A/N: The Evil Overlord List (www . eviloverlord . com / lists / overlord . html) has long been one of my very favorite corners of the internet. A while ago I hit upon the idea of using the list as a series of writing prompts. No, I'm not doing them in order. And no, the prompt and the result rarely match up perfectly. Cross-posted on my LJ. Enjoy~!

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII is copyright © Square Enix. I'm just playing in their sandbox.

#12. One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before implementation.

Tifa once told Marlene that Rufus ShinRa was the sort of man you had to squint at before you could call him a "good person."

And when Marlene, at eleven years of age, met the President of ShinRa she shook his hand demurely and wasted no time in repeating this assessment right to his face. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tifa stand up straighter. The tall, dark-haired Turk at the President's shoulder blinked. The President did not react visibly, only peered at Marlene, though it did take him a moment too long to let go of her hand, and Marlene recognized that for the success it was.

"Or that's what I've heard," she added, face guileless and thoughtful.

Tifa was not fooled, and Marlene spied the woman's formidable "We are going to have a Talk" Look. She glanced away from Tifa quickly, but Rufus had already slotted his eyes to follow her gaze. When he looked back at Marlene and raised one thin brow she swallowed, knowing she'd been caught. Then she took a quick breath and gave him a sweet smile.

"But you look nice enough to me." And, committing herself to the tongue-lashing of a lifetime, she made her smile beseeching and turned it on Tifa. Ratted out, the woman's eyes grew large and her lips grew so thin they nearly disappeared.

The President's other eyebrow joined the first.

"Miss Wallace," Rufus ShinRa addressed her softly, making her color. He almost sounded amused. "You would not happen to be in the market for a job?"