Sweet Music
Chapter Ten: The Kidnapped, Kicking and Screaming
By PasifiKStaR

All Standard Disclaimers Apply: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything associated with it.

She narrowed her eyes as she lowered the hand to her side. Her other hand gripped the door knob so tightly, her fists turned white. "What are you doing here?" she demanded rather than asked.

General Caraway looked down at her. His foreboding body was glad in a dark suit, emphasizing his importance. He only had one lackey with him and she wondered why he hadn't brought more body guards considering he was in what he considered 'enemy territory'. Although, the lackey was Tseng, the leader of the Turks. He reported to Rufus, who was actually Caraway's head assistant and self appointed overseer of the body guard troupe.

"To take you home."

Rinoa's eyes widened and she felt herself take a step back as the General walked past her without a second glance. She felt her hand being pried off the door knob and looked up to see Tseng gently turn her around and close the door behind them.

"Wha...?" Rinoa gasped. The General looked around the cluttered apartment with disdain.

"I thought all the money I paid you would get you a better place." he snorted.

"We're in the middle of some cleaning," Rinoa frowned. She darted out in front of her father as he headed towards the living room. She stopped in front of him and held her arms out. "Why are you here?"

"I already told you, Rinny," he told her casually as he put a hand on her shoulder and moved her aside. "I'm here to take you home."

"I'm not going home!" Rinoa nearly shouted like a temperamental teenager. "WHY do you want me home?" she demanded. She already knew why, she was pretty sure anyway...to get her away from Squall and his father.

"You know why," General Caraway told her. This time his voice was more serious than it was before. He walked past her and Rinoa gritted her teeth. Selphie and Zell immediately stood up as they saw the General enter. "Where is Quistis?" he asked with a frown. He had wanted to talk to the woman, but she was missing.

"She's on a trip with her firm on some suit they're working on," Rinoa frowned. "Now, answer my question, DAD."

General Caraway turned around and looked at her. "I've deemed this place too dangerous for you to stay any longer. You're going home with me."

Selphie's eyes widened more so and they darted to Rinoa, who stood behind her father. Tseng hung around in the hall behind her. "You're...you're going back to Deling City?"

Rinoa sneered as she glared at the back of her father's head. "I am not going anywhere," Rinoa told him stubbornly. She swept past him and plopped herself down on the couch where she had been sitting. "I don't want to leave."

"I know," General Caraway said. "That's why I came over here personally," he frowned. "I knew you wouldn't come willingly. No messengers could make you come home."

"And what makes you think you would?" Rinoa steeled herself. Caraway had never laid a hand on her before and she knew he wasn't about to. However, she could feel his temper rise. To her right, Selphie and Zell had both paled.

"Don't act like a spoiled little brat, Rinoa," Caraway growled. "You are coming home NOW!"

"I am not!" Rinoa said as she flew up from her seat and whirled around to look at him. "I do not have to go back to Galbadia! I have no reason to!"

"If you don't come back, I will cut you off." he threatened. Rinoa's eyes widened as she let out a little gasp.

Then her pride rushed in and she lifted her chin up proudly. "Fine, I don't need your money!" Rinoa told him. "I have a job AND the Heartilly Trust fund!"

"Let me rephrase that," Caraway told her sweetly. Rinoa narrowed her eyes with suspicion as she looked at him. "I will cut off ALL of you."

Rinoa felt a stab through her heart as she gripped the edge of her shirt. "What do you mean?"

"Selphie and Zell work for me, remember?" Caraway said. "Their paychecks come from protecting you...which, as of lately, they haven't been doing a good job of." His eyes moved over to the two by standers and both of them swallowed nervously under his withering glaze.

Rinoa shook her head. "I...I can pay them! I can hire them!"

Caraway smirked. "I can make it so they can never work again. I can make it so they don't exist on paper. I can make it so they can be wanted criminals."

Rinoa gasped inwardly. He was right. With his connections in the government, the military, and in business, she had no doubt that he could pull it off with one phone call. Rinoa shook her head disbelievingly. "No..."

"I said I wanted you home," Caraway said. "I don't want you in Esthar any more."

"I'm not in any danger here-"

"Don't give me that!" Caraway boomed. His voice echoed through the apartment, making Selphie fall back on her seat and Zell nearly wet his pants. "I KNOW what happened yesterday, Rinoa Heartilly Caraway!" Rinoa cringed at the sound of her full name. "I KNOW you had a brush with LOIRE. I don't want you anywhere NEAR him or his spawn! You are coming home and coming home now!"

"No-"

"Either you come home, young lady," Caraway told her in a deadly voice as he stepped closer to her petite, shaking form. "Or your friends will suffer."

Rinoa could've sworn her heart flat lined for a second. All the color drained out of her face. "Rinoa, no! If you don't want to go! You shouldn't have to go!" Selphie shouted as she jumped to her feet. Zell seemed to suddenly regain his senses and frowned.

"We don't need his support, Rin. If you want to stay in Esthar City, you'll stay in Esthar City!" Zell added.

From the corner of her eye, Rinoa could see Tseng straightening up from where he was leaning against the wall. As if given a silent order, he was already walking towards them. Rinoa looked at her friends and turned her head away. "If I go...you won't touch them? You won't hurt them, their files, or anything?" General Caraway nodded.

"I swear it."

"On mother's grave?" Rinoa asked in a deathly serious voice. Her eyes were narrowed bitterly. Caraway let out a sharp breath and narrowed his own eyes. He finally nodded.

"I swear on your...mother's grave..." he breathed out hesitantly. Rinoa closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, guys..."

Selphie's eyes widened. "No! Rin!"

Rinoa turned to them one last time. "I'm going home."

"No!" Selphie yelled. She took one step forward and suddenly felt a sharp pain to her stomach. She opened her mouth and gasped for breath as she looked up and barely caught the sight of Tseng moving past her, his dark hair flying behind him. She looked at Rinoa with pain her eyes and reached out. "Rin..." Her eyes watered as she stumbled forward and fell across the couch.

"Selphie!" Rinoa shrieked. She was about to run to her friend's side, but her father grabbed her arm.

"She'll be fine-"

"Tseng, you abomination! What did you do to her?" Rinoa cried out as she struggled against her father's iron grip.

"Selp-ugh!" Zell's eyes widened and rolled back. He fell to his knees before falling over on his side. Rinoa let out a pained scream as Tseng cracked his knuckles behind Zell.

"I HATE you!" Rinoa screamed at the Turk bitterly.

"They'd only get more hurt if they tried to fight us," Tseng assured her. "I swear, they'll wake up in little while."

"If they don't, Tseng, so help me..." Rinoa said in a low voice. At first, Tseng didn't believe her idle threat, but then frowned. As a child, Rinoa had been a stickler for revenge, going as far as to not only humiliate, but to knock out of commission whoever crossed her. However then, it might've just been a rash in the wrong places. Now, looking at her fury filled brown eyes, he wondered what she would do.

"Let's go, Rinoa," General Caraway said. He let go of the young woman and Rinoa stared down at her fallen friends. She closed her eyes as tears rimmed and silently told them she was sorry. "Rinoa."

"I'm sorry..." she whispered. She turned around and silently walked after her father. Tseng closed the door behind them and escorted them downstairs to the black car parked on the side of the street.

Tseng opened the door for father and daughter before taking his place as the driver. As Rinoa looked up at her apartment, her father caught her attention once more. "Do you have your phone?"

"Yes..." Rinoa said in a low voice. She took out the phone she used for 'family' affairs.

"Call Quistis and tell her you are going home."

Rinoa snorted lightly. "She'll never believe that I went home willingly."

"Then MAKE her believe it." he said, a threat laced with each word. Silently she picked up her phone and dialed in Quistis' number. It went straight to voice mail.

"Quistis, it's Rinoa. Listen, my dad's not feeling good and he's asking for me," Rinoa said in her pathetic sounding voice. "One of his men, Tseng, just called me. He's asking for me and I have to go see him. He's in hiding somewhere, so don't call me. I'll call you. Bye."

She flipped her phone closed and glared at her father. General Caraway leaned back against his seat. "Don't look so angry and sad, Rinoa," he told her calmly. "You're going home."

"All right, everyone," Rufus said as he eyed the band warily. "Just sit down and relax," He motioned for them to sit and Irvine sat down on the couch. Seifer and Squall remained where they were at the table. "Good...now, we're just going to for a little ride. All questions will be answered in due time."

"Where the hell are you taking us?" Squall demanded immediately.

Immediately, a pale hand was slammed down in front of him and Elena frowned. "Shut up! You're in no position to talk!" she piped with a warning.

"Hey, calm down there," Irvine said with a winning smile. "We're going to be here for a while, I think so we could at least get along right?"

"Shut up, Irvine," Seifer grumbled. He looked up at the blond scowling at them. "Can I at least use my laptop? I wanted to play a game."

Elena scoffed. "Give your wireless card." she demanded. Seifer reached over and pressed a small button, ejecting a card and giving it to her. She pocketed it and gave a curt nod.

Seifer opened his lap top and mentally smiled to himself. 'She must be new...my laptop has an internal card...' The tall blond quietly opened up a box and began typing rapidly. 'I hope you get this soon, Quisty...we can definitely use you...' He signed it "Love Seifer" and sent it.

Squall's hands gripped the edge of the table they were sitting at. "What do you mean Rinoa is getting married?" he said in a low voice. He was directing the question at his blond bandmate.

Seifer sighed and closed his laptop, looking bored. He looked at Squall. "Laguna had mentioned it the night before..." he said. He watched as the two other blondes sat on the seats across from them with frowns on their faces. "Rinoa is rumored to be engaged to a mob boss in Centra."

A flash of anger flew over Squall's face as ice blue eyes locked on to the two Turks. "Is this true?"

Rufus shrugged. "We're-"

"IS THIS TRUE? YES OR NO?" Squall suddenly reached over and grabbed Rufus by the collar. He pulled the man forward and glared directly at him.

"Hey!" Elena shot up from her seat and whipped out her gun. She aimed it at Squall's head. "Let him go!"

"Elena, calm down..." Rufus said in low voice. "Put down the gun down. You might accidentally set it off."

"Let go of Rufus!" Elena demanded. The man reached forward and firmly pried Squall's hands off the collar of his suit. Rufus gave her a warning look and she slowly retracted the gun, keeping her eyes on Squall the entire time.

"Don't shoot him," Rufus frowned. "Don't forget that he is Desperado Loire's son. We don't want to start a gang war yet just because you got trigger happy," Elena scowled. Rufus looked back at the seething brunette across from him. "We don't know much."

"Is she engaged or not?" Squall said, slowly.

"All we know is that her father, General Caraway, has engaged her to a prominent organized crime leader in Centra. We don't know who exactly, only the General knows that. He's been trying to keep it quiet." Rufus admitted.

"It's a political marriage." Squall stated.

Rufus nodded. "Yes, so don't think that the second you left, Rinoa went off with some other man. She doesn't even know about the engagement."

Squall's eyes widened. He felt Seifer's hand on his shoulder, keeping him from lunging forward and throttling the two Turks for more information.

"Of course it's a political marriage," Elena frowned. "The General wants to gain allies in Centra, since it's flanking Esthar to the south."

"Once they do, they'll have Esthar pinned on several sides..." Seifer trailed off, understanding.

"What about Trabia?" Squall frowned.

"Trabia's underground is still recovering from a major syndicate war. They're still recovering." Rufus said.

"Exactly, why didn't he just take over Trabia's? They're still weak and prime for the over taking. With Caraway's resources, he could easily take them," Squall stated. Rufus studied the brunette, making a mental note to give Squall more credit. "Besides, with it's resorts in the ski areas, he could make a killing."

"He needs the man power that Centra has," Seifer said as he lifted his chin. "Trabia is too weak as an ally right now."

"Why does he need more men?" Squall demanded. He narrowed his eyes. "To raid Esthar? What make Esthar so damn special?"

Rufus chuckled. "Your father is in Esthar."

The door to the jet opened and a stairway was pressed against it's side. Quistis stood up and gathered her belongings. With her bag slung over her shoulders, Quistis headed for the exit. She stepped out and headed for the parking lot.

Thanks to family's connections, Quistis kept her car parked in long term parking without any fears. She waited for a shuttle bus to take her to the extended area. When she got off, she pulled her phone from her purse and turned it back on.

She had three misses messages. She flipped through them and smiled. Seifer had called twice and had apparently left messages both times. Then another number appeared and she frowned. It was Rinoa's 'family' phone. Frowning she headed towards her car and slipped into the driver's seat and closed the door before playing her messages.

As expected, the first two were from Seifer. One of them was telling her that he was leaving and that he'd miss her. And that Irvine was snoring and bothering the hell out of him. The second was him complaining that Irvine was STILL snoring and that he wished he were with her right then.

The third message was from Rinoa. She could hear the quiet sadness in her voice. Rinoa was speaking short gasps, as if she had been crying. When the message was finally understood, Quistis' eyes narrowed.

"Rinoa would never go home by herself...even if her father had called for her...she would've brought Selphie or Zell..." Quistis mumbled. "I don't like this..." She saved the messages and then dialed another number.

The phone rang. No answer. It rang twice more. Still no answer. Quistis was growing worried. On the forth ring, the answering machine answered. "Hi! You've reached the home of Quistis, Rinoa, Selphie, and Zell! Please leave a message!" Selphie's usually hyper voice piped cheerfully.

Quistis sighed as the beep echoed in her ear. "Hello? Is anyone there? It's Quistis."

From where he was laying on his side across the wood paneled floor, Zell could hear the sound of Selphie's recorded voice. He groaned as he clutched his head and curled up tighter. "What the heck just happened...?" he moaned.

"Hello?" Quistis' voice sounded. Zell's eyes opened and looked around. "Is anyone there?"

"Quistis!" Zell scrambled up to his feet. As soon as he stood up, a wave of dizziness hit him and he reached out to grab hold the back of the couch to steady him.

"It's Quistis...Selphie? Zell, are you home?"

He stumbled to the phone and grabbed it as he leaned heavily against the counter. He pressed the button and held it to his ear. "Hello?" he gasped out, wincing as a dull throbbing pain pulsed in his head.

"Zell? Zell, is that you? What's wrong?" Quistis demanded.

"He came for her," Zell moaned out as he rubbed his head. "And took her home."

"Who did?"

"General Caraway."

Quistis' eyes widened and her grip on her phone tightened. "General Caraway came to Esthar to get Rinoa?"

Zell was about to nod, but it hurt too much. "Yeah...he came with one of the Turks. Tseng, I think. He made Rinoa go home with him."

"Why? I mean...HOW?" Quistis gasped. "Rinoa wouldn't go willingly?"

"He said that if she didn't come, then he'd make sure that Selphie and I would pay the price."

"He threatened to KILL you?" Quistis gasped.

"No, no...Rin would never let him live it down..." he breathed. "He said that he would cut us off and make it so we never existed or become wanted criminals." Quistis closed her eyes and swore silently.

"And then what happened?"

"Rinoa said she'd go as long as he didn't touch us," Quistis bit her lower lip. Of course she would. So much for bodyguards. Zell and Selphie had become her weaknesses. "Rinoa went and we tried to stop them, but Tseng got to us...oh, crap! Selphie!"

Quistis heard Zell stumbling and walking. "Zell? Zell, what's wrong?" Quistis shouted into the phone.

"She's okay," Zell breathed. He fell back against a chair. "Tseng punched Selphie in the stomach and knocked her out...she's still knocked out, but she's breathing."

Quistis let out a sigh or relief and ran a hand down her face. "Hyne...how did this happen?"

"Quistis, when are you coming back?" Zell asked, almost like a child asking his parent when they would return from work. "What are we going to do about Rinoa?"

"Calm down, Zell," Quistis said. "I'll do what I can for now. But you and Selphie aren't in any place to do anything on your own."

"We're not going to go running after her on some half planned rescue mission, you know." Zell rolled his eyes. "We're not stupid."

Quistis chuckled slightly. "Okay...well, I don't want you two staying at the apartment any more. As soon as Selphie wakes up and can walk, I want you to head over to the Spade. I'll make reservations under Dincht Tilmit. Don't worry about the cost. Order food in and whatever, I'll cover it."

"Are you sure?" Zell asked.

"Don't argue with me," Quistis sighed. "I don't want you at the apartment. Who knows who could be watching. Try to leave, at separate times and meet up there. Keep it as low as you can. I will call you at the hotel."

"Okay," Zell agreed. He paused. "What about Rinoa?"

"I'll...I'll work on it. You two just get to the Spade, got it?" Quistis asked.

"Yeah, we will. Thanks," Zell said. "And Quistis...be careful, too."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Quistis said. She hung up the phone and leaned forward, pressing her head against the steering wheel. "Oh my Hyne..." She took a deep breath and started the engine. She lifted the dialed the number to the Spade as she backed out and headed out of the parking lot. "I'm going to need to call in some favors..."

The bus moved along, seemingly slowly. It wasn't a smooth ride as the road they were on was obviously not driven over enough and therefore didn't have a lot of road care. They had been on the bus for several hours now and were used to Reno randomly swerving the bus to miss pot holes and other obstacles on the road.

Irvine had settled himself into watch whatever DVDs they had on hand and Squall was with him on the couch, a tight lipped frown on his face as he glared at the television. Irvine partly wondered if the TV would wither under Squall's death glare.

Elena was sitting by the table and Rufus was leaning against the wall, looking out the window. And over the sound of Wolverine hacking through people at the beginning of the X-2 DVD, there wafted a warm, stomach filling smell of beef in the oven.

Sitting on the edge of the embedded seat by the table, oven mitts by his side, was Seifer. A little plastic timer ticked beside the oven mitts until it hit '0' and a small ding rang. "Finally!" Seifer sighed. He stood up and grabbed the oven mitts. He put them on and walked over to the oven that was built into the wall.

As soon as he opened the oven, the smell grew stronger and steam rose. A second later, a pot was placed on a pot holder on the wooden table. Elena gritted her teeth. "What the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Seifer said. He lifted the cover off and waved an oven mitt clad hand over it as the smell wafted up. "I'm cooking!"

"WHY are you cooking?" Elena hissed.

"Whenever he's nervous, Seifer cooks," Irvine said from the couch. "He used to bake, but his cakes came out crappy."

"Shut the hell up, Kinneas! You can't appreciate good food if it slapped you upside the head!" Seifer growled defensively.

"Since you're nervous and cooking, do you think you can make curly fries?" Irvine asked. "I could sure go for some curly fries."

Irvine ducked as one of Seifer's oven mitts flew across the bus. It hit Squall on the side of the face and the brooding brunette turned to glare at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Squall said in a low voice.

"Now, boys, play nice," Rufus said calmly. "Seifer, stop cooking."

"Our manager is unconscious in our bedroom, our bus has been boarded by you mafia thugs, guns have been waved, and worst of all, Rinoa's whack job cousin is driving this thing!" Seifer exclaimed, frustrated. "I'm more worried about him crashing and killing us all then gun-happy girl over there. Let me have SOME way of keeping my sanity."

Elena was now glaring at him as hard as she could. Downstairs, where Reno was driving, a voice shouted. "Hey!" Reno said. "What's going on up there? Whose wasting all the energy for this thing?"

Rufus looked outside and noticed that they were all going slower than necessarily. He frowned and everyone's gaze turned to Seifer. The oven mitt clad guitarist and lead singer was placing some potatoes into the pot and stopped in mid placing as he realized everyone was looking at him.

"What?" he frowned.

"You have to stop cooking." Elena told him.

"Are you insane?" Seifer scoffed. "The potatoes aren't any where NEAR done. Don't even get me started on the peas!"

"Just turn off the oven!" Elena barked. Suddenly, a simple sound of a phone ringing rang and Rufus plucked a small black phone from the inner breast pocket of his jacket.

"Hello?" Rufus asked. His eyes looked around at the group coolly. "Yes, everything is going to plan. Reno is driving, Elena and I are keeping an eye on them. Of course. Yes, sir." With that, his phone snapped closed.

"Well?" Elena asked.

Rufus looked over at Squall. "You'll be glad to know that Rinoa is safe and sound," Rufus told him. He watched as the blue eyed brunette let out a relieved sigh, but quickly composed himself. "She just boarded her father's private jet."

"No..." Squall frowned. "Rinoa wouldn't go with her father willing. What the hell did he do to her?" He demanded as he shot up from his seat.

"Calm down, lover boy," Rufus replied smoothly. "Never under estimate the power that General Caraway has."

"I swear to Hyne if he hurts Rinoa-"

"Watch your mouth!" Elena snapped. "He would never lay a finger on Rinoa." she hissed, utterly convinced. Squall just glared back at her.

"There are other ways to hurt people." he spat out simply.

A long silence spread over the bus. The only sounds were from the engine and Reno's off key voice singing along to a rock song in the driver's area. Seifer took a deep breath.

"Squall, sit down," he told his friend sternly. They locked eyes for a moment and Squall could've sworn he saw a knowing look on the man's face. "Just sit down. Rinoa will be FINE," he stressed. Before Squall had a chance to read into the other man's words, Seifer turned to Elena. "You, since you won't allow me to get reach into the cupboards any more, grab us some plates...I'm going to finish this roast."

Outside, the sun was setting over the horizon as they soared above the fluffy white clouds. Every now and then, through a break in the clouds, she could see the shimmering ocean thousands of feet below. Her hand clenched against the soft leather seat of the private jet as across from her, her father watched her.

"Eat something," General Caraway said, breaking the silence. Tseng was flying the jet while the father and daughter pair sat in the main cabin. "You've been too quiet."

Slowly, Rinoa's dark eyes tore themselves from the circular window and glared at her father. "You still haven't told me why you're taking me home."

"I told you the moment I arrived at your door," General Caraway insisted. "Esthar is no longer a safe place for you, as I had feared."

Rinoa grit her teeth angrily as her nails dug into the arm rests. "That's not it!" Rinoa insisted. "Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not lying to you. Esthar is not safe!" General Caraway told her.

"You said that before and you hadn't dragged me back to Galbadia then!"

"This time, you're too close to Laguna Loire for my comfort!" Caraway parked, his own eyes narrowed and meeting Rinoa's glare. "I knew your dating his son was a bad idea! And then look what happened yesterday! You were set up-"

"I was NOT set up!" Rinoa nearly shrieked. "Squall was leaving for a concert tour and I brought him dinner so we could eat together before he left! He didn't know his father was coming-"

"Of course not..." Caraway snorted.

"He didn't! He sent me to hide and was in the process of talking his father into leaving when Reno and Rufus burst in and ruined everything!" Rinoa exclaimed. "And when he DID see me, all he did was extend his hand and introduce himself without a HINT of MALICE!"

"He's always been a charmer. Women fell for him left and right, I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to talk you into his side." Caraway frowned.

"HIS side?" Rinoa gasped. "I'm not on anyone's side! Not yours and not his!"

"You're already on a side whether you like it or not, young lady," Caraway told her sternly. "You were BORN into the Caraway Syndicate. Just like your cousins. Just like I was."

"You PROMISED me that I would never have to be a part of the organization!" Rinoa told him. "You promised!"

"YOU are the one who got yourself involved with a mafia boss' son!" Caraway snapped.

"Stop calling him that! Squall wants nothing to do with his father's business as I don't with you!" Rinoa cried. "Tell me the truth! Why did are you bringing me home?"

Caraway went silent for a moment and Rinoa narrowed her eyes. "We are loosing territory."

"What?" Rinoa spat out with disgust. "That's why? Because the stupid organization is loosing territory!"

"We are on the verge of another war!" Caraway said. "And you know what happens when there is an underground war...fatalities," he told her. Rinoa closed her eyes and turned her head away. "Trabia just had a massive war. The five crime syndicates have now turned into three large ones. And one of them is closing in on our northern borders."

"What does that have to do with me?" Rinoa frowned.

"We need allies," the old man told her. "To strengthen our borders and regain lost territory and gain new ones. I've found the perfect ally."

"Then merge with him," Rinoa shrugged. "I don't see why I had to leave Esthar."

"I am going to merge my syndicate with his, but I don't trust him and he doesn't trust me. We've decided to seal the merger through an...agreement. It will benefit you."

Rinoa's eyes narrowed as she snapped her head up to lock eyes with her father. "Me?"

"You will be safe from the Loire Organization, financially taken care of, AND it will help the family." Rinoa felt her heart racing as the possibilities ran through her head. She swallowed as only one plausible scenario stood out.

"Oh, Hyne...no..."

"Congratulations...you will be marrying the most powerful crime lord in Centra tomorrow night." Suddenly, it was as if Rinoa's world came crashing to a painful, burning halt.

Rinoa's heart stopped and her blood froze in her veins. Did she hear right? Marriage. She lifted her head as large brown eyes rimmed with tears. She shook her head in disbelief. "No..." she whispered in a soft, pleading voice. "No, you wouldn't..."

General Caraway refused to make eye contact with his daughter. "Your mother worked for the syndicate even before we were married," her father told him. "I believe you should as well."

"I can't believe you..." Rinoa gasped out as her body shook with rage and horror.

"You'll be marrying a powerful Centran crime lord tomorrow in a small ceremony. It's a rush wedding, but we don't have time to waste."

"You're joking," Rinoa spat out. "You're marrying me off?"

"It's necessary for the survival of the organization-"

"I am your damn daughter!" Rinoa screamed as she shot up from her chair. "And you're selling me off!"

"I am not selling you off-"

"You're giving me to some man I don't want to have anything to do with JUST so you can save your precious organization!" Rinoa cried hatefully. "I never thought you could stoop to something so low, but apparently you can! I guess I was nothing but a tool for you, wasn't I, FATHER?" she spat out. She shook her head as hot tears streamed down her flushed face. "I can't believe you...if mom could see you now..."

Rinoa couldn't stand to look at him any more as she whirled around and stomped to the cock pit. "Rinoa! Her father screamed as he shot up after her. The petite young woman didn't say a word as she pulled open the door and squeezed herself inside. The door slammed shut.

Tseng kept his eyes focused out the windows as he flew the jet. Beside him, Rinoa slipped into the co-pilot's seat and bit her trembling lower lip. She closed her eyes tightly and brought her knees up to her chest as she cried and let out muffled sobs against her folded arms. Tseng kept quiet.

After a few minutes of non-stop tears, Rinoa choked back the last of her sobs and began to wipe her eyes. They would be reaching Galbadia soon. She felt something nudge her arm and she lifted her head up. Tseng placed a bottle of water in her hand.

"Drink up," he told her passively as he kept the plane steady. He glanced at her from the corners of his eye. He lifted one hand and gently brushed back his cousin's bangs. "Everything will be all right, Rin." He told her softly.

Rinoa diverted her eyes down to the bottle of water. "No, Tseng..." she whispered in an low, emotionless voice. "This time, it won't."

Quistis parked her car in the parking lot of condominium complex that over looked the ocean. It was in a little out of the way area and the rest of the condos were only used in the summer, mostly by wealthy families from the city. However, at this point and time, no one was really around.

The parking lot was almost empty except for the cars of one or two residents that lived there year round. Quistis got out and walked to her trunk. She gathered her bags and headed to the elevator. Her condo was on the top floor. As soon as she walked through the door she took out her laptop. Seifer had promised to email her when they started to get moving.

The machine started up and Quistis walked over to the fridge. She had ordered someone to stock it for her. She walked back, orange juice in hand, and smiled as she saw that Seifer had indeed emailed her. Twice. She chuckled as she sat at the table in the dining room as she read his email. Like in his voice mail, he was complaining about Irvine's snoring. At the end was a litter note about how much he missed her already.

"I miss you, too..." she smiled softly. "Stupid jerk..." she added affectionately. She scrolled down to the second email and slowly, her smile left her face. Her lips formed a tight line as she took a deep breath and reached for her phone. Within seconds, she was dialed a familiar phone number.

The phone was ringing on the other end. Finally, a low voice answered. "Good evening Miss Trepe," the deep, smooth male voice said. "How may I be of service?"

"Take Fujin and Raijin with you to northern Esthar...and find someone who can track a bus." Quistis said.

"A bus?" the man asked, questioningly.

"A tour bus," the blond clarified. "The tour bus of that band Scars has been hijacked by Turks." There was brief pause in the line as the man remembered who they were.

"General Caraway's boys." he stated.

Quistis found herself nodding as she re-read Seifer's email. "Three of them have hijacked the bus. Rinoa's boyfriend is on that bus..." 'As is MINE...' she added mentally.

"Rinoa? Caraway's Rinoa?"

"She'd kill you if she heard you," Quistis frowned. "At any rate. Find the bus and get the band members off."

"We don't usually go around saving people, Miss Trepe," the man told her curiously. "Is there a particular reason?"

"Friends of mine are on that bus. And by friends, I'm not talking about the Turks." Quistis replied.

"Hmmm..." The man sounded as if he were mulling over the proposition. In truth, Quistis already knew he would take it. "What about the Turks?" he finally asked.

"Deal with them as you see fit, but don't kill them. See if you can knock them out of commission for a while...just don't do too much damage, got it?" Quistis commanded.

"I understand, Miss Trepe."

"Vincent," Quistis sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, exasperated. "Stop calling me that. We've known each other since we were ten. We went to law school together, you can go ahead and call me Quistis."

"Of course, Miss Trepe." She could hear the slight amusement in her voice and she rolled her eye. They hung up and Quistis bit her lower lip and chewed on it for a moment.

Sighing, she pulled the phone away from her ear and entered another number. There were a few rings and finally a man with a rough voice answered the phone. "Who is this?"

"It's Quistis Trepe," the blond said as she reclined on the couch. Her boyfriend was going to be saved and now it was time to check up on Rinoa. "Sir, are you still in Deling City?"

"No, I'm in Winhill right now. Why? What did you need?" the man asked gruffly.

"A friend of mine has been taken back there by her father. Can you do me a favor and keep an eye on her? Standard recon mission." Quistis stated. She pulled up some files in her computer and began to look through her records of all the crime bigwigs in Centra.

"Who am I looking for?"

"Rinoa Caraway."

The man let out a little scoff. "You want me to watch the Caraway girl? Isn't that a bit dangerous? Her father isn't one to trifle with, Quistis."

"Are you backing down?" Quistis mocked with a little laugh. She knew he was just teasing, but still, if he was going to tease her, she'd do the same. "I never thought I'd hear the day when the great Auron, MY Godfather, would be afraid of a job."

"I never claimed to be afraid. I'm just stating a fact," he said. "I'll call you when I have something."

"Thank you," Quistis said, smiling as she drank some orange. She put the glass down. "By the way, have you heard anything from Centra? I heard someone might be getting married down here."

"The big ones you might want to look out for are the big three. But one of them is already married..." Auron told her.

Quistis narrowed her eyes and looked through the files. She constantly updated and compiled information of any information she received about crime families and members. She frowned as she realized that she had not heard about the marriage earlier. However, if the Turks didn't even known who Rinoa was supposed to be engaged to, she assumed the only people who knew were General Caraway and the mystery groom.

"The big three huh..." Quistis mumbled. "I'll get right now it. So can you watch Rinoa?"

"I'll call you I have any problems," he retorted roughly. "If you need anything, call me. That's what I'm here for."

"Thank you, Godfather," Quistis closed her phone and drank down the rest of her orange juice. "He's married..." she mumbled. "So he's out of the question..." her voice trailed off as she looked at the last two files. Blue eyes widened as her mouth dropped. "Oh my Hyne..."

A.N. - I thought it would be funny to make Auron the "Godfather". Okay, maybe it's only funny to me. --;; He's a good guy and I like him. :P I'd like to send my condolences to my bro Tai, whose car met with an untimely demise. At any rate, I still need suggestions for who Rinoa is going to marry. TELL ME PEOPLE! I can't update until I've decided, so you have give me ideas...this is your chance to participate! Thank you:) On a personal request, does anyone speak Tagalog who can translate some OPM lyrics for me into English? It would be much appreciated. (Please, if you have time. If not, it's okay.)