White Desire
Chapter 8
I can't believe I'm doing this. I cannot believe that I'm allowing this to happen. And I can't believe I'm going to do the thing that I never thought I'd be doing. This hadn't even crossed my mind... Tifa was more than just a little irritated with the way things had turned out. She was on her way back to the bar and needless to say, she was rushing along much quicker than she had to get to Shin-Ra headquarters. She didn't have a chance to speak with Reno on her way out and it was probably better that way. Tifa really didn't have the desire to. And as she trekked, all she could think about was the conversation she'd held with Rufus before she left.
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"What...? You want something else from me? As though I haven't done enough. I've done more than enough. I came at your request, I've attempted to treat you with the utmost courtesy and yet, you're asking me for more. I answered your questions, you lied to me and manipulated me. You have no right to ask anything more." Tifa was outraged by his request. Rufus had absolutely no idea who he was talking to if he thought he could get more out of her. It was hard enough having to deal with the other things. Now he was just adding to it.
The president was quiet as he listened to her. As if he would interrupt someone. That was rude, and he simply did not do things of that sort. He was actually getting tired of her whining and had to stifle a yawn. When she had finally stopped yammering, an eyebrow raised and he turned to her. "Are you done yet? We have a compromise. As long as you do exactly what I say, the other members of the former faction will remain in one piece. Once you break that, I will be unable to guarantee their safety. Do you comprehend the situation that you are in?" He had explained it as clearly as he could, so if she didn't understand this, she was a lot dumber than he had thought.
Fortunately that wasn't the case. Tifa had heard every word he said and she had listened. She was going to comply with whatever he asked her to do, but she wasn't going to enjoy it. That wasn't an obligation she had to fulfill. Her look was somewhat pained as she ducked her head. How could this man have no compassion? That only made her more angry. She sat down in the chair he had deemed as hers during the visit and resisted the temptation to sigh. Although she was pretending to be calm, the inside of her wanted nothing more than to tear him to pieces...and that wasn't a good thing. "...Fine. What is it that you want me to do?"
She was eating out of the palm of his hand and that was exactly where he wanted her. At this rate, he could probably get her to do whatever he wished, even when it came to...manly urges. Of course, those were nonexistent thoughts in his mind, so that would never come up (at least he hoped not). He had remembered Reno mentioning her, though, so perhaps he could give Reno a bonus with a payment of Tifa. Rufus nodded slowly to her consent and then nearly gave a smirk. "Well, then. I am pleased to see that we have an accord. From this moment forward, you will be acting as the relayer between the former faction of yours and my company. You will report to me on each plan that is formulated and until I feel that you are no longer a threat, you will be beneath my command." He turned his gaze to the window for a moment, merely being thoughtful before returning his sights to her. "Typically I would not feel the need to do this, however, with your profession, I cannot assume that your current wages will you keep you alive, therefore I will also be paying you a rather handsome sum for your work." It was a common thought that money could buy just about anything, from happiness, to friends, and to allies. Rufus had yet to learn whether that was true or not.
He wanted her to pose as...a Turk? It sounded like a job that the Turks would do, a covert operation. She wondered why he was asking her to do it when he could ask one of them instead. Then it came as faintly logical to her. He needed someone with the mind of the resistance within the resistance not to arouse any suspicion. It was a rather clever way of looking at it, and for a very brief moment, she was impressed. That was quickly tossed out the window and she went back to feeling angry. It seemed a little strange that he was going to pay her for this, but it made it feel like he wasn't all bad. There was some type of compassion, perhaps a little difficult to see, but it existed. If only he'd show it more and to a greater extent. Oooh! What am I feeling this way for! She nodded to him and then rose from her seating. "Fine." There wasn't much else that she could say.
There was another nod given to her and Rufus lifted his cellular phone from his desk as he gestured to it with his other hand. "You are going to go to Wutai and break the others out. Although this is a planned operation, the number of soldiers you decimate is irrelevant." He couldn't think of anything he needed at that particular moment and felt it was best to bid her a farewell. "You are dismissed, Miss Lockhart. I look forward to hearing from you again." The words might have sounded kind, but there was no feeling attached to them. As she headed for the door, he spoke again, as though he had forgotten something (quite a non-presidential thing to do). "Miss Lockhart." When she turned to him, he pointed to his cell phone again. "Keep your phone on. I will be contacting you that way." Then she had left. And silence filled his office again. He wondered what it would be like having a sensible young woman in his league. She was wild, and she needed to be tamed...or not. There was something about her that he found to be of interest, but he could not yet understand what that was.
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She had stopped outside of the entrance to her bar, feeling more out of place than she ever had before. She was feeling guilty for having to keep all of this inside and wondered how the Turks had managed to pull it off. She was a human being, she had feelings. There wasn't a single part of her that was robotic, although at the particular moment, she was wishing for that to be the case. A hand reached out and gently brushed over the sturdy oak door as though she was seeing it for the first time. Then she leaned her body frame against it. She really wanted someone to hug her; anyone; it didn't matter who, just someone. I hate myself for this. I don't know if I can do this at all. But if I don't... She didn't care so much about herself, but she was worried about the others.
As the door opened, a rather surprised Vincent was suddenly finding himself holding Tifa within his arms. It was a strange feeling for him to experience, having not remembered anything of the sort for many, many years. His eyebrows furrowed when his gaze had found hers and then he held her by the shoulders gently. "Tifa, are you all right? I tried to call you to tell you not to bring anything, but the call wasn't...exactly going through." Just by looking at her face, he could tell there was something wrong, but he didn't know what, and wasn't even sure he wanted to be informed. Females were sentimental and moody, and he didn't really want any part in that.
Her eyes looked up into the identical orbs of his own and she wanted so badly just to tell him all that had happened. Vincent wasn't Cloud, but he was just as good for moments like these. In fact, he was better. Vincent was the more caring one of the two and with the way Cloud had been acting lately, Tifa wasn't sure if she wanted to be around the young man too much more. She shook her head slowly and then bent her neck, her gaze dropping to the golden clasps upon his cloak. "...Just hold me for a little bit longer. Please, Vincent...? Just a little bit."
Her companion's look only became more confused and then he nodded slowly, releasing one shoulder to guide her inside and then close the door. The last thing the people needed to see was something as strange as that. In the middle of the day, he knew there wouldn't be people wandering into the pub, and he was quite pleased by that. His arms enfolded around her, keeping her in a secure embrace. If she needed that feeling of protection, then he would offer it the best that he could. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he was doing something he hadn't done for quite a while. He wanted her to talk to him, to confide in him, but he couldn't find the words to convince her to do just that. "...Tifa." He felt some kind of strange comfort coming from this action and began to lift a hand into her hair.
"Oooh! What are you two doing?" Marlene had marched up the stairs and she stopped at the entrance to the basement, gawking at the two by the door. An eyebrow was lifted, probably out of a questioning fashion rather than anything else and her gaze began to switch between the two. She'd never seen Tifa look so distraught and Vincent...she'd never seen do anything of the sort. She wasn't sure whether there was something between them, or if there was just some comfort in the air. "Are you two...in lo--"
Tifa quickly pushed herself past Vincent and she shook her head. Not this again! It was better to stop the young girl before she could get too ahead. "N-no! He was trying to make me feel better!" She turned away from both and slipped her hands behind her back. She couldn't be completely truthful, but the others in Wutai did need her help. "Cloud and the others were imprisoned by Shin-Ra. We need to go to Wutai and break them out before something else bad happens." Her right hand withdrew a set of black gloves and then she put them on before turning back to the two. "We've no time to lose! We have to go now!"
The infiltration to Wutai was much easier than what it normally would have been. Tifa was fairly certain that Rufus had already informed the others of her arrival, at least...informed the officials that were actually going to make a difference to his company. By listening to the random chatter from the other soldiers populating the area, Vincent and the brunette were able to make their way into the underground passages. And of course, finding that marked cell was fairly easy to do because Yuffie's voice could be heard down the hall, and probably farther than that.
Tifa paused in front of the locked door and her head turned to look in both directions and as Vincent stopped by her, he gavea gentle nudge. She seemed to be stalling and he couldn't figure out why. She turned to him and nodded with a vague look of observation, before turning to the cell and with a single high kick, the lock busted off and the barred door creaked open. "Everyone out, out, out. Let's just go." She wasn't in the mood to stay around and talk. It would just make everything easier if they could return to Edge.
Cloud and the others quickly rose to their feet and all four started to crowd the other two, the ones they had deemed as their saviours. The young blonde-haired man didn't even have to call them. He thought that was true friendship, to have the bond where words no longer needed to be spoken. He'd practically shoved the others to the side in order to throw his arms around Tifa and embrace her. And not too long ago, Vincent had done the same...sort of. "I've never been so happy to see you two in my life." That was probably the truth.
As much as she wanted to fight it, she didn't and her arms rose to return that soft gesture. Then she chuckled slightly, putting aside all of the uncertainties she'd had earlier in the day. "We're happy to see you too, and in one piece. However, can we please carry the welcoming ceremony back to where we don't have soldiers to worry about?" She gave a rather tight smile and gently pushed him away, causing herself to back into who she thought was Vincent, but was much too soft.
"Please, if you would, I'd appreciate it if you watched where you were going." That damn haughty tone again. Scarlet lifted a hand to brush herself off, although everything was already in place. She folded her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at the others, primarily Tifa, since the brunette was in the front. "You again! Don't you get tired of being lugged around, you piece of meat, you?" As far as Scarlet was concerned, Tifa was only useful for her cleavage. In fact, if the two could've withstood each other, the blonde could've taught the brunette a few things about the male sex...which was always exciting. She cackled a few times and then withdrew that shotgun she'd used earlier. "It seems as though the lovely young woman has fallen into my trap. I'm pleased, and I'm sure the president will be as well. We failed on your execution the first time, but it won't happen again."
Another lift of her leg, and Tifa caused the shotgun to sail through the air, leaving Scarlet fairly defenseless. The brunette knew that her opponent had never been quite adept in fighting hand-to-hand combat, so it was a winning situation for them in the end (at least she hoped it to be). "You'll let us go for now." Then Tifa leaned in closer to her, softening her tone, so the others wouldn't hear. "Because President Shin-Ra told you to." Pulling back, a rather pleased smile came over her. She'd never felt so happy to throw something like that in Scarlet's face. She knew the blonde-haired female was more than just a little envious. That was apparent when she had come in dressed as the journalist. And rather than just passing by, Tifa took a moment to back hand her. Oh, how it felt good to do that. Then she turned to the others and gestured for them to follow. "Come on, you guys. Until Shin-Ra has better workers beneath its belt, there's no reason to waste our time with the likes of people here."
The others began to follow her rather uncertainly. She did seem to be fairly confident, which wasn't something they were used to. Perhaps it was because she seemed over-confident. Scarlet narrowed her eyes and shot an icy glare to the new leader and a hand rose to brush over her tender cheek. That action was going to leave a bruise and if that was the case, then Tifa was going to pay dearly. If she wanted to, she could've exposed the so-called journalist for what she was doing, but she was aware that it would anger Rufus terribly...and she still needed a chance with him. She turned her back to the others, the sign that she was going to let them go without a fight. If only they knew the trouble they were getting into. Well, they'd find out soon enough.
Back in Edge, Tifa was feeling much more comfortable in the basement of her bar. Down there no members of Shin-Ra could interrogate her, no irritating blondes could try to destroy her future. She gave a sigh of relief and gave a fairly content smile as she leaned back upon the couch and started to curl up. It seemed that the upcoming night would be the first one where she'd sleep peacefully though the night. When she was nudged in the shoulder by Cloud, she lifted a hand to brush him away. "Heeeeey, stop thaaaat. Just when I'm getting comfortable, you've got to disturb me, ne?"
Cloud gave a soft chuckle as he pulled her up to make it look like she was paying attention. Vincent, among the others, was wondering how she had gotten the news that the others had been taken in Wutai, and they were looking for an answer. "Hey, Tifa, we're all really grateful for what you did. That Scarlet...she knows who you are...right? Doesn't that mean that she can turn you into Shin-Ra?" He was faintly surprised about how the two had acted with each other. It made it seem like Tifa and Scarlet were once friends and their relationship turned sour. He was nervous about that, wondering if his companion, the woman he cared so much for, would be all right.
Fortunately for her, Barret spoke up to explain. He had been there, after all. He shook his head at the young blonde-haired male. "When Tifa and I went to Junon back then, we'z wuz taken captive an' Shin-Ra had plans for a public execution. Those two females didn't exactly hit it off." He chuckled slightly, remembering how the girls had reacted with one another. From the outside perspective, it was quite funny, but he knew not to laugh out loud. Tifa wouldn't appreciate that. She nodded to him with a smile before raising to her feet.
"So everything's going to be okay, right? Like Shin-Ra's not going to use this to their advantage? If Scarlet says something, you'll be held responsible. That's not really...something I want to happen." Cloud joined her and folded his arms over his chest. I suppose I'm just a little worried. You can handle yourself, though, Tifa, and you proved it today. I think I speak for all of us when I say that I'm proud of you and what you accomplished. I never thought you were the type to take control of a situation, but you did, and you did a good job." He patted her upon the back. It was starting to seem like Tifa was one of the guys.
The others nodded to her when she met the other gazes in the room. Even Marlene, who'd been so good about keeping the bar tidy looked happy over Tifa's success. The brunette looked around to the others and that guilt began to eat at her again. Here she was with some of the sweetest people and she was betraying them. At least she felt remorse for it. If she didn't, that would make her as bad as Rufus. She slipped her hands behind her back and then ducked her head. "I...I'm really so fortunate to have people like you guys in my life. Thank you. I'll find a way to repay you, somehow." Then she turned away from the others and started to trudge up the stairs.
"Hey, wait a second. You can't go anywhere. We haven't talked about what we're going to do to Shin-Ra now." Cloud looked to the others and it was fairly apparent that they agreed. Tifa cautiously made her way to the chair by the main computer and sat down. If they were going to talk about this, she hoped they would make it quick. The younger man was quiet for a moment and then he spoke up. It was just like the older days. "We've found that they think the new energy source is in Wutai. We don't know what the source is yet, but it must not be mako, because I don't remember there being a reactor in that area. I'm pretty sure that Rufus wouldn't make a big deal out of nothing without a good reason, so he's got Scarlet there. We were unable to crack anymore information out of her, so we're going to have to rely on Tifa to have that interview with him."
Tifa lifted her hand and waved it back and forth. "I was contacted by the Turks and the interview was cancelled. I won't be speaking with President Shin-Ra until he sends word to me again. We may need another plan." Lies here, lies there, these were becoming an every day thing. Soon enough, Tifa was going to crack beneath the pressure, and she hoped it wouldn't be in front of anyone important. Her hands lowered and rested upon her lap as her eyes met the others. It was probably safest for her to create the plan...or not. Probably not. "So, you'll need to think up a new scheme, Cloud. Let me know when you've got one. I'll be more than pleased to take a part in it."
The sea-green eyed young man blinked a couple of times as he listened. She had been so reluctant before, so he didn't understand where the change of heart came from. He nodded slowly and then grinned. He'd come up with a plan already. "You already spoke with the Turks, right? The Turks are the closest you can get to Rufus without talking to the man himself. So befriend the Turks and see if they'll give any information. Actually...I heard Shin-Ra was having problems with their employment. How about some of us go and apply?" His glance looked over the others. If they applied for work in Shin-Ra, they could get access to that information they were lacking now. And the more he thought about that, the more he realised he could only use Tifa for that. Again, she was the only one that Rufus didn't know. And even if the Turks knew about it, they could dress Tifa up again and she'd be in disguise. Before anyone else could speak on that, he gestured to the brunette by the computer. "Tifa, we'll need you. No one else can apply for work there without giving away our plans. We'll be relying on you and your...feminine charm."
Marlene lifted the outfit that she had worn when she went on the interview and Tifa's left eyebrow twitched. Not this again! Irk. Oh, well. If I really have to...I guess I will. I bet Reno will get a kick out of this. She gave a soft sigh and then rose out of her chair, and then gave a half-hearted nod. "Fine. Whatever. Eventually I'm just going to wear stuff like that all the time." A hand rested upon her hipbone and then she nodded again, this time more reassuringly. "I'm going to my room to rest. We'll carry out your plan in a couple of days, Cloud. I'm sure the others could use a break as well." She received a bunch of nods from people who looked like they hadn't rested for a few days. For some reason, it made her smile to know that her opinion was so appreciated. Her hand lifted and she gave a slight wave before dismissing herself. Little did she know that the group was having many mixed feelings, especially Cloud. There was something different in the air and although they didn't know what it was yet, they'd find out.
