10. A Family Affair

1

Rufus Shinra sat in a windowless backroom, thinking that his father had at least chosen a restaurant with respectable food. It was in the heart of Midgar, not far from the Shinra headquarters where his father worked and lived, and had been built with his father in mind; the backroom had been sectioned off from the main hall. No one off the streets would ever be allowed past the dividing curtain.

His father, Felix, had never allowed anyone to waste his time, save for the occasional tardiness of his head scientist Dorian Hojo, and yet he apparently had no qualms allowing his only son to wait over thirty minutes for him.

"Mr. Shinra's helicopter will be landing in a few minutes," the youthful waitress said, walking out from behind the curtain that separated the private room from the public.

"Fine," Rufus mumbled. "Whatever . . ."

To her credit the waitress retained a dazzling smile even when he shooed her from the room.

I'm not even hungry, he thought, and then felt an urge to throw his silverware across the room. He resisted for a moment or two, and then decided to go ahead and throw it anyways. What else am I suppose to do with this power?

And that was exactly it; his father had never let him have a part within the family company.

He didn't look like his father; his tall and skinny form – along with his red hair – was the complete opposite of his father's bulging body.

And yes, maybe he had had an awkward stage in his youth, scared of too many things, fidgety and seemingly uncaring.

But things had changed.

He was a different man now, yet still as intelligent as he'd always been, but his father chose not to see that.

In fact, Rufus hadn't even been allowed the chance to prove his usefulness to his father in years, after Felix forced him off of the continent. Rufus had spent a few of those first weeks in the resort town of Costa del Sol enjoying the sun, the water activities, the women, and the general lounge-around attitude, but after a while he had started to feel the slow burn of anger coursing its way through his system.

He had never loved his father as far as he could remember; it had always been quite a professionally natured relationship. So when the overwhelming rage overcame him, instead of just seeing his father in an emotionless and careless way, he now saw him with a sickeningly pleasant hatred swimming in his guts.

Rufus had been allowed to roam the outskirts of Costa del Sol on the western continent, but always found members of SOLDIER waiting for him if he got too far. And taking a boat or airship back across the vast ocean was completely out of the question, seeing as his every movement was being monitored by one of his father's men.

Again he felt the rage in him maximizing into something that felt painful.

He needed to release the tension.

"Hey," he called to the young waitress, who he knew would be standing just outside of the private room. "Hey, you dumb bitch," he yelled.

The girl promptly appeared from behind the curtain. Walking over to his table, she smiled and asked, "Yes, sir?"

He waited until she was right next to him, and then he demanded, "Kiss me."

The smile on her face vanished. She asked, "What?"

Without hesitation he backhanded her across her frowning face.

Now that felt good.

The young girl grabbed for her face, letting out a sharp scream, and then fell clumsily to the floor.

Rufus watched the girl, perhaps sixteen or seventeen years of age, sobbing on the floor - and it made him feel wonderful.

The present scene made him remember the first time he had hit a girl – some antsy child that had continued to splash him as he waded in the foamy ocean water.

He had shouted at the girl, and the annoyance seemed like it would end there, but then the little thing had started crying. She had cried so hard she had started coughing aggressively.

Instead of feeling remorseful or trying to help the child, Rufus had grabbed her by both shoulders and shook her. The girl's eyes had widened and the choking noises coming out of her mouth had steadily grown in their intensity.

This meant nothing to Rufus though, so he continued to shake her. And when his arms finally got tired he grabbed her by the neck with his left hand and swung his right hand down on the bridge of her nose.

The sight of the girl's lifeless form, bleeding and floating in the cool water, exhilarated him to a high he had never experienced before.

He had hit others since then - most were women he had already paid for ahead of time for other dark-natured activities – but it was the first hit that had been the best. He had come out of his shell that day, and he would never return.

With a smooth smile on his face, he thought, I wonder if that little bitch died?

He then glanced down at the waitress as she slowly got to her feet, her left hand still rubbing at her swelling face.

"Come here," he bellowed.

Startled once again, the waitress began a slow approach to Rufus.

"Kiss me," he snapped.

This time the girl quickly bent forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Grinning, the President's son said, "That's a bit better . . . but you are certainly not living up to your potential."

"Sir?" she said, her voice barely a whisper.

He casually looked her over. "How old are you?"

"I'm . . . I'm," the girl stuttered.

"Spit it out," he screamed, raising his hand as if to strike her again.

She shrieked and cowered, her breath ragged. After a moment she answered, "I'm . . . I'm fourteen."

Rufus shook his head. "Fourteen, huh?" He grabbed the collar of the girl's shirt. "Let me ask you something." He released her collar and continued, "Do you really think that I'll treat you any different if you tell me you are a younger age than you really are?"

"No . . ."

"Then how old?" he snapped.

"Sixteen," she whispered. "I'm sixteen."

"Alright," Rufus said, energy coursing through him. This is what he could do with the power he had. He grinned and said, "Remove your clothes."

The girl's eyes widened even further than before, her sobbing taking on a new life, her body trembling.

Rufus lifted his hand to strike the girl when he heard a familiar voice say, "Son, knock it off."

He turned around to see his father standing in the doorway. He sneered at the old man, and then turned back to the young girl and whipped her across the face with his tightened fist, sending a mouthful of blood into the air.

2

Tearing into his entrée, Rufus looked across the table at his old man.

After all this time . . . he thought, licking his lips when he saw the young waitress' blood still spotted on the tiled floor.

"You're behavior is reckless, and you still have much to learn," his father said, "but it's about time you begin learning the ropes."

Rufus stared hard at his father. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" Felix questioned.

"I mean," Rufus continued, "what the hell happened that makes you suddenly want to include me in the running of the company?"

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, the President replied, "There are things happening right now that are more important than the company." He paused, taking a prolonged bite at the filleted fish in front of him. He continued, "Despite our past quarrels I have come to the realization that if you are to take over the company when I die, you need to be here among us during this imperative period of time."

His face blank, Rufus dropped his silverware and asked, "What is happening now?"

Brushing his moustache, Felix replied, "Rufus . . . you should know what is going on if it's important enough for me to bring you back here to Midgar."

Rufus continued to stare, unbelieving. "Neo-Midgar?" he questioned, almost whispering.

Nodding, his father continued, "I have almost all of my resources searching for two key specimens that Hojo needs to use for one of his experiments. You know I don't understand much of the scientific jargon he spits at me, but his demeanor alone stressed how important it was for him to have these two specific specimens."

Finally looking away from his father, Rufus asked, "The first target is still the Ancient, correct?"

"Yes," Felix said. "She is still our first priority and is essential in our Neo-Midgar endeavors."

"And the other?" Rufus asked.

"The other," the President continued, "is the last of the lion-like Cosmo Canyon creatures."

Rufus sat back, trying to puzzle out the new information. When he couldn't think of a sufficient reason as to why Hojo would want the canyon creature, he asked, "So you really think the Turks or whoever you have on this will be able to find the two specimens?"

"I have stressed the urgency and importance once again," Felix answered. "Tseng has already informed me that a plan to capture the canyon creature is already underway. As for the Ancient . . ." His voice drifted off. After taking a breath he continued, "Let's just say that if Tseng and the others don't find her I will promote you to the position of finding and hiring an entire new organization of Turks."

Rufus considered that and smiled. "And in the meantime . . . what should I be doing?"

"For now," his father replied, "you're just going to be observing." He paused. "Interning, I suppose." Looking across the table he saw a stomach-turning glint pass through his son's eyes. Staring hard at Rufus he added, "And you are not to touch any of the women."

Rufus openly smiled, for the first time understanding that perhaps his father did know him better than any other person on the Planet.

Felix continued, "But if you still find yourself with an uncontrollable urge to lash out at women . . . well, that's what the citizens of the slums are for."

Rufus grinned, sadistic thoughts already breaching the dark corners of his twisted mind.