Note: Inspired by RedCherryAmber's "Mightier than the Gun". I think her story is BRILLIANT (seriously, READ IT!) but all the same I didn't agree and wanted to write something in response ever since I read it.
This piece is my reply.
"Ah, Ms. Chase," said Rufus. The President sat at large boardroom table. "Please, take a seat. I'm very glad you could make it." There was a seat pulled out for her on his right hand side.
When they came for her she'd expected to be led to a cell. That is, if they didn't execute her on the spot. In the car she'd ran through that scenario, being driven to some secluded place and shot. She hadn't expected to be escorted to the office of Rufus Shinra himself.
"Coffee?" He reached across the table and poured her a cup from a silver coffee pot.
Vivian looked at the cup he offered, then shook her head. "No...no thank you," she said. Her voice sounded much smaller than she would have liked.
Rufus smiled and shook his head. "It isn't poison." He took the cup himself and drank deeply. "If that's what you were worried about. You, if anyone, should know that if I wanted to kill you you'd be dead."
"And it would be a bullet, rather than poison, I suspect," Vivian answered. Her voice was calm, but her heart was pounding so hard she was almost certain he could here it. "But you don't want me dead, not yet at least."
"No," said Rufus. He picked up a copy of the book and paged through it. "I've read your work, you know? Cover to cover. To be honest, I'm impressed."
"If you think I'm going to recant what I wrote-"
"You'd die first?" asked Rufus. "I'd expect nothing less. Anyone willing to write what you have, knowing what you know about my company would of course be willing to die. However, I don't believe in fighting words with bullets."
Vivian snorted, and crossed her arms. "Is that so?"
"Words have a way of living on. That's the trouble with ideas, they're so hard to kill. In fact I'd almost bank on the fact if you die your words will out live you. You might even become a martyr, were I to kill you."
"Is that why you haven't, yet?" she asked.
"No," said Rufus. "It's because I want you."
"What?" she asked.
"I want you to write a sequel, but this time you won't have to dig for truth through rumors and conspiracy theories. I'll give you everything you need."
"You honestly think I'd write propaganda for you?" Her voice rose, her fear vanishing before a wave on indignation.
"No," said Rufus. "I want to you to write the truth. The whole truth, which has up to this point been classified. You see, I actually liked your book but there were things you got wrong. As for what you did get right, you have no proof. There have been conspiracy theories about Shin-Ra for years, in that regard your book is hardly ground breaking, but what if in your next book you had proof."
"Proof about what?"
"The events leading the collapse of the Sector 7 Plate, for example," said Rufus. He looked to the Turk who was standing at the door. The man came forward and placed a file in front of Vivian on the table.
"Go ahead, take a look," said Rufus.
Vivian hesitated, what exactly was he playing at? She didn't know, but all the same she couldn't resist her need to know to truth, that same burning need which had lead her to begin with. She flipped open the file and began to read. Her face grew white as her hand went to her mouth. Details of the plan, reports of the mission, everything.
"It's all there," said Rufus. "Everything you need to know."
"Why?" she asked. Why would he implicate himself? "Why are you showing me this?" The question little more than a whisper.
"Because I want you, and the world, to know the truth," said Rufus.
"That you're responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people?" he asked. Vivian, and others, had suspected as much for years, yet here he sat, the President of Shin-Ra, absolutely calm.
"No, not me," said Rufus. "I was in Junon at the time, imprisoned by my own father. Do you want to know why? Because I knew he was madman and what this company was doing for the planet. So in secret I began to siphon money and intelligence to AVALANCHE."
"Bull shit." The curse slipped out before Vivian even realized she had said it.
Rufus gave a quiet laugh. "It's hard to believe, I know," said Rufus, "But of course, I have proof." Rufus looked to the Wutainese man again and he pulled out several files as well as disks. "We have security footage from when I was finally captured, as well my interrogation shortly after. Records of everything I did and of my years of imprisonment. You can see it all for yourself."
"How do I know it's not all faked?" she asked. "You attempted to have AVALANCHE members executed."
"Yes," said Rufus. "Unfortunately, AVALANCHE was more extremist than I initially imagined. I wanted to stop Shinra, but I did not want to waste innocent lives. AVALANCHE didn't care about causalities any more than Shinra did. Fuhito, the original leader of AVALANCHE planned to kill every living thing on the planet, and might have succeeded if not for the efforts of my Turks. Fuhito must have known I'd object because he turned on me as soon as I was no longer of use which resulted in my capture and imprisonment at the hands of Shinra. I remained a prisoner up until my father's death."
"Why didn't he execute you?" she asked. "If you really were a traitor?"
Rufus smiled, and then shrugged. "I've yet to figure that out myself. Maybe even bad men love their children, or perhaps it was because I was the only heir he had. Regardless of why he let me live, he did, and once I assumed the presidency I no longer had any ties with AVALANCHE. However, I will say the death sentence I issued was more to placate the masses than anything. Meteor had been summoned and people were panicking, if they were to riot lives would have been lost. If executing known terrorists was what it took to keep the people calm, what else could I do? I don't know where your sympathy lies, Ms. Chase, but the prisoners in question were responsible for the deaths of innocent Shinra employees as well as civilians. Blowing up reactors with no regard for the lives lost from those attacks is hardly heroic."
Of course, you wouldn't think so, thought Vivian. Then again, she couldn't deny that AVALANCHE was a fringe group made up of well-intentioned extremists who were extremists nonetheless. Their goal had been to save the planet at whatever cost. What had been Rufus's goal? Had he really wanted to reform Shinra?
She didn't know. All he'd really done during his term as president was respond to the crisis brought on by Sephiroth. He led the hunt himself, and under Rufus the Shinra Electric Power Company had worked to protect the people as best they could.
All the same, she wasn't about to swallow his line. He wanted to twist things his own way. He wanted her on his side. Did he really think she was that stupid?
"I'll let you think it over," said Rufus. "You can take the files with you, except for this one." He took the file that detailed Shinra's involvement with Sector 7. "That stays with me. I want the full story told and can't risk one detail being leaked out of context."
"And if I agree," she asked, "you'll give me that? What makes you think what I write will make you look good?"
"Because you care about the truth," said Rufus. "I am fully aware of the evils perpetrated by this company, which is exactly why I seek to atone. It's part of the reason I've been funding the WRO, the other being my general concern for the people of this planet."
"I'm sure," said Vivian. She leaned backwards, arms folded. "So if you're such a noble person, why not come forward about it sooner? Why keep the funding a secret."
"I was afraid people might," Rufus paused and brushed his hair out of his eyes, "get the wrong idea," said Rufus. "It's also been a long time since I've been able to make public appearances, my injuries from Weapon's attack on Midgar and geostigma took a lot out of me-"
"Geostigma?" she asked.
"A subject I'd be happy to go over in depth if you'd like to do a formal interview," Rufus offered. His smile was the perfect facade of polite friendliness.
"So you want to give me more than just the records?" asked Vivian.
"I want to give you everything," said Rufus, "total access, as it were. Of course, my struggle with geo stigma isn't an easy subject for me to talk to about." He looked away fro a moment and his bangs fell like a curtain over his eyes.
"You really had geo stigma?" she asked. It seemed a bit much to believe.
"Yes, it nearly killed me," said Rufus. "but fortunately I made a full recovery. Who knows, maybe it's a sign I can be forgiven?"
"I thought you were innocent?" asked Vivian. She found herself smiling. Here she was, goading Rufus Shinra.
"I inherited my fathers company, and with it his crimes," said Rufus. "Since he's no longer around, responsibility falls to me."
"So noble," she said. She didn't bother to hide her sarcasm, if she hadn't been shot yet, she doubted he'd kill her for rolling her eyes.
"You don't believe me, do you?"
"What? that you want to atone or that you've been a good guy all along?"
"All I can give you if the facts," said Rufus. "You can make of them what you will."
"Even if you did support AVALANCHE before becoming President, it could be that you were just using them as a tool in a bid for power. Maybe you just wanted your father out of the way so you could have Shinra for yourself."
"Really?" asked Rufus. He seemed almost amused. "You're a journalist. Is that the best deduction you can make? It doesn't make sense. I already had power. The vice presidency was mine and I was heir to the company. My father was getting on in years and was hardly the picture of perfect health, why would I need to concoct an elaborate scheme to kill him? Why would I need to seize power when it was already as good as mine? Of course, you can keep your theory if you want. I can't control whether or not you believe me. I guess it's up to you to work out the truth for yourself. I'm just offering you information, and the opportunity of a lifetime. Exclusive interviews, breaking a story that will make history, and finally giving the people the truth."
She was silent for a moment. "Would you really let me walk away?"
"I'm not here to force you," said Rufus. "Whether you want to work with me or not this information is going to be released. I can hire someone else to write the book and do the interviews. I'd prefer to work with you of course, because I trust you'd ensure that this doesn't turn into some propaganda piece."
The sun was setting over Edge, and Rufus Shinra stood by the window watching night fall over his city. At that moment Vivian Chase was being escorted home by Tseng, Rufus would give her a week to think over his offer.
The woman was a problem, her latest book was an attack on his company and him personally. She'd managed to trace the money he'd been pouring into the WRO back to him and if she had her way would turn the world against not only Shinra but Reeve's little organization as well. In her book she'd referred to the WRO as a puppet organization, a front for Shinra to reclaim it's lost power.
She was very perceptive, that one, and more dangerous than she knew. He could not have the people turn against the WRO, things were barely stable and the last thing the world needed was riots or revolutions. Vivian Chase had to be dealt with, but Rufus knew how to turn a problem into an opportunity.
"You sure this is a good idea, yo?" asked Reno. He'd sauntered into the office without bothering to knock.
"You agreed to it," said Rufus. "I wouldn't have moved forward with my plan if any of the Turks opposed it. You're the ones I'm putting on the line."
"Yeah, sort of surprised you cared," said Reno. "If this thing works you'll make yourself out to be the hero, and get the whole fucking planet behind you. Most people wouldn't have hesitated to throw us under the bus."
"Most people? You mean my father?" he asked, "or Heidegger? Anyone else you've worked under."
"Yeah, them," said Reno. "You're one of us though, right? So what are you going to do if she finds out the truth?"
The documents he'd shown Ms. Chase regarding Sector 7 had been less than factual. Minor details had been changed, names of those involved. Rufus knew she might be hesitant to believe him, but a lie wrapped in truth was easier to swallow, sugar with medicine. Besides, who actually had their finger on the button was a trivial detail compared to all the facts he'd given her.
"She won't," said Rufus. "There are no records and the only witnesses can't come forward without implicating themselves as the terrorists responsible for the destruction of two reactors. They have too much blood on their own hands to accuse you. Besides, I don't think they hold any grudges."
"Nah," he said. "It's still risky though, she knows the some of the truth now and people like her don't stop. If she finds out the whole truth you'll be-"
"Implicated in perpetrating the cover up," Rufus finished his sentence for him. "Yes, I know. Before this my hands were clean. I could have given her the whole truth and come out without a stain on my character. But you know as well as I do that I couldn't do that."
"Rufus Shinra protecting us," said Reno, "at some point you're gonna to have grasp the fact it's supposed to be the other way around, yo."
"Maybe," said Rufus. "It's too late to back out now. The ball is in her court."
"And if she refuses?" asked Reno.
"We leave her alone," said Rufus. "Let her write her little fictions. I'll hire someone to write the truth, the whole truth as I want the world to see it. It will make for much more interesting reading, I think. All those messy details. All the things my father wanted to keep buried. Of course, I don't think she'll refuse."
"No," said Reno, "and you'll charm the pants off her."
"If I can get her on my side," said Rufus, "her of all people, then getting the masses on my side should be easy."
"Lies mixed with truth and a story people want to hear," said Reno. "Well, for all our sakes I hope it works. Not the usual way of doing things."
"No," said Rufus. "My father would have kept our secrets buried and buried her along with them."
"Don't tell me you're against killing," said Reno. "You can tell her and the rest of the press you're a saint all you want. I know better."
"No, I'm against choosing the wrong weapon for a particular fight," said Rufus. He turned to face his subordinate who was one of the few people he'd let see him smile a real smile. "The pen is mightier than the sword, as they say, but I happen to know what's mightier than even the pen: spin."
Reno laughed."Yeah?"
"You wouldn't bring a knife to a gun fight, would you?" asked Rufus. "When it's a war of words, no weapon is better suited than words of your own. Especially if you can put them in the mouth of your enemy."
Note: So this story is basically a moment of cynicism on my part. I think spin does more harm to truth than censorship ever could. It's easy to make half truths and whole lies the story people want to hear. Then it doesn't matter what's true, anymore. All that matters is what people believe.
Might continue this, a "Frost/Nixon" esque interview with Rufus could make for an interesting story, but I might let this stand as a one shot. Any suggestions? Or if someone else wants to take the interview idea and run with it be my guest.