Accompaniment: Fatuous Meetings
Reno's chest burnt. That was the first real, tangible feeling. Then he could feel his back, a cold table. Lastly his nose started working. Disinfectant and under it all the pervasive, putrid smell of Jenova assailed his nose. He couldn't remember much, then he opened his eyes. The bright glare of too much light brought back his memory. Tifa, that Cloud guy, the pillar…
"Oh shit…" Reno muttered. He did it, the plate really fell. Tifa pretended not to know him, and she had let Cloud nearly kill him. He forced himself to sit, warm blood seeped onto his stomach from the holes his movement created in the wrappings around his chest. Momentary relief that he was alive passed too quickly. Tifa…
…she was gone.
He pushed himself to his feet, hissing like a leaky tire at the strain. It felt like Cloud had cut him in half and leave it to Hojo to not use very good materia. Reno's breath came out in harsh, ragged gasps. A whimpering voice caught his attention.
"Daddy!" Suzanna. She was there.
Pain forgotten, Reno sprinted to the back of the lab, eyes searching for his daughter. "Trigg, trigger, baby, where are you?" His own voice felt foreign, frightened.
"Daddy!" She sounded louder. He spun around and found her. The little girl had a strangle hold on that worn dragon toy. She was curled up in the corner of a large, glass specimen tube. When she saw Reno, Suzanna jumped to her feet. "Daddy! Daddy, I'm scared. I don't wanna be here."
She didn't look hurt, just tired and frightened. Reno rested his forehead against the glass and tried to calm his pounding heart. "I'll get you out baby, just hold on, okay? Daddy's not going to let anything hurt you, I promise."
Her head bobbed in agreement, bouncing her red ponytail up and down.
Reno rushed to the control panel a few tubes down and pushed the release valve. With a hiss of steam, the collection of tubes slid open. Before he could turn around to get her, she jumped into his chest, nearly knocking him off his feet. "Daddy!" Her eyes were rimmed as red as her hair from being cried out. She just buried her face in Reno's neck. "He said you were dead..."
Reno's face hardened from over Suzanna's shoulder. "I'm right here, baby. I promised I wasn't leaving remember?"
She nodded her head, rubbing it against his shoulder.
"Well, you just refuse to stay where you're placed, don't you?"
Suzanna squeaked and tightened her grip on her father. "Daddy." The word came out as a pleading sound.
Reno spun, with his eyes narrowed to face Dr. Hojo. His daughter clung to the back of his pants leg. A growl rose up from Reno's damaged chest and he rocked on his feet.
Hojo smiled as though he were God and adjusted his glasses. After tucking a stray strand of black hair behind his ear he placed his hands behind his back. "I wouldn't advice being combative. I've a lot planned and it would set me back to have to fix the two of you."
"Over. My. Dead. Body." Reno edged over, guiding his daughter with his leg and keeping himself in between her and Hojo. His eyes never left Hojo's and the lack of emotion from the doctor was enough to make Reno's hair stand on end.
The hiss of a sword leaving its sheath made Reno's eyes leave Hojo and dart to the door. Two SOLDIERs stood side by side, blocking his escape. Suzanna gasped and moved to Reno's other leg, trying to hide from both the men at the door and Hojo.
A ruffle of notebook paper drew Reno's attention back to Hojo. He had a pad out and was scribbling in it. "So, we've a hybrid Turk Model, and …" Dark eyes shifted up to the SOLDIERS "…two SOLDIERS, Version Five." He tapped the pen against the side of his glasses. "Should have had three… Version Five is too slow…" Then he looked up again at Reno as though he expected something.
Saying anything to the doctor at that point wouldn't have made a difference. Reno wasn't slow; he knew exactly what Hojo wanted. Instead, he addressed the SOLDIERS. "I'll kill you both if you don't move out of my way."
The SOLDIERS stared at Reno, who glared back. Over a full minute passed without movement from any of them. Finally, Hojo exhaled loudly. "Restrain it already!" He snapped at the SOLDIERS. "And don't damage the little one; I've got plans for it too."
The SOLDIERS hesitated for a moment before lunging at Reno, giving him time to urge Trigger further behind him and under the control panel. The wrapping around his chest fluttered loose, soaked with blood and too heavy to continue sticking. Reno lowered his shoulder and met the fastest of the SOLDIERS in the lower chest. When the man gasped out air, Reno threw his elbow up and clipped his attacker in the jaw.
Spinning out of the way of the second SOLDIER, Reno managed another sharp elbow jab to the former's ribcage. He was rewarded with a loud crack of snapping bone. When the SOLDIER tottered forward, Reno was able to grip his wrist and pull the man to the floor. The wrap had tangled around all three of them, finally pulling totally loose from Reno's chest.
One of Reno's hands gripped the SOLDIER's sword, his foot was braced against the man's shoulder. Locking eyes with the second SOLDIER, Reno snapped his hips. The hand released the sword and then fell at an awkward angle in between Reno's legs.
Reno leveled the Buster Sword at the stunned SOLDIER.
"You…you broke his neck!"
Reno could hear his heartbeat attacking his ears. "I told you I would."
Before Reno and the other man could continue, a shotgun blast went off. One of the glass tubes near the control panel erupted in a shower of powder. Suzanna screamed and darted out from hiding to once again cower next to her father.
Rufus ShinRa picked his way around the broken glass to glare at Hojo. "Who, exactly, gave you permission to do anything at all with my property?"
Putting his notebook away, Hojo gave the younger man a forced smile. "In the name of science, I assure you, sir."
"SOLDIER?" Rufus asked, still watching Hojo.
"Sir." The SOLDIER's voice was far from steady.
"You are to return to your barracks. If I hear that you've spoken about the matter, you will not enjoy the punishment." Rufus was silent as the man rushed from the room. Then he looked over to Reno. "You are dismissed, Hojo."
The doctor looked defiant, and scowled to Rufus' back. He spun on heel, leaving the lab and muttering under his breath.
Glass crunched again, and while Rufus ignored it, both Reno and Suzanna jumped, looking up. Before he could address the other person in the room, the sword clanged to the floor and Reno fell to his knees. He felt woozy, like he needed air. He didn't realize how much blood a person could have. "Reeve?"
"Yeah, Re." Reeve said before clearing his throat. "Trigg, you're gonna have to come with me."
Trigger shook her head forcefully and wrapped her arms around Reno's neck.
Reeve crouched on the floor and held up the little dragon toy that Trigger had left in the tube. "It'll be alright, you've gotta just come with me, I'll take you home, alright?"
When Trigger didn't move, Reno forced himself to talk. "Go with yer paw, I'll be fine."
Trigger started forward slowly, she kept turning her head to look at Rufus who was simply regarding the whole scenario with a bored expression. She looked up at Reeve before turning again to her father. "Promise?"
"Yeah, baby, I promise." Reno said, forcing himself to stand.
Reeve wasted no time in picking Trigger up and hurrying from the room.
A warm, green glow surrounded Reno then. He put his hand over his chest and gasped. Materia healing always felt invasive, like someone was using very itchy string to draw one's parts back where they belonged. And even though Reno knew that his chest wound was now closed, his chest had yet to be aware of it and for all the world he still felt like there was a gaping hole crossing his chest from shoulder to hip.
Rufus pulled a cigarette case from his jacket and pulled two cigarettes from it. One he placed in his mouth, and the other he offered to Reno. "You look confused."
As that was the understatement of the year, Reno simply nodded and accepted the cigarette. The lighter that Reno pulled from his pocket was drenched in blood and useless. He blinked a bit as Rufus held up his gold zippo, the flame dancing merrily before Reno's face.
After the both took long drags, Rufus flicked ash to the floor and spoke. "I'll get myself straight to the point, Reno. I seem to remember you appreciating that."
Reno nodded, trying to hide his unease by taking another long drag.
"I've got to commend you for your ability to pull things together like AVALANCHE right from under my nose, Reno. Most men wouldn't have the balls to consider it, and those that would I didn't think had the brains to pull it off. You obviously did." Rufus leaned back against a tube, trying to keep his white suit away from the blood. "They've become a strange kink in my plans, I'll admit."
Reno simply watched, he couldn't follow where Rufus was going, but unlike the smooth cigarette, this already was leaving a bad taste in his mouth.
"Apparently, they are after Sephiroth and want him dead as much as I do. See, he's a bad spot on PR, along with Hojo." Rufus flicked his spent cigarette into the pool of blood that sat in-between him and Reno. "And I have decided that you will get one more chance, because you already have an advanced knowledge of their workings." When Reno said nothing, Rufus continued. "I want you to kill my father, make it look like an accident. Then, I want you to follow AVALANCHE, with the rest of the Turks; you are to make sure that they succeed in killing Sephiroth. If they do not, YOU are to do so."
"And if they do kill him, what do I do with them?" Reno asked after flicking his own cigarette butt away with Rufus'.
"Kill them. I don't want a soul to survive this." Rufus walked forward with confidant strides. "And that includes your friend. If I find out that you've been playing me again, I'll let Hojo have you, and your daughter. Are we understood?"
After closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Reno nodded. "Yes, sir. Perfectly."
fin