Stepping Into the Light [Elena, Tseng]

Alessandro was about halfway through his cigarette before he heard footsteps outside the office door. It sounded like two different walking patterns. One seemed to walk like he had a stick up his rear end, with stern and heavy footsteps. The other pair he heard was lighter and seemed to have a little bounce it it’s step. He chuckled quietly as he assumed the first pair of feet belonged to Tseng, but the other must be a newer Turk if it was someone with him. He didn’t quite recognize the pattern.

Now, he’s made no attempt to conceal his presence, because of Tseng opened the door to see a man at his desk it could end up with Alessandro having a new breathing hole. He heard the door handle fidget slightly and stop. They knew someone was inside. Alessandro, who was staring at the ceiling, looked down straight at the door as he tapped the top of his cigarette into the empty coffee mug on Tseng’s desk.

The door burst open as a pair of pistols pointed into each of Alex’s eyes. One definitely belonged to Tseng but the other was interesting. It belonged to a small blonde haired woman that was quite familiar as the little sister of fellow sharpshooter, Gun. Elena, he believed, was her name. It seemed like she followed in her sisters footsteps and joined the Turks after all.

”Tseng, you really need to hire a couple of new guards. I might as well have had a neon sign above my head as I walked in. I didn’t even see a guard til I got to this floor.”

At his request, Alessandro lifted his feet from the desk and placed them firmly on the ground as he leaned forward, pressing his cigarette into the empty coffee mug to extinguish the cherry at the tip.

”I see your sister got you a job easily enough, Elena. Now, Tseng, I think you know why I’m here. I need my job back. These bouncer jobs aren’t cutting it and I really don’t wanna go back to Corneo for work.”

Alessandro stood up, so Tseng could have his seat at his desk, and walked over to the far wall and leaned against it. As he had heard it, when WEAPON attacked Midgar, just before Meteorfall, Rufus had been killed. If the only reason he was living in the shadows was dead, then why couldn’t he resume life as a Turk and do what he was good at: protection.


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Alex had to start off with the snippy comments about security and Tseng shook his head a bit. It was quite obvious as they lacked the man power. They had the WRO assisting with a lot of the gaps, which was a welcomed relief. But, most were not trained properly. "I am fully aware. We've been a bit short since Meteorfall....and no one expected a Turk that doesnt exist anymore to be waltzing in the front door..." He responded as he watched the former turk closely, sighing as he put his cigarette out in the mug. That meant he had a bit of washing to do before he could have a fresh cup. "....I forgot how much worse you were than Reno..."

The comment about Gun getting Elena the job was certainly a touchy subject. He did half expect the rookie to say something. Especially since she had no idea who this man was. If she did, he'd honestly be surprised. Yet, she made no retort or acknowledgement of the statement. It was honestly a good thing. Alessandro was someone that Tseng would prefer to handle.

But, the subject about him returning to the Turks pulled him from his other thoughts. Was the man being completely serious. Tseng gave him an odd look. "....You can't. Rufus will have both our heads if he finds out you're not actually dead.... and second, Corneo is dead." Reno had handled the pig after he had kidnapped Elena a few years back. He was surprised that Alex was so far out of the loop.

Elena's comment about the president being thrilled made the Director shake his head. "...Very unlikely. Even short staffed. He'll figure out that Alessandro probably was not the only Turk we claimed dead...I do not see it going well." He explained as he moved to go and shut his office door.

Was it possible to overload on information in a little over a minute?  Alessandro was about to find out.  He was immediately informed that the President of Shin-Ra was very much alive.  He thought Rufus died somewhere between a WEAPON attack and Meteorfall, but the details were sketchy.  However, Alessandro took a moment to piece things together.  If Rufus had survived the WEAPON's attack on Midgar then he easily could have gotten to a helicopter before Meteor became an issue.  

Moreover, after Meteorfall, Shin-Ra's PR had taken a hit.  They'd just spent billions of Gil to move the canon from Junon to Midgar only to still cost the lives of millions from Diamond WEAPON's attack.  He was in the slums of Sector 4 when everything began to go down.  It was a nightmare.  He'd made it topside only to see hundreds dead simply from the falling debris of Shin-Ra's headquarters.  Then, the media had uncovered the closing of the space program, which could have helped prepare for Meteor.  Two Guns shook his head, hiding the astonishment from his face.

"Figures he'd still be kickin'.  I bet he was the center of all that crazy action in Edge too."

He also had no idea that Corneo was actually gone.  Sure, he'd only seen the underlings around the Honeybee Inn, but he just assumed that fat bastard had finally caught an STD and was too embarrassed to show his face.  If you had to ask him, Alex would have said the world was better off without the Don.

"Corneo's gone, eh....good.  Weasel was bound to do something stupid and get offed eventually.  A birdy told me he had a small role in Sector 7's demo-"

Alessandro's sentence was cut short by the office door flying open and the familiar form of Dark Nation bounding onto Tseng's desk.  There were two major reasons why he hadn't heard the president coming.  First, he'd been focused on Tseng at the moment.  Secondly, he quit paying attention to the outside because of the weak security force on this floor.  They probably still didn't realize he was here.

As Alessandro looked out the door, a million thoughts went rushing through his head.  Most of them were drowned out by the thought of Holy shit he's actually alive!  He'd completely ignored Tseng warning him not to be seen, but it was kinda too late for that.  In the next five minutes, Alessandro would either be dead or reinstated as a Turk.  There was probably not going to be any middle ground here.

"So, I can see you're surprised.  Let me just say, this is kind of a two way street.  I thought you died in the WEAPON attack."

Alessandro didn't make a lot of movement, mostly because he didn't want Dark Nation fur all over his suit.  He was here on an impromptu job interview and all.  This was probably the biggest difference between himself and Reno.  Reno would have flipped his lid if he were in Alex's shoes.  Alessandro had seen enough strange things to know that anything could happen.  He did manage to reach into his pocket and pull out another cigarette and his lighter.  Stress always seemed to make him chain smoke.

This week was certainly not Tseng's week. With the heating issue to start, Rufus had been overly annoying with his requests and tasks. It only made things more obvious that the President needed to hire a secretary. But, the man never seemed to listen to Tseng's recommendations on that matter. Alessandro's appearance was about to make things far worse for the Director. Rufus would not handle the knowledge well and it would all be blamed on Tseng one way or another. It would be for lying about all the Turk's death's during the Zirconiade incident. He knew what Rufus had told him while under arrest in the Turk's base back in the day. That Veld needed to die and it wouldn't hurt if a few of the other Turks that weren't as easy to assimilate didn't make it back. Though, only three making it back certainly did not please anyone. Had it not been for Rufus stepping in like promised, Tseng and the remaining Turks would have been 'decommissioned' by the other Directors and the former President. For the Turks, it would have meant their execution. Tseng simply never informed Rufus of his deception to keep the Turks safe, even after everything that happened. That was his first mistake.

Tseng was still in the middle of conversation with Alex though. "You're not wrong..." He replied to the statement about Rufus being in the middle of the action in Edge. What the former Turk did not know was that he'd jumped off a building, just to make things more interesting. Or, that's what Tseng told himself as he felt it was just an unnecessary risk for the President. But, he didn't add anything onto the initial statement. Alessandro did not need the details.

That's when he heard it. The patter of Dark Nation's footsteps. There was no hiding the former Turk now. This was exactly what he feared. His hand moved from closing the door and stepped to the side a bit as the creature pushed his way in, growling to warn of an odd presence to keep the President safe for danger. Tseng would only close his eyes and let out a defeated sigh. He wasn't sure if he wished for a swift death now or having to wait for the appropriate date in the future for it. It would depend on Rufus's mood how he handled the deception from years before. He didn't feel very optimistic with how the President was bundled up when he stepped in the Director's office behind his hound, the disapproval on his face as he commented about warming up.

That's when Alex began to speak up, probably digging his grave deeper as be began to light a cigarette again out of sheer panic, even if it didn't show on his face. They all knew this could end one of two ways, and no one felt very optimistic. "Alex...." He warned as Elena spoke up, stating exactly what he was thinking. Though, with the added 'shut up' in his tone. The former turk could get them all killed right now. The only person in the room that did not seem worried was Elena. She didn't even seem mad at the possibility that her sister might even be alive if Alessandro was. Tseng just needed to decide if he wanted to lie and say that not 'all' the Turks died in the blast. But then, he'd need to pick the ones that 'survived' and who 'died'. But things could be worse if one of the 'confirmed dead' Turks reemerged. Was it better to just come clean? Or lie to try and neutralize some of the frustration. Only Rufus's reaction would tell. ".......sir-" He started, knowing he was going to be cut off before he could explain.

It looked like the cat was out of the bag...and standing on the desk ready to rip Alessandro's throat out.  A lot had happened in the days since Wutai, but it didn't make Rufus any easier of a person to talk to.  Truth was it was his daddy issues that put Alex in this precarious situation.  Ignoring Elena's plea against smoking in the office, Alessandro took a long drag before he spoke to his former employer.

"Not a whole lot of leisure to be had.  Its kinda hard to find a job when you're legally dead, and a lot of the dirty jobs died when Midgar did."

Alessandro needed to think real hard about how to best approach his former boss's son. He knew that both his own and Tseng's lives were hinging on his ability to not sound like an ass.  He could almost see the fumes rising from him.  It seemed to be more than the moment at hand.  Something had already had the president in a foul mood before he arrived, or so Alex assumed.


"Truth is, I came to Tseng for help.  He's as surprised I'm here as you are, I expect..."

Yeah, he would lie.  That seemed to be the easiest approach.  He would make it sound like he was lucky to not make it to the end, and tell a fib about receiving a near fatal wound.  Something like this wouldn't leave a lot of evidence, and he would state that he lived in the shadows after hearing what happened to the rest of the Turks.

"I was left for dead in Midgar.  Zirconaide hit me and I was unresponsive..took a nasty fall.  When I came to, I nursed myself upright.  When I heard what happened to the others...I stayed in the shadows."

Whether Rufus believed that or not remained to be seen, but, if they both killed here, this would certainly help him talk Tseng into putting Alessandro back on the payroll.

Tseng was not quite sure what to do given the situation. It was a very tight rope and he had no idea what he should say. What was truly safe to state? It did not seem to be a win in either situation. The director did not see a way out of this either. He was between a rock and a hard place. His eyes on Rufus as the president laughed and made his back handed comment. The blonde business man could be quite arrogant when he wanted to be.

The thing that bothered him the most was the way that he moved toward Elena and caught her chin under his fingers. He had no idea why it bothered him half as much as it had. But, it did. The way she became bright read and flustered at his statement. He explained about the two being traitors and she being the only one that he could trust.

That is when Alex chimed in with his truth. But it would not be acceptable to Rufus. The only option would be to be honest. Explain that it was the only option that would favor them in the long run. "Alex, I appreciate the attempt...." He commented as he glanced at the man briefly before looking back to Rufus.

"Veld was only against your father and his actions, not ShinRa....and we did not quite trust your intent back then...the trust came over time.... that trust had been lost when your father turned against Veld. But you had said when we spoke that Veld needed to die... and the less Turks that made it out of the fight, the better it would be for the department's survival. That you would only be able to manage so much. So, I took advantage of Zirconiade's collapse and listed them appropriately... and it worked. The small council agreed with your sentiment and allowed the department to remain. The former Turks assisted during Meteorfall. But yes, they were all alive.... including Gun.... I'm not completely sure on all of them currently, but I believe most are still." He explained to the president as he watched the man closely. This was going to be a hard one. He was sure that Elena may still be angry at him for not informing her, letting her believe her sister was dead. This was just hard all around. His eyes on Elena briefly.

He was just really flustered himself. For Elena's reaction as well as the situation. But he did not see Rufus ending his life. He was far too useful. The mistake was years before and it was necessary. He needed the Turks to be safe and he was not sure that Rufus could be trusted till after he'd followed through on his word and saved the three remaining. He, Reno, and Rude.

"...Now do you want to discuss what you needed now? We can discuss the others later. They are not going anywhere..." He stated as he watched the President, seeming calm the entire time. This was going to be a close call and he prayed it actually worked.