AN: Chapter 4. If you are reading this feel free to leave a review with any advice. Yesterday's chapter was a little short, so I'm hoping to make this one longer and with better description.
Pairing: Rufus/Vincent
Warnings: Violence, bad language
Vincent opened his eyes and instantly wished he hadn't. The first thing he became aware of was the fact his hands were tied behind him, followed quickly by the fact he was gagged and in a dark stone room. He started panting, terrified, before his injured mind focused on the window in the far corner. He relaxed a little then, because he wasn't in the lab. He tilted his head and continued looking around. A whimper left his mouth. He knew where he was, for now at least. The Shin-Ra mansion.
Rufus stared at the map spread on the table before him. There was no sign of what had happened, and there was no sign of who had kidnapped Vincent. The phone started to ring. Tseng walked over and picked it up, signaling for silence. "Is it them?" Rufus whispered. The Turk nodded and Rufus reached over and plucked the phone from his hand.
"Rufus Shinra here." There was a pause before the voice on the other side of the telephone spoke. During that moment, Rufus checked that Tseng was trying to trace the call. He just had to keep the scum talking for long enough for the call to be tracked, and then he could ensure Vincent was returned and would continue with his job of guarding him and hopefully doing more.
"Your friend's 'ere…" The voice was deep, male, and clearly from the slums. Rufus wasn't entirely sure, but it sounded like someone from under sector 7. That wasn't good, they blamed him for the deaths Reno had caused. "'ey, you, vampire…" There was the sound of a body being dragged, and then the sound of fists and feet pummeling flesh. There was a slight groan of pain that made Rufus's heart leap into his throat, worsened a moment later when there was the sound of bones snapping, followed by a cry of agony.
"Stop that." Rufus's voice was angry but deadly, the voice of someone who was used to his orders being unquestionably obeyed. The only answer was another cry of pain from Vincent.
"'e keeps healin'. 's makin' it 'ard to do permanent damage. Don't worry tho' we'll manage.." Cruel laughter filtered through the receiver, sending a shiver of fear through Rufus's spine.
"Wh…what do you want?" His voice was shaking now, far less in control, and it was only Rude's sudden hand on his shoulder that focused him and reminded him he was in charge of this situation.
"We can swap if ya want, with a ransom, or we'll jus' keep him.." The leader reached down, grabbing Vincent up by a chunk of his hair and holding the phone in front of the pale man. "'e was calling for ya earlier… ya ain't in love with him are ya?" Vincent spat in the other man's face and he snarled, driving his fist into Vincent's gut, making him gasp and yelp in pain.
Rufus was shaking far more than he would ever admit. He was the emotionless, stoic leader of the company, someone to whom emotions, especially the concepts of friendship and love, were to be strangers. Yet here he was, trembling as he heard someone he had made work for him, and who probably wouldn't even care if he died, be hurt.
"That is irrelevant." He paused, wondering why he said those words. A simple no would have sufficed. The ghoulish laughter echoed out of the telephone. He wanted to smash it, and hunt down these men and shoot them, and then reprimand Vincent for allowing himself to get caught. It was a rookie mistake. Rude had been knocked out, and rather than leaving him he had risked his own life to save him. Now Vincent was in danger and Rude was safe, and somehow a part of him would have preferred it to be the other way around.
"We'll call back later. When ya had time t' think 'bout whether he's worth shit to ya." The line went dead and Rufus turned to Tseng, a nearly frantic expression on his face. Tseng nodded, holding up a map in which he had circled the location. They were still in Neibelhiem, and were closer to the old town than the new one. A smaller red circle was inside the larger one, around the ruined Shin-Ra manor.
Tseng pointed to that building.
"It is the only place habitable in the area. Though, it isn't somewhere you would wish to stay for long, it is overrun by monsters." Seeing the concern in Rufus's eyes as his skin paled he continued, "those are mainly in the basement though, and I'm sure they wouldn't pose any risk to Vincent." Rufus nodded, trying to hold onto those thoughts.
"We will start a rescue mission as soon as possible." His certainty was back, and even Tseng, who normally would have advised Rufus that this was a foolish venture, understood that it was something necessary for him.
In less than half an hour everything was ready and the helicopter lifted off for the second time in under 24 hours, heading to the small town that was ruined years ago by the hero of the Shinra programme.
"Well, he ain't said if he wanted you back." The man muttered, staring down into red eyes filled with hatred. He ran his large fingers through the tangled black hair, giving it a slight tug. He ran his thumb over the rapidly fading bruise across Vincent's eye, smirking when his skin was dampened by blood. He had to admit, the man had put up a good fight, but in the end his superior strength had won through. He nodded at the other man's snarl, seeing his own mako enhanced eyes reflected in the gunner's. "He thought he could jus' forget about us SOLDIERS, jus' cos that Sephiroth.." The word was emphasized with a snap, as he bent one of Vincent's fingers back past breaking point. "thought" snap "he" snap "was" snap "God." The last of Vincent's fingers snapped and the cries that had been building through the torture burst out, louder than ever, accompanied by tears of fear running down his face. He could have coped, if this had been happening in Midgar. But not here, not in this place where nightmares were so real he could still smell the scientist, remember every whispered word.
He closed his eyes and prayed that someone would save him, even though he knew it was hopeless.