CHAPTER ONE

Reno leaned back in his chair, and kicked off his boots; they thudded onto the floor, breaking the restless quiet of the office. Tseng looked over the top of his computer screen at him, giving him a look that was both inquisitive and irritated before returning his attention to whatever he was working on.

It had been quiet, no, boring, since AVALANCHE had toppled. Most of the Turks had retired in the aftermath of the AVALANCHE threat. He'd never admit it to anyone else, but he did miss St. Andrew, his brother from another mother. That kid was tough as old boots. A smirk came to his lips, gutsy too, one of the only guys who can keep up with me. Probably bored stiff on civvy street. Not that it's any better here.

He still had Rude though, so it wasn't all bad. Except for the regular patrols of Sector 8 having stopped because of a lack of man-power, everything had pretty much returned to normal.

That AVALANCHE business meant Tseng was in charge now. In Reno's opinion, that was a change for the better. He didn't miss Veld at all. As effective a leader as Veld had been, he wasn't terribly likable. He was the only Turk Reno could really say had ever scared him.

A glint of irritation flashed through the new girl's green eyes as Reno propped his feet up on the one empty spot on his desk. "Do you have to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Put your feet up on your desk."

Tiana was funny when she was angry; she was polite to a fault, which took all the fire out of her anger, kind of like her predecessor. Honestly, he kind of liked her. For a rookie, she was alright. She wasn't bad at her job, and she was pretty easy on the eyes too. He'd never make a move on her though, he was way more professional than that. Besides he happened to like his job, and he'd be damned if he was gonna lose it for a piece of tail, even if it was a damned nice piece of tail.

Reno wriggled his toes, and grinned. "Yeah, I do. Why? You want 'em on your desk?"

"No. You can keep your feet on your own desk." Tiana went back to work, pushing her glasses up to the bridge of her nose. She could have worn contact lenses and avoided the irritation of wearing glasses. She said she only needed them for reading. He doubted she really needed them at all, he'd nabbed them from her desk when she'd first become a Turk, and he found they weren't very strong lenses, they barely blurred his eyesight at all.

Reno watched her silently for a minute or two, swigged his coffee, then looked around the mess on his desk for some-where to put his coffee mug. It wasn't that he was a slob; there wasn't a crumb of food, nor another cup of coffee on the desk, just endless reams of paper.

That chaotic mess was organized, more or less. Reno knew where to find any file he looked for. It was a stark contrast to Tseng's perfectly organized workspace, and he knew it irritated the guy.

That was part of the charm of Reno's filing system; it infuriated anyone trying to search for something specific. Anyone who wasn't sup posed to get the information would either search for so long they'd get found out, or would give up and leave. People who should be able to access the files, like his superiors, had better ways of obtaining them. Reno figured it only bothered Tseng because he hated clutter and disorder.

Reno balanced the coffee mug on top of a precarious stack of files, and started drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair.

"Reno." Tseng's voice was crisp and serious.

The worst thing about this job was sitting around doing nothing. He couldn't imagine being a full time office drone. He loved his job. It was challenging and exciting, every day different. Sadly, he hadn't managed to avoid the dull drudgery that was office work entirely. Every mission required reports, most of them needed collateral damage reports too.

He did have a report he could be writing, instead of annoying his boss. He couldn't get any more bored anyway. Reno stopped drumming his fingers, and typed a password into his computer to disable the screen saver.

ACCESS DENIED

Reno grumbled, and typed in another password.

ACCESS DENIED

"Oh, you're startin' to piss me off, yo!" He hammered at the keys. The third time was the charm. "Whose chocobo-brained idea was it to have a new password every two damned days?"

Rude looked at him.

"Yeah yeah, I know. The guy who signs my paychecks."

It was pretty easy to have a whole conversation with Rude without the guy saying a word. Kind of creepy, but it worked. Rude was the silent type, rarely said anything. The most words Reno had ever heard Rude string together was about twelve. Not that the guy needed to say something to make his point most of the time.

Reno was downright chatty most of the time. He vaguely recalled reading somewhere that people who babbled or talked a lot built massive vocabularies, and were better at learning foreign languages. He wasn't sure about that, but if it was true, he had a hell of an advantage over the rest of his coworkers.

People figured he liked the sound of his own voice. That wasn't really it, he just couldn't stand silence. Silence had to be filled with noise. The louder, the better. Another reason him and Rude were a good team. Those flashy explosives Rude was oh-so-good at making were just perfect for killing silence with.

An unread e-mail appeared in Reno's inbox. He opened it. A trio of curious and surprised vocalizations told him Tseng, Rude and Tiana had gotten the same message.

"That's weird," he said. He took his feet off his desk and wormed them back into his boots as he read the e-mail.

FROM: rika (dot) daisen (at) securityconceptsltd (dot) mid

TO: Shinra General Affairs Department Investigative Division administrative_research (at) shinra (dot) mid

SUBJECT: Vidar Fox

Please accept my apologies for using your e-mail address, I didn't know how else to contact you, and I thought this was important. You Turks are hard to make contact with from outside of Shinra Electric Company.

I have information regarding Vidar Fox's location. Fox was last sighted in the Sector 1 slums. I can lead you directly to him. Drop by Security Concepts Ltd. headquarters in Sector 8, and I can get you up to speed with what I know.

Sincerely,

Rika Daisen

CEO, Security Concepts Ltd.

Tiana spoke first. "I recognize the company name. They've been in business in Sector 8 for less than a year. As I understand it, they're a private security consultancy firm. Normally they install security systems for small businesses. They're not usually involved in investigative work. Their permits and licensing all checked out last time I checked."

Reno lifted a stack of three files, and tugged Fox's file out. He chucked it onto Tseng's desk. "I'll take this one. Tiana, you're with me, 'cause you've already worked with Security Concepts."

Tseng nodded.

"If you see anythin' in that file you think I'll need to know, you'll gimme a call, right?" Reno was already on his way out the door. He knew the answer to that question, it was the same as every other time he'd asked it.

"You're not going to read the file?" Tiana objected, even as she stood and put her jacket on.

Reno checked the strap on his Electro-Mag Rod, then made sure his PHS was in his pocket. "Nah, just read that file yesterday." He prodded the elevator button with the tip of his Electro-Mag.

Tiana darted into the elevator before the doors closed.

"Keep up slow-poke. It's a helluva long walk if you've gotta take the stairs." The elevator started its rapid descent, and Reno propped one foot, then the other, up on the handrail to tighten his bootlaces. People who didn't bother to check their laces were idiots; if they needed to run from something, they'd be in a bit of a predicament if their shoes came flying off. The last thing you needed was to trip over your own feet because you forgot to make sure your shoelaces were tied.

Satisfied that his bootlaces were sorted, he leaned against the wall of the elevator, feeling the hum of the moving elevator through his back. He folded his arms over his chest, and leaned his head back, eyes closed. "Time to prove you deserve to be a Turk. What else can you tell me about this company?"

"Not much. Just what I said back in the office. They've been there about a year, and they were on the routes I patrolled my first four days. No-one ever made any complaints about them that I know of. They don't get involved in Shinra business if they can avoid it, though it does happen."

Reno opened his eyes, then stared out over the city, far below. The people looked like ants from up here. "Possible connections to the target?"

"Sorry, I have no idea."

"What do you know about Rika Daisen?"

She shrugged. "Only that she works for Security Concepts Limited."

The elevator came to a stop in the lobby. They stepped out, and walked down the stairs. Shinra employees gave them a wide berth. Most people knew the Turks were bad news, and tried to stay out of their way.

The first couple weeks on the job, the rookies got high on the power-trip. The new girl didn't disappoint. So predictable.

Tiana walked tall, head up high and haughty, an overconfident spring in her step. She'd get used to it eventually; or, most likely, she'd get her ass handed to her by some punk who got lucky. One thing you learned quick on this job is that you weren't invincible.

Reno stuffed his hands into his pockets as they stepped out the front door. "According to the file, the guy's been running all kinds of security rackets. Fox wouldn't have anything to do with us, except that he pissed off one of the President's business associates. When SOLDIER got sent in to set the guy straight, he beat the snot out of them and disappeared."

"Why not just send more SOLDIERs?"

"Because a SOLDIER 2nd Class couldn't bring him in alive, and they can't spare a 1st Class. If he can hold his own against SOLDIER, they're probably gonna try convincing him to undergo Mako treatment in exchange for forgetting about that little transgression against the President's associate."

"You said Fox ran security rackets? Do you think Security Concepts Limited is his new business front?"

"Could be. The best place to hide from the President is right under his nose. It's the last place he'd think to look. Sure, Shinra's got contacts everywhere in this city, but nobody notices the guy who diligently does his job, day in, day out, never gets into any trouble, but isn't squeaky clean either."

Reno scanned the crowds on Loveless Avenue, saw the too-careful slink of someone trying not to be noticed backing away into a side street. Seemed the guy had a guilty conscience.

Sure, everyone felt on edge when the Turks showed up, but it usually took people a minute or two to figure it out, unless they were actively trying to avoid trouble with Turks, and that guy had been way too quick to disappear.

Reno looked at Tiana. She'd spotted it too. Good. She's learning, he thought. "Follow that guy. Find out what he's up to. Meet me at the corner of 26th and Lark Street in forty-five minutes. Call me if you get into trouble."

Tiana angled toward the side street, the crowds moving aside to let her pass. Reno watched until the crowd filled in behind her. Before long, there was no evidence she'd even passed through. He continued outbound along Loveless Avenue. The further he got from Shinra headquarters, the thinner the crowds got.

Like almost everything Shinra Electric Company had its grubby paws on, Midgar was organized and orderly. The major thoroughfares in each sector were more or less the same. Starting at the center, spreading outwards, there were concentric rings. Most of them had names on top of the plate, to make the place more welcoming, but the numeric system was followed under the plate. Each sector had three major trunk lines that reached out like spokes in a wheel. In between each sector was another major trunk line, lined up with the ring of Mako reactors around the city.

Sector 8 was right outside the front doors of Shinra headquarters. It was a busy place, clean and well-kept. Whether you were looking for high-class entertainment, or expensive restaurants, this was the place to look. Loveless Avenue, the central spoke in the sector, had gotten its name from the play of the same name, adapted from a famous poem. The play had been performed on this street so long that Urban Development had decided to name it for the longest-running performance in Midgar. It made sense, even the people down under the plate knew about the play now.

His destination was twenty-six blocks out, near the edge of Sector 1. That didn't explain why Security Concepts Limited would know what was going on in the Sector 1 slums though. Most of the people topside had nothing to do with the slums. He went down there every once in a while, usually for work.

Sometimes he and Rude stopped by a bar in Sector 7 for some after-hours drinks. He had this suspicion Rude had a thing for the cute brunette who owned the bar. She moved like a skilled fighter, with this air of confidence that probably kept the average customer from startin' shit in her bar.

Sure, Seventh Heaven was decent, for a place under the plate, but not good enough to take the long trip on the train when there were better bars topside. The only reason he could come up with for why Rude liked the place was the owner, Tifa Lockheart.

Not that he had any complaints about Seventh Heaven, the place was clean, and the drinks reasonably priced. On his paycheck, the cost of a few rounds of drinks wasn't even worth thinking about. But more drinks for the same price was always a good thing.

Everyone had a vice, Reno's was alcohol. He didn't have Tseng's rich taste, he was more of a lager kind of guy. What was the point of drinking something fancy if you were gonna get so shit-faced you wouldn't be able to taste it?

Plus he didn't get hangovers drinking lager like he did with spirits and wine. In his line of work, hangovers were the kind of ordeal you wouldn't even wish on your worst enemy. Fighting and explosives did not mix well with a pounding headache.

Reno took a pack of candy out of his jacket pocket, and stuck a thin spear of it between his teeth. He chewed on it thoughtfully as he walked. The tang of the peppermint coating on the candy was so strong it made his eyes water and burned his nose and throat. By the time he reached the intersection of Lark Street and 26th, the cool peppermint flavor had faded and been replaced by the sweet warmth of the candy's cinnamon center.

Security Concepts wasn't difficult to spot, their red on white logo was blazoned on the side of the building. It was a small, yellow brick two-story with gray roof shingles. Security cameras on the corners of the building twisted side to side, monitoring the sidewalks around the business. Of course a security company would take their own security seriously.

Reno took a seat on a bench on the corner, a few buildings away from Security Concepts to wait for the rookie, and looked at the clock display on his PHS. She had eight minutes. After that, she had twenty minutes to show up before he called her to make sure she wasn't in any real danger.

As the deadline neared, he was getting impatient. It looked like she was going to be late, which was highly unusual for her. He tapped his Electro-Mag Rod against his foot, slowly, rhythmically. Reno fished his PHS out of his pocket again. It was 3:45. She should have been here by now.

By 3:55, he was concerned. Is she in trouble? Five minutes later, he sent her a text message - Call me. When no call came, he really started worrying.

At 4:05, he called her. He ran his fingers through his hair while he waited for her to answer. Come on! Pick up the damned PHS!

After eight rings, the PHS went to voice mail. Reno was on the move immediately, making his way back toward where he'd last seen Tiana. He thumbed the 'end call' button, and held the 1 key on his PHS. This time the PHS was answered in one ring.

"Tseng? 'S Reno. Tiana's not answering her PHS. She was in pursuit of a suspect off Loveless, between 4th and 5th. I'm heading back to her last known location."

Tseng's voice was cool and calm, as always. "We'll find her. You follow up on that lead."

Reno wanted to tell his boss "go to hell, I sent Tiana after the new target, I should be the one to go find her." Instead, he replied "You sure, boss?"

"Rude's already on his way."

There was something reassuring about how Tseng kept his cool most of the time, and Rude had never let him down. That didn't stop Reno feeling queasy about Tiana not calling in though. Some people would chalk that up as a coincidence. The Turks didn't believe in coincidences. In fact, he'd be willing to bet a large sum of money that Tiana's disappearance was connected to this mess with Vidar Fox.

"'kay, thanks Tseng." Reno turned, and walked back toward Security Concepts. He stepped through the door, and was hit with a cold downdraft from the overhead air conditioning vent. An almost polite chime came from a speaker near the counter as he passed an infrared sensor just inside the door.

Near the front of the store, a tall, pale, kid in a cherry red jacket looked to be researching some of the cameras on offer using his PHS.

Reno stepped over to inspect some of the merchandise on the other side of the store, watching the kid out of the corner of his eye. He didn't look up and acknowledge Reno's presence overtly.

The kid had an air of knowledgeable arrogance about him, like he owned the world. He made Reno think of a savvy alley cat; playing it cool, like everyone was beneath his notice, when really, he was wary and alert, ready to move as soon as it looked like there was going to be trouble.

A pretty amber-haired woman leaned on the counter near the back of the store, explaining a CCTV system to a thick-built thirty-something customer wearing a mid-range suit. The suit glanced over his shoulder nervously at Reno. The suit left in a hurry once his business was concluded. The kid stuck around, watching - no, observing - gathering information.

Reno made eye contact with the bubbly blonde store clerk, and noticed the name tag pinned to the left breast of her shirt - Rika. He walked over to the counter, and leaned his elbow on it, flashing her his nicest smile. "Hiya Rika. We got your e-mail."

Rika looked him over with her pretty blue eyes. "You're a little scruffy for a Shinra employee, aren't you?"

Reno couldn't help but notice the way her eyes wandered over him, the way they lingered. He flashed his Shinra ID card at her. "Just tell me what you know about Fox."

Rika looked around the store. "I'd rather discuss this somewhere else. Somewhere more private?"

Reno hit the release catch on his EMR, and looked over his shoulder at the kid. "You heard her. Store's closed."

The kid immediately dropped the camera he'd been inspecting, and dashed out the door. Smart kid.

Reno walked over to the door and turned the door lock, then flipped the open/closed sign over. "Private enough for ya, Rika?"

The woman shook her head. "No, there's recording devices in here."

This is a dangerous game to play, Rika. First the rookie goes missing on the way over here, now you're trying to get me to follow you somewhere we can't be observed. Like hell I'm gonna let you go first, if you've got friends back there, they're expecting that.

Reno returned to the counter, and hopped over it. He opened the door to the back room of the store and stepped through it before Rika had the chance to go ahead of him.

Against the left wall was a desk; a time lock safe sat closed below it. A cluster of five monitors crowded the wall over the desk, two showing the sidewalk outside, one showing the shop floor. One of the remaining two showed what Reno guessed was the back door, and the other showed what looked like a stock room beyond this small office; the door to the stock room was in the right wall of the office. There was nothing out of the ordinary on any of the monitors.

Reno turned to face Rika. "You said you knew Fox's whereabouts?"

Rika closed the door behind her and nodded, leaning languidly against the wall by the door. "I do. Let me lock up shop, and I'll lead you there."

Reno scowled at her, his eyes hardening. "I'm not in the mood for playing games. Just tell me where he is."