The Secret Lives of Turks
By: Jason Tandro
Chapter I: Elena
The streets of Junon were no place for a girl at night. The disease of the "under-worlders" was in rampant force tonight. A tropical storm was moving in, and the rats from below were scuttling to a place of shelter. Though they despised the Shinra, they admitted that security was one of its strong points.
The ominous clouds loomed overhead, and over the horizon lightning struck the sea as unmercifully as a master disciplining a disobedient slave. The ocean crashed upon the shoreline of the underworld, beneath the massive plate structure above that was known as Upper Junon.
The sands had eroded, and the street would be next as the waves grew higher. Elena felt the first drop of rain on her pale cheek. Another drop fell beside her, and soon they were innumerable, blanketing Elena is a veil of cold water.
She hurried along the street to a tunnel, where most of the street rats had gathered. There were maybe thirty or more of them, carrying what little belongings they had or could carry, wrapped in blankets and towels to shield them from the rain.
"You don't have authorization to be in this tunnel. Find your way to a shelter immediately," Elena ordered. She pulled out her PHS and dialed a number. The urchins did not move, scared more of the storm than the small Elena. "This is Elena. I need emergency transport for about 30 citizens to the nearest shelter if it is available. Oh. Oh I see. Understood. I will escort them then. Thank you."
Only now did one of them bother to move. He was an old man with signs of nystagmus; obviously he was a mithril miner. He was draped in a black poncho and his blackened skin made him look like a monster. "We can't move now. The storm is upon us."
"You should have thought of that before violating emergency protocol," Elena replied tersely. "Relax. I am going to escort you to the nearest available shelter."
One by one, the under-worlders gathered their belongings and lined up in front of Elena. Elena noticed that many of the rags she saw huddled in front of her belonged to little ones. She made a motion for children to come to the front, which was ignored. The parents refused to allow their children to stray even an inch from their sides. Elena just sighed and led them out of the tunnel.
Along the main road, all of the red flags had been displayed carefully. Elena had expected this, and led the mass of people down the back roads to where they would find a vacant shelter.
Battered by the storm and freezing, Elena had trouble keeping her wits, but her Turk training had done her well. She successfully led the citizens to a shelter in the back. She returned to the main road and continued her patrol.
She shrieked as a bolt of lightning struck a few yards in front of her. She removed her wristwatch and placed it in her jacket pocket, not wanting to tempt fate. She reached the end of the road with no other incidents and called headquarters.
"This is Elena. I've finished my patrolling and there are no citizens along the main road. Understood. Thank you, I will. See you when this is over," Elena said.
She had been dismissed for the duration of the storm and she knew where she was heading. First, she walked to the barracks just inside of the Junon Airport to change into her street clothes. She wore a white tank top and blue jeans with sandals. Elena had found that ever since she started working as a Turk, her street clothes felt less natural. However she wore them gladly realizing that the rest of the day would be hell if she had to wear a wet suit.
She got a car ride through the city to her usual haunt in the Junon: the house of her "close friend". She entered the building to see it completely empty, as she had expected. He would probably be along in a few minutes or so. He was probably just on duty, she thought.
She surveyed the surroundings of his small room. There was a mattress tossed on the floor with sheets strewn carelessly across it. Next to it was a disproportionate end table that stood far higher than his mattress, thus rendering it practically useless (although she noticed it had been his new place to store his beer cans). There was a stand-up lamp on the other side of the bed and a desk just across from that on the adjacent wall next to his closet. The desk had a small computer and his closet was filled with a variety of interesting things. Materia, books on security systems, his clothes, a pair of handcuffs Elena gave him as a gag gift, and his mug shot for his current job.
Elena decided that she would straighten up for him while she waited, figuring that even men didn't like to come home to a messy house. She turned on the radio near his desk for storm information (he didn't have a TV, but Elena promised to get him one for his birthday).
As she straightened up, a knock came at the door. She rushed to answer it, and there he stood in his work clothes. He took off his apron and his collar shirt and shook his long brown hair.
"And how are you Elena?" He asked smiling.
"I'm fine," Elena said, sitting in the chair at his desk. "They let me off work after my patrol today because of the storm."
"That's awfully nice of them," he laughed. He hung up his umbrella and apron and put his shirt in a bag in his closet.
"So tell me Andy, do you have what I need?" Elena asked.
"Yeah, but I should probably shower first," Andy laughed.
Elena chuckled and then grabbed him from behind. "Seriously, it's been a long day. I could use some."
Andy sighed and took her hands off him. He walked over to his desk and opened a locked drawer with a key. He pulled out a small syringe. Elena's eyes were no longer fixed on her man, but the syringe he held.
"Elena are you sure you should be wearing tank tops? What if someone notices?" Andy asked.
"It'll be fine. I wear a suit at work anyways," Elena said. She took the syringe out of his hand and injected the drug into her arm. "Besides, medicine isn't illegal, and that's all this is. Medicine."
Andy nodded and then proceeded to inject himself with another syringe. And they both faded from the world of conscious thought into maddening animal instinct.
Elena awoke to the sound of her PHS. She hadn't remembered anything, as usual. All she saw was Andy lying naked beside her. She rolled over, covered herself with the sheets and answered her phone.
"This is Elena. Oh hey there. No, what time is it? That late, sorry, I must have overslept. Oh. Oh okay. I'll be there at noon. Alright, bye."
She hung up and put on her clothes. Andy noticed the commotion going on behind him and rolled over.
"What's going on baby?" He asked groggily.
"I have to go to work at noon. It's already 10:30. I have to grab breakfast, stop by the barracks to get changed…"
"Is the storm over?" Andy asked.
"Yeah, it looks like it," Elena said. "Look I probably won't be home tonight, but I'll see you tomorrow night, okay?"
"I thought you were heading back to Midgar tomorrow?" Andy asked.
"Oh yeah," Elena remembered. "Crap. Well I'll tell you what. I'll stop in to see you at work before I go, okay?"
"Okay then. Any idea when you'll be back in Junon?" Andy asked.
"I'll let you know by phone okay babe. Gotta go, love you." Elena said as she kissed him. She then ran out the door in to street.
The sun was shining again and cars were resuming along the main road. The citizens of Junon were out in force and long lines of under-worlders were waiting patiently to use the military elevator so they could return and rebuild what remained of their town.
Elena snuck around them into the barracks but stopped when she saw the old man from last night. He flashed her an amused look and then turned to face forward again. Elena walked into the barracks.
"Hey Elena your suit has been dried," came a familiar voice.
"Hey Reno," Elena sighed.
The tall red-haired Reno chuckled. He was already fully dressed and ready for work. He noticed a small scab on Elena's arm that even Elena had missed.
"Hey are you okay? You're bleeding," Reno asked grabbing a bandage from the first aid kit. "One of those loonies outside shoot you?"
Elena smiled. "Um, no. It got cut on a pipe when I was heading home."
"Oh, I see," Reno replied. "Well that should hold it. Pipes around here are really filthy though, so if you start feeling ill, you let me know."
"Thanks Reno," Elena nodded. She grabbed her suit and went into the female locker room to change. She was no longer Elena the ketamine addict. She was Elena the Turk. Only by departmentalizing was she able to maintain her sanity. She did feel sick right now, but she could not tell anyone.
