Tengoko: Yes, I know this chapter is a little shorter than the others. But, it probably is the most earth-shattering. That is all I'm going to say about it except, don't kill me. Don't worry, I'll update the next chapter quickly so I won't leave you in suspense for too long. Well, with that foreshadowing, I'm sure you're ready to get to the story. Please, enjoy. And review. That'd be very helpful.
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Rated M for language and romance
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Chapter 16: Trust in Justus
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Rude couldn't help but feel like something was right. It was an instinct, a gut feeling, and it'd usually never failed him. But this time, he had no idea why he felt this way. Just knew that something bad was going to happen. It unnerved him, but he didn't let it show. Especially since he was still on the mission with Justus, and he couldn't show any weaknesses right now.
"I got one lead," Justus said, walking towards him. "One lady said that they saw somebody who fits his description hiding out in that one church."
Rude looked down at his gloved hands and nodded. He knew that church well. He'd never been inside, the only Turk who had was Reno. But, it was quite infamous now. It was the place that cured geo-stigma. But more importantly, at least to those who knew, it was where the flower-girl, the Ancient, had frequented. Rude had a strong feeling that the healing powers of the water would never have been possible had it not been for her presence.
"He had to hide out in a church," he muttered, shaking his head and then adjusting his shades. "Oh well. If he wants to die there…"
"Rufus Shinra doesn't want him dead," Justus said.
Rude started walking, his disposition changing greatly. "This isn't business," he said in a low voice. "This is personal."
"You have your orders," he shouted, following after him. "He is not to be killed."
"And you have your orders, rookie! You are to listen to whatever I say as though Tseng were saying it. Were those not his words?" He didn't bother waiting for a response. The church wasn't too far away, and if Havre was there, he had to act on it now.
Justus didn't say another word. At least not until they approached the memorial in front of the church. Built a year ago to remember all those who'd died because of geo-stigma. He looked at the stone fountain, a statue built to resemble a woman pouring water on a small child's head. It wasn't by accident that the woman looked like Aerith. Rufus had done that on purpose. His secret way of atoning for her death and apologizing and thanking Cloud and his friends for their help.
"So, what happens if he is in there?" Justus asked, looking at Rude intently.
"Have your gun out, Justus," he said quietly. "He is not going to get away today."
Rude didn't spare the younger man a glance. He did pull out his own gun though, and then he walked forward, towards the doors. He couldn't help but notice that the foreboding feeling was getting stronger. But he had to ignore it. He was so close to getting him. To killing him and making sure that Elena would have nothing to fear.
He kicked the door open and entered warily. His eyes scanned the entire area, taking in o sign of movement or life. He took slow steps down the aisle, looking into each pew as he passed.
"I don't think he's here," Justus said.
Rude turned to face him, to tell him to shut the hell up, but suddenly, something large fell from the opening in the roof and landed in front of Rude. Havre wasted no time in sliding his knife into his side, making the tall man fall to a knee, wincing in pain.
"Shoot him!" he ordered, looking up at Justus who had his gun pointed at the bear of a man. "Shoot him!"
Rude couldn't have expected what happened next. As much as he hated Justus, he never would have seen this coming. He lowered his gun and then looked at Havre with a face full of irritation. "What the bloody hell took you so long?"
"I had other things to deal with," he said. "Trying to recruit more members. You know that the two of us aren't enough."
"And why is she still alive?" he yelled again. "I practically handed her to you, and yet, she still lives. How much more do I have to do to ensure that it gets done?"
"She would have died if him and that red-haired man hadn't shown up. They really saved her at the last possible second. I have a feeling that as long as the red head is alive, it'll be difficult to take her out."
At that, Justus looked at Rude and slowly approached him. "You know where Reno lives, don't you?" he asked, kneeling down to look him in the eyes. In the greatest form of insult, he ripped the shades from his face and then broke them in half. "Why don't you tell me where that is, and I'll let you live."
Rude was still in shock. Justus had been working against them the whole time! How had nobody noticed? It had to be because of Elena. All of their attention had been on her and her wellness. It was not a surprise that nobody detected the rookie.
"Are you going to tell me, or are you going to sit around stupidly?"
"I don't understand," he admitted. "If you wanted to kill her, why didn't you do it when you were on that mission with her? Why did you kill your own men?"
"Those weren't our men," he said. "They were people we'd captured and forced into acting the part. No, all of our men were killed in the explosion. And we did try to kill her. We never expected her to survive the shot. We would have shot her again, but that stupid pilot was flying over. I had to think. I could just shoot her again to assure her death. That would have been the end of all this. But, then I thought, if I let her die slowly from this wound, and it appears like I've caught Havre, Rufus Shinra will still trust me. I will still be able to be the eyes inside the ministry. So, I pretended to overpower him, and then waited for them to lower the safety basket."
"Why do you want her dead so badly?" he asked, clutching the wound on his side.
"She's the one who set the bomb, is she not?" he asked with malice. "Everybody died because of her. Everybody…including our families. And she will pay now. Now, where is she?" he screamed, grabbing Rude by the collar.
"If you think I'm about to sell out my family, then you have another thing coming." Rude smiled at his vexed expression, and then another thought struck him. "Justus…if you hated her so much, why did you…"
"Sleep with her?" he asked. "Well…simply because I could."
That was perhaps the worst thing to say to him. Ignoring the pain in his side, he tackled him. He landed a few punches before Havre finally managed to pull him off. "I'm going to kill you, you son-of-a-bitch!" he yelled, his face turning red.
"I somehow doubt that," he smirked.
"Even if you kill me, Justus, I promise that you won't be able to lay a hand on her. She's being watched too closely. Not just by Reno or Tseng. Rufus Shinra has taken her protection very personally."
"That won't make any difference," he said. "The troopers are easy enough to overcome. There is only one more obstacle that I have to worry about."
"Reno?" Rude laughed. "Obviously, you are underestimating Tseng. But yes, I can see why you'd be afraid of Reno. He's not like anybody else. You shoot a normal person, they'd die. You shoot him…he just gets pissed off. Trust me, you'll find it a lot more difficult to trick him than it was to trick me. He knew from the start that there was something off about you."
"Let's get one thing straight," he said. "I am not afraid of Reno."
"Sure you are. It's nothing to be ashamed of. He's a formidable man. He's not second in command for nothing, you know."
Justus was about to say something, but suddenly his cell phone rang. His smiled widened stupidly, and then he looked up at Havre. "Gag him. It seems our favorite little blonde is trying to get a hold of me."
"Elen-" the rest was muffled by a large hand over his mouth. Rude tried to struggle, but then was in excruciating pain. Havre was clutching his knife wound.
"Hello," Justus said, looking at Rude. "Hey there, Laney. I was worried about you for a while. Where've you been?"
Rude was helpless to warn her. He was in so much pain and he was losing a lot of blood. He tried to regain his footing, but it only made Havre squeeze harder. Angry now, he turned, ignoring the fact that Havre just tore at his wound, and then landed a hard punch to the giant's jaw. But by then, it was too late. Justus had already hung up the phone.
"Well, it seems she's gotten tired of Reno. She needs a place to stay. It would have been rude of me to not let her stay at my place."
"No!" Rude gasped.
"So, it seems I won't have to deal with Reno or Tseng after all." The smug smile on his face made Rude's blood boil. "And by the time they suspect anything, she'll be dead. And so will you. I can't risk you calling to warn anybody."
It was then that he pulled his gun out again. Rude closed his eyes. "So, this is how it ends?" he asked. "Oh well…I've never been on this adventure before." He reached into his jacket and pulled out his spare shades. "But, like I've always said…if this is my end…I'm going out in style."
"You're pathetic," Justus sneered.
"Ironic, coming from you. But, I must warn you, Justus. You'd better get this right, because if this doesn't kill me…I'll be coming for you."
"Don't worry. I won't mess this up."
And then he fired. The bullet went straight through him, through his heart. He only grunted once he felt the fire rip through his chest, but the impact of the bullet had him flying backward. Right into the water.
Justus waited for a minute or so. He hadn't resurfaced. He was dead. "There was no way anybody could have survived that," he said.
"Are you sure?" Havre asked. "We've made this mistake before."
"If the bullet didn't kill him, he'll drown. Come, Havre. We have an appointment to keep." They left quickly, leaving the door open behind them. A few more minutes passed. Nothing. Not even a ripple.