Hi. This is a shorter chapter than the rest, merely because of the fact that I'm trying to get little sections done at a time. It might increase the detail that I usually am so bad at. So, R&R!
Rude frowned. The expression seemed to be worn by him more those days than an actual blank stare or a smile. "Where could he have taken him Rude? There's blood on the floor, his clothes are bunched up in the corner. What do we do if he's dead?" Elena seemed to be freaking out too much in the past few days, something Rude was getting worried about.
The large man reached out and snagged her shoulder, shaking her gently. "Calm. Turks are calm, Elena. Calm down and we'll find Reno. He's a smart kid, he wouldn't have just gone with him blindly without leaving a trail. He's street smart like that. There's got to be something around here to indicate where he was taken, if he was left conscious when they 'escorted' him out." Rude released Elena and stared around at the scene. The blood-stained kimono in the corner let Rude know that something major had gone down. The pool of blood in the floor indicated that there was a struggle, or at least something similar to one. He leaned down to look at the blood that pooled there. The quivering pool was almost gelatin-like in structure, indicating that there was a high amount of mako in it. "This is Reno's blood, I can almost guarantee you." Indeed, as the sunlight shimmered through the hole in the roof of the warehouse, it seemed to make the blood shine a bit more than a normal liquid would. "There was a huge struggle."
Rude stood up, walking toward the kimono that lay in the corner. He picked it up by the collar, the full length of it displaying a streak of red that saturated the waist-line down to the hem of the garment. "He either knifed him or raped him. Or either this is a set up. I know this is Reno's blood, too." He dropped the kimono, moving toward the belt. Picking it up, he started to examine the edges of it. "Cut, like with a switchblade. The guy definitely knows that Ren is a guy now unless he gave him clothes to change into and left him alone. Chances are, he knows. I just don't know if we're going to find him alive now."
Elena stared at him. "But wouldn't he have left the body here had he killed him?"
The bald man shook his head. "This guy is smarter than that. I guarantee you, if Reno is dead, he's either in the ocean or he's buried somewhere. I'm not ready to give up on him just yet, though. I know the kid's got a lot of fight in him, and I just don't want to believe that Reno would've let him knife him or rape him without putting up a larger struggle than the evidence indicates. Maybe the guy's saving him for a ransom to ShinRa? I know that's what I would do. ShinRa would pay top money to get one of their main men back if one part of the company really suffered because he was gone. And it's going to suffer if Reno's gone."
"How so? It looks like they could get anyone to be a Turk."
Rude raised a brow behind his sunglasses at the question. "ShinRa hires us because they know that we can do the job and do it right." He started to pace around the blonde girl. "They know that we can do it quickly, accurately and we don't ask questions. It's hard to find people like that. The people on the streets of Midgar are the prime candidates for the Turks, but there aren't enough with common sense to actually be an asset. They would be more of a hindrance than a helping hand. We need people that are smart, but not too smart. Though most of us don't really question what we do, it takes a pro to do it and do it without conscience. That's why I'm not a leader of the Turks. I couldn't order my men to do what Reno orders us to do."
"He orders us? Hmph. The last order I got from him was last month."
"Last week, actually. Remember? Midgar is sinking and sinking fast. We aren't going to have a job in about three years, I would say. But anyway, he orders us to do these jobs without much thought to them. He doesn't have a huge conscience issue, because he was never taught right from wrong properly. Reno was taught Sector Three rights and wrongs. That's what ShinRa looks for. They don't see the consequences of their actions or they don't care. Right now, I'm thinking Reno's alive just because of the street training he's had for so long. Therefore, we need to start looking for him as soon as possible if we're going to keep him alive. Besides, he can't die. I've already promised him a bottle of Sake from the Turtle's Paradise." Rude smiled and dropped the belt of the kimono on the ground. He straightened his tie, then walked toward the exit of the warehouse, Elena in tow.
In Sector Two…
Reno glared at the ground as he listened to the ceaseless squabbling of street children and gang members. It was something he should've been used to, but the headache that was forming around his temples proved that he was not ready to go back to hearing it. Staring at the odd assortment of people, he leaned forward. The jeans, t-shirt and boots that the drug-lord had offered to him felt better against his skin than the silky kimono had. Hell, he'd even washed the makeup off. He looked like a normal guy again, much to his happiness. He watched the gang members parading around, waving knives and guns as they tried to bully the street kids in that sector into doing what they wanted them to. Reno rolled his eyes, leaning back again. It was hell when you couldn't even get away from a few shoddy gang members. If only the guy that had captured him would leave, he would be able to slip away.
The leader, whose name was Nicho Freeman, stood with his fat arms crossed, a non-caring glare toward the gang members. "Y'know, I'ma getting' tired of hearin' all that squallin' and catterwallin'. Just give the god damn kids the stuff and le's go. I got me someplace to be. Kids don' matter much as what I'm 'bout to unda'take." He started to move toward Reno, reaching out. He slid his hands in the poor guy's hair, causing a shiver to go up and down his spine again. "Ain't they tiresome, Beaut?"
Reno shot him a cold glare, the mako shimmering in the sunlight that filtered into the cracks in the top plate. He had to remember that it wasn't just pride he was fighting for. He was fighting for his life as well, therefore had to keep his tongue in check. "Yes sir."
"Tha's what I thought, hun. Keep your words real nice and purty like that and you might be doin' jus' fine." Reno was disgusted when the guy leaned down and kissed him for the third time that day. "Real real fine…"
His eye twitched as the guy turned away. Reno took the time to wipe his lips off, a frown settling over his face that simply could not be wiped away. He felt violated, tossed, jumbled and abused. Indeed, the ceaseless gropes, kisses and general displays of perverted affection were getting to him, unnerving him. He felt like being sick but there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. He was stuck there until Rude and Elena could rescue him from his private hell.
"Alrigh'. We headed outta here. Each and every one o' you little bas'ards needs to get up and get movin'. Get my wares and take 'em to the boat." Reno's world started to crumble around him. BOAT? "Heh. I got plans for you, Beaut. You gonna be my play-pretty. You got the weapons knowledge, you got the trainin', and you sure as hell got the face. Le's go." Reno's head started to spin as the guy snatched him up. That time he could not keep it down, the vile liquids rising in his throat as he thought about being lost forever to a perverted guy. He had no choice but to wrench away from Nich and be noisily sick at the edge of the area they had been sitting in. "Ah, poor baby. That dog don' hunt. Go help him, you dumbass." He shoved one of the younger gang members toward Reno, causing the girl to stumble.
Reno wretched over and over again, almost ready to pass out. He heard steps coming toward him, but he noticed it wasn't the limp canter of Nich. It was the paced steps of someone that could actually move well. The girl sauntered up to Reno and knelt down beside him. She placed a hand on his shoulder as he closed his eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Do you think I'm okay?"
"I know damn good and well I wouldn't be. Ugh, how can you stand that sorry bastard touching and feeling you?"
"Well when your life's on the line, you kinda make exceptions with the people that can gut you without a thought."
"Poor guy. My sister was the same as you, you know? She didn't make it through alive, though. It was almost like Nich had it out for her in the end, you know?" The girl had a glint of sadness in her eyes that Reno detected easily when he looked into her face.
"What happened to your sister?"
"She fought him. You don't fight the bastard; you let him do what he wants. Therefore, he's not going to hurt you. Just don't struggle and you should live. He only wants a cheap fuck and someone to push around. I'm afraid you've become his new play toy. I feel sorry for you, mister - uhm… What's your name?"
"It ain't no mister to it. Call me Reno."
"No last name?"
"Not that I can remember."
"Oh, you must be the Turk he was ranting about. I would've thought he'd have killed you instead of kidnapping you. You must've been on a mission?"
"Yeah, I was on a strange mission. I don't really feel like talking about it right now, you know?"
"That's completely understandable. So what do Turks do?"
He frowned. "We do whatever ShinRa wants us to do and pays us well to do. We don't discriminate, we hate everyone equally. How's that for feel-good emotions?"
Reno managed to get a small smile out of the girl. "It sounds pretty damn good to me. It's better than the gang that I'm in. It seems that every time we come into this sector of the slums we have to do something to the general population to piss them off more than usual." She frowned and lowered her head. "Sometimes I wonder if working for ShinRa wouldn't be just as bad, but then I remember that you only do select jobs instead of just bombing the whole fuckin' plate or other evil shit like that."
"Don't get me wrong, we've done some pretty evil shit."
"Oh, I don't doubt it for a minute. I'm just saying it probably wouldn't be as evil as some of the shit that they make us do."
"So what's your name?"
The girl offered Reno a smile. "Tasha."
"No last name?"
Tasha smirked. "Not that I can remember." Reno's eyes met with hers and they grinned at one another.
"'EY! GET'CHER ASS OVER HERE, BEAUT! I gots a job fer you now." Reno looked up at Nich, who stood there with a switchblade in hand, a sadistic look on his face. "Git up and come, baby-child. Come on, don' be shy of ol' Nich." Reno sighed and rose from where he was knealing next to Tasha, walking toward the bastard that would have him for Bahamut-only-knows long. The guy towered over Reno, the red-head having to stare up into the drug-lord's face. "Now son, I want'cha to come with me. Don' struggle, don' scream and don' think for a minute I won't kill your ass if'n you don' do what I want'cha to." Reno gagged at the mere thought of doing what he thought he was going to do all over again. It made him sick to his stomach, made him dive toward the edge of the area to get sick again.