Mind the Children

by redheadturkey

Reno is assigned to get information on Deep Ground, and during that mission he is captured, and during his captivity is kept heavily drugged, incurring severe brain damage which requires that he remain in a mental hospital. A newspaper article depicting the photo of a missing child jogs his memory of seeing children being brought in. Can that clue save them before it is too late?

"Mister President." The nurse opened the door for the blond in the white suit that entered the Edge Psychiatric Center. Rufus ShinRa had been a fairly frequent visitor, due to his close ties to one patient in particular that haunted the halls most times like a ghost prior to lockdown. Despite the nature of that patient's work prior to him arriving in the hospital, he was no danger to other patients, his typical happy go lucky and cheerful disposition that he had possessed before the trauma that had landed him here being the portion that had survived the damage. "I'll bring Reno into the guest lounge for you, but I can not guarantee he'll be any more coherent or able to give you the answers that you seek than he was yesterday."

Rufus merely nodded, but his mind seemed far away. "Doctor Collins called me and said that he had said something about Professor Hojo, and about the children, as I requested that he do the moment anything was spoken of it. I wish to get to the bottom of this, and to hopefully find them so they can be returned to their families. His brain, damaged though it may be, holds the key to doing so. It may take time, it will take patience, ma'am, and I acknowledge that this is true. But I must get to the truth. I'll not bring him harm, I loved him deeply, and I still do. . .but I must find out what he knows."

The twenty five year old former Turk was lead into the lounge by an orderly, his head tilted down. His red hair, which had been his pride and joy prior to the damage, had been cut short in the back, though the front and top were still styled into the puffball of spikes they had always been. One of the nurses combed it out, gelled it, and styled it every morning before breakfast, the feeling of the comb running through the scarlet strands always seemed to calm him even if he was having a bad day. As was the usual, Reno did not realize he had a visitor, or even that he had been moved from his room, and would not until Rufus spoke to him.

"Reno?" cornflower eyes clouded over a bit in sadness when the other man did not look up or acknowledge him the first time his name was called, the head still tilted down, until Rufus reached across and took his hand, gently. That got him to look up, teal meeting blue, the clouded gaze clearing a bit. The smile that curved up the mobile mouth held a ruined quality that almost made Rufus want to weep.

"Boss." The voice was weak and shaky, almost childlike. "There were children." He said, with no preamble other than that. "There were children, Rufus. Can you get the children home?"