"Is everything packed?" Rufus glanced over at her. Verna nodded hesitantly. Why he was having her come was beyond her. Did he still not trust her? "Let's go."
"Why are you having me go with you, Rufus?" Verna asked quietly as they walked out of his mansion and into a car. "I won't run away. It's not like I'm desperate to escape. Besides, I'm getting some good news stories by staying here."
"Isn't it obvious?" Rufus smirked smugly as he watched her confused expression. "You really are clueless, aren't you?"
"What do you mean!?" Verna crossed her arms and huffed as she leaned against the car's window. "I'm a rather cultured and intelligent human being. Are you saying my intellect is lower than what I claim it is?"
"You're clueless when it comes to emotions of others," Rufus stated simply.
"Not negative emotions," Verna rolled her eyes. "I think I pick up on those rather well. Positive emotions, I don't."
"Then, can you connect the two to what I said?" Rufus rested his chin on the palm of his hand as the driver took off towards the out parts of Midgar. He changed the topic quickly; he'd give Verna time to ponder on it later. "Here's a fan to hide your face. Heidegger and Scarlet could very well manage to get onto the airship."
Verna groaned, "Fantastic." She examined the fan, "Did it come from Wutai?"
"That it did," Rufus nodded.
The two fell into small chit chat until arrival of the airship.
"Stay close to me," Rufus whispered to Verna.
Verna fanned herself to hide her face. If Heidegger spotted her things would get messy. She still had a feeling that Scarlet would recognize her should they come into contact. Verna glanced around nervously. She really needed to learn how to use her Materia in case they approached her.
"Hey Rufus?" Verna questioned quietly. "Would it be okay if I wrote a news story about my time on this ship and I take a picture of Heidegger just to antagonize him?"
Rufus smirked, "That would be fun."
"So I can?"
"I didn't say you couldn't. Besides, by the time the article is published we'll be long gone," Rufus walked towards the command room. He tensed slightly at seeing Scarlet and Heidegger there already. He muttered, "Damn."
Verna looked out from behind her and quickly held the fan closer to her face. She had to hold herself back from holding onto his jacket. Heidegger and Scarlet turned around to greet their President. Scarlet narrowed her eyes at Verna. She knew that it was her, no doubt about it.
"I surprised you brought the little tramp back, Rufus," Scarlet laughed half-heartedly.
Rufus clenched his fists. Verna watched as his shoulders shook in anger. He didn't have to take it so personally. It's not like the verbal assault was directed towards him.
"She did get the better of you, Scarlet. I see you still have a hideous black eye," Rufus retorted. "Besides, if you really want to keep your job you better keep your mouth shut. I could always just give it to her. I am the president after all."
If looks could kill, Verna would be killed over nine thousand times. Scarlet huffed and stormed past the two and left the room. Heidegger gave out a laugh at the manager's reaction. It gave him pleasure to see her suffer. Rufus scowled and walked towards the front with Verna close behind him.
"We will be there soon," Heidegger informed. "Then, we'll be able to get the Black Matera for ourselves."
"Very good," Rufus nodded. "We'll just have to watch Cloud. Reeve informed me that he was acting oddly."
Heidegger frowned slightly and glanced at Verna, "I don't believe I ever caught your name, Miss."
"It's Jane," Verna replied smoothly. She noticed a shock look on Rufus's face. She hasn't told him about all of the aliases she's used in her life. "Jane Alian. It's nice to actually meet you, Mister Heidegger."
"The pleasure is all mine," He spoke and smiled at her. She felt uncomfortable under his gaze.
Rufus stepped between them and turned to Verna, "Let's go show you your room, Jane."
Verna nodded and quickly followed him. She glanced back at Heidegger who was watching her like a hawk,. she didn't like it. Rufus put a protective arm around her and guided her through the metal hallways.
"You should probably stay in your room, just to avoid him," Rufus spoke.
"But what if I were to have my soldier uniform from Junon still?" Verna smirked up at the President.
Rufus quirked an eyebrow, "Then that would be acceptable. Just make sure your hood doesn't fall off again." He paused for a moment. "Exactly how many Shin-Ra uniforms do you have?"
"I have a Turk's uniform with a pass key and a soldier's uniform," Verna lifted two fingers in the air. "There really aren't any other uniforms that I could wear, unless I wanted to be a scientist or a doctor."
"I see," Rufus opened the door to Verna's room and walked in with Verna close behind him. He closed the door, away from peering eyes or ears. "Now how many fake names do you have?"
"Let's see," Verna pursed her lips together, "Samantha Hertson, Elizabeth Walker, Kyra Lane, and Jane Alian are my most common ones." She grinned childishly, "I have to keep your company on a wild race to keep you away from the newspaper." Rufus nodded as looked at her, not really listening. "Err…Why are you looking at me like that, Rufus?"
"No reason," Rufus snapped out of his daze and head towards the door. "Be careful."
"Huh?" Verna tilted her head ever so slightly. "Yeah, you too."
He looked back, as if he were hesitant in leaving. His hand resided on the door handle. Rufus suddenly turned around and gripped Verna by the shoulders. She looked up shocked at the president who was invading her personal space, and yet she didn't make a move to get away.
"If you need to use your Materia pray to the life stream to offer you its power," He spoke. "All Materia comes from the life stream. That's how you use it." He leaned down and pecked her cheek before fleeing the room.
Verna held a hand to her cheek. A bright blush covered her face. She fell to her bed in a slight daze. It was a mere peck on her cheek, and yet it sent bolts of electricity throughout her body. She hasn't felt like this in well…Ever.
Verna shook her head shaking the thoughts out of her head. She had to get some pictures to get under Heidegger's skin. Verna quickly stripped of her clothes and replaced it with the soldier uniform she packed. It was a little big, but it'd work. She then grabbed her camera and scurried out of the room.
She watched as mechanics scurried about once the air craft took off. She clung to the wall until she could keep her balance. Gulping, Verna ventured to the command center, where Heidegger would be. Verna smirked darkly under her hood and placed her camera in her sleeve. She'd pretend to stretch and capture a few shots.
Verna walked in behind some other soldiers and stood between them. Her eyes darted around the room, Rufus and Heidegger were there. She blushed once she looked at the president. Looking away she stretched her arm and pressed her finger on the capture button rapidly. It was aimed at Heidegger. Moving her arm back down, Verna looked at the other soldiers. They seemed relax, so she didn't have to worry about fitting in.
"Rufus!" Scarlet walked into the control room. "Do you know where your date is?"
Rufus looked over with suspicion, "I left her in her room. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I went to her room and she's not there!" Scarlet crossed her arms. "I just wanted to have some girl talk, that's all."
Verna rolled her eyes. That was highly unlikely. Scarlet probably wanted to get even. Still, she couldn't find it amusing that Scarlet couldn't find her, even when she was right under Scarlet's nose.
"She probably just wanted to explore a bit," Rufus looked at the soldiers, seeing if he could tell if one of them was Verna. "She'll be back soon."
"I'll just wait by her room, then," Scarlet replied haughtily before leaving.
Verna cursed under her breath. She didn't want Scarlet to see her wearing the soldier uniform. That would cause some suspicion. She was tempted to follow her, but decided against it. If she left now it'd cause suspicion. She'd have to wait for some of the other soldiers to leave.
"How has your search for that Verna girl going, Heidegger?" Rufus questioned and watched the soldiers to see if there was a reaction from any of them. Verna looked at Rufus and revealed her camera to him before concealing it. He smirked slightly, "Anything new?"
"It's like she disappeared from the face of the earth," Heidegger growled slightly. "No one has reported any sightings. We did some research into her background, though. We found something interesting."
Verna looked at Heidegger slightly confused. There was nothing interesting about her past besides the fact that her father left when she was young, she was almost killed by her boyfriend trying to find her father, and she worked for a rogue newspaper. Her eyes widened, could it have something to do with her father?
Rufus looked out of the window as the Northern Crater was nearing, "Tell me about it later."
"You don't want to know about it now?" Heidegger raised an eyebrow. "It has to do with your company."
"In that case we'll have to make sure no one will be listening in as we discuss it," Rufus gripped onto the railing. "We'll just have to focus on getting the Black Materia for now."