Power Play Chapter 3

Tseng, director of the department of Administrative Research for ShinRa Company, was unable to keep the dark glower from his face as he waited somewhat impatiently for the elevator to arrive. The other employees on the floor, wise from years of reading his moods, refrained from making small talk, pausing only long enough to shoot him sidelong curious glances before determinedly returning their attention to the paperwork on their desks. A light ding signaled the arrival of the car and Tseng was soon gone from their sight.

Inside, Tseng carefully depressed a button for the secured level that was his destination and slid his keycard into the slot to clear his access. As the car slowly rose through the floors, only steely discipline stopped the young chief of the Turks from pacing around the enclosed space. The only indication of his stress was the furrow line between his brows and the tense grip of his fingers around the handle of the heavy metal case by his right. He was not looking forward to the upcoming interview.

Another ding and the carriage came to a stop. The doors opened into a nondescript hallway branching out to the left and right. Tseng turned with easy familiarity to the left, turned yet again at the next corner before coming to a stop before a plain steel door. He didn't bother with the doorbell, discreetly placed to the side, instead once more sliding his keycard through the access panel and punching in an override code. The door slid obediently open and Tseng strode in.

A quick glance around the large plush living room confirmed Tseng's target was absent so he swept through it towards a short hallway to the back. Two steps later and he was confronted by yet another door. Without further ado, he turned the knob and barged in.

The sound of his entry roused the single occupant on the spacious bed. Rufus ShinRa sat up and blinked with sleepy-eyed confusion. "Tseng? What are you doing here?" he slurred in dream-fogged tones.

Tseng refused to answer. He strode over to a side table and slammed his case onto the surface, the crash of metal on wood ringing discordantly loud in the silence of the room. He expertly flicked the latches open but did not remove anything before turning his attention back to Rufus.

A silence dragged out as Tseng stared icily at Rufus. Minutes ticked by while he held his composure with a tight rein.

"You're upset about something," Rufus said at last, knuckling the sand from his eyes. He made a futile effort to straighten up the dishevel of his silken pajamas, half unbuttoned and rumpled from his sleep.

"Oh you think?" Tseng said in sarcastic reply. "I've just come from an interesting conversation with your father. And with new orders."

That said, Tseng galvanized into action, pausing only to remove some items from the case. He was upon Rufus in a flash, gripping the young man by his collar as he hauled him upwards. With a sharp tug, yanked the pajama top apart, ignoring the button that flew past his cheek.

Rufus gasped with stupefied surprise at the sudden violence. He was even more alarmed when Tseng started tying a tourniquet around his exposed arm. His eyes widened and he tried to pull away but Tseng seemed to have anticipated the action and thrust an arm against his neck in a chokehold. Pinned, Rufus was only able to watch in horror as Tseng pushed a large needle into an exposed vein.

It didn't take long before the syringe was full and Tseng was pulling it free. A quick dab of an alcohol swab and Rufus was suddenly released. Tseng returned to the case with the vial and slid it into the complicated instrument within. Minutes later, it spat out a readout.

Rufus had flopped back on the bed, one hand slowly massaging the wound on his arm as he turned to watch Tseng studying the result of his blood test. "So are you going to give that to him?" There was no question who he was referring to. For now, there was only one boss in ShinRa.

Tseng paused and turned his full attention on Rufus. For some reason, the beautiful youth appeared totally unalarmed by the prospect. He contemplated him some more, putting aside his own frustration from the situation and suddenly it clicked.

"You want me to show this to him," he said finally.

Rufus appeared pleased that Tseng had figured it out. "I can't ever hide anything from you, can I, Tseng?" he answered, flipping over to his side to stretch luxuriously like a contented cat.

"Why on Gaia would you want your father to think you're a drug addict?" Tseng demanded. He waved the readout at Rufus. "Of Trance, of all things?"

Trance was a popular drug, used by those members of Rufus' acquaintance that Tseng would have thought he scorned. A derivative of Loco Weed and Mako, the confuse factor in the weed synthesized into a mind numbing bliss, it made its addicts indolent and uninhibited. It was also distinctive in its cost. In all, a rich boy's drug but one that Tseng would have never thought Rufus would indulge in.

Rufus took a few seconds to smirk at Tseng. "Because I needed to give him something to be angry about at me," Rufus said.

Tseng itched to kiss that irritating smugness from Rufus' lips but business first. "Explain," he demanded succinctly.

Rufus sighed and took a deep breath for his exposition. "Remember that guy you killed? The Avalanche middleman that I was dealing with?"

Tseng nodded.

"It appears that there is an investigation surrounding his disappearance once it was discovered he's an Avalanche member. Now also apparently, I haven't been as careful as I thought and people have seen me with him. The only good thing about this mess is that apart from being a terrorist backer, he's also a drug dealer. Of Trance, in fact." Rufus paused to allow Tseng to draw his conclusions.

"So this is all a feint?" It wasn't really a question.

Rufus nodded with satisfaction. "I knew you'd figure it out. Better to be a drug addict to my father than to be exposed as having funded people out to destroy him," Rufus said with dry humor.

"Now you can give him the readout and promise him that you'll break me from this terrible habit," he mocked.

Now that Tseng knew the truth, all his previous frustration dissipated. He tucked the readout carefully back into the case and returned to the bed beside Rufus. "You take terrible risks to your own health," he said in gentle reproach. He couldn't resist reaching out and brushing a golden strand from Rufus' brow.

"I know. But you should know by now that I don't do things without a reason," Rufus said, and leaned closer to Tseng. Emboldened by the drug, he nuzzled at him and made a disgruntled sound when Tseng held him away.

"Go to sleep, you're tired out," Tseng said simply and pulled him down. He could see Rufus was muddle headed from the drug from the oddly dilated focus of his eyes. If Tseng was going to do anything with this attractive but also frustrating young man, he wanted him to be in the full possession of his faculties. He wanted no drug taint to Rufus' memories with him.

Rufus seemed to understand and obediently did as he was told. A contented stretch and yawn later and his lashes fluttered down, the narcotic dragging him into slumber.

Tseng carefully removed his coat and rearranged himself next to Rufus, pulling him close in a protective embrace. He would be there when Rufus woke up and started going through withdrawal.

~~~Fin

Notes: So this plot bunny came out of a conversation I had with Nekojita about how we didn't think Rufus would ever abuse drugs. I decided that certain circumstances might make him decide to do so. And of course, Tseng would be right there, involved and protecting him. I love his dedication.

In case you haven’t noticed, this series can be characterized by Rufus rolling around in bed, while Tseng manhandles him and never does anything more than that. Ha ha.

Also credit goes to Elvaron for suggesting the use of Loco Weed as a drug, which in game, casts confuse on all enemies.