Fuhito had taken the knowledge of their backer to his grave; neither Shears nor Elfé had any idea who it had been, or how to contact them. So far, the funds appeared to be staying in their bank account, but no more was coming in. Which could be a problem.

Nothing like the problem of finding out her father wasn't just a Turk, but the Turk, but that was a whole other deal. Shears had done a little digging - Junon was ShinRa's too, and the directors all had rumors and reputation aplenty to dig up - which told her about him as a Turk. But that wasn't really what she wanted to know. She didn't want to know The Director.

She wanted to know the man behind the title. She wanted to know her father. And it didn't seem like it had occurred to anyone they talked to that that side existed.

Had he lost that, during the same bombing that had stolen her memories? Somehow, she didn't think so. Not the way he'd looked at her. Not the way he'd said her name, firm and sure but… with an ache, just barely detected. His partner had said he'd thought she was dead, which explained why he'd never come for her. Now that he knew otherwise, she knew he'd keep coming for her. That he wanted… something. A relationship again, she thought.

But would he take Elfé, instead of Felicia? She wasn't sure she knew how to be Felicia, after all this time. 'Elfé' wasn't a mask she put on, it was who she was now. Would he accept that? Could he, being such a powerful man in ShinRa, accept the leader of AVALANCHE as his daughter?

Could she accept him?

Or… could she turn him? She hadn't forgotten what else his partner had said. That 'certain loyalties' were questionable. She could work with that.

It was worth trying.

Determined now, she headed back to Midgar.

Veld wasn't sure what he'd been expecting. Another assault on the Tower? Zack had had a good point, that didn't make any sense strategically. And Elfé was a strategist. So she'd likely try to get him alone, only he didn't spend a lot of alone time these days. It left him wondering if maybe he should leave an opening. Would she be desperate enough to take it, or would she sense a trap and wait for a time of her choosing? Was she even in Midgar yet? So many questions, and none of them answerable.

As it turned out, he didn't have long to wait.

He was walking back from a lunch break - alone, for the moment, because it was crowded and Vincent was not a fan of groups of people - when she simply stepped out of an alley.

He didn't freeze, exactly, but he stopped short at being so close. "…Elfé."

She smiled faintly. "Father."

The word took his breath away, and he swallowed hard, nodding. "I don't suppose you're here to chat."

"I'd be happy to talk," she said. "But not here."

"I could meet you -"

"No," she said quietly, shaking her head. "With all due respect, no. We need to go now."

She didn't say so, but he knew she had to have realized that giving him time was a terrible idea; time meant setting up operatives, meant having backup - which, as far as she knew, he didn't now. Or at least the minimum amount. Now was, as far as she knew, her best bet, catching him as close to off guard as possible.

Veld knew better. He still hesitated, but nodded, stepping towards her. "To talk, then."

"Just to talk," she promised. "And you can leave at any time."

He smiled faintly at that, wondering if she really believed that or if she was just trying to put him at ease regardless of the truth. Maybe she did intend to let him go… he couldn't see AVALANCHE as a whole agreeing with that, but it depended on how much sway she had as their leader. "Lead on. Or do I need blindfolded?"

"I rented a hotel room," she said, glancing at him. "Neutral territory."

He arched a brow, impressed. "A good idea."

"I thought it might appeal," she said, heading back down the alley to another street.

They took a winding path, and he couldn't help but wonder if it was to keep her from being easily tracked by others or if she genuinely thought she could confuse his sense of direction. The area he ended up in was not, by any means, high class, but it was serviceable - and it was in Sector One, directly across from Eight, with Zero in the way. Did she know Eight was Turk Jurisdiction, or was it a lucky arrangement?

He doubted it was luck; while he doubted she knew about Rufus specifically, she'd likely been privy to much of the information he'd passed along and it was fairly common knowledge now besides.

"You look a million miles away," she said, leading him to one of the doors and letting them in.

"You've given me a lot to think about," Veld said evenly.

She hummed softly in agreement, turning to face him properly. She had a good deadpan, but her eyes were telling, all the hesitation and uncertainty and… hope? She looked lost, and he just wanted to pull her into his arms and shield her from all the conflict she was caught up in.

Whatever she read from his expression had her shoulders relaxing slightly, a small, faint smile on her lips. "I wasn't sure you'd come."

"But you hoped," he said softly.

"Of course," she said. "You're my father."

"I wasn't sure that'd be enough," Veld admitted. "Given my… occupation."

"I'm not here to talk to the head of the Turks," she said. "And I don't think you're here to talk to the head of AVALANCHE."

"That easy?" Veld arched a brow.

"For now," she said. "Unless you want to make this complicated?"

"Not particularly, no," he said. But he couldn't see this going any other way, short of a miracle. And he'd never been that lucky.

"But," she said, arching a brow.

"But," he murmured, shrugging in lieu of an explanation.

She didn't press. She also didn't sit - neither of them sat, though with her 'enhancements' on top of her youth, she could have been on her feet long before he was.

Then again, they weren't worried about each other. Not yet.

Elfé watched him, silent and still so lost. "…you know, I had a whole speech planned."

"Further than I'd gotten," Veld said.

"What, nothing?" She didn't seem to believe that.

Veld smiled ruefully, shaking his head. It wasn't entirely true, but it was close enough. "I had too much I wanted to say to settle on any one thing yet."

"What if you could only tell me one thing," she prompted. "Just one."

"I love you." Not words he'd said near often enough in his life, but goddess bless did he mean it. He wet his lips, wiping away the pained cast to his smile, and swallowed against the choking emotion in his throat. "And I'm sorry."

Elfé sobered immediately, eyes a touch wide. Caught off guard. "…that's two things."

"I've always been an overachiever," he quipped.

"Is that so," she said, smiling faintly. "Must run in the family."

Veld chuckled. "Sure seems like it does, doesn't it?"

She nodded, sobering. "What happened to my mother?"

"Died in the bombing," Veld said.

"You thought I'd died," she said.

"But I didn't see you die," Veld said. "I trusted someone I… I'd thought was my friend."

She hummed, looking away. "I suppose we've both made bad choices there, too."

"Fuhito?" Veld guessed.

She grimaced. "Did you know about his plans?"

"You'd have to clarify," Veld said. "I probably know more than you thought I did. But I'm under no delusions that I know everything."

"After he died, I went looking for his plans," Elfé said quietly. "He wanted to save the world, just… not humanity."

Veld arched a brow. "Pardon?"

"He wasn't going to stop at ShinRa," she clarified. "He genuinely thought the best way to save the planet was to wipe out humanity."

Veld spared a moment to wonder if Rufus had known what a madman he'd been working with, before dismissing the thought; it wouldn't do any good. "That explains why he was fine with such high civilian casualties."

"I suppose it does," she agreed softly. After a moment, she looked at him. "That's not what I want. I do want to save the world, but I don't think wiping out mankind is any kind of solution."

"I'm very glad to hear that," Veld said. "Our new President has similar goals."

She arched a brow, clearly skeptical. "ShinRa wants to save the planet, after ruining it for decades?"

"Reeve does," Veld said. "He's always wanted to help people, and he's good at it. His father designed the reactors. If anyone can figure out how to do the same thing, but safely, it's Reeve."

She frowned slightly. "…that sounds familiar."

"You'd met him, as a child," Veld said.

"No, not like that." She shook her head. "More recently. I think we had intel on him."

"That may be. He was the head of City Planning - still is, technically, he's just forced to delegate much more now," Veld said. "I wouldn't be surprised if you'd had information on directors."

"There wasn't much on you," she admitted.

"Of course not." He smiled faintly. "Even in ShinRa, I'm a bit of a mystery."

"I suppose that suits your position," she said. "It's just as well. That's not what I want to know."

"Ask me, then," Veld said. "I'll do what I can to answer."

A/N: Quick note, I have finally ran out of buffer, lol. I'm going to probably end up taking a short hiatus while I work on my present for the Exchange, before coming back to this. (If, by some miracle I do actually end up writing more of this in time, I'll see about posting. But don't worry if there's a pause. I'll be back.