Whee, someone likes my little story enough to put it on their list! Thanks KK!!
Vinchaos... aww come on, write?
Me no own, ok?
Chapter five: Politics.
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Reno yawned and tried so very hard to stay awake. Rude had told him yesterday that no matter how funny it seemed, Tseng would still punish them for injecting Palmer's donuts with a strong laxative. The red-head just hadn't thought the punishment would be this severe: having to accompany the president to a board meeting. He did get some pleasure out of watching Palmer's pained squirming, but it got old pretty soon, and besides that and Scarlet's cleavage there wasn't much to keep him interested. He didn't know how Rude managed it... maybe the bald man was actually asleep behind the sunglasses, or then he was listening to music through his earplug.
Scarlet and Reeve were practically at each other's throats over the last year's budget surplus and whether it would go to Junon's cannon or Sector Five. And even though he had a good view of her ample bosom, Reno wished they'd just shut up and end the meeting. An elbow nudging his ribs brought the Turk out of his thoughts, and Rude leaned closer.
"Hojo." Reno knew his friend well enough to know that the one word actually meant 'check out the professor, he's acting even weirder than normal'. He shifted his eyes to look at the scientist, who had been silent through most of the conversation. Hojo did look especially odd, the skinny man was staring at the table, fidgeting with his pen and looking way too pleased with himself, if anyone asked him. Reno brightened up immediately, trying to find a way to sneak behind the professor's back to take a peek at his notes without looking suspicious. The Turk knew that Hojo's favourite project, Sephiroth, was away on a mission, but usually the man was a bundle of nerves at those times. Reno didn't know if the professor was actually worried that the most powerful Soldier in existence would somehow meet his death in the hands of a vicious cappawire or something or if he was just pissed because he couldn't use the General for experiments.
The ringing of a PHS quieted the whole room suddenly, and everyone turned from the Scarlet & Reeve -show to stare at Hojo, who searched the pockets of his white labcoat, looking surprised. Reno watched with overflowing curiosity as Hojo's eyes went wide and face paled after he had listened for a while.
"You... you idiots! When I get my hands on you, boy, you'll wish your grandfather would have been neutered at birth!" Hojo slammed the small device to the table and turned to face Shin-Ra.
"Mr. President, we need to have a private word. Now."
The change from happy-Hojo to lunatic-Hojo was so disturbing in a curious way that Reno was actually sorry when the President ordered everyone except the professor and himself out of the conference room. They were all so creeped out by Hojo that no one objected. Palmer was already out of sight when the Turks closed the doors behind themselves, and Scarlet and Reeve had resumed their debate. As soon as they disappeared behind a corner, followed by Heidegger, Reno grinned and punched Rude lightly on the arm.
"Come on, I need to take a piss."
Rude slowly turned to stare at him, through the dark glasses. "...and you need me to hold your hand?"
"Just come on, you'll like it!" He dragged the taller man towards the toilets and into one of the cubicles. A man who was washing his hands gave them an odd look, but seeing their Turk uniforms decided not to make any smart comments and left quickly.
Rude watched, puzzled, as Reno stood up on the seat and tried to open the crate above it. "What are you doing?"
"Haven't you ever noticed how bad it sometimes stinks in the conference room?" Reno muttered, still fighting with the crate.
"...I thought that was Palmer."
"Heh. Not all of the time. Man, you're a Turk, you should know these things! This here ventilation shaft takes us straight above the Prez and the prof." Reno himself hadn't been a Turk for long, he was the newest one, but the first thing a Turk needed was the ability to blend straight in and learn the ways of the house. That and to dodge bullets.
"...and how did you find out about this?" Rude asked, intrigued by the whole thing, even though he didn't show it. Reno finally managed to open the crate and looked down on him.
"Well, Zax told me. He noticed it first. Give us a push."
Rude shrugged and pushed the rail-thin man up with such strength that Reno almost went through the roof of the shaft. The red-head crawled along a bit and turned towards the opening. "Coming?"
"No."
"Okay..." '...wouldn't have fitted here anyway, fat-ass...'
Crawling along quietly, Reno was soon above the conference room, and laid down on his stomach to watch the show. He absent-mindedly wished he'd brought snacks.
Shin-Ra was still sitting at the head of the table, but Hojo was walking around nervously, ranting and raving. "Why wasn't he sent alone?! The damned buffoons sent with him ruined everything!"
"Hojo, calm down. I do not decide on these things, it's Heidegger's business. What was so important that only Sephiroth should have witnessed it?"
Hojo stopped, threw his hands around and started on a few sentences before finally finishing one. "If he would have been sent alone, he would have completed the mission without problems, found the notes I needed him to find in order of my plan, and fulfilled it! He was doing just that, but since he wasn't there alone, his companions went around my laboratory and freed two extremely dangerous specimens who burned down all of Nibelheim!"
Now that got a reaction out of the President, Reno noticed with a grin. But it didn't take a genius to figure out that this meant trouble. Maybe not for him, but for someone. "...damn..." he muttered when he realized that the Soldier sent to accompany Sephiroth to Nibelheim was no other than his friend and regular drinking buddy Zackery Lindeman. Frowning, Reno moved a bit to get a better view of the room.
"All of it? What about the people?"
'Bollocks, Prez, that's Reeve's line, don't try to pretend like you care...'
"My assistant informed me that the survivors left towards Rocket Town. They seem to be under the impression that it was Sephiroth and his companions who burned the town."
"We can't have that, that'll lay the blame on us. Hojo, what do you intend to do?"
"Telling them the truth, that the fire was started by one of our experimenting specimens, isn't going to help our case either..."
"YOUR specimens, Hojo."
"...my specimens. They need to be terminated, or captured and brought back to the laboratory. They are dangerous and unpredictable. My assistants are already trying to locate them."
"Hmm. We have to find a way to turn this around, to make the company look like the saviors. Someone will have to be officially blamed for this. The specimens or Sephiroth?"
Reno didn't know whether he should be relieved or worried that Hojo actually had to think on that. This whole deal was starting to sound too serious for his likings. He'd have to tell Tseng, even if the President didn't want anyone to know the truth. He'd have to tell Tseng.
"...may I suggest that we send troops and food and all the mundane things to the survivors, and assure them that we're taking care of everything. Blame the specimens, but call them monsters, created by the reactor. Capture Sephiroth, alive, he's the most important of them all. The specimens may be wasted, and the Soldiers should be silenced. My Sephiroth will understand the importance of keeping his mouth shut, but the others might not be as wise. If we do this quickly, the rumours that Sephiroth burned the village will not spread too far, we'll be seen as saviors, and I'll still have a chance to fulfill my plan with the General."
"...you bloody bastard..." Reno hissed quietly, even though he had to admire the professor's speed of thought a bit. The President seemed pleased and the red-head left them to think about the details, knowing that he would soon hear them from Tseng. But before that, the leader of the Turks should know the truth.
He crawled quickly back towards the toilet and jumped out. Rude had left the cubicle and was watching the door.
"Anything interesting?"
"...fuck me, that was some deep shit, man... come on, we have to get to Tseng, pronto."
Rude shrugged and followed the younger Turk out.
A.N: Sorry it's so short, hope it wasn't complete bull...
EXTRA:
Reeve and Scarlet stopped in front of the elevator and glared at each other.
"We have to come to some sort of conclusion here." Reeve said and pressed the button.
Scarlet crossed her arms across her sizable chest and pouted. "We can't split it, there's not enough for that..." She reasoned as the elevator pinged and the doors opened. They stepped in, he pressed a button and they turned to look at each other again.
"So, what to do..." She mused and looked at him, up and down. Then again, more slowly. Reeve was starting to feel very uncomfortable under the scrutiny, and started to pray for a way out when the woman licked her lips suggestively. "There is only one way..."
But the gods were not looking in his direction just then, and Reeve could only back against the wall of the elevator as she stepped closer and pushed her hand between her breasts. What a cleavage, he had to wonder, as he had once seen her pull out a semi-automatic gun from the very same crevasse. "...and that is..."
This time, she pulled out a...
...a deck of cards?
"STRIP POKER!! KYA HA HA HAAA!!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"