~ Watch Me ~

The Suit's Request

The Turks – they were making their way over.

Zack and Kunsel were sullen, but Rose watched as they manoeuvred their way smoothly through the crowded club, seemingly unconcerned by the intoxicated bodies around them. She quirked a brow, reasoning that unlike her, it probably wasn't their first time there. The red head seemed far too at home, his gaze boldly moving over the room's many female occupants, keenly taking in the scene. His eyes eventually returned to their table, and he grinned, sauntering up to them as if he owned the place.

"Well hello, SOLDIER boys! Fancy seeing you here."

His smile was like a Cheshire-cat's grin, and Rose fought not to roll her eyes, realising that it was fast becoming an obnoxious habit of hers. Instead she took a sip from her god-awful drink, and this time tried not to choke. She failed.

"You think that's hard to swallow, you wait for what I've got to share." He noted, smoothly sliding into the seat beside her. "I'm Reno, by the way." He said, giving her an appreciative once over. "You must be Rose?"

Her eyes widened. "Errr, yes?"

She threw a 'what-the-hell' glance in Zack and Kunsel's direction, the latter of the two looking more than a little irritated. Clearly Kunsel didn't associate the Turks with anything good.

"What do you want, Turk?" He demanded, confirming her suspicion. "We were trying to have a nice drink."

To Rose's surprise, Reno cackled.

"Now, now, play nicely." He scolded playfully. "Otherwise we'll have to tell our boss, and he'll have to talk to your boss, and someone – not us – will end up with a spanking. Ain't that right, partner?"

"That's right."

Rose looked up at the shaded guy at Reno's shoulder. He hadn't said a word until that point. He'd just stood there, stiff as a board. Surely he can't see out of those sunglasses?

"His name's Rude. Sorry, he's not a big talker." Reno said, noting Rose's interest, and inciting a loud impatient huff from Kunsel across the table. If Reno heard, he didn't let on. "So, you're Angeal's sister, huh?" He ran his gaze over her slowly. "Not much of a family resemblance is there?"

"I think it's my lack of beard." She quipped lightly, giving him a subtle shrug. "It gets people confused."

Smiling, Reno opened his mouth to reply, but this time Zack cut him off, leaning over the table to make his point clearer.

"You mentioned your boss? Does this mean this isn't a leisurely visit?"

"In one, SOLDIER boy!" Reno grinned, snapping his fingers theatrically, before throwing Rose a distinctly disappointed glance. "Mores the pity."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Trust me, it wouldn't have made a difference. So, please, do share?"

"Well, princess, as you asked so nicely." He pulled out his phone, bringing up something she couldn't see on the screen, and smoothly re-pocketed it again. He sighed. "Little bird tells me, you guys are on the mission to safe-guard one of Shinra's Materia stores tomorrow night."

"So what if we have been?" Zack countered, folding his arms. "It's not like that's got anything to do with your department."

"Yeah, well, it just so happens that this time it does." Reno leaned back casually from the table. "Our re-con mission, was how Shinra managed to obtain the information about the planned theft, in the first place."

Rose tilted her head. "Okay. So what's going on... has something changed?" She couldn't understand what they were doing there. She understood she was new to Shinra, but surely it wasn't business as usual to do causal mission updates, in seedy downtown clubs?

Reno shifted, looking awkward for the first time since he'd entered the bar, and she started to suspect more that something was amiss. "It just so happens that we need a favour."

Her mouth formed an 'oh' shape, but across the table, Kunsel scoffed. "Lucky that you endeared yourselves so quickly to us."

"Yeah, yeah." Reno rallied, waving him off with little patience. "You going to let me talk, or be a little bitch about it? Besides, last I heard, this has nothing to do with you, buddy."

Kunsel hid his annoyance behind a smile, but shrugged the comment off. "Fine, by all means." He threw Rose and Zack a grated look. "I'll be up at the bar, come and get me after."

He left, dragging his half empty glass with him, and Reno chuckled, swiping his hair back roughly from his face as he glanced up at Rude. "Something I said?"

Rude shifted. "We best hurry this along – time's ticking."

Reno nodded. "True. Can't keep the boss waiting."

He turned back to Rose and Zack, looking as though he was weighing out the best was to impart his information, or at least the best way of imparting it, and getting them on side.

Rose threw a sideways look at Zack who shrugged, and slowly turned back to the suited redhead at her side.

"Look. Why don't you just tell us what it is you want us to do, and we'll let you know whether or not we want to help."

"Seems fair." Zack added, grabbing two beers off a passing barman, and handing one to Rose. He smiled lightly. "This one shouldn't burn your insides."

She smiled. "Appreciated." She took a swig – much better. "So." She nudged Reno lightly with her foot. "What is it?"

He gave another long drawn out sigh, and she fought the urge to kick him. "In a nutshell? We fucked up. One of the individuals taking part in this looting campaign, should not have become involved. We were given instruction to keep them away from it all."

"Why?"

"Because if they were to be captured or killed, it would compromise our final objective."

Zack leaned across the table. "And so you want us to what exactly? Let them get away?"

Reno shrugged, and Zack held back a frustrated laugh. "We can't do that! It would mess up our mission. Rose could fail her assignment."

Rose waved him down. "Hang on." Her brows knitted together thoughtfully. "So I'm guessing your boss doesn't know you've messed up, that's why you're here?"

"Not currently, no." Reno said, stealing her beer and taking a large entitled gulp. "But it won't be long. It would be nice to be able to reassure him, that the matter has since been resolved."

Rose snatched her drink back. "If it's just a case of fixing your error, why not just go through the proper channels? Lazard's a nice enough guy, I'm sure if you explained, then – "

"Ha, ha, haa!" Reno's hand dropped theatrically to his stomach, before throwing his head up at Rude. "You hearing this?" He turned back to Rose. "Wow, you really are green, aren't you, princess? That's not how Shinra works."

He continued to laugh, and feeling the heat rise tellingly to her cheeks, she furiously narrowed her eyes. "Then I hope you enjoy whatever crap you've got coming."

Rose made to stand up, but Reno's hand shot out, grabbing her arm. Across the table Zack stiffened, but Rose shook her head, not wanting the conversation to escalate, or needing him to fight her battles.

Reno cackled again.

"I'm sorry, princess, chill!" He grinned, sounding anything but. "Let me explain."

Rose snatched her arm free. "Fine. But stop calling me princess."

He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Whatever you say."

She glared, but waved for him to continue, and he chuckled.

"At Shinra you sort out your own messes, okay?" He said, jabbing the table pointedly with his finger. "The bosses don't want to hear about your fuck ups, they just want to know that the job is done. Got it?"

Rose risked a glance at Zack, and his expression more or less confirmed this piece of information. She wasn't ashamed to admit that it made her feel a tad uncomfortable.

He must have sensed her unease, because Zack took the moment to interject. "We're going to need more info than this. Who is it we would potentially be letting slip through the net?"

Reno brought his phone back out of his pocket, bringing up the information he'd had before. He clicked on an image. "Him."

Rose and Zack leaned forward. Staring up at them from the small screen was a boy no older than thirteen, his face still holding it's childhood roundness.

Rose shook her head. "But... he's just a kid."

"A child of one of our informants to be exact." Reno shrugged, sliding the phone away. "I think we can all guess how chatty someone would be, after finding out Shinra have their only brat locked away, doing god knows what to him."

Now Rose really felt uncomfortable. "But, wouldn't they be more lenient? He's only young."

"Maybe." Reno sighed dismissively. "But then this is Shinra. Kids younger than him have joined the war effort."

"I was only thirteen." Zack confessed softly, looking almost guilty for the fact. Her face must have said it all, because he added rather sheepishly "We are at war, Rose."

"But he's not from Wutai." She argued, not really knowing how she knew. Something in the way he looked? Her face whipped back round to Reno's. "Is he?"

He hesitated, and then shrugged. "...No."

"So this has nothing to do with the war?"

"Not all wars are about boarders, princess." He replied cryptically, the demeaning title only adding to her annoyance, as he slowly got up from the table. "You'll learn that with Shinra."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see." Reno replied smoothly, glancing at his watch. Obviously their time was coming to an end "So, guys... we got a deal? Obviously we'll owe you one in the future – goes without saying"

He spread his arms wide, his rusty gaze flickering feverishly between Zack and Rose, her companion looking more than a little unsure, as he took in her own torn expression.

Zack shifted awkwardly. "This could really risk you passing the assignment, Rose."

Nodding, she bit her lip, her mind whirring with the onslaught of information she'd received. "I know... but..." The boy's cherub-like face floated to the front of her mind again, and she looked fixedly at Zack. "Be honest, if the kid gets arrested, how bad is it going to be for him?" His silence said it all. "He's just a boy, Zack." She murmured softly, pushing her hair back nervously behind her ears. "Besides, technically, the mission is to ensure that the Materia remains safe, and not stolen. What's one runaway?"

Rose swallowed hard, seeing from Zack's subjugated sigh that the was going to agree with her, even though she could see that he really wasn't very happy with any of it.

"Looks to me like the lady knows what she wants." Reno slipped in slyly, confident he'd gotten the outcome he'd wanted, as he drifted back slowly from the table. "We'll touch base with you after, so don't you dare ghost us. And, err, good luck, champs, you've totally got this." He finished, sounding anything by peppy, as he gave them a half-hearted thumbs up. His enthusiasm, like him, had obviously left, and he gestured for Rude to follow.

Rose turned back to Zack and he sighed, hanging his head theatrically.

"I really hope you know what you're doing."

Rose didn't want to admit, but she hardly ever did.

R&R!

Ahh I'm so excited, traffic on this story has really picked up, and so many of you are now following! I'm glad you're liking it!

Hope you like the new chapter, and as always, if you can review, please do. It lets me know I'm doing things right/wrong.

If there's anything/anyone/scenes you'd be interested in seeing, then also please say, and I might be able to pull something in line with the story?

Take care x x