Chapter 25: Desperation
Rude couldn't fully recall the last time he felt this tired. Normally he was able to roll with the punches and not let the stress of his job get to him. However, a team mate's life was at risk and like everyone else, he was constantly aware of the deadline steadily closing in. There had often been days where Rude wished they'd never brought Aven to Shinra, and this week that thought had been constantly playing through his head. Call him a chauvinist, but he didn't think this line of work was suitable for a young girl who had so much more to look forward in life other than death and violence brought about by politics.
Still, he did his best to respect her wishes and treat her like he would any other member of the team. Even if it often times went against his nature. Reno had pointed it out to him many times before; that he had a habit on being soft towards women and children, and Aven was both of those.
He'd just reached the lobby of the Shinra building on his way for some food and maybe a drink, stifling a yawn as he went. He walked slowly through the lobby, taking in the appearance of all that were present. Some he recognized and others he didn't.
As he was nearing the front door, he noticed Victoria step through the door and a few moments later, Aven did as well.
His heart stopped seeing the young Turk follow the woman out the door. He quickly picked up his pace, making it outside just in time to see her disappear around a corner.
Rude wasn't sure who he felt more irritation towards at the moment; her for sneaking out while under house arrest or Reno for not keeping an eye on her. Well, he sure wasn't about to let her go off on her own, so without any second thoughts he followed her. As he watched her, it wasn't hard to figure out what she was doing. She was tailing the head of accounting, hoping to get some sort of dirt on the woman. The girl was probably desperate at this point, and really who could blame her? Desperation wasn't the best drive to work with, however, and Rude was considering just grabbing her and dragging her back to HQ. He knew though they were running out of time and out of leads. After much mental deliberation, Rude decided to let her investigate, but he would keep a close watch on her. Just in case.
The two Turks followed Victoria down into the slums where the older woman paused to take care of something. During this time, Rude momentarily lost sight of the younger Turk and swore under his breath. He knew she wouldn't be far behind the accountant, so he kept her in sight instead.
When the woman finally started moving again he noticed a small figure wearing raggedy clothing and a small hat begin to follow. He followed to two as well and after a moment realized the decrepit looking child was moving...just like Reno .
He inwardly groaned when he realized who it was. Somehow, Aven had managed to get a hold of a slum kid's outfit and to blend in even more, she had mimicked Reno 's swagger...and somehow nailed it.
When they reached the border between districts, Victoria paused and glanced around to see if anyone was watching. Then she reached into her pocket and fastened something to her bracelet. Then, she just… vanished. Rude was absolutely perplexed. He knew some monsters had the ability to cloak themselves, but not even Shinra had invented anything that could completely mask a person's presence from sight.
He looked to Aven, wondering what she would do next. Surprisingly enough, she continued onward like nothing had happened. Rude frowned, pondering the reasons, but went on with following her lead.
About ten minutes later he saw her stop near an empty lot between some old businesses. She glanced around the corner before looking around her and finding a window just above her head that was open. He waited until she was out of sight before moving closer and peaking through the window to see her near the side wall where another open window sat.
Curious to see what she was looking at, he glanced around the corner and was shocked to see a group of Wutain men standing around with their large powerful guns slung over their backs. As he watched, Victoria suddenly appeared before them removing the item from her bracelet. In an instant he knew the situation was bad, so he quickly made a call for a car to go to that area. They'd need a quick getaway just in case either of them was spotted.
Rude stayed where he was, keeping still and scanning the area to confirm no other suspicious persons were around. He could hear Victoria and the Wutains exchanging words in hushed tones, but could understand none of it. Meaning they were most likely speaking their native language. It seemed Aven had been right about the accountant. He only wished he could understand what they were saying. He'd never bothered to learn the language, and the only person he knew for a fact could speak it fluently was Tseng.
As he considered sending a message to Tseng telling him what he… or rather, Aven, had discovered, the conversation was interrupted by a loud chanting of:
"BEER IS GOOD! BEER IS GOOD! BEER IS GOOD…. AND STUFF!"
Rude mentally winced as he recognized it as Aven's ringtone for Reno . She'd forgotten to silence her phone. One of the many crucial things you were supposed to do during a stealth mission, and she'd forgotten it. This was why desperation was a bad motivator. It made you do things, or NOT do things that got you into serious trouble.
He chanced a glance through the window beside him and saw her struggling to shut her phone off; finally managing to without pulling it out. Once it was off he saw her start to move away from the window only to have a large hand reach through the opening and drag her through by her collar.
Rude cursed under his breath as he saw her dragged into the open in front of the group. He hoped the car got there soon...he really needed it.
He silently watched Victoria exchange a few words with her comrades before approaching Aven and glaring at her. "Who are you kid?" she demanded harshly.
Aven didn't reply and instead kept her face towards the ground. "Take the hat off," she declared.
"What would it matter?" one of the men asked. "It's just a kid. Let's just kill him and get it over with."
"Not until I figure out how he followed me here," she declared leaning closer to the girl. "Now, take off that hat."
Rude quickly fished into his pocket and pulled out a pepper bomb. He skillfully chucked it so that it rolled to a stop right at the Wutain's feet. None of them were expecting it and thus couldn't get clear fast enough. It went off and soon the room was filled the sound of people stumbling and coughing and the pepper burned their eyes and throats.
In the meantime Rude had gone around to the window Aven had been closest to. The girl was blindly feeling her way towards the window, both her eyes and mouth clamped tightly shut. In that moment he was proud that she had recognized it. She stumbled into his reach and he grabbed her by the arm. After pulling her to him, he lifted her with ease through the window and away from view.
She didn't open her eyes until she gave a few sniffs of the air. "R-Rude?"
He grunted in answer as he carried her towards the street. He didn't stop until the car he called pulled up beside them and a door was thrown open. Rude tossed Aven into the back seat and dove in after her before telling the driver to take them back to the Shinra parking garage. The man nodded and drove off away from the slums.
It wasn't until the car was moving that Aven risked opening her eyes and looked up at her superior. "Rude...I don't know how..." she started to say before his fist came down on the top of her head. "Ouch!" she shouted grabbing the spot in pain. "What was that for?"
He didn't answer. Instead he drew her in for a tight hug. The gesture made her freeze and after a few moments she relaxed against him. "That was a stupid move," he told her before letting her go.
She looked guiltily down at the seat. "I know."
"You weren't supposed to leave your room."
"I know."
"You could've gotten killed."
"I KNOW." She looked up at him imploringly. "But I couldn't just sit around anymore, Rude. I had to do SOMETHING."
Rude shifted so he was facing forward in his seat. He heard her sigh before settling into the same position. "How did you find me?" she asked softly.
"I followed you," he answered simply.
She began to ask another question but stopped before the first word could be finished. Her cell phone was going off again and she answered it. "Hey, Reno."
"YOU LITTLE SHIT! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?"
Rude could hear each word quite distinctly and Aven jumped before holding the phone as far away from her ear as possible. "You idiot! You almost blew out my ear!" she shouted back.
"I don't care! Now where the hell did you go?" Reno shouted back.
"I'm in a car with Rude," she answered rubbing her ear and pulling her hat off in the same gesture. Rude noted that her untouched hair fell about her face which was covered in dirt.
There was a long stretch of silence before he spoke again. "Let me talk to Rude."
She sighed and handed the phone over to the other Turk. Rude put it to his ear and was able to explain to Reno basically what had happened within a few short sentences.
"Wow, that was lucky," Reno sighed on the other end. "Alright, I'll let Tseng know what's going on. He'll probably want to talk to her as soon as you guys get back."
"Figured," Rude replied shortly. "Give us five."
"Sure thing, partner." The phone went dead after that and the bald Turk handed it back to the dirt covered female.
Aven shoved the phone back into her pocket looking rather morose. "Geez, I don't think I've ever heard him so angry."
Rude looked over at her. It was really no surprise that Reno was upset. Not only had she run out on his watch, but it could have caused all sorts of complications. "You expected him to be happy?"
"Of course not, but…" She chewed her lower lip for a few moments, thinking. "I mean, he's done reckless things before, hasn't he?"
Rude nodded. They both had, and they both paid for it. "He doesn't want you making those mistakes."
"Tseng's probably gonna be mad too, huh?" she asked, dread slipping into her voice.
That went without saying. "What do you think?"
She winced slightly and pulled her shoulders up to her ears. She knew the moment she decided to go for it the Wutain Turk would be pissed. "I guess I should brace myself," she muttered. "I'm probably going to end up in the hospital or on probation for this."
"Maybe," he replied knowing she was partially right, though he doubted they'd do enough damage to put her in the hospital.
Still, she didn't feel very good about her chances. They stayed silent for the rest of the trip back and once they arrived, Rude escorted her up to Tseng's office keeping a very tight grip on her arm to express his current mood. When they finally reached the office he gave her a light push into the room and closed the door behind her. He really didn't want to know just how much trouble she was in with the second in command and decided to head to the TK to wait and get himself some much needed food.
When Aven had been caught by Victoria and the Wutains, she'd been scared. When she'd attempted to save Reno during the Junon mission and had become overpowered, she'd been scared then too. However, neither of those experiences was more terrifying than nor as gut-churning as standing in her superior's office as he scrutinized her with a cold, dark stare. If she had a choice, she'd probably take her chances with a dragon rather than having to meet Tseng's eyes at the moment.
After about a minute or two of uncomfortable silence, he said, "I honestly don't know where to begin." The anger in his tone was thick but controlled. It was the disappointment that flowed freely, and that's what stung the most. "When you left today were you, at the very least, aware of all the repercussions your actions today could have caused? Not just for your fellow Turk members but the company as a whole?"
"Maybe not everything, sir," Aven answered honestly. Her voice was a notch above whispering and she kept her head bowed. She still didn't understand fully about companies and politics.
"What did you understand?" he asked with forced calm.
"I knew that doing so would be a betrayal of trust," she answered after a few moments. "I knew that I'd be in a lot of trouble. I knew it'd only make me look even more guilty...and I could have gotten myself killed."
Tseng closed his eyes for a moment, pleased that she at least understood that much. "Now explain to me why you thought it necessary to risk all of that and more."
"I heard that the President was waking up...and panicked," she answered honestly.
"Is that all?" he pressed.
Aven shook her head. "I just had a feeling, sir. It seemed like everyone was focused on this whole thing. Everyone believed in me, and they wanted to prove I didn't do it." Which had made her beyond happy. It had been the only thing that had gotten her through that week.
Tseng also felt she was correct in that statement. He didn't doubt there wasn't a single person on the force, himself included, who doubted her. "If you knew that, then why did you decide to take matters into your own hands?"
"Well, sir, if I was someone who wanted to sneak in or attack a place, I'd do it when the security was focused on something else."
This gave Tseng pause. "You felt this whole thing was a distraction?" He himself had wondered about it; felt that, while it had been executed almost flawlessly, the impact it would have on the company overall seemed lacking.
Aven nodded. "I didn't have anything planned though. I just… got lucky."
"A colossal understatement," Tseng muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"I know, but I had to try," she continued. "But before I get fired or executed...just listen to this." She pulled a small item out of the pocket of her current outfit and set it on his desk. It appeared to be a recording device and Tseng raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't know if there is anything useful on it...but it should at least have something."
"What do you mean you don't know what's on it?" he asked her. He couldn't tell if she meant she stole it or what.
"It's...they were speaking a language I've never heard before," she answered apologetically.
Tseng frowned before taking the recorder. He hoped for her sake whatever was on it would be well worth her risking life, limb and employment.
Reno had wanted to be the first to give Aven a good tongue lashing, and maybe another kind of lashing depending on how repentant she was. Unfortunately, his buddy Rude had been there to do it first, and there was no way the red head was going anywhere near Tseng's office while she was in it. As angry as he was, he was also… well, worried. After this little stunt Tseng or the commander might very well decide to expel her from the Turks.
As he sat in one of the sofas of the TK, Rude came over and pressed an open beer into the red's hand which had been resting on the arm. Reno glanced up at him and smiled in thanks. "How long you think he'll tear into her?"
Rude sat himself down on the opposite end of the sofa and shrugged. "Couldn't say."
"Think they'll kick her out after this?" Reno asked after taking a swig of his beer.
Rude shook his head. "I don't know," he answered slowly. "Depends on what she brought back."
"What did she bring back?" Reno asked curiously.
"No idea. She was right about Victoria though."
"Figured...what proved that?" Reno asked leaning forward in his seat. He wanted to know what happened so he could figure out how best to punish her.
Rude briefly explained what he witnessed from the time he started following Aven up to the point where he tossed her into the get-away car. Reno listened occasionally interrupting to request more detail on particular situations. What confused him the most about Rude's story was…
"You say she just vanished? Like 'poof'?"
Rude made a head motion of 'no'. "More like faded."
"Weird… some kind of materia?"
"Could be."
"Huh… the squirt did find that piece of unprocessed materia down in the tunnels," Reno recalled, sipping at his beer. "But from what it sounds like, Aven had no problems following her."
"I was going to ask about it, but didn't get the chance," Rude explained shaking his head.
"Maybe once Tseng's done reaming her we can ask," Reno suggested finishing off his beer. As soon as he finished talking, the door opened and two people entered, Tryg and Estelle. "Hey, rookies. What have you two been up to?"
"Just got done with afternoon training," Tryg answered sullenly.
"I'm guessing Haruto was your training partner?" Reno ventured with a grin. The male gunslinger nodded before heading over to the fridge, doing a spectacular job at hiding the slight limp he had. The red head turned to the Estelle. "And what about you?"
The blonde's answer was stiff and professional. "I was in the gun range, sir."
"Aw, Stellie, I already told ya, you don't have to call me..." Reno trailed off when two more people entered the room. First was Tseng looking very much in serious mode, and behind him was Aven trying to master the art of invisibility and failing miserably.
Both Reno and Rude got to their feet at the second in command's entrance. They remained silent until Tseng looked over all four of the present Turks, Aven standing just behind him out of his sight. "So...what's the verdict boss?" Reno asked when no one else seemed willing to talk.
"I'll explain it later," Tseng answered swiftly. "Right now I need the two of you to follow me. Tryg, Estelle, I need the two of you to keep watch over her...and get her cleaned up."
The two rookies looked over at the younger Turk and took in her dirt covered appearance. Reno and Rude looked over everyone before exchanging glances. Then as Tseng left, they followed, the red head patting Aven on the head as he passed.
Once they were gone, Tryg turned to the younger Turk in confusion. "What the hell did you do this time?" he asked slowly.
"I snuck out and followed the mole into the slums to a meeting with a group of Wutains," she answered sheepishly.
"That sounds very irresponsible as well as unprofessional," Estelle remarked with a mild frown.
Aven sighed running a dirty hand through her normally white curls. "Yes, I know. It's been made very clear to me already by multiple people."
"There a reason you're dressed like a paperboy chimney sweep?" Tryg asked, lighting up a smoke.
"It was for a disguise. I bought them off of a slum boy I came across while tracking someone." She looked down at herself. "I guess I should shower and change."
"Actually, I think that look suits you better than the uniform," the gunman commented.
"Oh shut up," Aven muttered lowly. She really didn't want to have to deal with him at the moment.
"It would probably be best if you got cleaned up," Estelle spoke up quickly. "Slum dirt can often hold a lot more than just dirt. It'd be a shame if you developed a disease just after your reckless adventure."
Aven blanched at the idea of what all she'd smeared over her face and in her hair. "Right," she mumbled before following Estelle out of the room.
"Do you have a visual?"
"Yeah...I think I can pick out a good...15. With that many explosives the building would be blown sky high."
"Two dozen enemies. They're on edge."
There was silence over the coms after this, as Tseng, Reno , Rude, Haruto, and Cissnei all spread out through the basement level of the Shinra building without being seen by the Wutain forces guarding the ones setting up the multiple bombs attached to the different support beams.
They had picked the perfect time to attack, when all of the SOLDIERS were off on missions. They made the mistake of thinking the Turks would be an easy obstacle to bypass.
"The area has been secured," Haruto informed.
"We have one chance at this," Tseng told them all. "Reno and Rude, you both are in charge of disarming the bombs."
"No problem," said Reno.
"Roger that," came Rude.
"Haruto and Cissnei, you both are in charge of going in and taking care of our guests."
"Leave it to us," Cissnei replied.
The group waited for Tseng's signal as they watched their enemy continue to fiddle with the bombs. Just as two of the enemy passed by Haruto's hiding place, the signal was given and the swordsman shot out slicing through both enemies before they even knew what was happening.
At the same time, Cissnei threw her Rekka which flew through the air slicing through a couple others before returning to its owner. Reno and Rude shot over to the bomb setters, knocking the two out before getting to work disarming the ones that were already set.
The initial attack had taken out several members of the Wutain forces, but they quickly recovered and went on the counter attack. Right away, Tseng knew this fight was going to be a problem. He'd kept hidden so he could safely assess the enemy's abilities before joining in himself. It paid off when he watched a half dozen of them fade into nothingness before his eyes. Just as Rude had described it.
Tseng watched carefully from his position as his Turks carried out their tasks to the best of their abilities, even under the circumstances. Haruto and Cissnei took caution, keeping their ears peeled while also dealing with what was still visible to them. He caught sight of Rude's progress being interrupted as the bald Turk was taking measured swings at the air. His head jerked back, indicated something unseen struck him. Tseng took aim and fired at a spot in front of the Turk.
It must have done some damage because Rude was able to grab hold of the invisible Wutain and disable him. The body reappeared, and Tseng wondered if it was because they were either dead or unconscious. The swordsman and chakram wielder were managing to hold up, but were taking far more damage than what was usual to them. Reno meanwhile was nowhere in sight. Where in the world did that idiot...
"Tseng, duck!"
The Wutain Turk's reaction was immediate and he ducked as a bolt of lightning shot over his head. It did make solid contact with something as the air nearby crackled and someone let out a scream as the smell of burning flesh became prominent.
Moments later the person became visible once more as it twitched on the ground. The dark haired Turk turned to see Reno grinning in triumph. "Reno, can you see them?" he asked in surprise.
"Barely but yeah," he answered with a shrug. "It's more a silhouette than anything else but still..."
"That's good enough," Tseng murmured quickly. "Since you can see them, direct the others as to their locations. Once they're disposed of we should be able to return to the original plan." He turned his attention back to the fight at hand. Then as an afterthought he added, "Try to stick close to Rude...give him a chance to keep working at those bombs."
"Heh, you got it boss," Reno agreed.
Moments later, Reno's voice was the only one that filled the coms as he kept directing everyone to where the invisible enemies were standing, moving to, or attacking.
Just when it seemed the battle was getting easier, Tseng received a message from one of the Soldiers. "Monsters are swarming the place! They're attempting to get in."
Tseng closed his eyes in dread. It was just like the previous time. "How many?"
"Dozens of them," the soldier reported. "They're all crawling up from the slums. We'll need reinforcements."
Tseng was about to reply when a familiar voice came over the com links. "Hey Tseng, don't worry about the little beasties. Kunsel and Sebastian have that covered."
"Zack, I thought you SOLDIERS were sent away on a top priority mission," Tseng commented as he dodged around an attack and fired at his assailant.
"We were, but we managed to get back in time to see you Turks threw a party without us," the SOLDIER laughed. The older Turk could distinctly hear the sound of thudding boots on the stairwell. "I found where you're throwing it though so I'll be there in a sec to help out."
"No, Zack, we have everything under control down here," Tseng said quickly. "The swarming monsters are the higher priority right now. Let us finish our job."
"Like I said, Kunsel and Sebastian can take care of it," he replied confidently. "See you in a bit!"
As the connection clicked off, Tseng gave an exasperated sigh. Sometimes the overconfidence of the members in SOLDIER was astounding. Even if Zack was more than a decent fighter, it would do him no good against an invisible enemy. Still, he couldn't worry about that now. He needed to focus and stay aware of his own surroundings as well as that of his comrades. Reno and Rude had already managed to deactivate half of the bombs. However, there were still plenty of enemies around them.
He managed to catch the strained shout of one of the Wutains yelling for his comrades to run. Believing him to be one of the invisible foes, he took aim based on where he'd heard the voice and fired. There was a shout of pain followed by the clatter of an object falling to the concrete floor. He'd hit his mark, but it probably wasn't a killing blow.
By this time, the remainder of enemies must have realized that it was either pointless or took their comrade's words to heart as they started heading for the one exit. "Haruto, Cissnei, don't let any of them escape," he ordered quickly. There were no verbal replies, but he could see them pick up their pace to attempt to keep them inside the room.
Several feet ahead of the group of fleeing Wutains, the door flew open as one of the enemies tried to leave only to be thrown back in by a kick from the second class SOLDIER. "Woah, looks like I got here just in time," he chuckled lightly.
Tseng was about to warn Zack about the invisible enemies, but the dark haired teen got straight to it, slashing with his sword. The Wutain was nothing short of amazed. He could see them too. "Haruto, Cissnei, go ahead and pull back. I believe our newcomer can take things from here."
"You are certain?" Haruto inquired.
"Yes, he can see them just fine. Go and inform the commander of everything you've witnessed here."
The two complied with Tseng's command, and like the experts they were, they were gone and out of sight in moments.
It didn't take long to subdue the remainder of the Wutain forces or disarm the bombs once Zack arrived. He made quick work of the invisible foes while Tseng focused on the ones that were visible. With the lack of interference, Reno and Rude finished disarming the bombs and turned to look at the other two triumphantly.
"Crisis averted," Reno exclaimed with a grin. "Guess this means the squirt deserves one heck of a medal after all this."
Rude shook his head in disapproval, though he did agree the young Turk did deserve a reward of some sort for her efforts.
"What are you talking about, Reno?" Zack asked as he fixed the red head with a confused look.
"She's the one who learned about all this just in time for us to stop it," Reno said, looking so smug with himself. "To think, my very first candidate saved the day."
Tseng smacked the red head upside the head to shut him up. "You write about it in your report."
The red head scowled, readjusting the goggles on his head. "Geez, we just saved the day. Quit bein' such a hardass."
The second in command ignored him, turning back to Zack. "I suppose I should thank you for your assistance."
"Aw, you don't have to…" Zack began.
"But, since I did not request it, I won't," Tseng finished before walking by him. While none of the others saw it, he was pleased by the outcome of the battle.
"Well sorry for stepping on your toes," Zack grumbled lightly. "It's not my fault you guys seemed like you were having problems. I still don't see how though, they weren't that tough."
"It's cause no one could see some of them," Reno answered patting the SOLDIER on the back. "You and I were the only ones who could...but it seemed like you could see them better."
"You couldn't?" he asked surprised. "Huh...I guess that would do it. How could you not see them though, they were kind of in plain sight."
It was indeed curious, thought Tseng. Reno and Zack could both see them, though the former not as well. According to Rude, Victoria had vanished but Aven still continued trailing her, meaning she could see her just fine. What was the connection? It quickly dawned on him.
Mako. Zack, being a part of SOLDIER, had it, as did Aven, though her reasons were still unknown. Reno had been exposed to it at one point, though not nearly as acutely. This was just a theory of course, but it was the best working he had thus far.
Tseng turned to the young 2nd class SOLDIER. "Zack, you can leave. We'll clean up here."
"Suit yourself," he replied with a shrug. "Hey, where is Aven? It's been a while since I've seen her."
"And it'll be even longer," Rude told him.
"She's on the hot seat right now," Reno explained. "No visitors allowed."
"Huh?" Zack appeared even more confused. "Didn't you JUST say she was a big help?"
"Yeah, but she did it while under house arrest," Reno answered shaking his head. "Anyway, you should quit worrying. You'll see her if and when you see her. You go lookin' for her and you'll be joinin' her in the hot seat."
Zack was about to ask what happened, but the look he got from the three Turks told him he should quit while he was ahead. He shrugged in defeat and quickly made his exit while the others went about gathering up the bodies. Those that were still alive were tied up and all the materia they had was found and confiscated.
When they were finished Rude took a look around noticing something wrong. "We're missing someone," he stated slowly.
CM: And guess who that someone is? Well, at least the big threat is over. Or is it?