The Pawns on the Board [President Shin-Ra/Shin-Ra Executives]

"It is my job to be." he said in response to the President's cold glare, his ever present smile unshaken.

Barely a moment later, he broke down into a light laughter at the young SOLDIERs' faces as President Shin-Ra 's stone faced countenance softened into a grin and a chuckle. It was a bit cruel to do this every time they played, but it never got old. Just as any older brother, the blonde man enjoyed messing with his younger 'siblings'.

"Indeed! How to lose with a semblance of grace, for one." Joked the older SOLDIER with a chuckle as he steepled his fingers, smile growing tighter at the corners as his brow furrowed just slightly, a smirk beginning to form. Despite his joke, he never played for anything other than keeps; it was just unfortunate that the man before him would always have 20 or so years of chess playing experience on him; who knows how many more on strategical and tactical thinking.

Didn't mean he didn't intend to feed Rafferty his first loss on this very day, however.

Their little meaningless game aside... Well, yes, he could tell the president must have been feeling great. He certainly looked better now than he had in the past decade. In fact, part of the reason he had been feeling so nostalgic earlier was just how... relatively young the man looked. 

"Ah, it gladdens to hear so. Costa del Sol, huh? I had heard of how wonderful a vacationing spot it was, but this exceeds my every expectation."  It was also, probably another lie. One so obvious to him that the president must have intended to communicate that the reality was classified information his little group of bodyguards was not privy to. Very well then. 

"As you've probably gathered, I've never had the pleasure of going there myself, unfortunately." Vacations were not something he often thought of. He usually only remembered about them when handed the form asking him when exactly he would take his paid vacations on the current year; and then he promptly forgot all about them until he was handed the same sheet once again the following year.

"With such grand results however, I am very tempted. I only regret I've no lady-friend to accompany me." He said with a playfully wistful smile, leaning his head on his fist while his other hand hovered over the board, eyes narrowing slightly.

He didn't usually think much about women, except for things such as this. Going on a trip a tropical paradise, all alone... Now didn't that seem sad. Well, all that aside... his digits closed around his bishop, dragging it over the president's intrusive pawn, were it came to be in the direct line of attack of his own bishop. But- while protected by one of GAWAIN's knights. 

A Bishop for a Bishop?

"Perhaps I should have tried being more gallant while stationed in Wutai, hahaha!" He said with some humor, his shoulders quaking. The women there were very beautiful... and he had spent a good few months as part of the peacekeeping army after the war ended; he really hadn't made good use of his time there, in retrospective.

The man's shoulders quaked in amused delight at the president's response, joining the man in his laughter as his hands came together under his nose, his fingers steepled and held against his face. His laughter was successfully kept down to a mere few chuckles, but of course, this didn't last; he had to eventually respond, after all.

"Fufufu... Fuhahahahaha! I don't think the widows of wutai would want anything to do with me of all men." He was laughing, but anyone that had been witness to the battlefields of the war would have known that this was no mere joke. As a SOLDIER who had made nearly his entire career during the war, there was a good chance that if a wutai woman of his age was a widow, he had been the one to put her husband six feet under. 

He doubted that would make for a particularly smashing icebreaker.

"But who knows, dodging a few daily stabs may just be what I need to make my home life livelier!" Because right now, it was kind of dead. Much like his plants. Ugh... Just thinking about his most recent failure with them nearly took him out of his giggly mood. 

The President's next sober words were enough to finish the job. He could tell the man didn't truly care- but that hardly mattered, as the words were still very much relevant to GAWAIN.

"Disappointing- but It is to be expected." He finally answered, nothing if not honest. "The world's most powerful man will inevitably attract more opportunists than not." And would just as easily get rid of them, if he so desired. The fact that Rafferty's wife had endured for such a long time... well, the woman was either very clever, very useful, very good in bed or a supremely resilient creature. He had met her a few times before, but she had not shown much interest in him nor any of his fellow SOLDIERs.

"I suppose I should count myself lucky to not have any gil to speak of." He chuckled out, shaking his head. He only really kept about half of his paycheck- the rest he usually donated to the cause of the slums.

He didn't really know or care if his money was being put to good use- he just hardly had any need for it; Shin-ra covered nearly every one of his daily expenses, from food, to the gym, to his multiple insurance and pension plans, to the water & electricity bill which were automatically taken off his paycheck to begin with... really, the only thing he paid for himself was his rent. The rest of what he kept went into his multiple failed attempts at botany, the occasional book, and his visits to his favorite 70s diner. 

"But then again, I have to wonder how many women would love enough to date a man without any money." He muttered... before shaking his head. Yeah- this subject was a waste of time. He was not actively looking for a relationship anyway. He knew himself enough to know he wouldn't put a woman over his work. 

No meaningful relationship could survive his work hours.

Eyeing President Shin-Ra 's threatening rook, the blonde man smiled while reaching for his errant Queen, shifting it into position to protect the Bishop. It seemed like they were at a stalemate.

"I wonder... it is not like you to play so defensively... what might you be planning?" He smiled, his eye twinkling as he tried to decipher this meaningless conundrum. "Hm... Perhaps you are simply distracted? In which case..." He chuckled, leaning his cheek onto his fist while grinning. "How's are the children?"

It was a wild guess, but if something was bothering the man, his youngest child could usually be counted on to step up and be entirely responsible for it. Of course, it could well be whatever secret project that had kept him away from the public keeping him distracted. 

Or he could well just be playing GAWAIN by changing up his usual strategies. He could never be certain with the President.

"Apologies; I should have known better than to broach the topic." Was the man's response, chuckling. "I assure you, I've no need for more money; my paycheck is quite enough." Talking to the world's richest man of money? The blonde really must have been out of it. Maybe he was the distracted one here.

Certainly seemed that way; Rafferty's words on his children were short, and to the point. He supposed he shouldn't act too surprised that the man hadn't made time for his kids in a while. GAWAIN was pretty sure the oldest one of them eagerly awaited the day his father bit the dust so they could take over. A chip o' the ol' block, as they say.

'Pity for them. They'll be waiting for a long while if Rafferty has anything to say about it.' Was all the SOLDIER could think with an amused smile, looking over Rafferty's rejuvenated self. 

As for his younger child... GAWAIN barely knew anything of them. Unlike the VP whom he found himself seeing often enough, the youngest child held a minor position within the company, bound to the lower floors and a reasonable schedule. Needless to say, the SOLDIER and the child had only rarely interacted, way back when the blonde man served as one of Rafferty's bodyguard. It was precisely the youth's seeming low drive and ambition that had made GAWAIN suspect he may have been behind the President's behavior. 

Perhaps he really overestimated how well he understood the President.

With that thought in mind, he didn't dare guess what Rafferty's smile meant as he went for yet another piece. Was he getting played? He hated- no, disliked when that happened. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, his grin turning into a self-deprecatingsmirk as his eyes closed. 

Ah, his chances were not looking good.

"A niece...?" He parroted, tilting his head slightly. Oh, right. He thought Autumn might have admitted to that a while back, looking sheepish the entire time.

"Ah, you must mean Ms. Nevada!" Better not say anything that might lead Rafferty to assume the two were anything more than friends. "She's a good friend of mine, actually." He admitted, steepling his fingers while smiling. One of the few actual friends he had, now that he thought about it. He really didn't have that many people interacted with outside of work. Maybe he should work on changing that...?

"The most polite Turk I've ever had the delight of working with." He said, smirking in amusement. "I wouldn't have believed she was among their ranks if I hadn't seen the registries myself- much too well-mannered!"

"That she is." He echoed the sentiment with a warm smile, his eyes closed as his palms came together, digits pointed to the floor. 

Yeah, things were not looking good for him, despite the fact that he had yet to lose a piece in the past few turns. He could just feel he was being cornered right now. 

"It's not like you to gloat, Mr. President. Much." Teased the man with a chuckle as Rafferty pointed out his clear advantage, though he leaned in closer all the same, focused on the man's words. As he had said, it wasn't like him to gloat. 

GAWAIN's expression sobered up as the man spoke, watching President Shin-Ra move his Queen into position, now that a large number of his pieces had focused on one particular front. He had no pieces who could truly threaten the Queen; he could mobilize one to do so; but then that would probably mean doing what Rafferty wanted. One way or another, he was now dancing to the man's tune.

More importantly, however...

"Does that ragtag group of misfits truly represent such a threat?" He asked with a chilling calmness as he grasped not any of his particularly threatened pieces, but his still 'safe' king, castling it with one of his rooks to further remove him from further threats. It was both a necessary move to keep the game going for longer- and a response, so to speak.

"If so..." The man steepled his fingers, eyelids lowering slightly as he eyed Rafferty's king cooly. "Perhaps I should take further steps to ease your mind."

The pieces were scattered across the room as the President slammed his fist upon the board furiously. The young SOLDIERs standing guard somewhere in the back of the room flinched at the rare display of emotion from the man; even when empowered with the strength of heroes of myth, few remained stalwart in the face of the man who controlled the world.

GAWAIN stared icily at the files before him, his mouth set in a thin line of a smile as his mako green eyes slowly moved up and down each file. 

Each and every man and woman was a familiar sight to him, some more than others. Each and everyone had once upon a time been declared MIA; no longer. Their true nature as cowardly traitors finally brought to light. His eyes lingered on the file of the man who had once served as a mentor to him for but a moment longer, before he closed dossier, and then the briefcase. 

"... As you command, it shall be done President Shin-Ra ." Said the man gravely, his smile unshaken.

The King had given the order. Now, the pawn had but to make its move. 

"I've but one question." He said lowly, steepling his fingers once again as he leaned forward, lids falling low over his eyes. "If they offer too much resistance... shall we put them down?"

'Capturing' a rabbid dog could be a... daunting task. If one put up too much opposition- it was best to simply put it to sleep.