Sorry for the lateness of this chapter and thanks for the reminder^^ I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 21

Genesis congratulated himself on his good reactions and instincts, as he pressed himself against the back of one of the many wardrobes. His heart was thundering so loud that he was afraid Rufus and his bodyguard would still notice him. But through the slits in the door he saw no evidence of his detection.

"This was tiring," Rufus complained, taking off the tie from around his neck to throw it careless over the sofa, "I can't wait till that old man is gone for good."

The bodyguard nodded, his dark glasses hiding the bulky man's expression. He stood by the door, hands in front of his lap, his broad shoulders blocking the entrance.

"How did it go with project S, by the way?" Rufus walked behind his desk, flicking through a few documents without sitting down, but at the question he looked up at the bodyguard.

"I'm afraid our attempts to settle the matter have yet to bear fruits," the man muttered in a deep voice, shifting a bit uncomfortably. Rufus was known for his infamous temper sometimes when things didn't go his way.

"What?!" Rufus immediately thundered, his fist landing heavily on the tidy desk, where papers were carelessly flying around now. His ice blue eyes gleamed with anger. "What can you do right?" He growled lowly, his face distorted. "I send him on a mission with some newbie to be torn apart by a zolom, and what happens? He comes back in one piece and is barely hurt at all. I send him to investigate on that bridge to get blown into pieces, and what happens? He comes back!" He spat and abruptly turned to face the wide glass front behind his desk. "And now I go out of my way to arrange this mako incident that should dead sure kill him and what happens? He's hospitalized for a few days?! What the hell is wrong with you?! Can't you do anything right? How hard can it be to kill one single man?!" His flat hand collided forcefully with the glass when he ended, his breathing accelerated

"I'm..."

"Don't... say it." Rufus warned. "I don't want to hear your excuses. I want to finally see Sephiroth dead. Who am I to thank for your failure this time" He asked sardonically, turning to face the poor guy by the door. The man, Reno identified him as one of his fellow Turks named Rude, cleared his throat. He remained admiringly calm at the temper tantrum Rufus threw.

"His partner, Genesis Rhapsodos, alarmed one of the staff members." When Reno heard that, he stiffened. Actually he had been the one to unknowingly spoil the vice president's plan and it could get him in trouble. Rude was a great guy for not mentioning his name... Too bad Reno couldn't thank him for that, since technically, he wasn't even supposed to know about the conversation. But he recorded it all. Maybe they didn't have anything on paper, but this was even better: video footage about Rufus explicitly complaining about a failed assassination. Granted, the picture wasn't that great, because Genesis could only film through a tiny opening of his wardrobe, but it was enough to identify Rufus as the one who was talking.

Rufus huffed in response and turned back to the window, staring at the city below him.

"And who is that Rhapsodos? A First Class? An elite Turk?" He finally asked snidely. "He's a nobody, Rude, how can he get in between me and the power over this company?" With that Rufus pushed away from the window and turned around to face Rude. "It won't come off as incidents anymore. Tseng is already investigating, even though he's doing a poor job because he obviously knows I'm the one responsible. Anyway, as soon as someone else, especially my father, finds out, we are done, Rude. Do you understand?"

With a morose look he flopped down on his chair, interlacing his fingers and propping his head onto them. "Now we need a new idea, to get rid of my father's golden boy."

"Excuse my asking sir," Rude spoke up, something that was rather unusual for the quiet man. "But why is it that General Sephiroth must be eliminated?" Reno suspected that Rude was not at ease with the mission; otherwise he wouldn't have questioned Rufus' motives. Apparently he was as much at a loss here as Reno was. But he was a Turk and a loyal one. So he would do whatever Rufus ordered him to do, even if it didn't sit well with him. Now Reno was kind of glad about his babysitting jobs...

Rufus shot the man a dark look, but then deigned to explain himself with that natural air of arrogance and superiority of his. "General Sephiroth needs to die, because he is the symbol of my father's power, his reign. Everything he is, everything ShinRa Company represents, my father's achievements, his goals, his work is all accumulated in that one figure, that mascot. What do you think people answer when you ask them why they want to join SOLDIER, what they associate with ShinRa?" He nonchalantly asked, giving the answer himself a second later. "Sephiroth. Even our enemies hesitate in the face of that man's influence and prowess. And it will only get worse. With him out of the picture it will be easy to overthrow father. And that is why he must be eliminated," the vice-president finished gravely.

Genesis gulped at that confession. Rufus wanted Sephiroth to be killed because he wanted to get rid of his father and take over ShinRa, he did this because he wanted to be head of his father's company. Over the headset he heard even Reno gasp, Rude merely stood and watched the blonde explain.

"Nevermind," Rufus sighed finally, waving his hand dismissively around before getting up and walking past Rude. "We just need to be more creative and get Sephiroth's boy toy off his heals. He seems to have a bad influence on our plans. Let's go." He said as the door swiftly opened.

Reno held his breath as they walked past his plant towards the elevator. He counted the seconds it took them to wait and enter the damn glass cabin and finally be out of his sight!

When they were gone he blew out a massive amount of air, and finally got up. His knees and his back were soar, as were most of his muscles from being so tense. "You can come out now, they're gone, yo," he said over the speaker, stretching carefully. They better get out of here soon too, they had no plausible explanation for their presence, in case someone caught them and asked.

Genesis had waited for Reno to say that before he could finally relax. He could have easily been caught here if he had made only one wrong move, a tiny noise. His heart was still thundering so loudly in his ears that he needed a few seconds to get up.

After he had carefully made his way out of Rufus' office, he knelt down beside Reno. "He's crazy, Reno," he said lowly.

"Damn right he is," Reno commented dryly. "But from his point of view it makes sense. And that is the worst. That's ShinRa politics, yo." Reno looked at the little gadget in his hand, turning the recorder off. "Let's get out of here now. We can discuss a plan for damage control elsewhere."

He picked up his stuff from behind the pot plant and made his way over the shiny, polished floor to the elevator. There were times where he really didn't want to know what was going on behind closed doors. And now was such a time.

The other redhead followed with a sigh and together they took the elevator to bring them down. Genesis decided to not loose a word about the whole incident before they were sure no one was listening. If anything, his short time at ShinRa had taught him, that you were barely ever unsupervised.

"So, where're we going now?"

"Some place safe," Reno curtly dismissed, stopping the elevator at the 35th floor. They got off, the redhead checking the corridor for people all the while. Then he suddenly pulled open one of the many doors that flanked their way, pushing Genesis inside. Actually, he had chosen the only room on that floor that was not to be entered through sliding doors.

It was a broom closet.

"All right, let's see what we have." Reno set down his equipment, impatiently pushing Genesis aside, as it was rather narrow in here and he needed the space. "If we're lucky, I got it all taped," he muttered in a lowered voice while he plugged in his headphones, at the same time fishing a cigarette out of the pocket of his suit.

Genesis crossed his arms in front of his chest and rolled his eyes, but refrained from saying anything. As long as Reno didn't push his temper too far it would be okay. And after this incident he didn't have too much energy to scold Reno for shoving him around.

"Who will we show it to, if we got everything?" He asked tiredly while watching the other work. "Tseng? Or the president himself? I doubt they will do anything against Rufus. He's the president's son after all."

"We can't show this to the president," Reno said tightly. He might not look or behave like the sharpest tool in the box, but that was due to laziness, not because he was dumb. In fact he knew a lot more about Shinra politics than he let on. Otherwise he wouldn't have survived this serpents' nest.

"There is no guarantee that he will act on it. They are a messed up family. If we're unlucky he will compliment his deranged son on his ambitions and we'll be gotten rid off. Even if he does take action Shinra Junior's wrath will be upon us and believe me, you don't want that. He might be a crazy bastard, but he got power, influence and followers that will take care of us if he can't. There needs to be a more elegant solution." He bit his lip, then pulled the plug out of his ear. "Everything's recorded. I suggest we get in contact with Rufus directly."

"Won't that bring his wrath upon us as well?" Genesis subjected doubtfully. "There is no guarantee that he won't get rid of us right away. Even if he doesn't, what makes you so sure that he would even act upon it if not even his father would go against him?"

Even though they had the evidence they had longed for, Genesis was more hopeless than before. At least they could tell Sephiroth about it.

"First of all, it will bring his wrath upon you," Reno clarified, crossing his arms over his chest. He had no intention of getting officially involved. And why would he? He had no attachments to Sephiroth and he'd risked too much already. "But you're not stupid. You will make copies that you hide in a safe place. Should something happen to you or Sephiroth the files will be send to all newspapers. ShinRa's grip on them is not as tight as he wants it to be and there are underground magazines. Besides, word travels fast in the slums. And even Rufus won't be stupid enough to risk the crowds' hatred. They won't take it kindly that he tries to take away their hero and once his plans are made public even ShinRa senior won't be able to play it down. He will have to take sanctioning consequences." Reno paused, taking a long drag from his cigarette, the burning end glowing hotly. "Make sure Rufus understands that. You got him trapped, and you can make him stop if you play your cards right, yo."

The other red-head shrugged. "For me there's no difference between 'we' and 'you'. If anything goes wrong I'm dead – or worse – anyway," he answered wryly before leaning against the cupboard next to Reno. It was full of buckets, sponges and smelly cleaning articles and the smell of rotten cloth filled his nostrils. He wondered if ever someone went to clean in here.

"Let me sum that up again. I – or you for that matter because we at least want to do this right – will copy the tape, I'll take one to Rufus and confront him with what's on it. I'll blackmail the president's son… now isn't this totally screwed…" He sighed exaggeratedly, looking thoughtfully around in the small cabinet. "Thank you, Reno. Really…" The small smile on his lips was a genuine one. The other had risked a lot to help him, not only his job, but also his life, even though he so vehemently denied the danger. Who'd have thought, after how they had started off...

"Yeah, you'll blackmail him," Reno smirked with unhidden glee. "Feed him some of his own shit." Exhaling blue smoke into the tiny box they were squashed in, Reno put back his stuff into a bag. "I'll make the copy and set up the safety plan. I know where to send this in case shit hits the fan. You go worry about your boyfriend, I'll call you once I'm done. Then you can go all berserk on ShinRa junior. But no word about me, capice?" He threw Genesis a warning look, pointing with his cigarette at him.

"He isn't my boyfriend and yes, I'll keep your good reputation safe, don't worry," Genesis smirked playfully, chuckling at Reno's unhidden happiness about paying Rufus back. "You don't seem to like Rufus, do you now?"

Reno shrugged, pretending that the man didn't get under his skin. The truth was, Rufus could be one creepy, power-hungry and ruthless bastard. He was an opportunist, unpredictable and smart, which made him all the more dangerous. Reno wouldn't mind fucking him, though. The blond was handsome and got - believe it or not- a sense of humor that went straight to Reno's funny bone. Anyway, he didn't want to ponder that now, so he deflected,

"Not your boyfriend, eh? What's with all the drama then?"

Genesis eyed him thoughtfully for a moment before he sighed, "I kind of promised to take care of him and he's a friend in need for help. I'm not as heartless as you might think." He had almost told Reno of Sephiroth's brothers even though he had vowed never to tell anyone about them. The silver-haired man was still sensitive about his family, but now that he knew what was going on inside the company, Genesis understood him. He obviously wanted to protect his brothers and if Sephiroth couldn't protect himself as well, the red-head would do it. He would make sure this ShinRa brat got a mouthful, one way or the other.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Reno snorted provokingly, rolling his eyes in disbelief. He barely refrained from whistling 'Seph and Gen, sittin' in a tree'. On the other hand it was probably better for them to keep a low profile. Becoming attached also meant to be vulnerable.

"I'm out, yo. Send you a text later." He let his cig fall to the floor and stomped on it, then opened the door and slid his head outside to see if the corridor was clear.

Looking after him, as Reno walked off, Genesis barely refrained from giving a snarky reply. He just waited for the door to fall closed and sighed deeply, the tension suddenly bleeding out of him for the first time this day. He finally noticed that he got what he wanted, Sephiroth would be safe… So perhaps he felt a little responsible for the taller swordsman, but that didn't mean anything.

He rubbed his palms over his tired eyes, trying to decide what to do now that this was finally over. He would have to think about a way to confront Rufus, that was up to him anyway. He couldn't just walk into the other's office and accuse him. Something like a meeting had to be arranged, that was what normal people did. Genesis decided to bother with that the next morning, now it was too late. Wherever Rufus had gone to, he doubted the blonde would return to his office anytime soon. Until then he had to personally watch out for Sephiroth, who was still in hospital.

That would be his next destination, again.

When the door to his room opened, Sephiroth looked up from the magazine he wasn't really reading. It was ridiculous that they still kept him here, tied to the bed, when he was feeling fine, but the doctor wouldn't listen of course. They wouldn't even let him do some training. Instead the nurse had thrown a stack of tattered magazines at him and told him dryly to grin and bear it. Maybe he should have replied to her flirting, her attitude had rapidly deteriorated after that...

Also, it was very suspicious that Genesis had been gone for so long, thus Sephiroth gave him a cool look as he finally deigned to grace a sick, almost dying man with a visit. "Where have you been?" Sephiroth asked, marginally peeved.

Genesis stopped at the door, a puzzled expression painted over his face at the harsh greeting. Not that Sephiroth was kindness personified, but the redhead couldn't think of anything that could possibly have pissed him off now. Especially since Genesis hadn't even tried to annoy him...

"I was with Reno," he answered, settling for the truth to not make Sephiroth's foul mood even worse. "How are you feeling?"

"With Reno?" Sephiroth lifted his chin suspiciously. "What did you do?" He ignored the question about his health on purpose, as it didn't matter right now.

"We worked." Genesis merely said, his expression never changing as he walked towards the bed and sat down on the chair next to it. "Will you answer my question now or is this an interrogation?"

Sephiroth kept his suspicions, but then he sighed and fell back into the cushion, looking miserable. Miserably bored. "I'm fine, but no one believes me. I'm bored out of my wits.. There's nothing to do here. They won't even let me write my report. They took away my cell phone. And the TV." His bottom lip unconsciously pouted out as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"You do know that you should relax and get well again here, right?" Genesis asked with a smile. This was so typically Sephiroth that it lightened his mood somewhat. As much as he despised the other's pushy and bossy attitude, it was so typical of him that it was rather delightful. "You are not supposed to work."

"That wouldn't have happened if the medical staff was more competent," Sephiroth replied. "I have to stay here for two more days. For surveillance." He rolled his eyes. It was such a lame excuse. In truth they wanted to keep him here to avoid another ambush, most likely. "You have to find another partner for your class assignments."

"Why, oh, why. Classes will never be the same without you," Genesis teased with a laugh, rubbing the muscles of his cramped and tired neck. "Just bear with it and you'll be out of here soon." He tried to cheer Sephiroth up, even though it was pretty useless. "Anyway. I guess I'll stay here tonight. In case somebody wants to sexually abuse you, or something." He winked and planted his arms next to the other's legs on the blanket.

"The only one I fear sexual abuse from is you," Sephiroth retorted smoothly, with a slightly lewd smile. He was still hooked to an IV and didn't get any substantial food, but he was thirsty and asked Genesis to get him a glass of water.

And as Genesis went to fetch some water from one of the nurses outside, his phone vibrated silently in his pocket. It was Reno, who explained that he had already established the backup plan and that he should go for Rufus as soon as possible. The longer they waited the more time Rufus had to set up new plans to go after Sephiroth's life. Hanging up, Genesis sighed, getting the water he had come for as Rufus walked past him. He tensed for a moment before getting a grip and looking after the blonde. Rufus didn't know that he had spied on him, there was no way he would know.

As the vice president entered Sephiroth's room, the red-head hurried with his glass of water to get inside as well. No one could possibly know what the president's son was up to next, especially since Genesis knew for sure that he was the one wanting to get rid of the silver-haired First Class Solider – and almost had succeeded last time...

"Sephiroth… I see you are still up and well, despite this unfortunate incident." Rufus greeted the man on the bed after he strode in like the room belonged to him and nobody else. He had to show his face every now and then or people would become suspicious, especially Sephiroth himself.

Sephiroth struggled to sit up a bit and maintain a respectful position. Vice president Shinra bothering to visit him was an honor, at least in theory. Sephiroth gave a light bow to communicate his respect (he wasn't allowed to salute. Doctor's orders.).

"I am." Sephiroth was not a great conversationalist. He was decent when he put some effort into it, but he didn't feel like it now. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

Rufus opened his mouth to reply when Genesis walked in again, greeting the man with a curt 'Sir' and a listless salute before setting the cup of water down on Sephiroth's nightstand.

The blonde eyed the Second Class Soldier for a brief moment, contemplating how such an insignificant brat could disrupt his plans over and over again. Of course, Sephiroth himself was also the reason for Rufus' plans to fail. Even though he didn't seem to know about anything, the silver-haired man seemed to act in advance. And Genesis had saved Sephiroth from his original death - namely the one by the Zolom; Rufus dearly grieved that this plan had failed - and from the last one.

"I felt obliged to visit and see for myself how you are doing. I - again I guess - can assure you that this has Top Priority among the Turks."

Genesis could barely refrain from saying something really nasty.

Sephiroth simply nodded. He found it awkward to speak to the brat (because really, it was common knowledge that Rufus was a spoiled, obnoxious little boy), even more so since he couldn't rule out the possibility of the man trying to kill him. Repeatedly.

"As you can see I am well now. I am grateful for your concerns, but I don't dare steal more of your precious time."

"Then perhaps, Mr. Shinra, I may be so bold as to steal some of your time." Genesis replied smoothly instead. Perhaps this was already the time to approach the other; the redhead didn't like Rufus being here in Sephiroth's room at all. It reminded him even more of the fact that no matter what Genesis did, Rufus could always get to Sephiroth, somehow. "I would like to have a talk with you."

Rufus lifted a brow looking non too enthusiastic. He highly dislike Genesis and had no desire to talk to him - but then again maybe this was a chance to get him to lay low a bit, to get him away from Sephiroth. "Why not," he therefore agreed. Turning to Sephiroth who had watched the exchange in silence he gave his fake sympathies one last time and then stepped outside.

"What is it?" he droned in a languid fashion, making a show of looking at his watch as if pressed for time.

"I want you to stay away from Sephiroth, Rufus, and I want to stop trying to kill him for your selfish reasons." Genesis started right of, his voice just a little more than a whisper. As much as he would like to tell the world what this brat had tried to do, it wasn't part of the plan. And even though his voice was low and calm, his eyes glittered with barely withheld rage. "You will put an end to this nonsense and wait patiently for your father to kick the bucket or whatever you want to achieve with this. If not…" He leaned casually against the wall next to Sephiroth's door and crossed his arms in front of his chest, "… I think the press would be terribly interested in what you want to do to their hero."

Rufus' expression slipped. The placid look on his features changed into something that seemed as if he wasn't sure whether he should laugh his ass off or throw an enraged fit. Eventually it settled back into a cold mask.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, and if I was you I'd think twice about threatening your superior. I find your concern for your friend admirable, but there are limits. All of us are deeply worried about Sephiroth and I find it highly offensive that you would suggest that anyone here has an interest in eliminating him." His lips were set in a firm, thin line.

A smug smile rushed over Genesis' face in the blink of a moment. The way Rufus' façade had cracked amused and satisfied him immensely. "I know what I heard, Mister Shinra," he retorted, mockingly stressing the formal expression, "And I know what I taped this evening when you were talking quite loudly and a little enraged about how your plans to get rid of Sephiroth always failed because I seem to be in the way; we wouldn't want the public to know, now would we?"

Rufus' eyes narrowed dangerously as he grabbed Genesis by the arm and dragged him into an empty room, glaring at a nurse that followed them to protest. She backed off as she noticed who she was dealing with.

"Now you listen to me you little shit," Rufus growled, his grip around the impertinent brat's arm tightening. He was furious. "This is none of your business and I'm sick of you interfering into mine! " His eyes were ablaze with barely withheld anger. "You think it is wise to threaten me? Think again. I have a whole army at my disposal and you are nothing! Be grateful that I let you live and now go and drag your impertinent ass out of here or I swear your mother can scratch your guts out of the gutter at the end of this day!"

"Oh, I assure you, you have no idea who you are dealing with" Genesis grinned menacingly, "You may have your army, but what will you do if the whole city wants your ass for threatening their idol? What will you do if daddy can't save you anymore because his business is far more important than his spoiled little son, who even tried to get his own filthy fingers on his power." The last sentence was a low growl and a snarl followed shortly after, as the red-head freed his arm violently. "Let me give you a well-intended advice… Stay away from Sephiroth."

Rufus' jaw clenched visibly and it looked as if he had to swallow something nasty. His eyes screamed bloody murder as they bore into Genesis' head. Eventually he ground out, his voice clear and low, but stressed, "My father will die eventually. And then you better have a Plan B, because I swear, my first action will be to eliminate your insufferable existence from my empire."

He let go, straightening his suit jacket, never leaving his cold, hard eyes from Genesis. This meant war.

"Oh be sure, I do have a Plan B." Genesis smirked icily. "So just go ahead and try to get rid of me, it will only cost you that newly found position of Shinra Corp. and wouldn't it be a pity to see the corporation in non-ShinRa hands?" He pushed away from the wall, brushing the dust from his shoulders before turning and leaving the small room, slanting one last glance towards an infuriated Rufus Shinra, before he turned to go back to Sephiroth. Just now he noticed how his heart was slamming against his rib cage, how his palms were sweating and the blood was rushing loudly inside of his ears.

With clenched fists Rufus looked after him, but he didn't say anything. It was all right, he told himself, slowly calming down. Once his father was dead it didn't matter anymore, he'd be in control of everything. That included the press of course. It was regrettable that the runt had spoiled his plans to get rid of Sephiroth - but there were still other ways to come to power.

And then the goddess may help Genesis Rhapsodos.

The end!

It's done, dear readers! Thanks everyone who read, reviewed and faved this story, it was a lot of fun^^ If you're interested, there's a little epilogue we can post, let us know!