"Dr. Quigley?"
He turned around to see a woman standing there. It took him a moment to recognize her, then he frowned.
"Miss Lockheart, do you know how irresponsible it was to take your daughter out of the isolation ward? Do you have any idea..."
He stopped. She was holding out her hand to him. She opened it and saw a small bottle with some clear fluid in it.
"What's this?" he questioned.
"It's the cure."
"The cure? The cure to what?"
"To Meteor Fever."
Dr. Quigley just stood there looking at her for a moment.
"Miss Lockheart, if this is some kind of joke, it's in very bad taste."
"It's not a joke. This is the cure to Meteor Fever. I got it from Psi-Co. They've had it for a long time."
"That's impossible."
"No it's not."
The doctor gave her an annoyed look.
"I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, but I don't have time for it. I have to go. I have work to do."
He started to turn away, but Tifa grabbed hold of his hand. He spun around to face her again, an annoyed look on his face, but she had turned away.
"Karisa, come here," she called out.
The little girl was sitting on a couch in a small waiting area, just a few feet from them. She stood up and walked over to them. Dr. Quigley just stared at her while she came up and took her mother's hand.
Tifa turned to face the doctor again. She could see by the look on his face that she didn't need to say another word.
"Karisa," the doctor said slowly.
"Hello," Karisa said shyly.
The doctor bent down in front of her, looking her over. He lifted his stethoscope and reached for her. Karisa looked up at her mother, who nodded. The doctor put the stethoscope against her chest and listened for a moment. He asked her to open her mouth and after another glance at her mother she obeyed.
Eventually Dr. Quigley stood up again.
"It's not possible," he announced.
Tifa didn't reply. No matter what his mind might be telling him, she knew he had no choice but to believe what was right in front of his face.
He turned to look at her.
"You say this came from Psi Co?"
She nodded.
"Obviously it's not something they wanted to get out," she said. "If they find out I gave this to you, you could be in danger."
She held out the bottle again. This time, hesitantly, he reached out and took it.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked.
"Find out what's in here," she replied. "You must know someone who can break it down and figure out what's in it, or if you don't, you can find someone who can. Spread it around. Tell everyone about it. Go to the newspapers. If everyone knows about it then Psi Co can't hush it up. The more people who know the safer we are. They can't silence everyone. I want you to do your job, Doctor, I want you to cure people."
Tifa had barely walked in the door to her apartment when the phone rang.
She helped Karisa take her coat off, then ushered the young girl into the living room to play while she went to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"I got a really wild idea."
"Hello Reno."
It had been three days since they acquired the cure. Reno had stopped by every day, usually at the most inopportune times. Yesterday Tifa had given him her phone number, telling him, using short syllable words so he would be sure to understand, that women really did not appreciate a man just showing up at their door without giving them at least a little bit of prior warning. She wasn't sure if it would do any good, but maybe it had, for here he was, calling her.
"Hey," was his reply.
"So, I'm almost afraid to ask but, what's the wild idea?"
"Why don't we go out tonight."
"Out?"
"Yes, out."
"As in... a date?"
"Yeah, I guess if you want to call it that."
"I don't know Reno."
"Aww c'mon, it'll be fun. You like to have fun, don't you?"
"Depends. What did you have in mind? What's your idea of fun, Reno? Robbing a convenience store?"
"Very funny. No, I mean out to a night club or something."
"I'm not really a night club kind of person," she told him.
"Oh come on! You've been cooped up in that apartment for how long now? You're going back to work tomorrow, right? It's your last chance to go out and enjoy yourself. Give yourself a break for once."
Tifa sighed, rubbing her forehead. It was true, she hadn't done anything with her time, hadn't gone out at all in the last few days. Karisa was better. They had spent every minute of the last three days together. The little girl was happy and healthy again. Tifa didn't have to fawn over her anymore. It was true, she did have to go back to work tomorrow, so what was the harm and going out and having a little fun?
"All right," she gave in.
"Great. I'll pick you up around seven?"
"Pick me up? How are you going to do that?" she questioned. "What, did you buy a bicycle or something?"
"Gee, you're a real comedian today, aren't ya?"
Tifa smirked, but did not reply to that.
"So, seven o'clock?" he said again.
"All right. Got it."
"Seeya then."
The rest of the day was spent doing the usual chores, getting a babysitter for Karisa, and then getting ready to go. Tifa fussed for quite a while over what to wear. She hadn't been out to a nightclub in god knew how long. Brent wasn't really a party type person, and neither was she. The more she thought about it, the more her misgivings grew. She wasn't sure she was up to this. A couple of times she almost called Reno back to tell him she changed her mind, but she never did.
She finally settled on a short white dress with a gray floral print and white heels. The fabric was thin, and fit every curve of her body. She had gotten it a long time ago but hadn't really found the right occasion to wear it. On someone else it might have been a bit daring, but it was less revealing than what Tifa normally wore to work. She left her hair, unbound, cascading over her shoulders to fall down to her waist. A delicate necklace, the same one she had worn on her date with Brent to the Blue Crab, finished off the ensemble.
She was just putting on a little blush when she heard someone banging on her door.
"Coming!" she said pleasently. She walked into the living room, putting on her earings as she went, and pulled open the door.
Reno stood there leaning against the door frame. He had on black loose fitting trousers and a thin black buttonless jacket, a gray sweatshirt revealed beneath. A long white scarf wrapped loosely around his neck and falling down to his belt in front added a bit of dash.
He held up his hands.
"So how do I look?"
"Very debonair," she replied. She looked down at herself, then up again at him for his approval.
"Do you think this will do?" she asked.
"Will it do? Of course it will do," he replied. "You look beautiful. You'll be the second best looking person there. After me, of course."
She gave him a 'oh get a grip' look then walked over to the closet and got her coat. Putting it on she stepped outside, locking her door and following him down the walk in front of her apartment. She stopped as he strolled over to a car, a black late model luxury car, parked right in front of her apartment and turned to look at her, holding up his hand and showing her a set of keys.
"So what do you think?" he asked.
She stared at Reno and the car with her mouth open.
"Where did you get a car?" she questioned.
Reno gave her a smug look.
"I called in a few favors. Sometimes it helps to have friends in low places, you know."
"Low places... Reno, this car isn't stolen, is it?"
"Do you really want to know the answer to that?"
"Reno..."
"Relax. I'm just kidding. It's not stolen. I borrowed it from a friend. There are still a few people out there who owe me a favor or two from my Shinra days."
Tifa looked at him, still not one hundred percent sure he was telling the truth, while he pulled open her door and waved a hand for her to enter.
"Thank you," she said, and did so. The seats were black leather and very very soft. Plush. It reminded her a lot of Brent's old car, she thought as Reno closed her door. He walked around to the other side, opening the driver's door and slipping behind the wheel, he turned to her.
"Impressed?"
She tilted her head to one side.
"Fancy cars don't impress me Reno."
His put the key in the ignition and the engine purred to life.
"What does?"
She took a moment to think about that before replying.
"Compassion."
Reno gave her a 'you gotta be kidding me look' then shook his head. "You know, sometimes I find it hard to believe we both grew up in the same neighborhood."
Reno threw the manual transmission into gear and with a squeal of the wheels the car leapt away from the curb. Tifa's breath caught in the throat for a moment at the sudden acceleration. She gave Reno a look but he just grinned at her.
"Even so," he continued. "I always thought we were a lot alike. Life never treated you any better than it did me. But I guess that's what happens in Midgar. No one gets away unscathed. The city always managed to leave its scars on you."
Tifa reached up and lightly touched her chest.
"I was scarred before I even came to Midgar, Reno," she replied.
The look in her eyes and the mention of her old wound for some reason made him turn somber.
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess you were," he said softly.
"So where are we going?" she asked after a short silence.
"A little place I know down by the docks," he replied. "It's called the Impaled Maiden."
Her mouth fell open.
"The what?"
"The Impaled Maiden," he replied.
"What kind of name is that?"
"Hey, don't worry. It's a great place. I used to go there all the time when I..."
"I'm really starting to think this isn't such a good idea," she cut him off.
He held up his hand.
"Trust me. You'll love it."
"Oh my God."
"What?"
"Reno, these people are all freaks."
He turned to look at her, then winked.
"Yeah, ain't it great?"
The music pounded in her temples, the bass making the entire floor vibrate, or was it the people who crowded the dance floor? She couldn't be sure. The place was packed, the music earsplitting. Fires burned on pillars running around a grunge band playing on one side of the room. Neon lights flashed in reds and blues up and down the walls. It must have been an old warehouse, for she could see the metal framework that held up the ceiling in the flashing spotlights above her head. Most of the people dancing looked like a biker gang on speed. She saw more spiked hair (purple or blue appearing to be the most popular colors), chains and metal protruding from bodies then, well, than she thought existed.
There was a mosh pit over to their left, sunk into the floor, filled with people and what looked like... soap suds coming up nearly to their waists. Most of the men, and quite a few of the woman in it, Tifa couldn't help but notice, were topless. In fact, with the suds covering the lower half of them, it was hard to tell if some of them had anything on at all. One thing was for sure, Tifa had no desire to find out!
Reno was weaving his way through the crowd toward one of the two large bars that ran along the back of the room, but stopped and grabbed hold of her hand when he saw her slowing down, too busy gawking to walk. A man with his hair shaved down the center, sort of a reverse mohawk, and weighing about three hundred pounds leered at her as she walked by. She turned away and held onto Reno's hand that much tighter. Ordinarily she could take care of herself but she felt completely out of her element here. Reno pulled her through the crowd and eventually they made it to the bar. He found a narrow opening in the sea of people surrounding it and managed to squeeze them up to the counter.
He turned and said something to her.
"What? I can barely hear myself think!" she said, leaning closer to him.
"That's okay," he said, loud enough for her to hear now. "You're not supposed to think here anyway. What would you like to drink?"
"Umm, a gin and tonic please," she told him.
He nodded then turned and after a few moments got the bartenders attention. Tifa stood beside him, still holding his hand, as tightly as before, as if letting go would instantly cause the people here to descend upon her and drag her off to who knows what end. Noticing this, he turned toward her.
"Relax, willya?"
She shook her head, but did loosen her grip just a tad.
"I feel like I'm in the bar from Star Wars," she said.
He nodded.
"Yeah, except none of these people are aliens."
Tifa stared as a man covered in fluorescent blue day glo paint and wearing a loin cloth walked by.
"Could have fooled me," she muttered.
The bartender slid two drinks in front of Reno, who paid the man and picked them up, handing Tifa hers.
"C'mon, let's go over this way," Reno said with a nod of his head. "There may be a place to sit down farther away from the music."
Tifa was all for that. The pounding in her ears was already giving her a headache.
As they approached the wall ahead of them Tifa looked up and saw a metal catwalk ran along it. It was painted black, and stairs led up to it from various places down on the main floor. There were small tables scattered up there. Reno led her up one staircase and spotted an unoccupied table. Or it seemed that way at first. When they reached it Tifa saw two drinks on it and a coat thrown over the back of one chair.
"Have a seat," Reno said, indicating one of the vacant chairs. This far away from the speakers he didn't have to shout for her to hear him, though the music was still loud.
"Reno, this table is occupied," she pointed out.
"Oh, well, that's easy to remedy," he replied.
Relinquishing her hand, Reno picked up the drinks and the coat and walked a little farther down the catwalk while she stood there looking at him with her mouth open. He laid the coat over the railing that looked down on the dance floor and placed the two drinks on an occupied table, much to the surprise of the young couple sitting at it. Then he walked back to Tifa and sat down.
Tifa shook her head at his audacity.
"I don't believe you!" she exclaimed.
He leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the railing in front of him.
"Are you going to sit down or not?" he questioned.
It didn't seem right but... she felt kind of foolish just standing there.
She sat down.
"Couldn't we go someplace a little... quieter?" she asked.
"Would you stop being so uptight? You'll have a good time if you just loosen up a little. We can't go yet. You haven't even danced."
She looked around shyly.
"I don't know whether I want to," she replied.
He didn't answer. Her behavior really surprised him, actually. She had always struck him as a pretty self assured woman. He thought she could handle just about any situation, but the look on her face was that of a scared rabbit. It was obvious she was very uncomfortable here, but he thought she'd adjust if she just gave it some time, and after she got a few drinks in her.
As it was, she finished her drink rather quickly, more quickly than she had intended. She had to admit the place made her nervous, and thought a drink or two might help her calm down a bit. Reno had already finished his when she put her empty glass down.
He reached over and picked up the glasses, then stood up, with the obvious intent on getting them replenished. Obvious, yet she still found herself asking.
"Where are you going?"
He held up her glass.
"To get more."
"You're going to leave me here alone?" she said, grabbing his hand, her eyes saying very clearly that she thought that was a very bad idea.
He gave her a quizzical look.
"Geez, what's with you all of sudden? This is the famous martial arts expert who helped kicked Sephiroth's ass? When exactly did you turn into such a wuss?"
She didn't reply to that, not sure what to say, but she did let go of his hand.
He leaned forward a bit, placing one hand on the table, then jerked his head at the crowd below.
"They're just people like you and me, come here to have a little fun. They don't bite."
He emphasized the last three words, letting her know he hadn't forgotten her comment to him about a certain three year old a few days ago.
Sufficiently cowed, Tifa looked down at the table, rubbing her hands nervously together, but willing to let him go.
"All right," she said. "I'm sorry. But just hurry, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," he replied, then walked off.
She looked up again, hugging herself with her arms, looking down at the dance floor. She sighed softly as her eyes followed Reno across the room on his way to the bar. He was right, she was being silly. There was no reason to be nervous. Sure, the people here looked like freaks, but they didn't seem to be paying much attention to her. Oh, she had seen a few of the men look at her with that look she knew so well, but hell, she worked in a strip joint, she ought to be used to that by now.
It didn't take him long to get back. Drinks refilled, he placed them on the table and sat down again.
"So, I take it you weren't attacked by a vicious group of thugs while I was gone?"
She looked at him for a moment, then shook her head, smiling at her foolishness.
When she was done with the second drink Reno stood up again, but instead of grabbing their glasses her took her by the hand.
"C'mon, let's dance."
She hesitated, and for a moment he thought she was going to refuse, but then she stood up and he led her down to the dance floor once again. It was jam packed, and Reno led her right out into the middle of it. Tifa felt very self conscious, although she had spotted a few people dressed in what she would consider a normal fashion, they seemed to be few and far between. It was funny, out on the street the outlandish garb of the people around her would have made them stand out, but here, it was the norm, and she felt like she, in her rather plain (at least compared to them) dress and heels was the one who looked different.
Or at least that's what she thought, but as they started to dance and she looked around and realized that no one seemed to be paying any attention to her, she began to feel a little better.
There wasn't much room to move. The people on the dance floor seemed to be packed together like sardines in a can. She felt Reno's body rub up against hers more than once, sometimes unintentionally, sometimes very much on purpose. At one point he grabbed hold of her and ran his hands down her shoulders, then around her waist and down onto her posterior.
She pushed them aside.
"Reno!" she admonished.
Reno held up his hands, continuing to dance.
"Hey, it's your fault, you know" he told her.
She gave him a shocked look.
"How do you figure that?" she questioned.
"You have such a cute little ass. How can I resist?"
He reached around her again and once more slid his hands along her rear end.
"Stop it!" she said, slapping them aside again, her face red. She looked around. "People will see!"
Reno laughed.
"There's no one paying attention to us," he told her. "Besides, that's mild compared to what some of the other people are doing."
She had to admit he had a point, but still...
"Reno, did you bring me here with the sole intention of embarrassing me?"
"Well, that was high up on the list," he said with a smirk, "but not my sole intention, no."
The band started playing another song, and Tifa's eyes lit up when she realized that, for the first time tonight, it was actually a song she recognized, was, in fact, one that she liked. Her rather uninspired dancing to this point turned more upbeat. The sound of familiar music made her feel much more at ease.
They danced to a few more numbers, and Reno didn't fail to notice that Tifa was becoming much more comfortable and seemed to finally be getting into it. He couldn't help but wonder just how wild she could get.
He glanced over her shoulder.
"So, you're going to join me later in the mosh pit, right?"
She stared at him for a moment, then her eyes widened. She turned her head to glance at the pit behind her. Things seemed just as wild in there as they had been when they had entered, if not more so. He couldn't be serious!
"No way!"
"C'mon. Let loose a little will ya? We're here to have fun right?"
"Fun is one thing, but that..." She shook her head. "Nuh uh."
He stopped and gave her a look and she could tell right away he had something evil on his mind.
"Later's no good eh?" he said. "Okay, how about we just go in there now then?"
And with that he grabbed hold of her hand and started to lead her toward the mosh pit.
Immediately she resisted, pulling back.
"Reno, stop!"
He didn't.
"I hear you saying no, but I don't think you mean it."
"I do I do! I swear. Reno, please!"
They were only a few steps away from the pit, and had her by both wrists now and was practically dragging her along.
"I can't go in there! I... I'll get my clothes all wet and I don't have anything else to change into," she pleaded, trying to appeal to his logic.
It didn't work.
"No problem, just take them off before you go in!"
"In your dreams!"
She had managed to grind them to a halt, leaning back with practically all her might, and she realized she must look like a fool, not that anyone was watching. Fun was one thing, but she really really didn't want to go in there!
Realizing this, and not wanting to push too far, he relented. He let go of her arm and put his hands on his hips.
"You're no fun at all," he proclaimed.
"Can we just go back to our seats?" she asked, the words coming out in an embarrassed jumble.
"Yeah, sure," he said. They could use a break.
As they started up the steps once more Reno looked back at the crowd and saw someone making his way through it towards them.
Reno stopped and turned to Tifa.
"You go on. I'll be along in a minute."
"Where are you going?" she asked.
Reno nodded his head toward the crowd.
"There's someone I want to talk to," he replied. "Go back to the table. I'll be right back."
She looked at him hesitantly. She felt better about being alone now but she couldn't help but wonder what this was all about. Still, it was probably none of her business, and was it any surprise that friends of Reno would be hanging out in a place like this?
He turned and strode away, and Tifa walked slowly up the stairs, holding the railing and watching Reno instead of where she was going. She saw him making his way through the crowd, then stopping to talk to a man she didn't recognize. She felt a little better. For some reason she had expected it to be a woman.
Jealous, Lockheart?
She shook her head. Jealous of Reno. She never ever imagined she could feel that way about him.
Still not looking where she was going she banged her toe on the top step, the pain shooting up her leg making her, at least for the moment, forget all about her red haired companion.
"Dammit!"
"Hey, who's the bitch? Man, she is hot. I see you haven't lost your touch, you lucky bastard."
"Luck has nothing to do with it, Jake," Reno replied somewhat smugly. "Her name's Tifa. Tifa Lockheart, not that it's any of your business."
"Lockheart... that sounds familiar. Hey, isn't she one of those Avalanche dudes? You know, the ones that kicked your ass?"
"Yeah, and if you call her a bitch to her face, she'll kick yours too. So whatda'ya got for me?"
Jake looked at Reno, then his eyes roved around the room. They were surrounded by people. He nodded his head toward the far wall. There was an empty space there, under the catwalk.
Reno followed him as he walked over there, into the shadows and away from prying ears.
"I don't know what's going on, but Psi Co is in a frenzy," Jake said finally. "Something's got their dander up like no one has seen before. The place is locked down tighter than a drum. No one can get in or out. There's people running around like there's no tomorrow. I don't know exactly what happened, but it's big. I heard there was some kind of break in, and that something was stolen. Something mucho valuable. They said that President Del Greco himself is directly involved, got his best man on it. I tell you man, I never seen anything like this before in my life."
He looked at Reno.
"You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"
From the tone of his voice, it was obvious that he thought the answer would be in the affirmative.
"Who, me?" Reno said innocently.
"You did," Jake affirmed. "What's it all about? C'mon man, you can tell me."
Reno shook his head.
"You don't want to know. Trust me. You say President Del Greco put his best man on it?"
"Yeah, his chief of security. Bad dude man. I wouldn't want to mess with him. From what I've heard he'd slit his mother's throat without a second thought. His name's Dax or..."
"Drax," Reno said.
"Yeah, that's it. He's not after you, is he?"
"Do you have anything else?" Reno ignored the question.
"That's about it man. Like I said, Psi Co is closed. No one gets in or out without practically being strip searched. There's no way to get information from inside right now."
Reno pondered this for a bit, then nodded.
"All right, thanks for the info."
He slipped Jake the amount of gil he had promised the man. Jake took it and quickly shoved it in his pocket.
"So you're not going to tell me what this is all about?"
"Well, I could, but if I did then..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you'd have to kill me. Lines getting a little old, dontcha think?"
Reno just gave him a look.
"Go run along and play now."
Reno turned and walked away, making his way back to Tifa, who he found sitting at their table with her shoe off her right foot, rubbing her toe.
"Feet hurt?" he asked.
"It's nothing," she said, not really feeling like explaining, as he pushed her shoe back on.
Reno looked down at her for a moment.
"So, you want to stick around, or go someplace quieter?" he asked.
She wavered for a moment. She was starting to get a bit more comfortable, and she had had fun when they were dancing, well, when Reno hadn't had his hands on her ass or been dragging her across the dance floor, but even so she still really didn't feel like she belonged here.
"I think I'd rather go somewhere else," she said hesitantly. "That is, if you don't mind."
"Hey, I don't give a shit," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
They put their coats back on and left. Tifa shivered as they walked out into the night air, even with her coat on. It had gotten much colder.
They got back in the car. Reno started it up and turned the heat up, and once again Tifa found herself pressed against the back of the seat as Reno accelerated out of the parking lot.
"So where do you want to go?" he asked.
"I don't know," she replied. "Someplace not as noisy."
He pondered that for a bit as he drove down the street, then turned to look at her.
"Hey, I got an idea," he said brightly. "Let's go get tattoos."
"What?" Tifa choked.
"Yeah, matching tattoos. It'll be great."
"You're insane."
"C'mon!"
"Not a chance."
"Okay, how bout a belly ring then? I think you'd look really good with one. In fact," he said, looking at her with an expression she did not like at all, "you'd look even better with a ring through your..."
She clamped her hands over her ears.
"Don't you dare say it!"
He shut his mouth. She sat there looking at him, then, when she thought it was safe, slowly lowered her hands.
"Labia!"
She screamed.
"Labia, labia, labia!"
"Stop it!"
"What? It's not like it's a bad word or anything."
"I feel like I'm on a date with a five year old!"
And yet, even as she said that, and though she tried mightily not too, she couldn't help but laugh.
"They say though, that it really enhances..." he started.
"Oh yeah right!" she cut him off.
"It's true!"
"There's no way!" she responded.
"It's a really simple procedure too," he continued, ignoring her protests. "In and out. It takes about two minutes. There's nothing to it."
"Oh yeah, nothing to it. Taking off my clothes and spreading my legs for some skanky guy with a needle who... errh!"
She shuddered.
"C'mon, it's not like that!" he responded. "If that's what's bothering you I'll do it myself."
"Reno, you come anywhere near me with a needle and you'll be prying it out of your butt!"
He pondered that for a moment, then grinned.
"Ohhh, kinky."
"What is wrong with you?"
"You want the whole list? Cause if you do we could be here for a long time," he replied.
She just shook her head. She was afraid to open her mouth, to say anything else, afraid he's just twist it around somehow.
Apparently, however, he didn't need her to say anything at all.
"Okay, so maybe that's a bit much. Now a nipple ring..."
"Can we please talk about something else?" she pleaded.
"All right, fine, fine, but I still think the tattoo is a good idea."
She didn't think there was any point in replying.
"You know, a little red rose on your ass."
"Reno!"
"Right above that cute little dimple on your left cheek."
"Urrrgh!"
He fell silent, thankfully, after that. Tifa stared out the window, watching the building go by. In spite of the cold and the late hour, there were still people out on the street, and plenty of traffic as well. After a while she noticed Reno glancing up and looking in the rear view mirror every few seconds.
"What is it?" she asked.
He didn't look at her.
"I think someone's following us," he told her.
She turned her head to look behind them.
"Where?" she asked.
"That red sports car, the one about three cars back in the other lane. See it?"
"Yes."
"It's made every turn we have since I noticed it," he said.
She watched the car. Reno stopped at a light, then turned right. The other car followed. She turned around to face forward again, an uneasy feeling stirring in her gut. She hadn't forgotten what they had done, hadn't forgotten that Psi Co was a big company and wouldn't take kindly to them stealing their cure. She wasn't naive, she knew it was quite possible someone might come after them.
She looked over at Reno again, and couldn't help but think of how open he had been, walking right into the donut shop like he hadn't a care in the world right before the break in, like there was no way they would draw any connection. Reno had screwed with the security system and messed up their cameras, but that didn't mean one of the cameras didn't get a shot of them. There were plenty of people too, who had seen them in there and could give their descriptions. She couldn't help but wonder that maybe they should have been a bit more discreet. Considering how meticulously Reno and Rude had planned things out, she was surprised they hadn't taken that more into account.
In fact, Reno had thought about that very subject. He had dismissed it, however. In spite of his meticulousness and paranoia, he did have a certain arrogance to him. The fact of the matter was, he just didn't believe that they would get caught. He had absolute faith that if they had walked in the front door of the building with all the cameras running, he'd somehow still have been able to pull it all off and get away scott free. The fact of the matter was, he was just too damn smart to get caught.
And that included, of course, getting caught by someone following them right now.
"Hang on," he told her.
"Oh shit," she muttered, realizing he was about to do something very stupid.
She was right.
They were coming up to a red light. Reno slowed down until they were nearly stopped, then floored it. The car leapt forward. He twisted the wheel, and the vehicle raced around the one in front of it and around the corner, barely missing two cars coming the other way.
Even though she had a seat belt on, Tifa felt her right hand grab hold of the arm rest on the door and hold on for dear life as Reno raced down the road. She didn't look back, more worried about the traffic careening toward them than any pursuer.
The car pelted down the road, quickly coming up to another red light. The tires screamed in protest as Reno spun the wheel to the right, the car lurching around the corner, just missing a lightpost and yet another car. She heard tires squeal and the blare of horns behind her as Reno pressed his foot to the floor once again as they raced down this new road.
On the straight and narrow, at least for the moment, Tifa turned her head to look back, just in time to see the sports car lurching around the corner behind.
They were riding along the river now, and the road curved back and forth, following it's outline. Reno weaved in and out of traffic as he went, causing more car horns to be heard. Tifa felt her heart rise up into her throat when Reno slammed on the brakes, turning once again, the back fishtailing wildly before straightening out and found herself looking at traffic coming right at them on a one way street.
A one way street in the direction they were not going in, of course.
That didn't seem to slow Reno down any, however. The car jumped forward, racing head on at a car coming at them. Tifa saw a flash of lights as the other car pitched to the right, and they passed one another so closely they could have exchanged paint, and for just a second Tifa caught a glimpse of a face, white as a sheet, staring out the drivers side window at them, before it was gone into the darkness behind them.
More cars followed, careening left and right, parting like pins for a bowling ball as Reno tore down the street. Tifa brought her hand up to her mouth as Reno twisted the car to one side, riding right up on the sidewalk now, to avoid a collision with a large pick up truck that sped by. She felt the car shudder, and saw trash fly, as they hit a garbage can that someone had set on the edge of the street. The wheels spun, and the car swerved wildly, and for a moment Tifa thought Reno was going to lose control, but the tires caught and the car straightened out. Reno, once more on the road, raced down it without slowing down at all.
By some miracle they made it to the end of the block without colliding with anything. They car burst out onto a main road again, Reno turning left this time, back into traffic going the same way they were.
Tifa heard the engine growl as Reno floored it again. He cut back and forth around some more cars, passing two more lights that were, fortunately, green before looking in the rear view mirror and finally slowing down.
She turned to look back once again, but saw no sign of pursuit.
"I think we lost them," Reno spoke up.
Tifa lifted her hand to her chest to feel her heart thudding inside.
"I think I nearly lost my lunch!" she proclaimed.
"Oh come on, that was fun!" he said, turning to look at her and grinning.
"Fun? What are you insane?"
"It was!" Reno insisted. "C'mon, just feel that adrenaline rush! There's nothing like that to make you feel alive. I'm tempted to find them again just so we can do it once more."
"You're a lunatic!"
He didn't say anything, just sat there grinning like an idiot. Tifa fell silent as well, leaning back and trying to relax. After a while, she felt her heartbeat return to something resembling normalcy.
"Who do you think that was?" she spoke up eventually.
He shrugged.
"Who knows. I've made a lot of enemies over the years. Could be just about anyone. Hey, for all we know it could have been nothing, just my imagination getting the better of me, or maybe it was just someone who thought we had a cool car and wanted to race."
She looked at him but did not question his explanation, though she had her doubts about it, as she suspected he did to. Was he just saying that, about it maybe being an old enemy, or nothing at all, just to reassure her? Trying to make her not worry, trying to make her think it might not be Psi Co?
She wasn't sure. If so she felt grateful for him trying to protect her, but it wasn't necessary and perhaps counterproductive. If they were in danger, she should know about it.
She didn't know what else to say, and they were silent for some time.
"So... where do you want to go?" Reno spoke up eventually.
She looked down at the floor, smoothing her dress on her legs nervously. Suddenly she felt a strong desire to go home, to make sure Karisa was okay.
"I don't know Reno, I think it might be better if you took me home now."
"Hey, come on. Don't be like that. The night is young. I'm sure she's fine. I'm sure it was all nothing."
Still, he didn't protest with his usual vehemence. She could see that their little chase scene had had an effect on him as well.
"No, really," she said again. "I really think it's best if I head home. I told Priscilla I'd be back by midnight."
She looked at him, an apologetic look on her face. To her surprise, for once, he didn't seem in the mood to give her a hard time, or make anymore comments about her early self imposed curfew, even though the clock on the dashboard only read a few minutes past eleven. He nodded.
"Yeah, all right."
He drove back to her place. It didn't take long. Tifa saw Reno glance up in the rear view mirror every once in a while, scrutinizing the cars behind them, but he must have seen nothing, for they made it back to her apartment without incident.
He pulled up to the curb and stopped. He turned to look at her.
"So, did you have a good time?"
She smiled and nodded.
"It was fun."
"So then, how would you feel about doing it again sometime?"
She thought about that for a moment.
"Sure," she replied. "Just, maybe a place that's not so... wild, next time?"
"Oh all right," he replied, rolling his eyes in mock seriousness. "Tomorrow?"
She laughed.
"You're incorrigible you know that? I have to work tomorrow, remember?"
"Oh yeah," he said, making a face.
They looked at one another for a moment.
"I'll see you," she said, opening her door, but he reached out a hand and took her wrist. She looked at him.
"You don't think I'm going to let you go without a goodbye kiss, do you?" he questioned.
She hesitated just a moment, not even sure why. It was a natural thing to do, now wasn't it? If she had any thought of declining the request it didn't have time to turn into anything coherent, for, taking her hesitation as a yes, he leaned forward and a moment later their lips met.
His whole body tingled at the touch of her lips against his own. Once more he was filled with desire, the almost overwhelming need to sweep this girl into his arms and hold her forever. The touch of her lips against his, the smell of her, the soft feel of her skin, it all reminded him of that night, that night he couldn't forget.
A moment later she broke off the kiss, her face receding from his, though he wanted with all his heart for that to never happen. Once again he cursed himself and this hold she had over him, this hold that she had no idea she possessed.
"Goodbye," he heard her say. He grunted something in reply, he wasn't even sure what, and then the door closed. He sat there watching her, watching her walk up the walkway to her door, watching her hunt through her pocket book for her keys, watching her open the door and vanish inside.
He sighed and laid his head back, looking up at the ceiling and shaking his head. He had had fun tonight and knew she had too, but still, what was he expecting? What could come of this?
He didn't want to think about it anymore. He turned the key and the car came to life again. As he drove home and the feel of her presence began to fade, the other events of the night came back to him.
It was true, he had told Tifa the people chasing them might be nothing at all to keep her from worrying. He had a feeling he knew exactly who it had been, and knew that a little setback like that would not deter them. Thinking about it now, he realized that perhaps he should have thought more about covering up their tracks when they broke into Psi Co, hiding their identity somehow though he had no idea how that might have been accomplished. Perhaps it would be better if they all just laid low, all just left town for a little while, or maybe a long while.
Somehow he didn't think Tifa would go for that. She was at home here, he could tell. She didn't really like it all that much but he had a feeling it would be hard to get her to move, to take it seriously enough. She had an apartment here, she had a job. Sure, she could get those somewhere else, but they had already talked about this once and she hadn't seemed like she could be coaxed into going, at least, not easily.
Actually he didn't think they had to leave right now himself. He wasn't convinced that was their only option, not yet. Maybe sometime in the future that might change. So far as he could tell, Psi Co didn't have any concrete plans, didn't know for sure who had done it, though of course, he couldn't know that for certain. That had been Jake's task but with Psi Co all locked up, he wasn't surprised the man had failed. He just hoped that if it came to it and they had no choice but to leave, Tifa wouldn't give him a hard time.
He was worried about what Jake had told him. He'd known Drax a long time, and maybe that was to his advantage, but he also knew that what Jake had told him was true, the man was utterly ruthless, killing without remorse and taking a great deal of pleasure in doing so. The man always struck for the weakest link and, in spite of her fighting prowess, that meant Tifa. He wasn't worried about himself, his belief in his own omnipotence was unruffled, and Rude was an old hand at this sort of thing, but he was worried about what Drax might do to her. She wasn't used to this kind of thing. He'd have to keep a close eye on her.
He found a parking space near his own apartment and parked the car. The night was cold and clear, and he pulled his scarf closer about his neck as he walked down the street to his door. Opening it he walked into a dark hall. He seemed unconcerned about his surrounding but that was misleading. He lived in a run down place, half the lights in the halls didn't work. There were dark corners and narrow passageways throughout the building, an assortment of places for an assassin to hide, waiting to spring out. Reno's head was down but his eyes scanned the corridor as he walked, looking for anything out of place, his hand at his side, wrapped around the grip of his nightstick.
Nothing happened, however. All was quiet as he made his way to his door. There he stopped, looking at the door itself, and the paper that was taped to it.
He glanced around for a moment, then looked at the paper.
It was an eviction notice.
He stood there reading it for a moment, just long enough to get the gist, then reached up and tore it off the door. He pulled out his keys and opened the door, walking in and closing it behind him. Leaning against the wall he looked down at the paper again. He had one week to pay all his back rent or the sheriff would come to throw him out. One week. Nine hundred gil. He didn't even have close to that in his account.
"Shit," he said softly.
He stood there for a long time, staring at the wall in front of him. Finally he crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the general direction of the wastebasket beside his desk, then turned and walked over to the kitchenette, heading for the liquor cabinet.