This is a strange, confusing chapter. I'll shed more light on it next time.
"Is everything to your satisfaction, miss?"
Tifa nodded and answered that everything was alright. The waiter left, and she delved back into her thoughts. She tried to eat the salad in front of her with as much dignity as she could.
"The nerve," she thought. "He makes me come here and just leaves me?! Who does he think he is?"
Tifa realized that she was eating to fast and put her fork down. For the one thousandth time, she took a deep breathe and gave up on being upset. She was too emotionally drained to keep caring.
"I've been here for a half-hour…what's going on here? Why are we even here to begin with? He did say something about 'if it all goes well'…but he refused to tell me what 'it' was. What'll happen if 'it' doesn't go well at all?"
She leaned back slightly and cringed in pain. Her hand flew to her back and touched the soar spot.
"That was the worst bruise I got," Tifa whispered. "It's been more than a month and it still hurts."
Tifa rubbed the bruise discreetly and folder her hands on her lap.
"I asked you to stop keeping secrets from me…but you still have many more to keep…right Cloud?"
"Excuse me, miss?"
Tifa saw a Chinese man in a red, Rolex jacket standing over her. A second man stood behind her.
"Yes?"
"You are Miss Tifa Lockhart, yes? I am Yung Min."
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"We would like to speak to you in private if you don't mind," he said.
"Actually," Tifa answered, "I can't leave here at the moment. Try me again at another time."
Tifa felt something being pressed against her back. She titled her head back, slightly, and saw the gun.
"We insist," he said.
She sneered in contempt but obediently got up from her seat. Forcing her to walk a few feet in front of them, they left the Peacock Alley.
"How do I get out of this one?" Tifa thought.
Her mind raced for an answer. They walked across the lobby, which was crowded at this time of night. Bell carts were sailing across the floor left and right. Tifa finally found her opportunity.
As luck would have it, a heavily bell cart intersected their path. At the right moment, Tifa quickened her step, and the bell cart separated her from the two men. She pushed the suitcases over and they fell on her 'captors'. The bellman attending the cart went into a panic.
Without wasting time, Tifa made a break for it.
"I…I'm so sorry!" the bellman stammered.
The bellman pushed a heavy suitcase off of Min, who got up and took off to catch up with Tifa. The other man did the same, leaving the confused bellman to clean up the mess.
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The telephone in the great room rang and was quickly picked up by Heather. With a light yet awkward load of towels in her arms, Heather hunched her shoulder and squeezed the phone against her ear.
"Hello…may I help you?"
"Yes…I am outside right now…tell Mr. Cid McPherson and Miss Shera Cresent to meet me at the door…I have something to share with them."
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"I like that form you're in right now," Sephiroth stated. "I always have."
"That's because you're a pervert."
Sephiroth gave Cloud an incredulous look.
"You spew hypocrisy," he replied. "I remember what you were like five years ago…you were the real-life version of James Bond."
"If I'm James Bond," Cloud replied with a smile, "Then you are Golgo 13."
Cloud victoriously drank a glass of sake in one gulp.
"I'm tired of small talk," Cloud said. "Tell me what I've come to hear...I have a lady waiting for me a Peacock's.
A waitress came past the table and swiftly retrieved the empty sake bottle. She asked if they wanted another round. Sephiroth made eye-contact with Cloud, and he shook his head.
"No thank you…"
The waitress gave Sephiroth a wink and walked away to attend to other tables.
"So," he said. "Why you are here…"
"Finally!" Cloud cried in exasperation.
"You'll be singing a different tune before I'm through."
Sephiroth saw two big, blue eyes stare at him with childish curiosity. It was telling a child a story.
"You do remember the incident at your old estate back in South Africa, don't you."
If looks cold kill, the silver-haired villain would have died on the spot. Cloud turned away in anger. It was a sore subject.
"Sorry," Sephiroth replied teasingly. "Did I hit a nerve?"
"Go to hell," Cloud muttered.
He continued without showing any offense to the reply.
"If it makes you feel any better," Sephiroth said, "Blue Lotus... didn't attack the estate."
Sephiroth had completely won Cloud's attention.
"Surprised? They had nothing to do with it at all…we may have sooner or later…but someone else beat us to the punch…a mess for us and Shinra…"
"And how do you explain the letter that was left in my father's study?" Cloud asked. "We found a similar one just a couple of weeks ago…it was Blue Lotus."
"And the letter you received in South Africa was forgery…I have proof too."
Sephiroth took out a sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to Cloud. He reached for a small bag, unzipped it, and pulled out a magnifying glass.
Cloud slowly scanned the paper and recognized it.
"This is the letter that I found in the study," he whispered. "How did you get it?"
"We stole a few things from the company while storming it."
Sephiroth handed Cloud a smaller piece of paper with a blue spades symbol on it and the magnifying glass.
"Look very closely at the symbols on both pages," Sephiroth commanded. "What do you notice?"
Cloud strained his eyes through the magnifying glass and glanced at each of the symbols. For a while, there was nothing…until the striking realization came to him.
"God save me…the symbol on the letter…you can't see it easily…but the normal symbol is slightly darker than the one on this letter."
"Only people like us can notice it," Sephiroth replied. "And only with a magnifying glass...it's that hard to see...are you convinced?"
"Barely..."
Cloud handed the papers and magnifying glass back. "If BL didn't do it," he said curiously, "then who did?"
"Another player on the table," Sephiroth replied. "Apparently, another organization is manipulating the seams...I myself do not know who they are...Gerald doesn't have much more knowledge than I do...but I do know this. Shinra and his company were trying to protect secrets about our kind...Gerald wants to expose these secrets in hopes of innovation...and the third party...is hell-bent on destroying people like you and me."
Cloud supported his head up with one hand. He began to think that having another round of sake wouldn't be such a bad idea.
"I feel your pain," Sephiroth said. "It's my problem too. Then again...I've been completely bored out of my mind...I like conflict."
"Is that all you can think about?" Cloud whispered harshly. "Your entertainment? Your amusement?"
"You say that like it's a bad thing...I thought you did too."
Cloud raised his hand in defeat, eyes closed wearily.
"Ah, what the heck," he replied. "Let's order another round of sake, Seph...it's not like it's going to affect us much."
"Here here!"
Sephiroth noticed something behind Cloud and leaned to the side to get a better view.
"Isn't that your girlfriend right there?" he asked.
Cloud turned around and saw Tifa standing amidst of the tables. She was breathing visibly from running.
"I think she's looking for you," Sephiroth teased. "Your girlfriend misses you...I hope she recognizes you."
"The only reason I look like this tonight," Cloud replied, "is because you instructed me to...to amuse you!
Cloud crooned the last three words angrily and left the table. Sephiroth was laughing at him.
"Ah, go on with your bonnie lass...I'm through talking with you anyhow."
"Resist all temptation, Cloud. Resist all temptation...you're in public."
Tifa slowly walked forward deeper into the restaurant, looking left and right. Cloud put his hand on her shoulder, and she gasped at the sudden touch.
"What are you doing here?" Cloud asked.
It took Tifa a moment to recognize him. She let out a sigh of relief.
"I've been looking everywhere for a whole half-hour," Tifa said. "I'm being chased."
"Chased?!" Cloud asked. "By whom."
"Some guy named Yung Min."
The name was familiar. Cloud strained to remember. He grabbed Tifa by the arm and led her to the table, just when Sephiroth was receiving the check.
"Back so soon," Sephiroth said.
"Seph, do you remember the name Yung Min?"
Sephiroth repeated the name to himself and thought hard.
"Oh, yes!" he retorted. "Yung Min...We had a tango with him several years back...during that whole thing with the opium trade and..."
Yung Min appeared at the entrance of the restaurant, with six men behind him. Cloud quickly saw them.
"...And the Triads..." he finished.
Min waved the men forward.
"I think it's time to leave," Sephiroth declared.
Warned ya...