"C'mon! Pick up! Pick up!"
Aeris haven't had any contact with her sister in hours. They were supposed to meet for lunch and do a little shopping at the nearby mall that just opened, but when Amanda didn't show up for lunch, Aeris began to worry. It isn't like her sister miss out on any plans. She may have been a little late, but never a no show.
Angry car horns blew angrily as Aeris runs a red light. She huffs as she hit Amanda's name on her phone while also keeping her left hand on the wheel. Still no answer. Aeris rolls her eyes and taps Cloud's name. As expected, the blond doesn't answer. Things are going from bad to worst. Aeris throws her phone on the floor on the passenger side and focuses on the road. Unfortunately, it's lunch time so traffic is a bit heavy in Rocket Town. That's something that always bugged the brunette. Whenever she needed to get to a destination badly, it seems like everyone on the road is either driving like a jackass or moving too slow. Today is no exception. And to add salt onto her irritation, police had set up flares and orange cones because of an accident.
Aeris huffs and suddenly cut her wheel sharply to the right, receiving more angry car horns in the process. She is honestly surprised that the police haven't flagged her down for her reckless driving. She isn't too far from Amanda's apartment, and with her reckless driving, she would be there in no time. Her grip on the steering wheel tightens as she slowly floors her right foot on the gas.
More sharp turns, and Aeris arrives at her sister's apartment. She slams the car door, doesn't bother with the alarm, and run towards the entrance of the complex. She runs up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, until she reaches the third floor. She reaches Amanda's apartment and her heart sinks. The door is slightly ajar. Aeris immediately clutches her pepper spray in her right hand and fishes inside her left pocket with her left hand for her compact pocket knife. It's a gift that was given to her months ago. She thought it was silly to own such a destructive item, but as of this moment, she appreciates it. She reminds herself to thank the person as she cautiously walks inside the apartment.
Nothing appears out of the ordinary in the living room. Pictures of friends and family are scattered about on the walls. Amanda's personal collection of plushies are perfectly aligned on the two bookshelves that are behind the couch. There's no broken glass. Perhaps Amanda forgot to lock her door? Aeris frowns when she realizes that she didn't bother to check and see if her sister's car is parked outside. She feels no threat in the living room so she sits her pepper spray down on the coffee table to grab her phone and dial Amanda's number. Aeris's custom ringtone screeches through the apartment from Amanda's bedroom. Aeris gulps as she quickly places her phone on the coffee table and picks up her pepper spray. She takes one look at the entrance before slowly advancing towards the bedroom.
The ringtone continues to buzz, and serves as a guide for Aeris as she continues walking towards the bedroom. She opens the door, and thanks the heavens that she doesn't see blood everywhere. It's short lived though. Amanda's phone stops ringing, and Aeris walks over to the bed to grab the phone. Feeling no threat, she puts her pocket knife back in her pocket and focuses on Amanda's phone. She doesn't have a passcode so accessing the device is pretty straightforward. Aeris huffs at Amanda's carelessness. She always scolded her sister for leaving her devices unprotected. Amanda is the only person Aeris knows that doesn't have any virus protection or passcodes on anything, yet her devices stayed secured and virus free. Lucky duck.
As expected, most of Amanda's missed calls are from Aeris. She notices that she missed a call from a number that she doesn't recognize and isn't programmed in the phone. Hesitantly, Aeris taps the number and the phone rings.
"Hello. You have reached Reeve Tuesti, Sheriff of Nibelheim. I'm sorry I'm not available. Please leave your name and number, and I'll get back with you as soon as I can."
Aeris taps the end icon and pulls out her phone.
"Hey. It's me. I think we're too late. That sheriff from Nibelheim called Amanda and to make matters worse, she's not here."
"There's gotta be another way to do this." Sephiroth's voice echoes in Tifa's car. As expected, she receives a follow up call from Genesis to iron out the details of their 'date'. They were to meet at a diner for dinner. The nerve of that man. There isn't an official cause of death for her Papa, and he's already advancing on her as if he wasn't the one who killed her father. The thought of Genesis pisses Tifa off. She couldn't believe that this man would be so cruel.
"Sephiroth, we've been over this. There's no other way. Besides, we don't even know where Genesis does his dirty work." Tifa groans out in frustration.
"Just keep that wire tucked into that dress of yours." Sephiroth scolds.
Tifa rolls her eyes. "I got this. Don't worry. How are things on Yuffie's and Reno's end?"
"It's great. So far so good."
Initially, the group were split into two teams. Sephiroth and Vincent were to trail Tifa and ensure her safety whenever she encounters Genesis. Reno and Yuffie were to go to Rocket Town and surveil the abandoned warehouse Genesis and Elena had taken Amanda to ensure he wasn't snooping around there. Reno and Yuffie arrived at the warehouse, but Genesis was nowhere to be found. Reno even hung back while Yuffie left to go get food, and after hours of waiting, Yuffie and Reno decided to abandon the mission. In between their watch, Tifa had informed them about meeting Genesis at a diner in Rocket Town. They didn't want to leave their post in case Genesis stopped by, but he never did. It was a bit bizarre, but Reno and Yuffie left and they are now parked outside the diner across the street.
Reno is a tech-savy man. Setting up a basic wire for Tifa to wear under her dress in the chest area was pretty easy. They may not have eyes, but having ears is just as effective. Reno went over what to say and what not to say to Genesis while she is with him. They didn't want Genesis to catch on to him. He's a sophisticated, intelligent killer. He'll be able to pick up on something if something's afoot. They knew all too well. For years, Sephiroth, Yuffie, Reno, and Vincent were able to hide themselves well into society, never once being discovered. They have to assume Genesis is just as deceptive.
If Genesis were to say anything out of the ordinary, they'll take him out as soon as possible. Unfortunately, a diner is a public establishment so they would have to wait until Genesis is away from people. They also have to consider Tifa's well being. They didn't want her to get caught in the crossfire. Yuffie will listen carefully for anything strange while Reno makes sure the audio is at the best settings. If it became distorted or cut out for any reason, he would adjust it quickly.
Vincent is at another diner that is block away. He has an ear piece in his ear and as soon as Reno or Yuffie gives him a signal to move in, he will. He patiently sips his coffee as he keeps his eyes locked on Tifa. He wouldn't dare let Genesis get a hold of her. In order to stay incognito, he opts for coffee and decides to sit at a table outside, giving him the perfect view. Granted, he couldn't see Tifa very well, but Reno and Yuffie are his additional ears as to what's going on, not to mention he could make out her figure in that blue dress that complements her body well. Genesis definitely won't lay a finger on her.
Sephiroth decides to stay at Genesis's house, but park a block and a half away from his home. It's a bit-farfetched and a reach, but it's possible, at least to Sephiroth, that Genesis may have a secret dungeon in his house. It couldn't be ruled out. Plenty of serial killers have torture chambers and dungeons built into their homes and vehicles. Over prepared and a bit paranoid, maybe, but the silver-haired wants this bastard killed so he could move on with his life.
"Just make sure you communicate with..."
Sephiroth stops speaking in mid sentence as he sees a car pull up near Genesis's house. The person in question gets out of the car and keeps his head low with a black hoodie over his head. Smart. He quickly jogs to Genesis's backyard. For a serial rapist and killer, Genesis isn't too bright. The man is smart enough not to get caught after all these years, but it is baffling to Sephiroth that Genesis doesn't have an alarm system. No dog to protect the home or a motion light. Nothing. The mysterious figure is able get inside with no hassle.
"Sephiroth? Is everything okay?" Tifa asks, bringing Sephiroth back into realty.
"Yeah. Everything is fine. Keep yourself calm and when Genesis get there, don't give yourself up."
Sephiroth hangs up his phone and gets out of his car. He doesn't want to set his alarm to alert anyone so he walks towards Genesis's house without arming it. It is a peaceful evening. Sephiroth snorts at the inhabitants of the homes. Some people have their curtains wide open, and Sephiroth wouldn't be shocked if a few people left their front doors unlocked. This town is too trusting. Just when someone thinks their town is secure and crime free, someone like Genesis comes along. It never fails. The town and its trusting citizens are the reason why Sephiroth and his gang waited so long to carry out the kill. They didn't want to resort to actually murdering Genesis in Nibelheim, but at this point, it may have to come to that.
A light blue flash comes from inside the house. Most likely a flashlight the recent intruder is using. Sephiroth carefully walks towards the back, knife in hand in case anything jumps out at him. He pauses for a moment when he reaches the back door and pushes his weight on the brick wall. He doesn't hear anything out of the ordinary, aside from the intruder's footsteps, and proceeds with caution. Sephiroth doesn't want to alert whoever is inside the home so using the moon's light and the small flash of blue from the flashlight is his only source of light. He hears a loud creak in one of the floorboards in the archway separating the kitchen from the living room. He stops dead in his tracks and strains his ears for any possible sound.
"Hands in the air!"
Sephiroth huffs as he slowly raises his hands. The blue light shines brightly against the back of his hand.
"Slowly turn around and keep those hands up."
Sephiroth did what he was told. He shields his eyes as best as he could from the light.
"Wait... Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth frowns at the man in question. The man drops his light and turns on the light that's on the wall, revealing the living area. Sephiroth's emerald eyes turns into angry slits at the figure standing at the top of the stairs that leads to the second floor of the home.
"Cloud..." Sephiroth's voice is dark. He lowers his hands. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing." Cloud uses the same dark voice. He slowly descends down the stairs, never taking his eyes off of Sephiroth.
"We're both breaking the law here." Sephiroth states. "What detective issues out a search warrant when no one is home?"
"Don't answer my question with a question." Cloud barks.
"Protecting Tifa. I guess you wouldn't know anything about that." Sephiroth snarls.
Cloud's glare intensifies as he reaches the bottom of the stairs. Cloud notices that Sephiroth had put away his knife in his pocket. So typical. Sephiroth sees him as no threat. Cloud snorts in his face. Him and Sephiroth always butted heads with one another throughout their childhood. Sephiroth's disgust and distrust with Cloud was only strengthened when he began dating Tifa. Sephiroth always felt that Cloud wasn't good enough, and to his credit, Cloud proved him right when the blond abruptly ended his relationship with Tifa.
"You have no right to throw her in my face." Cloud grits. "You were just on the outside looking in."
Sephiroth gives Cloud a smug look. "That may be true, but it's also true that I had to help her pick up the pieces of her life when you left her heartbroken."
"Let's stop talking about Tifa." Cloud is beginning to get agitated with Sephiroth.
"Yes. Let's do that then. Get out of my way, Strife." Sephiroth isn't pleased about talking about his childhood friend to the man who broke her heart so many years ago.
"Now why would I want to do that?" Cloud adjusts his posture. "I'm here on police business, yet you're walking into this man's home as if you own the place." He pulls his gun out of his holster. "For me, I could say suspicious activity, and no one would blink."
Dammit. Sephiroth has to admit, Cloud have him there, and Cloud knows it by that cocky smirk he gives Sephiroth. "I'll ask again. Why are you here?"
"Genesis is a dangerous man. I'm sure you're aware of his wife's 'suicide' right, Detective Strife?
Cloud frowns. "How do you know about?"
"It's a small town. Everyone knows about it, but some people think it was a murder."
Cloud lowers his weapon as he thought about Sephiroth's words. "She suspected him."
"And you breaking into his home suggests that you suspect him as well." Sephiroth concludes.
"And what does she plan on doing?! Take a picture of him or record him saying he killed his wife?!" Cloud didn't mean to yell, but he couldn't mask his anger and confusion.
"We both know how Tifa is once her mind is made up. I'm here for proof. Just like you are. If I found something, I was going to report my findings to Reeve Tuesti."
Cloud stares at Sephiroth for a few moments. He isn't sure if what Sephiroth is telling him is the truth or not. Sephiroth was never a deceitful person. Growing up, everyone adored him. Him and Tifa were tight like glue. He always went to school, participated in after school programs, and excelled in everything he did. He was never a troublesome child, however, when it came to Tifa, he would do anything for her. Tifa never made Sephiroth do anything crazy, but Cloud hasn't seen or heard from Sephiroth since he left for college. So much has changed since then. He couldn't just trust sephiroth right off the bat.
"I'm warning you, Sephiroth. Tell Tifa to back off. Let me and Reeve handle this."
Before Sephiroth could respond, his phone vibrates. He pulls it out of his pocket and reads the name that flashes on the screen. Sephiroth looks into Cloud's cerulean eyes and smirk without a word. He turns and leaves the house, leaving a very confused Cloud behind.
She sighs heavily. She is beyond a nervous wreck, but she has to get herself together for her Papa. After Sephiroth abruptly ends their conversation, Tifa places her phone down into the passenger seat. She reaches into her arm rest and grabs a silver flask from inside.
"Something hard to take the edge off?" Reno's voice startles the brunette. For a moment, she have forgotten about her wire.
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"A lot of shuffling and deep breathing." Reno knows all too well. He kept a flask on him on his first few kills. "Just breath. You have four people watching you in some type of way at all times. Nothing's gonna happen."
"I hope not." Tifa replies as she takes a hard swig.
"It won't." Yuffie chimes in. "Just relax and walk into that restaurant with confidence, and let him take control. Get a little flirty if you have to. Vincent can't hear you, but he's at the coffee shop just a block over."
Tifa takes one last swig before placing the flask inside the armrest. She grabs two mints from the metals tin that is on her passenger seat. She grabs her phone, places it in her purse, and gets out of the car. With confidence, somewhat, the brunette struts her way inside the diner and speaks to the person up front and is seated a few moments later.
"Can Vincent see me here?" Tifa whispers to Reno and Yuffie when the host walks away to get a waiter.
She hears some shuffling and Reno's faint voice. "Look to your right."
Tifa looks over and sees the coffee shop in question. She couldn't get a clear view of him, but she sees Vincent holding what seems like a mug. He sips slowly away on his coffee, never taking his eyes off her. Tifa couldn't help but smirk. Vincent looks like a stalker. She's surprised no one is looking over in his direction.
"Tell Vincent to stop looking like a stalker."
Reno and Yuffie both laughs as Reno relays the message to Vincent. "Vincent said Genesis is coming." Yuffie says as her giggles subsides, and got serious again.
Tifa adjusts her hair to make sure her ear piece isn't showing. She takes a quick glance of her dress to ensure the wire couldn't be seen. A few moments later, Genesis is escorted to the table with a waitress at his side. He smiles at her as he sits down across from her. He seems so normal. His black suit appears to be a custom fit. His cufflinks shines as brightly like his smile. Tifa can see why women would be so swoon over the man. He is handsome, but also a predator and a murderer. She has to remember that. This is about her Papa and every woman that was harmed by this monster. Justice will be served.
"My, you look lovely this evening." Genesis comments as the waiter hands them their menus.
"Thank you." Tifa replies as she scans the menu. She settles for a basic chicken salad. She doesn't want to have dinner with the madman across from her, and the sight of him makes her sick. Salad would be easier for her stomach.
Genesis chooses a steak with a baked potato and broccoli for the sides. Tifa eye's catches Vincent's blurry frame at the coffee shop. She could tell he is staring at the pair intently. Her nervousness is starting to show.
"Is something wrong, Tifa?" Genesis's voice snaps Tifa out of her train of thought.
"No. Just looking at the night' sky. It's so beautiful."
Genesis looks outside and makes a satisfied hum.
"Quick thinking, Tifa" Yuffie speaks softly. "Relax and try not to look at Vincent. You may blow his cover."
Tifa swallows away lump and focuses on Genesis. "It's good to see you. I was beginning to think you forgot about me."
Genesis sips his soda before responding. "How could I ever forget a face like yours? I've been busy."
"Heard that a lot." She cocks her head and playfully rolls her eyes. It surprises her that she is able to adapt so quickly. Again, nausea hits her, but she sips her water to fight the feeling. There's work to be done.
"I'm sure you have, but I wasn't too busy to make time for you." He smirks as his lustful eyes darts at her well-rounded bust. He was never able to gaze at her assets since she always dressed in a professional manner whenever he saw her. Sure, she dressed down when they went out a few weeks ago, but it was never as exotic as the blue dress cut low, revealing the split nicely. The dress is already at a short length, and whenever she sits down, it raises an inch or two, showing off her nicely shaped legs.
"How's Tyler?" The brunette woman really is concerned for the young boy. She also wants Genesis to shift his focus on someone else other than her and her body.
"He's doing fine. You were right. My parents were able to give him better comfort than me." Genesis takes another swig of his soda before continuing. "I spoke to him a few days ago, and he's enjoying his stay there. I may keep him there for the remainder of the school year."
Tifa frowns. "But he'll fail this school term. Besides, won't he miss all of his friends?"
Genesis senses the urgency in her voice. "It'll be fine, Tifa. I know you're concerned about him, but I feel like he's connecting more with my parents than with me. We've even made a few jokes here and there."
"Is there any way I can contact him? A phone number or an address?"
"I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind, but I'll ask them just to be sure."
Tifa gives him a genuine, small smile. "Where are they?"
"Mideel." Genesis takes another sip of his soda. Their waiter comes back with their food just as Tifa is about to ask another question.
Tifa subtly taps her right foot two times on the table leg. Yuffie and Reno picks up on the noise and Yuffie begins typing right away. She figures Tifa wants to know the whereabouts of Genesis's son to ensure he is safe. Hell, they are all concerned about his son.
"Yuffie's trying to find his parents now." Reno notes to Tifa as Yuffie's fingers types away swiftly on the keyboard. "You're doing good so far, Tifa."
Tifa clears her throat as she shoves some of her salad into her mouth. Genesis watches her carefully. Even when doing mundane tasks, Tifa's beauty radiates brightly. He feels a small tightness stir inside his pants. He flicks his eyes to the clock that is mounted on the wall on the opposite side of the restaurant.
"Got any dreams?" Genesis asks.
Tifa is beginning to get a little leery, and Reno senses her hesitation as well. He glances at Yuffie, who is still typing away on the keyboard. Genesis did an excellent job in covering his past, but no one is able to hide away from Yuffie Kisaragi. If someone were to live on a park bench, Yuffie would know about it and find that person. There's no escape. To see her struggle to find any information on Genesis's past, aside from the name change, is a bit bizarre to the red-head. Everyone needs a challenge every once in a while.
"Of course." Tifa speaks as she wipes away a few specs of ranch from her mouth. "I want to continue to help the children at the youth center. Buy a house, and maybe travel around the world."
Genesis tilts his head. "No fancy cars and homes?"
Tifa shakes her head. "As long as I have a roof over my head and a reliable vehicle, I'm happy."
Genesis notices that Tifa's mood has changed. She tosses her salad around with her fork and she holds her head against her left fist. Talking about a home since the death of her Papa makes her sad. She misses her Papa deeply. Genesis reaches out to touch Tifa's hand. The touch makes her flinch a little, but she doesn't pull her hand away.
"What about you?" Tifa asks. "Have any dreams?"
"Well of course. I want to get remarried and maybe own more property. A man can have a million things, and you have to make sure that a few of those things are property."
Bingo! Tifa gleefully thought to herself. Her right ear rings as Yuffie happily wails away. It takes everything in Tifa not to wince and rub her ear. The waitress comes by a refills their drinks, flashing a small smile before leaving.
"Shh! You're gonna blow our cover!" Reno hisses at Yuffie. "Tifa, keep him talking about his properties."
"You own several properties?" Tifa asks Genesis. She shoves a forkful of salad into her mouth as she patiently waits for an answer.
Genesis nods his head as he finishes the portion of his steak and begins to dig into his baked potato. "My dad used to always tell me to make sure I have properties so if something happens, I would always have some sort of income to fall back on."
"Costa del Sol? Junon?" Tifa presses.
"Costa del Sol is a bit expensive and hot for my taste. Junon is a bit far. I like to be near my properties in case something happens to it."
Tifa senses the darkness in his voice. If he wants to play then Tifa could play too. She isn't going to back down now. This man killed her Papa, raped, and possibly murdered several women, whom didn't include his wife. He must pay for what he has done.
"So Rocket Town and Nibelheim?"
Genesis smirks at Tifa as he finishes his baked potato. He pushes the plate away, his stomach satisfied and completely full. "I own a few condos in Rocket Town, and of course, my home here. I'm thinking about selling it. Too many memories."
Why? Because you killed your wife? Tifa thought to herself as she took a few sips of her soda. "But you know the one thing I've always desired?" Genesis asks as he leans in closer to Tifa so only she could hear his words. "I've always wanted a room dedicated to all of my wildest fantasies."
"Do any of those fantasies involves a woman? Possibly multiple women?" Tifa purrs, never tearing her eyes away from Genesis's as she takes a sip of her water.
"Of course."
"How about you get the check while I freshen up in the ladies room?"
Genesis nods his head as he leaned back into his seat. Tifa winks at him and gets up from her chair. Trying her best not to trip over anything, Tifa quickly makes her way to the restroom, and heaves heavily when she finally enters the area. She walks over to the mirror and takes in a deep breath before exhaling heavily. She needs to maintain control.
"You need to maintain your control, Tifa." Reno speaks as he makes a few adjustments with the audio to upkeep the pristine sound.
"Thank you for reminding me." Tifa rolls her eyes as she walks by each of the stalls to ensure she's the only one in the bathroom. She doesn't want to alert anyone. "How's your research coming along, Yuffie?"
"Genesis did well to cover his tracks." Yuffie is beyond frustrated that finding any red flags on Genesis has became a daunting task. "I'm using his first name to cross-reference owned property in Rocket Town and Nibelheim to see if anything comes up."
Tifa is grateful that Yuffie is quick with her fingers. That small comfort is immediately dissipated when Tifa clutches her stomach. She wants to throw up her dinner. Something isn't right. Her stomach feels like it is set ablaze from the inside as she winces in pain and slowly falls to the ground.
"Something's wrong."
Both Yuffie and Reno immediately stop what they are doing when the panic in Tifa's voice pierces their ears. Yuffie grabs her phone from her pocket and calls Vincent while Reno begins to fidget with the audio dials.
"Tifa, what's wrong?" Reno asks.
"I...I...I..."
She couldn't speak. She is beginning to choke on her saliva. The room is spinning and she couldn't control her eyes as they rolled to the back of her head. Her body goes limp as a bead of sweat trickles down the right side of her face. Her head collides with the hard, cool tile and her knuckles falls harshly on the floor. She's unresponsive, yet she is aware. Her mind is telling her to get up from the floor and leave the restaurant, or to say something to Reno or Yuffie. Anything to get out of this compromising position. She feels a small trail of drool on the left side of her face as she tries to form some sort of sentence, or anything coherent to get Reno's and Yuffie's attention.
"Tifa? Tifa! Are you okay? Answer me!" Reno turns to Yuffie in a panic. "Are you able to get in touch with Vincent?"
Yuffie frantically shakes her head as she dials Vincent's number again. She curses when she couldn't get a hold of Vincent. Tifa is in imminent danger, and she couldn't wait any longer.
"Keep working on the audio!" Yuffie shouts over her shoulder to Reno as she leaves the car. She doesn't bother to look both ways as she crosses the street.
Patrons of the restaurant were confused when the young woman entered the building. Yuffie scans the area to look for an employee. The janitor would be an excellent choice. She just needs someone to walk her through the area. Impatience has already ran its course inside of the Wutainese woman, and not waiting for another employee to pass by, Yuffie begins stomping through the restaurant.
"Tifa! Tifa!"
All conversations ceases. All eyes are now on Yuffie, who is now a complete mess. This can't be happening. Everything was going according to plan. What went wrong? Tifa didn't use any audible clues that she sensed something was amiss. Vincent and Sephiroth will have her head if she doesn't find Tifa soon.
"Ma'am, may I-"
Yuffie smashes the palm of her hand in a woman's face as she walks to the back where the restrooms are located. She doesn't have anymore time to waste. She's already squandered enough time. Yuffie whips the door open and found nothing. She frowns and proceeds to kick open stalls, silently hoping she doesn't violate any personal space. She would hate to see some poor woman squatting over a toilet. There is still no sign of Tifa and that made Yuffie's heart flutter in panic.
"Ma'am, my manager asked me to escort you out of the building."
"You," Yuffie stares intently at the woman in front of her. "You're the waitress. There was a woman dressed in a blue dress a few moments ago. Where is she and where is the man that was with her?"
The blonde shakes her head in confusion. Yuffie huffs and walks by the waitress. It's rude for Yuffie to act in such a manner, but Tifa's life is at stake and she couldn't afford to lose anymore time. Yuffie bursts through the entrance and runs back across the street to meet Reno and Vincent. Her platonic brother heaves heavily as he roughly ran his fingers through his raven locks. He promised Sephiroth he would look after Tifa and nothing would happen to her. How could he look into his emerald orbs and tell him that Tifa is gone? He's broken his promise to his dear friend.
His palms are beginning to sweat, and his throat goes dry. No, this couldn't happen. Tifa is light of his grim life. He has been through so much in his life. He lost his parents at a very young age, only to be thrown away like common trash into the streets after the war. Sure, he has Yuffie and he'll always have her, but Tifa is different. She's the first woman that knows about his dark secret and instead of running away from him, she embraced him. Embraced not only him but Yuffie and Reno as well. Just being around her makes him calm and collective. He couldn't afford to lose her. Not when things are going so well between them. The last few weeks have been wonderful, and he'll be damned if Genesis or anyone else stood in his way of his happiness.
Yuffie is a mess as she talks about how Tifa was nowhere in the restaurant. Reno places both of his hands on Yuffie's shoulders in a feeble attempt to calm down.
"You're talking way too fast, Yuffie."
"What happened?"
"I'm not sure." Yuffie's voices trails off as she gets her breathing under control. Reno removes both of his hands away from her body and steps back a little give her some room and to also give some of his attention to Vincent. "The last thing we heard her say was that something isn't right. That's when Reno was trying to get the audio while I called you."
Frowning, Vincent unclenches his fists and turns to Yuffie. "When did you call me?"
Yuffie looks into Vincent's eyes, matching his frown. "About a minute ago. I called you two to three times, but I never got an answer. I got frustrated so I went inside, and Tifa was nowhere to be found."
Vincent pulls out his phone and his frown deepens when he not only didn't receive any notifications from Yuffie, but he also doesn't have cell service.
"Who was their waitress?" Vincent asks, never taking his eyes away from his phone.
"Some blonde, but-"
"You and Reno go to the back of the restaurant."
"What are you-"
Vincent turns away, not giving the mortar-mouthed man a chance to finish his sentence. He begins walking across the street to enter the restaurant. His focus is on Tifa. Tifa is the only one that matters at this point. He would have to call Sephiroth later. He doesn't want Sephiroth to find out about Tifa's whereabouts from Reno and Yuffie. Vincent is the one that broke the promise, not Reno or Yuffie. Even the angry drivers on the road could deter him from goal. A man shouts obscenities at the raven-haired man as he continues to walk as if a random citizen isn't yelling at him for walking aimlessly across the street.
Vincent calmly walks inside the building and is greeted by a brunette hostess. Vincent simply walks by with no words exchanged. The brunette calls out to him as he scans the area where Tifa's and Genesis's table may have been. The restaurant is almost at max capacity. It wouldn't be hard to find an empty table.
"Sir, you can't just walk in here and seat yourself."
Vincent looks over to his right to see the brunette glaring at him. He couldn't blame her. He did just rudely walk into the restaurant without so much as a how do you do. "There was man with red hair accompanied by a woman with long brunette hair and she was wearing a blue dress. Where were they seated?"
The woman gives Vincent a questioning look, but decides not to push the man. The color of his eyes screams bloody murder, and the tall, slender man is beginning to give her a foul aura that she couldn't put her finger on. She hastily goes over to her podium and reviews her seating chart.
"If I'm not mistaken, the two people in question should have been sitting over there," The hostess jabs her finger into a general direction. Vincent follows to where her finger is pointing and he did see two tables empty. One table is completely cleared, and the other still have silverware and the check book on it.
"Cindy is the waitress of that area." The hostess looks up and notices that Vincent isn't even looking at her anymore.
"Thank you." He calls over his shoulder and leaves the hostess in confusion.
It only takes him two maybe three minutes tops to get inside of here. The restaurant isn't a five star restaurant, but Vincent could tell it is managed with pride. There is no way someone cleared off the table so quickly and made it looked as though no one was sitting there within three minutes. Vincent opts to look at the table with the silverware and checkbook on it. He opens up the checkbook and saw Genesis's signature on the bill.
"Can I help you sir?"
Vincent turns to see a blonde-haired woman standing directly behind him with a puzzled look upon her face. He glances at the woman's name tag that read Cindy, and then back her with no emotion on his face. There is something Vincent didn't quite understand. According to Reno and Yuffie, Tifa said that something was wrong, but everything was going fine up until she went into the restroom. They didn't have any visual feed, which is now proving to be detrimental, but Tifa was given clear instructions what to do and what not to do if things went wrong. She was able to get Genesis to talk about his property with no hassle. Everything was in the green light so what went wrong?
"Sir, can I help you." Cindy asks in a more irritated tone. She needs to clear this table for the next customer.
Ignoring her again, Vincent glances at the table and notices that there were one glass of soda on the right side with a napkin over a half eaten baked potato, and on the left side there were two glasses and a chicken salad that is mostly consumed. Assuming Tifa ordered the salad, he takes a closer look at the leftover food. There is nothing out of the ordinary from the food. It looks like it is cooked to perfection and not tampered with. One of the glasses is completely empty, but the other one is barely touched. There is a pinched of white foam on one side of the glass. Vincent frowns and sits down in the chair.
Cindy frowns at Vincent and is about to ask the strange man to leave, but is interrupted by a couple who are looking for directions to the nearest gas station. Vincent's frown deepens as the confusion continue to course through his body. Tifa's had water it should've been easy was to spot the foam inside her drink. How is it that she didn't notice it, and more importantly, how did it get there? Granted, he is taller than Tifa so he can better scout an area than she could because of his height, but a child could see that something is slipped into her drink.
"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave." Cindy's voice is more forceful.
Vincent stands up from the chair and gets into Cindy's personal space. "Do you always slip something into patrons drinks?" His voice is low and daunting.
Cindy gasps and tries to walk away, but Vincent grabs her hand roughly before she could walk away. He is thankful that the table next to them is currently not occupied and the other diners are too busy in their conversations to question Vincent's and Cindy's action.
"You have some explaining to do. Walk outside and go to the back."
Cindy doesn't want to cause any trouble. She turns around and begins walking towards the entrance like she's told to. She thinks about running for her life, but opts against it considering she has a murderous-looking tall man behind her that would probably hunt her down if she did. Instead, she turns to the right and walks into an alley that leads to the back of the restaurant. Her heart begins to race as she sees Yuffie and Reno. There is shattered glass on the ground. Cindy looks up and notices that the cameras are knocked down from its position. Reno kicks the cameras underneath the large, green trash bin while Yuffie slowly approaches Cindy, sizing her up as she walks.
"She's the reason why everything went wrong." Vincent explains.
"I...I... don't know what you all are thinking, but I didn't do anything."
"Could you be a little more convincing than that?" Reno groans. "What the hell happened?"
"She slipped some drugs into Tifa's drink." Vincent answers.
"What the hell is wrong with you, lady?!" Reno shouts. "You've potentially killed a woman!"
Cindy's words are cut short when Yuffie runs up to her and grabs her by the throat. Normally, Vincent would intervene and stop Yuffie. There were several times he would have to restrain Yuffie from doing anything stupid, but not this time. This time he would let anything unfold. If it means he could find Tifa, he will allow it.
"Listen here you stupid cow, she's our friend. Now where the hell is she?" Yuffie glares as her grip on Cindy's throat tightens.
"I don't know who she is!" Cindy gasps out. She tries to claw away Yuffie's grip, but she soon realizes that it is mistake because Yuffie's grip got tighter.
"You better start talking before you get killed." Reno speaks darkly as he folds his arms around his chest.
"Okay...okay...I'll talk." Cindy is pushed to the ground and she begins to gasp for air and choke. Vincent turns around for a split moment to make sure no employees are walking down the alley to throw away trash. He turns back, and Cindy is now standing with her hands over her now bruised neck.
"He arrived a few minutes after her so he pulled me to the side and asked me to drop some pain medicine in her drink. He said she wasn't big on taking medicine so tricking her was the only way."
"Are you born this stupid?" Yuffie narrows her eyes. It isn't possible for a human to be this stupid, right? "Some random man asks you to slip 'pain medicine' inside someone's drink and you do it?"
"I thought it was legit!" Cindy croaks out. "The medicine was from a normal packaging."
"Except it wasn't drugstore medicine." Vincent grits. "It was a lethal drug that he swapped before he entered the restaurant."
"We ought to throw your ass in this trash bin." Reno growls as he walks up to Cindy, but is stopped by Yuffie.
"We won't get much out of her. Time is running out, and Tifa needs us. Let's regroup." Vincent walks away without another word being said, with Reno following right behind him.
Yuffie glances at the two men before looking at Cindy's distraught figure. Yuffie takes two steps closer to Cindy and gives her the most dangerous look she could possibly give the blonde.
"If anything happens to my brother's girl, I will personally come back and slaughter you into pieces, and no one will ever find you. I'll be sure to leave pieces of you all over Gaia to prevent anyone from identifying you body."
With that, Yuffie walks away, leaving Cindy to regurgitate her recently eaten lunch by the trash.