Rufus Shinra stirred in the confined space. How long had it been? One hour? Two hours? He had drifted in and out of consciousness, and slowly but surely, the pain in his head and abdomen turned into dull, persistent aches. He wanted to yell, but the cloth in his taped up mouth made is presence known, and he knew it would be useless. He wanted to kick his bound legs, but they were drawn up so close to his chest due to the small space. He tried to move his arms, but they too, were bound behind him.
"What happened?"
He tried to piece together the events that led him up to this moment. He had been attending a society dinner with his father on one of his rare times he was allowed away from Junon. He loathed having to attend these functions, not wanting to be away from his work for long, and despised the disingenuous high class attendees. He despised the polluted air in Midgar and the congested atmosphere. Not that Junon was much better at times, but he at least had the ocean to look out towards and he was rid of his father's criticism.
The throbbing pain in his head came back to him as he remembered a drunk Scarlet trying to sloppily kiss him on the cheek. He drew back and tripped on something behind him, sending him backward on a table and hitting his head in the process. That vile woman had always been trying to plant on him while feigning a parent-like love for him, but he wasn't fooled.
The commotion caused a scene and Scarlet made a mad dash out of sight, not wanting to face Rufus' or his father's wrath. "Sir, are you okay?" Reno dashed to his aid, helping him to his feet.
Rufus patted his shoulder of any debris that might have landed on him and straightened his blindingly white coat. "I'm fine, Reno," Rufus said warily, lifting his hand to the back of his head. "See to it that Scarlet is reprimanded for this." Reno gave a nod and turned and left as Rude came up from behind him.
"Sir, shall I get you a first aid kit?" the bald Turk asked him.
Rufus shook his head. "No, no, Rude, thank you. I'll go get one in my father's office upstairs."
"Would you like us to escort you?"
Again Rufus shook his head. He took this incident as a precursor to get away from the crowd. He wasn't looking forward to speaking with anyone and wished he could just either get back to his own office or get back to work. He made his way to the elevator and pressed the up button. Suddenly, Rufus was grappled rather roughly by his shoulder as the elevator doors opened and swiftly turned around. There before him stood his father, as fat and grotesque as ever.
"Leaving so soon, son?" he asked. Rufus could tell he was straining not to look angry or threatening, but Rufus knew better. He knew the only reason he wanted Rufus in attendance was to parade him around the gathering to keep up appearances of a happy, well meaning family. "I haven't even introduced you to our latest benefactors." He drew in close to Rufus and lowered his voice to a more menacing tone. "There's a lot word about that terrorist group blowing up reactors. If you suddenly start running off, the public will start talking." His moved up to Rufus' collar and yanked him closer still. "You've made this mess and you will stay until it's cleaned up."
Rufus almost laughed until he could smell the, no doubt, endless glasses of champagne on his father's breath. He gently pulled away. "I'm just going upstairs for some ice. Scarlet knocked me over and I hit my head. I'll be right back down," Rufus managed to spit out through clenched teeth.
His father released him and straightened out his wrinkled collar. "Don't take too long," he said.
Rufus turned and pressed the elevator doors open again and climbed on. He typed in the correct key code allowing him access to the top floor. On the way up, he rubbed the lump on his head. He did not want to show it, but it hurt more than he let on. The notifying ding of the elevator, the darkness of the abandoned office and the singular step into the room, were the last things he remembered as he felt a sharp pain jab him in the stomach. His legs stiffened beneath him and gave way as the floor came up to smack him in the face. The world went back after that.
Now he came to without falling back into unconsciousness. The confined space was cold, very cold, as if he were stuffed into a freezer. When the space he was in jolted, he knew then that he was in some sort of vehicle being transported on some uneven terrain. "Great, I've been kidnapped," he thought. It should have been obvious the moment he found himself in this space, but he didn't want to believe the security in his father's company was that incompetent to allow unauthorized personnel in the most exclusive part of the whole building. He didn't have time to ponder how the kidnappers managed to get a hold of the password as he felt the vehicle slow down and stop.
He felt a still silence and the sound of footsteps outside. Suddenly the ceiling of his vessel was lifted and he was blinded by sunlight and silhouette of, what he assumed to be, his kidnappers. "Well, look who's awake," he heard a gruff voice say. He tried to force his azure eyes open, trying to get a look at his abductors, but, almost too quickly, he was lifted up out of the vehicle and hoisted upon a burly man's shoulder. Eyes cast down toward the ground, he could see snow. "That explains the cold," he thought. He then heard a separate set of feet behind them, following them.
He was carried into some sort of cottage. His eyes caught wood flooring and he could feel the heat from a close burning fireplace on him. He heard a new set of footsteps on the wood floor approach them. His abductor kicked a door open and set Rufus down in a chair in a room. One of his abductors, he could now see was a very large and scruffy black man, bound his shoulders to the back of the chair and stood back. The two other footsteps came into view behind him. To his left, a much smaller, young man with spiky blond hair and to his right, a young woman with raven hair and large ruby eyes. All of them were bundled up in warm clothing save for the young lady, who must have been indoors this whole time.
He didn't have much time to drink in much of what he was seeing when the black man began to speak. "Well it's not the big chief himself, but he should do," he bellowed.
"It's not him though," the young woman said. "This may not work."
"It'll be fine," said the spiked-haired man and he shed his outer warm wear, revealing his SOLDIER first class attire. Rufus' brow furrowed. "This group….could it be?" Rufus thought to himself. "He should have plenty of information himself."
The spikey-haired SOLDIER kicked another chair near to him and sat face to face with his abductee. He looked over the young vice president with his taped mouth and messy hair. He reached up and ripped off the tape in one smooth motion. Rufus let out a grunt from the pain but tried to keep his expression from anything other than blank. Whatever these vermin were trying to get out of him, he wasn't going to tell them a thing.
"How nice of you to join us, Mr. Vice President," said the man. "My name is Cloud Strife. Let's not waste each others' time. What's Shinra's next move?" Rufus didn't say a word. He didn't want to give this low-life the satisfaction. "Not talking, huh?" the man stood and punched him square in the face with a gloved hand. The blow left a bloody mark on his high cheekbone and small stream of blood fell down his face. "You better wise up, rich boy, or it's going to get ugly." The man gave him a piercing gaze with his unnaturally glowing eyes.
"Cloud!" yelled the woman. "Stop, he's probably still recovering from the past couple of nights."
"A couple of nights? Just how far were they if it took so long to get here?" Rufus thought.
"Don't get soft, girl," said the black man. "This little pampered boy can survive a long drive in a buggy."
She lowered her voice when she spoke again, but Rufus could still hear her. "He didn't do anything though, what good is he?"
"It seems our lady friend thinks you can use some rest," said Cloud. He pulled the binds from the chair and lifted the tied up vice president and threw him on an uncomfortable cot in the room. "I'll be back soon so you better find that tongue of yours." Cloud shot him a glare as he followed the other two out of the room. Before he closed the door behind him, he poked his head in. "Don't even think about escaping either, Shinra. We're completed isolated with nothing but snow for miles. Don't be foolish now." The door slammed shut behind him.
Rufus' eyes, now adjusted to the single, bright light in the room scanned his surroundings. This new confined space was smaller than any closet he'd ever seen. There was a cot, the two chairs used in the short lived interrogation, and a chamber pot in the corner. "Lovely," Rufus thought, being reduced to this.
At least he was placed on something other than the floor. It could be a lot worse. His face throbbed wildly from that skinny brute. He would be sure to make him pay. He knew that he was partly responsible, funding this group, AVALANCE. But these people were not the same as before, not the ones he hoped would eliminate his father all those years back. This group would do him no good now.
Rufus let the weight pull him down to the skeletal means of comfort beneath him. Any minute now, he knew the Turks or his father's soldiers would storm this place and take him back to Junon. But the hours droned by and his room became deftly silent. Occasionally he could hear the two deep-voiced men talking, probably formulating a new plan. Rufus picked up quickly that he wasn't even their target, thanks to the young woman. So they were after his father? "What would they want with him? What were their plans?" Rufus pondered.
"He may not be the president, but he can be used as a bargaining chip," Cloud's muffled voice came through the wooden door. "We'll just have to determine the terms and someone will go back to Midgar and deliver the message."
"Is that Flower Girl still keeping contact?" the other male was heard saying.
"Yeah, Aerith will give us any news we can't get out here. She's probably asleep or busy now. We can wait until tomorrow. Whatever the news is though, that bastard better start talking."
Rufus heard the men move about and heard the footsteps fade away, only for them to be heard above his head. He heard infrequent shuffling as he leaned back trying to get comfortable. It was clear they weren't coming for him the rest of the night.
Solitude. His bound wrists kept him from lying on his back and his shoulders became numb. Eventually, he heard the rustling and voices calm down and he assumed his kidnappers had gone to sleep. Rufus was irritated and hungry. He hadn't eaten since the party and could feel his stomach rumbling. He tried to will himself to sleep through it, but he was startled by the door opening and saw the voluptuous female enter the tiny room. She carried a tray with what appeared to be food on it and a small box in her other hand.
She quietly shut the door behind her. "I'm sorry, Cloud can get so testy sometimes," she said softly, being mindful of her sleeping companions. Rufus shot her a perplexed look. "Hungry?" Rufus nodded faintly but kept his face stoic. "I thought you might adopt a silent attitude. But you will have to say 'please' if you want to eat." She straightened her back and waited for his response, holding an ever so slight smirk on her lips.
Rufus pursed his lips. He was frustrated, tired, and bound. And now this wench has the audacity to make him beg for food? He wanted to shout at her, but an audible growl in his stomach kept him from doing such. "Please," he said through clenched teeth.
The young lady smiled and placed the tray of food down on one of the chairs. "Goody, but first…" she said as she sat beside him, "let's get you patched up." She reached up to touch his injured face and he reared back in surprise.
"That's not necessary," said Rufus.
"Of course it is. We did this to you, it only makes sense we make it right." She reached for him again. Her touch was soft against his throbbing cheek and, while the bleeding had stopped, it couldn't hurt for some human interaction. He knew that this girl was not as adamant as her colleagues; he could probably get some information out of her if he wanted, about what they planned to do with him. "It's not as bad as it looks," she said softly. She opened the small box, revealed to be a small first aid kit. She took out a sterilized piece of cloth from a silver package and dabbed it on the cut. Rufus winced but let her continue.
"See, it's not so bad," she said sweetly. Rufus shot her a disconcerted look. "I'm Tifa," she said as she continued cleaning his wound. "Tifa Lockhart. I'm sorry about all of this. We weren't really after you." Rufus rolled his eyes. As if that would make him feel better. "There, all done." Tifa applied the small white cloth to his face to cover up the wound and taped it into place.
She sat back, admired her work and smiled, making Rufus feel a bit uncomfortable. "Now it's time to eat." Rufus felt a small measure of relief. Eating would get his strength back up and maybe give him energy to think of his own plan. Tifa reached over to the chair and picked up the tray she brought in. She brought two sandwiches and some water. Out of instinct, he tried to reach for it, but he found his hands still bound.
"Oh I'm sorry. I can take care of that." Tifa reached behind Rufus in the small space between the cot and wall and pulled up a small set of chains. "I guess Cloud forgot to put them on. It'll be much more comfortable. You'll be able to move more freely." She paused and looked at him inquisitively.
Was this woman asking permission to chain him up like some animal? Still, his reach would be better and he could move his arms in front of him if need be. He gave her a slight nod. He leaned forward so that Tifa had easier access to his wrists. She fastened the chain to his wrists securely and then undid the binds. Instantly the pressure was lifted from his strained hands and felt the blood rush back to his fingertips. He brought his arms back in front of him and he shook them a bit, hearing the jingling of the chains as he did so.
"Better?" asked Tifa as she reached the food tray out to him.
"Yes. Thank you," he said flatly. He took the sandwich in his hands and took a bite. His face gave a contorted look. "What is this?" he said, mouth partially full.
"Peanut butter," she said casually. "I know it's not what you're used to, but it's all I can give you for now. They weren't planning on feeding you until you started talking to them. But I can't very well have our guest starve, can I?"
Rufus sighed. He didn't want to admit that he kind of liked it. He never had something like this before, at least that's what he imagined. The texture was odd and sticky, but it tasted good and was oddly familiar. Despite the circumstances, he found himself eating the two sandwiches quickly, paying no heed to manners or restraint.
"Water?" Tifa asked as she handed him the small cup. After the bread and peanut butter, Rufus was rather parched.
"Thank you," he said once again. He drank the cup's contents quickly and felt a new breadth of life seep into him. "Do your comrades know you're doing this?"
Tifa looked away shyly. Without her ever watchful gaze on him, Rufus finally took this small time to really look at her. She was young. Very young, at least younger than he was. She did not look like she was dressed for such a climate either. She wore a white tank top and a tight black skirt, held up with suspenders. She also had large breasts. "Very large," Rufus thought. Her face was pale and fresh, as if she had never known a day of stress in her life, but he knew that couldn't be true. His eyes shot back up to face her when she began to speak. "No….they don't."
Rufus knew that secrets in a tight-knit group could unravel things pretty fast, but he would never admit that to her. "Well I thank you for your compassion, Miss Lockhart." Rufus managed to say. "But I'm sure they'll find out when they see my bandage."
"I know. But surely they can't get angry that I'm ensuring the safety of our hostage." Tifa grimaced. She didn't like the taste of that word in her mouth. In her mind, casualties should be avoided by any means. This man before her, while not entirely innocent, was not responsible for their mission. "Anyway, Cloud and Barrett will come back to question you tomorrow. If you don't want another wound, I suggest you tell them what you can." Tifa rose and turned to leave. She opened the door and looked back at him as she exited. "Oh and another thing…." She paused. "Don't tell them I fed you."
And with that she closed the door behind her, leaving Rufus to his own thoughts once again.