The Last of an Elite
Chapter Three: Congratulations, you're a Turk.
By InterfaceLeader
-~-~-~-
Tseng raised the rifle to his shoulder, taking aim through the sight. His sense were sharper than normal, he was aware of the muted undercurrent that ran through the Shin-Ra building night and day. His heartbeat was steady, a regular rhythm, and his thoughts turned to life. And death.
His finger squeezed the trigger and the bullet left the muzzle of the gun with a barely a sound.
"That was good! Barely registered on the dial. I'd say the new silencer is a definite improvement!" The tech – short, with a fuzzy haircut – snapped the top of the device closed and took the gun from Tseng's hands. "I'll write up a report and recommend it to the President. Might help make your job a whole lot easier eh?"
Tseng nodded curtly, unable to shake the images from last night. There was worry, below the cool professionalism, a worry that the images would stop him from performing well at a crucial moment. Worry that these emotions were wrong. Worry that the remorse would destroy him as it had his fellow Turks. His friends.
He returned to his office. Rude should be reporting in soon, he thought. I wonder if succeeded in finding someone?
-~-~-~-
Reno came around slowly. His head hurt, a chronic pain that wasn't familiar. Not a hangover then. He opened his eyes a crack, and became aware of a strong electric light. Closing them, he felt around himself carefully. He was lying on a floor, a hard stone floor. There was a stone wall to his right, with a long cold metal pipe running along it.
He opened his eyes fully. A jail cell? His thoughts were fuzzy. What had happened? Where was he?
He sat up, his head protesting at the movement. The pain shifted and became more localised, reaching up a hand he felt at the sore spot. No blood, that was a good sign.
"Oh crap... That Rude guy must have knocked me out." He smirked as he realised what he had said. "Very rude guy he was indeed..."
He stood, walked over to the bars that replaced one wall. Facing him across a narrow corridor was another jail cell, empty.
"HEY!" His voice reverberated round the corridor. "Anyone there!? I want out! There's been a mistake! I'll sue ya! I want a lawyer!"
"Shut up." It was a weary voice, and a second later a Shinra guard came into view. His slouched shoulders and dragging footsteps gave mute testimony to his lack of enthusiasm for his job.
"Where am I?" Reno demanded
"In the Shinra HQ. And if I were you I'd stop drawing attention to myself."
"Why? Why am I even here?"
The guy shrugged "Don't ask me. Never meddle in the affairs of Turks."
"Turks?"
"Yep. The guy who brought you in last night was a Turk."
"Rude's a Turk? What's a Turk?"
"You really don't wanna know."
"Yes I do. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."
Behind his mask the guard rolled his eyes. "They're nasty guys who are gonna torture you four ways to hell and then chuck your mutilated remains off a bridge with a weight tied to you."
"Why? I ain't done anything!"
"That's what they all say."
At that point Rude rounded the corner into the corridor and walked up to the guard, who promptly stood to attention and saluted. "Sir!"
"....." Rude waved the guard away and produced a set of keys which he used to unlock the jail door. Reno watched him with something like apprehension. What the hell is going on?
-~-~-~-
Tseng looked up as Rude entered the office. He was politely but firmly escorting a thin scared looking kid. Tseng noted the nervousness in his eyes just barely being hidden by a fake bravado that Tseng had come to associate with the more violent citizens of the slums. His initial reaction was one of scepticism.
"That's the best you could find? He looks like one strong puff of wind would blow him over."
"Hey!" The kid exclaimed.
"He's fast – and stronger than he looks. " Rude answered Tseng swiftly.
"Hmm" Tseng turned to the kid. "Attack me." He said simply.
-~-~-~-
Reno glared as hard as he could at the tall sophisticated looking Wutaian man. Even an idiot could see this guy was a coiled spring of power. Just by looking at the set of his shoulders and the easy confidence with which he held himself was enough to tell Reno that attacking him would be a very bad idea.
"Attack me. I won't hurt you."
"Like hell you won't."
Tseng turned back to Rude.
"He's useless. He's just some brat that gets by on a few tricks, dirty fighting and the like. He wouldn't last in a real fight."
"Shall I take him back?" Rude asked, disappointed that his first mission had turned out so badly.
"No. He knows too much. Kill him." Tseng turned from the two as a signal of dismissal.
It took a second for Reno to realise the order that had just been given. He could feel Rude's hand tightening on his shoulder, ready to pull him away.
"Kill me? No way!" Reno wrenched his arm away from Rude, desperately trying to figure out some way of escape. Rude was at the door. He darted towards the window instead diving past Tseng expecting at any moment to feel the man grab him. But Tseng did nothing, just watched him as he reached the window. Looking down he could see why. The ground was a long way below, and Reno, who had never been past three stories before, felt his stomach twist and knot inside him. Spinning back to face the room he saw Rude coming round the desk towards him.
"Shit! What's wrong with you people? I haven't done a goddamn thing!"
Neither of them answered him. Rude approached with a casualness that infuriated Reno.
"You're going to KILL me for no bloody reason at all!" Reno moved away from Rude, circling the perimeter of the room, knowing it was useless, but the instinctive desire to hold off death pushing him on with his adrenaline soaring and his heart thumping rapidly.
-~-~-~-
Tseng watched the two circle the room with interest. It was almost comedic, the sight of Rude being consistently frustrated and the kid consistently moving away, round and round the room. Tseng knew he should intervene but some vague feeling of fairness stopped him.
Rude glared at Reno as he passed the window for the fourth time. This really isn't making me look good in front of Tseng, he thought. Can't even catch some stupid slum-kid when he's locked in an office with me! Putting on a burst of speed he attempted to close the distance between them.
Reno caught the sudden change in Rude's posture and changed tactics. As Rude suddenly shot towards him he leapt across the room and landed on the desk. He heard something crunch and saw the Wutaian wince out of the corner of his eye, but the guy didn't seem about to interfere so Reno kept his attention on Rude, who had also changed directions and was about to make a grab for Reno's legs. Reno kicked out, managing to smash one foot into the bald mans face, but overbalancing in the process and sprawling ungainly across the length of the desk. A pile of paper flew off into the air and about the room.
"Be careful." The Wutaian said.
"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry if my attempts to evade certain death upset your paperwork!" Reno snarled back. While his attention was thus distracted Rude grabbed him by the ankle and yanked him off the desk onto the floor. Reno gave a yelp as he hit, and Rude slammed his own foot down into his stomach, knocking the air from Reno's lungs.
"Ah, that hurt!" Reno rolled away from the bald man, under the desk, one hand on his stomach. Rude hunkered down to reach under the desk. Seeing his arm coming toward him Reno grabbed hold if it with his free hand and sank his teeth into the wrist.
"!" Rude jerked back with a grunt of pain. There was blood on his wrist and he felt a sudden rush of anger that pushed him forward, under the desk and on top of Reno. Pinning the smaller man's arms with one hand he used the other to start pummelling him. Reno let out a long – and loud – howl of pain and frustration.
"Getoffame!" Reno started wriggling around, trying to escape, but the other man was stronger and kept him pinned.
"......." Rude decided that Reno had had enough and sat back in order to pull him up. Unfortunately he forgot about the desk, and his head hit it with a loud thunk. His guard let up for a brief time as he clutched both hands to the pain and Reno wrenched himself free and out from under the desk, knocking over the chair in the process. He hurt all over from the attack, but he wasn't giving up yet. Hauling the keyboard off the desk and snapping a few wires in the process, he turned and smacked it down on top of Rude's head as he tried to follow Reno out from under the desk. The keyboard broke apart and Rude gave a another grunt of pain.
"I think enough of my equipment has been destroyed now." Tseng said dryly, approaching Reno from the other side. Reno registered the movement and turned, ready to defend himself against the new threat, but with a rising feeling of futility.
"Relax" Tseng said, looking over the kid. Reno saw that there was a faint expression of amusement in the guys eyes, and a half-smile that managed to scare him more than any shouted threat had.
Tseng inclined his head slightly and then stood with his legs slightly apart and his hands behind his back. "Attack me."
And since Reno had no choice, he did.
Launching himself at the Wutaian, hoping to take him off guard with speed rather than skill, he suddenly found himself falling headlong towards the floor. Tseng shifted slightly, moving back into his initial posture.
"Rude was correct" He said mildly "You are fast" - a quick glance towards the pieces of keyboard that lay on the floor near the desk - "and stronger than you look."
"Uh... whatever..." Reno sat up slowly, trying to work out how he had ended up on the floor.
"Congratulations. You've just been recruited." Tseng leaned over and helped Rude out from under the desk.
Reno stood up, his eyes wandering around the office. It was largish, and currently had a broken keyboard on the floor, a knocked over chair, and paper covering every flat surface. Rude was rubbing the top of his head ruefully, and Tseng was looking at him with that half-smile.
"I have no idea what's going on....."
-~-~-~-
A/N: OK, this chapter ended up a bit longer than I expected, and nearly all of it is action. I think the jail-cell scene could be taken out, but since it provides some of the only non-fighting parts I decided to leave it in. I hope you like this chapter ~ I feel sorry for Reno and Rude I have to admit ^_^;; Next up is some actual character development and plot as opposed to people slugging it out!
Chapter Three: Congratulations, you're a Turk.
By InterfaceLeader
-~-~-~-
Tseng raised the rifle to his shoulder, taking aim through the sight. His sense were sharper than normal, he was aware of the muted undercurrent that ran through the Shin-Ra building night and day. His heartbeat was steady, a regular rhythm, and his thoughts turned to life. And death.
His finger squeezed the trigger and the bullet left the muzzle of the gun with a barely a sound.
"That was good! Barely registered on the dial. I'd say the new silencer is a definite improvement!" The tech – short, with a fuzzy haircut – snapped the top of the device closed and took the gun from Tseng's hands. "I'll write up a report and recommend it to the President. Might help make your job a whole lot easier eh?"
Tseng nodded curtly, unable to shake the images from last night. There was worry, below the cool professionalism, a worry that the images would stop him from performing well at a crucial moment. Worry that these emotions were wrong. Worry that the remorse would destroy him as it had his fellow Turks. His friends.
He returned to his office. Rude should be reporting in soon, he thought. I wonder if succeeded in finding someone?
-~-~-~-
Reno came around slowly. His head hurt, a chronic pain that wasn't familiar. Not a hangover then. He opened his eyes a crack, and became aware of a strong electric light. Closing them, he felt around himself carefully. He was lying on a floor, a hard stone floor. There was a stone wall to his right, with a long cold metal pipe running along it.
He opened his eyes fully. A jail cell? His thoughts were fuzzy. What had happened? Where was he?
He sat up, his head protesting at the movement. The pain shifted and became more localised, reaching up a hand he felt at the sore spot. No blood, that was a good sign.
"Oh crap... That Rude guy must have knocked me out." He smirked as he realised what he had said. "Very rude guy he was indeed..."
He stood, walked over to the bars that replaced one wall. Facing him across a narrow corridor was another jail cell, empty.
"HEY!" His voice reverberated round the corridor. "Anyone there!? I want out! There's been a mistake! I'll sue ya! I want a lawyer!"
"Shut up." It was a weary voice, and a second later a Shinra guard came into view. His slouched shoulders and dragging footsteps gave mute testimony to his lack of enthusiasm for his job.
"Where am I?" Reno demanded
"In the Shinra HQ. And if I were you I'd stop drawing attention to myself."
"Why? Why am I even here?"
The guy shrugged "Don't ask me. Never meddle in the affairs of Turks."
"Turks?"
"Yep. The guy who brought you in last night was a Turk."
"Rude's a Turk? What's a Turk?"
"You really don't wanna know."
"Yes I do. I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."
Behind his mask the guard rolled his eyes. "They're nasty guys who are gonna torture you four ways to hell and then chuck your mutilated remains off a bridge with a weight tied to you."
"Why? I ain't done anything!"
"That's what they all say."
At that point Rude rounded the corner into the corridor and walked up to the guard, who promptly stood to attention and saluted. "Sir!"
"....." Rude waved the guard away and produced a set of keys which he used to unlock the jail door. Reno watched him with something like apprehension. What the hell is going on?
-~-~-~-
Tseng looked up as Rude entered the office. He was politely but firmly escorting a thin scared looking kid. Tseng noted the nervousness in his eyes just barely being hidden by a fake bravado that Tseng had come to associate with the more violent citizens of the slums. His initial reaction was one of scepticism.
"That's the best you could find? He looks like one strong puff of wind would blow him over."
"Hey!" The kid exclaimed.
"He's fast – and stronger than he looks. " Rude answered Tseng swiftly.
"Hmm" Tseng turned to the kid. "Attack me." He said simply.
-~-~-~-
Reno glared as hard as he could at the tall sophisticated looking Wutaian man. Even an idiot could see this guy was a coiled spring of power. Just by looking at the set of his shoulders and the easy confidence with which he held himself was enough to tell Reno that attacking him would be a very bad idea.
"Attack me. I won't hurt you."
"Like hell you won't."
Tseng turned back to Rude.
"He's useless. He's just some brat that gets by on a few tricks, dirty fighting and the like. He wouldn't last in a real fight."
"Shall I take him back?" Rude asked, disappointed that his first mission had turned out so badly.
"No. He knows too much. Kill him." Tseng turned from the two as a signal of dismissal.
It took a second for Reno to realise the order that had just been given. He could feel Rude's hand tightening on his shoulder, ready to pull him away.
"Kill me? No way!" Reno wrenched his arm away from Rude, desperately trying to figure out some way of escape. Rude was at the door. He darted towards the window instead diving past Tseng expecting at any moment to feel the man grab him. But Tseng did nothing, just watched him as he reached the window. Looking down he could see why. The ground was a long way below, and Reno, who had never been past three stories before, felt his stomach twist and knot inside him. Spinning back to face the room he saw Rude coming round the desk towards him.
"Shit! What's wrong with you people? I haven't done a goddamn thing!"
Neither of them answered him. Rude approached with a casualness that infuriated Reno.
"You're going to KILL me for no bloody reason at all!" Reno moved away from Rude, circling the perimeter of the room, knowing it was useless, but the instinctive desire to hold off death pushing him on with his adrenaline soaring and his heart thumping rapidly.
-~-~-~-
Tseng watched the two circle the room with interest. It was almost comedic, the sight of Rude being consistently frustrated and the kid consistently moving away, round and round the room. Tseng knew he should intervene but some vague feeling of fairness stopped him.
Rude glared at Reno as he passed the window for the fourth time. This really isn't making me look good in front of Tseng, he thought. Can't even catch some stupid slum-kid when he's locked in an office with me! Putting on a burst of speed he attempted to close the distance between them.
Reno caught the sudden change in Rude's posture and changed tactics. As Rude suddenly shot towards him he leapt across the room and landed on the desk. He heard something crunch and saw the Wutaian wince out of the corner of his eye, but the guy didn't seem about to interfere so Reno kept his attention on Rude, who had also changed directions and was about to make a grab for Reno's legs. Reno kicked out, managing to smash one foot into the bald mans face, but overbalancing in the process and sprawling ungainly across the length of the desk. A pile of paper flew off into the air and about the room.
"Be careful." The Wutaian said.
"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry if my attempts to evade certain death upset your paperwork!" Reno snarled back. While his attention was thus distracted Rude grabbed him by the ankle and yanked him off the desk onto the floor. Reno gave a yelp as he hit, and Rude slammed his own foot down into his stomach, knocking the air from Reno's lungs.
"Ah, that hurt!" Reno rolled away from the bald man, under the desk, one hand on his stomach. Rude hunkered down to reach under the desk. Seeing his arm coming toward him Reno grabbed hold if it with his free hand and sank his teeth into the wrist.
"!" Rude jerked back with a grunt of pain. There was blood on his wrist and he felt a sudden rush of anger that pushed him forward, under the desk and on top of Reno. Pinning the smaller man's arms with one hand he used the other to start pummelling him. Reno let out a long – and loud – howl of pain and frustration.
"Getoffame!" Reno started wriggling around, trying to escape, but the other man was stronger and kept him pinned.
"......." Rude decided that Reno had had enough and sat back in order to pull him up. Unfortunately he forgot about the desk, and his head hit it with a loud thunk. His guard let up for a brief time as he clutched both hands to the pain and Reno wrenched himself free and out from under the desk, knocking over the chair in the process. He hurt all over from the attack, but he wasn't giving up yet. Hauling the keyboard off the desk and snapping a few wires in the process, he turned and smacked it down on top of Rude's head as he tried to follow Reno out from under the desk. The keyboard broke apart and Rude gave a another grunt of pain.
"I think enough of my equipment has been destroyed now." Tseng said dryly, approaching Reno from the other side. Reno registered the movement and turned, ready to defend himself against the new threat, but with a rising feeling of futility.
"Relax" Tseng said, looking over the kid. Reno saw that there was a faint expression of amusement in the guys eyes, and a half-smile that managed to scare him more than any shouted threat had.
Tseng inclined his head slightly and then stood with his legs slightly apart and his hands behind his back. "Attack me."
And since Reno had no choice, he did.
Launching himself at the Wutaian, hoping to take him off guard with speed rather than skill, he suddenly found himself falling headlong towards the floor. Tseng shifted slightly, moving back into his initial posture.
"Rude was correct" He said mildly "You are fast" - a quick glance towards the pieces of keyboard that lay on the floor near the desk - "and stronger than you look."
"Uh... whatever..." Reno sat up slowly, trying to work out how he had ended up on the floor.
"Congratulations. You've just been recruited." Tseng leaned over and helped Rude out from under the desk.
Reno stood up, his eyes wandering around the office. It was largish, and currently had a broken keyboard on the floor, a knocked over chair, and paper covering every flat surface. Rude was rubbing the top of his head ruefully, and Tseng was looking at him with that half-smile.
"I have no idea what's going on....."
-~-~-~-
A/N: OK, this chapter ended up a bit longer than I expected, and nearly all of it is action. I think the jail-cell scene could be taken out, but since it provides some of the only non-fighting parts I decided to leave it in. I hope you like this chapter ~ I feel sorry for Reno and Rude I have to admit ^_^;; Next up is some actual character development and plot as opposed to people slugging it out!