Chapter 1
It was silent, dark and haunting, ill intentions grasping at the place with its icy claws, eyes glinting in the darkness, so that he had the feeling he was being watched. He said nothing, silently prowling restlessly through the dim corridors that were alien to him, unknown territory where anything and everything could happen in a fleeting instant if he wasn't careful. His eyes narrowed, gun drawn and held in an action ready poise, his eyes scanning the halls. The distant sound of the rest of the squad was behind him, and like a pack of dark shadows, they crept along silently. Their padded footsteps made almost no sound as Vincent continued to inch along the wall, his ears alert, ready, his commander making a small motion with his hand, indicating that they should stop. The commander's blue eyes locked on Vincent's, and with a slight nod of his head, Vincent strode forward cautiously, stepping lightly and nimbly to assure safety. His breathing was quickening, his pulse rising, knowing that any small error on his part would cause instant chaos. He'd have to be careful.
Suddenly, a green eyed woman walked around the corner, humming a merry tune to herself, a small smile playing on her lips.
Vincent sprang out, going to grab the woman, though she had seen him, and that surprised him, and she had turned to him, her green eyes wide and frightened. She let out a high pitched scream, ear shattering, just before Vincent clamped a hand over her mouth, and she struggled, still screaming and trying to claw at him. Great.
His commander shot him a disapproving look, before motioning for the rest of the squad to try and handle the situation. However, as fate would ironically deem it, it was too late.
"Did you hear that?"
"It came from over there!"
"Let's go!"
Vincent inwardly cursed, hearing sirens ringing throughout the whole domain, blasting in his ears. Where had all the control and caution gone? The rest of his squad had disappeared, dispersing to the four winds, and he was left with a struggling woman who had started it. He had half a mind to knock her out, but instead, just let her go. What more harm could she do? The girl took off, looking absolutely shaken, though Vincent's main concern right now was finding the rest of his team or getting out. He decided to find his squad, since after all, it was his fault they were in this situation. Guilt, how he hated that emotion.
His boots thudded loudly against the floor, almost drowning out the shrieking of the god forsaken sirens, and he skidded across the floor, thinking he had spotted his commander, but instead, was meet with an empty corridor.
Suddenly, he felt the whoosh of the wind next to his ear, having narrowly dodged an attack aimed for his head, no doubt. The attacker, to his surprise, was female, and looked almost as surprised to see he had avoided her, but surprise in those wine colored eyes quickly turned into determination.
With another twist of her body, she sent her slim leg arched toward his face, though he caught that easily, shoving her backward as she fought for balance. Seeing his opportunity, he went for her knees, though she jumped back, him missing entirely.
Their eyes locked for what seemed like eternity, and Vincent's eyes narrowed, his breathing a bit ragged. A woman here, fighting? Yes, he had heard of female gangsters, but they were mostly used for show, were they not? Perhaps he had been mistaken.
With another cry, she lunged forward, her fist aimed for his face, though he caught that too, easily, kicking at her ankles this time and sending her sprawling, though she took him with her. Vincent thanked whoever was watching him that no one was around to see the position they were in, and the girl just glared at him like it was his fault. Great. She struggled a bit more, before Vincent heard his commander barking orders. With a small sigh of relief, he turned to the girl wondering what he should do.
The fire in her eyes stated clearly that if he let her go, he was a dead man. Well, at least, if she was conscious. With that thought, he knocked her out, her figure slumping immediately, and thinking of her as a possible a knowledgeable source, her quickly cuffed her, flung her over his shoulder, and turned, quickly following after his commander.
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"Vinnie! You sly fox you! Who knew you'd pick up ladies on a mission no less!" Reno, the red headed lady killer himself, crowed, waving his arms around and snorting with laughter, everything about him sloppy and relaxed, though his aquamarine eyes shone with rapt attention, hidden by his lazy red locks.
Vincent said nothing back, calmly setting the woman comfortably on a metal folding chair. Well, as comfortable as one could get on one of those god forsaken chairs, which seemed to be chilled just for the victim's displeasure. She was there for nothing more than a brief interrogation, nothing more, nothing less, though Reno seemed to have a knack for exaggerating things. Vincent could already hear the whispers and rumors flooding the office tomorrow morning just because of this idiot's babbling. His wrist watch went off, beeping annoyingly loud, telling him it was already tomorrow morning.
The woman gave a slight groan, fidgeting uncomfortably as she unconsciously tried the cuffs that bound her, frowning her displeasure. Vincent stiffened while Reno just smirked, having already observed the woman to the fullest. The red headed cop obviously had found another potential one night stand. She gave another soft sigh, her eyes opening slightly, her wine colored deeps confused, clouded with drowsiness. Vincent noted that they had a red ring around them, marring her otherwise perfect wine colored eyes, a few specks dotting them. Blood, that's what it looked like, and Vincent had been accustomed to people also telling him that was what his eyes were. For him, whenever he looked into the mirror, his eyes were haunted, blood stained. It was an ever present reminder of the blood that had been spilled because of him. An ever present reminder of his sins.
Instantly she jolted up, struggling a bit as Reno rolled his eyes, turning to face Vincent, his expression clearly asking 'why do they always do that?'.
"What in the-?" The woman bit her lip, her eyes resting on Reno, then turning to his. There was a small spark, a defiant fire in her eyes, something Vincent could remember all too well. Lucercia, forgive me. He inwardly wished, though in an instant, her eyes narrowed, and she squared her shoulders, turning to Reno. "You won't get anything out of me." She stated seriously, her tone deadly, an undertone threat in it, as if they were the ones in danger, and not her. Reno always found the feisty ones more fun, for he grinned, looking over at Vincent.
"He's the one who'll be questioning you. Have fun." Reno laughed, grinning as he swaggered toward the door, pausing to throw them both a somewhat suggestive wink, mainly directed toward the woman, before the door shut behind him, loud and painful in the silent room.
Her eyes meet his, and Vincent said nothing, silently pulling up another one of the cursed metal chairs, the bottom scraping against the floor loudly, like finger nails on a chalkboard. The woman flinched, her gaze returning to the table as Vincent sat down.
"What is your name?" The question was bland, hanging onto the air with a slight desperate tone to it, as if trying to stop the incoming silence. However, all was for naught, since the silence reigned for what seemed like an eternity, however, time liked to confuse everyone, crawling by when it wanted, or disappearing in the blink of the eye. Finally, as if she was going mad by the silence, she bit her lip, turning to him, her eyes locking with his.
"Tifa Lockheart. Though it's no use for you, is it?" Vincent said nothing, and she sighed, giving an annoyed roll of her eyes. "You'll get nothing out of me, so torture me all you want." Tifa said again, while a slight knock on the door sounded, and both heads jerked up, just as Reno's grinning face popped up. He gestured for Vincent, who gave Tifa another sideways glance, before getting up and exiting, looking at Reno with a raised eyebrow.
"Valentine." Vincent turned around, slightly surprised at his employer's serious voice. Cid Highwind, with his ever present cigarette, was eyeing Vincent almost curiously. After a small moment of silence, Cid sighed, letting his cigarette roll to the corner of his mouth. "We can get some useful s*** out of that girl. I dunno about you, but I ain't trusting Reno with anything, so you take care of her." Cid said, a slight shrug, while Reno was grinning like a cat in the background. Vincent's eyes narrowed almost angrily, glaring at his boss, though saying nothing.
Cid averted his gaze, no one being able to stand his gaze for long enough, no one he had met.
"Listen Vinnie, I don't like this much either, but I figure if someone can get information about the whole Shinra stuff outta her, I figure it'd be you." Cid said gruffly, and Vincent said nothing for a moment, his lips pulled into a grim line. He was not a baby sitter. He had his own sins to deal with, why be tainted with hers also? But, instead, he agreed. It was his job to do what his boss asked of him, and he supposed he'd be able to squeeze enough information about her out by next week. Tops.
When he opened the door again, Tifa looked up at him, startled, as if she had decided he wasn't going to come back. He sent her a warning glance as he kneeled down next to her, saying nothing as the cuffs slipped from her delicate wrists to his open palm. She stared at him wide eyed, as if she was having an internal conflict about attacking him or not.
He gave a slight glance over his shoulder to send the message to follow him, and he walked out the door, and somewhat dumbly she did, glancing around nervously as the place was bustling with police officers. She wouldn't be able to do anything in the Police Headquarters, since she seemed to have more wits about her than some people Vincent was ashamed to know.
With a somewhat tired sigh, he slid into the driver's side of his car, watching Tifa in interest as she uneasily slid in the passenger's side, and to his amusement, she even buckled her seat belt, biting her lower lip nervously as she glanced at her hands, clasped firmly on her lap.
"Where are we going?" She asked a bit nervously, her voice shaking, though she tried to appear calm, which also amused Vincent. She had more audacity or will if she tried to keep up a strong front with him.
"To my apartment." Was all he said, ignoring her terrified look as he started the car toward the direction of his apartment.
~*Author's Notes*~ Sucky, yes, but it does the deed, I think. Well, anyway, I think it was bad, but whatever. At least they interacted or something. I know Vincent's probably a bit OOC. But it's AU! Yea, that's about it. Well, read and review.
It was silent, dark and haunting, ill intentions grasping at the place with its icy claws, eyes glinting in the darkness, so that he had the feeling he was being watched. He said nothing, silently prowling restlessly through the dim corridors that were alien to him, unknown territory where anything and everything could happen in a fleeting instant if he wasn't careful. His eyes narrowed, gun drawn and held in an action ready poise, his eyes scanning the halls. The distant sound of the rest of the squad was behind him, and like a pack of dark shadows, they crept along silently. Their padded footsteps made almost no sound as Vincent continued to inch along the wall, his ears alert, ready, his commander making a small motion with his hand, indicating that they should stop. The commander's blue eyes locked on Vincent's, and with a slight nod of his head, Vincent strode forward cautiously, stepping lightly and nimbly to assure safety. His breathing was quickening, his pulse rising, knowing that any small error on his part would cause instant chaos. He'd have to be careful.
Suddenly, a green eyed woman walked around the corner, humming a merry tune to herself, a small smile playing on her lips.
Vincent sprang out, going to grab the woman, though she had seen him, and that surprised him, and she had turned to him, her green eyes wide and frightened. She let out a high pitched scream, ear shattering, just before Vincent clamped a hand over her mouth, and she struggled, still screaming and trying to claw at him. Great.
His commander shot him a disapproving look, before motioning for the rest of the squad to try and handle the situation. However, as fate would ironically deem it, it was too late.
"Did you hear that?"
"It came from over there!"
"Let's go!"
Vincent inwardly cursed, hearing sirens ringing throughout the whole domain, blasting in his ears. Where had all the control and caution gone? The rest of his squad had disappeared, dispersing to the four winds, and he was left with a struggling woman who had started it. He had half a mind to knock her out, but instead, just let her go. What more harm could she do? The girl took off, looking absolutely shaken, though Vincent's main concern right now was finding the rest of his team or getting out. He decided to find his squad, since after all, it was his fault they were in this situation. Guilt, how he hated that emotion.
His boots thudded loudly against the floor, almost drowning out the shrieking of the god forsaken sirens, and he skidded across the floor, thinking he had spotted his commander, but instead, was meet with an empty corridor.
Suddenly, he felt the whoosh of the wind next to his ear, having narrowly dodged an attack aimed for his head, no doubt. The attacker, to his surprise, was female, and looked almost as surprised to see he had avoided her, but surprise in those wine colored eyes quickly turned into determination.
With another twist of her body, she sent her slim leg arched toward his face, though he caught that easily, shoving her backward as she fought for balance. Seeing his opportunity, he went for her knees, though she jumped back, him missing entirely.
Their eyes locked for what seemed like eternity, and Vincent's eyes narrowed, his breathing a bit ragged. A woman here, fighting? Yes, he had heard of female gangsters, but they were mostly used for show, were they not? Perhaps he had been mistaken.
With another cry, she lunged forward, her fist aimed for his face, though he caught that too, easily, kicking at her ankles this time and sending her sprawling, though she took him with her. Vincent thanked whoever was watching him that no one was around to see the position they were in, and the girl just glared at him like it was his fault. Great. She struggled a bit more, before Vincent heard his commander barking orders. With a small sigh of relief, he turned to the girl wondering what he should do.
The fire in her eyes stated clearly that if he let her go, he was a dead man. Well, at least, if she was conscious. With that thought, he knocked her out, her figure slumping immediately, and thinking of her as a possible a knowledgeable source, her quickly cuffed her, flung her over his shoulder, and turned, quickly following after his commander.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Vinnie! You sly fox you! Who knew you'd pick up ladies on a mission no less!" Reno, the red headed lady killer himself, crowed, waving his arms around and snorting with laughter, everything about him sloppy and relaxed, though his aquamarine eyes shone with rapt attention, hidden by his lazy red locks.
Vincent said nothing back, calmly setting the woman comfortably on a metal folding chair. Well, as comfortable as one could get on one of those god forsaken chairs, which seemed to be chilled just for the victim's displeasure. She was there for nothing more than a brief interrogation, nothing more, nothing less, though Reno seemed to have a knack for exaggerating things. Vincent could already hear the whispers and rumors flooding the office tomorrow morning just because of this idiot's babbling. His wrist watch went off, beeping annoyingly loud, telling him it was already tomorrow morning.
The woman gave a slight groan, fidgeting uncomfortably as she unconsciously tried the cuffs that bound her, frowning her displeasure. Vincent stiffened while Reno just smirked, having already observed the woman to the fullest. The red headed cop obviously had found another potential one night stand. She gave another soft sigh, her eyes opening slightly, her wine colored deeps confused, clouded with drowsiness. Vincent noted that they had a red ring around them, marring her otherwise perfect wine colored eyes, a few specks dotting them. Blood, that's what it looked like, and Vincent had been accustomed to people also telling him that was what his eyes were. For him, whenever he looked into the mirror, his eyes were haunted, blood stained. It was an ever present reminder of the blood that had been spilled because of him. An ever present reminder of his sins.
Instantly she jolted up, struggling a bit as Reno rolled his eyes, turning to face Vincent, his expression clearly asking 'why do they always do that?'.
"What in the-?" The woman bit her lip, her eyes resting on Reno, then turning to his. There was a small spark, a defiant fire in her eyes, something Vincent could remember all too well. Lucercia, forgive me. He inwardly wished, though in an instant, her eyes narrowed, and she squared her shoulders, turning to Reno. "You won't get anything out of me." She stated seriously, her tone deadly, an undertone threat in it, as if they were the ones in danger, and not her. Reno always found the feisty ones more fun, for he grinned, looking over at Vincent.
"He's the one who'll be questioning you. Have fun." Reno laughed, grinning as he swaggered toward the door, pausing to throw them both a somewhat suggestive wink, mainly directed toward the woman, before the door shut behind him, loud and painful in the silent room.
Her eyes meet his, and Vincent said nothing, silently pulling up another one of the cursed metal chairs, the bottom scraping against the floor loudly, like finger nails on a chalkboard. The woman flinched, her gaze returning to the table as Vincent sat down.
"What is your name?" The question was bland, hanging onto the air with a slight desperate tone to it, as if trying to stop the incoming silence. However, all was for naught, since the silence reigned for what seemed like an eternity, however, time liked to confuse everyone, crawling by when it wanted, or disappearing in the blink of the eye. Finally, as if she was going mad by the silence, she bit her lip, turning to him, her eyes locking with his.
"Tifa Lockheart. Though it's no use for you, is it?" Vincent said nothing, and she sighed, giving an annoyed roll of her eyes. "You'll get nothing out of me, so torture me all you want." Tifa said again, while a slight knock on the door sounded, and both heads jerked up, just as Reno's grinning face popped up. He gestured for Vincent, who gave Tifa another sideways glance, before getting up and exiting, looking at Reno with a raised eyebrow.
"Valentine." Vincent turned around, slightly surprised at his employer's serious voice. Cid Highwind, with his ever present cigarette, was eyeing Vincent almost curiously. After a small moment of silence, Cid sighed, letting his cigarette roll to the corner of his mouth. "We can get some useful s*** out of that girl. I dunno about you, but I ain't trusting Reno with anything, so you take care of her." Cid said, a slight shrug, while Reno was grinning like a cat in the background. Vincent's eyes narrowed almost angrily, glaring at his boss, though saying nothing.
Cid averted his gaze, no one being able to stand his gaze for long enough, no one he had met.
"Listen Vinnie, I don't like this much either, but I figure if someone can get information about the whole Shinra stuff outta her, I figure it'd be you." Cid said gruffly, and Vincent said nothing for a moment, his lips pulled into a grim line. He was not a baby sitter. He had his own sins to deal with, why be tainted with hers also? But, instead, he agreed. It was his job to do what his boss asked of him, and he supposed he'd be able to squeeze enough information about her out by next week. Tops.
When he opened the door again, Tifa looked up at him, startled, as if she had decided he wasn't going to come back. He sent her a warning glance as he kneeled down next to her, saying nothing as the cuffs slipped from her delicate wrists to his open palm. She stared at him wide eyed, as if she was having an internal conflict about attacking him or not.
He gave a slight glance over his shoulder to send the message to follow him, and he walked out the door, and somewhat dumbly she did, glancing around nervously as the place was bustling with police officers. She wouldn't be able to do anything in the Police Headquarters, since she seemed to have more wits about her than some people Vincent was ashamed to know.
With a somewhat tired sigh, he slid into the driver's side of his car, watching Tifa in interest as she uneasily slid in the passenger's side, and to his amusement, she even buckled her seat belt, biting her lower lip nervously as she glanced at her hands, clasped firmly on her lap.
"Where are we going?" She asked a bit nervously, her voice shaking, though she tried to appear calm, which also amused Vincent. She had more audacity or will if she tried to keep up a strong front with him.
"To my apartment." Was all he said, ignoring her terrified look as he started the car toward the direction of his apartment.
~*Author's Notes*~ Sucky, yes, but it does the deed, I think. Well, anyway, I think it was bad, but whatever. At least they interacted or something. I know Vincent's probably a bit OOC. But it's AU! Yea, that's about it. Well, read and review.