I Tried- Chapter 22
Small Joys in Hell
Reno sighed, rubbing his tired eyes and stretching. He hadn't thought that being a Turk would require so much paper work. The physical training wasn't as terrible as all the reading. He had to memorize a five hundred page Turk handbook-though every rule was followed by at least nineteen ways around it. He also had to learn how to expel blood evidence, what chemical combinations would eat blood out of a hardwood floor, how to go about getting information from someone, and lastly the fine art of kidnapping.
It was little wonder they were such a feared group, everything worked with near machine precision. Turks were advised to spend nearly all their time together; they even shared the same locker room. Reno didn't quite mind the set up, to be honest. He had a nice apartment, the ShinRa daycare was the best that money could buy, and he had food. However, Reno had yet to really do much of anything. His entire first month of Turk training was reading.
Reno stood and went to the coffee machine; he dumped the sugar container upside down over his mug, not really paying attention to how much he was adding. Rude and Tseng were both bowed over papers; Reeve's desk was cluttered, though he was no where in sight. The others informed Reno that he was using Scarlet's old computer and desk, and that she had been moved to the executive wing. Reeve would soon follow, taking a newly vacant position.
Rufus had made Scarlet Head of Weapons Development and Reeve Head of Urban Development out of the blue. Both were jobs that had been left open by very untimely deaths. Everyone seemed to know that the previous heads had been murdered, though they never mentioned it. The only thing that everyone said was that they had "Brushed a Turk." One had to admit that being on the inside of something like that was interesting. Even talk of a hostile government takeover did little to make Reno enthusiastic about reading the book on decomposition he had purposefully saved for last.
With an exaggerated groan, Reno sat back down. Both Tseng and Rude smirked- the assholes- Reno made one desperate plea to the gods to save him and then the door opened.
Reeve looked as though he hadn't slept at all the night before. "Reno, Rufus wants you to report to his office."
Reno blinked; he hadn't seen Rufus physically since the day he was transfused. "What?"
The tone that Reeve used was his "Do not argue with me, it isn't my fault" tone. "Tseng and Rude have to go in half an hour on a job, he wants to see Hojo about the Jenova transfer and you are the only one that we can spare. He doesn't trust Hojo."
Suddenly, the book seemed much more interesting. He got up to leave the room when Reeve let out a short laugh. "Hold on, almost forgot." He handed Reno a small piece of notebook paper.
Reno opened the paper and lifted an eyebrow. There was nothing of real importance written on it, just a list of five names. From top to bottom it read, "Rufus A ShinRa, President ShinRa, Hojo, Sephiroth, sometimes Heidegger."
Reno looked up at Reeve over the list. "Ah, what's this?"
Reeve smirked, "that would be the Shit List. If they aren't on this list, you don't have to take their shit. In fact unless someone up top of the list says otherwise, you don't have to take Heidegger's shit either."
"Rufus actually seems to like it that we scare off most everyone. As long as you jump when he says jump, that's all you have to worry about." Tseng popped his back from the side of the room. "Basically, just remember there are only four people you really need to respect, and all of them because you like to breathe."
Reno folded the list with a smirk of his own. He didn't relish going to meet the one person he had to treat like his lord and master, but if all he had to do was as he was told and comment freely, he'd get along fine.
Apprehension left a bitter taste in the back of Reno's mouth. For the past month he was trying to think that he had imagined the woman's voice from Jenova's chamber. He was trying to pretend that the spurt of his old dreams was merely his mind's way of coping with the new trauma in his life.
He was failing on all counts.
Though the dreams abated, Reno couldn't stop running them around in his mind. He hadn't mentioned anything to the other Turks, though he felt like Rude was picking up that there was something wrong with his new partner. More then once the big Turk had asked Reno what was bothering him. Though Rude never verbally pried, he had ways of putting a whole paragraph of meaning into one look.
Reno figured he'd tell Rude if anything strange happened while he was escorting Rufus. Maybe he was just imagining things.
Rufus' office was on the 52nd floor of the ShinRa building. The floor was entirely devoted to very high end officials and only had one elevator actually landing on the level. It made sneaking up to the offices nearly impossible. It also meant that more often then not, one would ride on the elevator with other ShinRa personnel.
Reno ignored the way the mail people stared at him as they crowded together on the elevator. He leaned against the wall, wondering what they would do if he pulled out one of his guns and checked the clip. He rolled his eyes and stepped out of the elevator. The scuttles and whispers coming from behind him did absolutely nothing to distract the red head from the hallway itself.
Where the main offices had fake-wood floors, plastic plants and cheaper molding, this floor spared no expense. Real plants grew in expensive pots set on the woodreal woodfloor. A soft carpet adorned the hall, the same color as the ones on the floors below. It was like a parallel dimension where everything was simply nicer.
It did little to make Reno feel welcome; he had no idea how to act around Rufus, and little urge to do anything less then choke him to death after the way he threatened Suzanna. Unconsciously, Reno clenched his fists. By the time he realized he was doing it, his hands were sore. Looking down at his white knuckles, Reno finally figured out why Turks wore fingerless gloves.
There was no more time for stalling. Reno took a deep breath and pushed open the door leading into Rufus ShinRa's office. There was a very pretty woman at the desk; brown hair with expensive highlights of red was worn in loose curls around her face. Her smile was as fake as the plants on the first floor. She swallowed nervously and pointed to the door. She seemed afraid to speak to him without being spoken to first. Reno didn't feel like making friends at the moment and he simply pushed open Rufus' door the same way he had the one preceding it.
Rufus was writing. He leaned over the massive redwood desk, resting his head in a hand. A yellow strand of hair fell along his finger, the one part of his appearance near disorder. He appeared to have not noticed Reno, but the new Turk didn't really know if he should simply sit down on the chair or wait where he was. After a moment, Reno opted to just stand.
Rufus looked up finally, tossing the pen back into the holder with a sigh. "Well, you're much more quiet then the last time we met, Reno." The blond man stretched, pushing his chair back to stand. "You don't have to pretend you like me, just do your job."
Reno blinked a bit. "Ah, sir?" The sheer bluntness of the statement almost distracted Reno from realizing that Rufus was the only person in ShinRa who was calling him by name, not addressing him as "Turk."
The snap that resounded from Rufus closing his sawed off shotgun failed to draw Reno's attention from the Vice President of ShinRa. Rufus used the weapon to motion to his desk. Sitting on the corner was a paycheck, complete with a fresh signature from one, Rufus Alex ShinRa. Reno picked up the check while Rufus tucked his gun under the folds of his coat. The sum on the check wasn't at all what Reno had expected. 40,000 gil should have felt much more heavy. At Reno's still confused face, Rufus elaborated. "Your father was a Turk, that would be yours, death benefit."
Mistrusting, Reno didn't say anything, his eyes flitted up to Rufus and then down again.
Rufus continued, it seemed even for his lack of caring, he didn't mid talking. "You do have a child to take care of."
At the mention of Suzanna, Reno's eyes settled on Rufus. "What are you playing at?"
Rufus almost smiled, though it was difficult to say if he was amused or not. "I don't play at things, I do them. Your job is to answer to me, no one else. Your job will give you the ability to send your daughter say, to college? Perhaps pay for a wedding later in her life. And, your job is singularly dependant on me being alive and well. Are we totally clear?"
Blue eyes narrowed as Reno tucked the check into his back pockets. Sick as it sounded, he understood completely. Do the job, do it without hesitation and without question. There was nothing else required of him. Putting too much thought into something like that was far too risky.
Keeping all of what he was learning in mind, Reno glided along beside Rufus, just a half step behind him. He didn't bother to look at much, all the hallways were the same and the people were not really worth his attention. That was, at least, until a large man loomed in front of them. He wasn't built like Rude was, though he certainly wasn't a pushover. "I know what you are doing. Putting those attack dogs of yours into places that just 'happen' to go vacant." He pushed a finger into Rufus' face.
Blue eyes drifted over to Reno for a split second. It was understood. Reno reached out and grabbed the man's wrist, with his newly enhanced speed; he didn't have any trouble craning the arm back, forcing the man to his knees.
"Hey, man, back off! Let me go!" The executive protested. Reno could feel the man's palm start to sweat.
Rufus crouched, brushing a bang out of his face though it fell back into his eyes. "Yes, I'm putting Turks into executive positions after having the original people assassinated. What exactly do you intend to do about it?"
The man's eyes went wide. He stopped moving altogether.
Reno was glad the two were looking at each other, Rufus' blunt honesty made him gape jaw too.
The man twitched in Reno's grip, his jaw working furiously. "You- you wait, I'll…"
Rufus stood up, causing the man's voice to drift off. Once again he nodded to Reno, who let the man go. "Go do your damn job, I've other things to attend to." With that, Rufus turned on heel, and Reno had no choice but to follow.
"I want you to trail him for a few nights." Rufus muttered in the elevator. "Don't do anything, just let him see you a few times, get into his apartment once or twice and move things around or leave a bullet on the dresser of his bedroom, take a picture of his wife or something, you don't need to keep it, just remove it. I want to make sure he knows just who he is dealing with."
Reno couldn't help but smirk then. He got to play head games with Executives? No one informed him of such perks.
Joy was short lived, however. The moment they set foot on Hojo's floor Reno could feel a chill up his spine. Everything inside him was begging him to run away. The voice only got louder as he neared Jenova's chamber. Little hairs along his arms stood uncomfortably on end, the muscles of his back tensed as Rufus opened the door.
Perhaps it could be attributed to Hojo standing there, rubbing his hands with sadistic glee, though Reno doubted even Hojo could make him feel the way he felt at that moment.
Two SOLDIERs seemed to share a bit of Reno's discomfort as they stood next to the wall. Though they were more obviously afraid of Hojo and the mood Rufus would present himself in. They both focused on the white suited VP and tried to look larger and more sufficient then they were.
Reno, however, was only concerned with one thing. The voice he kept hearing in the tank. No one else even moved to the harsh woman's voice. It was something that trembled with contained power, quivering like a wire about to snap on a piano. There you are again, little one.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Reno clenched his fist and made himself determined to ignore the voice. This seemed to displease Jenova.
It's been so long since someone who could hear me didn't fall to worship me. Dirty blooded thing you are, you hear me. Filthy creature, enemy of my people…
Now he was making a pointed effort to pretend that Jenova did not exist. She continued to rant about dirty blood, and Reno continued to convince myself he was not hearing voices.
There was one like you here before, she is gone now. The General is not like you, he can be manipulated. You are dirty! I know you are there! I shall make you respond to me. Then the pounding started.
Finally, everyone in the room moved. The SOLDIERs fanned out, blinking at the tank. Hojo's eyes went wide, a grin split his face. The man almost trembled with glee. Rufus was more analytical then anyone else in the room. While every fiber within Reno told him to run for his life while he could, Rufus moved closer, inspecting the door.
What came next happened so fast that Reno didn't understand what he had done till after it the fact. The door of Jenova's tank burst open, flying off the hinges. At the same moment, Reno's hand gripped Rufus by the collar of his suit and hauled backwards. The blond VP and Reno both toppled to the ground.
The force from the door being opened was enough to lodge it into the wall. Rufus flipped up to his feet as soon as his back hit the ground, Reno was next to him in the next breath. Both men drew weapons, and aimed them at the tank. Then she came out.
There was something beautiful about her, the way the mako lit her very veins and glowed from in her pores. She was more terrible then beautiful Reno had one word- horrific. His chest rose and fell in ragged gasps, it was like Reno was being strangled by her mere presence.
Hojo backed up, bowing as though the monster was some vengeful goddess. She let out a roar of sorts from her mouth and barked in a grating, unknown tongue. See me now? Now I shall have your attention! Your dirty blood!
It stepped forward, throwing a bit of the tank in Rufus' direction. Rufus dodged with little effort, ducking under the scrap and snapping back to a standing position with his gun ready. "Get it under control now Hojo, or I will put it down."
Hojo didn't move until Rufus started his nod to Reno. He waved his arms, pleading for Rufus to put his weapon down. Jenova, still screaming, started a lunge.
"Open fire." Rufus ordered.
It took four clips from Reno and another seven slugs from Rufus to halt the monster. Hojo sped to her side, injecting her with something and muttering in the same tongue that she used. It sounded suspiciously like "mother". White coats flooded the room, all of them ushering Jenova back to her holding tank. Hojo stood, starting to yell, but Rufus beat him to it.
He pointed to the SOLDIERs. "You two outside!" He glared at them until they scuttled to the door. "Reno, go with them." He said, so they could hear him as they left. "I want them in that hallway, not near the door or leaving. If they try, you have permission to use lethal force. Understood?"
The SOLDIERs' faces showed more fear in that moment then they had when Jenova had crossed the room. Reno only nodded and followed them out.
Once away from Rufus, the two chattered. "Did you see that? Jenova attacked Rufus! Right there! I wonder what he will do?"
Reno felt a wave of relief that made him weak in the knees. It would make sense for the monster to talk to Rufus like that. Rufus had been injected with mako and lord knows what else since before he was even born. Maybe not everyone could hear her, that would be understandable, and Hojo seemed to want to screw with Reno as much as possible. The red head could have laughed.
He leaned against the wall, lighting a cigarette. It was then that another white suited man appeared from nowhere. He leered at Reno through lashes that were long enough to be on a whore. "You can't smoke here!"
The scientists were starting to remind Reno of ants, the way they crawled out of nowhere. He let two jets of smoke shoot out of his nose. "Says who?"
With an audible swallow, the man backed up. "Ah…well… It's in the building commission…"
Reno took a long drag, waiting to see if the man would say more. When he didn't he responded with a curt, "that's nice, I don't give a fuck." With that, the man disappeared to wherever he came from.
It was then that the two SOLDIERs turned to speak to Reno. "Yer the new Turk then?" One asked, puffing out a thick chest in a half hearted attempt to seem threatening.
"It appears that way." Reno growled in a bored tone.
The second one laughed, seeming more at ease then his larger companion. "Calm down Brison, of course he's a Turk, what else moves that fast?" He slapped the man on the shoulder. "Nice save, sure as hell wouldn't have been my first move, saving Rufus like that. Never fails to amaze me how loyal ya'll are to him."
Reno raised an eyebrow at that. He had saved Rufus, on instinct it seemed. Though it wasn't really Rufus the person Reno was looking out for. It was Rufus, the man that single-handedly held he life of the one thing he cared about in the balance, that Reno cared about. Though it wasn't something Reno felt like discussing with two strangers. So he just shrugged.
So what if they thought he was an attack dog? Loyal dogs get treated well, it was all that mattered.
It was hours later when Reno finally tossed the book on human decomposition across the Turk office, it bounded off the wall and slid under Tseng's desk, and there it could rot as far as Reno was concerned. He picked a bit at the Wutain take-out box still on his desk with a frown. He'd picked all the mushrooms out, and really didn't care for beans that much.
Tseng's unoccupied desk had a similar folded box atop it. With a smirk Reno switched the two boxes and used his chopsticks to sort through the contents of Tseng's dinner for everything that he liked. He was still fishing out chunks of beef when Tseng walked back in the room. Reno looked up, chopsticks in his mouth.
He could tell that the Wutain was counting backwards from ten to himself when he sighed and closed his eyes. "Reno… are you by chance, eating my dinner?"
"I was just…ah… trading?"
Rude walked in behind Tseng, lifting one of his dinner boxes to check if the flap was secured.
The dark haired Turk snatched the box out of Reno's hands and peered in. "You little shit, you ate all my mushrooms."
Reno offered up the sprouts and beans he had left behind in his own box. "Trade?"
"Eat Rude's food!" Tseng quipped, though he did take the offered box and dumped it into his own.
Reno and Rude shared a look and then Reno turned back to Tseng. "Dude, I like breathing way too much to touch that man's dinner."
Tseng almost smiled, sitting the box back on his desk with a sigh. "Come on Reno, you've finally been approved for active duty and you are going on a job."
Reno blinked, but walked back to his desk and attached his nightstick to his belt, and loaded the three death penalties with new clips. "Ah, doing what?"
"You, myself and Scarlet are going to go and get some security tapes from the Don's. He thinks he's smarter then Rufus, and it is starting to piss Rufus off."
Don Edgar Ashon Corneo. Reno never really got over his hatred of the man. Every time he thought about him his hair stood on end. He'd made the point very clear that there was probably still a price tag on his head from Corneo, but Scarlet shrugged it off. Automatically, Reno took the backseat of the car, all three of them lit cigarettes at the same time.
Tseng cleared his throat, then began briefing. "This shouldn't be hard, we just need to get in, get a few things and get out, nothing else. However, it's very important that the people there treat us as boss, don't take any shit from anyone, I don't care who they are. When we are in that manor, we are in charge."
"Righto." Reno said around the cigarette. He didn't say anything, but it would be really nice to tell that fat bastard exactly what he thought of him, even nicer to smack him around a bit; if of course, he wouldn't have gotten off on it. He did have a few questions, even though they weren't solicited, he asked them anyway. "Ah, no offence, Scarlet, but wouldn't Rude have been safer to take along?"
"Are you thinking I can't take care of myself Reno?" She asked, puffing on a long, slender cigarette.
Reno realized she carried a case and there was no branding on the paper. So she rolled her own cigarettes, something was really familiar about that. "Naw, it ain't that, it's just you're ah, you know female."
She smiled, though there wasn't much humor behind it. "Wrong Reno, I'm a Turk. We don't have a gender. But, I'll answer the questions, just this once. From here on in, never ask them again unless it is on how to do what is asked of you. Details are given if they are needed."
Leaning back, Reno nodded, he hated feeling young and new to anything but he did. The suit seemed to choke him and he still felt as though there were things he should know right off the bat.
"Reeve used to work in what one could politely call personal entertainment. Though he never did work for the Don, it means that the fat asshole rarely can resist jabs below the belt. It's easier not to send him. And Rude's worked nonstop for the past three weeks, he's earned a night off. So here I am."
"Here we are…" Reno echoed, falling silent.
Tseng was leading the way tonight, even though he was still very new to it, Reno couldn't tell. If he hadn't known that Reeve and Scarlet were just now fazing out of the Turks, he'd have thought Tseng was always the leader. Clean cut and no nonsense, it worked well getting them in the door. The bouncers didn't even speak, they moved out of the side, snapping to attention to let the Turks pass. Though Reno could tell they were watching him with some mixture of shock and fear out of the corner of their eyes. They knew who he was.
Good. Then they wouldn't be pushing their damn luck.
Whores peered out from behind their doors, the women that usually lounged seductively about the front fountains sat up and peered at them. One could tell they would have loved for Tseng or Reno to wave at them, the lust these women had for power was almost tangible. Reno was amused by the sneers a few gave in Scarlet's direction. They were jealous of her, even now.
She was rare, Scarlet. It took him most of the ride to the Don's but Reno suddenly realized who she was. Scarlet, she was a pharmacist, not just any regular pusher; she made the never duplicated Red Bombshell. A drug that was smooth, addictive, and could be mixed with anything, people still were trying to make it. The Red Bombshell was a downer, perfect to shoot up before crack or meth, it tempered the coming down. When it was paired with booze or another downer, it extended the buzz, and taken alone, it could make the whole world go away.
Scarelt had been the Red Bombshell, she'd been power without being a whore, without being in a gang, all on her own. And now, she belonged to ShinRa.
Tseng didn't bother to announce them to the scantily clad male receptionist. The young man, who had to have been a little bit uncomfortable in the leather get up, blinked but didn't call them back.
Rufus' office was a polar opposite to the Don's office. Reno couldn't help making a grunt at the smell. The mixture of expensive foods, cheap booze and Alexander knew what body fluids made him gag. The Don had not been writing, his back was turned, and he appeared to be looking at the many monitors that covered the wall of his messy office. From the shuffling of his shoulders before the Don turned around, Reno guessed he'd been doing more then watching.
Shock passed into a defiant glare then back to shock. "Well, I'm seeing red. First Bombshell and now the one and only Red Wolf." He leveled a look at Reno. "Thought you told me you'd never whore yourself out, Wolf?"
Tseng snarled and lit a cigarette, drawing Corneo's attention. "Shut up. We are here for your payment and for the tapes you shorted us last month. Hand them over or we go to the ShinRa building and have a chat."
The Don flinched, but spun around, again in his chair and moved to a plush couch. Reno could distinctly hear the word "wute" in his mumbled cursing, but it was easiest not to mention it.
Tseng took the bags and handed one to Scarlet and one to Reno. "Is this all?"
The fat pimp swallowed twice. "Yeah, that's alla it."
Tseng looked over his shoulder to Scarlet who shook her head. He looked back over to Corneo. "I have decided that I do not believe you." He then made a motion, pointing his finger down to the floor, prompting Scarlet and Reno to drop the bags. "In fact, I also don't care for your tone, and while I am on the topic of things that I don't like, this place is a disgusting mess."
Anger flushed Corneo's face an ugly red. "And what are you going to do about it?"
"Well, first we are going to search through this place till I am satisfied. And then, well, I'm sure Reno can think of something creative…"
Reno let out a short "heh" before answering. "Oh yeah, I can be very damned creative when I like someone. And I hate this fat pig."
Tseng smiled at the Don's suddenly terrified look and then pivoted. "Right, Scarlet, take the downstairs store room, Reno, upstairs storage, I'll stay here-" he dropped his burning cigarette to the velvet carpet, it caught fire immediately, and when Tseng's boot rose from the place, there was an ugly scorch mark the size of Rude's fist staining the ground.
Reno could tell Tseng was changing the screens so he could watch Reno and Scarlet's backs while they worked. He felt smug as he strode out of the room. Scarlet smiled at him and gave him a wink at the stairs. He nodded in return and started up. The third floor smelled just as bad as the rest of the place, but at least the air moved more freely. He "accidentally" broke countless things in the storage room while he searched for any tapes. A small box of them was all he was rewarded with.
Thankfully it was right next to a box full of rather expensive light fixtures, all made of a crystalline substance. Reno snapped his arm out, banging the box of fixtures with his fist and sending it to shatter on the floor. "Oops! I am so horribly clumsy! Silly me." He tossed the box from one hand to the other and laughed, remembering to flip off the camera afterwards. "I may like this job yet."
The next few weeks passed with little worth mentioning. Though Reno was finally getting the hang of things, he still asked too many questions according to the others.
Trigger was happily adjusted, thankfully. It was strange, to be able to buy her things. The other Turks were fond of her as well. She'd be one year old soon, it didn't seem like so much time had passed. Had it really been over a month since he'd become a Turk?
The group had become accustomed to doing their paperwork at Reno's while trying to teach Trigger words. So far she had her own ways of talking to them. "Da da", was obviously Reno. "Ude" would come out on occasion if Rude was in the room, though usually she just made grabby motions for him to pick her up.
Reeve was constantly trying to get her to say something other then "paw" to him, and he told Reno very frankly he was no where near old enough to be anyone's grandfather. Reno laughed and disavowed all knowledge of who taught her to refer to him like that.
At least Scarlet didn't mind being called "Na".
"Tshe" was what she called Tseng. At first, Reno thought Tseng hated children, the Wutain shocked him by giving Trigger a blue plush dragon toy. She was immediately elated with it, and had taken to swinging the poor thing by its tail. Reno hoped it would hold, though Scarlet assured him she could sew the tail back on if it did come loose.
The tail was holding firm that day, even while the little child flapped the item across Reno's side. He had been lying next to her, reading. He snatched the dragon and pushed it at Trigger's stomach. "Why can't you be nice to things huh? His tail's gonna fall off, then wha-"
His door flew open, all of a sudden all the Turks were in his living room. There was something very wrong, for the first time, Reno could feel fear from them.
"Nibelheim just got leveled, Sephiroth..." Tseng shook his head. "Get dressed Reno, we have to sort this out fast."
Scarlet yelled after him, though he barely heard it. "I'll watch Trigg."
He knew very well Trigger would be fine with her, for once he had someone else to worry about. He hadn't wanted her to get involved. Reno didn't even call her, he wanted her to forget about him. What if now something happened because he hadn't warned her?
For once, Reno didn't want to ask questions. He only wanted to get there and find Tifa.
A/N: I am sorry for the long space between chapters. I hope this nice long one makes up for the delay. I just got my first out of college job, and the hours were really taking a lot of getting used to. I'm back now, don't fret and I will update every week if I can, no less then every two.
Thank you all for the support and for reading, till next chapter
Kas.