No one was surprised by the kill order, when it came. They'd known from the beginning that helping Veld could only have one outcome, if they were discovered; now that he'd walked away from the company to help his daughter, who had the misfortune of being the leader of AVALANCHE, he was a traitor. It didn't matter that he wasn't acting to aid AVALANCHE's terrorist agenda. He was helping their leader.

And well, he had walked off the job to do it. But only because he knew ShinRa would never have allowed him to help her while still operating as a Turk, let alone an executive. He'd just taken the preemptive route.

And now they were all on the chopping block, because that was all ShinRa could imagine from the single concept of 'helping Veld' - it became helping a traitor, which was therefore traitorous in itself and deserving of death.

Nuance was not exactly the president's forte. Ironically, that was what he'd had Veld for.

So no, it wasn't a surprise to anyone that the kill order happened. The surprise was in Scarlet being on the ball enough to corner Cissnei and Veld in Corel Prison, with troopers just waiting for the kill order. But Scarlet liked her drama too much for that.

It wasn't any surprise how it went down from there. Cissnei's eyes burned with the first threat of tears she'd felt in years, and all she could hear was Rufus' words.

"It's all of you, or Veld. And the funniest thing is, you know what he'd choose. You might as well let him."

Her answer remained a resounding: like hell I will.

She wasn't a little girl to be protected anymore. She was a Turk, damn it. There had to be another way.

"And so it comes to this," Rufus murmured, watching Tseng through the video feed. "Caught like a rat by the hellcat herself. Do you think he'll try to get me back, or just flat out execute Veld? He has to know he can't play catch-and-release…"

"With all due respect, sir, I would rather not speculate while I'm working," Tseng said.

"You're only working because I told you about it," Rufus pointed out. "And you're lucky I did. I know how you hate to lose the upper hand… pity, I don't think you can avoid it this time…"

"Mmm." Not a response, barely an acknowledgment, and yet still half mind game; he knew Rufus hated to be ignored. Especially when he felt like he'd earned the spotlight.

Sure enough, silence only lasted a few moments. "Corel Prison, Tseng. She's still in Corel Prison. No word on where they took Veld, but give me time."

Tseng paused in typing, staring blankly at the screen, then raised his eyes to the larger one that reflected Rufus, who was wiggling his phone at him. How he'd gotten it to work again, he had no idea. How he'd gotten on the ShinRa Network was the last worry on his mind. The fact was, he had the intel Tseng needed, right when he needed it.

"…I suppose I 'owe you one'," Tseng said slowly.

"I suppose you do," Rufus agreed quietly. "Go get her."

Cissnei wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with the information that the whole reason Tseng had found her so quickly was that Rufus had dug up the information using the shiny executive access he never got to use. How long, she wondered, had he had access and just… didn't let them know? He could have contacted his father or the board or AVALANCHE at any time, and yet he didn't do a thing until now. Until she'd been…

Deep breath in. Let it out slow. Listen to the rhythm of the helicopter blades taking them back to headquarters. Not the ShinRa building, Turk headquarters. Somewhere safe, or at least as safe as it got these days.

Rufus was waiting, pristine in white, no expression to be seen but an odd intensity.

When she stepped out, he offered a tiny smile but still no comment, the closest to neutral he could manage. It was a little eerie, but better than any snide comments about owing him. The last thing she wanted was a reminder she was in Rufus' debt.

Then again, after helping AVALANCHE maybe this was the least he could do.

Tseng gestured for them all to go inside, where Reno and Rude were working - undoubtedly trying to track down where Veld was being held.

(It would be a long, torturous three days before there was a break in that search. Guess who had the information, again?)

Rufus had pulled Tseng aside in another room, and the rest of them couldn't help but watch. Sensing there was something more than Rufus just wanting something from Tseng coming.

"Cissnei." Tseng turned his attention to her at once when they came out. "As you know, most of the others have gathered in the Slums, attempting to gather information. Information we now have. Reno, Rude and I will be going to retrieve Veld. I need you to make sure the others have a viable escape route. When all of this is over… I suspect they will be needed."

There was so much she wanted to ask more detail on. So much she didn't understand. But there wasn't time. "Yes sir."

"Yo, boss, we just… leavin' Rufus here?" Reno asked.

Tseng and Rufus shared a look, some sort of understanding passing between them. "Yes."

"Don't start worrying about me now, Reno," Rufus said, a hint of his usual arrogance seeping back into his tone. But even then, it wasn't quite right. "I'll be fine."

"Worryin' about you ain't worryin' for you," Reno pointed out flatly. "Whatever. Let's go."

Rufus followed them out, oddly silent and odder still, somber. Thoughtful. There was something on his mind, perhaps whatever he'd discussed with Tseng.

There still wasn't time to ask.

And yet as she passed him, he caught her arm. She wanted to snap at him, there's not time there's not time, but his eyes were so oddly serious that the words caught in her throat and all that came out what a tight, "what?"

Rufus looked her over a moment, then smiled faintly. "Goodbye, Tian. Be safe."

Her stomach flipped, and none of the flippant, cutting words she wanted would come out. She just nodded, and turned away. This time, he let her go.

Rufus watched the Turks leave, hands in his pockets as his hair was blown every which way by the wind off the chopper blades. He had been very clear with Tseng, and Tseng, he felt, had been nothing but honest in return. He was an oddly honest man for a Turk, Rufus reflected, preferring to let deception lie in other people's assumptions than anything he'd actually committed to.

Which was not to say he was not prepared to lie, or do whatever he felt was necessary to achieve his goals, merely an apparent personal preference when he had a choice.

But his father hadn't left him with many choices, idiot that he was. The old man would kill them all in one clean sweep if it was left up to him, and the board would follow along without hesitation.

Self-important fools, all of them. They couldn't see the big picture here. Maybe it was time to get rid of Veld, but the Turks as a whole? No. No, that was foolish in the extreme. And he would not allow such a motion to pass.

He'd learned what there was to learn from his time with the Turks. It was time to go back.