Chapter 8

Phew, what a day! I was exhausted. I needed a nice long vacation after all that.

I had brought Tifa into the Shinra Headquarters as requested. She was in one of the cells, still unconscious. I thought about going up and paying her a visit. The Shinra Headquarters can be a pretty scary place for a prisoner that's for sure. I wanted to make her feel more at home. I didn't hate her after all; I was just doing my job.

My job just happened to be kidnapping her; it was nothing personal. I was hoping she'd understand. Tifa seemed like a nice girl anyway, I didn't think she would be too violent.

I straightened my white over coat and walked up the stairs towards the cell Tifa was being held in. There was a whole row of thirty prison cells, mostly empty now. The only occupied cells were petty criminals trying to steal Mako from the underground reactors.

I approached Tifa's cell, the furthest one away from the stairs. The hallway made a hollowing echo and it was eerily quiet. She must still be asleep. I punched in the security lock for the door and walked inside.

There was Tifa Lockheart sleeping peacefully on the bed in the centre of the room. It was such a contrast seeing her like that compared to the struggle she put up, clawing and bashing away at my face while I tried to drug her into submission. Thankfully, old tricks never fail and I still hadn't lost my touch.

It was nice to see Tifa being well looked after anyway. I was told a nurse came round every hour to check on her and I was glad to see no one had tried to rape her or anything like that. I knew what a couple of the Shinra guys were like and seeing a Tifa, helpless like this would have thrown their minds into overdrive.

It wasn't that I wanted Tifa all to myself or anything, or that I thought she was my possession, I just didn't feel comfortable that she might be in danger. She didn't deserve it. We had had a few run-ins in the past and I always respected her for her toughness, but also for her compassion and beauty.

I was lost in another daydream.

I saw Tifa's eyes slowly flutter open. She seemed disorientated and looked around her with a glassy look in her eye. She didn't seem to notice me at first as she put her hand to her head and groaned. I took a step closer. Tifa then saw me and began to back away.

"You," she said. "What is this place? Why am I here?"

"Relax Tifa. Nobody's going to hurt you. I'm not sure why you're here either to be honest but I won't let you come to any harm."

"You maniac! You kidnapped me! Get away from me, you freak!"

I took a step closer and she got off the bed and tried to look for a way out. There was no way out. There were no windows and everything was airtight. Tifa turned to face me. I wasn't trying to intimidate her, but it came across that way.

Tifa ran towards me and grabbed my jacket. She started shaking me.

"Let me go, Rufus," she cried. "What do you want with me?"

"Tifa, it's got nothing to do with me. I'm just the pawn they sent out to bring you here. This is all Hojo's idea."

"Liar! Tell me the truth!"

Tifa tried to hit me but I grabbed her wrist and overpowered her. I thought we had got over all the fighting but obviously not. I twisted her arm behind her back and held her still. She tried to wriggle free but couldn't. After a few seconds, she calmed down.

I released my grip on her but just as I did she caught me with a blow to the temple. I staggered backwards. It was followed by a kick to the gut, which sent me flying into the wall.

Tifa charged at me again but this time I dodged and managed to wrap my arms around her body trapping her arms to her side. She struggled furiously again, like some sort of caged animal but I was too strong.

She continued to wriggle out of my grasp but as soon as she was almost out, Hojo came into the cell. He seemed pleased.

"Ah, Rufus," he said. "I'm glad you managed to secure, Miss Lockheart. Good job. Now the real work begins."

"What real work?" I asked.

"You will see in time. Now Rufus, you're job is done, we only need Miss Lockheart from this point on."

"What are you going to do with me, you sick freak?" Tifa shouted.

"That's none of your concern," Hojo said. "From now on, you're our property and will do exactly as we say."

"I'll never do anything you say, you slimy little weasel. The only thing I'm going to do is kick your scrawny ass."

"You talk too much Miss Lockheart."

Hojo brought out a needle and said. "Hold her still Rufus."

I did what I was told. I held Tifa as Hojo injected the needle into her left arm. Only a few seconds later, she stopped struggling entirely and was completely limp in my arms.

"I'll take it from here," said Hojo."

Hojo then picked up Tifa into his arms and carried her out of the cell. I followed him down to the lab where he worked. It was in the basement, down twenty flights of stairs, so we took the elevator down.

I watched Hojo carry Tifa's unconscious form. He did with surprising ease. For such a scrawny, geeky guy, he was strong. But then again Tifa didn't weigh much. I had to carry her around half of Sector 7. He wasn't breaking a sweat either but the same couldn't be said for me.

I followed him down to the lab to make sure he didn't do anything horrible to Tifa. I was never informed of any of the plans. I was just a lackey. But whatever Hojo had planned, I knew it wasn't going to be nice. I mean, what could he possibly want with Tifa?

We stopped at the bottom floor and got out. Hojo turned to me.

"I'm afraid you are not allowed in my lab. It's for executive personnel only. You're job is done; thank you. You will receive your money tomorrow. You can relax now, there's no need for you to do anything."

"What about Tifa? What do you plan to do to her?"

"Something I've tried before but haven't been successful. But this time I will not fail."

I stood still as Hojo carried Tifa's lifeless, unconscious body into the lab.

The door closed. Locked and sealed tight.

There was nothing left for me to do now but go home. I was left to wonder whether I'd ever see Tifa Lockheart alive again.