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A dark cloud of smoke drifted lazily through Sector Five, darkening the already depressing street. The few people who were out walking through the neighborhood didn't seem to notice--fires and vandals were becoming so typical these dark days. A slender figure burst through the haze, waving a lithe arm in front of her face, trying to clear the stinging from her eyes. Willing her pumping legs to somehow go a little faster she tore down the sidewalk, throwing a fearful glance behind her. They would be coming soon. A constant burning in her lungs threatened to overwhelm her as she wildly looked around for someplace to hide. A narrow alleyway was a few blocks down from where she was, the surrounding buildings casting it in obscure shadows. Using the last bit of adrenaline she had left, she raced to the alley, pressing her heaving body against the brick wall. Her raspy breathing echoed against the barren building, sounding deafening to her ears. Darting her eyes around the back street she spotted a barely-visible door near the corner. Trying to control her gasping breath, she slowly opened the door, thankful that it wasn't locked. The room was dark and cool, lumpy shadows forming against the pitch-black surroundings. A tiny sliver of light shone from somewhere across the room and instantly she regretted coming in; what if someone was home? Shaking from exhaustion and fright, she silently made her way around the furniture and pressed her ear against the door adjoining to the other room. Cracking it open so that she could barely make out the hallway, she saw that the house looked fairly abandoned and sighed with relief, pushing her way into a dirty living room.

She always seemed to be getting into these kinds of messes. Always running and hiding from things that were trying to chase her down and lock her away. She didn't know if she could live like this anymore, one day she was just going to run out of steam and give up. She had always tried to find the good in everything, tried to assure herself and others that this life was worth living but at times like this she felt so hopeless. Should she just turn herself in? Should she just stop running and admit that she couldn't go on forever? One of these days they were going to use Elmyra as leverage; these people were known to play rough. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to get involved in this mess but she couldn't just hand them her freedom either.

Loud shouts and footsteps were heard outside the door and she froze in place. Was that them? Even though it was a slim chance, her panic triggered an overwhelming amount of paranoia. As carefully as she could, although stealth had never been one of her strong points, she creaked open the door, silently listening for any sounds. The seconds stretched out as she strained her ears for any sign of others and let out a relieved sigh when she was met with silence. She pushed past the door and was getting ready to leave the house when she felt a strong hand across her mouth, stifling a scream.

"Thought you outsmarted us, huh?" a gruff, breathy voice whispered in her ear.

She felt him bring her hands together behind her back, cold metal pressing against her wrists...handcuffs.

"I'm going to release my hand from your mouth now and if you so much as peep, I'm going to have to knock you out, got it?" When she didn't respond he shook her roughly. "Hey, you got it?" She nodded.

They walked through the backdoor leaving the dark room and entering into an equally gloomy alley, making their way to the sidewalk. She felt her captor struggling to retrieve something from his jacket, grunting in satisfaction when he found it.

"Yea, I got her. We're in the alley by the materia shops in Sector Five. Of course I'm sure it's her. Rude, give me some fucking credit, ok?" She could hear a low grumble on the other line but couldn't make out what was being said. The man let out a frustrated growl and hung up the phone with a loud snap. "Fucking partner."

She sensed him shift his weight, standing next to her, his hand unerringly on her cuffed wrists. She turned her head away from him, afraid that if she looked him in the face that she would lash out...this man had taken away her freedom! Shaking with controlled rage, she studied her feet, trying not to think of what awaited her and how much her mother would be worried.

"Hey babe, don't hate the man, hate the suit." This time his voice wasn't so gruff as it was playful.

She felt him searching in his jacket again and turned when she heard a flick from a lighter, studying him in the small glowing flame. He had a relatively youthful face, which surprised her, but she could see ruthlessness lurking amongst his mischievous features. His sharp blue eyes foretold of his shocking array of red hair, a pair of expensive sunglasses rested on his smooth forehead. He had a fair complexion, his face unmarred except for two scars that ran beneath his eyes. The navy suit he wore, the official Turk uniform, was in disarray; his shirt was untucked, most of the buttons undone, his jacket was rumpled as was his expensive dress pants, his shoes scuffed.

"See something you like, honey?" His eyes twinkled as he watched her quickly look away, trying to put up a cold front. He had read enough about her to know that she was anything but...you couldn't sell flowers by being a bitch.

Suddenly a black sedan came peeling around the corner, the driver hell-bent on getting to his destination in record time. The car drifted over to the redhead and his prisoner, the tires smoking burnt rubber into the still air. A brawny bald man, also in a Turk suit, came out from the driver's seat, nodding curtly at his partner. A female voice came from the other side of the vehicle and she sounded very, very upset.

"Rude! Who the hell taught you how to drive?! You nearly killed us! I can't believe Shinra lets you drive their cars!" A cute petite blonde emerged from the passenger side, her brown eyes blazing, she also nodded to her partner. "Reno." She looked at the captured girl. "Is this the Cetra girl?"

"Yea."

"She doesn't look like anything special. Why does Shinra want her so bad?"

"I don't know, Elena. You know they never tell us anything and I guess that's good enough for me, as long as I get paid. We were supposed to be off an hour ago...at this point, who gives a shit?" Reno opened the car's backdoor, pushing the girl inside and sat in beside her. Rude started making his way back to the driver's side but the blonde girl put a hand on the door.

"Hey, I'm driving."

"C'mon, Elena..." They stared at each other for a while but finally the bald man threw up his hands and walked to the passenger's side.

Soon, they were making their way through the slums of Midgar at a "law-abiding" speed; Rude mumbled something about grandmothers and Elena shot him a piercing look. In the back of the car Reno was smoking another cigarette, staring at the ceiling with a bored expression. In actuality, he was studying the girl they had just captured. He had seen her picture in the files they kept and had fleeting images of her while they were chasing her through the slums, but this was his first look at her up close in the flesh and blood. Her otherwise graceful brow was knit with worry and anger, her deep green eyes mirroring her emotions. She had smooth, delicate features yet a hint of strength underlined her face, everything set beneath a thick cascade of honey-brown hair which had neatly been tied in a braid, a few tendrils snaking out from the chase. Her body seemed skinny and frail but he knew otherwise, when he had pressed against her in the house, he could feel what the dress hid so well. The smell of her hair had reminded him of the clean air outside of Midgar, a hint of wildflowers wafting through her tresses. He wasn't sure why a harmless girl like her was wanted by Shinra, but, then again, no one was really harmless if they were wanted by Shinra.

Despite Elena's slow driving, the enormous building loomed up ahead, demanding the attention of everyone that passed by. A sense of dread started to build up in the captured girl as they came closer. How could she face what waited ahead for her? How could she be forced to face this all alone? Before long, the small sedan pulled up in front, armed soldiers coming up to greet the car. Reno got out and pulled the girl along with him, practically dragging her. He could feel, almost taste, her apprehensions...whatever reason she was here for, it definitely wasn't a pleasant one. Leading her up the stairs by one arm, he strided across the expansive main lobby to the elevators, the other two Turks in tow.

It was a tight fit in the glass elevator as it made its slow climb to the top floor. All he wanted right now was to drop off the girl and get a cold beer with Rude. Elena gave Reno a questioning glance but he just shook his head, he was as clueless as she was. Sure, the Cetra girl's files were studied like the Bible of the Turks before each of the abduction attempts, but there was no detailed information on her, it didn't even print her name, just her picture and some basic habits and information. They were warned to never get close to her--a reason why Tseng was forbidden on the mission--and to stay out of Shinra's business; they were there to do the dirty work and get paid for it. To Reno this was perfectly fine, although not to say that he wasn't slightly curious, especially since Tseng was somehow involved with the girl. Reno laughed to himself, he just couldn't imagine someone like hard-ass Tseng with a girl like her. The doors slid open to a dimly lit foyer, silent yet elegant rows of secretary desks lined against the walls. To the redhead, each of the desks along with the accompanying girl held memories of a wild night. Rude seemed to read his mind and gave Reno a sly smile. Two impossibly large doors were opened, casting a warm glow into the hallway, inviting the party in. Massive bookcases stacked with an endless amount of books filled the vast room, although everyone knew they were more for show than for use. The study was decorated sparsely with only a few couches and a conference table off to the side, leaving the immense oak desk as the center of attention. It was relatively neat, most of the papers stacked under a beautiful crystal paperweight but there was no sign of anyone waiting for them except a white suit coat tossed over a leather chair. The Turks exchanged looks, obviously irked that no one was there to meet them.

From somewhere inside one of the bookcases, sounds of machinery could be heard--cranks turning, pulleys shifting--and from the far wall a hidden door swung open. A tall, well-dressed man stepped out eyeing the lean girl with the handcuffs, giving a curt nod to the other three. He took his time re-arranging his desk, not that there was much to re-arrange, but nonetheless everyone waited for him to speak. He was also a young man, not much older than Reno, albeit he dressed much nicer. His thick blonde hair was well-groomed, pieces falling into his icy blue eyes which he flicked away with long unmarred hands. Everything screamed "wealthy" as well as "spoiled". He finally settled into his overstuffed leather chair, resting his structured face on his hands.

"So, this is the Ancient that my father was so adamant in having. How ironic that you guys finally managed to catch her when he and Hojo are at Junon opening the branch office. Nevertheless, this is their stupid little excursion and I don't expect to be bothered with it now, put her somewhere until I can find time to deal with it." He waved them off, dismissing them, reaching for a stack of papers, seemingly already having forgotten about them.

The Turks turned on their heels and led the girl out of the study; she could tell that they were not happy with how the meeting went. When the elevator doors closed, Rude let out a raw yell and slammed a meaty fist into the wall.

"That bastard. Treats us like we're pieces of shit stuck to his shoe! What a spoiled little prick! If only he wasn't the President's kid, I'd rip him apart and wipe my ass with him, that little..." Elena laid a strong hand on his shoulder and that seemed to calm him down a bit. She gave Reno a knowing look, this obviously wasn't the first time this outburst had happened.

Once again, the doors slid open, only this time to a monotonous and plain floor, a few guards keeping watch in the hallways. The four of them walked through the endless maze of corridors, their footstep echoing off the metal sidings, and finally arrived at what seemed to be a holding cell of some kind. Reno pushed her towards two awaiting guards, taking the handcuffs off her aching wrists.

"She's to be held here until given further orders. She is not to be touched, President's orders, got that?" The cadets nodded their heads, one of them opened a middle cell, ushering the girl inside. The chamber was musty and smelled of sweat, tiny but good enough for one small girl to fit inside. She heard the redheaded Turk make a comment to the guards, which they responded with a dirty laugh, and heard them walking away.

Finally admist all the anxiety and mayhem, she got a quiet moment to herself. At long last, the worst had happened...she had been caught and stuck in a dank cell for an indefinite amount of time. Soon the President and Hojo would be coming back and the deranged scientist would surely start the cruel and inhumane experiments again. Who knows, maybe once he found out that she was caught, he might want to leave Junon as soon as possible just to get a head start. Shuddering at the thought of the professor's inquisitive hands and probing researches, she sat on the uneven cot and hugged her knees. She had never felt such staggering apprehension and distress, yet, she also felt a sense of relief--after all the years of looking over her shoulders, she could finally stop running. For that much she was grateful.