Family Pride and Babysitting
The White Giant was an arrogant, smug, and vile man. He had no friends and very little family. Eddie was his cousin; and even though they had not been close and Eddie never could stand to be around the White Giant for very long, he was still upset that someone had dared eliminate one of his family members in a very degrading manner.
Eddie placed his fingers in front of his face in a steeple. His hair is brown and looks very much like Reno's, but without the ponytail. He wore a suit with the jacket left open, the top button undone and no tie. His brown eyes stared coolly at the little man in front of him.
Upon hearing of the dead bodies earlier this morning, Eddie sent a couple of his men over to the jail to bail out Greasy, who would have knowledge of what exactly had transpired. He breathed in a long slow breathe before speaking, "Tell me who killed my dear cousin and the others."
"Uh...it was the Valentines, sir. They came outta nowhere and their leader, Vincent Valentine, p-pulled the trigger on yer cousin. He m-made him c-crawl into the-the... "Greasy's voice started breaking more and more as his nerves grew worse.
Eddie held up his hand to silence the man's rambling. "That's enough." There was no need for Greasy to elaborate, everyone knows the stories of the hero's as well as any information available about The Valentines. Eddie truly couldn't care any less about the many men killed fighting The Valentines. They were expendable, easily replaceable, and therefore their lives had little value. But his cousin's death seemed a personal affront. For that he would get revenge. Maybe, he'd even be able to get the cargo and turn a profit as well.
The only way to get revenge on The Valentines would be to harm one of them because they had no friends or family outside of their group. Vincent, though, does have people he cares for outside of his small band of merry men.
A smile crept onto Eddie's face. Greasy tried to back away, but the heavy hand of one of Eddie's personal guards kept him where he was. Eddie would get his revenge. He would go after the people Vincent cherished. Maybe he would even maim one or two of The Valentines. He would have to discover their lair and he knew exactly who to make find out for him.
He stood slowly and walked around his desk, trailing his fingers along the polished surface. He faced Greasy and looked down at him with barely contained disgust. "You are a pathetic little man. I should have you killed for letting the Giant die. However, his death was bound to be soon anyways no doubt, and there is still something useful for you to do."
Greasy tried to back away again, trying to get away from Eddies cold eyes. "A-Anything S-Sir!" He squeked.
"Find out where The Valentines stay."
Tifa tucked the children into bed and then walked from the upstairs living quarters to the downstairs bar. She stood next to Cloud at the bar. Cid, sitting there, raised his tea to his lips. "Ya'll have a great date kids."
"Thankyou for watching the kids for us."
He waved Tifa's comment away, "Ah, it ain't nothin'. Now get goin." Cloud and Tifa thanked him again then left.
Throughout the next couple of hours, Cid continued drinking his tea, mixed with a good bit of Tifa's drinks. He was just taking a sip when a knock sounded at the door.
"Huh...the $#!" Only a few lights were on. The sign outside even said "Closed". "#!& off! We're closed!" He took a hearty swig, irritated that his solitude had been interrupted.
The door burst in, almost coming off the hinges due to the force. Five bulky men walked in and surrounded Cid. Cid leaned back against the bar on his elbows. He gave them an unimpressed look all the while thinking that he should have brought his weapon.
"Five against one? Well come on moth..."
A punch to the jaw cut him off and started the fight. Cid retaliated by throwing a shot glass in the face of the man directly in front of him. It shattered on contact. Many of the pieces remained in his face. Blood poured from the cuts and the man only became enraged instead of turning away.
Cid moved from the stool and moved to strike at another one of the goons as they all rushed at him. Cid managed to block a few of the punches, but it was hopeless. Their huge forms crowded him and Cid could not find enough space to maneuver in.
He fought well. After all he did help save the planet more than once. But soon enough the fight (or beating) ended. Cid crumpled to the floor. One of his arms cracked more as he landed on it and blood pooled quickly around his body. When Cid awakens, he'll be in a lot of pain. A couple of the brutes brought the kids down and they left the sceen, leaving the front door wide open.
Tifa held tightly to Cloud's waist as they sped through the streets on Cloud's bike. Cloud made a sharp turn and pulled into the alley next to Seventh Heaven. Instead of getting off, Tifa snuggled closer to Cloud's back. "Hmm, that was fun."
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."
"We should do this more often."
Cloud gave a curt nod, "Come on. Cid's probably ready to go."
Tifa reluctantly let go and slid off the bike. As they came around the front they noticed the front door swinging open. They tensed and moved with caution. Tifa was the first through the door and spotted Cid first.
"Cid!"
Tifa ran to the man lying prone on the floor. Cloud pulled out his heal materia and began to cast while Tifa moved Cid into a more comfortable position. Suddenly she stood and her face paled.
"The children!"
Tifa took the stair steps several at a time. She rushed into their bedroom. The blankets were scrunched up and the pillows askew. The sheets soon were on the floor as Tifa searched the room hysterically.
Cloud ran upstairs and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'm taking Cid to the hospital. Can you call the others?"
"Uh-huh."
Cloud quickly left. Tifa could hear the door slam and then the motorcycle's engine revving. She went to the phone and dialed to make one of the hardest calls of her life.
"Barret? It's Tifa. Marlene...Marlene's gone."
Sorry it took me so long to post, but I've had a busy couple of weeks. Please review.