Rufus Shinra slid under an old blue trash bin with the paint chipping off. He peered out from under, taking in his surroundings.
He was in the Midgar ruins and he was SUPPOSED to be approving items he deemed suitable for building material in Edge. He was in what used to be an alley in the Fifth Sector. The buildings that used to stand on either side of the alley were now dilapidated, a shadow of what the great city used to be. What used to be the road was now cracked and almost gravel, puddles littering the ground.
He had been walking around with his Turks, marking everything that was acceptable for building with red spray paint, when they had been attacked. He wasn't sure who it was; they had hoods pulled up covering their faces. The only defining feature had been a red sash they wore diagonally across their chests. They weren't AVALANCHE. But they were trying to kill Rufus.
Clunk Clunk Clunk
Rufus pulled out his shotgun and stayed quiet as death as he saw big black heavy boots come to a stop in front of his hiding place. The blonde man desperately wished he had Dark Nation at his side, but he was dead. Rufus held his breath as the person stood in front of the dumpster, looking around.
"Do you see him?" A static filled voice said through what Rufus assumed was a walky-talky.
"Negative, sir." A deep male voice said. "He seems to ha-"
"ARRRRAAAGGHHHH!"
Rufus looked down the opposite end of the alley to see a mess of red hair running full speed down the alley, EMR drawn. The man whirled around, then took off in a run in the opposite direction.
"RENO." Rufus shouted, crawling out from under the trash bin. Reno slid to a stop in front of the blonde man.
"Sir!" he shouted. "Are you alright?"
Rufus looked down at his suit. It was covered in mud and grease. The president brushed some of the larger chunks of mud off of his jacket and looked up at the redheaded Turk.
"Where are the others?" he asked harshly.
Reno stood up straight. It was obvious Rufus was beyond pissed. "They'll meet us at the helicopter, sir."
Rufus nodded. "Straighten your damn shirt." He said, trying to keep his calm and began to make his way to the helicopter.
When they arrived, Elena, Tseng, and Rude were waiting for them, keeping a sharp eye out for anymore of the assassins. Rufus brushed past them and climbed into the chopper, sitting down on a cushioned seat in the back. Everyone was silent as they took off the ground. No one dared make a sound. They didn't want to make Rufus more mad then he already was.
Rufus sat quietly watching out the window, observing the landscape pass below the quickly as they made their way back to the headquarters. They finally arrived at their new building; an eight story building about a mile outside of Edge. A twenty foot brick wall surrounded the building, with outposts every thirty feet. A helipad was on top of the building, near a door that led directly to the top floor where the Turks and Rufus's office were located. Surrounding the build was a lush green garden that went partway up a hill behind the building before running into the wall. From the roof of the building, you could just barely see the new Shinra mansion, a large three story house about five miles away, nestled in between a cliff and a forest it was barely visible except to those who knew exactly where to look.
They landed on the roof and Rufus was the first to disembark from the helicopter.
"My office. Five minutes." The President said brusquely and made his way to his office.
His office was white. The carpets, the chairs, and the walls were all white. Even his computer. His desk was made of glass however. At the far end of the room, was a large window that overlooked the forest outside the wall.
Rufus took a deep breath, and then made his way to the private bathroom at back of the room. The décor in the bathroom matched that of his office. Near the door was a small closet, from which he pulled out a spare suit. He quickly changed into the suit, depositing the dirty one down a laundry chute. He ran his hand through his hair and straightened the bandage around his neck and shoulder. He had hurt his shoulder a couple years ago, and wore the gauze to help keep it in place.
He then walked out of the room and went and sat at his desk, waiting for the Turks to come. They arrived shortly after he sat down.
Rufus sat quietly watching them as they stood nervously before him.
"Why is it," he began quietly, "That my highly trained, highly honored group of Turks, did not notice the group of assassins following us? And why is it that, when they attacked, you didn't stay by my side, you all scattered?"
"Well, see we thoug-" Reno began, but Rufus cut him off.
"No. No excuses. You are hired to stay by side when I am attacked by assassins."
"Well-" The redhead was once again cut off by the blonde man.
"Maybe you four are losing your touch." Rufus sighed, rubbing his forehead as though he had a headache.
The four Turks stood quietly, exchanging looks. Reno almost spoke again, but Rude elbowed him hard in the side.
"I need someone I can count on." Rufus said finally.
"Sir, I don't thi-" Tseng began, but one glance from the President shut him up.
"I want applicants by the end of the day." Rufus said, turning away from them and moving the mouse to his computer, waking it up.
The Turks just stood there, not knowing what to do.
Rufus looked up. "That's all."
When they left, the President leaned back and rubbed his eyes. He hated yelling at his Turks. They were really his only friends in the world. It was safe to assume everyone on Gaia hated him. But the Turks stuck by his side, staying with him even after METEOR hit, hunting him down after being kidnapped and helping him build Edge. But still, this was the second time in two weeks the Turks had run off after someone, leaving him by himself with assassins in the area. Worst of all, they hadn't caught anyone.
He knew they weren't losing their touch. The other guys were just better than them. This was the reason he wanted to get someone new. He was worried. If the assassins were better than his highly trained Turks, he was in serious trouble. But he couldn't admit this to them. He couldn't look weak. His father was gone, but he could still feel him there, in the Lifestream, judging him. Pointing out when he was weak. He wouldn't allow this.
Nearly two hours later, Tseng came into Rufus's office, a list in his hand.
"We have found a few applicants, Mr. President." He said setting the paper down on the desk. "They're down on Level 5."
Rufus stood up and made his way towards the elevator, pressing the button for Level 5. When they arrived, he sat down behind a long table in between Elena and Reno.
"'Sup boss." The redhead said, yawning, his feet on the table.
Rufus reached over and smacked the Turk's legs, knocking them off the table. "Send them in." he said, nodding at Rude.
The tall, bald Turk nodded back, straightening his sunglasses and walked to the end of the room and opened the door. In walked a short, 40 year old man.
"Hello, sir!" he said cheerfully, bouncing across the room. "Names Billy! Billy Chang!"
Rufus blinked and stared at the little man. Half of his body mass was his belly.
This was going to be a long day.
Juliet sat quietly in the waiting room of Shinra. She had been at 7th Heaven when a guard from Shinra came in saying that Rufus was looking for a body guard. She had made her way there immediately. She needed this job. She owed money to all the wrong people, and they were all after her. If she could get this job, she might make it.
And I might be able to rescue….. She thought, and then cut herself off. It was a ridiculous thought.
Juliet glanced around the room. All of the people in it were pathetic. Old men and young children with dreams of honor, glory, and riches. They had no experience of fighting. The one person who might be a contender, had a slight limp in his right leg. They wouldn't choose him.
"Juliet Comeau?"
The girl looked up. A bald man, with sunglasses was standing in the doorway. The girl took a deep breath and stood up, making her way into the room.
Rufus Shinra sat at the table, playing with a pen. So far, no one had been good. One girl actually ran away screaming from the Bandersnatch they had released for her to fight. He was beginning to think anymore searching would prove to be futile.
"Woah." Reno breathed next to him, sitting up straight and making a subconscious effort to tidy up his hair and clothes. Rufus looked up, and immediately understood the redhead's reaction.
Walking towards them was a beautiful, lithe girl, about 5 foot 8 inches. She had shoulder length violet colored hair which matched her deep purple eyes. She was wearing white shorts and a spaghetti strap white tanktop. Hanging around her waist was a holster which held a weapon of some kind. As she got closer, Rufus noticed a thin scar going from the top of her right shoulder down diagonally until it disappeared under her tank top.
"Name?" Rufus asked, composing himself.
"Juliet Comeau." She replied in a rich silky voice.
"Age?"
"24."
"Relationship status?" Reno asked, leaning forward eagerly.
"Fuck off." She replied, sneering at him.
Rufus smiled slightly. It wasn't often a girl didn't succumb to Reno's charm. "Weapon?"
"Gunblade."
"Alright." The President said, making a note on a piece of paper. "Are you ready?"
Juliet nodded and went to stand in the center of the room. Reno pressed the button on the wall behind his chair, and a Bandersnatch emerged from the wall. It was gone almost faster than they could blink. Rufus nodded to the redhead, and he pressed the button, releasing two more. She disposed of them quickly. IT was time for the big one. The Turk pressed the button once more, and a Behemoth emerged, roaring loudly. Juliet stumbled backwards a bit, taken aback by the monstrosity of the beast. But she composed herself quickly.
Rufus could tell by the look on her face, she was formulating an attack plan. She dodged a couple of blows, and rolled around behind the Behemoth, attacking his back. There were a few dicey moments, where she was nearly crushed, but she did a superb job. Not many people could defeat a Behemoth single handedly. Of course, this wasn't a fully developed Behemoth. It was still however, impressive.
"You're hired." Rufus said smiling.
Juliet sighed with relief and nodded. "Thank you." She said gratefully.
The blonde man stood up and made his way to the elevator. "Rude please tell everyone they may go home."
The bald man grunted and made his way out the door again.
Juliet followed Rufus and Reno onto the elevator. As she crossed over the threshold of the elevator, she tripped, falling into the President.
"Shit." She muttered looking up bashfully at the blonde man, his blue eyes looking down at her. She stood up quickly, blushing slightly. "Sorry. I- I'm a bit clumsy sometimes."
Rufus held back a smile and stepped to the side, pressing the button to the eighth floor. "No worries."
Okay, to anyone who has read Storm, Yes. Storm also uses a Gunblade. However, Gunblades are my favorite. So, deal. =]
Anyway, this is my first Rufus Fanfic, my last one was a Reno Fanfic. Soooooooo, yeah. I hope I gain new readers and keep my old ones! And please, if you haven't read Storm, please do so! However, I think this one might be better, as I'm putting much more effort into this story. =]
If you are reading this, THANKS! Please review!