"Back off woman, that's none of your business!"
"You have to talk about it to someone, why not me?"
"Because it's none of your fucking business, alright?! I don't want a fucking sympathy vote!"
"What happened Reno? What's so bad that you can't talk to me about it?"
"NO!" he bellowed, throwing the vodka bottle across the room, where it smashed against a wall. Rising up from his seat, he made for the door before his legs gave out underneath him. Falling to the floor, his last thoughts were of her.
.oOo.
Fluid pictures swam before his eyes: gulls swooping through the air, occasionally diving downwards to snatch something from the azure sea; neon lights casting tawdry images in the dark night as the sound of raucous laughter carried to his ears; fire lighting up the gloom as dreams fluttered away on the cold breeze.
Someone was poking him. hard.
"Geroff." he muttered.
The poking abated but when he didn't move again, it resumed.
"I'm warning you."
The poking increased in its viciousness, digging into the side of his ribs. His eyes snapped open as he threw his fist out, neatly catching his tormentor on the chin.
Elena staggered away clutching her face, blood trickling through her lips from where she had bitten herself. "What the fuck was that for?" she cried, spitting some more blood into the sink she was now leaning over.
"Sticking your fucking nose in last night, being a pain in the ass poking me and being a pain in the ass in general." Picking himself up off the floor, he tried to straighten out some of the creases in his clothes whilst praying for the hammers in his head to cease their infernal striking. "What time is it?"
"Time to get your useless ass out of your deadbeat flat and into work Reno!"
"My flat?" Reno looked around, realising it indeed was his apartment. His record collection lay strewn across the floor where he had left it before heading out for a night on the tiles, the same as every night. Every night since.
"Wait a moment. how the hell did you get in here?"
"I am a Turk y'know, I picked the lock when I came back this morning," Elena replied tartly, now holding an icepack to her chin.
"You? A Turk! HAH! You only got let in on a pretence!"
"You've cracked man, what the hell are you on about?"
"Tseng let you in the Turks because he wanted to pretend he wasn't so into that damned flower girl. He only wanted you around so he could pretend to himself he wasn't in love with Aeris. Same reason he fucked you too; he didn't really want you, he just wanted a lie to reassure himself with."
Elena said nothing, merely dropping the icepack and running from the flat, the door slamming shut behind her, making Reno wince in pain. Serves the bitch right, he thought, despite a tinge of remorse biting at him.
He walked into the bathroom, a cesspit by his own reckoning, which meant it was truly disgusting. He flipped open the cabinet and took out a bottle of pills and some mouthwash. Taking a chug of the mouthwash, he swigged it about, gargling a brief tune to himself. Spitting it out, he turned the tap on and took on a mouthful of water. He fumbled with the pill bottle, finally managing to get the childproof cap off. Shaking it, two capsules fell out and he quickly dropped them in his mouth, swallowing. With a quick shake of his head, he placed the two bottles back and closed the cabinet, looking at himself in the mirror on the front. His eyes had red lines running through them where blood vessels had burst and his hair, a matching colour was drooping. He turned the tap back on but this time nothing came forth. Uttering an expletive, Reno kicked the pipe beneath the sink and stumbled away. Today is not gonna be a good day.
Going to the cabinet in the living room, he took the pendant from beneath his dark blue shirt and opened it, removing the key. Dropping it to dangle from his neck, he unlocked the cabinet, pulling the doors open. From it he took two handguns, checking the sights on both before slipping one into his shoulder holster and the other in the one on his right hip. Grabbing a few clips of ammunition, he closed the cabinet, locking it once more. He took the locket and looked at it briefly before putting the key back in and sealing it. Tucking it back into his shirt, he opened the front door and left, a single tear rolling down his cheek.
He took the subway into work, not trusting himself behind the wheel the way his head was still pounding. You didn't want to be bombing around Junon with even the remotest chance of losing your concentration. The roads were hell with the large influx of refugees from Midgar now using the roads as well.
Standing outside the Neo Shinra building, Reno let his gaze wonder upwards as he did everyday. The wonder never left his head at the fact that this was a place of good, where he didn't have to commit such atrocities as he had done in his life. No, this was indeed "New" Shinra.
Stepping through the revolving door, he winked at the cute secretary before walking past her desk to the elevator, pressing the call button. Opening his wallet, he took out a red card just as it arrived. Stepping inside, he pressed the button marked 65 and slid the card into a slot when prompted. Spewing the card back out, the elevator started its smooth ascent of the ivory tower. He whistled aimlessly to himself until, with a 'ping', the doors slid open and he stepped onto the floor he'd dubbed as Purgatory. His fellow tortured souls buzzed about, popping in and out of offices carrying paperwork with them. The Turks had undergone a major overhaul now that Reeve had assumed control. They were being cleansed, gaining redemption from their past sins by serving as a kind of Policia. No more were they the instruments of terror but the arbiters of justice, the architects of peace.
He strode through the hallway, making his way to the office at the end of the hall. Knocking on the door, he heard the familiar voice say, "Come in Reno," before opening it and slumping into a plush black chair. The room's occupant didn't look up, his eyes scanning the paperwork before him, pen scribbling furiously until a few minutes later when he set it down.
"Seen Elena?" he asked, turning to face Reno.
"Yeah. I wouldn't be all that surprised if she don't come in today Rude."
The bald man looked Reno in the eyes, his own invisible behind the shades he always wore. Reno alone knew why that was and he was hardly about to tell anyone. Despite having been promoted above him, Reno still treated Rude the same as he always had; a true comrade-in-arms. Someone who understood the burden he carried with him always. He would have been there if Reno hadn't insisted being on his own, and in a way, Rude was glad of that. He hadn't wanted to be assigned to the mission in the first place. It wasn't something anyone should have to do and it most certainly wasn't his place to carry it out.
"Why's that Reno?"
"She left my place crying this morning."
"Did you.?" Rude left it hanging, the question all too obvious.
"No, worse. I told her."
"Shit."
"Indeed. She left my place crying like a schoolgirl whose hamster's just died."
"Ever heard of discretion?"
"Uhh."
Rude sighed, running a hand across his smooth scalp. "You'll have to apologise you know? Before leaving for Kalm that is."
"Yeah su-- Kalm?! Why the hell would I be going there?"
"Because I'm ordering you. You're to supervise the set-up of an office there which you will head."
"B. b. but Kalm has absolutely no night-life! We don't need an office there! I mean Christ. there's only one bar there and that's run by." Reno trailed off, not wanting to speak that name.
"That's the other reason I'm sending you there Reno. I'm worried about you. You're going to Kalm to settle yourself down. God knows it's time. It's been five years since--"
"Four years, five months and thirteen days Rude."
Silence descended over the pair, both uncomfortable with what they were glossing over.
"So, you're going whether you like it or not. You need to get away from all this trash and sort yourself out."
"What if I refuse?" he replied, anger, running through his eyes, his jaw clenched.
"Then you're out on your ear Reno, and you know you'll be fucked then."
"SHIT!" From outside the office, both people heard a lot of items hitting the floor in surprise at the fierceness in Reno's voice. "You've got me by the fucking balls, don'tcha?"
Rude only replied with a grim nod.
"SHIT!" Items being dropped again, just after they were picked up. Reno stood up, sagging from his position. "I'll go."
As the door shut behind Reno, Rude gently sighed to himself. "Good luck friend. you'll need it."
Suddenly the door opened again and a head with flame-red hair poked in. "Wow, you used whole sentences Rude!" With that, Reno was gone and Rude did something he rarely did. He smiled.
.oOo.
Reeve leant backwards in his chair, stretching his arms above his head and pointing his toes, feeling the comfortable ache throughout his body. A yawn seized control as his arms slackened, his shoulder blades meeting. Sitting upright again, his gaze returned to that sheet again. Disturbing news indeed. why would anyone want to start an insurrection against Neo Shinra? Since I took control, we've changed for the better. We help people now. why would anyone want to get rid of us? We've done more in the last two years than Shinra had in over a century!
Reeve just couldn't understand it but he wasn't too worried. He had Turks investigating it, as was their job. If needs be he would order it to be crushed, but he was loathe to do that. It would seem as if Neo Shinra were just like the Shinra of old and that was far from the truth. No, Reeve wanted a peaceful end to this situation, if indeed it became a situation. At the moment it was a small group of dissidents that could do no worse than write nasty pamphlets. But if it were to grow. Reeve sighed, trying to push it from his mind. It was so unlikely.
.oOo.
As Reno stepped from the subway train late at night, he saw movement in a dark corner. A sound reached his ears but it took him a few seconds to realise it was a muffled scream. As he ran towards the source, he saw three men. no, youths attacking a woman. One of them held her from behind, a hand clasped tightly across her mouth while a second had a hand up her skirt, the other squeezing a breast. The third one was down on one knee, busy tipping out the contents of her handbag onto the grimy floor. It was this one who Reno hit first, connecting his boot to the underside of the kids head with a vicious crack, spinning him from his crouched position to sprawling into a pillar, his jaw broken and blood everywhere. The sudden movement catching their attention, the other two dropped the woman, turning to face Reno. She sunk to the floor, still screaming.
"You're gonna pay for fucking up our fun mister!" said the second, drawing a knife his jacket pocket. The other youth stepped forwards, doing likewise.
Reno's eyes narrowed as he steeled himself. One of them came running at him, the knife glinting as it arced towards Reno who just stood there. Snapping an arm out, he caught hold of his opponent's wrist, spinning him around and sending him crashing into his partner. Picking themselves from the floor, they came at him slower this time, the first slashing at Reno's face. He swayed to the left, feeling the blade score across his cheek. He replied with his fist smashing into the kid's nose, sending him back a few paces. The second lunged at Reno's chest but he sidestepped, spinning neatly to bring his heel down on the back of his head, knocking him to the floor unconscious. The first one, upon seeing this, turned and started to run for the stairs upwards. Reno casually picked up the knife that lay beside him, hefted it in his hands and then threw it. The kid fell, the blade jutting from his shoulder where Reno had aimed.
Dragging the unconscious body beside him to the pillar, he sat the kid leaning against it. Leaving those two where they lay, he walked over to the one who had tried to run, viciously pulling the blade from his back. As he screamed, Reno grabbed him by the collar, dragging him to the pillar as well. Positioning them equidistantly around it, he handcuffed them to each other before turning his attention to the woman. She was still screaming; quite how she'd been able to do it for that long was amazing but it dawned upon him the fight hadn't been all that long. Adrenaline had slowed it all down for him.
He went down on one knee, gently touching her on the shoulder. Her eyes snapped open, an open palm swinging for his face. He let it go, feeling the pain flare as it caught him hard on the cheek. Shock covered her face when she realised she'd struck her saviour, not one of her attackers. She started to sob with relief, throwing her arms around him. He held her to him, whispering gently in her ear.
Finally, she pushed away, looking him in the eyes, her own brimming with tears, a smile matching the one on his face. She pulled some of her brown hair from her face where it had stuck with sweat. "Thank you so much! I. I don't know what I'd have done if."
"Don't worry 'bout it. No use thinking about what might've been. Come on, let's get you out of here." Gently, he helped her to her feet. She was a little wobbly so he draped one of her arms over his shoulders, helping her all the way. Once they were outside, the fresh night air struck them both, calming them. "You gonna be alright here? I'll go back and get your stuff."
She nodded, so he turned away, making his way back down the stairs. He gathered up her belongings, putting them all back in her handbag. One of them caught his attention; a black and white picture with a vague shape on it - a foetal scan. Looking at the three handcuffed around the pillar, hatred flared up so deeply that Reno thought about killing them all, there and then. Instead he settled for giving the lone still conscious youth a meaty kick to the balls, his screams of agony echoing throughout the deserted station.
Back outside, he handed the woman her handbag. His gaze wandered to her belly - he hadn't noticed before but it most definitely showed the swell of a child. "Male or female?"
"Hunh?"
"Your baby. Male or female? I didn't look that closely at the scan."
"Oh, male. He's gonna be a big, str--" she cut herself off as a terrible thought struck her. "Oh no. what if. they harmed it?!" She grabbed hold of his arm, her grip like an iron vice.
"Look, I've called the police. They'll be here right away. We can get an FME to check you out if you need."
"F. ME?"
"Sorry, to used to the technical jargon. Forensic Medical Examiner. They're basically doctors."
"You're a policeman?"
"Nope, I'm a Turk. My names Reno Lyngley."
"I'm Naomi Sutherland. Uhm. how long are they gonna take? I'm really worried." she held a hand to her chest as if to protect her unborn child from the possible threat. She fell into his arms again, Reno holding her tightly, his thoughts drifting somewhere else as the sound of sirens started to fill the air.
.oOo.
He sat through all of the interviews with her, his status as a Turk standing him in good stead with the Police, added to that as the white knight of a young pregnant woman. He also waited outside a closed office as she was attended to by the FME who declared the baby and her to be absolutely fine. Afterwards, the FME has tended to the cut on his cheek, but Reno was without his customary wink to an attractive young woman. His thoughts were on someone else. Five hours later, they left the station and were offered a lift back in a police car.
"Uhm, where do ya live Naomi?"
"Kalm actually, but I'm staying with a friend here at 67 Yardling Street." The driver nodded, taking a turn to the left.
"Heh, that's funny. I'm being posted to Kalm."
"Well, maybe I'll see you around then."
They sat in silence until they arrived at her place. As she got out of the car, Reno told the driver to wait. Getting out as well, he walked her to the door.
As it opened up, a woman looking at the pair behind it, Reno took Naomi's hand, bending over to kiss it softly. Lights went on in his head. No wedding band!
"Well, good night milady. 'Till we meet again." He walked back to the police car, a smile on his face as he heard the whispered conversation behind him.
"Well, who's that hottie?"
"Reno Lyngley. He's a Turk!" the pride evident in her voice, all thoughts of the earlier incident pushed from her mind.
.oOo.
Reno smiled all the way back to the block of flats where he lived. He smiled all the way up the stairs. He smiled all the way into his apartment. He smiled all the way into his bed. He smiled all the way to sleep. But there the smiles stopped and the nightmares started.
"You have to talk about it to someone, why not me?"
"Because it's none of your fucking business, alright?! I don't want a fucking sympathy vote!"
"What happened Reno? What's so bad that you can't talk to me about it?"
"NO!" he bellowed, throwing the vodka bottle across the room, where it smashed against a wall. Rising up from his seat, he made for the door before his legs gave out underneath him. Falling to the floor, his last thoughts were of her.
.oOo.
Fluid pictures swam before his eyes: gulls swooping through the air, occasionally diving downwards to snatch something from the azure sea; neon lights casting tawdry images in the dark night as the sound of raucous laughter carried to his ears; fire lighting up the gloom as dreams fluttered away on the cold breeze.
Someone was poking him. hard.
"Geroff." he muttered.
The poking abated but when he didn't move again, it resumed.
"I'm warning you."
The poking increased in its viciousness, digging into the side of his ribs. His eyes snapped open as he threw his fist out, neatly catching his tormentor on the chin.
Elena staggered away clutching her face, blood trickling through her lips from where she had bitten herself. "What the fuck was that for?" she cried, spitting some more blood into the sink she was now leaning over.
"Sticking your fucking nose in last night, being a pain in the ass poking me and being a pain in the ass in general." Picking himself up off the floor, he tried to straighten out some of the creases in his clothes whilst praying for the hammers in his head to cease their infernal striking. "What time is it?"
"Time to get your useless ass out of your deadbeat flat and into work Reno!"
"My flat?" Reno looked around, realising it indeed was his apartment. His record collection lay strewn across the floor where he had left it before heading out for a night on the tiles, the same as every night. Every night since.
"Wait a moment. how the hell did you get in here?"
"I am a Turk y'know, I picked the lock when I came back this morning," Elena replied tartly, now holding an icepack to her chin.
"You? A Turk! HAH! You only got let in on a pretence!"
"You've cracked man, what the hell are you on about?"
"Tseng let you in the Turks because he wanted to pretend he wasn't so into that damned flower girl. He only wanted you around so he could pretend to himself he wasn't in love with Aeris. Same reason he fucked you too; he didn't really want you, he just wanted a lie to reassure himself with."
Elena said nothing, merely dropping the icepack and running from the flat, the door slamming shut behind her, making Reno wince in pain. Serves the bitch right, he thought, despite a tinge of remorse biting at him.
He walked into the bathroom, a cesspit by his own reckoning, which meant it was truly disgusting. He flipped open the cabinet and took out a bottle of pills and some mouthwash. Taking a chug of the mouthwash, he swigged it about, gargling a brief tune to himself. Spitting it out, he turned the tap on and took on a mouthful of water. He fumbled with the pill bottle, finally managing to get the childproof cap off. Shaking it, two capsules fell out and he quickly dropped them in his mouth, swallowing. With a quick shake of his head, he placed the two bottles back and closed the cabinet, looking at himself in the mirror on the front. His eyes had red lines running through them where blood vessels had burst and his hair, a matching colour was drooping. He turned the tap back on but this time nothing came forth. Uttering an expletive, Reno kicked the pipe beneath the sink and stumbled away. Today is not gonna be a good day.
Going to the cabinet in the living room, he took the pendant from beneath his dark blue shirt and opened it, removing the key. Dropping it to dangle from his neck, he unlocked the cabinet, pulling the doors open. From it he took two handguns, checking the sights on both before slipping one into his shoulder holster and the other in the one on his right hip. Grabbing a few clips of ammunition, he closed the cabinet, locking it once more. He took the locket and looked at it briefly before putting the key back in and sealing it. Tucking it back into his shirt, he opened the front door and left, a single tear rolling down his cheek.
He took the subway into work, not trusting himself behind the wheel the way his head was still pounding. You didn't want to be bombing around Junon with even the remotest chance of losing your concentration. The roads were hell with the large influx of refugees from Midgar now using the roads as well.
Standing outside the Neo Shinra building, Reno let his gaze wonder upwards as he did everyday. The wonder never left his head at the fact that this was a place of good, where he didn't have to commit such atrocities as he had done in his life. No, this was indeed "New" Shinra.
Stepping through the revolving door, he winked at the cute secretary before walking past her desk to the elevator, pressing the call button. Opening his wallet, he took out a red card just as it arrived. Stepping inside, he pressed the button marked 65 and slid the card into a slot when prompted. Spewing the card back out, the elevator started its smooth ascent of the ivory tower. He whistled aimlessly to himself until, with a 'ping', the doors slid open and he stepped onto the floor he'd dubbed as Purgatory. His fellow tortured souls buzzed about, popping in and out of offices carrying paperwork with them. The Turks had undergone a major overhaul now that Reeve had assumed control. They were being cleansed, gaining redemption from their past sins by serving as a kind of Policia. No more were they the instruments of terror but the arbiters of justice, the architects of peace.
He strode through the hallway, making his way to the office at the end of the hall. Knocking on the door, he heard the familiar voice say, "Come in Reno," before opening it and slumping into a plush black chair. The room's occupant didn't look up, his eyes scanning the paperwork before him, pen scribbling furiously until a few minutes later when he set it down.
"Seen Elena?" he asked, turning to face Reno.
"Yeah. I wouldn't be all that surprised if she don't come in today Rude."
The bald man looked Reno in the eyes, his own invisible behind the shades he always wore. Reno alone knew why that was and he was hardly about to tell anyone. Despite having been promoted above him, Reno still treated Rude the same as he always had; a true comrade-in-arms. Someone who understood the burden he carried with him always. He would have been there if Reno hadn't insisted being on his own, and in a way, Rude was glad of that. He hadn't wanted to be assigned to the mission in the first place. It wasn't something anyone should have to do and it most certainly wasn't his place to carry it out.
"Why's that Reno?"
"She left my place crying this morning."
"Did you.?" Rude left it hanging, the question all too obvious.
"No, worse. I told her."
"Shit."
"Indeed. She left my place crying like a schoolgirl whose hamster's just died."
"Ever heard of discretion?"
"Uhh."
Rude sighed, running a hand across his smooth scalp. "You'll have to apologise you know? Before leaving for Kalm that is."
"Yeah su-- Kalm?! Why the hell would I be going there?"
"Because I'm ordering you. You're to supervise the set-up of an office there which you will head."
"B. b. but Kalm has absolutely no night-life! We don't need an office there! I mean Christ. there's only one bar there and that's run by." Reno trailed off, not wanting to speak that name.
"That's the other reason I'm sending you there Reno. I'm worried about you. You're going to Kalm to settle yourself down. God knows it's time. It's been five years since--"
"Four years, five months and thirteen days Rude."
Silence descended over the pair, both uncomfortable with what they were glossing over.
"So, you're going whether you like it or not. You need to get away from all this trash and sort yourself out."
"What if I refuse?" he replied, anger, running through his eyes, his jaw clenched.
"Then you're out on your ear Reno, and you know you'll be fucked then."
"SHIT!" From outside the office, both people heard a lot of items hitting the floor in surprise at the fierceness in Reno's voice. "You've got me by the fucking balls, don'tcha?"
Rude only replied with a grim nod.
"SHIT!" Items being dropped again, just after they were picked up. Reno stood up, sagging from his position. "I'll go."
As the door shut behind Reno, Rude gently sighed to himself. "Good luck friend. you'll need it."
Suddenly the door opened again and a head with flame-red hair poked in. "Wow, you used whole sentences Rude!" With that, Reno was gone and Rude did something he rarely did. He smiled.
.oOo.
Reeve leant backwards in his chair, stretching his arms above his head and pointing his toes, feeling the comfortable ache throughout his body. A yawn seized control as his arms slackened, his shoulder blades meeting. Sitting upright again, his gaze returned to that sheet again. Disturbing news indeed. why would anyone want to start an insurrection against Neo Shinra? Since I took control, we've changed for the better. We help people now. why would anyone want to get rid of us? We've done more in the last two years than Shinra had in over a century!
Reeve just couldn't understand it but he wasn't too worried. He had Turks investigating it, as was their job. If needs be he would order it to be crushed, but he was loathe to do that. It would seem as if Neo Shinra were just like the Shinra of old and that was far from the truth. No, Reeve wanted a peaceful end to this situation, if indeed it became a situation. At the moment it was a small group of dissidents that could do no worse than write nasty pamphlets. But if it were to grow. Reeve sighed, trying to push it from his mind. It was so unlikely.
.oOo.
As Reno stepped from the subway train late at night, he saw movement in a dark corner. A sound reached his ears but it took him a few seconds to realise it was a muffled scream. As he ran towards the source, he saw three men. no, youths attacking a woman. One of them held her from behind, a hand clasped tightly across her mouth while a second had a hand up her skirt, the other squeezing a breast. The third one was down on one knee, busy tipping out the contents of her handbag onto the grimy floor. It was this one who Reno hit first, connecting his boot to the underside of the kids head with a vicious crack, spinning him from his crouched position to sprawling into a pillar, his jaw broken and blood everywhere. The sudden movement catching their attention, the other two dropped the woman, turning to face Reno. She sunk to the floor, still screaming.
"You're gonna pay for fucking up our fun mister!" said the second, drawing a knife his jacket pocket. The other youth stepped forwards, doing likewise.
Reno's eyes narrowed as he steeled himself. One of them came running at him, the knife glinting as it arced towards Reno who just stood there. Snapping an arm out, he caught hold of his opponent's wrist, spinning him around and sending him crashing into his partner. Picking themselves from the floor, they came at him slower this time, the first slashing at Reno's face. He swayed to the left, feeling the blade score across his cheek. He replied with his fist smashing into the kid's nose, sending him back a few paces. The second lunged at Reno's chest but he sidestepped, spinning neatly to bring his heel down on the back of his head, knocking him to the floor unconscious. The first one, upon seeing this, turned and started to run for the stairs upwards. Reno casually picked up the knife that lay beside him, hefted it in his hands and then threw it. The kid fell, the blade jutting from his shoulder where Reno had aimed.
Dragging the unconscious body beside him to the pillar, he sat the kid leaning against it. Leaving those two where they lay, he walked over to the one who had tried to run, viciously pulling the blade from his back. As he screamed, Reno grabbed him by the collar, dragging him to the pillar as well. Positioning them equidistantly around it, he handcuffed them to each other before turning his attention to the woman. She was still screaming; quite how she'd been able to do it for that long was amazing but it dawned upon him the fight hadn't been all that long. Adrenaline had slowed it all down for him.
He went down on one knee, gently touching her on the shoulder. Her eyes snapped open, an open palm swinging for his face. He let it go, feeling the pain flare as it caught him hard on the cheek. Shock covered her face when she realised she'd struck her saviour, not one of her attackers. She started to sob with relief, throwing her arms around him. He held her to him, whispering gently in her ear.
Finally, she pushed away, looking him in the eyes, her own brimming with tears, a smile matching the one on his face. She pulled some of her brown hair from her face where it had stuck with sweat. "Thank you so much! I. I don't know what I'd have done if."
"Don't worry 'bout it. No use thinking about what might've been. Come on, let's get you out of here." Gently, he helped her to her feet. She was a little wobbly so he draped one of her arms over his shoulders, helping her all the way. Once they were outside, the fresh night air struck them both, calming them. "You gonna be alright here? I'll go back and get your stuff."
She nodded, so he turned away, making his way back down the stairs. He gathered up her belongings, putting them all back in her handbag. One of them caught his attention; a black and white picture with a vague shape on it - a foetal scan. Looking at the three handcuffed around the pillar, hatred flared up so deeply that Reno thought about killing them all, there and then. Instead he settled for giving the lone still conscious youth a meaty kick to the balls, his screams of agony echoing throughout the deserted station.
Back outside, he handed the woman her handbag. His gaze wandered to her belly - he hadn't noticed before but it most definitely showed the swell of a child. "Male or female?"
"Hunh?"
"Your baby. Male or female? I didn't look that closely at the scan."
"Oh, male. He's gonna be a big, str--" she cut herself off as a terrible thought struck her. "Oh no. what if. they harmed it?!" She grabbed hold of his arm, her grip like an iron vice.
"Look, I've called the police. They'll be here right away. We can get an FME to check you out if you need."
"F. ME?"
"Sorry, to used to the technical jargon. Forensic Medical Examiner. They're basically doctors."
"You're a policeman?"
"Nope, I'm a Turk. My names Reno Lyngley."
"I'm Naomi Sutherland. Uhm. how long are they gonna take? I'm really worried." she held a hand to her chest as if to protect her unborn child from the possible threat. She fell into his arms again, Reno holding her tightly, his thoughts drifting somewhere else as the sound of sirens started to fill the air.
.oOo.
He sat through all of the interviews with her, his status as a Turk standing him in good stead with the Police, added to that as the white knight of a young pregnant woman. He also waited outside a closed office as she was attended to by the FME who declared the baby and her to be absolutely fine. Afterwards, the FME has tended to the cut on his cheek, but Reno was without his customary wink to an attractive young woman. His thoughts were on someone else. Five hours later, they left the station and were offered a lift back in a police car.
"Uhm, where do ya live Naomi?"
"Kalm actually, but I'm staying with a friend here at 67 Yardling Street." The driver nodded, taking a turn to the left.
"Heh, that's funny. I'm being posted to Kalm."
"Well, maybe I'll see you around then."
They sat in silence until they arrived at her place. As she got out of the car, Reno told the driver to wait. Getting out as well, he walked her to the door.
As it opened up, a woman looking at the pair behind it, Reno took Naomi's hand, bending over to kiss it softly. Lights went on in his head. No wedding band!
"Well, good night milady. 'Till we meet again." He walked back to the police car, a smile on his face as he heard the whispered conversation behind him.
"Well, who's that hottie?"
"Reno Lyngley. He's a Turk!" the pride evident in her voice, all thoughts of the earlier incident pushed from her mind.
.oOo.
Reno smiled all the way back to the block of flats where he lived. He smiled all the way up the stairs. He smiled all the way into his apartment. He smiled all the way into his bed. He smiled all the way to sleep. But there the smiles stopped and the nightmares started.