Left Behind
A Story in the Turks of Midgar Arc
Chapter 9 – Turks
There were always at least three Turks, and never more than four. That was the way it had been since the beginning. Each Turk, if they lived long enough, would be captain eventually. The average lifespan for a working Turk was about six years. Jesse had been a Turk for five years when the order to kill her was given. She'd been the Turks' bomber for five years before that.
The Turks Jesse had worked with had been Tseng, Michael and Erin, with Jesse as second-in-command. She had been listed in Shin-Ra's files as the third greatest Turk in history, behind Vincent Valentine and Kisaragi Tseng, given her incredible abilities.
Turks train for a year or more just to be considered rookie level. The training was harsh and out of the thousands that attempted it every year, only one or two passed. Suffice it to say that Turks training wasn't like any other training on the Planet; no other program ordered you to kill everyone else in the program as your final exam.
The Turks were commonly called "the demons in blue" by the common folk of Midgar, and it was a name they deserved. Jesse loved her son more than anything, but she still set the bombs that took the lives of dozens of children. Jesse had been a vital part of the Turks; Tseng had depended on her to make sure things went smoothly, to keep the rookies out of trouble. She had never failed a mission, never failed to follow an order from Tseng.
She had a tendency to disregard orders from any but Tseng, since she felt that the Shin-Ra higher-ups hadn't been in the field, they had no right to make decisions. It was quickly becoming apparent how much Tseng had needed Jesse's help. She had been the perfect second-in-command, the independent thought processes of an officer, with the soldier's obedience. She was clever and ruthless and Tseng wanted nothing but to...it wouldn't do to get into that now that she was gone, Tseng thought to himself.
He was sitting on a soot-covered rooftop, picking out the patrol patterns of the security guards for a rival energy company. He set his sniper rifle down and lit a cigarette, much the way Jesse did. He sat back and sighed wearily. With only three of them for this job, it would be hard. He and Jesse had spent months planning this, hours pouring over maps and going through pack after pack of cancer sticks. The bomber on loan from SOLDIER wasn't half as good as Jesse; the poor fool was afraid of his own explosives. He was the best they had though, and Tseng paused to consider that perhaps Jesse had simply been reckless and wild.
He let a small smile touched his lips before blanking his expression. She had been reckless...even though she had a son to protect and care for, she was still willing to dance on the knife edge of death on a whim. But that was why he'd loved her so. Vincent had told Tseng to take care of Jesse before he disappeared. The man had known of Jesse's adoration, but hadn't been able to return the feeling.
That didn't stop you from getting drunk and sleeping with her, Tseng thought with a long cherished anger. His musing was interrupted by Erin, his new second. She was a small woman, fine boned and delicately curved, as stubborn and wicked as Jesse had been clever and cold. They were much alike, though Erin was slightly younger and still refusing to give in to the pain and despair she knew the world held for her.
"Boss, Michael and the new kid are in position." She paused, a flicker of all too perceptive mischief in her amber-colored eyes. "Since Ol' Blasty Britches isn't here, how are we going to do this?"
"What do you think of the new bomber? Think he can handle the plan we had?" Tseng chuckled at Erin's nickname for Jesse. The two had been incredibly close friends, and he knew that she had the same suspicions about Jesse's "death" that he did.
"I think he'd be more likely to blow himself up than the building. The man's terrified of us, so much that he's already needed to piss twice." Erin paused, flipping her long dark braid over her shoulder. "I think we should send somebody in through this access point, and then..."
She leaned over the blueprints with Tseng, making a new plan and resisting the urge to look over her shoulder and comment to someone who wasn't there. The unspoken vow between Erin and Tseng hovered around them as they prepared to take the building. They would find out what had happened to Jesse, and they would either see her safe or see who killed her dead.