The next morning, Cloud practically floated into his office.
"Good morning!" he called out, sounding as happy as never before. Scott, Logan and William stared at him wide-eyed when he walked into his office, whistling a happy tune.
"What happened to him?" Scott finally asked, and the other two shrugged. That was when Tifa entered the office – and much to the surprise of her three male colleagues – she was floating too.
"Good morning everyone!" the brunette chirped while she got rid of her black leather jacket and hung it over her chair. Logan approached the young officer and asked:
"Is there something we should know?" Tifa gave him her best I'm-an-innocent-girl-look and replied:
"No, why?"
"Well…", Logan answered, "first Cloud comes walking in as if he discovered happiness again, and one minute later you come floating in, just like he did before. Have you been on a date? Be honest, Tifa!" Tifa blushed furiously, and that was answer enough for the three men.
"They did it!" William cheered. "They went on a date!" Tifa did her hand waving again and answered:
"And? Am I not allowed to go on a date with him?"
"Of course you're allowed!" Scott trolled. "It'll be good for him!" Tifa blushed even deeper, turning her face almost purple. That was when Cloud called out of his office and saved the situation:
"Tifa! I need you here, now!" Tifa quickly hurried away from the three laughing men, who now made some obscene comments about quickies while working, and into Clouds office.
"Sit down." Cloud begged, and Tifa took a seat on the edge of her boss' desk. Since she was wearing a skirt, Cloud got big eyes before he started to talk.
"Vessel managed to flee from the imprisonment on remand, yesterday evening. While we were on our…date."
"Oh no!" Tifa called out, covering her mouth with one hand. "That's terrible!" Cloud nodded and continued:
"Police Director Highwind wants to set out a decoy to catch him again." Tifa realized what Cloud meant and paled.
"Do you mean…" Cloud nodded, giving her a sad look.
"He wants to use you, Tifa. I tried to keep him from doing it, but it's impossible to avoid." He saw the look on Tifas face and quickly continued:
"But don't worry. You won't be in danger a single minute, I'll make it sure." Finally, Tifa nodded.
"Alright, Cloud. I'll do it." Cloud smiled, reached out and patted her hand, unaware of the three pair of eyes that spied into his office.
"Great, Tifa. We'll start the activities tonight. I want you to go home now and rest. It could be possible that you have to run around in Midgar the whole night." Tifa nodded and left the office. She pushed the door open, but suddenly she heard three voices yelp, followed by three thuds. Frowning, Cloud came walking to the door, only to see Logan, Scott and William lying on the floor, rubbing their heads. Angered, Cloud crossed his well-muscled arms in front of his chest.
"Now, what's going on here?" he asked, while Tifa giggled behind him.
"Uh, nothing, Sir, nothing!" Scott replied while he and his friends got to their feet.
"Good. If you're doing nothing here, why aren't you going back to work?"
"Uh, we will, Sir, right now!" Logan stammered and hurried back to his desk, followed by William and Scott. Tifa walked over to her desk, laughing all the way, while Cloud just shook his head and walked back into his office.
Tifa returned back to her hotel, ready to get a good piece of sleep so she would be fit at night. Whistling a happy tune – the same Cloud had been whistling at his arrival in the office – she entered the elevator and drove up into the floor where her room was. Unlocking it, the brunette stepped in, still in a very good mood. She walked into the bathroom to have a shower – Tifa always slept very well when she had taken a shower before – undressed and got ready to step in when two strong arms encircled her from behind and a huge hand covered her mouth and nose with a piece of cloth. Tifa tried to scream, but when she opened her mouth to do so, she inhaled a weird scent that came from the cloth on her mouth. Suddenly, the world started to blur in front of her eyes.
"No…" Tifas last thought before unconsciousness overwhelmed her was the denial of the thing that happened, and finally she slumped back into the arms of her attacker. Derek Vessel grinned down at the naked officer and carried her out of the bathroom, over to the bed that stood in the middle of the room.