Warnings: Yaoi, Coarse language. I do not own or make any profit from FFVII stories or anything affiliated with them. This work is purely fan based and shall continue to be so.
--
Little by little, he was getting worn down. It didn't take a scientist to see that each time I offered a suggestion, he bit on it. He wanted to see me put in the work, I was putting it in. Just to prove the bastard wrong, every assignment he'd set me, every task he'd put me on, every test and assessment I'd had, had all been met with the same amount of fierce determination. Tongues were talking, and as is per usual, I was having my ego stroked from every angle. They wondered how I knew just shit hot good I was. Pffsh, they told me. Every time I got a little too out of line, he kept me in check though. Didn't matter where the hell we were, my ego could take a battering with a few sharply chosen words, and ridicule from my team mates. Today's mission, I'd taken out over fourty guards at a warehouse of stolen goods. FOURTY of the fuckers. I'd come back and bragged a little in the lunch room. I mean fuck, that's an achievement that deserves a little recognition.
"…So then another few came right at me, their leader with em, and I used the EMR to wipe them out before they managed to get a decent hit on me," I'd smirked smugly, as Rude raised an eyebrow and even Elena seemed a little star struck.
"So you're saying you did all of this within two hours? On your own?" Cissnei gasped, wide eyed, as she clutched her mug of cocoa and perched on the end of one of the sofas.
I opened my mouth to explain my extraordinary skill, but Shithead appeared out of nowhere and had some input of his own.
"He did, yes. He also managed to take out two second class SOLDIERs waiting on standby to pick him up, render one of our choppers out of action, cause over two million gil worth of damage, and take out the one suspect that we needed for interrogation," He smirked slightly, as he headed over to the coffee machine and prepared his mug, "As well as all that, he made it back to the office four hours behind schedule and smelling distinctly of manure."
At this, the rest of the Turks within earshot fell into hysterics. For Rude, this meant a light bout of chuckling, but for the others, it meant howls of laughter and tears. I shrugged my shoulders, smirking casually, even as I felt my cheeks burn. Damn having pale skin, blushes showed far too easily.
"What can I say, yo?" I shrugged, "Nobody's perfect."
He smirked at me over his coffee cup as he took a sip from it.
"Don't you have your own machine in your office?" I asked, and he nodded simply.
"It's far less amusing then this one, however…"
"Hey… Hey Reno…" Elena gasped through her laughter, "I gotta ask, why manure?"
"Elena, you should know by now that it's impolite to ask such a question," Tseng smirked, "What Reno does in his spare time is his own choice."
"If I had my way, I'd have done something a long time ago," I smirked, quietly enough so that only he could hear, "So sometimes, not everything is my own choice."
His eyes flashed a little, and his smirk turned devious.
"Despite Reno's mishaps, he is most certainly working hard, however," He said to the rest of the crew, "He only recently returned from his mission, but if my memory serves me correctly, the rest of you have all been in this room for over an hour now."
With that, the others leapt to their feet, downing the last dregs of their coffee, and pulling their gear together.
"Elena, back to the office for now. If we require your assistance, we'll be sure to let you know. Rude, head to sector five and check up on the girl. Make sure there are no further disruptions to her. Cissnei, head over to SOLDIER headquarters and hand this the General personally. If his secretary or anyone else should ask questions refer them directly to me," He said firmly, handing Cissnei an envelope before turning to me, "Reno, come with me."
Pretty sure that had been my intentions from the start there, Commander…
"Yes sir."
I followed him obediently out of the room and swaggered along beside him as he headed for his office.
"You miss me while I was gone?" I asked, a smirk toying along my lips, as he cleared his throat a little.
"Initial reports from SOLDIER had been sent to me informing me of your death," He said flatly, and I faltered in my steps. Fuck, they thought I'd been killed? I mean fair enough, I'd copped a few hits and I was a little ruffled up and battered and torn and shit, but I was far from dead. He turned to give me a small frown, before continuing on.
"I guess you could say I was concerned, to say the least," He replied lowly, as I trotted to catch up to him.
"What in the name of Gaia made them think I was dead?" I asked, and he shook his head, before gesturing me into his office, Elena giving me a soft smile on the way in.
"Is that why everyone's been so nice to me today?" I asked, and he gave a small smirk.
"Possibly. You dissolved Elena and Cissnei to tears, and even Rude was a little quieter than usual," He remarked, sitting down with his coffee as I fell into the chair across from him.
"What about you?" I asked, and he held a blank expression.
"As I said, I was concerned to say the least."
"And to say the most?"
He said nothing to this, frowning instead.
"The reason why they thought you were deceased was because SOLDIER witnessed you captured by the enemy and seemingly lifeless after they'd left you for an hour and a half on your own. Your communications had been cut, and we were picking up no signals from your life monitoring device. Simply by looking at you, you were in terrible shape, and adding the other information together, they assumed the most logical conclusion," He explained, "Based on their streamed reports, we all did the same. I need a report from you within the next hour. At the moment, we've stopped the process of wiping your records clear, but due to outdated protocol, we can not reinstate your position until we have a report confirming your state of living."
You gotta be fucking kidding me.
"Hey sunshine, take a look," I smirked, stretching back in my chair, "I'm as alive as ever, ain't that proof enough?"
His eyes roamed my torso, and I felt my blood boil a little. Oh yeah, he was checking out the goods…
"Are you aware of just how seriously you are wounded?" He remarked, as I raised a brow, lifting my shirt and setting sights on my abdomen for the first time. Holy fuck, I think I could see my hip bone.
"Fuck!" I cried, leaping to my feet in nothing short of panic, "What the fuck?!"
"It would do you no good to panic. You're probably still pumped with mako and adrenaline, a likely cause as to why you hadn't felt the severity before you saw it," He said calmly, standing and moving to my side. He placed a finger on the injury and I howled out in pain, swatting his hand away. Where the hell had that come from?!
"That's my bone, ass face!" I snapped, and he smirked a little, trailing his fingers a little lighter, and a little lower, along my skin.
"Uh…" I said dumbly, as his eyes flashed again.
"Sir?" A voice called from the door, as Tseng immediately stepped back from me.
"Yes Elena?" He called, as she opened the door and looked in.
"Is everything alright sir? I thought I heard a cry out and got wor-" She froze, her eyes settling on my wound, and her face paling dramatically.
"Reno will be fine Elena, it looks a lot worse than it is, believe me," He smiled softly, and she nodded shakily, before running over and flinging her arms around my shoulders.
"Gaia Reno, they told us… They said that you'd…. We were so worried, and now you're… well look at you!" She sobbed, as I tentatively pat her back, Tseng gently placing a hand on her elbow, as she raised puffy eyes to meet his.
"Elena," He said softly, and she wiped hurriedly at her eyes.
"I'm sorry sir, I don't know how I lost… I don't know… I'm sorry," She spluttered, as he nodded and gently guided her to the door.
"Take the afternoon off Elena, you're unfit to work," He said firmly, and she shook her head.
"I'm fine Sir! I'll return to duties immediately, Sir!" She saluted, and he offered her a small smile. What I wouldn't give for him to treat me like he treats her. He's so gentle, and caring, and loving… Fucking sentiment. I was a Turk, I needed to dump that shit when I woke up in the morning and flush it down the toilet with last night's dinner.
"I insist, Elena. We'll see you tomorrow," He said firmly, and she nodded in resignation, offering me a shaky smile before disappearing to her quarters.
He closed the door and turned back to me, rubbing his temple. He looked tired and worn down, and I hadn't seen him like this since I'd nearly gotten me and Cissnei killed. Come to think of it, he never really looked this bad unless I'd nearly off-ed myself. Call it my ego, but that seemed to be a pretty good sign in my favour.
"You look like shit, yo," I smirked, and he returned the favour.
"You're hardly in a position to talk, Red," He retorted, and I gave another hard look at my wound. That was some fucked up shit right there…
"So, will I need some special attention to get this fixed, or what?" I asked, prodding at the wound with my finger and watching a small amount of blood trickle out, "Come to think of it, there ain't much blood coming out…"
He dropped to his knees before me and my filthy little mind kicked up all sorts of images to make my breath catch. Instead, he pulled out a sewing kit from his inner coat pocket and started pressing medical thread through a needle. Oh Gaia, no.
"Don't tell me you're gonna stitch me up like a frickin ragdoll!" I cried, and he smirked sadistically.
"It's exactly what they'd do at a hospital or anywhere else. The only difference is that you're a Turk, and I'd rather I handled you myself," he explained, before I felt the prick through my side.
"Fuuuuu~…" I cut myself off, biting down hard on my lip instead, and drawing blood. He meticulously thread the needle in and out, ensuring that he left little room for seepage or blood flow. I had to admit, he was good at what he was doing. I guess you don't get Turk Commander for nothing. Once he'd finished, and was cutting the thread, I allowed myself a forced smirk, pushing away my pain as best as I could.
"So, uh, while you're down there…" I smiled teasingly, and he raised a brow, before moving back to his desk chair.
"I've been working hard, yo!" I practically whined, as he pent his fingers and smirked.
"Maybe you haven't done what you need to do just yet, rookie," he remarked, "You're excused from duties for the next two days. Go home and clean yourself up, and if you find any more concerning wounds, let me know."
"That's all?"
"And take a few of these," He said flatly, tossing a bottle of pills at me, "They'll help with the pain once the adrenaline wears off. They'll also boost your mako levels for a short amount of time so you can heal quicker."
"Whatevs," I shrugged, heading for the door, popping the pills in my coat pocket.
"And Reno?" He said just as I turned the handle.
"Yeah boss man?" I asked, meeting his gaze.
"I'm glad you're not dead just yet," He smiled softly, and I felt a Gaia forsaken flutter through my gut, "Welcome back."
"Thanks sir…" I murmured, slipping out and heading for my quarters.
--
"Did ya cry?"
"…"
"Wanna curl up in a little ball and sob yourself to sleep?"
"…"
"You can admit it, yo, won't make you any less of a man."
"…"
"I can hear your heart bleeding still, yo. It must have been traumatic."
"Reno, leave him alone," Tseng warned, as he walked in to me leaning over Rude's desk and pestering him relentlessly. The bald-headed mute was barely biting however, and it was driving me up the frickin wall.
"All he has to tell me is that he got teary when he thought I was dead," I smirked, leaning over my newly assigned partner once again, and tapping his bald head. He countered with a swift slap to my side, hitting my wound clear on.
"Mother fu-!"
"Reno!" Tseng snapped, and I turned a scowl in his direction.
"Did you see what he just did, yo?"
"I did. It was well placed and well deserved," He said flatly, "Now go home. I have told you several times that you are unfit for duty at this present time."
"Boost me up on pain killers and I'll be fine, yo," I shrugged, moving over to my pot plant and inspecting some new found spots on its leaves.
"I'll take you home myself, if you insist on being stubborn," Tseng muttered, and a flash of hope zipped through my eyes.
"Reeeeally?"
Tseng flicked eyes to Rude, who I could have sworn had just been smirking his ass off, before offering an impatient frown in my direction.
"Grab your things Reno," He stated, heading out the door before I barely had a chance to register anything. Asshole.
I trotted along the corridor, panting slightly as my wound burnt a shot of pain with every jolt it took. Yeah, okay, I might not be as fit for work as I first thought. I needed booze.
"Are we goin' past a liquor shop on the way, yo?" I asked, and he merely gave a scrutinizing gaze.
"You're thinking of alcohol at a time like this?" He asked, and I nodded.
"How could I not? I'm hurting all over, and I got a shitload of stuff on my mind that I ain't too keen on keeping there," I explained, and he rolled his eyes slightly.
"Alcohol's not going to cure all your problems, Reno," he narrowed his eyes at me, before stopping abruptly. I walked smack bang into his back, and my sides felt like they were just about to split apart.
"Hey!" I snapped, but stopped when I saw his eyes focus on something on the wall a little further down the hallway. I barely had time to try and figure out what the fucker was, before he'd spun me around, wrapped his arms around me and dived across the floor. I found out why, when only a few moments later, the little black thing on the wall made a mother of a blast rip through the building, sending a wall of heat over the top of us and a shit load of debris flying everywhere. There was a cough above me, as Tseng brushed bits of the ceiling off his jacket and leapt to his feet, pistol drawn, as I rolled a little on the floor. My breath was gone, and as I brushed a finger along my side, I found a large chunk of plaster lodged a little above my already gaping wound. Well fuck me, that was just plain rude…
I heard shots going off, and Tseng disappeared back into the smoke, as I felt my shoulders grabbed, and I was dragged across the floor. I fought to get myself free, but I had stars in my eyes from the blast, and I could barely hear shit. There was little left to do but wait for the mako to kick in. I finally managed to struggle free as the smoke cleared, and I aimed my pistol at my captives. Turns out it was Rude and Cissnei, as I found out when Rude himself bitch slapped me and knocked my gun from my hand.
"The fuck?!" He snapped, and I shrugged, heading for where I'd saw Tseng snake his way before. I felt a little sick to the stomach at the amount of blood there was on the floors, and it was looking a lot like it was a trail… right from where we'd fallen. Fuck me…
"Tseng!" I called out through the flames and gathering smoke clouds. I thought the smoke had died off, where the hell was it all coming from? Rude and Cissnei and about a million others dispersed their way into the smoke, and headed for where there were gunshots. I opted for the less preferred method of combat, which was to promptly feel violently ill and begin to pass out.
"Fuck…" I managed to murmur, before it all went dark.
--
"Piss weak…"
"Can't even take a few bullets and a roof like a man!"
"No kidding."
"Didn't hear me bitching. I got hit twice and I'm still going strong."
"Would you be here if you were?"
Sounded like…Elena… and… Cissnei? And…
"Rude, you son of a bitch…" I groaned, and I heard a soft sound which may very well have been repressed laughter.
"Welcome back partner," he greeted, as my groggy eyes opened blearily and I took in the all too familiar sight of the infirmary walls. Get out of here. You serious? I looked around. To my left, Elena was perched on my bed and swinging her legs over the metal railings. To the right, Cissnei was in a bed of her own, propped up so that she could sticky nose at me whilst Rude sat by her bed. Elena handed me a small cup of some blue liquid shit, and not thinking terribly too much, I downed it. If I hadn't swallowed so quickly, I'd have sprayed it across the room.
"The fuck is that?!" I spat, and she smirked to herself, "Tastes like ass…"
"It's a mix of mako and morphine. Might taste like ass, but you're gonna be on cloud nine in a minute, so don't bitch too much," she shrugged. I leant back on my pillows and scowled at her as best as I could, before the drugs started kicking in.
"Fuck Elena, I take back any bad thoughts I ever thought of you babe," I grinned, "Marry me honey."
She laughed, her cheeks flaring, as Rude cleared his throat and filled me in a little.
"That bomb was set up by an un-named terrorist group. We don't know how they got through security just yet, but it's pretty apparent who their target was," he frowned, as an awkward silence crept across the room. They couldn't mean…
"Me?" I asked, kind of full of hope that they'd agree, I could take the blame, and everything would be peachy. That way that sinking feeling in my gut would kinda disappear, and Tseng would walk through that door and lecture the absolute shit out of me.
"Tseng's missing. Footage showed him unconscious with heavy blood loss being taken from the building as the attackers retreated," Cissnei rushed, taking no time to breathe, "We had no time to follow as the next wave came and a heap of us were taken out…"
My ears rang, and I was pretty sure it wasn't just from the explosion still echoing through them. I was clambering out of bed before Rude even had a chance to get to me. He did though, and managed to catch me as I wobbled a little and almost fell.
"Crazy son of a…" Rude murmured as I flailed a little, trying to pry him off me. Some fuckers were gonna die, and he should know that for that to happen, he'd have to let me go.
"Let me go ass face," I snapped, and he did just that. I took about three steps before promptly hitting the deck. Urgh… Not the best move on my behalf.
"That's why you're not doing shit right now," Rude muttered, pulling me back to my feet and helping me back into bed. Fuck. Tseng… Gaia, what the fuck were we gonna do now?
"So, us four are all in here," I frowned, "And you said a shit load of the others were taken out. Who's looking after the whole Tseng issue?"
Elena and Cissnei shared a concerned glance. Rude simply shifted his collar uncomfortably and moved his weight from one foot to the other.
"You're not going to like the answer," He muttered, and a thought flew through my head. They wouldn't have though, surely?
"Naaaah…" I snorted, but Elena looked a little less amused.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Red," She shrugged, "None of us like it, but you know that certain situations call for this kind of co-operation… I think that putting everything aside, he's in good han-"
"Fuck off!" I scoffed, "You can't seriously be implying that they've sent SOLDIER out after him?"
There was a very non-reassuring silence that extended for a few moments after that. Fuck me. SOLDIER. The very people that we knew were most incompetent in… well, everything… were going out there to help out a Turk?
"Shinra's orders," Cissnei explained, "He wants the Turks to focus on getting healed, basically."
I shrugged, feigning my defeat.
"Guess we've got no choice then, huh?" I asked, and Cissnei and Elena seemed relieved that I'd accepted this little turn of events. Rude however, knowing me better than the others did, simply looked more concerned.
--
These girls never shut up. Ever. They were always gossiping about boys, or about work, or about how much of an ass I am. I told them I could hear every word they were saying, but it didn't seem like they cared all that much. I'd been here for seven hours already, time was wasting, and all I wanted was for Cissnei to fall asleep and for Elena to disappear. I'd been waiting three hours. Rude had done the smart thing and fucked off when they'd started talking about prissy boy Fair and how much of a tight little ass he had. Okay, granted, it was a nice piece of ass, but come on.
"Alright then," Elena smiled drowsily, stretching her arms out and stifling a yawn, "Time for me to hit the hay. You two get some rest, hey?"
"Will do, doll," I winked, and her cheeks flared again. Girls. They'd do anything for a handsome face.
"Hey Len?" Cissnei murmured sleepily, her face already half buried in her pillow. Elena offered an 'hmm?' and the brunette let out a soft sigh.
"You gonna be okay?"
With that the lil blonde faltered, and I felt my heart bleed a little as she fought back brimming tears.
"Yeah, of course!" She grinned cheerfully, "Be great to get some sleep though, I'm stuffed."
With that she gave Cissnei a brief cuddle and waved goodbye to me. Cissnei let out another soft sigh, before murmuring a goodnight in my direction. Within about two minutes, she was resonating soft snores through the room. Petite my ass.
After another ten minutes or so of gradually increasing decibels in terms of snoring, I slipped out of bed. The nurses usually didn't make rounds here too late. They checked every hour or so, and the last time they'd popped by was about fifteen minutes ago. Home free. To be honest, I was feeling a shit load better than they were giving me credit for. When you pump a fucker full of mako and whatever the hell else they'd given me, they heal a shit load quicker than your average damaged goods. Besides, I wasn't dizzy any more, and my movements were nice and smooth. No pain and I hadn't even hopped up on the morphine since about four hours ago. Wounds were just about healed. I crept over to the window and looked out. We were on the second floor, by the looks of it. A decent drop, but not enough to hurt me. I slid the window up and threw another glance over my shoulder at Cissnei, who had half of her body hanging out of the bed and over the side railings. She wasn't waking up any time soon.
"Well, here goes nothing…" I murmured to myself, swinging my legs over the window ledge and staring into the pitch black below. You'd think they'd have garden lights or something, but no. I pumped my mako traces through my body, and gradually, everything got brighter. I jumped off the edge and fell, landing so that I rolled and no particular bone took too much pressure. A window a few metres away suddenly filled with light and I rolled on the ground in time to see a nurse peering out the window. Close call.
I managed to get back to my quarters, equip myself, and check my pistol four times before the inevitable came.
"Figured it wouldn't take you long," Rude remarked lightly, as he appeared in the frame of my doorway. Sneaky bastard was so quiet I damn near shat my pants.
"The fuck Rude?!" I hissed, "You reckon you could maybe make your presence known next time?"
He laughed quietly at this and shook his head.
"…Figured what wouldn't take me long?" I asked, and he gestured towards my prepared suit, EMR and pistol.
"You going to get him back, partner?" He asked, and I nodded.
"I don't trust SOLDIER. They're too likely to fuck shit up. Likelihood is, they haven't left yet. They've probably spent the last few hours trying to figure out a game plan that ain't gonna do shit anyway."
"You going alone?"
"Yup."
He let out a frustrated sigh then, and I turned to give him a full-blown smirk.
"Ah Rudey-baby, I know you're gonna miss me and all, but there's no need for tears!" I reached out a hand and rubbed his head, as his eyebrow twitched slightly. He thrust a small bag into my hands and turned abruptly. He paused in the doorway before he left and looked over his shoulder.
"Try bringing him back in one piece, and use some discretion for Gaia's sake…"
I started clipping everything onto me, making sure I didn't take more than I needed, and gave a nod in the bald guy's direction. He gave a half-assed wave as he walked away, and we both knew by now that it was his way of wishing me luck without showing too much interest.
"Thanks man, look after my plant while I'm gone, yo. Don't think I haven't noticed those spots on the leaves," I called after him, and I could have sworn I saw the corner of his lip curl upwards. That was the thing about Rude. He knew when a guy needed to do something on his own, and he gave him that privilege. Something told me he wanted to come after these bastards as much as me, but he didn't stop me or try and convince me otherwise. It was probably for the best that he decided not to, because when you're dealing with fuckers like this, you gotta be prepared to break the rules; and that just wasn't his style.
The air was pretty still, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on the situation. I'd just snuck out of Sephiroth's office after having swiped the General's files on Tseng's case. That's another reason I hated SOLDIER. If I could sneak into their elite General's office and steal paperwork, what did that have to say about their security skills? As far as SOLDIER had figured out, the group was calling themselves 'Gaia's Keepers', and they were hell bent on setting Shinra crashing down. Apparently we were destroying the planet, destroying everything that Gaia had blessed us with, and had hurt Gaia's children in the process… blah, blah, blah. We got this kind of shit all the time. Sure, we weren't angels, but the people we killed? Well, let's just say they got their just desserts. I can understand why Shithead would be a target, considering he signed all those lives away, as well as took on the cases that were a little bit more than questionable in terms of morality. The thing is, when you aim for an entire organisation, you ended up hating everyone, rather than getting to know them personally. So, they'd gone for Tseng despite him being one of the most highly regarded people within Shinra. Why? Because the bastard had earned a title. 'Commander'. Pretty much all it was. Anyway, the group was set in sector four. That place is a dead set shit hole. It was three am by now, and I knew better than to presume that the darker side of Midgar would close for the night. At the very least though, they'd be a little less alert, and I'd be damn near impossible to spot.
I rocked up outside the area where the group was supposedly located and activated my mako. Night goggles… Pffsh, useless. Everyone should just get mako shots. It was a warehouse of some sort. It wasn't real big, but it was big enough for what these guys were doing. All they needed was a little anonymity and a place to hide an office and some guns.
"… I hear that he deserted his own continent for this one in exchange for his family's safety," I heard a voice a little up ahead, and settled my gaze on a pair of watchmen just outside the building's roller door. Both were holding guns in plain sight, and it kind of made you wonder what kind of people they were to do something so brazen. Either really dumb, or really cocky.
"Yeah, I certainly wasn't expecting a Wutaian when they brought him back," the other guy replied, in a thick Cosmonian accent. That was a rarity. Most of the Cosmonians couldn't handle life in Midgar. The air pretty much choked them to death.
"Well, Shinra does an okay job of keeping him low profile. I don't think I've seen him more than once on the TV," the first guy nodded, "He's definitely low key."
"Turks, eh? You never know when one of the bastards is lurking around the shadows," The Cosmonian laughed, as his local friend joined in. Dumb asses.
I slid along the walls of the buildings and took out the little bag that Rude had given me. I'd opened it just before I'd left and regretted not thanking the bastard while he was still there. Sixteen small packages of C4 explosives, all with a time based charger. Home made, by the looks of it. You'd think that a fact like that would bother me, but knowing it was Rude who rigged them up only gave me more confidence. I started setting them at parts where the building was falling apart a little. The structure was weak already, so this bitch was coming down with little to no fight. I just had to make sure that I executed my half assed plan flawlessly. For good measure, I hooked up a few of the firecrackers I'd stuffed into my back pocket to one of the timers and stashed them in the alleyway, as well as placing a few in some dark little corners of the street. After a few moments, the Midgarian stretched and declared that he needed to take a leak. The minute he was gone, I picked up a pebble and threw it through the air to hit a trash can across the alleyway. The Cosmonian was quick off the mark, cocking his gun and aiming it at the cans.
"Who's there?" He called, eyes nervous and edgy, "Show yourselves!"
He took a few steps forward, and I took the moment to slip through the door behind him. Fuck me, if the guys who took Tseng were anything like this guy, he'd been captured by amateurs. I slipped inside and headed for the darkest corner of the room, praying to Gaia that ther- Yeah, there was an air vent. Gaia was being a little too good to me today. To be honest, I was a little unsettled by this. It was all too… easy…
I pulled myself into the vent and slid along the metal halls. At the moment, I just needed to find out where the stubborn bastard was. He was good enough to get himself out of this shit, I'd be fucked if I knew what was taking him so long to just kick some ass and get the hell outta there. When I looked through the sixth ventilation shaft, I got my answer. Not much you can do for yourself when you're unconscious and hanging from the ceiling by your wrists. Shit, he looked bad… I watched then, as a bulky guy walked over with a bucket of water and threw it over the top of the Commander, just barely rousing him to consciousness.
"Ah! You're awake," The guy smirked, "What a pleasure."
Tseng looked less than impressed. In fact, he didn't really look like he was feeling anything at all.
"The pleasure is mine…" He remarked dryly, before the guy picked up a metal bar and toyed with it in his hands.
"That wouldn't surprise me. You sick fucks are trained to like this kind of a beating, huh?" He asked lightly. Tseng said nothing, choosing instead to stare straight ahead at the guy in front of him. I looked a little further down the ventilation shaft and saw that they weren't the only two in the room. There were another two guys lining the walls. One was looking on with complete indifference, whilst the other seemed eager to see a little more bloodshed. Neither looked all that strong or all that bright. How'd Tseng get himself caught by these guys, honestly?
Too caught up in my musings, I didn't notice the metal bar swinging towards Tseng, and so, didn't have time to turn away before it hit him. It hit him hard across the chest and threw a small amount of blood from his lips. I let out a small hiss, as he swung slightly on the chains holding him to the ceiling. At this, I saw his eyes widen fractionally, and I could have sworn that even with everything going on, he'd heard me. I woke up to myself a little then, and realised that to be Turk Commander meant mako enhancements equivalent to those of a first class SOLDIER. He'd have heard me alright. I kept my voice real quiet then, letting out little more than a breathy whisper.
"One day you gotta learn to do these kinda things on your own, old man," I remarked, and watched as his brow arched slightly, a smirk creeping along his lips.
"What's so funny?" One of the captors asked, "You liking this little beating of yours?"
"Naturally," Tseng replied politely, his voice slightly constricted, "Or I'd not still be here, would I?"
At this, the guy attacking him put a swift punch into the commander's stomach.
"I hate smart asses, you piece of Shinra scum," he spat, a smirk forming on his own lips, "But I certainly love seeing you ass holes get what you deserve."
The guy picked up the metal bar again, and I decided it was a little too much to be waiting around any longer. I pulled one of the triggers from my pocket and set off the first explosive, as it sent a roar through the building.
"Fuck!" The head honcho hissed, "They're outside already!"
He dropped the bar and pulled a pistol from his pocket. He then tossed it to the previously disinterested guy and gestured frantically at the door.
"What are you waiting for?! Get the fuck out there!" He hissed, as I triggered the next explosive. Once the gunfire started outside, with the group blindly shooting at non-existent targets, I set off a bunch of the fire crackers. They weren't top notch in terms of comparisons to gun shots, but they were seemingly good enough, prompting a shout of "Over there!"
"Hope you don't mind hanging around for a minute, Commander," Head honcho guffawed, as Tseng raised an eyebrow. Head honcho then disappeared out the door, slamming it behind him. I waited a few moments then, setting off the next explosive. After a few moments more, I heard a frustrated sigh from below.
"Enough of the show boating, Red…" Tseng warned, as I kicked out the shaft hatch and fell into the room. He turned his head to face me, and offered a small smile, even as blood trailed down his swollen face.
"You look like shit…" I murmured, and his smile grew slightly larger.
"I'll let that slide if you let me down…" He replied, and I reached up to tug at the chains holding him there.
"Keys?" I asked, and he seemed genuinely annoyed.
"You're a Turk, and you sincerely believe you need a set of keys to get me out of here?" He asked, and I scowled.
"I'm trying to save your ass here!" I snapped, "The least you could do is stop being a pain in mine for two minutes."
With that I set off another explosive, as the building shook violently. Then, a few more firecrackers.
"They're not going to buy that for long…" He chided, and I took out my pistol, shooting at the chains until they snapped and broke free. I was going to kill him…
He fell to the ground and rotated his arms to get the feeling back into them, before showing me that he was still joined at the wrists. I raised my pistol and he gave me a death glare. I smirked then, shrugging my shoulders.
"Was worth a try," I said, before pulling the nearest chair over and gesturing to the vent.
"And the handcuffs?" He asked as I helped him back into the vents.
"They can stay on," I winked, as he scowled over his shoulder. He then moved to one side of the vent and let me pass, clearly allowing me to lead the way.
"You need to take this a little more seriously I think," He lectured, moving through the vents, leaving a trail of blood behind him. I gotta admit, it wasn't pleasant seeing him like this, but it was one of those necessities of a rescue.
"It's all good," I reassured, "I don't intend on the classic shoot out ending to this. I'm pretty much just gonna get you out of here and blow the place up."
"Where does this vent lead, Reno?"
"Near the front of the building."
"Where the exit is, as well as where the entire compound group is now situated?" He said dangerously lowly.
Fuck. I hate when I make myself look like a dumb ass.
I stopped mid-vent and let my brain try and throw some sort of an idea together. Don't ask me how my brain works, cause Gaia knows, I don't think it works at all sometimes. But hey, I'm a Turk, and Turks are quick thinking when it matters. There was a shitload that we could do, but it all got pretty dangerous in the long haul. That's what we were about though, right? Tseng would understand that. Right? Aw man, this was gonna get me one of three things: Praised, lectured, or killed.
"Hey bossman?" I began, and I could almost feel him having an aneurism behind me. He always knew when I was about to do something dumb, and he was sensing it right now.
"…Yes?"
I continued crawling through the tunnels and he followed after me, waiting patiently for my response. We were about ten metres from the end of the vent now, and I could see the smoke beginning to gather outside, as well as the sound of gunshots resonating and shouts. It was then that I stopped.
"Hope you're not gonna hate me for this," I shrugged slightly, before kicking out my foot behind me and knocking him square between the eyes. In the state he was already in, it didn't take much to knock him out cold. I then drew my pistol and equipped some fire materia before slipping from the vent and landing somewhat casually in the entry way.
A guy ran back inside the building then, and as his eyes settled on me, he froze. He turned to tell the others, but I grabbed him from behind and placed a hand over his mouth, before twisting and cringing slightly with the loud snap that followed. I hated doing that shit. I pulled the now lifeless form under the nearby stairs and dragged his out of view. I peered out the door, pistol at the ready, and realised then, that they were just about caught on to me.
"The place is rigged! There's no one outside!" One of the guys called, and I saw head honcho immediately spin to face the door. Fuck. I did what I really didn't want to, and cast a fire three at the entry way, coinciding it with another blast. By the time they figured out the blast hadn't actually caused this fire, it'd hopefully be too late. I quickly clambered back into the vent and grabbed Tseng, pulling him towards me and heading for the now burning stairs. He was a thin bastard, and it was lucky that he was, as it was surprisingly easy to throw him over my shoulder and navigate my way up the staircase. I kicked open the metal door at the top and realised that yes, there was in fact a doorway further along a metal walkway. Only problem was that that door had been just about surrounded by fire too. Guess the explosion thing wasn't always a good idea. Then, for the second time tonight, I resorted to doing something I really didn't want to do. I pulled out my cell phone and let it ring a few times.
"Reno?"
"Yo. Long story short, we're gonna need a clean up crew and a ride outta here."
"…"
"Don't gimme that shit."
"Discretion, Reno. Which part of that was hard for you to understand?" Rude let out a frustrated sigh and I smiled in spite of myself. Poor bastard put up with me real well. I'd have kicked my ass by now.
"I'm countin' on ya, partner," I finished the call, flipping my phone shut and moving for the door.
I passed a window and damn near shat myself when one of the panes shattered, a bullet tearing through it. Fuck me, they were onto me. I hit the deck, Tseng falling onto my back in the process. This would probably have been a fuckload easier if he'd been conscious. My bad… But if I hadn't knocked the bastard out, he'd have been like 'No Reno, don't be so reckless'. I really didn't need a mother of a lecture right now.
"Come on Tseng," I muttered, grabbing him by the shoulders and dragging him across the walkway. It was getting hotter near the heat, and a thought suddenly struck me. I reached into my bag and pulled out an ice materia, casting it on the door. The fires died just about instantly, and without the roaring of the flames, I could hear the bullets hitting the door. I left Tseng a little bit behind again, and reached up a hand to pull on the handle.
"Fuck!" I hissed, as I realised that even the ice hadn't taken the heat off of the door. My hand was already blistering like a bitch, but I caught sight of Tseng lying sprawled across the decking, and a part of me insisted the ass hole was worth it. I hated that part. I opened the door a crack and spotted a guy a little down the alleyway, looking straight at me. Not today, ass hole. I aimed the pistol and fired, hitting him square between the eyes before he even had a chance to shit his pants. There were a few more shots, and the door closed again from the force. Get real, seriously? There were heaps of them down there, you could hear them shouting and cursing Shinra as the bullets flew. There were two options here: Wait for Rude and the gang and risk getting killed, or take a bigger risk of getting killed and die on my terms. Every Turk's ideal death involved going down in a blaze of glory, on your own terms, and as a fighter. It was all good and well for me to want to do that for myself, but there was Tseng to think about too. I cracked the door open again, and chanced a look at the building next door. It was low enough and close enough to jump to, but with Tseng on my back? Fat chance.
They say that people with nothing to lose do crazy shit. I say you didn't need to have nothing to lose, people who were desperate and confident enough did crazy shit regardless. Confidence, eh? It'd be a downfall of mine in one way or another. I chanced a look over at Tseng and let out a sigh.
"Well Commander, if we survive this, you may very well kill me," I smirked to no one in particular, "But what the hey?"
I picked him up and put him over my shoulder again. I let off another explosion, the building's structure now starting to decay and fall apart to the point of no return. There was one charge left now, and I knew exactly where it was. I kicked open the door and spotted a few shooters at the bottom. I fired a few bullets and hissed as one hit me square in the leg. Fuck them, it'd make shit slightly more difficult. I didn't think too much on it though, pressing the last switch and detonating the last explosive. It was about 10 metres below us and about five metres to my left, so as the building wall was hit by the waves of energy, it started to fall. Beautiful. The explosion had scattered or killed the remaining group members, so all that was left now was to jump. As the wall fell closer to the building next to it, I felt Tseng stir a little. I kept my head though, took in a deep breath and prepared a shit eating smirk. If I was about to die, I was gonna go out with arrogance. Just as I was about to jump, I felt Tseng's arms tighten around me and heard a hissed "What the fuck?!" in my ear. The last thing I remembered was rolling across the other building top, hurtling Tseng off my back and having half a building fall on top of me. Just my luck.
--
"…Reno?"
Urgghh… Can't handle this shit right now…
"Reno!"
Five more minutes?
"Don't give me that, open your Gaia damned eyes!" A female voice snapped, and I did as she demanded. Turns out it was Elena, and she was just about livid.
"Hey Len!" I croaked, offering a lazy smirk, as Rude offered a subtle shake of his head in warning. Too late though.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" She spat, tugging on her own hair as she tried to regain some composure, "You head into a situation like that on your own, blow up an entire building, and manage to get half crushed by it in the process?!"
"…Pretty shit hot, huh?" I grinned, and was met promptly with a slap to the face. Rude then grabbed her from behind and pulled her from me, arms flailing and all. Shit like that makes me wonder why I bother waking up half the time.
"You bastard! I was worried sick about you, and you act like it was a piece of cake!" She cried, "You almost died, you know that?!"
I turned to Rude, hysterical women not being a strongpoint of mine, and gave him a tip of an imaginary hat.
"Good save, cue ball," I grinned, and he gave a small smile, "Bossman okay?"
Rude smirked slightly then, gesturing to the doorway. Well fuck me, how long had he been there for?
"Reno," He nodded politely, "I see you're doing well."
"Commander. Seems you're a hard guy to kill," I remarked, and he smirked slightly.
"But not too hard to kick unconscious?" He asked dryly, and I could have sworn Elena's eyes were about to fall out of their sockets.
"What?!" She asked, eyes flicking between us.
"You think if I didn't that you'd have let me do what I did?" I asked smugly, and he shook his head.
"No chance in hell…"
"Didn't think so," I shrugged, "You alright?"
He paused for a moment then, just holding my gaze. It almost went for just a fraction too long before he spoke.
"I'm rather well, yes. A few broken bones are still healing, but that won't be an issue," He said, before dropping his voice to a much softer tone, "Thank you, Reno. Your loyalty surprised me."
"Yeah, well, some things are worth working for," I shrugged casually, and he definitely knew what I was getting at, as he smiled slightly and broke the eye contact we had.
"Rude, Elena, we've got jobs to do," he nodded, "We'll come back later, Reno."
"Sure thing bossman," I nodded, as Elena and Rude stepped passed him. He then turned a fiery gaze to me and smirked slightly.
"Don't think I've forgotten what you've done. I'll deal with you later," with that his eyes flashed with a spark of interest and something else a heck of a lot softer, "Take care until then."
I nodded, and he turned, leaving me confused and pissed off as usual. Some things never changed.
--
A/N: Thank you Kallin~chan for reminding me about this. Lol. It got a little lost and sat there half finished for a few months. :P
Loves for yew, muffin.
As for the rest of you, read and review please, and hope to see you next chapter :D