The Journalist

It was noon sharp when Rinoa finally decided not to completely waste her day. She got her sorry posterior off the couch and picked up her purse and jacket to finally leave her apartment. She got into her car and drove away in the general direction of The Syndicate headquarters. She knew that she wasn't in an ideal condition to be driving, as her complete sobriety wasn't present so she dropped by a coffee shop. The black coffee cleared her mind quickly and she was soon on her way again.

The young woman plodded her way into the office, sighing in despair at the probable amount of work that awaited her. "Hey, Rinoa, I'm sorry about this morning, ok? I just tend to get carried away at times-" Irvine rushed towards his step-sister as he saw her walk into the office. He had a great bubble of guilt swelled in his chest for he knew of the pain he had caused her.

"Shut up. Head-ache." Rinoa put a hand to her head and whisked him away. She averted his eyes and walked straight into her office.

Before she shut the wood-framed door, Irvine managed to call out, "That's not the place you want to go to be alone!" But Rinoa ignored what he meant and she didn't quite have the patience to ask. She slammed the door in a quick, furious gesture and turned towards her desk where someone was sitting comfortably in her office chair. Her blood seemed to begin flowing against their natural current as she reached a boiling point.

"Found you." The voice tingled with superiority and sadistic pleasure, "How does the entrepreneur of the most influential clubs feel on this fine morning … late morning?" The woman in the chair smirked. She had short, light-brown hair and dark, ebony eyes and today, her dress wear consisted of a short, faded jean skirt and a light green tank top.

Rinoa sighed in annoyance, "Ellone, I don't have the patience, nor the state of mind to deal with your vicious journalistic qualities today." She strode confidently to her desk and made jerked her thumb in the general direction of the door to signal the journalist out of the office, "Get out."

Ellone liberated the chair but took seating on one of the guest chairs in front of the desk, "So, how're you treating my little brother?" She noticed how the younger girl was trying to avoid eyes meeting.

"Well, I bailed him, if that's what you mean." Rinoa answered, fervently searching her drawers for the bottle of painkillers. She wrenched and slammed drawers shut, letting off steam of being interrogated in gestures, rather than in words.

"Well yeah, I know that." Ellone stated in an unimpressed fashion, "I wrote the article on it, in the Deling Post. Want me to read an excerpt?" She asked reaching for her purse.

"No!" Rinoa said quickly, "I gave him half a million bucks to go with it, are you happy now?" She snapped nastily at her and finally emerged with the bottle of aspirin.

"Very happy. Thank you very much." Ellone smiled sweetly and leaned in towards the desk, "But … you would have done it even if I hadn't asked you … am I wrong to assume?" Rinoa remained silent and she decided not to press the issue, "Anyways, I want to ask you a favor." Rinoa rolled her eyes as she opened the bottle, "I want you to talk to him-"

"NO!" Rinoa objected ferociously glaring at the older girl, "No, I will not speak to him! If you have a message for him you will go and give it to him yourself! I refuse to play Hermes, the fuckface with winged sandals, ok?" She popped a few pills in her mouth and swallowed without the need of water.

"Aw, but Rinoa, I really need you to tell him one, little thing." Ellone put on puppy dog eyes and frowned, "Pretty please? You know he won't speak to me. He holds grudges for such a long time …" She trailed off piteously.

Rinoa's heart sank as Ellone spoke the last few words. She had always known Squall's lack of trust for individuals wasn't something to be reckoned with but upon hearing the words from his sister's lips, the pain seemed to hurt even more. Not to mention that Squall was one of those 'betray me once, betray me twice' people. "Yeah, I know." She admitted hesitantly, as if regretting a move in her part. Her inner voice screamed at her, 'Why did you let him go? Because you were scared … scared of something so fucking harmless? Scared of …'

"So … will you do me this one, tiny little favor?" Ellone clapped her hands together and made a sad, pathetic face, trying to get pity points, "Please? Pretty please with cream, hot fudge, sprinkles and a cherry on top?"

"No." Rinoa answered curtly, looking past her pitiful pleas and heartbreaking expressions. Today, she was feeling merciless, "No, I will not because just like you said … he holds grudges for a while. So what makes you think he'd want to see me?"

Ellone's frown reversed and her newly formed smile made Rinoa curious as though she knew something no else did, "Well, let's just say that you know my brother well. But I can read him like an open book. Better than a book. He's got his own code system that only I can decipher, his own symbols, it's … I … can't even begin to get into it."

"If you can read him so well … use it to your advantage and deliver your own goddamn message." Rinoa smirked in triumph and pointed to the door, "Now if you'll excuse me … I can't take further meetings without appointments. You can drop a note to my secretary on your way out and we'll squeeze you in the afternoon, perhaps."

"No way. You aren't getting rid of me that easily." Ellone retorted smartly, "Hell no. You can't shake me off like that and it surprises me that you even made that feeble attempt. I am as annoying as they come, Rin, and I'm sorry but I'm not leaving this office until I've said everything that I've had to say."

Rinoa's smirk grew wider, "Yeah, well, I'll have you know that I'm also quite annoying myself. You won't win that easily and you can babble on here for ages if it pleases you so because facts still come to facts: I won't be listening."

"Perhaps so, my cunning little friend, but I'm not the one with the head-ache." Ellone laughed haughtily as Rinoa's face fell, "Come on, you just popped two aspirins in your mouth in front of me. It screams out 'Weakness!' No, no, Miss Heartilly. You aren't going to make me jump threw hoops today. You're going to listen to me and if you fail to do so, I will only be here tomorrow and the day after until you meet my requests."

"You are the essence of Lucifer." Rinoa hissed through clenched teeth and Ellone only smiled sweetly, "You are the peak, the apex, the culmination of infuriating, you are the incessant epidemic that makes people strangle themselves every year! You are worst then Trepe!" She began to drum her fingers on her desk in the climax of annoyance as if pleading Ellone to state her case and get it over with quickly.

"Aw, you know I love you, Rin." Ellone smiled sheepishly and then after consideration, added in a joking fashion, "Dearly, not queerly."

Rinoa rolled her eyes, "Yes, I could have guessed as much." She leaned back in her chair and let out a sigh of exhaustion, "I don't have all day, Ellone. We don't all have kosher jobs like you do. So out with it. Tell me all you need to tell me."

Ellone clicked her tongue, "Kosher job? I bust my ass to write an article about something so ambiguous and murky that half the time I end up making stuff up and that doesn't settle too well with the boss. And when I finally have my real lead, I'm not using 'big words' and all the other reporters are sucking the life out of my topic so when my article gets out it's barely even news anymore. Being a journalist sucks. You, on the other hand, have carte blanche as your check every week and all you have to do is bend the rules."

"And if the police just happens to hear word that my entrepreneurship is just one big hoax and front for the most illegal activities in Deling then I might as well just lie down in the middle of the transit highway." Rinoa replied in a snappish manner, "Check the balance again, Ellone. I think it's more oblique than you think it is … oblique on the opposite side."

"You chose it that way." The helpless reporter replied, "Look, if I can get one good potato lead that'll leave the readers wanting more then maybe I have a hope in this career but being a crime reporter is just dull. Everyone beats you to the fresh meat … what I need is to get to it before they do. You can help me do that."

"No, I will not murder someone just for the Hell of it on a specific day, in a specific region for you to be waiting there, anticipating the blood to spill just so you have a headline." Rinoa's eyes narrowed into Ellone's shame-filled ones.

"I'm not asking you to do something so drastic. I'm just asking for a prediction." A smile slowly tugging at her lips, "Like … any gang wars on the horizon?" Her eyes hinted at something.

Rinoa stared back at her defiantly, "I don't know, call 1-800-MISSCLEO for your free tarot reading." Ellone's face fell at her friend's joke. Rinoa seemed completely unaffected at the journalist's disappointment.

"I don't want to make threats but being a crime reporter immediately means that I have my connections with the D.C.P.D." Ellone smirked and Rinoa's expression turned into a venomous glare, "So, Rinoa, have you changed your mind about my new headline?"

"This is completely ridiculous! I don't know if there's going to be an outbreak of blood on the streets! I don't think there will be and no I will not start one for the sake of your career." Rinoa threw her arms up in exasperation, "Maybe Trepe because she's really starting to irritate me, Diabolos isn't too friendly either! Look, I'm up to my goddamn ears in debts, I can't afford the time, the men and the weapons that gang wars bring! So no, I'm not looking to start any fights in the district." She finished on an angry note and proceeded to the grand finale of sarcasm, "Any other things you'd like to know? The weather for the next month? A biblical plague on the way? The winning lottery numbers? Oh, anything, Ellone, anything!"

"Woo, someone's cranky." Ellone shook her finger warningly, "That'll give you wrinkles at an early age, honey! Careful with that lioness temper of yours!" She smiled and crossed her arms, "But in any case, thank you. However, I find it difficult to find truth in your words. I've got some news for you." Ellone whipped out a notepad, "See, this was supposed to be my lead but once again someone beat me to publishing a rather bland article. A new street gang … the regular crap; drugs, girls, all the little things that gets young members hooked. Apparently, they want to join the gangdom of the corporal world and they aren't keeping it a secret. Ever heard of Black Dragon?"

Rinoa waved her hand around a bit, "Mildly." She seemed to be in deep thought for a moment, she nodded vaguely, "Some … Viktor Lynch? The guy was a freak. He was obsessed with vampires and other creatures of the night. A real weirdo. Before the whole Black Dragon gig he seemed to have affinities with Squall." She gave her eyes a quick roll to the skies and continued remembering, "Didn't want to affiliate himself with me, 'The Devil's Woman'. Fucking sexist ass …" She trailed off, "What about him?"

Ellone had a fixed, serious gaze on Rinoa that suddenly exploded in hysterical laughter, "He referred to you as … The … The … 'The Devil's Woman'?!" She pointed in laughter while Rinoa just stared at her, not the least bit amused, "Oh, God, what did you try to do?"

Rinoa clicked her tongue in annoyance, "Nothing. I did nothing, he just didn't like me, ok?" Ellone continued laughing but trying desperately to hide it by covering her face with the notepad, "The alliance was short and Squall dealt the cards since I was obviously too satanic for him … and yet he's obsessed with vampires, what a freak!" Rinoa finished off bitterly.

Ellone, who had stabled her hysterical condition, spoke again, "Right, yes … well, they're proving to be quite scandalous these days. Everything to get noticed, you know? You should … invest in their friendship." She smiled wryly, "Wait, before you make your comments at my absurdity, I would like to state my reasoning. Firstly, they're cheap labor. Secondly, they've got strict policies. If you aren't with them, you're against them. Trepe will waste no time in learning and using this rule of theirs to her advantage so you best be quick. She's already aligned with Diabolos and soon, you'll have to hightail out of here because of your enemies. It's not so much that they're stronger, it's that they're together. Thirdly, only two words: Squall Leonhart."

Rinoa raised an inquisitive, esthetically plucked eyebrow, "Care to explain the third?"

"Of course." Ellone agreed pleasantly, "By the way you're snapping at me, Rin, it looks like you could use some action in that lonely bedroom of yours. And can it be anymore obvious that you are not over my brother?" Rinoa's jaw dropped in shock and in personal offence, "Don't give me that look. Not to mention that it coincides perfectly with the 'he's not over you' part."

"Oh, emotionless Squall Leonhart isn't over me?" Rinoa asked snappishly, "Ellone, I have no clue what you're trying to set up or for what purpose but it's starting to seriously irritate me so cut the threads. I know I have. Squall and I have come to terms with our relationship. Ending terms. He's on his own, I'm on my own and I promise you that if this is ever to change, you will be the first to know."

"Lies!" Ellone exclaimed happily, "If you take contact with this growing gang, and you will, you'll need the help of Squall because you're labeled 'Lucifer's Material'. Since he's already on the hunt for you, it should be easy. So, not only will you have contact in forbidden DeGracia turf … yes, did I forget to mention where Black Dragon was located? Smack dab where you're not allowed. So you'll be defying your father without his knowing and you'll have your favorite little lust puppet back. You win. I win."

Rinoa shook her head dismissing all thoughts, "No. How do you win?"

Ellone clapped her hands excitedly, "Well, with Squall in there to keep you busy at night, you'll be more sociable in the day and more willing to help me with my big potato lead so I win-"

"ELLONE!" Rinoa screamed out in utter rage, "Why do you link my bad moods to lack of sex? Did it not cross your mind that it might be PMS? And how dare you use me like that! Squall and I are able to handle our relationship without your help and right now, we're at dead zero! Mind your own goddamn business! This is so juvenile!"

"PMS is never that bad." Ellone shook her head, "No, it's … just impossible. Your bitchy attitude has reached a phenomenal height." Rinoa glowered at her darkly but Ellone ignored her, "I mean … it's … just … wow, I've never seen someone so cranky. Not even a four-year-old child at bedtime. And how am I sure that Squall is on the prowl for you? A certain Hispanic whore spoke, with the wave of a twenty dollar bill, of a certain murmuring of 'Rinoa' in bed."

The younger girl looked at her incredulously, "How do you do this? What is wrong with you?" Rinoa closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, "Whatever. You're full of bullshit that I don't have time for." Her anger came back to her, "I don't know where you get this information and frankly, I'm in an uncaring mood! You're being childish! I will not take contact with Squall Leonhart, it's over, got it? And you should do well to keep your nose out of things that don't concern you in the least!"

"Do you think it was pleasant for me to acquire that information? I had to go to the other side of town, which is probably the ugliest side of town to interview some good for nothing whore and pay her in some dingy coffee shop for her to admit that my brother still thinks of you when he's screwing. Hello? My brother." Ellone gave Rinoa a look, "I mean, I didn't need to know! I was looking at the skank and all I could think of was 'Hey, she screwed my brother!' It was a highly horrid experience."

"Hey, I screwed your brother!" Rinoa declared, raising her hand in mock sarcasm and Ellone immediately clamped her hands to her ears, "Ooh, this screams out 'Weakness!'. Hey, HEY ELLONE! I SCREWED YOUR BROTHER … MULTIPLE TIMES. AND IT WAS GREAT!" Ellone shot her a venomous glare.

Rinoa's loud declarations were heard outside her bureau. The employees who were lounging near her office looked towards the door. Irvine's eyebrow shot up and he cleared his throat uncomfortably, "I'm not sure I want to know what's going in there … but … it … sounds … interesting …"

Back in the office, Ellone was getting very aggravated, "Shut up!" She screamed back, horror-struck, "I don't like thinking about these things!"

Rinoa snickered, "I screwed your brother, I screwed your brother." She continued chanting joyfully, "Hey, we could even reverse the process … he screwed me, I screwed him … on that very chair you sit on too."

Ellone jumped out of the chair, her hands still clamped over her ears, "YOU LIE!" She roared venomously and glared at Rinoa in such a disgusted way that the younger girl had to smirk, "YOU LIE!!" She accused sourly.

"Yes, I lie." Rinoa admitted laughing, "But since you kindly stepped out from the chair, you might as well exit my office as well." She smiled happily and Ellone only sat back down defiantly, removing her hands from her ears. "Listen, Ellone … I don't know where you get the nerves to do these things … but stop. You're becoming stalker-ish and it's beginning to scare me. I won't help you fix whatever you've broken with your brother."

Ellone sighed in despair and slowly got up from the chair, gathering her things, "Ok, fine then … I'll talk to you later." She headed towards the door, "But … when you do see my brother again, tell him I say 'hi'." She smirked and bounced out of the room happily with only Rinoa glaring at her closed door.

She leaned back in her chair and heaved a sigh of accomplishment, allowing her mind to begin to think. Coincidentally, the first thought that popped into her head was the following, 'Wait … did she say he calls my name in bed?' She blushed eight different shades of red, terribly angry with herself for being interested. Though terribly pleased at this flattering information.

ELLONE PRANCED DOWN the hall happily, she gave Irvine a defiant smirk as she made her way to the elevator. Irvine's gazed followed her dancing figure and he called out to her, "Hey Ellone!" The joyful girl spun around and looked at him. He pointed to Rinoa's office, "She screwed your brother."

Ellone's face fell but soon recovered its pompous façade, "Yes, I know. And I've come to understanding terms with it." She stuck out her tongue, "After all, I've dated her 'brother'." She snickered wickedly, "And it sucked." Irvine snorted and waved away her comment, "But, don't feel degraded, Irvy … I'm sure there are many cheap whores out there that'll love you."

Irvine glowered at her, "Yeah, you're just not one of them."

Ellone laughed gleefully, taking the comment lightly, "Ooh, that stung! But I suppose I should take it as a compliment. Who'd want to be part of that group?" She summoned the elevator and disappeared from the hall, waving a mocking good-bye to her ex-lover.

The journalist descended the building and stepped out into the garage. She walked over to her Honda Acura RSX and unlocked the doors. She climbed into her vehicle, ignited the engine and was off. "Now …" She thought aloud to herself, "Where would a Squally with a fistful of money go to? Ah … to find a pleasant little nest, of course. And who would he have the most chances of picking as he's real estate? Hm … this one's tougher … Cassidy? Kenneth? … Maxwell! I think I just hit home … and Hell, it's all trial and error anyways …"

The car sped in Maxwell Real Estate's general direction.

THE OWNER OF the lovely downtown apartment showed them around excitedly. There hadn't been a tenant in this penthouse in years because of the price so he was determined to finalize this deal soon. "You have a lovely view of the city …" He pointed out uselessly. Some people were into scenery. Squall Leonhart wasn't really one to care.

He examined the living quarters painstakingly, "What about the garages? I don't like parking my car anywhere …" Squall turned to his future landlord, "It's essential that I have my private parking spaces and what not."

"No problem … there's a private garage for this part of the apartment … you've got a maximum of three parking spaces because … you know, I park there too." He was a stout little man with big, gray eyes that sparked hope. A man of mid-fifties since he had a growing bald spot atop his head and his remaining hair was dotted with white.

"Ok …" Squall nodded his head in approval, "How much is this place again? $220,000?" He looked towards Maxwell to signal that he had made his decision. The agent understood and nodded his head quickly, "How does $200,000 sound? It's a nice apartment and everything … just that … it doesn't meet all my requirements." He made up some false excuse to break the landlord's security, "I didn't want the laundry room so close to the kitchen."

"Oh … oh … well …" The balding little man fumbled nervously on the spot for a few moments, "Well … I … suppose …" He was obviously not an experienced business man, "I suppose that would be fine. $200,000 sounds peachy." He smiled cheerfully, "You … wish to move in at this very instant?"

"Yeah, well, I don't have much to move." Squall informed, taking one last look around and then looking back at the proprietor, "I'll be back in half an hour with a suitcase full of clothes so I doubt it should be a problem. Let's get those papers signed."

The landlord had come prepared and he pulled out a folder of papers, "Just read and sign all of them and it'll all be taken care of … but … yes, I need the money too." He added the last part unnecessarily but almost as a measure of safety. "I trust you will pay your monthly bills and such … right?"

"Yeah, don't worry." Squall took the papers and the offered pen and began signing away, not bothering to read the guidelines, as he knew that this man was not of enough wit to try and screw him. "I assume pets are allowed?"

The owner smiled and nodded, "Why, of course … as long as they aren't disruptive to the other tenants then everything should be peachy!" His cheerful voice piped up. The man was glad to have finally rented the place out.

"Great." Squall finished signing the last papers and reached for his thick wallet. He pulled out over a hundred thousand dollar and handed it over to the proprietor who took it, in awe. "It's all I have on me for the moment. I'll give you the remaining hundred thousand as soon as I come back with my bags … alright?" The balding man only nodded in shock at the amount of liquid money in his hands. "Great." He headed towards the door of the apartment and then seemed to remember something, "What apartment do you reside in? I'll ring you when I come back so you can give me the keys."

The older man recovered from his amazement at the money, "Oh … yes, the floor just beneath you … apartment number 107." Squall nodded and headed out. Maxwell followed closely behind.

ELLONE ARRIVED AT Maxwell's famous office sooner than she'd expected. Traffic was light and she had zoomed through the city effortlessly. Content at her timing, she parked her car and cut the engine. She got out, locked the door and strutted in the real estate's office, "Maxwell in?" She asked the secretary who was sitting behind the reception counter.

"No … he's out with a client. Care to wait?" The receptionist answered sourly and motioned to the chairs. She glared at the younger girl as if declaring a stare-down that the journalist wittingly missed as a form of mockery.

Ellone clicked her tongue in annoyance but took up on the offer. She plopped herself in a chair and waited, a list of questions expanding in her head. "Little Squally's gonna get a visit soon …" She smirked to herself, a finger to her lips.

Note!: Again, please review, I really need the input. Like I said before, it doesn't matter how LONG your review is, I just want to know what you think of how the story's going and stuff. It could just be, "It sucks." Or "I like."

Additional Disclaimer #1: I do not own the big bonanza hoax that is Miss Cleo. Sorry, I'm a bit biased on the idea.

By The Way: If you guys want to 'chat' or whatever, on AOL Instant Messenger I am 'TheGreatSabam' and add 'oxidiziedidhotmail.com' if you wish to speak with me through MSN.