Reprisal

Chapter Twenty-Six

Tseng had to hand it to Rufus; he had class.

He sat behind his highly polished desk, sunlight framing him from the window behind, hair shining, eyes calm and clear, slowly rolling a fine silver fountain pen between his fingers.

Shinra made them all look bad. It was a special gift of his.

Tseng was tired. His eyes were heavy and shadowed, and his clothes were creased from sleeping in them. He'd spent the night comforting Elena as she sat at the patient's bedside stroking his unresponsive hand and trying to stem her tears. But of course, Rufus Shinra knew that.

He didn't mention how under dressed Tseng was when he entered the office. Neither did he mention the irate, beat-up Turk that followed him, or the sword-wielding blonde that brought up the rear. He merely raised an eyebrow, as if to say even obedient men such as Tseng were allowed their off days, and continued to fiddle with the fountain pen.

Tseng longed to wipe the dry smile of Rufus's face. He had great respect for the man; he'd even go as far as calling him a friend. But he knew, the minute he saw Rufus's calm exterior that he was holding out on them.

Unfortunately for Rufus, Reno realised it too.

He'd lunged across the desk before either man could stop him, his fingers clenching Rufus's lapels tightly, pulling him upwards in his seat so that his eyes bulged as he gasped for air. He shook him hard, despite the obvious exertion, and tightened his grip.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"I don't know," Rufus choked.

"Liar!" Reno shouted, shaking him again, "Where is she!"

"Reno!" Tseng grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him off the desk, "This won't solve anything."

"Won't it?" Cloud asked dryly.

Rufus neatened his suit haughtily, glaring at Reno.

Tseng released Reno, noticing the pallor in his face, and the way he staggered slightly, shifting his weight between his feet. He pulled out a chair, and carefully manoeuvred the redhead into it.

"Rufus, this has gone far enough," he said quietly.

Rufus stared at him coldly, ignoring the two other men that were glaring at him, "When I want your opinion…"

"I'll give it to you," Tseng answered sharply.

"This is insubordination, Tseng," the blonde man smiled.

Tseng shrugged, "I almost lost the woman I love. I won't put Reno through that."

Beside them Cloud stepped forward, staring aghast at Reno. Tseng noted how unwilling his seemed to meet Cloud's eye, instead choosing to stare at his calloused fingers as he flexed them uneasily.

"A commendable sentiment I'm sure…"

Tseng slammed his fist onto the table, making Reno jump, "Elena would have died! Burned alive if it wasn't for this man. Two children…Children!" he repeated furiously, "Nearly lost their lives. How many people will it take before you realise what you have done!"

"Tseng, this is unwise in the present company…"

"No, Rufus. No! I won't sit back and let this happen!"

"What do you mean…" Cloud interrupted.

"You knew…" Reno whispered, his face white, "You knew all along…"

Rufus stared at the desk, idly toying with a sheet of paper, "I had suspicions."

"They were more than suspicions. You had threats!"

"Nothing I haven't had before I assure you," Rufus replied as Reno jumped to his feet.

"Tseng!" he shouted, swaying again, "What the hell is going on?"

Tseng blinked slowly, "A woman contacted me six months ago. She lost her family when Sector Seven collapsed. She wanted something…anything off the Shinra. Although I don't think she would have stopped at anything short of having her family back."

"She was deranged," Rufus stated calmly, "I had her terminated."

"No Rufus, you didn't," Tseng spat, "That's what you told me. But when I realised… when Tifa came in with photographs of the same woman I had spoken to..."

"A likeness…"

"It wasn't a likeness!" Tseng shouted, "You knew all along that she'd try something like this!"

"Why didn't you tell us," Reno whispered, staring at Tseng, "Why didn't you…"

Tseng stared at the floor, "Because…Rufus threatened that…Elena…"

"I hear it is particularly hard for an ex-Turk to find work in this day and age," Rufus replied, grinning savagely, "Which is a problem I assure you your department will now face! This is a ridiculous accusation…"

"You knew this woman was still alive, and still you did nothing! You could have stopped this from happening!"

"I couldn't," Rufus replied, handing Tseng the sheet of paper he'd been toying with, "It had always been her intention, right from the beginning. Do you think I haven't searched for her? Do you really think I'm that naïve?"

"Why didn't you tell us…" Tseng whispered. Beside him Reno nodded frantically.

"Because she wanted you. I couldn't risk my best men coming under her control…"

"Don't make me laugh," Reno cut in darkly, "You just couldn't be arsed to…"

"Reno! That's enough!" Rufus shouted, "You don't understand this. Any of this!"

"Explain then Rufus," Cloud pointed his sword at the man in front of him, "And make it short. We're running out of time."

Rufus sighed, "She's my daughter."

"What!" Reno fell back into his chair, mouth open.

"Don't be ridiculous," Tseng snapped.

"I assure you I'm not," Rufus sighed, "She was the result of a one night stand I would rather forget. Her mother came to me, to try and extort every penny she could, and I turned her away. I made sure nobody would believe her story. She lived the rest of her life a beggar in the slums."

Tseng stared at the cold, grey eyes in front of him, unable to believe the lack of emotion in Rufus's voice.

"She knows, of course. That is why she sought me out following the destruction of Sector Seven. She actually believed I would welcome her with open arms…"

"Why didn't you?" Cloud asked angrily.

"Because she was nothing more than a slum child. Beautiful, but nothing all the same," he shrugged, "She swore then that she would kill me, and I didn't doubt it. My family has always been particularly stubborn, no doubt she has inherited that from me."

The three men stared at Rufus in silence.

"I'm impressed by her success so far… Managing to capture and detain a Turk and a terrorist is no mean feat. Although I don't know why she believes I would give in to her demands."

Tseng finally unfolded the sheet of paper Rufus had handed to him, and scanned it quickly. He frowned, and threw it down on the desk.

"She's cleverer than you think," he whispered.

"Why? I would never concede to such petty demands. Meet me there or the girl dies? It is amateurish."

"The girl?" Reno exclaimed, "Tifa?"

"Not amateurish at all," Tseng replied, "You fail to realise that there are three men in this room who would do anything to be face to face with this woman. Two of them would do anything to rescue 'the girl' in question. And none of them have any qualms with taking you with us."

"What?" Rufus exclaimed.

"You heard him," Reno grinned, "You're coming with us."