Author's Note: Update! So we have a bit of a slow chapter here, but its necessary to get things rolling! There's a lot of little things that have to get set up and dealt with and arranged just so before we can move towards the finale! And I'm SO excited to write that part. Also, I forgot absolutely everything I wanted to say. So, just read it, I guess. Please review! =)
Elena kicked her feet against the legs of the chair she was sitting in, staring pointlessly at the ceiling. Reno had given in to paying the doctor a visit fairly easily, after Tseng had threatened him with school. Elena smiled faintly at the memory. Mentally reviewing the rather interesting morning and early afternoon, she thought over the video from the security cameras that she'd seen with the Turks. The quality hadn't been very good, so it was hard to make out a details, a fact she wasn't sure if she was glad for or not. As horrible as it was, Elena couldn't help but be amazed and fascinated with the Reno she'd seen in the video. She knew the kinds of things you had to be good at as a Turk and she knew that he was pretty good at all those things. She'd never actually seen him in action though, and watching him go through the maze, taking down enemy after enemy in a seemingly effortless fashion, she'd felt a strange and confusing mixture of pride and fear.
Obviously she wasn't worried Reno would ever hurt her, but it was still startling, in a way, to learn that underneath the mischievous, funny, and sweet exterior, your boyfriend was a highly skilled killer. At the same time, pride had swelled within her and she felt a morbid curiosity tickling her mind. I want to see Reno kick some more ass!
"Well, I ain't dead." Reno declared happily, drawing Elena sharply from her thoughts. "That's basically how useful this stupid check-up was."
"Glad to hear it." Elena laughed and smiled, getting out of her chair and standing up on her tiptoes to kiss his smirking lips lightly. Wrapping his arms securely around her waist, Reno picked her up and twirled her around.
"Reno!" She cried out in surprise, holding onto his shoulders and laughing. "Put me down! You'll hurt yourself." He complied fairly easily, making Elena certain it was actually hurting him. Otherwise he'd never give in so easily.
"Wanna do something for Tseng?" Reno grinned, a distinctly wicked expression on his face.
"What?" Elena was suddenly wary, giving him a suspicious look.
"Oh, nothing." The redhead only grinned more, pulling her off towards the elevator.
!#$%^&*&^%$#!
"No, Reno, don't do it!" Elena begged urgently, between gasping laughs. It was hilarious, but oh so wrong. Reno didn't listen to her, picking the lock to Tseng's office in hardly the blink of an eye and quickly ushering the girl in.
"Aw, it'll make him laugh!" Reno lied, glancing around the office and trying to decide the best placement for his little "surprise". He had an armload of trashy magazines, mostly filled with risqué pictures. Of men.
"Do I even want to know why you have those?" Elena whispered despite herself. She didn't want any part of this, but she didn't want to get caught either! She stifled another laugh. Reno was carefully tucking the magazines away in various places: the shelves, the drawers, simply laid on the desk.
"Hey, it was practically a public service!" Reno declared, also speaking in hushed tones. They weren't that far away from the conference room where the other Turks were gathered. "The secretaries down in the lobby won't be as distracted from work anymore! They'll be ten times more productive. The whole damn buildin' should be thanking me, yo!" He stood back to examine his work. The methodic placement ensured that Tseng would be finding these gifts for quite some time. Snickering one last time, Reno grabbed Elena's hand and pulled her out of the man's office, making sure the door was locked behind them.
Sighing impatiently, Reno stared at the closed door to the conference room. He spent a good five minutes prowling around the entrance, trying in vain to eavesdrop. Unfortunately for him, Shinra did not approve of eavesdroppers and areas such as the Turks' private conference room were sound-proofed quite well. Elena watched in amusement from where she'd settled on the big, black, leather sofa, flipping through TV channels that she wasn't really paying attention to. Finally giving up, Reno kicked the wall irritably, shuffling over to the couch and allowing himself to fall on it.
"They're gonna need me!" Reno insisted with an almost threatening tone, yawning as he placed his head in Elena's lap, grinning up at her with sparkling aquamarine eyes. "Ya don't mind, do ya? Good, thanks." He didn't allow her time to express an opinion about it, but she didn't care. His eyes were already closing sleepily when she smiled back, shaking her head.
"No, I don't mind." Elena turned the volume on the TV down a bit and smoothed the fiery mess of red hair out of Reno's face. He was already asleep. Her smile turned sad as she noticed how obvious the pain and exhaustion was on his face when he slept. She wondered how on earth she would be able to do something as mundane as go to school again. Since she met Reno, her life had been far from normal, though she'd never really "fit in" even before she'd started dating the teenage Turk.
Thirty minutes later, the door to the conference room suddenly burst open and the room's occupants poured out quickly. Elena looked up curiously, but didn't feel she had a right to ask what was going on as all of them but Tseng hurried off. Tseng was checking and loading two black handguns, his jacket tucked under his arm.
"What did the doctor say?" Tseng asked the girl, but it was clear his attention was not totally focused.
"He's doing fine." Elena reported, glancing down at the sleeping redhead, nervous about their little prank now that she was in the presence of the intimidating man. "Been sleeping for a while now."
"Good." Tseng commented, adjusting the leather straps of his shoulder holster before tucking the weapons into their spots. Daniel, Myka, and Talan all returned just as quickly as they'd left, only now all of them were fully armed. Myka tugged at fingerless red leather gloves on her hands, stretching her fingers out and wiggling them before making a tight fist. Daniel was busy searching for places to store the fistful of throwing knives he held easily and Talan stood quietly, but tensely nearby, holding a long, sheathed katana loosely.
"Ready?" Tseng asked them, shrugging his jacket on. Talan didn't so much as move, Myka nodded curtly and Daniel grinned enthusiastically.
"They'd better be praying I don't find them." He said.
"So…what's all the fuss about?" Reno drawled lazily from Elena's lap, his suspicious gaze focused on Tseng. "Ya seem to be in an awful hurry." He sat up, crossing his arms and looking at all the prepared Turks. Even if he wasn't one of them, he would have been about to tell something was about to happen.
"We discovered a list of back-up locations; hideouts all over the city. It's quite possible and likely, in fact, that one of these is where the group has relocated. Even if they're smart enough to pick entirely new locations, they had to have re-grouped somewhere. I can explain more later. Right now speed is imperative." Tseng spoke hurriedly, looking less-than-thrilled that the redhead had woken up before they could escape.
"I'm comin'." Reno got off the couch but Tseng pushed him back down firmly.
"Do you remember about two hours ago when I said you were no longer involved in this investigation?" Tseng raised an eyebrow challengingly.
"You'll regret it." Reno spoke in an almost sing-song tone, his eyes sparking dangerously, but he remained seated.
"I don't think I will." Tseng said dryly, motioning to the others to move out. "Let's split up. Each of us should take a separate location. We'll have to coordinate our attacks in case they monitor each location. I don't want them getting advance warning…" Tseng's voice died off as the group moved out of earshot. Reno huffed and crossed his arms irritably, muttering something under his breath.
"He's only trying to protect you." Elena ventured to say, not sure if it would be better to say something or just keep quiet.
"And such a damn good job of it he's doin'." Reno replied sarcastically, rubbing the stab wound on his abdomen as had become habit for him.
"Don't blame Tseng, blame those bastards he's trying to catch!" She scooted closer to him, throwing her arms around his neck, trying to get his mood to lighten. She could feel him relaxing slightly, but he still scowled at the ground.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Reno sighed. "I don't blame the guy. I'm just bein' obnoxious." He grinned finally, glancing at her. "Wanna get some food?"
"Sure." She agreed quickly, though she wasn't very hungry, but because he was actually expressing an interest in food that wasn't jello. She didn't think she'd be able to trick him into eating real food again, but it would be a problem if he was getting his appetite back.
"Come on. There's a café thingy a few floors down." He got to his feet and held a hand out to her. The redhead pulled on her hand lightly as he led her into the hallway where a small commotion caught their attention. A handful of people had just exited the elevator and bustled in their direction quickly. President Shinra and several personal assistants strode purposefully down the hall. The President had a carefully crafted look of superiority, disdain, and general carelessness on his face while his aids all had the same look of frantic stress, as if they were all on the verge of a panic attack and a complete mental breakdown.
"You." The President addressed Reno sharply, his condescending look only increasing at the sight of the young man. "Where's Tseng? I'm on my way out and need to speak with him briefly."
"He ain't here, yo." Reno's lazy drawl seemed to suddenly become more pronounced as he smirked at the powerful man.
"Well, where is he?" President Shinra demanded, a frown forming on his face. "I haven't got all day."
"Out doin' his job. Whatcha gotta tell him?" Reno questioned back, ignoring the alarmed looks on the faces of the President's assistants.
"I don't have time to waste explaining it to you." The President turned up his nose. "I'll leave a message for him."
"Why don't ya leave a note in his office?" Reno offered happily, gesturing to the man's closed office door right across the hall. Elena's eyes widened, picturing in her head Tseng's desk, currently covered in suggestive pictures of men.
"I suppose that will do." A note was quickly produced by one of the assistants. President Shinra's ID card apparently was capable of accessing every corner of the building, and the man used it to unlock Tseng's office.
"Come on." Reno whispered to Elena, chuckling evilly as the President entered the office. Reno gently pushed the girl towards the elevators and they were safely inside one, not sticking around to see the President's reaction.
"You wanted him to see those pictures, Reno!" Elena accused, unable to resist grinning, but a nervous knot of worry was in her stomach. She didn't ever want to learn what an angry Tseng was like.
"He shouldn't have kicked me off the investigation." Reno smiled smugly, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder. "I had to find somethin' to do with all my extra time!"
"I don't see how you have the nerve to do stuff like this! Or how you don't get fired."
"Aw, Tseng's a big softy on the inside. He couldn't fire me. Plus, I'm too good to fire." He smirked, drawing a smiley face in the floor buttons on the elevator as they stepped onto the floor almost solely dedicated to feeding Shinra's employees.
Reno and Elena had been in the café, eating and then just enjoying the pleasant atmosphere, for almost an hour when Reno's phone buzzed insistently in his pocket.
"It's Tseng." A huge grin appeared on Reno's face when he pulled it out and glanced at it. Waiting for it to ring a few more times, much to Elena's discomfort, Reno finally answered with a slow and lazy drawl.
"What?" He was still grinning expectantly.
"You know exactly what, you…you-" Tseng's furious voice could even be heard by Elena. Reno cut the man off before he could come up with a word to describe the redhead.
"Aw, I make you speechless! I'm so touched!"
"Get back here right now, young man." Tseng demanded.
"Holy crap, what are ya, my mother?" Reno wasn't the least bit perturbed. Elena wasn't sure if this should comfort her, or scare her more.
"Now, Reno." Tseng hung up and Reno tucked his phone back into his pocket happily.
"Sheesh, somebody needs to chill out." He had a very self-satisfied expression on his face as he slowly followed Elena to the elevators. She was in a hurry, anxious to keep Tseng from waiting. Already, the thought of being face-to-face with the Turk was intimidating and she didn't want to make it worse by taking a long time. However, Reno seemed to have the exact opposite idea and promptly pressed every single elevator button between their current floor and the one the Turks' offices were located on.
"Reno!" Elena looked at the lit up board in alarm. It wasn't many floors, but every added second made her more nervous.
"Huh?" He looked at her with mock surprise and innocence. "Loosen up, 'Laney." He smirked, nudging her gently with his elbow. He kept looking at her and an unidentifiable expression slowly appeared on his face.
"What?" She was squeezing her hands together pensively.
"You're so damn cute when you're nervous." He laughed lightly, pulling her to him and kissing her sweetly with smiling lips. The elevator finally arrived at their floor and Daniel, Myka, and Talan all looked up curiously from where they stood in front of Tseng's closed-office door.
"He won't let us in!" Daniel looked completely baffled. "He just walked in there, starting shouting and slammed the door before we could see what was going on." Reno's continued smirk and lack of a confused look clued them in.
"You did this, didn't you?" Myka accused, pointing to the closed door. "What did you do?"
"Nothin', I have no idea what you're talkin' about." Reno grinned, not even trying to make his lie believable. "I got this, guys." He stopped and took a dramatic pause in front of Tseng's door before opening it unceremoniously and leaning in the doorway. "So how'd it go, boss?"
"What is this, Reno?" Tseng was bent over his desk, rubbing his forehead with one hand, eyes squeezed shut in frustration as he held a magazine aloft. The cover was plastered with ripply-muscled men, mostly naked and skin gleaming.
"I dunno, boss, I'm not into that kinda stuff." Reno replied instantly. The other Turks had moved closer in behind Reno and Daniel promptly burst into hysterical laughter, collapsing on the floor in a matter of seconds clutching his abdomen. Myka smiled, chuckling and shaking her head as she ruffled Reno's already messy hair. Even Talan's eyes widened in surprise and the corner of his mouth twitched up slightly, although he quickly lost interest and wandered off. Elena glanced back and forth between them all nervously. It didn't look like anyone would be shot in a fit of rage, although Tseng did seem pretty angry.
"This is…repulsive." Tseng dropped the magazine into the trashcan next to his desk and delicately picked the other few off his desk. They met the same fate as the first before Tseng fixed his steely gaze first on Daniel, still on the floor, incapacitated by laughter, then bringing it up to Reno who smirked back, a devilish sparkle in his eyes. "You realize the President was in here with these, don't you?" Tseng brandished the monogramed stationary the President had left with his note on it.
"Yeah, I was the one who suggested he leave the note." Reno confirmed. Tseng was rendered speechless with this new information. Daniel drew everyone's attention for a moment as he pointed to Tseng, gasped out a few unintelligible words and continued laughing.
"Why do you do these things?" Tseng shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"No reason." Reno shrugged with a carefully casual attitude, examining the back of his hand. "Maybe it's because I don't have anything productive to fill my time, like, oh, I dunno, tracking down and serving up justice to a bunch of crazies that are stealin' stuff from Shinra and spent a few days torturin' me and shit. But yeah, for some reason I'm not allowed to do my job as a Turk and so I have to resort to other methods to keep busy." Reno raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Tseng. Elena almost held her breath, wondering how Tseng would react to this bold move.
"That's what this is about…" Tseng muttered, more to himself than anyone else. Daniel seemed to have regained control and allowed Myka to pull him off the floor. There was an awkward moment of silence before Tseng cracked. "Fine, Reno, fine! I was just trying to look out for you, but if that's what you want, be my guest! There isn't much of an investigation left for you to be a part of though."
"Wait, what?" The warning surprised Reno, and he frowned slightly, giving Tseng his full and honest attention now. Myka and Daniel were more serious now as well, while Tseng explained.
"We all split up and went to separate locations. None of us found anything except Daniel." Tseng looked over to the brown-haired Turk.
"It was messed up, man." Daniel shook his head, serious but not disturbed. They were Turks. It was hard to shock them. "I pretty much just waltzed in, no one stopped me. I found out soon enough that's because they were all dead! In the halls, in rooms, everywhere. Looked like they'd just been chopped down where they were standing."
"They'd been killed recently." Tseng continued the grisly tale. "Very recently. It didn't look like the work of a gang, couldn't even have been more than a few persons. All were killed with either a gun or some kind of blade." Reno blinked. He didn't know how to react. In a way, he was relieved. He'd be lying to say he hadn't more than once entertained dramatic revenge fantasies however. On a less personal note, it was downright confusing. Who was responsible for the mass murder? And why?
"I need to see 'em." Reno stated after a moment, earning a confused frown from Tseng. "I told you I recognized the voice. I need to figure out who it was." Understanding crossed the man's face.
"Yes, I'm sure it would shed light on the situation if we could identify that individual." Tseng nodded. "We dispatched a clean-up crew to the site and there will be information on the identity of each body within a few hours, assuming they can identify them. I'll be sure to get headshots sent to my office for you to review."
"This really throws us off." Myka commented. "We were all set to devote our time to tracking them down and blowing this investigation wide open. But now they're all dead."
"Well, that works too, doesn't it?" Elena piped up, interjecting before her brain had time to stop itself. "I mean, what are they going to do now? They're dead." She blushed as everyone's eyes fixed on her, appearing mildly surprised.
"Technically, yes, I suppose." Tseng replied after a moment's silence. "But all useable information was disposed of this time. We still have only a sketchy idea of who they were and what they were really trying to do in a big picture sense. It's more like a dead-end than an actual completed investigation. Ending like this, it only raises more questions. Obviously, we didn't kill them. So who else had something against them?" Nothing but mystified expressions covered all their faces.
"So…I guess we're giving up on this one for now?" Daniel queried.
"Well, there's really nothing else we can do unless something comes up. Besides, now that there is no more imminent threat, we should focus on finding the mole within Shinra. This is our biggest priority and I'll be assigning you all with missions related to this later. Except you, Reno. You're commanded to rest for a few days at least." Tseng also seemed to be a little thrown off by the sudden kink in their plans.
"What did the President want?" Reno suddenly asked, losing interest in what Tseng was saying.
"Oh, yes. He's attending the symphony later in the week. It's some kind of charity event that he must appear at and we are required to act as his bodyguards for the night. Nothing spectacular, just standard security detail. Reno, if you're feeling up to it, you can join us on this one." Reno nodded. "For now, why don't you call it a day and go home?" Tseng was looking at Reno closely, a tiny concerned frown on his face.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan." Reno agreed, obviously tired. He hadn't done much that day, but it was enough for his recovering body. A grin appeared on his face. "Besides, 'Laney's got her first day of school tomorrow! She's got to get to bed early." He poked her in the ribs playfully, a teasing tone in his voice.
"Stop it." She mumbled, smacking his hand away and trying not to smile. "It's not that big of a deal. I've been to school my whole life."
"Do ya think there'll be a lot of cute boys?" Reno wouldn't relent as he plastered his face with the most ecstatic, obnoxious-girl face he could manage, clasping his hands hopefully.
"Better watch out, Reno, she might realize that not all guys her age make you want to shoot yourself in the foot." Tseng commented, a wry smirk on his face.
"I can imagine it now…" Daniel grinned, trying not to laugh. "Some poor, love-stricken boy comes knocking at the door, intent on baring his soul and expressing his adoration for his blonde goddess and gets Reno instead." The implications of this scenario almost had Daniel rolling on the floor in laughter again. Elena blushed, feeling a bit awkward as she scratched the back of her leg with her foot.
"Elena is very pretty, Reno." Tseng was not above a little teasing of his own. "It may sound crazy, but I wouldn't be surprised!" Reno was not used to being on the other end of the teasing. He wasn't sure how to react and honestly, he hadn't thought about this possibility before. He didn't like it.
"Oh, shut up. You're all stupid." Myka smacked Daniel on the back of the head and cast Tseng an angry scowl that poorly hid her amusement. "Ignore them." She turned to Reno and Elena, ushering them out of the office and away from Tseng and Daniel. "They don't know what they're talking about."
Author's Note: Ok, so I remembered one thing I wanted to say. I have a bit that I want to write and include in here, but I'm not sure if it will work out. I think you'd all like it, but I don't want to mess up the flow of the story or anything. I don't want to give anything away if I do put it in though (it's not a major plot point AT ALL - don't worry) but I still want to hear the opinions of the readers! So, if you'd like to help out, and don't mind hearing the basics of a bit that would possibly happen and is not related to the plot, just let me know in the review and I'll let you in on it! =) I need some advice here! Thanks so much all of you, and I'm looking forward to getting your reviews (whether you want to discuss this scene or not!)! Much love, as always! xD