Reno woke up. It was a good
start.
Perhaps more surprisingly, he
recognised his surroundings- his own room, Turks quarters of Shinra Inc.- and
even remembered what he'd been doing the night before. Reno congratulated
himself on his competence. He knew it had to get easier some
time.
Unfortunately, this meant that
he also remembered what was on his schedule for today. Damn. He'd been a
Turk for almost three years now and holding any sort of conversation with
President Shinra still gave him the creeps. But since Tseng and Rude had been
called in too, he knew it had to be something important. Generally orders came
from Tseng or Heidegger- or occasionally the President's son, Vice-President
Rufus. Taking orders from an orange-haired kid several years younger than Reno
himself sometimes got under his skin, but since following those orders meant
money, he felt he could live with it.
Reno showered, dressed quickly
(although his tie still remained folded in a drawer somewhere) and tied back his
shock of spiky red hair. Much better. Still not feeling entirely awake, he
headed into the main room for a coffee.
Rude was already there,
habitual shades in place although it was only ten in the morning. Reno got on
with Rude a lot better than he did with Tseng. After all, Tseng was "the boss",
whereas Rude was…Rude. The guy didn't say much, but he and Reno looked out for
each other.
Rude had been even quieter
than usual lately. Reno had only found out why last night- he'd broken up with
his girlfriend Latha, who Reno had never liked anyway. He couldn't actually
remember what he'd said in reply, but then again, Rude probably couldn't
remember either.
Reno poured himself a coffee
and sat down in one of the expansive armchairs in the corner of the room. "We've
got an appointment with 'the almighty Shinra-sama' in about half an hour. Know
what that's about?"
"I was hoping you did. It must
be pretty important if we're all going to be there."
"Yeah." Reno took another sip
of the strong black coffee, feeling slightly more human. "Hey- maybe we're all
getting a vacation."
"Miracles could
happen."
"The last one was wild.
Remember that club in Costa del Sol, with that singer? The one Rian
tried…"
Reno trailed off. Damn.
He just had to put his big foot in it again.
Rian had been the leader of
the Turks when Reno had first been promoted. Unlike Tseng, he had never given
Reno the impression that he was too good for anyone else. Rude especially had
been friends with Rian, and was probably the most devastated when he had been
killed on a mission in Junon about six months ago. Tseng had assumed leadership,
Reno was elevated to second in command, and it had been just the three of them
since then.
Rude didn't say anything else,
and Reno was left alone with his thoughts.
(~*~)
President Shinra was an
impressively big man with an impressively big office. He sat at the head of his
impressively big table, Rufus and General Heidegger to either side, and looked
up from a report on his computer screen as Reno entered behind Tseng. There was
also a girl Reno didn't recognise seated next to Rufus, dressed in civilian
clothes. He noticed with surprise that her bright emerald eyes had the
distinctive glow of Mako. A SOLDIER, then. So why wasn't she in
uniform?
"Ah, Tseng. Good to see you,"
Shinra began, without a glance at Reno or Rude. "Due to the untimely death of
Rian Caswell, a position has been vacant in the Turks for some time. General
Heidegger and his officers have been diligently searching the ranks of our
SOLDIERs for possible candidates. One in particular, Ms Saren Dhekra, has come
to our attention. Although Ms Dhekra has only been a member of SOLDIER for two
years, she has made considerable progress in that time and we strongly believe
that she would benefit from training as a Turk- in addition to being well suited
to the position."
"I trust you will provide
Saren with any information she requires. Dismissed."
Unsure who the order applied
to, Saren glanced at Heidegger, who nodded curtly. With a shrug, Saren left her
seat and approached Tseng, grasping his hand firmly. "My name is Saren, sir.
It's good to finally meet you."
"Yes, you too," Tseng replied.
"President Shinra has told me a lot about you."
Oh, he has, has
he? Reno
thought, fuming. Interesting that he forgot to mention it to his two ic.
Suppressing his irritation through long practice, he managed to smile
convincingly as he shook Saren's hand- she had a surprisingly strong grip. "I'm
Reno. Welcome to the Turks." Oh God, that sounded cheesy.
She
didn't seem to notice or care as she introduced herself to Rude, who mumbled his
name in typical fashion. Her green Mako eyes were even more startling up close,
a bright contrast to her otherwise dark complexion. To hell with Tseng- this
deal was definitely not all bad. "So, why don't we show you
around…?"
(~*~)
"And this…" Rude opened the
door to the Turks quarters with a certain amount of pride, "is the humble place
we call home."
Reno could understand her
reaction- he had also been expecting something like the spartan SOLDIER barracks
when he first arrived, and was equally surprised by the reality. One thing he
could say in Shinra's favour- he recognised that his Turks were risking their
lives every time they stepped out the door, and paid them
accordingly.
The room next to Tseng's had
been prepared for Saren's arrival- another fact which had escaped Reno's notice.
It was essentially the same as all the other rooms, with desk, computer,
television, stereo and ensuite bathroom. Saren threw a small black bag on to the
bed and surveyed the room appreciatively.
"Where's all the rest of your
stuff?" Rude asked.
"This is 'the rest of my
stuff'," the new Turk replied, methodically emptying the
bag.
She didn't have much. Some
folded clothes, a small jewellery case, a black notebook and a few other
essentials, and that was all. Then again, the SOLDIER training schedule didn't
allow much time for recreation. AVALANCHE had been active
lately.
"We'll give you some time to
get settled in. If you have any queries, please feel free to ask any of us."
Tseng left the room and Reno had no choice but to follow. Why did he always have
to be so… distant? He could have taken a few lessons from Rian. There was a guy
who never put himself above his subordinates- and the result was a more
co-ordinated team than Shinra had even seen. No wonder AVALANCHE had gone into
hiding. But now that Rian was dead, those damned pests were coming out again,
causing even more trouble than before.
Reno stood alone in the middle
of the main room, suddenly filled with rage. Damn AVALANCHE to hell. No matter
how hard Shinra tried to crush them, they always stayed one step ahead.
Frustrated by his inability to change the situation, Reno dropped into a chair
and bowed his head, running his fingers through his hair.
"What's on your
mind?"
Saren, dressed in a new Turk
uniform, had appeared from nowhere. Reno was startled into telling the truth.
"AVALANCHE."
She shrugged. "I had a run-in
with them myself- it was just before I joined SOLDIER, actually. I got mixed up
in a fight between Barret and a guy who ran a weapons store in Sector 7- he was
killed and I only just escaped, too."
"Barret
Wallace?"
"That's him. I was unarmed and
trying to get the hell away from there when he shot me in the back. I would have
been finished, only some girl found me and took me to hospital. Is Barret still
around?"
"Yeah. We haven't caught him
yet."
"I want to kill him," she
said, so plainly and yet with such sincerity that he turned to look at her.
Although her eyes were downcast, their Mako glow was still clearly visible and
Reno was immediately reminded of the most famous SOLDIER of them all- Sephiroth.
Reno had met him once, and Saren had the same kind of… intensity about her. He
smiled to himself. Maybe she'd get her chance.
(~*~)
"So what are we celebrating?"
Tseng asked dryly as he took his place behind the wheel of the
car.
"Well… Saren being here, pay
day, and not having any work. Aren't they good enough reasons?" The redheaded
Turk felt unusually cheerful- probably the prospect of alcohol. That was always
enough to cheer him up. "Let's go down the Metro Club and have ourselves a real
party!"
"So this is life as a Turk?"
Saren looked out the window as the bright lights of Midgar raced by. "I think I
could get used to it."
Reno leant his feet against
the back of Rude's headrest. "Yeah, it's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do
it."
"Move your feet, Reno," Rude
grumbled.
"Sorry, Rude." Reno promptly
shifted his position so his boots were resting on the bald Turk's shoulder,
leaving a large smear across the back of Rude's jacket. "Won't happen again."
He grinned impishly at Saren,
who sighed but still smiled back. She couldn't help it- the guy's enthusiasm was
contagious. Having finished with Rude, he was singing along to the CD blaring
from the speakers, absently drumming his fingers against his leg in time. Quite
different from the way he'd been acting only a few hours before. She remembered
again the sense of hopelessness she'd read in his eyes as he mentioned
AVALANCHE, and wondered what losses he had suffered through the actions of the
terrorist group. But maybe it was time she followed Reno's example and lightened
up a little. No sense in acting like Tseng. If nothing else, it promised to be
an interesting night.
(~*~)
It all came down to one
shot.
This was, after all, something
Reno was good at. He had a reputation to maintain. He had the reputation of the
Turks to maintain. And he had to do it all with a cool, professional attitude,
because one tiny little slip could be the end of it all.
One
shot.
Reno lined up, focusing on his
target with the ease of long practice. His hands didn't tremble. His expression
didn't change. He knew Saren was watching him and that made him even more
determined. This would be her, one day.
Click.
He didn't
miss.
Across the table, the young
punk swore, taking another drag on his cigarette. Reno straightened, laid the
pool cue triumphantly on the green felt and bowed. Extravagant, a little
egotistical even, but fun. "My game, pal. Hand it over."
Reluctantly, the other man
fished in his wallet and came up with a few bills. Three hundred gil poorer, he
stubbed his cigarette on the edge of the table and stalked away, glaring daggers
over his shoulder at the redheaded Turk. Reno knocked back the rest of his
drink, uncaring, and signalled for another one. He'd won fair and square. For
once.
"Nice shot." The dark-haired
barmaid passed him a beer and a smile. She'd been giving him the eye for most of
the night. He was sure he'd seen her before. . . Alissa, or maybe Ailsa? The
effort of remembering proved too much. After more than a few Corel Lights he was
feeling a welcome remoteness to his perceptions. Hadn't stopped him from winning
the pool game, though.
He looked around for Saren,
who waved and made her way through the crowd towards him. She was drinking some
gimmicky Saturday night special- a Materia Martini with a little materia shard
in it instead of an olive. Cute. Rude was semi-conscious at the end of the bar
and Tseng was staring morosely into his beer. A typical night out.
"What's up with Tseng?" she
asked, taking the chair beside him.
"Nothing, he's just being his
usual charming self."
"If this is charming, I'd hate
to see him when he's angry."
Reno found this absolutely
hilarious, laughing out loud. A few people turned around and stared. He couldn't
understand why.
"Yeah, Tseng needs to loosen
up a little. He's as boring as hell to be around most of the time. Handy in a
fight, though." Reno noticed his companion's glass was empty and signalled. . .
Alissa, he was pretty sure that was it. . . for another one. She looked
disappointed when she noticed Saren.
"Don't get me wrong," Reno
continued, taking another swig from his glass, "he's all right sometimes. And
Rude too, Rude's cool. I think you're gonna like it here."
Saren grinned. "Speaking of
Rude, he's still wearing his sunglasses."
"Yeah, I think they're glued
to his head." Reno looked at Saren slyly. "Wanna see?"
Spurred on by laughter from
Saren, Reno rose somewhat unsteadily from his seat and crept with exaggerated
caution around Rude's chair, intending to snatch his ever-present shades off his
head. Unfortunately, Reno succeeded in not only removing his partner's
sunglasses, but also knocking over Rude's beer, dropping his own and smashing
the glass on the floor, tripping over his own feet and falling over sideways,
catching Tseng a good whack to the side of the head as he flailed to regain his
balance.
People watched in
amusement.
Rude frowned blearily,
blinking in the newly harsh light. Laughing even harder, Saren offered Reno a
hand up from his seat on the floor. He grinned up at her.
"I dropped my
beer!"
For some reason, this fact
seemed to amuse him a great deal.
"I noticed. And I don't think
you need another one, either. Come on, we'd better get you back. .
."
"You gotta be kidding, I'm
fine." He made a grab for her hand and missed.
Tseng stood up and hauled Reno
to his feet rather unceremoniously. "Think you've had enough for one night." He
glanced at Saren, a spark of what may have been rare humour in his eye. "This is
a scene you'll see many times over the course of your career. May as well get
used to it. Come on, Rude."
Rude mumbled something
unintelligible and followed Tseng and Saren out the door, Reno still chuckling
to himself over his dropped beer.
(~*~)
Reno was singing
enthusiastically along with the radio on the drive back to the Shinra
headquarters. Rude had long since passed out, fortunately before realising that
Reno had cracked the lens of his shades in the fall. Tseng, surprisingly, seemed
to tolerate the noise. After a while Reno yawned and fell contentedly
asleep.
Saren felt something touch her
face and looked down with a start. The redheaded Turk had slumped sideways as
the car turned a corner and was now unknowingly resting his head on her
shoulder, strands of flaming red hair escaping from his already loose ponytail
and brushing against her cheek.
She bit her lip to hide a
smile as the car sped away into the dark.
Author's Note: Heh. . . I
really do love the guy, I just humiliate him occasionally. Please email me, Xiao
Leonhart, at reika_blade2536@hotmail.com with your comments,
flames, whatever. Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside ^_^ Anyway,
Vincent fans rejoice, for the great man himself makes his entry in Chapter
Four: Mission! I love writing about Vincent. . . *sigh* Until next time. .
.