I Tried

Chapter 13

Breaking Point

He suppressed the urge to rush into Mariah's room with a few deep breaths. It hadn't been a good night for her; stress never did anything to make her feel better. He wanted to be calm, however, when one feels like they did something right for the very first time, it's hard to be calm. He knocked on the door, waiting for an answer before pushing it slowly open.

"How is Bethany? What did she have?" Mariah's once strong form was gaunt now. Her sickness had taken a sharp downturn in the past months. Even though they spent every available gil on her, no one seemed to know what to do.

"A girl. Suzanna Mariah Capellirossi." He couldn't stop the smile from crossing his face, it didn't go unnoticed.

"Reno," her voice was no more then a whisper. "You named her after me?" She coughed, her whole frame shaking with the effort. She managed a smile. "Thank you. I know you don't hear it-" She coughed again. "Hear it enough, but I'm proud of you." Laying back on the pillows her hand covered her chest. "Could you bring her up when she is awake?"

Reno nodded. "Yeah, you get some more rest too okay?"

Reno learned very quickly that babies rarely had the politeness to think of things like their parents needing sleep. He didn't really mind all that much, but sometimes he wished kids came with mute buttons. "Wait till she learns the word why." Padre smirked to Reno one morning. "You always had a blast with that one." Reno's response was sticking out his tongue. "Oh that's just what you should teach a child."

"Wait till she starts picking up his other habits." Mariah voice came weakly from the doorway. She was leaning on Bethany for support. Reno got up so Mariah could have the chair he had been sitting in. As Mariah settled down she added. "Is Tifa still planning on coming down?"

"Yeah, I'm going to go up early this year, so she's coming with me." Reno responded from the kitchen counter.

Padre blinked. "Early? What for?"

"Ah, the Gold Saucer has this dome thing, the purse is really hefty, I can't really afford not to." The young man tried to sound nonchalant about the fighting arena, it didn't work against Mariah.

"Reno, you could get killed." She almost rose, prompting Bethany to move next to her. Then, Suzanna started crying. First Reno, then Bethany left the room to check on the baby. The little girl's cries stopped shortly after.

The two adults shared a collective sigh. Padre looked to Mariah, "Hard to believe he's only turning sixteen in a few months." He looked though the doorway to the cross above the altar. "He's more of a man then I think I could be in his situation."

Mariah shook her head; it wasn't as if she didn't know exactly how the old priest felt about their charge. "Why don't you ever tell him that? It would make him happy to hear it." Padre merely shrugged.

"You know I could go back out." Bethany started, "it's not-"

Reno held Suzanna and cut his girlfriend off with a glance. "We had this conversation already. No way."

"So it's all right for you to go out and get yourself half killed, but I can't make a few bucks on the corner?" Bethany knew her boyfriend's objection to her old line of work, but she was almost past the point of caring. "I refuse to watch you starve to death. I love you, Reno." She sat on the bed and Reno handed their baby to her. She began to rock Suzanna. "I don't want you doing it either then. Sweets has a loose tongue Re, you should watch who you talk to."

He turned his back to her and looked out the window. There was nothing to see but a cement pillar, but it was easier to see then himself letting his family down. His family, who knew two words could hold so much meaning? "I won't," It isn't like he wanted to sell himself on the streets, but money was money. He let his last brainstorm out to Bethany "I am still thinking about expanding."

"Whoah, Reno do you have any idea how much your head is worth to the Don and half the other gangs in the area? Do you need to add to it? I couldn't raise Trigger by myself." She used the nickname that Tex had given their daughter fondly.

The idea halted Reno. For the first time in his life he had a passion for something. And it showed when he spoke. "Trigger will not live like we have had to. I don't care if I have to waltz into Corneo's mansion and cap'em myself." He was dead serious, he didn't care what he had to do. He would protect her. "SOLDIER always wants recruits, but then I'd have to be away."

"Don't do that!" Bethany was frightened by the idea of ShinRa. "That mad scientist and stuff." Her outburst woke Suzanna, who complained at a fairly high pitch.

Bethany leaned on Reno's arm, her free hand holding Suzanna in a carrier. "He's still there."

Reno's blue eyes scanned the alley behind them. Sure enough, it was a guy in a dark blue suit. This one could have been the Midgar man or the Wutain, from this distance he couldn't really tell. The Midgar man had a limp and facial hair, the Wutain moved as smoothly as he appeared to shave. Since their daughter had been born over four months ago, Reno had noticed them more often. He couldn't tell, however if this was because they were following him or if he just now took notice. Regardless, it bothered him.

They walked a few more blocks before Reno got fed up. "That's it." He spun around, but no one was there. "Not this time…" He started back down the block. "Wait here."

Bethany ground her teeth. She had tried to quit smoking, but simply didn't have the willpower. She sat down against the wall, making sure she was downwind from her daughter. "You're daddy's going to give me grey hair. Do you know that?"

The little girl gurgled in response. She'd grown a lot in a few short months; it was nothing short of amazing. When she had been pregnant, Bethany hadn't thought of anything but having a baby. Now that the baby was here, she found herself wondering about when Suzanna became a toddler, and then a teenager.

"I hope you're always this happy, Baby." Bethany said sincerely. "I hope somehow you get a chance to do more then I did."

"Aww what a cute little moment. How's it shaking Vixen?"

Bethany rolled her eyes. Tossing the cigarette in front of her she looked over and up at the Pirate. Her hand rested on the butt of the weapon from under Reno's hoodie. "Fuck off, Spinner."

Spinner ignored her, smiling at the baby. "What a cute little puppy, too bad she's going to be a slum whore, just like you and your baby's daddy."

Bethany was on her feet in the next moment, standing over her daughter. "Do you wanna say that again?"

Lifting his hands in mock surrender, Spinner was still smirking. "Easy, easy, I just thought I'd come over and say hey to ya."

"We aren't friends." She snapped. "Now slink back to whatever rock you crawled out from under."

He laughed, walking away at last. "Wolf better not leave you all alone, dangerous out here."

She almost lit another cigarette, then stopped. Instead, Bethany picked Suzanna up and hugged her. Sudden tears came to her eyes, she didn't let them fall. It hurt more deeply then anything had ever hurt her before, knowing that what Spinner had said was as good a prediction as any for her child. She knew that. She knew there was nothing she could do about it either. And that's what hurt, when you want to give someone the world, and all you can manage is dirt.

Reno wondered where all the time had gone. It seemed like yesterday when they brought the little baby home. Now here he was, crouching in front of her watching her make an attempt at walking from Bethany. She tottered, falling forward where he was waiting to catch her. The little baby laughed and pulled at one of his bangs.

She was becoming so engrossed in everything. Bright colors fascinated her and she had learned that pulling her own red hair hurt. Daddy's red hair, however, did not hurt to pull on so she thought.

Reno's face quirked up, "hey hey hey, let go of that! That really hurts kid!" She started laughing at him, letting go of the bang.

Bethany couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, I'm gonna run to the store, maybe that guy'll give me the diapers for free again."

Reno stuck his tongue out at Bethany then turned to Suzanna. "Ya see that Trigg? Already she's got another boyfriend giving her handouts."

Pulling on Reno's hoodie Bethany laughed. "Oh yes, of course I am." She hugged him. "Big jerk." Then Beth kissed Suzanna on the top of her head. "You watch Daddy, Trigg. Keep him outta trouble." With that, she was out the door.

Reno looked up at the clock again. Bethany should have been back already. Padre walked into the kitchen, looking at Reno and following the young man's eye line. He was worried too. "When did she leave?"

"Two hours ago…" Reno stood up. "Hey can you-"

The church doors banged open, Viper's voice was frantic. "Wolf! Wolf, get out here!" However, when the red head came out of the kitchen, he didn't have any words.

He didn't have to say anything, Reno knew. "No…"

Viper only nodded and then motioned for his friend to follow him.

Bethany was dead. It took a while for that to register, even with the hole in-between her eyes. The blood was dark and drying over opened eyes. Still he shook her, yelling her name. Her jeans were ripped at the knee, foretelling an execution more then a simple shooting. She was already cold, but that didn't stop him from lifting her onto his lap. The blood was sticky, it was caked onto his blue hoodie, it came off onto his forehead as he pressed it against her body. Choked, all his voice could manage was her name.

He failed to notice the police cars, he didn't feel Viper tugging on his shirt. He just knew that something pivotal in his life was taken from him, and he wasn't there to stop it. Nothing else in the world really mattered anymore. Viper finally managed to pull Reno to his feet, but it was too late.

They found themselves slammed down on the hood of a police car. Reno wasn't bothering to fight them. His ears were hearing everything as if he was underwater. He barely felt the officer pad him down. One thing that he did hear, was someone mimicking a wolf's howl. The cop was reading off Reno's many offenses as Reno came back to himself and looked around. He could barely pick out their purple bandannas on the men staring at him. Standing with the Pirates was the person that brought Reno to move. He remembered that man. He'd never forget him: Joey.

"You forgot some." Reno said, halting the cop from putting the cuffs on him.

His voice was too calm and even. His passive nature was something the officer wasn't used to. "Some what?"

"Two counts of assault on an officer and four counts of murder in the first." He spun, pulling the cop's nightstick from its clip. Bringing the weapon up and over in a quick movement he struck the officer across the neck. The man buckled and Reno looked down at the weapon in his hand. There was a little switch on the side, flipping it up, he struck again, this time shocking the officer into the wall.

Viper took the momentary confusion to buck off the second officer and took off running.

Reno didn't want to run away. He had more important issues at hand. The nightstick slid into his pocket and he grabbed his gun off the hood of the cop car. He stood, locking eyes with Joey for a moment before charging. The Red Wolf came out then, making Reno oblivious to everything, particularly the man in the blue suit, watching him.

Joey couldn't believe what he had just seen. The kid looked directly at him and recognized him. He was chasing them now, and instead of believing in their 4-1 advantage, all of them were running for their lives. He heard the three shots ring down the alley at them. He could see two of the people he was running with fall. He didn't care about them. Not now, not when he felt revenge breathing down the back of his neck. Had he been a smart man, Joey would have called this Karma.

Reno slid to a halt in between the two men he had shot. One was slumped over a trashcan, bleeding from his head and back. The second man was breathing hoarsely, shaking and bleeding from the mouth. His hand was doing a poor job of keeping his blood in his abdomen. Reno wasn't in the mood for pity. He leveled a kick at the man, sending two teeth out of his mouth. When the Pirate tried to rise, Reno put his foot on the man's back, pinning him. "Where are they?" He hissed.

"The warehouse in sector two." The man coughed spitting out another tooth. "Don't leave me ta bleed to fuck'n death man!" He pleaded. Without a word Reno pushed the gun against the back of the man's head and fired. He climbed up on the dumpster, taking a short cut over the rooftops to the warehouse. There were two more blue suited figures watching him.

Joey and the other man- a shifty thug named Rocks- lunged into the warehouse and slammed the door shut behind them. It was too dark inside, and too quiet. Rocks flipped the light switch on and his jaw hit the floor. Only one man was left alive in the room. Sitting at a table with two dead men was the Red Wolf, his feet propped up on the table and leaning slightly back in his chair. He gave a deadly smile at the two frightened men. "What kept you?" The room was littered with seven more bodies. Reno had apparently just come in shooting. He began to stand and Rocks grabbed for the door. Without a thought, Reno shot him in the though his neck. He then pointed the gun to Joey and it clicked. He laughed out loud as Joey flinched. "Looks like I am out of bullets." Reno didn't sound to upset about it. "Damn." Noises could be heard from upstairs, scratching, stomping, and cussing. "I couldn't have the whole gang come down now could I? There's a desk against the door. They ain't going no where."

He laughed again as Joey tried vainly to open the door with Rock's dead weight against it. "You look like you are uncomfortable man. Chill out." Reno walked over to the makeshift methane lab and began to take down chemical containers with his back turned to Joey. Joey darted to the window, but was stopped by a chair Reno sent flying to his legs. Before he could get up Reno was over him, delivering a heel smash to his knee.

"FUCK!" Joey cursed as he felt the knee shatter. He rolled on the floor, cupping his leg as best he could. It wouldn't bend, and it wouldn't allow him any quick movement.

"Now it's rude to just take off," Reno pretended to fish for the other man's name "Joey isn't it?" Joey scooted to the wall and stared wide eyed at Reno. "Been what? Ten years now? Since I met you last. Boy have times changed." Reno spoke lightly, almost as if he was discussing the weather. He started to mix a few of the chemicals together and walked over to the desks he had propped against the dormitory door and dumped the concoction over them.

Joey watched Reno as he dumped chemicals all over the old wooden building. He made a move as if to try to run, a glare from Reno stopped him like a deer in headlights. "Now now, there's gonna be a light show here man, you can sit there like a good boy-" his voice then took a hard edge, something sadistic- "or I can break ya other leg. You're not missing this."

What Reno was doing had just dawned on him. "No way you gonna jus let a man burn to death! Have some mercy man!"

"Shut the FUCK up about mercy you sadistic pedophile! What mercy have you ever shown another soul in your fucking waste of a life?! My mother begged you for it, I begged you for it. You think I forgot about that?"

Joey's mouth worked, but no sound came out.

Frustrations, abuse, everything that he had bottled up spilled out. "How could I forget? Every time I fucking look in the mirror, I remember. Joey you made damn sure of that. What right do you have to kill anyone? What makes you so special?"

Joey stared on wide eyed, but didn't say anything. Reno made a disgusted noise; he turned and picked up a glass container off the table. With a swift motion, he threw it at the ground near Joey, the glass shattered, but the man on the floor paid it no mind, his eyes were transfixed on Reno as if he were watching a show on TV.

"There are other people upstairs!" Joey tried another tactic.

"Ehh. I'm sure they'd leave me." Reno lit his cigarette and looked at the flame as it bucked on his zippo.

Terror took over, his voice squeaked this time when Joey yelled. "Go to hell!"

"After you." Reno dropped the zippo onto the chemical soaked floor.

The police captain spoke with respective fear to the two people in dark blue suits. "He is just a gang banger, Sir. And a young kid to boot. I think that sending out the Turks is a bit of-" the explosion caused the officer to leap into the air, the people he was talking to appeared unfazed.

The two Turks exchanged glances. One's PHS rang, he answered it calmly. "Report. Good job. No, not necessary at the moment. Meet you both back at base." He looked over to his partner. "Get the car." He smiled at the police captain disdainfully. "The Red Wolf is no longer a concern of yours captain. You are to tell your men to ignore him."