The parlay continued equally fruitlessly after the noon break as it had been in the morning. It was obvious to Tseng that the Wutaian lords were not prioritizing peace with Shinra over pushing each of their own agendas within Wutai. Wutai as a feudal realm was comprised of ten feudal states, each of which had their own more or less independent ruler, vassal to the Overlord, Godo of the Kisaragi clan. The lords, some of which held animosities toward one another, sought to use the opportunity of an outside threat to strengthen their own positions within the realm. The Shinra company was wasting its time, and, likely, would return home with empty hands. The only they could possibly accomplish with their interference would be to shit the power balance within Wutai itself. He wondered if there was any way to use this turmoil in their favor to weaken their enemy in the long run by pushing an agenda that would further deepen the rifts between the lords. So far, Tuesti sought to reconcile the lords in a pro-Shinra position, but bringing the lords on common ground may ultimately not have been the best way to solve this conundrum. Even more interesting than that, however, were the repeated accusations of Shinra committing some kind of heresy. This claim, together with the suspicion Reno had revealed to him the day before, was starting to form an interesting picture. Perhaps it would be a good idea to entertain this idea and pretend it was true.
Another break was scheduled for the mid-afternoon, which Tseng made use of to throw some hints to the Vice President and seek his opinion, without tipping off potential listeners. Zack and Cloud, who had taken over his shift, had come out with them to the courtyard, and stood by them, while Tuesti was, without a doubt, growing even more grey hair inside. The young SOLDIER was growing increasingly unsatisfied with the situation. Sitting still had never been his forte, but it seemed as if Sephiroth had told him something that had made him even unhappie, judging by how his expression and demeanor had changed since the noon break. Despite all that, Tseng knew Zack as one of the most resilient people he had ever met and he was certain that he would pull through until the end, no matter how annoyed he would along the way.
The Vice President was receptive to the idea of using the inner turmoil of Wutai to their benefit, but voiced some skepticism about how this could be achieved. He was still banking on the hope that Reno and Rude would figure out where at least one of their targets was located. But he did agree that the discord was going to be useful to buy them the time that they would need, and to do so, he was not above pretending that he had something up his sleeve that he did not actually have. Tseng was doubtful about his hope, seeing as Reno and Rude had made absolutely no progress since the day before, and had lost whatever track they had had. Unless there was a major new development, they would simply continue to waste their time here. But making peace was the job that Rufus and Reeve Tuesti had been given. Rufus was taking a big risk, but it was ultimately his call, and Tseng would support him, no matter what he decided.
When they returned to the meeting room, they found that the two infanterists that had been stationed outside, supporting Sephiroth in watching over Tuesti, were gone. To their big surprise, they found Sephiroth still seated where they left him, but the Head of Urban Development was nowhere in sight. "Where's Mr. Tuesti?", Tseng called out to Sephiroth as soon as he entered. But his voice did not reach Sephiroth at all, for he and continued to stare straight ahead, with no apparent interest in what was happening around him. "What happened?", the Turk heard Zack asking from behind. Tseng stepped aside to let the others into enter the room, and Zack walked right past him and looked around. "Looks like he's not here", he noted. "The other two are gone, too. Maybe he went somewhere", Cloud presumed while Zack knelt down next to Sephiroth and touched his arm that was resting over the knees of his crossed legs. Sephiroth's head spun around as he was drawn back into the here and now at the touch, a scene strangely reminiscent of what Tseng had witnessed on the Gelnika just the day before. "Where's Mr. Tuesti?", Tseng repeated his question, a little louder this time. Sephiroth's glance strayed away from Zack, and toward the empty pillow that Tuesti had been sitting on until a few minutes ago.
Before he could say anything, a feminine voice called out to them: "Your colleague left a few minutes ago. If he didn't join you, maybe he just went to the restroom." The speaker was Aurum, the head and allegedly strongest fighter of the Crescent Unit, who had stopped at a very, very respectful distance from them. Or one might say that she was talking to them from halfway across the room, possibly with the intention to appear as unaggressive as possible, or perhaps she wanted to stay as far away for Sephiroth as she possibly could. Behind him, Rufus chanted in what appeared like a fake good mood: "Oh, Sephiroth. You'd better pray that nothing happened to him." Tseng looked back at Zack and Sephiroth. "Zack, go look for him with Cloud. Report back immediately." Zack nodded, got up and ran off, closely followed by the young infanterist.
Did Wutai take the bait? It made no sense at this point, considering that Shinra did not have the upper hand in the parlay at all. There was nothing to be gained for them now by taking Tuesti captive. Perhaps it was nothing, and he had just stepped out for a moment. His eyes went back to Sephiroth. Giving Sephiroth a hard time was the thing he was the least inclined to do, but if his ward had been Rufus and he had disappeared, Tseng would have raised hell. On the other hand, Rufus was not someone who could simply be taken without a fight. Still, he could not let this one slide, even if Tuesti turned out okay in the end. Sephiroth's eyes were on the floor as he explained: "He didn't say anything when he left." Tseng sighed. "He shouldn't have to. You know how to do personal security." The SOLDIER folded his arms and looked away without saying more, which drew a sigh from Tseng. He had seen this behavior from Sephiroth all too often in the long distant past. There was no point in trying to lecture him when he was like that.
When fast footsteps approached from the hallway, Tseng turned toward the door to see Zack, who reported with a serious face: "No trace of Reeve. The two guards are both dead inside the restroom." Rufus whistled upon hearing these news, while Tseng's thoughts were racing. With the guards dead, there was no way Tuesti was just taking a stroll. Was Wutai responsible for this, or was it someone else? From what they knew, Avalanche was still active, and it could just as well have been them. But what would Avalanche want with Tuesti of all people? Behind him, the leader of the Crescent unit was ordering for the compound to be locked down, and Sephiroth had finally managed to stand up and pay attention to the situation.
Tseng pulled out his phone, but before he dialed Reno, he ordered the two SOLDIERS present: "Split up and search the compound. Notify me or Reno of anything unusual. Don't do anything that would put Mr. Tuesti at risk." Zack looked at him questioningly, while Sephiroth turned toward the door to leave. "What about the Vice President?", Zack asked. "We'll be fine", Rufus answered, and Tseng nodded as he called Reno. The commander of the Crescent Unit stepped up to them and interjected: "We can't simply let people from Shinra run around in the palace by yourselves, especially you." The last part was directed at Sephiroth, who folded his arms again and shot back without looking at her: "Do what you want, but stay out of the way." He walked out briskly, closely followed by Aurum and Argentum.
During this exchange, Reno picked up the phone immediately: "What's up?" Tseng came to the point with Reno straight away: "Tuesti is gone, likely abducted. Two guards dead." He beckoned Rufus to follow him as he stepped out of the room and headed toward the restroom. "I'm on my way to examine the site for evidence. Did you notice anything unusual?" After a short pause, Reno answered: "Nothing. Think the Wutaians did it?" Tseng turned around a corner. "I don't think they have anything to gain from taking Tuesti. But Avalanche could be here, too." Beside him, Rufus started to hum upon hearing the word "Avalanche". Tseng turned his head toward him. "You're not helping, Mr. Vice President." One the phone, Reno answered: "We're on our way to the palace to support you. We'll keep our eyes peeled" Tseng finished the call with: "Be safe."