There was no third knock. After a short pause, the woman on the other side of the door seemed to have grown tired of waiting for a response, and Tseng and Rude heard the lock click open from the outside. The door swung open, and Tseng had to sidestep out of the way to avoid being stepped on by the all-too-familiar creature who entered.

Tall, busty, and lithe, the lady only formerly known as Scarlet was a vision of every man's sexual fantasies, just as she always had been. She wore a red dress, not appropriate for either weather or circumstance, just as she always had. There was something beautifully nostalgic for Tseng in the way that she entered the room, casual, nonchalant, almost arrogant, as if she owned everything she saw. It was very characteristic of the way that everything at Shinra had been run.

The notable difference, now, was that Scarlet's makeup appeared to be brushed on in a hurry, that her hair was not so much done up as pulled-back, that her shoes were not quite the right color for the gown. Nothing, Tseng reflected, that he'd ever have noticed before, but every little change in this symbol of Shinra power showed exactly how much toll time had taken on those who had been a part of the Company.

"Well, hello," she said, and drawn up to her full height, Tseng couldn't help focusing on the grace of her stature, the curve of her neck as she advanced on him. "Fancy meeting you here, or is it really? I'd like to think it's fate, actually, if you don't mind me saying so. It's been a long time, Tseng, Rude."

Rude looked at Tseng, waiting for some sort of sign from his fearless leader as to what it is he should do with this familiar intruder. Tseng paused, bit his lip, shook his head. "It has," he started. "A little too long for this to be a casual visit, I suppose."

"Pardon?" Scarlet inclined her head to one side. "You're the ones who visited me, after all. I had no idea you'd be on this ship."

"Not much chance of that," Tseng countered. "What do you want?"

Scarlet sighed. "You don't trust me," she observed. After a moment of looking back and forth between the faces of the two Turks, Scarlet shrugged. "I suppose I'd be stupid to expect you to trust me, after all, you're wanted men, and if there's one thing we taught you in the Company, it's to trust absolutely nobody." She laughed. "I guess that's a pat on the back for me, then, being a ver talented teacher."

Rude made a growling noise in his throat, not so much menacing, as a sign that she should keep her distance. Tseng, waving one arm at Rude to put him off his guard, stepped forward. Scarlet smiled. "Yeah," Tseng muttered, "I guess you were a good teacher. So what've you come to teach us now?"

Scarlet smiled. "I've come to instruct in the ways of dealing with loneliness, love," she started. "Silly as that might sound after everything you've doubtless been through until now."

"I'm sure you know they're going to be after us as we speak," Tseng said, glancing behind him to get Rude's confirmation. Rude nodded, wordlessly, and Tseng turned back to Scarlet. "They've been after us since I left Kalm. It's all over the papers."

"Who's they?" Scarlet asked. Tseng shook his head, unable to reply, and Scarlet shrugged. "Old news, I suppose, nothing the mighty Turks can't handle, aren't I right?" She paused. "And yes, of course I knew all about it, whoever they are, they lack a certain…subtlety." She chuckled darkly. "I suppose that's why you've gone under assumed names."

Tseng nodded. "And what am I supposed to call you, then?"

Scarlet raised an eyebrow. "You don't think I'm too distinctive to be mistaken for anyone other than myself?" It was a veiled…something, Tseng new, a veiled command for him to tell her exactly who exquisitely distinctive it was. She'd used to do this time all the time when he'd been at ShinRa. He recognized it as one of those mind games that women played, maybe only to the men they wanted to manipulate. The funny thing he'd noticed about working in the Turks was that once a woman trusted you, she didn't need to play those games. Elena was always straight with him, and with the others, as far as he could ever tell.

"Everyone's easily forgotten," he countered. "You are, and I am. If I were you, I'd take a new persona." He was cold with her, waiting for Rude to back him up, but as he turned to look at Rude, there was something in Rude's eyes that said he wasn't comfortable in the situation. Was it Tseng? Did Rude distrust the circumstance because he was afraid to trust his leader after so long?

"You hurt me, love," Scarlet said, showing no signs of offence. "You hurt me badly. To think you'd have been willing to forget me, after everything." And with that there was a wink, Scarlet's attempt to share something between the two of them that Tseng had no desire to partake in. Tseng knew her ways, and he was ready to avoid them. Why didn't Rude trust him?

"I'm going for a walk on the deck," Scarlet decided, beckoning Tseng forward towards the door. "I wanted to talk to you, there's a lot we have to catch up on." She glanced at Rude, then looked away, seemingly disinterested. "You know," she added, to Tseng, "To catch up. Talk about the good old days. You know the drill."

And then she left the room, not magically, not mysteriously, but straight tout the door, closing it behind her as she went. She dropped the paperclip that she'd used to pick the lock behind her on the floor, and Tseng had a feeling that in that gestures, she was making an attempt at showing him just how real and tangible she really as.

"I'm gonna go out," he said to Rude, who was waiting, never having moved from beside the door where he'd been standing. "You know. To see what's going on. Maybe we can get something out o fthis."

Rude watched him go, then bit his lip, grumbled to himself under his breath, and went into the next room to find the others.