Rufus fortunately had a rare day off, and with the lockdown he hadn't been able to go far, his guard reporting him to be in his apartment. Charles had been briefed about the situation with Zack and SOLDIER, but not the full situation with how they were going to go forward, given he needed to be focused on his job.

This conversation was going to be quite enlightening.

Rufus had set out a carafe of coffee in the living room, and gave him an interested look when he entered. "It's been a while since we've just talked. Somehow I suspect this isn't a drop in for casual conversation."

"No," Veld admitted, taking the seat he was offered. "…I'm sorry about that."

Surprise was there and gone in a flash through pale blue eyes, before Rufus was waving it off. "It's fine, we're both busy men these days. I don't suppose this is anything about that lockdown you've had us on? I've had to spend my entire day off on base because Nunchaku won't let me out the door."

"An executive was killed, Rufus," Veld said.

"And what, you think one of us will be next?" He scoffed. "This isn't some backwater laboratory, Veld, this is ShinRa's crown jewel."

"What would you say if I told you I knew someone would?" Veld asked.

Rufus arched a brow. "Then I'd ask you if your team is suddenly on holiday. Or is the old man nursing a grudge I don't know about?"

"Not your old man," Veld said.

A slow, wickedly delighted smile curved Rufus' lips. "Oh really. Something get under your skin, Veld? Heidegger make another power grab? Scarlet's machines maul one of your Turks?"

"Higher." He could tell when it dawned on Rufus, his jaw going slack, and for a moment he genuinely looked his age.

"You're going to assassinate the President?" Rufus said incredulously. "Not that I mind the promotion, but where the hell did that come from? What was the final straw?"

"There are some personal reasons, but of more immediate concern, it's the only way we're going to be able to keep SOLDIER," Veld said.

"…we're looking at another defection?" Rufus said. "What for? Sephiroth burnt down Nibelheim and got himself killed, that's not our fault."

"Rupert let Hojo have Zack Fair to experiment with," Veld said.

Rufus stared at him. "Zack Fair."

"Yes."

"The extremely popular First Class - the best First Class we have left," Rufus said.

"Yes."

"The prodigy Hewley bought up that the public absolutely adores," Rufus said.

Veld smiled faintly at his increasingly flat tone. "Yes, that Zack Fair."

"And he just… threw that away," Rufus said. "So Hojo could have a new toy to make up for Sephiroth going off the deep end like Hewley and Rhapsodos did."

"He did," Veld agreed.

"What the hell was he thinking?" Rufus said. "Gods, no wonder. They killed Hojo?"

"No, that was Vincent," Veld said.

Rufus blinked, blanking on the name. "Vincent?"

"Valentine."

More staring. "Your partner was dead, Veld."

"He got better," Veld said dryly.

"I… he got better?" Rufus repeated incredulously. "What kind of dead do you get better from?"

"The Hojo kind, apparently," Veld said.

Rufus arched a brow, and for lack of anything to say to that reached for his coffee to take a long sip. When he'd gained a bit of composure, he said, "So this is personal."

"I never said it wasn't," Veld said.

Rufus hummed, shaking his head. "Well. You have my support, of course. I'll play the part of the shocked, grieving son for the press. Does he get a list of his crimes before he dies, or are you making it quick?"

Veld arched a brow. "I don't remember you being this bloodthirsty."

Rufus smiled in a way that would have been charming, if his eyes hadn't been so cold. "I'm not going to lie, Veld, I would have been happy if you weren't quite so good at your job."

Veld wondered, not for the first time, if Rupert knew what sheer venom his neglect and ill treatment had built up in his son. He didn't remember it being this bad. Rufus had said he'd wished his father had died before, but usually in the context of missing his mother, or after a fight. This was clear, cold blooded hate. What did you say to that? "Rufus…"

He waved it off almost lazily, smiling. "Don't mind me. Besides, doesn't it make your job easier? No guilt for orphaning me."

"I suppose so," he said. What else could he say to that?

"So, all nice and neat," Rufus said. "Just the way you like it."

"If it goes according to plan, yes," he said. "The board will want to have an investigation, of course."

"Please, you hide information as well as you uncover it," Rufus said. "And besides, who will be asked to do the investigation?"

Veld chuckled softly. "That's what I'm counting on."

"Well there you have it, then," Rufus said. "I look forward to seeing your plan to fruition, and will see about putting my affairs in order so I'm ready. I'll even prepare a little… welcome home arrangement for Fair. I won't make the mistakes the old man did; we're not losing any more SOLDIERs."

Veld nodded, privately relieved. "Good. I'll pass your willingness to collaborate along."

"But of course," Rufus said. "I'm not an idiot."

"Thankfully not," he agreed.

"Well. I suppose I ought to let you get on with it then, shouldn't I?" Rufus said. "Busy man. I would like to meet Valentine at some point."

"I'm sure you will," Veld said, hesitating a moment before rising. He needed to make some time just to sit down and catch up with Rufus later; at this point he was the closest thing to a healthy father figure he had, and no matter how little interest he professed to have in such things, it was important. Maybe with Rupert out of the picture it could even make a difference.

But for now, he really did have business to take care of. Sentiment, once again, would have to wait. "Take care, Rufus."

"Of course, Veld. You know me." Rufus smiled. "I'm very good at looking out for my own interests."

Veld saw himself out, nodding to Charles as he passed him in the hall, pausing as the door closed. "Put up some extra security, would you?"

Charles arched a brow. "Protecting our investments, hm?"

"There's people who won't be happy about this," Veld said. "He'll be more of a target than he's been in his life." And he wasn't going to lose him, too.

"You got it, chief." He saluted him. "I'll be discreet so he doesn't mess with it."

"…good idea." Rufus had never cared for being monitored, even by the Turks, and he was good enough with tech to be a problem. Veld still remembered him as a teenager, hacking the security feeds because he was bored.

"Yeah, I thought so." Charles chuckled. "So, uh, who do I talk to to get that whole story in more detail?"

"Tseng can brief you if you swing by the office later," Veld said. "I'm sure he'll be in."

"With all this, I'm sure you'll both be living there," he said knowingly.

"Just long enough to get things sorted," Veld said. However long that took.

Admittedly, that could be a while yet.

Charles had been a Turk long enough to know the same thing. "Uh huh. You do that."

Veld shook his head, amused by the subtle fussing, and patted his shoulder. "Be on your guard. I'll send your replacement out for night shift and you can pop back by the office."

"I'll be looking forward to it," Charles said. "And order in some… things, in the meantime, to handle observation."

"Good idea." Veld headed for the elevator, relieved to have gotten that conversation out of the way. It had gone about how he'd expected, and later he could at least tell Reeve that he hadn't picked up anything from Rufus that didn't make sense for his circumstances. He was lonely, and chafing under his father's heavy handed control when he wanted room to come into his own as a young man.

Half of that was about to be fixed very quickly, and he'd make sure, when things settled, to spend more time with him. In the meantime, he'd suggest the same to Reeve. They'd been close as children, it was a shame to let that fall away just because Rupert wanted to control them both.

But things weren't settled yet, far from. He still had to decide on who was delivering the final blow, and how. He had a fairly good idea of the best way to handle that, much as he'd like to do it personally, but that meant having a little conversation with Vincent.

Somehow, he didn't suspect any objections.

Rufus sipped his coffee slowly, not really tasting it as his mind went into overdrive. After all his work, he was practically being handed the Presidency on a silver platter, with full support of the Turks and apparently SOLDIER. In fact, by the Turks, and because of SOLDIER. It didn't get any better than that.

There was just one tiny complication.

He was going to have to get rid of Fuhito, fast.