CHAPTER NINE: Trouble

Tifa could have killed the kid herself. She'd been working for the socialite for three days and she'd already had to accompany her on shopping trips in the big cities, to the salon so she could put costly extensions in her hair, and to the gym so she could go to her Tae Bo classes with world renowned trainer, Gil Simmons.

To put it bluntly, the majority of her days involved her driving around in the back of a limo listening to the socialite chat away on her cell phone while the radio blasted bubble gum pop music that didn't make sense at all when the lyrics were actually listened to.

"Oh, the horror." Tifa said to herself, looking at her withered reflection in the bathroom mirror.

"Rough day?"

Tifa had left the bathroom door open and Reno stood in the hallway, looking equally as exhausted as she did.

"The kid took me to the big city so she could buy 10 more designer bags and, like, 20 pairs of shoes..."

Reno laughed. "Makes you wish you could ask for another 300 thou, don't it?"

"Hah."

They went down the stairs and into the parlor where Jaqueline and Bradley were arguing quite heatedly. Tifa and Reno watched the 18 year-old whine and throw a tantrum like a two year old.

"I'm going! I don't care what you say!" she shouted.

"Jackie, you need to start thinking about your safety!" Bradley said, "This is serious! You don't want to get hurt like Chance did, do you?"

"That's why you hired them!" the young girl pointed towards the mercenaries, "What good are they if I can't go to the biggest party in years?"

Bradley sighed. "You're acting like a child, Jackie. Your life is more important than any party!"

"I'm going!" she cried, her blonde extensions flying about her face. "There's nothing you guys can do to stop me!"

The three adults watched as the headstrung teenager stormed out of the room angrily. She stomped her feet on every stair as she ascended to the second floor of the safehouse. The slamming of a door upstairs signaled that she had locked herself in her room.

Tifa winced. "Kids."

Bradley looked at the two mercenaries apologetically. "Guys... I know she's a handful... but I need you to go to this party with her."

"What?" Reno was incredulous, "Hey, I take my job seriously, man! I don't go partying while on duty."

"Yeah!" Tifa said in agreement, "If the brat doesn't care about her own life, why should we?"

Bradley shot her a look. "That brat is my family." he said defensively, "And you will go with her or I'll find someone else who wants your 200 thou."

Tifa laughed nervously. "Right. I'm sorry. Whatever you say."

Bradley left the safehouse, slamming the door behind him.

"Talk about not taking crap from any man!" Reno joked.

Tifa elbowed him hard. "Shut it."

"The least he could've done is thrown in an extra hundred thousand gil."

"I agree!" Tifa said, exasperated, "I might end up killing this kid myself one day."

"I tell you... girls are nothing but trouble." Reno quipped.

Later, at the Skin nightclub...

"How did I find myself in this situation?" Tifa asked Reno, yelling over the loud music and shouting voices of the crowd that filled the club.

Reno casually checked out one of the half-naked, glow-in-the-dark painted trapeze dancers who hovered above the bar. His eyes were wide. "I dunno, Tifa, but it's not so bad in here..."

"Ugh, I can hear you panting like a dog." she groaned, "You're supposed to have your eye on the assignment."

"I have excellent periferal vision." He replied, waving at the dancer.

To Tifa's surprise, the dancer waved back and even winked at Reno. She gave her 'partner' a look. He shrugged innocently.

"I can't help it if I'm a chick magnet."

"You're a pig! You're an unbelievable pig!"

Reno laughed to himself and looked across the club where their assignment was dancing on one of the tabletops in the lounge with her friends. Tifa rolled her eyes.

"To be young and rich..." she said.

"I don't think she gets the idea that someone's out to kill her." Reno said, raising his brows.

"That's because no one has ever told her that she can't do something before." Tifa said, "I bet her parents let her do every single thing that she wants to do. Hell, if she wanted to buy Brazil, they'd probably let her!"

"Hm." Reno nodded in agreement.

His eyes had focused on an older looking guy who had just entered the club. He was a strange contrast to the group of twenty-somethings who had gathered to party the night away. Reno wasn't sure what his intentions were here, he could've just liked younger women, but he decided to keep his eye on him none the less.

"Twelve o'clock, black motorcycle jacket and combat boots." Reno said to Tifa.

"Got him." she said, "He's a little old for this crowd, huh?"

"Definitely. Far as I know, he's alone."

"Probably got someone on the inside." Tifa speculated.

"Let's get closer to the assignment." Reno suggested.

They maneuvered their way through the crowd of rowdy club hoppers and stood at the bar that was closest to where the assignment was table dancing with her friends. Reno couldn't help but notice how close of an eye the older man was keeping on his assignment.

"I'll stay by the entrance." Tifa said, "You have your mic and earpiece?"

Reno showed her that he did. A small microphone was clipped to the collar of his shirt.

"Good. Turn it on and we'll communicate through that. Stay here."

"Ay, ay, Captain." Reno joked.

Tifa shot him a look. "Screw this up and I'll hunt you down like the dog you are."

"Bet you will."

Reno stayed by the bar while Tifa headed toward the front entrance. The fire exit was across the nightclub and only opened from the inside. It was also alarmed so no one would be able to go out or come in without setting it off and summoning the fire department.

She spoke to Reno through her microphone. "No drinking." she said.

"Not on the job." Reno said back.

Tifa shifted her eyes from the older man and back to the assignment. He didn't appear to be carrying a weapon, though there were no weapon detectors at the door. That fact made Tifa extremely nervous. Any one of these people could be out to get Jaqueline.

A tap on her shoulder surprised her out of her trance. She found herself face to face with none other than Cloud Strife. He looked surprised to see her there... almost as surprised as she was to see him.

"Tifa? What... Why are you here?" he asked.

She could smell alcohol on his breath and he appeared quite inebriated. "Cloud? Um... I'm here with, uh, a friend."

"Really? I didn't think you liked places like this."

"Yeah, well, there's a lot of things you don't know about me." She checked back on the assignment. She had lost sight of the older man. "Dammit!"

"What? You don't look happy to see me." he said.

"Not now, Cloud. I'm busy." She pushed him away with one hand.

"What the hell? Doing what? You don't look busy!" Cloud frowned at her, "Who are you here with anyway?"

Tifa ignored him and spoke to Reno through her microphone. "Reno? Do you have a visual on the older guy?"

"Thought you were watching him." Reno replied.

"Reno?" Cloud echoed, "Who the hell is that?"

Tifa continued to ignore him and she craned her neck to get a better look of the crowd. Reno was standing on a barstool, trying to find the older man. He hoped that the guy had just left. He saw Tifa waving at him over by the entrance. She was standing beside that blonde guy that she worked with from the tavern.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Reno asked her through the mic.

"I don't know!" Tifa hissed, "But we need to get the kid off the dancefloor now."

"Who are you talking to? Who are you waving at?" Cloud asked, persistend bastard that he was. He followed Tifa's gaze to a redheaded guy who was standing ontop of a stool at the martini bar in the center of the club.

"Who is he?" Cloud asked defensively.

"No one!" she said, pushing through the sea of people so she could escort Jaqueline off of the dancefloor and take her somewhere safe.

"You don't wave at no one!" Cloud said, following her. "Don't walk away from me, Tifa!"

"Cloud, please!" she turned to him, "Just... He's just a friend!"

"Just a friend, huh?"

"Who are you here with, Cloud?" Tifa asked, rolling her eyes as she approached the teenager.

Jaqueline was already arguing with Reno, who was trying to pry her off of the dancefloor. Tifa shot her partner a stern look and he nodded. He wrapped his arms around the struggling teenager who immediately began kicking and hitting Reno with her fists.

One of Jaqueline's male friends stood in her defense. Tifa stopped him, looking pissed.

"I wouldn't if I were you." Tifa advised, "Take a seat, enjoy your party. Let the man do his job, okay?"

She pushed her vest aside and flashed her Desert Eagles in the kid's direction. His eyes grew wide and he sat back down in his seat. Tifa mouthed a thank you and followed Reno off of the dancefloor. Cloud was still following them.

"Tifa? Why are you carrying guns?" Cloud asked her.

"Cloud, I really can't talk to you right now." Tifa said, following Reno toward the exit.

"Yea, so buzz off." Reno said, glaring at Cloud.

"Let me go!" Jaqueline cried.

"What are you guys doing?" Cloud asked, perplexed, "Are you kidnapping this girl?"

"Cloud! Just... go dance with someone!" Tifa shouted.

Just then, the older man came bursting through the entrance. He had two other men with him this time. All three of them were carrying automatic weapons. Reno's eyes grew wide.

"Tifa...?"

"What?!" She whirled around.

"Let's go outside." The older man said.

"Can't do that." Tifa said, drawing her weapons and standing in front of Reno.

Reno set Jaqueline down on the ground and told her to stay behind him. "We can't let you hurt this girl."

The older man looked amused. He shared a hearty laugh with his partners.

"We're not asking you." he said to the two mercenaries. "We're telling you to get your asses outside, bring the girl, and we'll spare your pathetic lives."

Tifa stood her ground. Reno withdrew his electro-mag rod and it snapped to life.

"We don't wanna make a scene in front of all these people." The older man said, "They might get hurt."

"That's a risk we're willing to take." Reno said.

"Fine. Have it your way!"

The gunfire rang out loudly. As soon as the first shot was fired, people began scrambling towards the exits. The DJ at the booth abandoned his station but left his record playing. A popular techno song was playing loudly. Tifa and Reno dropped to the floor, bringing the girl down with them.

"Get her out of here!" Tifa ordered him.

"What about you?" Reno asked.

"I'm okay! Just get her safe!"

Tifa turned a table over and used it for cover. From behind the marble table, she fired two shots at one of the gunmen. She hit her first target perfectly and already took the count down to two. She sank back behind the table and made sure she had enough rounds in her clip to take out the others.

After cocking her weapon, she heard the fire alarm go off loudly. Someone had opened the fire exit doors. She looked up as the sprinklers turned on, showering the crowd with ice cold water. Red and white lights were flashing all over the building. That, in addition to the pulsating strobe light, made the visibility almost zero.

Tifa swiped strands of wet hair from her face and got up on her knees again. She peered over the table top and squinted to get a better look. She couldn't see the other gunmen, not until the flash of a gun went off. She couldn't really see well, but she took a couple of Hail Mary shots in the direction of the flashing gun.

A few people screamed and she assumed that she took her target down. Now there was only one guy left. She tried talking to Reno through her mic again, but the water had damaged the ear piece. She peered out over the cover of the table again. The club was nearly empty. She couldn't see worth a damn in all the mess that surrounded her.

She slowly got to her feet and walked cautiously out onto the dancefloor. The parque was slick with water and littered with empty cups and cocktail napkins. A few half melted ice cubes littered the ground as well. She kept her gun cocked and ready to fire at anyone who approached her.

She wasn't expecting it at all. A shot rang out and hit her in the chest. Luckily, she was wearing her Kevlar vest. The force of the shot was so great it knocked her off of her feet. She landed with a thud on her back, water splashing around her. She was totally winded.

The older man, the one she and Reno had first spotted, stood above her with his gun in her face. She swallowed hard.

"Where's the girl?" he asked.

Her hand was still on her gun. He noticed.

"Drop it."

She loosened her grip on the Desert Eagle and the man kicked it away. It skidded across the wet dancefloor and stopped when it reached the carpet. Tifa stared up at the man along the barrel of his gun. He cocked it with one hand, the click caused her to jump in surprise. He could easily blow her head off from this angle.

"I'll ask again... Where's the girl?"

"Yo!"

Tifa and the man both looked over to where the voice was shouting from. Reno stood on the edge of the dancefloor, his electro-mag rod at his side. The kid was nowhere in sight. This angered the older man.

"Where's the girl!?" he shouted, "Tell me or I'll blow her brains out!"

Reno shook his head. "I can't tell you! You understand... We've both got jobs to do!"

Tifa just realized that she'd lost sight of Cloud in the chaos.

"Say good-by." The man said, his finger squeezing the trigger.

Tifa rolled out from under the barrel of the gun while grabbing the barrel with her hands and twisting it to the side. Reno was quick to act also, running at the man and striking him with his rod. The electricity mixed with the water sent sparks of blue flying in all directions.

Tifa struggled to her feet, her boots slipping on the slick floor. Reno continued to attack the man, slamming his rod down on the man's arms. His gun fell from his hands. Reno slid it away with his foot towards Tifa. She was on the gun in seconds, arming it and taking aim. However, she couldn't get a good shot because Reno and the man continued to fight, moving around the floor deftly.

"Hold still!" she shouted.

"Are you crazy?!" Reno said, losing his eletro-mag rod, "Take the damn shot, Tifa!"

"You want me to kill you too?" she asked.

"Just shoot!"

Tifa was about to take a shot, but she spotted a glimmer out of the corner of her eye. Her Desert Eagle was still lying on the carpet. She abandoned the larger weapon for the smaller. Lord knew she was a much better shot with a Deagle than she'd ever be with an AK-47.

She took a shot just the man was about to slam Reno's head onto the floor again. The first shot hit the man in the shoulder, a through and through that sent blood spattering across the redhead's face. The second hit him in the heart through his back, entering but not exiting.

Reno groaned when the man's lifeless body collapsed ontop of him. "Thanks for finally taking the shot!" he cried out.

Tifa laughed. "Where's the kid?" she asked.

"Behind the martini bar with your friend." Reno called, "A little help?"

"I'll be right there." she smirked, "Don't go anywhere."

"Oh, very funny."

Tifa went to the martini bar and checked behind the bench. The girl and Cloud were huddled beside the mini fridge. They both looked relieved to see Tifa standing there.

"Thank God!" The girl said, standing and embracing Tifa, "Are the bad guys dead?"

"You bet." Tifa confirmed.

"That was intense!" She said, taking a seat at the bar. Her hands were still shaking and her pink dress was soaked. Her blonde mane was soaked and her expensive hairstyle, ruined.

Cloud took a step toward Tifa, looking from her eyes to her gun and back again.

"Cloud..."

"What did you do, Tifa?" he asked softly.

"It's... difficult..."

"She just saved your ass is what she did!" Jaqueline said.

"Was I talking to you?" Cloud glowered at the teen. He looked back into Tifa's eyes. "Did you kill those men?"

"I... I had to. They were going to kill us."

"Where did you learn how to use a gun, Tifa?"

"Um... where's the other guy?" Jaqueline asked, referring to Reno.

"Oh my gosh!" Tifa cried, "Reno!"

She left Cloud's question unanswered and ran back to the dancefloor to help her partner wrench a 250 pound dead body off of him.