Chapter II: Remorse

Kalm was exactly as Rude had remembered it: a quiet little village away from the noise and violence of Midgar. It was a small, close knit town of maybe 200 people. Today Rude would be visiting one of them.

The brightly colored houses shone in the sun, and the laughter in the street almost drove Rude mad. This was not the appropriate setting for what he was about to do. Perhaps it was the design of some cruel cherub, who believed this would be enough Hell for the likes of him.

He walked up to the one of the doors, double-checked the address he had written down on his notepad, and then knocked on the door. A beautiful young woman opened the door. She was about 16 years old, with long blonde hair. Just like her mother's. The mother that Rude was about to confess to murdering.

It had been eleven years ago, a time in Rude's life which was a never-ending carousel of desperation and despair. Performing any task that would earn him money, including things that he never thought himself capable of. He had seen it all. He had taken out lives in cold blood for minute amounts of gil. This one, was the one that got him out of the business forever.

A man had simply come to him and told him that he wanted his "ex" out of the picture. Of course, the detail that the man left out was that the reason he wanted her gone was that he was in the middle of a custody battle and if his rich wife died before it was resolved in her favor, the inheritance would go to the child, or rather, the child's guardian.

He would have done it himself, but then of course he would be found guilty and lose everything, so he needed a "john". He waited until Rude had actually killed his wife, and then called the police, saying that he saw a strange man skulking around his ex-wife's house.

It went to trial, and Rude testified against the man. Unfortunately, the man he was accusing of this horrible act had suddenly inherited a lot of money, and juries are easily swayed.

So Rude went to jail, but only remained there for a while. After taking out three guards with his bare hands during a prison riot, the Turks were called in to apprehend him. Of course, Tseng saw a potential ally in Rude and granted him a Directorial Pardon and commissioned him into the SIA's Elite Task Force, aimed at violent crimes.

And a few years later, Rude became a Turk and had managed to turn his life around. However, he never forgot that girl. The girl whose mother he had taken away, and who was now being abused by a sleazy father.

The young woman stared at him. "Are you a Turk?"

Rude looked down at her. "Yes, I am miss. May I come in please?"

The young woman escorted him in and set him down on a blue couch. In Rude's planning he had overlooked one detail. "Is your father here?"

"Oh, you mean my stepfather? No, he's in Costa De Sol enjoying my Mom's money. When I was 14, he bought me my very own house and car, gave me about 10 of my inheritance and took the rest with him. There wasn't a whole lot I could do about it, besides I was just glad to get away from him," the woman rubbed her arms. "I'm sorry, I'm sure that's not why you're here."

Rude shook his head. "No, it's okay. My name is Rude."

"I'm Alecia. It was my mother's middle name," she explained.

Rude sat up straight. "Do you remember what happened to your mother?"

Alecia nodded. "She was killed when I was very young by a gang member or something. I remember he went to jail and then my stepfather…"

Alecia trailed off her mind clouded by horrible memories. Rude closed his eyes and set his head in his hands. Those horrible memories, all the pain this girl has gone through; it was his fault.

"Alecia. I have something to confess to you," Rude said. Alecia looked up at him. Her eyes filled with a sudden hatred as the man she had seen was reflected in his face. "I was the one who killed your mother."

Alecia was speechless, but her eyes still burned with the pain, the sadness and the hatred. Rude pulled his gun out of his jacket holster and set it on the table.

"I can't bring your mother back to life, but I can give you the closure you've been seeking these past eleven years," Rude explained.

Alecia quickly picked up the gun and pointed it straight at his head. Rude closed his eyes, waiting for the gates of hell to open and receive its long-awaited sinner. Three minutes passed, the cold steel pressed against his forehead. He slowly opened his eyes. Alecia was crying. She dropped the gun onto the table and sank back into her chair.

Rude re-holstered his gun and began to cry too. Alecia looked up at him. "I can't do it. There's no way I can do it. I won't be like you." Alecia straightened up. "I'll take after my father instead."

Rude looked up and saw the determination in her eyes. He nodded in understanding. "This one is on me," he said.

Rude crept down the darkened streets of Costa De Sol. The yellow and orange houses that matched the sandy beaches perfectly were now glowing in the dim blue light of the moon. Rude walked up the stairs of a large villa, checked the address he had written on his notepad, and opened the door.

Laying down in his bed was a man with dark black hair, though it was graying a little now. Two beautiful tan women lay naked next to him. He shot one round into the air, waking all of them up. The women shrieked and covered themselves with sheets and the man crawled back behind one of the women, using her as a human shield.

Rude grabbed the woman's arm and kicked the man off her. He then pointed his gun straight at the man's head. "Special delivery from Alecia."

"No! Don't! I can pay you! I'll give you all the money you want, just please don't!" The man pleaded.

"Oh, don't worry, Alecia has already promised me something quite valuable in exchange for your death," and with those words, Rude fired two rounds into the man's skull. He looked at the terrified women and emptied his gun's rounds into the ceiling. He then walked out of the door.

He felt Alecia's reward as soon as he stepped out of the villa. He had been forgiven, and a dark chapter in his life had been closed.