Disclaimer: See previous chapters, I'm feeling repetitive.

Note: Thanks for the reviews, everybody, I really appreciate it! This story is getting close to the end, and I'm thinking of adding a short sequel. Maybe just a long epilogue. I don't want to be done with it yet, I've been having a good time with this story.

Chapter Ten: Less Than Professional

Sitting in Godo's living room was definitely an awkward experience. Not only because the man was anxiously pacing the carpet, but because if they were even to call the police, Vincent could be of no help. It had been maybe fifteen minutes since he had gotten there, and he had gone up the stairs to find Godo kneeling in the upstairs hallway with his head in his hands. He was understandably panicked, and his gaze had held such a powerful hatred toward Vincent when he looked up that Vincent had taken a step back.

He was still surprised Godo hadn't simply called the police, perhaps the man suspected whoever had taken his daughter might want a ransom, in which case Vincent would be extremely helpful.

It was a possibility Vincent himself was clinging to, and he had only been mildly surprised when he realized he would gladly sign over the contents of his father's bank account to get the young Kisaragi girl back.

A phone rang in his coat pocket and he sat up quickly, staring down at it in shock for a moment. He fumbled with his coat before managing to pull out his phone, dropping it on the floor again as his hands shook.

"Hello." He said quietly, kneeling on the kitchen tile. A slightly nasal voice on the other end let out a breathy chuckle and he felt the hair on the back of his neck start to stand up.

"Vincent Valentine, I presume?" The man said quietly, as if teasing him.

"Who is this?" Vincent bit back, hand gripping the phone so tightly it squeaked in protest, a sign that it was about to shatter.

"Very clever, Valentine, didn't call the cops, did you? No, that would have been a mistake." The man on the other end laughed and Godo rushed over from the living room.

"Who is it? Do they have Yuffie?" He said hurriedly, kneeling down beside him. Vincent shook his head and mouthed the words 'I don't know'.

"You want your little toy back, don't you?" The voice was drawling, and during the break between sentences a shrill scream broke out in the background. The man laughed again and said something to someone nearby.

"What do you want?" Vincent asked quickly, bristling in anger as he heard shouting he could only assume was directed at Yuffie.

"Whatcha got?" The man asked sarcastically. Someone cursed and there was a violent shuffling sound as the phone was apparently wrestled out of his grasp. Vincent thought he heard a woman say 'don't be a fucking idiot', but couldn't be sure as the phone was handed to another man.

"You, and your money." A much deeper, intimidating voice said. Vincent's blood ran cold.

"What?" He asked shakily.

"You heard me, we want you and your money. All of your money." The man replied threateningly.

The line was quiet for a moment as Vincent cursed under his breath.

"Fine, consider it done. What do you want me to do?" He finally said, voice low and sharp.

"Go to work. Park on the top floor of the parking structure, a limousine will come by and pick you up. You call the cops or anyone follows you, I'll kill Yuffie myself and dump her body on the high school's front lawn. Go now, you have half an hour to be there or Yuffie dies." He hung up the phone and Vincent dropped it down onto the floor. He stood up quickly and braced himself against the kitchen counter.

"What did they say?" Godo demanded, only having heard bits and pieces of the conversation. Vincent looked over at him wearily.

"They want to pick me up, I'm not sure what they're really after. He said if we call the police or anyone follows me they'll kill Yuffie." He cursed again, slamming a fist into the countertop and leaning heavily on it.

"I'm going." He said flatly, throwing himself back and heading for the door.

"Valentine." Godo said dangerously. Vincent turned to look at him. "You get Yuffie out of there, or I swear to Leviathan himself I will dedicate my life to making this a hell on earth for you." He said darkly.

Vincent nodded, leaving quickly before he had a chance to see the man start to break down.

x:X:x

It was still cold outside, but rain fell heavily on his car as he waited. He had made it here in record time, and sat behind the wheel, watching the ramp suspiciously. He checked his watch again, it had been twenty eight minutes since their conversation had ended, he was curious to see if they would be on time.

He sighed heavily and rested his forehead on the wheel. It was very likely they would just kill him to be sure there were no witnesses. There wasn't even any guarantee that they would let Yuffie live. But his mind was set, there was a chance that she could and he was willing to take it. She had turned out to be a lot more trouble than he had ever imagined.

The sound of approaching car tires snapped his head up quickly, and he stared out the window to see a sleek black limousine pull gracefully around the corner of the ramp and stop right behind his car. A rock seemed to hit the bottom of his stomach and he threw open the door, stepping out into the pounding rain. He walked over to the back door of the limousine, pulling it open and quickly climbing into the seat. He barely had time to close the door again before they were heading back down the ramp, and his eyes darted over to the man seated beside him now.

He was tall, dark skinned, and wearing a dark blue suit. Heavy sunglasses covered his eyes and he had earrings lining his ear. He looked down at Vincent, arms crossed over his chest.

"Got any weapons?" The man asked. Vincent was unfazed, and regarded him coolly.

"No." He said flatly.

"Good." The man replied, looking him up and down. There wasn't much in the way of places to hide a weapon on him, not that he even owned any.

"Put this on." The man said, handing him a thick black cloth. Vincent looked at it for a moment before taking it and tying it around his eyes. He leaned his head back against the seat and waited for the ride to be over.

x:X:x

It was a surprisingly long drive for the size of the city, and Vincent had spent the entire ride in silence, staring at the black of the blindfold around his eyes. The door beside him was opened and someone yanked him out of the car, gripping his arm tightly and guiding him forward.

He stumbled slightly, feeling the rain pound against him violently. It subsided and he knew they had stepped under a shelter, a warm breeze hitting his face as a door was opened and a light began to shine through his blindfold. The door slammed behind them and the blindfold was nearly ripped from his face as someone pulled it off.

He blinked in the light and looked around, eyes adjusting quickly.

"Vincent, so good of you to join us!" A woman sneered, and he looked over to see a blonde girl step out from behind the door.

"Elena." He growled quietly. Movement ahead of him caught his eyes and he saw Rufus lurking nearby, a jealous look in his eyes before he turned away and walked down the hall, motioning for Vincent to follow.

The discovery was a bit shocking, he had no idea someone that he knew, even employed, would turn into a murdering kidnapper. He wanted to fight back and demand to see Yuffie, but he could tell they were already a little nervous and unpredictable. It was probably the first real crime they had ever committed.

Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed the man that had sat beside him in the limo, and another man he assumed was the driver, a younger looking boy with violent red hair pulled back into a ponytail that trailed down his back. The group was obviously close knit friends, probably even went to school together.

They were led into another room, and Vincent looked around. It was run down, possibly condemned, and very abandoned. How Rufus had known about it was a mystery, he could only guess his father had told him about it in his quest for more property. There was a small desk against the wall, with a notebook and pencil on it. The chair was pulled out, and Vincent was shoved into it.

"Write down all of your bank account information, we can do everything ourselves from there." Rufus said sharply. Vincent obeyed, ignoring the group as they stood behind him and watched him write.

He wrote down everything he knew, and set the pencil down when he was done.

"Now hand over your bank card." Rufus commanded. Vincent pulled it out of his wallet and set it on the pad of paper.

"Reno, Rude, be nice and take him to see little Yuffie." Elena said sweetly, motioning towards the door.

They each grabbed an arm and pulled him none too gently from his seat, pulling him out the door as Rufus set a laptop on the desk. Vincent was barely paying attention as he was dragged down the hall again, the light dimming considerably as they went down a flight of stairs. They were in the basement now, and Vincent could barely see as a door was pulled open. He was thrown into the room unceremoniously and landed painfully on his side. The door was shut and locked behind him, and he sat up and rubbed his arm. A noise beside him on the floor caught his attention, and his eyes strained to see through the darkness.

A shape was outlined against the wall, moving weakly when it realized it was no longer alone. Vincent scrambled over to it, immediately grabbing its face when he noticed the tell-tale lack of decent clothing.

"Yuffie!" He cried out, pulling her up against his chest. She fought against the ropes digging into her skin, and he set her back down to untie her. He pulled the gag from her mouth and pulled off the blindfold, brushing his fingers over her bruised and cut face. He wiped away a few dark splotches of blood from her pale skin, and she stared up at him desperately.

"Vincent, what are you doing here?" She said quickly, her voice cracking.

"I came to get you." He said softly, hugging her gently. She gripped his shirt tightly and refused to let go, resulting in him pulling her up on top of him as he leaned back in exhaustion.

"Are we going to die, Vincent?" Yuffie asked quietly, her shoulders shaking slightly from the cold. He pulled off his coat and draped it over her.

"I don't know, Yuffie, don't think about it." He replied.

x:X:x

"Do you think they forgot about us?" Yuffie asked hopefully. Vincent might have thought about laughing had the situation been less serious.

"I guarantee there is someone sitting on the other side of that door, Yuffie." He replied grimly. Her face fell again and she looked back down at the floor.

It had been hours, and he knew Yuffie must be getting tired. She was still shaking, and after some coaxing he had gotten her to relax enough that he could check her for injuries. She had a long cut across her lower back, apparently she had landed rather roughly on something. Other than that she seemed all right, just small cuts and bruises. He had asked about the blood all over her bedroom and she had laughed. To his relief, she had put up a tough battle, and the blood in that room wasn't hers, but had come from another man Vincent hadn't seen who caught Yuffie's foot in his nose and was apparently gone to get it fixed.

"Did you hear that?" Yuffie asked sharply, jumping up from his arms to stare around the dark room. There weren't any windows to let in light, only the dull glow from the gap under the door. She moved forward and pressed her ear to the door, breathing shallowly and pursing her lips.

"I don't hear anything." Vincent said softly, straining to listen. She jumped slightly and scrambled back away from the door. Clutching his shirt tightly, she pressed into his side.

"Someone's coming, it sounds bad." She whispered urgently, hair nearly standing on end as the sound of panicked footsteps finally reached Vincent's ears. He wound an arm around her protectively and pulled her up to her feet with him, backing against the wall.

There was shouting now, and the sound of something breaking. More rushed footsteps and they were in the hall. Someone screamed something and the lock on the door clicked open. A gunshot was fired and Yuffie's eyes went wide in horror as the sound of a body hitting the ground echoed down the hall.

Yuffie let out a small yelp as the door was kicked open. She pressed herself as close to Vincent as she could as Rufus reached for her. In a flash, Vincent threw her to the side, and Rufus's outstretched hand grabbed hold of Vincent's shirt instead. His eyes widened for a moment in surprise, and quickly hardened again as pounding footsteps echoed down the hall. Before anyone could even make a move, Rufus tripped Vincent down to his knees, pointing the gun in his other hand straight at his head and braced himself against he wall.

Everyone stopped at that point. Yuffie's eyes were wide in fear as she stared at the gun pointed at Vincent's head, and Rufus stared at the man poised in the doorway, letting out ragged panting breaths.

"Zack!!" Yuffie shrieked, finally recognizing the silhouetted form in the doorway. He nodded to her calmly, and she realized he was pointing his own gun at Rufus.

Vincent could only stare up at his best friend, worried that if he tried to make a move Rufus might open fire at Yuffie. He had no doubt he could extricate himself from Rufus' grasp unharmed, but he could not guarantee that Yuffie would not get caught up in the crossfire that would then occur.

"Drop it, Zack, or Valentine dies." Rufus ground out, not daring to blink as the spiky haired man seemed to recollect himself in the doorway. He stared between Vincent and Yuffie for a moment, seeming to catch the look in Vincent's eyes. He motioned briefly at Yuffie, pleading with Zack to ensure her safety.

"You kill him, I kill you." Zack replied simply.

There was yet another tense moment and Yuffie's eyes darted from Vincent to the gun and up to Rufus, wondering if she should do something, or if she would simply get in the way.

"Don't even think about it Yuffie, get back against the wall." Zack said, eyes not leaving Rufus as he noticed her edge a little closer to them. She stepped back again and slid down to the floor.

"No, Yuffie, get out of here." Vincent spoke up, noticing the jolt that his voice sent through Rufus' body wearily. Yuffie seemed to notice too, and stared up at him with wide eyes.

"Go, get out." He commanded, not caring what Rufus might try to do to him.

Zack knew it was a mistake, Vincent was being careless with himself to ensure Yuffie got out safely, and he wasn't thinking things through. He watched as everything seemed to suddenly blur into slow motion.

Yuffie darted forward, scrambling to her feet and began walking quickly to the door. Rufus watched her in disgust, his lip sneering up in furious hatred as she refused to look back at him. Her cheeks flushed in fear and she knew something bad was about to happen. Zack moved forward entirely too slowly as Rufus took the gun from Vincent's head and pointed it at Yuffie, finger tightening on the trigger. He shouted to Vincent, pointing his own gun at Rufus.

Both guns fired at the same time, and Yuffie let out a scream. She hit the floor and Vincent landed on top of her, gasping in pain.

Rufus leaned against the wall, blood seeping through his shirt and dripping on the floor. He let out a sigh and fell to his knees, staring down at the gun on the floor. He wanted to pick it up, point it at Yuffie and fire until it was out of bullets, but his arm just wouldn't listen to him. His fingers twitched for a moment and he fell back, eyes sliding closed before he even hit the floor.

"Vincent!" Yuffie shrieked, rolling him off of her and cradling his head. "Vincent, can you hear me?!"

She couldn't bring herself to look at the bullet wound, and she knew that wasn't a pool of water she was sitting in.

End of Chapter 10

Thanks for reading! Please review, even if that was the single worst chapter of fan fiction you have ever read. Sorry to end it there, but I'll update fast.