Even Demons Can Be Saved

A Glimmer of Truth

It was a surprisingly short amount of time later that Tseng finished typing and started printing. He handed several of the items to Eve that he claimed she would need to establish a life in the city, including an ID that he stated she should keep on her at all times. She was glad the mini interrogation was over, but she didn't let her hope get too far ahead. She hadn't forgotten that he had stated they were to have a 'chat' after she met Veld. She only hoped the director wouldn't grill her as much. She didn't know anything about him other than his name, so she had no idea what to expect. She didn't have to wait long to find out, though.

Once Tseng finished putting everything he had into a folder, he escorted her back through the main office and to another door across the room. She was partially glad to note that it was nearly empty and all the Turks that were remaining only silently watched them as they passed through.

He knocked once on the office door and waited until a gruff voice called for them to enter. Eve was shocked when they walked in, and she saw the man sitting behind the desk. He looked completely out of place. He was grizzled and had a prominent scar across his face, but even more shocking was the fact that he was missing an arm and in its place was a gun. She had to shake away her confusion when she realized he had quirked a brow at her blatant staring. She felt her face heat slightly at how rude she had been, but she didn't get the opportunity to apologize. Tseng had passed her and impatiently motioned her to take the other seat. She bit her tongue and sat without saying anything.

Her gaze was drawn to Veld when he spoke. "Tseng has told me he believes you would make a good addition to our team. I will say up front that we have several members on our team that have shady pasts, although most have some past that can be found. I won't hold the fact that you don't seem to have anything against you. What I do want to know, is what you think you can contribute?"

She hadn't been expecting his question and apparently neither had Tseng. The man was hard to read, but she did have some experience cracking tough nuts, so his unease was evident to her. She guessed he hadn't expected Veld to dig that far into her past. She pushed the worry back. This was just the first of many hurdles, and she couldn't afford to get tripped up at the beginning. Her tone was calm and just a tiny bit hard when she finally answered. "I have several skills that could come in handy, not the least of which is the fact that I am trained to understand people at their worst. I'm sure you have already found that I am not trained in combat, but I have found that I have an unusual amount of potential for materia handling. I could continue, but honestly, wouldn't it be better for you to see for yourself? I don't imagine that you just hand me a gun and say have at it, correct?"

At her obvious challenge, he leaned forward slightly and leaned his chin down on his hands, or what passed for them. The motion was meant to intimidate, as it brought his gun into clear view. She only gave him a slight smirk and relaxed back. She could tell he was testing her, and she had no plans on failing. There was no way she was going to let herself fall into Hojo's hands, and that could very well still happen if she couldn't convince these men to let her stay. She knew it was probable that both men could read her as well as she could read them, if not better, but she wasn't going to make it easy for them.

When she visibly relaxed after he tried to intimidate her, Veld sat back with a slight smile. He could tell that part of it was a front, but not all of it was. She knew what he had been trying to do and reacted in the exact opposite way of what he had been expecting. Even if she was more nervous than she let on, her reading of the situation was on par with their best operatives, and this was just the beginning. He finally leaned back again but kept his voice hard. "You are correct. There is a probationary period. I will allow it but remember that you will have eyes on you even when you can't see them. If you really think you can hack it, I'll let you try. Don't expect it to be easy, though."