descend. Rude looked at the floor deep in thought. He smiled, he would send Reno and Tseng and pray they would screw up. The Turks lounge area was on level fifty and he prayed the two fools were there. The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. He stepped out and looked for Reno's flaming red hair. When he didn't see it he grabbed the nearest Turk by the collar.
"Where are Reno and Tseng?" he asked sternly.
"Infirmary, Reno got a head injury on his last mission." The Turk replied. Rude turned and walked towards the Infirmary. When he was less than three feet from the door, it swung open and out stepped Tseng followed by Reno. They both froze when they saw Rude. Rude could see Reno cowering behind Tseng with an ice pack to his head. He smiled,
"Well since you two failed to complete an arrest, I'm giving you another mission and a second chance. The President's son is being introduced to the world later tonight. He needs two escorts and I'm sending you two. This is important so don't screw up. Head to the roof, I have a helicopter waiting. Get going…now!" Rude explained pointing to the door. "Oh and Reno, give me the ice pack. You look like a rookie." Reno handed over the icepack and walked towards the door. He seemed a little shaky on his own too feet. Tseng watched him walk and then looked at Rude.
"Look Rude, he has a lump the size of a basketball on his head. Let him rest, I'll go." Tseng offered.
"He's a Turk, he can shake it off." Rude replied harshly. Tseng sighed and walked towards the door without muttering another word. Rude smiled, they were going to screw up.
Rufus Shinra shielded his eyes from the afternoon sun. He was so excited, he was finally going to be named Vice-President. When they got the message from his father that he was sending a helicopter to pick him up, Rufus insisted that he waited outside. As usual, his mother put up no battle. He'd been home schooled his whole life and he'd never been to Midgar. This was the first time he would see just how powerful his family really was. Rufus knew that he couldn't screw up when he walked on stage. He had been known to trip over his own feet and every now and then. Rufus let out a worried laugh; he was lying to himself. "I know I'm the all time klutz of the world. I always make a fool of myself whenever my Dad and all his big business people come for dinner. If it isn't me falling off a chair or dropping or knocking over a cup it's me tripping over my own feet." Rufus thought to himself. He shook his head, he just prayed that he didn't screw up…again.
Shielding his eyes again, Rufus looked in the direction that a helicopter sound was coming. He smiled. A hand fell on his shoulder and Rufus turned and looked at his mother. He grinned a happy grin at her but she didn't look happy but worried.
"Don't worry Mom, I'll be fine. The message said I'll have two Turks with me." he said in a matter-of-fact way.
"I know but still…watch your back." She said with a loving smile. Rufus returned the smile and looked towards the helicopter that was almost there. It came down about fifty feet from Rufus and his mother. The wind blew Rufus's blond hair out of place. He gave his mother a quick hug and jogged towards the waiting helicopter. The door opened and there stood a man in a blue suit and sunglasses. He had black hair. Next to him and sitting down was another man with fire red hair and his sunglasses on his head. Rufus took one last look back at his mother and stepped up onto the helicopter. What he didn't expect was he would slip. The back haired Turk grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the helicopter.
"Be careful sir." He said. Rufus have a weak smile, but he thought he heard the red haired Turk mutter "klutz" under his breath but he wasn't sure. "Good afternoon sir. My name is Tseng and this is my companion Reno." Reno gave him a half wave but didn't say anything. Tseng shut the door and showed Rufus where to sit. "Please sir, have a seat." He sat down and Tseng gave the pilot the go ahead. The helicopter roared and took off into the sky.
"Thanks um…why doesn't Reno say anything to me?" Rufus asked. Reno looked up and gave Tseng a really weird look.
"Well, he got a good bump on the head on our last mission. He really shouldn’t even be here but our boss, Rude, made him come." Tseng replied. Rufus looked at Reno who was staring out the window. He could see an egg the size of a basketball on the back of his head. Rufus grimaced in pain. It was huge!
"I'll be sure to talk to him about it. No one should be working if they're hurt." Rufus said sticking out his chest. Reno rolled his eyes. "Tseng, when will we be getting to Midgar?"
"You can see it now." Tseng said. Rufus jumped to his feet and ran to the window, almost tripping over his own feet.
"Wow." was all he could spit out. The city was more amazing than he'd seen in pictures. But he frowned; he could see the plate, the reactors and the Headquarters but not the slums. "If I'm going to help rule this city than I need to see it all." He thought. "Tseng, we're taking a little detour. We're going to fly over the slums." Rufus commanded. Reno's head flew up and for the first time during the whole ride, he spoke.
"Why?"
"It doesn't matter now does it? We'll fly over my lucky number seven." Rufus said.
"But sir--" Tseng started.
"You say you are loyal but you don’t obey orders when given. Should we test your loyalty?" Rufus inquired eyeing the two men. Tseng and Reno exchanged glances. Tseng turned to the pilot and grumbled,
"Head to the Sector 7 slums." Rufus grinned as they descended. The first thing he noticed when they entered the slums was the smell. It stunk, and he couldn't believe how bad it was. Through the window he couldn't see down. He turned to Reno and said,
"I can't see down…open the door." Reno didn't reply he just walked over and opened the door. Giving Rufus a "look" he went over and sat back down.
"Be careful, sir." Tseng said.
"Yeah, yeah." Rufus grumbled rolling his eyes. He walked very carefully over to the open door and looked out. All he could see was a tall pillar that held the plate up and a layer of smoke. He was so angry that he turned to walk away but tripped on his own feet. He fell forward and slid towards the open door. Within a second, he was out of the helicopter and falling towards the ground. Tseng lunged forward to grab him but missed by an inch as Reno jumped to his feet. The both looked out the door as the blond haired man plummeted to the ground.
"SIR!" Tseng screamed. Rufus heard Tseng call at him but he paid no attention. The ground came fast and gravity showed no mercy. He puffed threw the layer of smoke and closed his eyes as he hit a roof and sank into oblivion.
Tseng could only watch as he fell threw the smoke and out of sight. This was bad this was very bad. No one could survive a fall like that! Tseng turned to the pilot.
"Get to the Headquarters…NOW!" he screamed.
"Fell out of a helicopter?! My God, my son is a moron! I can't believe this is happening to me! I can't let the public know my only son is the all time moron of the century! They would never trust me again! We can't let them know! We must not them know. Any idea's how we could…take care of this little problem?" the President asked franticly.
"Well, no one could survive a fall like that sir so we can assume that he is dead. The people of the slums will find him and bury him without question. Well, there were two Turks in the helicopter…let's say that they murdered him. We'll make an arrest and tell the public that your son was just an innocent victim cut down by two traitors. After all, the two Turks didn't protect him did they? Believe me sir, this way overdue. These two are always screwing up." Rude said with a sly smile.
"But what about showing a picture of Rufus? They'll know who it is." The President asked.
"We'll say that your family doesn't want to the picture for personal matters." The President smiled a huge grin.
"I love the way you think! What are the Turks names?"
"Tseng O'Zion and Reno Louinton."
"What do you suggest we do next?" Tifa asked taking a sip of her cocktail.
"First there are some things I need to know about Aerith." Karta said.
"Then what?" Barret asked.
"Then we--" Karta didn't get to finish. A body came crashing threw the ceiling and landed on a table breaking it. It was a man, maybe twenty or twenty-one in a white outfit and blond hair. He lay unmoving in the pile of broken wood. Karta tipped her head back and finished her cocktail. "Alright I've got my cure materia. Let's get to work." They all took one long slug of their cocktails and walked over to the unconscious body.
.