I do not own FF7 or any of its characters.

Rude activated his lights and sirens as he made his way through the city of Edge, which was on the outskirts of Midgar's city limits. Most active traffic was moving to make way for them in obediance with the law, and the big Turk dared to hope they might yet make enough distance to get clean away, then they could ditch the vehicle and hole up safely either at the Healin Lodge or somewhere close to it. As he looked in the rearview mirror a scowl crossed his face. He was scowling because his optimism had just been dashed, for two persuit cars had just turned around the corner and were following their car.

He knew it could be a fluke; those officers might not actually know that their targets were in this vehicle, it could be that those two cars were just offering back up for what they assumed were fellow WRO officers who were hunting for their missing gun man/ gun men.
But that didn't really right matter now - what matter was that this was a no win situation. These cars were not going to leave them alone if they kept driving at this speed, and if Rude kept his distance for too long or tried to shake them off then they'd start getting suspicious and even a quick investigation of their vehicle would give away that a man in non uniform was driving and then they'd want to know who that man was, and sooner or later he was going to have to try and get away from them if he and Reno wanted to escape this situation.
The big man sighed, this really wasn't his day. He consulted his gut for advise and his gut was now telling him 'Get out of here'.
So he pressed his foot down and the car zoomed down the road, breaking speed laws and skidded dangerously around the corner of the street. Other cars honked their horns and swerved madly to avoid Rude as he cut through the traffic lanes.
The two cars behind activated their sirens and accelerated to keep up with the disappearing Turks.
The chase was on.

Reno realised the game was up and decided he didn't need to hide anymore. He sat up and looked around. His eyes widened at how fast Rude was traveling, he called out "Just so you know Rude, these thing won't handle like Flo!"
Rude growled "That's why I'm trying to lose them!" he twisted the wheel and skidded neatly around another corner, he twisted his head around sharply to see if their persuers were still there. His face broke in the smallest of smirks as he saw one of the other drivers try to copy him and fail. Their car overshot the turn and had to brake whilst the other turned too harshly and ended up facing the wrong direction.
He turned his attention back to the road and turned another corner, making full use of the aqquired time.
He made as much ground as he could for the next few minutes, and finally when he could no longer hear the sound of sirens he he called back to his partner "Are those two still following us?"
Reno turned and scanned out of the back window for anything that might be a threat. The road was empty - the only cars were parked and stationary. "Nope. We've lost them partner." the red head reassured him.
The big man sighed in relief and turned the car into the back streets. He killed the engine and everything was silent and still for a few moments.
"Shall we go?" Reno asked with a nod to the alleys.
"Mm." Rude agreed.
The Turks got out of the car and ran down the alleyway.

"Whoa whoa! Hold it Rude!" Reno called.
The big man paused and turned "What?" he asked.
"How much money do you have on you?"
The bald man gaped "Seriously?" he asked.
"Yes! Quick! How much?" Reno snapped and motioned for Rude to speed it along.
"Um..." Rude fished out his wallet and quickly counted it out "Fifty in cash."
"Great! Hand it over!" Reno ordered him.
"Wha-?" Rude started to ask.
"Oh for-! Give it here!" Reno sighed and snatched the wallet off his partner. Emptying the contents of it and tossing the empty pouch back to his friend he then whistled loudly into the alley "Okay anyone! Who wants to make fifty big ones for nothing?"
Rude went to grab his money back but Reno nimbly kept it away from the bigger man. A cocky voice suddenly caught their attention.
"I do."

Reno grinned as a teen poked his head out from around the corner. Reno waved him over "Great job kid! You can have the money but you gotta do something for me."
The teen scowled "I 'aint wierd mister."
"No, you little-!" Reno snarled "Look, you want this money or not? I promise I'm not asking for what you think I am."
"Sure you aren't." the boy replied sarcastically.
"Fine, hows this sound then? You get in that WRO car, you drive it down the road and you make a racket. That means you honk the horn, you drive like a maniac, and when the WRO catch you - and you make sure you make them work for that, you hear? - then you tell them you were paid to dupe them by two guys who were running the other direction to where you were going. Okay?"
"And where you goin mister?" the teen asked eagerly.
"I 'ain't that dumb, kid. I grew up in the back alleys." Reno replied curtly - if you give them an inch and they'd take a mile. Alley kids were quick to find oppertunities to make money and for a good price this kid would rat them out as willingly as he was offering to help them.
"Okay, sure. You want me to take the car for a joyride." the kid replied "Hand that fifty over then."
"Whoa." Rude stopped his partner "You are not giving that kid my fifty. No way."
"Why not?" Reno asked.
"'Cause he'll run off with it."
"In the car." Reno replied "the car the WRO are looking for!"
"..." Rude glared at his partner, then turned his gaze on the kid. He suddenly loomed over the much smaller person and growled "You listening to me boy?"
The kid nodded quickly as he saw the expression on the bigger mans face.
"Good. Listen up then - you'd better do what we said if we give you my money. Cause if we get arrested then the second I get out I'm going to find you and then you'll be the one who's paying. Clear?"
The kid paled and nodded again. "S-sure!" he squeaked.
"Good." Rude pushed the money into his hands and pointed at the car "Go."

The two Turks ran down the alleys as they made their way into the back streets, Reno took point and kept them both going at a fast pace. Rude marvelled at his partners stamina sometimes, he'd just run enough for a marathon and here he was doing some more after only a few minutes rest.
"You sure you don't need a rest?" Rude asked him "I think we can spare a minute."
"...Nah..." the red head called back, but his breath was still short and Rude frowned angrily at the back of his partenrs head. Reno was pushing himself too hard.
He grabbed the wiry man and stopped him.
"Hey! What you-" Reno complained but was cut off as Rude pressed a finger to his lips.
"Hush. Rest a second." Rude ordered him.
"Rude man, I'm good! Really!" Reno protested.
"No. I want you to rest a moment and I want you to tell me what happened back there."
As Reno explained what had happened to him on the rooftop with the WRO officer Rude was silent and brooded over it. If it had been a set up then whoever had panned it had either been gambling on the cirucmstances going just the way the needed them too go, or they were better at setting up a win/win situation than Reeve Tuesti.

"So you didn't see the gunman who shot the officer then?" Rude asked Reno.
"No. But I can tell you for sure it was a sniper. Personally I was more concerned about getting off the roof at the time in case his next shot was aimed at me." Reno answered with a grimace.
Rude said nothing. He'd survived a trap and Reno was alright, and right now that was good enough for him.

"So whats next? Shall we risk getting back to Healin'?" Rude asked.
"Hmm... maybe going back right now isn't such a good idea." Reno replied after a moments thoughtful silence.
"No?"
"Well think about it, if they follow us back to the Healin' Lodge we'd be putting the President in danger. I'll try to get the Director. Maybe he can help us, send a chopper or something."
"Tell him to hurry up too. I don't like waiting around on foot with all of Midgar's officers looking for us." Rude pressed.
Reno nodded "You got that right." he agreed as he dialled up the number on his phone.

Tseng stared at the other man across the conference table in the office. The WRO's visionary leader looked hurt and shocked at Tseng questions.
"You think I'm trying to put Rufus Shinra in danger?" Reeve asked "Why would I do that?"
"Because you want to flush out the killer that you haven't been able to catch." Tseng answered.
The WRO's leader leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving Tseng's as he breathed a long heavy breath out his nose. He spread his hands imploringly "Please explain this to me Tseng," Reeve beseeched the Director "be reasonable with me, what possible advantage would I have in putting Rufus Shinra in such a dangerous situation? He is my ally after all, not my enemy."

Tseng sighed and rubbed his brow, he didn't like being the man who was questioning Reeve Tuesti. The man had a good heart, he was a brilliant strategist and he cared about others before himself which was a quality rarely found in leaders after they'd been in power for long spells of time.
But the leader of the WRO was also a very clever individual and clever men were not always trustworthy especially when they had a cities worth of citizens welfare to think about.

"Alright Reeve, I will tell you my theory." the Director said softly "But don't take it personally, I'm just basing this on the facts and my own logic."
Reeve nodded and gestured for the other man with the wave of a hand. "Please, be my guest." he offered and picked up a glass of water to take a sip of it.
Tseng leaned forward and regarded the other man seriosuly "Reeve, I think you're more worried about public relations than you let on. Ever since Meteor fell and your new government took power its been nothing but tough going for you and the WRO; the financial burdens of rebuilding Edge along with rebuilding the closest parts of Midgar mean you don't have a lot of money to spend on entertainment or leisure to keep the people distracted from everyday troubles.
The recent Geostigma epidemic definitely hurt your image in the publics eyes because you couldn't offer them anything but words of consolation and advice; not exactly inspiring for a scared populace." Tseng said commented bluntly before he took a sip of his tea.

Reeve flushed at the comment and snapped "And you think ShinRa could have done a better job, is that what you're saying to me Tseng?"
Tseng raised a hand "Calm down, of course I'm not. As I said I'm just saying what I think based on the facts. Personally I think you did everything you could and more. I don't fault you in the slightest." he leaned back and looked evenly at the WRO's leader "May I continue?"
Reeve nodded "Yes, of course. I'm sorry for interrupting."
"Than you. Now I think that what you want most is to preserve is a state of normality amongst those citizens out there so that everyone can relax and things can start running smoothly again."
"Thats a fair comment, things have been a little hectic lately." Reeve admitted.
"Yes, with a gunman killing innocent civillians 'hectic' is one word to desribe the situation out there. But once again you haven't been able to offer anything but words of comfort to stop the people from panicking." Tseng stated and watched the other man carefully.
This time Reeve kept his composure at Tsengs harsh summary. A muscle that twitched in his cheek was the only tell tale sign that Tseng's comment had affected him.
"Go on." the leader of the WRO

"So what you're telling me is that you've lost them!" Ellowyn Dellora roared down the phone at the unfortunate officer on the other end.
"N-no ma'am! We just don't have a visual on them, we chased the vehicle they stole from the officers but it was a decoy. All the kid would tell us was that he was in the slums when they accosted him and forced him to drive their car away for them."
"Bribed him more like..." the Captain muttered.
"Sir?"
"Officer, why are you still talking to me? Get all the officers you can and comb the slum areas - the Turks on on foot and I want them found and shot before they can escape!"
"But sir surely we should wait and try to force a surrender-"
"We don't bargain with killers officer, don't question my orders!" Ellowyn shouted down the line "Shoot them like the corporate dogs they are!"
"Yes sir!" the officer replied dutifully and she hung up the phone before he could say anything else.
She groaned, her stomach felt knotted and painful from worry. Never before had she felt such pressure on her to succeed, but lives were literally on the line here, and hers was first on the list!
She pulled out a cigarette and went to go outside for a smoke. As she fumbled through the coat on the back of her door for her lightr a moblie phone started to chime.
She jumped and swallowed hard as she pulled her phone from her pocket, her phone was switched off which must mean...
She quickly snatched the other one from out of her coat and looked at the lit up monitor. 'unknown number' registered on the lit up screen and it vibrated in her hands.
Oh no... she thought, the knot in her stomach tightening like a noose.
With trembling fingers she pressed the recieve call button and shut the door to her office.
"I thought I made it very clear what I wanted from you Captain Dellora." the voice warned.
"I-I'm doing the best I can!" she protested.
"Well its not good enough."
"Well what do you want from me?" she snarled angrily "I'm not a miracle worker! You need to give me time!"
"I've already given you time."the voice replied with smooth calm voice.

"Why are you calling me?" she demanded "I've got stuff to do and I can't just pick up the damn phone because you don't like something-"
"look down Officer."
She shut up and did as she was told... and when she did she wished she hadn't. A single red dot was lined up perfectly over her heart. It barely wavered and as she stepped to the left it followed her.
"Oh god..." she whimpered and she began to tremble.
"I've always said the fear of death has a way of focussing ones priorities.." the other end mocked "Now listen up, I know you're under a lot of pressure so I'll forget how you just spoke to me. Say 'thank you sir' Officer Dellora"

"Th- thank you sir." she replied through a dry throat.
"Better." the voice approved "Now then. Since you're in trouble allow me to help you - the Turks are on foot in the residential area of the slums. They're looking for somewhere to hide and I'll know when they find it. You will take an armed escort and follow my directions, you will go there and see to their end personally. Failure to kill them, failure to follow my directions - failure of any kind - and I will kill you."
"... and if I succeed?" the Captain asked.
"Then I'll come to pick up my phone and we can talk more then. I'm sure we'll have lots to talk about."
"Unlikely." Dellora scowled.
The other end chuckled "Well, best of luck officer, you'll need it. Do not turn off this phone... Ah, time's pressing. I have to go."
The dot moved away from her heart and Dellora sagged to the floor with a gasp of relief as the phone line went dead.

Please R+R, your feedback is always appreciated.