Disclaimer: Everything but the story itself is owned by Square Enix, the lucky stiffs. I wonder if they're willing to rent out Reno for the weekend however. Hey, a girl can dream can't she?

Chapter Four

Into the Mouth of the Beast

Although the Turks lived at the Healing Lodge, their actual quarters weren't in the same building as that of Rufus Shinra. Which was probably just as well since their slumbers were not then interrupted by the explosion that occurred in Rufus' quarters at about midnight.

The explosion was a verbal one. And it was caused by the very annoyed, blond young man who had just then been informed of a change in plans regarding the journey they were going to begin in a few hours.

Rufus Shinra was not happy. No, not happy at all. It didn't help that the object of his unhappiness stood before him with a completely calm exterior as though his employer had not just expressed his disapproval with a few well chosen albeit harsh words. No matter how much in the wrong Tseng might be, at least in Rufus' opinion, the man's equanimity always made Rufus feel that somehow Rufus was at fault. This occasion was no exception. Tseng was regarding Rufus with the calm demeanor of one waiting for a child to finish throwing a temper tantrum. It was maddening.

"I gave you no authorization to do this, Tseng! None at all!"

The Wutaian raised an eyebrow. "As head of the Turks, Mr. President, I have in the past not required your authorization to secure your safety."

The use of formality was not lost on Rufus.

Is he deliberately trying to provoke me?

"You've gone to outsiders! And not just any outsiders but to people who have been my enemies in the past."

"You did not find them so objectionable recently when you yourself attempted to hire Cloud Strife's services as a bodyguard."

Rufus was about to retort that that was different but bit it back. His sense of fairness was forced to concede that Tseng had scored an ironclad point. The blond decided on another tactic. "And Valentine is an unknown factor. Yes I know he use to be a Turk but that was over thirty years ago. People can change a lot in 30 years."

"Indeed they can."

"He might have absolutely no loyalty to Shin-Ra now."

"He probably doesn't."

"And traveling in Highwind's airship...are you mad? Who knows what he'll do? He might deliberately crash the thing."

"Although I am sure he has no concern for your well being, Sir, I believe that Highwind would be most reluctant to damage his ship."

Rufus suddenly spun around and glared at Tseng.

"You find this amusing don't you?"

Truthfully Tseng did find it amusing that Rufus was now so strenuously objecting to what he himself had tried to arrange only a few days ago but Tseng knew better than to admit it. His face remained impassive but there was a difficult to suppress hint of laughter in the dark eyes.

"Are those all of your objections, Sir?"

It was obvious that Rufus was trying to come up with others but could only stand staring frustrated at the head of his security. "I won't allow it," he finally said, "I absolutely refuse to allow it. I order you to contact Strife and tell him that his services won't be necessary."

The hint of laughter vanished from Tseng's eyes. He took one step towards Rufus who stepped back and stumbled against his desk chair causing him to sit down rather suddenly. His blue eyes became wary as Tseng placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward until his dark eyes were level with those of the young blond's. Rufus blinked at him and found it impossible to look away. When Tseng decided to intimidate there was no better master.

"You have told me that you intend to go with us to Costa del Sol and that there is nothing that will stop you from doing so." Tseng enunciated each word with such precision that they could have been bullets fired from a gun, "This despite the fact that your presence will be a disruption, and a distraction. Since you insist on coming with us then I must see to it that you are adequately protected. That is my job. That has been my job for over ten years. And I will do my job and protect you as I see fit using whatever resources I see fit whether you like such resources or not."

Tseng straightened , Rufus' eyes rose to follow. "If that is truly unacceptable to you, Rufus then my resignation can be on your desk within five minutes."

Silence fell in the room. The ticking of the clock on Rufus' desk seemed loud in comparison. Although Tseng's face retained its usual calm, his eyes were angry. Rufus' face on the other hand, was filled with total shock. This was the first time Tseng had ever threatened to resign. If his father had still been alive, Tseng's declaration would have been met with a bullet between the eyes but Rufus was not his father and had discarded such policies. But even so, Tseng's threat shook him.

He means it. By Shiva, he actually means it. But why? Why this? We've had arguments about security policies before and he's never threatened to leave.

What in Gaia's name is so unusual about this situation that he would threaten to resign if his security measures aren't followed? There's something about this that he's not telling me dammit. Well fine, let Strife and Valentine come with us. But I am going to find out what this is really about, Tseng.

Rufus pressed his lips together and glared at Tseng. Then he looked down and muttered, "You're the most annoying man, Tseng."

It was Rufus' way of saying, you win and Tseng recognized it as such. Tseng suddenly realized that he had been holding his breath and slowly released it. He had meant what he had said but still was enormously relieved that Rufus had not called him on it. He didn't really want to leave.

"You have been trying to form an alliance with Avalanche for some time now, Rufus. This would be an excellent opportunity to further that goal." Tseng said mildly.

Rufus twisted his lips and looked back up at Tseng with a somewhat sheepish expression. "Tseng...if it was anyone else but you..."

A sudden smile, small but warm lifted Tseng's lips. "I appreciate your confidence in me, Rufus."

Rufus sighed and leaned back in his chair. Suddenly a thought struck him.

"How in Gaia's name did you get him to agree?"

"I believe he is curious himself about the situation," Tseng said smoothly. He didn't think it politic to tell Rufus that it was the chance of annoying the hell out of the Shin-Ra President that had most appealed to Cloud. "And unfortunately I believe that he is somewhat suspicious of your motives." The last at least was true and Rufus nodded moodily .

"No matter what I do, people are going to think the worst of me," Rufus muttered.

Tseng pursed his lips. He didn't want Rufus following that train of thought. The last thing he needed on top of everything else was a depressed Rufus on his hands. "You could always give them bread and circuses, Rufus...like your father did."

Rufus' head snapped up. "Is that meant to be a joke?!"

It was of course a risk to provoke him again after just calming him down but Tseng was use to taking risks. He was after all the leader of the Turks. For several moments the two men simply looked at each other. Then Rufus broke eye contact and spun his chair around so he was facing the window behind his desk.

"No, you wouldn't make a joke like that, so I suppose that was your way of telling me to quit whining?"

"You never whine, Sir. However you do tend to focus on the...negative."

Rufus barked a laugh. "That's one way of putting it."

Tseng sighed. "Rufus give it time. It's been only a little more than two years since Meteor."

"I know. It's just so ...annoying to always have people attributing ulterior motives to me."

"Well concealing a part of Jenova didn't help."

Rufus lips curled into a smile that made him look for all the world like a child who has pulled off a particularly good prank.

Ah but if Shin-Ra scientists had been able to use it to discover a cure for Geostigma it would have all been worth it.

"No, but it was satisfying to put one over on that insolent Kadaj."

Tseng felt himself tense at the mention of the Sephiroth remnant. He forced himself to relax. "You should probably get some rest Rufus. The airship will be landing at 0700."

Rufus nodded absently. "I will," he replied.

But when Tseng turned to look at him from the doorway, the young President was still sitting in the chair, gazing out over the night darkened land.

Tseng shook his head and sighed.

Being summer the sun was already well over the horizon at 7:00 A.M. And the light glinted off of the hull of the huge airship that was approaching the makeshift landing strip. As it descended, the doors of a car that was sitting next to the landing strip opened and three men got out.

The one man was obviously Rufus Shinra, dressed in one of his characteristic white suits only this time choosing to accent it simply with a black turtleneck. The second man was Tseng. Both men were wearing sunglasses. The driver of the car went to the trunk and began removing luggage. The last thing he took from the trunk was the wheelchair which Rufus was determined to ignore. Behind the car was a van. Rude and Elena together with a third individual, got out of the van and went to the back of it to begin unloading equipment deemed necessary for the investigation.

Reno was already on the landing strip, watching the incoming airship with resentment. He took the substitution of Highwind's airship for the helicopter as a personal affront to his skills as a pilot. Tseng didn't have the time or really the inclination to set him straight.

As the Shera drew nearer, Reno was grudgingly forced to admit that it was an impressive machine.But he preferred helicopters. The airship looked as though it was as maneuverable as a pregnant cow in a pond. He liked speed and the ability to skim through tight places with the 'copter blades coming within inches of striking something. Reno got a kick out of the reactions of whatever passengers he happened to be carrying. The first time he had ferried Rufus somewhere he thought the young Vice-President (for so he had been at the time) was going to lose his breakfast. But Rufus had acquired the young Turk's respect by refusing to complain about Reno's style of flying. Since then the blond apparently had gotten use to both the style and Reno's ability to avoid imminent disaster because he no longer had a white-knuckled grip on the armrests of his seat or a deathly pallor to his face when Reno was the pilot.

Reno's attention was caught by a small slender man with a mop of fly-away brown hair who was anxiously directing the removal of equipment from the van much to the annoyance of both Rude and Elena. Reno frowned. He had a vague recollection of having seen the man within the maze of the Shin-Ra Tower but Reno couldn't remember his name if he had even known it in the first place.

Reno sauntered over to Rufus and Tseng. Rufus' was watching the Shera descend, Tseng was keeping a watch on the surrounding area.

"Who's the guy with Rude and Elena?" he asked Tseng.

Tseng glanced over in the direction of the trio. "Ian Richardson," he answered. "Forensic scientist. He's coming with us."

Reno frowned again. "I thought this was gonna be a Turk deal,".

Tseng eyed his second in command with some amusement. "If by that you mean you thought it was going to be a Turk investigation, it still is. When we did our investigations before and brought back evidence just how do you think that evidence was analyzed? Magic?"

"Richardson is a professional," Rufus said. "And he's loyal. You don't have to worry about him, Reno."

Reno sniffed.

I don't like outsiders in our business. It's bad enough havin' Cloud and vampire boy around our necks without some Hojo wannabe too.

Thanks to Hojo, Reno had a very bad impression of scientists. As far as he was concerned they were all mad and wanted nothing more than to inject people with nasty substances to turn them into something else. He decided that he was going to keep a close eye on Ian Richardson.

As soon as the Shera touched ground balancing on two huge sections in a way that did not instill confidence in Reno, baggage and equipment were quickly loaded. Apparently it made Cid nervous to have his beloved airship on the ground. Reno supposed it made sense. On the ground the vehicle was a very large sitting duck.

Barely had everyone climbed aboard when the propellers of the various engines began to spin, a shudder went though the decks and with a ponderous groan the ship rose into the air... sluggishly at first but as it gathered speed and altitude the shaking diminished to a slight rhythmic vibrationThe Shera turned and hurtled forward sweeping the air before it into twin streams that flowed along its hull.

As the feeling of air whipping his face was a bit uncomfortable, Reno quickly headed inside. Everybody had settled themselves into the lounge the one wall of which was a long window giving a spectacular if rather nerve wracking view of the ground below. Rufus was prowling about inspecting everything with a very thoughtful look on his face. Reno knew that look. It meant that the President had discovered something that he felt could be of advantage to Shin-Ra.

Good luck gettin' the plans for this thing outta Cid, Rufus. He'll probably try ta throw ya overboard if ya even ask.

Reno almost hoped that it would happen, not because he wanted any harm done to Rufus but because it would be entertaining to watch Tseng try to protect Rufus from Cid without causing Cloud and Vincent to intercede on the pilot's behalf.

And best of all no one would be able to blame Reno for it.

But apparently Rufus had come to the same conclusion as Reno regarding Cid's willingness to share blueprints for he never approached the pilot throughout the trip. The trip itself was uneventful. Rufus and Tseng passed the time playing chess, while the remaining Turks indulged in a game of poker. Vincent had disappeared. Cloud divided his time between talking to Cid and standing at the window staring outside. Richardson had apparently decided to remain with the equipment in the storage hold, a fact that made Cid snort with amusement when he heard about it.

"What's he think's gonna happen to his precious damn cargo? Does he think the ship's gonna eat it?"

No one had seen fit to answer this question.

Several hours later, Cid's voice came eerily through an intercom into the lounge. "Wake up people! We're coming in for a landing. Look sharp now!"

Reno was a bit put out since he had been winning the poker game but he shrugged and gathered up the loose cards, patting them into a neat pile. Rufus stood up and then joined Cloud beside the window watching with interest the approaching land.

One of Cid's crew members appeared in the doorway nervously shifting from one foot to the other. Cid's crew were distinctly nervous at the presence of the Turks. Since the Turks had this affect on most people they weren't at all bothered by this.

"Er...the Captain's sent me to make sure you all are seated for the landing. It tends to be...um...a bit rough."

"Oh great." Reno plopped down on one of the cushioned chairs along the side of the lounge opposite to the window. Each chair had a wide strap to secure oneself. Silently the others did the same, buckling themselves in.

No one said anything as the tenor of the engines changed, becoming lower and louder, the growling of some enormous beast. The vibration of the decks increased until the hull was shaking, the screech of strained metal making one's teeth ache in sympathy. Just when it seemed that the ship could not take anymore and that it would shake itself apart into a million pieces there was a jarring impact, the ship rose again a few feet and then settled violently into place. The engines whined in decreasing decimals and then went silent.

Reno discovered that he had been holding his breath and he released it shakily. For once he understood how his passengers must feel after one of his flying stunts. But nothing ever kept Reno down for long and he bounced to his feet.

The others were rising as well. Elena was a bit pale but otherwise calm. Rude of course revealed no emotion. Tseng's thoughts were always regarding Rufus who looked actually pleased. Reno had no idea what Rufus was so pleased about unless it was just the fact of being on the ground again in one piece but he wasn't about to ask his employer about it.

Cid came into the lounge and walked up to Cloud. The two began conversing in low tones. Whenever people engaged in a conversation where they made it apparent that they didn't want other people to overhear, Reno always had the urge to eavesdrop. So he sauntered over pretending to look out the window.

"I'll hang around the area," Cid was saying. "You can't trust these damn Turks or their pretty boy boss. If they try anything funny..."

Cloud shook his head. "There's no need, Cid. If they meant any harm to me they could have attacked me just as easily in Edge as they could here. I appreciate the offer, Cid but go home. Shera'll be waiting for you."

"And Tifa's waiting for you."

Cloud looked down, a red tinge stealing across his cheeks. "It's ok, Cid. Really."

"Hmmph. Well at least you got Vinnie with you."

Cloud's lips twitched. "You know he hates for you to call him that."

"Good. He's too damn gloomy all the time."

As the conversation didn't sound particularly interesting, Reno wandered away from the window with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Vinnie, huh? Hates ta be called Vinnie does he?

A grin slowly spread over Reno's face as he joined the others in preparation to disembark.

Finally everything was unloaded and those who were remaining in Costa del Sol stood a fair ways away from the Shera as it glimmered in the beams of the afternoon sun.

Tseng stood frowning, gazing off into the horizon.

"There was suppose to be transport," he said. "Ah...there it is."

Two cars and a van were making their way down a dirt road towards them. As they came close to the group there was a sudden roar of engines from the airship along with a cloud of sand whipped up by the propellor blades. The Shera rose majestically, steadily rising until it reached cruising altitude whereupon it turned and sped off towards the horizon.

Everyone had felt the need to watch the Shera's departure. As it vanished over the horizon, their attention switched to getting the equipment loaded into the van. Rufus settled himself in the back seat of one of the cars, sighing with fatigue. He didn't know why he should feel so tired after all he hadn't really done anything that day but traveling in and of itself was always tiring to him.

The car door opened and Tseng slid in pulling the door shut after him. Rufus let his head fall back against the seat cushion. Tseng glanced at him.

"Are you all right, Rufus? You look tired."

"That's because I am tired," Rufus replied irritably and closed his eyes. "How traveling can be so exhausting when all you're really doing is sitting for several hours is a mystery to me."

Tseng felt relief. If Rufus was complaining about how he felt that meant he was ok. Had he really been feeling unwell, he would have been loath to admit it.

There was a sudden roar from the outside that startled Rufus and made him jerk upright. He looked out the window in time to see Cloud go by on his motorcycle Fenrir with Vincent perched precariously behind him. The former Turk did not look happy. It was obvious that motorcycles were not his favorite mode of transportation. Or perhaps it was simply being a passenger on a motorcycle that made him unhappy since it forced him to hold onto the waist of the driver in order to stay on.

"I didn't know that Strife was going to bring his motorcycle," Rufus remarked to Tseng, "No wonder he wanted to take the airship."

"He probably feels more secure not relying on us for transportation," Tseng replied, "However it was Highwind who was insistent on the airship. Apparently he felt that Cloud would not arrive at the destination claimed if we were taking him."

Rufus made a small sound of disgust. "Ifrit. Does Highwind really believe that we would go to such elaborate lengths just to kidnap Strife?"

The Wutaian shrugged. "Despite his obvious engineering abilities, I fear that Mr. Highwind is not greatly intelligent."

Rufus smirked. "Why Tseng, are you being a snob?"

Tseng eyed the blond. "And you are a paragon of equality, Sir?" he retorted.

Rufus laughed. It was an open, unaffected laugh, free of any strain and Tseng was pleased to hear it. There had been all too few reasons for the blond to laugh during the previous two years. Rufus lay his head back on the seat cushion, his lips still gently curved. Tseng inspected him. All traces of Geostigma were now gone. No longer was the blond dying by inches.

No matter what the future brings, Rufus, at least now you have a future. At least you will if whatever is happening to the people here doesn't happen to you ... damn you for your stubbornness.

It didn't take long for the tiny caravan to reach Costa del Sol. Rufus and his Turks had not been to the place since Meteor and the town had expanded a lot. Tseng frowned as he saw the extent to which it had grown. Apparently quite a few Midgarians had somehow found their way across the sea and had chosen to make their home in what had formerly been a sleepy little tourist town.

It hardly can been called sleepy now. This is going to make more work for us.

"Ifrit! What's happened to this place?" Rufus suddenly exclaimed.

"Urban renewal apparently," Tseng said dryly.

"I can see that. And all because of solar power which is plentiful here due to the climate. Dammit Tseng if we don't find a viable non-Mako energy source for the Midgar region soon the economic power will switch to the Western Continent."

As they travelled through the town and saw the extensive construction together with the profusion of solar panels capturing the energy of the sun to power what was on its way to becoming a fair size city, Rufus Shinra looked more and more glum and frustrated while his fingertips began to drum on the armrest. Tseng swallowed a sigh.

So much for that good mood.

A sun-drenched stone wall came into view, the border of the estate surrounding the Shinra villa. Cloud and Vincent were already there, waiting patiently by the gate. Tseng lowered the window allowing himself and Rufus to be identified by the guard as well as verifying the identities of the Avalanche members.

Within moments the vehicles all pulled up to the front entrance of the villa. It was an old villa that had been built more than a hundred years ago and which had once belonged to one of the old aristocratic families of the region. But Rufus' father had taken a shine to the villa and whatever old man Shinra had wanted, old man Shinra got and so the villa had been in possession of the Shinra family since before Rufus was born.

Rufus stepped out of the car and regarded the villa with his usual mixed emotions. Some of the happiest moments of his life had been spent at this villa. Moments of his childhood when he had been very young and his father's treatment of him although indifferent had not yet turned to the brutality it became in later years.

Here too were memories of his mother who had loved him. And who had been ordered killed because she had loved him and because his father had tired of her and also did not want his son to have any means of emotional support.

Thank Shiva that Tseng's face was always a mask around my father. If he had ever learned how much of a support Tseng was to me, he would have had him killed as well. Ifrit how I hated that man. I hope Sephiroth twisted the blade in him when he ran him through..."

Rufus shook his head, trying to clear it of such thoughts. His father was dead, he no longer had to be wary of him. It was pointless to brood on the past. He entered the villa, the interior felt a cool and inviting refuge from the sun which was blazing hot. Rufus sighed and made his way to the master bedroom where he knew that the servants would have everything ready for him...everything that could be made ready.

Everything unimportant.