Sanctuary

A fanfic by Iridal

The Prowler Emerges

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of the chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Invictus - by William Ernest Henley

The next few days passed without much incident for Aislinn in the President's office. Despite the seemingly endless parade of important people trooping through his office, she worked hard and patiently, hoping that Rufus wouldn't find fault with anything she did.

He never did, though.

Not a word was spoken about her performance, although she felt for sure that her efforts were severely lacking. Aislinn could hear the other women of the secretary pool talk about her - about the gall of some lowly temp to get the long sought after position of President's secretary. They spoke with contempt, their voices filled with poisonous words, and it filled her heart with doubt and uncertainty. It was surely born of jealousy...but there must be some grain of truth at the heart of it.

She knew his frosty gaze didn't miss a thing, but nothing she did seemed to irritate her employer. One could almost say he was pleased with her...if one decided that not commenting on her efforts at all constituted approval...but she was more than happy with that small sign.

All these thoughts raced through her mind as she typed up a memo for Rufus, her slender fingers flying over the keyboard. With her attention divided between noting what needed to be typed and what she was pondering, she didn't notice the two men climbing up the office stairs and approaching her desk. It wasn't until she caught a whiff of someone's rather distinct cologne did she see look up.

"Hey babe! Is Rufus in?" Reno merrily greeted, a brazen smirk on his handsome face. He jerked a thumb in the direction of his 'companion'. "This scumbag here wants to talk to him."

"Uh...yes, he is," she answered back, her mind suddenly a blank. Aislinn's eyes were locked on the other man, a sense of horror rapidly turning her guts to lead. She knew this man, though she often wished she never laid eyes on him. How could she forget what he had done? And judging by the predatory look that the man's eyes had, he hadn't forgotten her either...

Reno wasn't a fool. He could see the looks being exchanged - the young woman's fear becoming more and more palpable by the second as the man he was escorting openly leered. Reno may have been a Turk, and therefore ruthless and a bit callous, but he did have a soft spot for young women...especially the pretty ones.

He yanked the man towards the door, away from Aislinn, his eyes suddenly glinting dangerously. "C'mon, asshole," he growled. "A shithead like you is WAY outta her league." He pulled the man into the office, slamming the door behind him.

Rufus stood at the huge windows in his office thinking. Heidigger had just left after announcing that all preparations for the Inaugural Celebration were set ahead of schedule and both Sephiroth and AVALANCHE were no where to be found. It seemed like a good sign...at least, for now.

The door flew open and Rufus turned as the red haired Turk came in, dragging another along with him. "Hey Rufus! Look who wanted ta say hi!" Reno shoved the man forward, directly under the circle of light that Rufus' ceiling lamp threw. He recognized the man...Kotch. "This jackass says he has a message from his boss...Don Corneo."

Kotch nervously ran his fingers through his bleached blond mohawk, giving the man now seated before him an uneasy grin. "Uh, well...the Don said he had some information for ya about Sephiroth...info he'd be glad to give ya if you'd be kind enough to lift the price from his head." He uneasily shifted his weight from foot to foot, unnerved by the cold, infuriated looks by both Turk and President.

Rufus flicked his gaze to the Turk. "Reno, I thought you said you and Rude tied this rat up in the basement of Corneo's mansion..." He turned his attention back to Kotch. "Corneo has some nerve to send you to offer information to save his worthless hide. And what makes him think that I can be bought?"

"Uh...well..."

"He might have gotten away with it under my father, but that will not happen with me. Nothing he has to offer me will change the fact that he is a traitor." Rufus' eyes narrowed dangerously as he continued. "Listen well, and tell your fat pervert of a boss this: the Turks will find him and they will bring him in to be punished for the traitor that he is...and if he leaks information like that to the enemy again, he won't live long enough to regret it. Now get OUT."

Pulling him out by the hair at the back of his head, Reno dragged him through the office and shoved him down the curving staircase. Muffled thumps and the unmistakable sound of sizzling electricity drifted up to the top floor, as Reno personally 'escorted' Kotch out of the building.

Seeing her one-time assailant roughly hauled out of the office and thrown down the steps calmed Aislinn's fear somewhat. He has other things to worry about, she kept telling herself. He doesn't know where I live. I'm safe...

She had every reason to be upset - the man who had once brought so much fear into her life had just resurfaced. Judging from the fierce words that came from the door, however, she wouldn't have to worry that he'd stay in Midgar to track her down and finish what he had tried to start so many years ago. It was that reasoning that comforted her.

Long after her heart rate slowed and adrenaline ceased to pump through her, the office door opened. It was Rufus.

"Aislinn, may I ask something of you?" he asked her, a certain unfamiliar sounding tone of politeness creeping into his voice.

She was a bit startled. Rufus didn't ask for anything...he ordered. "Uh...of course, President Shinra..."

He winced at that title, a visible look of distaste on his features. "Rufus is fine. President Shinra was my father."

"I'm sorry...uh...Rufus."

Nodding, he continued on with his request, all the while pacing with his hands clasped behind his back. "As you may know, Heidigger is hard at work planning my Inaugural Celebration in Junon, which is only a few days away. This is not only a formal celebration, but it kicks off my inspection of my new domain. As such, I would like you to attend."

Although she would love nothing better than to attend the ceremony, which would undoubtedly include parades and balls and everything else she enjoyed, thoughts of her semester at the Academy invaded her happy thoughts. It was only the beginning of August, but classes would soon open in a few weeks. Then again, how long would it take to tour all of Shinra's more important reactor and military installations?

"It would be an honor, Rufus. I would be happy to go."

He paused long enough in his pacing to look her way and give her a smirk. "Very well. We leave in two days, so you may take tomorrow off to pack and settle up affairs here in Midgar. Be here with your suitcase bright and early the following day." That said, the young president returned to his plush office to make a few phone calls, leaving a pleasantly surprised Aislinn in his wake.

Far off in the mountains near Fort Condor, and just beyond the Mythril Mines, a cell phone rang. The owner answered, and after listening to the brief, yet concise instructions, he closed it and turned to his the two others with him.

"A new mission, Tseng?" the only woman of the group asked eagerly.

"Yes," came the brief reply. "We are to meet up with Rufus in Junon and act as his and his companions personal guards. He does not want either Sephiroth or AVALANCHE loose during the ceremony and stirring up trouble for him."

"That's it?!" The woman couldn't contain her disappointment, a sure sign of a rookie.

A brief pause. "That, and we are now under standing orders to find and bring in Don Corneo and any of his cronies for 'disciplinary measures'. It seems he has tried Rufus' patience once too often..."

Nodding in agreement, the three Turks continued on their way.