I didn't know who to come to sir. This kind of information needs to remain as contained as possible.

Thank you Elena. I will take it from here.

What will happen to the president?

Hmm. A complex question and one with many possible outcomes. At this moment, nothing will happen to him as the situation is salvageable. Now report to the training ground. You have some new recruits to mould.

Yes sir.

As soon as she left my office, I collapsed into my chair, my head in my hands. She meant well but damn, she's just so inquisitive. She just can't let things lie. Her keen investigative mind was why she was promoted but it's as much a blessing as a curse.

She claims she's seen something. She claims that the president has been fornicating with prostitutes, taking hallucinogenic drugs and arranging to have certain people killed. It sounds utterly preposterous; however it's not the first time something like this has been brought to my attention. Last time I was able to take the necessary precautions to ensure that the witness suffered a dreadful accident, but Elena is a Turk. It would be too obvious if I disposed of her. Plus, there's no need to do so. Elena is a colleague and as such I feel a responsibility to protect her. Her enthusiasm is an endearing quality but soon that will disappear and be replaced with a streak of brutal cynicism and a fondness for whiskey.

Damn her.

And damn him.

The last time this happened I confronted the president. It was early in the morning and I was bringing him a cup of tea. He never drinks coffee in the morning. I voiced my concerns, only to be openly mocked.

I am the president Tseng, don't you ever forget it. This city is mine to do with what I will. You will do well to remember that in the future. You can easily be replaced.

After I confronted him, granted, the accusations did stop but whether or not that was due to coincidence or an increase in accidents, I am still none the wiser.

The timing could not be worse. We're in a deep hole of mistrust and hatred from our public. I have been personally instructed to gather intelligence on an eco-terrorist group located in the sector seven slums. The whole situation at the moment is precarious. The slightest thing could catapult us headlong into a full blown war. The president cannot afford to make any mistakes. Appearance and public confidence is everything.

I get out of my chair. I have worked for Shinra since I was a teenager. I was originally assigned to the vice president as his personal body guard. However, along the way the president was informed of my skills and decided that I would be better utilized as his personal chief of staff. In some ways I feel like a deadly butler. Whenever the president makes a mess I have to clean it up. Usually with a gun. Highly skilled indeed.

I begin to pace around my office. I'm still no closer to a solution to this problem Elena has entrusted to me. The president has become more unstable as the years have passed. He never used to drink. Now if he doesn't drain a bottle of whiskey by lunch time I become alarmed. Many a night I have been woken at three am only to be sent down to the slums to scout out more potent alcohol, drugs or desperate girls who will sell anything and degraded themselves just to keep poverty at bay. It never used to be that way.

The president used to care about his people. He used to be involved in urban regeneration, he used to have regular meetings to try and improve living and working conditions for the citizens of Midgar. God only knows why he's made such a dramatic change in the last few years. Now all he does is abuse everyone and everything in his power. I've still not recovered from the bullet wound he inflicted on me just a few weeks ago. Nothing I can do can change him. As his highly skilled butler I just have to obey without question.

My loyalties have always lain with the vice president. Ever since he rescued me from my childhood he has had my unwavering support, admiration and trust. Surely he would make a better president than the one we have now? It's a tantalizing thought. Granted, some work would need to be done on his public image and perceived personality, but it would be an improvement. Perhaps he can change the company for the better!

My mind is made up. I walk over to my phone desk phone and dial a number. After a brief conversation, I curse and slam the phone down. I leave my office and walk up to the seventieth floor. It appears a reactor has just been destroyed. I must inform my president that we are now openly at war with this group that I have been instructed to spy on. The enormity of their actions amazes and slightly impresses me. They seem to be a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps if I'm lucky, Elena's problem will sort itself out…