So, this chapter is mainly focussing on Tifa and her present problems. I hope you will enjoy.

Chapter 14: Tifa: Wherein Tifa calls Shin-Ra

Tifa had sent Marlene upstairs to do her homework. She wasn't sure how long she had already stared at the file but it still didn't feel alright. In a moment of fear and panic, she had to admit to herself now, she had come to accuse Shin-Ra. But in the end, she had done nothing else but to beg for their help. She had never thought she would receive help. Now, she felt very uneasy about it. With Shin-Ra, there was always 'quid pro quo', she was sure. She didn't see the 'quid', not in miles. But she wouldn't let them get her. Perhaps, it was indeed better if she thanked Rufus herself. She could then find out about the 'quid' and rid Rufus of whatever illusions he had. It was more appropriate, anyway, she felt.

Why were things always mounting up when the first had started to become difficult? She had almost forgotten Shin-Ra and her shameful visit over the trouble Denzel had started having at school because of the white spots. Someone has to be responsible that our situation is still so bad…, she had heard a lot of people say in her bar, usually followed by a lot of nonsense and sentences similar to: I'm sure they formed a pact with Sephiroth. …life-stream now punishes the guilty ones now! Words like that had only fuelled her worries about the illness itself, and, lately, the murders. They frightened her and it was them that had finally persuaded her to leave Denzel with Reeve for a while. She hoped they would find the murderers quickly.

And now, Reno had asked strange questions on that topic, too.

She gave a sigh and reached out for the phone. She'd better told Shinra that she wasn't going to jump through rings just because he gave her information on Cloud. And she finally wanted to know what was up with Cloud… if Shin-Ra knew anything more than it said in the file. She had to know. Just thinking about Cloud worried her sick. Still, she hesitated. It didn't feel right to call. It didn't feel right to accept help from Shin-Ra.

She took up the phone, her eyes on the number Reno had scribbled onto the first page.

She hesitated even while dialling the number.

The telephone felt cold against her ear. It rang twice and Tifa almost prayed it wouldn't be answered when the other side picked up,

"Yes." The voice was soft, mellow and yet, Tifa froze, her memory spinning with the same voice. You are to be executed for causing this situation…. People are ignorant. They feel better as long as someone is punished. She felt a shudder running down her spine. He hadn't even cared. What business had she to call him? Her heart was hammering.

"Hello?" The voice was still friendly, still sent a shiver down her spine as it whispered into her ear.

She cleared her throat. "Good day." She hesitated, felt foolish. "It's Tifa Lockheart."

The other end of the phone was silent for a moment. Then, Rufus Shinra spoke again, still that mellow voice, "I must say, I didn't expect you to call so early. Or at all."

Tifa didn't know what to say. He sounded so friendly, so… so harmless. "I wanted to thank you for the file you sent me, Shinra."

"You asked for it." His answer was a matter-of-factly, polite, still. Ironic, perhaps.

Tifa drew in a breath. "I'm not going to work for you. And I'm not going to spy for on how Reeve treats his Geostigma patients."

The other end gave a short laugh. "My, Miss Lockheart, you came here and asked me a favour. I granted you that favour. You have to stop to suspect evil will behind every courtesy."

"You are Shinra, after all." Tifa felt a little patronized and that was a feeling she definitely couldn't stand.

"I apologize, but I'm afraid I can't change that. Still, as I told you, I am doing my uttermost to make up to my responsibility and set things right again."

"Oh?" Tifa gave a short and dry laugh, as dry as her reply. "So…. You help me because you want to clear Shin-Ra's reputation?"

Something between a laugh and a sneer came through the phone. "Yes, I would certainly be pleased if you thought better of Shin-Ra, it would save me a lot of trouble, including this turn in conversation. But in the first place, I am helping because you asked me to. If it bothers you that I do, why did you ask me in the first place?"

Tifa fell silent and didn't know what to reply. Rufus' calm reply unsettled her. She felt angered she had given in to call him at all. And that he was right. Or was he? Wasn't he just pulling off one of his little games?

"I came to find out whether you had killed Cloud. You offered me your help." Yes, that was another question, too. Had Shin-Ra really done nothing to Cloud?

"The more you shouldn't be surprised that I keep my word," Rufus replied drily. "Now, I neither have time nor ambition to discuss your suspicions all over again. I didn't have Cloud Strife killed. So, if you don't have any further question, I have a company to run."

"Actually, I do have further questions", she heard herself say but knew if she asked now she would accept Shin-Ra's gift. With everything there was to it. Still, hadn't she already by keeping the file? It was best to take advantage now and settle things. And she had to know! Slowly, she took a deep breath before she tried to be at least a little polite, "What does it mean, you are 42 % sure Cloud was in Kalm?"

She heard another rustling of paper and when he replied, Rufus' voice had changed from politeness to business. "It means that if I were badly looking for someone, I would act upon this probability. Mostly, with 85 % to 97 %, a person is positively identified. If you believe it is any help to you, feel free have a look at the surveillance video."

Tifa, still not sure if he was lying to her or if indeed, as everything suggested, Rufus was telling the truth, realized that she had hoped. Now, with no clear answer, she felt somehow let down again. That was neither a 'yes' nor a 'no'. But she knew the only answer she wanted to hear was: yes, it is Cloud. He isn't dead. His mobile is just broken or lost or anything and he's just a dumb fool again.

"This video, I mean, if Cloud appeared on one video, why didn't he appear on others, too?"

"Our network is patchy, nowadays. You can count yourself lucky that he got a hit at all." Rufus paused a moment, "To be honest, though, I rather got the impression that he doesn't want to be found."

"Okay…," Tifa nearly whispered and felt the emptiness inside her again. 'Doesn't want to be found' was no answer again. She was pretty sure that Rufus would have told her without qualms if he thought Cloud dead. But why wouldn't Cloud want to be found? Why couldn't she just get a straight answer? She couldn't go to Kalm. And… it's been eternity since Cloud had been there.

Rufus on the other end paused again, seemed to misinterpret her reaction, "If you don't trust us, you can still double check with Reeve. I'm sure he can at least reproduce the list of phone calls."

Tifa felt caught and a little embarrassed. "Okay. Well, thank you for the file and your answers, Mr Shinra." Still, Rufus' words hadn't made her anymore trusting towards Shin-Ra.

"You are welcome." He sounded very polite, as if he even felt like he said, only a little arrogant. "And… Miss Lockheart?" There was this playfulness in his voice again and Tifa was sure that the catch to everything was coming now. The catch she had anticipated.

"Yes?"

"Don't call me 'Mr Shinra'. That was my father."

Relieved, Tifa breathed out. "Okay. I like 'Shinra' better, anyway."

Rufus gave a soft and bemused laugh. "Goodbye, Miss Lockheart."

The line went dead on her, before she could even reply. Still, she stood there for several moments with the telephone in her hand, slowly breathing out. It hadn't been such a bad end to a pretty bad call. Perhaps she shouldn't be so paranoid with Shin-Ra. Perhaps she had done Rufus wrong and he was really just trying to help because he had said he would.

But then, she felt also confused. Confused, that she was really believing Rufus that they weren't responsible for Cloud's disappearance. For why would Shin-Ra send her such a file if they were guilty? So much detail, so much work, certainly? If Rufus had just let it slip and never mentioned it again, she wouldn't even have thought of bothering them again. And she was pretty sure that the surprise in Rufus' and Tseng's face had been genuine when she had asked about Cloud's whereabouts. She also felt that she was already accepting Rufus' opinion that Cloud was – for whatever reason – lying low. It was better than any other option. Or the only other option; that Cloud was lying in some ditch, long dead.

It confused her even more that, if Rufus send her this file and they hadn't killed Cloud, he was genuinely serious about helping and changing her opinion. It seemed to her so very unlikely that someone like Rufus Shinra should really try and make up. Shin-Ra had been evil all her life long. They couldn't just be changing sides.

So, despite everything, she decided to double-check Rufus' list, although it made her feel bad.

Her hand was already on the way to the phone to call Reeve when she decided to rather call Barret. His number was listed last on Cloud's phone list. He had never told her he had talked to Cloud. It was very curious he hadn't. He usually did if he talked to Cloud.

As she pushed Barret's number into the phone, she asked herself whether she maybe just couldn't bear it that Shin-Ra might have changed. For, if she was honest, she didn't believe Shin-Ra was even able to harm Cloud in any way. If she was honest, she didn't even believe they had a reason to.

Still, Barret's answer brought no relief. It was strange to begin with. He did admit that he had phoned Cloud, claimed that he had forgotten it; it's only been the answering machine that had answered. And, yes, he was sure about the date, his mobile told him. Though, after Tifa had ended the connection, she didn't feel well about that call. It took her a while to figure out that it wasn't because Barret had needed a while to remember, it was because it didn't seem he had to remember at all. But it made no sense that Barret should lie to her. Shin-Ra telling the truth, Barret hiding something, that wasn't the way the world was supposed to work. Even if the list suggested that it must have been Cloud who made the call. Perhaps, Cloud, too, had only caught the answering machine and left no message.

In the end, she didn't find the time to go and watch the surveillance video. Couldn't bring herself to go, either. Neither did she have the time nor did she want to. It was better to tell herself that Cloud might be in Kalm and had his reasons to have his mobile turned off than to know he perhaps hadn't been there at all. Although, she had to admit, it nagged her that she didn't have the calm of knowing. It took a while for her to arrive at the conclusion that, if she went and didn't identify Cloud, it didn't necessarily mean it wasn't him. Perhaps she would just be as unable to tell as she was with the picture. Which was as bad as not going. It wouldn't calm her worries at all and then, there were all those other things to worry about, other things that soon bothered her more.

About three days after the Turks had been there to bring the file, the air was filled with rumours about the vice-major's death. Connections were drawn to the other murders; there was even the hint of a strange message that had been left at the scene of crime. The news scared her, for, by now, every news paper was titling about a serial killer. And sometimes, only spoken behind close doors, she had even heard that some approved. She knew most people weren't doing good these days, that a lot of them were unemployed, still had barely barracks to live in and that a lot of people had been disappointed in their hopes for a better life after meteor. She knew that in the end, a lot of people were looking for someone to blame for their misery. These new views, the hate that was slowly growing towards people who surely weren't responsible for the white spots they got, sickened and frightened her. Viewed in that light, she had rarely been so happy about a decision than to give Denzel into Reeve's custody. At least until the murders had stopped.

Even if it was lonely with only Marlene at the bar, she trusted Reeve a lot and if she was honest, it was quite a relief that there was no need to bring and pick up Denzel each day. And he would be perfectly save at Reeve's place.

I might be a little pessimistic about the public view of things, but, well, I can't just make things easy for the characters, can I?

The next chapter will describe how Denzel is almost killed.

I hope you enjoyed and as always would be glad to hear your opinion.