Author's Notes: Today I was looking through my stats. And there seems to be a sudden influx of people enjoying my writing. Yay me.
Finally typing up this chapter. This chapter marks the halfway point I believe.
whatevergirl: Once more, thanks for the support babe. Keep it up.
Dark-Star-Mage-Mayhew: Welcome to my author's Notes. May I take your order? And Poor Poor Reno only gets worse.
This chapter involves a character you would NOT expect in a capacity that doesn't seem to fit all that well. That is why I love AU.
The Bartender
The Black Lotus, one of the most upscale bars in Midgar, is run by her. And who is she? Her name is Jessica, but all of her customers call her Jessie. That is right, Jessie. Only Wedge and Biggs dare to call her 'Jess', because the last guy that did ended up dead. That was how the bar name became, The Black Lotus instead of the original 'Lotus Flower'. Usually she had high end customers, but it is mainly due to her connections. See, about five years ago she was a Turk trainee. During a mission she was a little slow, and she got shot in the leg. She never walked the same again, but she was allowed to leave the Turks and open the only bar in town that the President, executives and Turks frequented, and it was considered high end for this. Other rich people came to try and rub elbows with the influential, but they were never as brave as her usuals, because her usuals feared no impaired Turk.
Jessie looked up from mixing a drink when a beep reached her ear from the listening device she wore. She wore two usually, one set to beep when the doors opened, and the other to listen into conversations. See, even though she was not a Turk, Jessie served as a spy specializing on the who's who of Midgar. All the big guys and gals are here once a week. But she had more to focus on, namely the voice and face and door.
"REEVE!" Jessie squealed happily before leaving her current work and running as best she could to jump into the waiting arms of the Turk. Reeve chuckled and swung her around a few times.
"Jess!" Reeve said, a smile upon his face. She knew the smile was forced, but she could sense some genuine happiness in the male. "Still doing well my dear?"
"Absolutely. You aren't due for another two days," she added in a whisper.
"Just taking the new guy out," Reeve said, stepping aside to reveal Reno to the woman.
"New Turk?" she asked and was amused as the red-head paled.
"No," the Turk said. "Jessica, this is Reno Tarshil, the new head of Urban Development. Reno, this is Jessica Resl, a former Turk of mine."
The brunette smiled and held her hand out to Reno, "Nice to meet you sir."
What Reno didn't see was the quick flickering of hands that was the Turk battle sign. Jessie asked, in this method, if Reeve was fucking Reno yet. She earned a glare in response.
"We would like a private table," Reeve said, meaning a table away from her microphones, or at least the ones she recorded and reported on.
'So,' Jessie thought, 'He wants to make sure the other Turks and executives don't hear this… Somebody must be quite of jealous of this Reno, or of Reeve.'
"Of course sir," Jessie said with a false grin. "Right this way."
"Former Turk?" she heard Reno whisper to Reeve. "I thought there were no former Turks."
"I got injured," Jessie happily provided and enjoyed how Reno jumped. "Permanent leg injury. I never knew enough to shoot me. But they made use of me here."
"Jessica has extremely sharp hearing," Reeve informed the executive.
"And yet some things never reach my ears. What happened to…" she trailed off.
"He attempted to kill me, and I disposed of the threat," Reeve spoke, voice icy like she knew during her time as a Turk on missions, but it seemed to unnerve the new executive with them.
"Foolish guy," she responded.
"It was all his fault," Reeve commented as she stopped and gestured to a small table.
"Thank-you Jessica," the lead Turk bowed and pulled out a chair for the red-haired male.
The female returned to her work soon, having plenty of order to fill and secrets to learn, but her eyes kept darting to her former and technically current boss. Reeve was acting oddly in her eyes. His gaze would rest upon Reno so long, his fingers brush against Reno's and there was a look in Reeve's eyes that she had never seen. She wasn't sure Tseng had even seen past the eternal hard ice in the emerald eyes that few recognized outside of the Turks and higher up SOLDIERs. Now they almost seemed soft, and genuinely so…
Jessie was so enveloped in watching Reeve and this Reno character that she didn't notice the two familiar figures enter the bar. But she did hear them in her ear from the microphones near them.
"We should work together on this Professor," the familiar silk of Tseng's voice came.
"Of course Turk," Palmer agreed. "I want that specimen, and before Reeve damages him."
The glass in her hands almost fell from her grip, but somehow Jessie recovered from the shock. Reno seemed so nice. She'd have to tell Reeve…
"Jessie," she heard in her ear, a gasp of her name from Tseng as if he'd just remembered.
"Shit," she swore and pulled out the earpiece before feedback shocked her ears from Tseng turning on a scrambler. Quickly the woman stomped on the earpiece so the sound of the feedback would not draw attention to her. She saw Tseng rising and moving towards her and she fled to the back room. Tseng would want the tape. So much information would be lost if he got the one he wanted. And only because he wanted to hurt an innocent young executive.
As she grabbed the tape and put in a clean one she let out a gasp. Tseng's hand gripped her wrist, his grip so tight that she winced.
"Give me that tape Jessie," Tseng growled.
"How dare you threaten me Tseng! You're supposed to be LOYAL to Reeve, and protect the new executive!" she hissed back at him.
"Just give me the tape Jessie," he spoke, his voice sweet and alluring, something trained into all Turks.
This only served to anger the female, "I taught you that you Wutain whore! It doesn't work on me!"
"But it distracts you," Tseng said before a blow to her neck knocked Jessie out.