Mmmhmm. The booze was – were, rather; think hundreds – simply good…
Oooh… shiny white light…
"Reno!"
Eh? …So loud…
"Reno! Wake up!"
…Myrgh…
"WAKE UP!"
AAAAAWCH!
Reno jerked awake, quickly sitting up (he had been lying down on the same sofa as the night before) – only to grimace and lie back down again. Shit… his head was throbbing like it also had a heartbeat.
And damn those lights! Eh? Oh… damn the sun peering through the windows.
Freaking hangovers.
And, annoyed as he was, Reno told Elena to do something that she did not fancy to do with him. Of course that made Elena even more chagrined. (But that was after she had blushed furiously.) "There are kids in here! Seriously, Reno, don't you have any decency left?" she shrieked at the top of her voice.
Elena's shouting only made his headache ten times worse, so Reno decided to give her a piece of hell as well. So he opened one bleary eye and sported a Cheshire grin.
"Not since you took it from me, 'Laney," he replied, grinning like crazy. "Though, I ain't complainin', yo."
Seriously, if humans had boiling points, Elena was nearing it.
"Shut up," she growled. "The President wants us. Now."
Reno cackled, defying his terrific migraine if only to further annoy the junior Turk. "Oooh, threesome?! And with the boss man?! Kinky! Oh, oh, and do try not to scream so loudly this ti– mighty Odin's balls!"
Reno thrashed violently, screaming in agony as his beloved EMR found its way to… well, use your powers of inference to find out where.
After what seemed like an eternity (in truth it was only for three seconds) Elena stopped, leaving him down the sofa, crumpled like some battered old dog.
"Good. Now that you're up, awake and alert, let's go meet the President. Okay?"
Elena was smiling her most evilly sweet smile.
…
"Sir! Reporting for duty, sir!"
Elena saluted the President (who was standing up, facing the door like he had been expecting the Turks for some time) as she entered the guest room. It was a little overdone, yes, but very professional just the same. Rufus Shinra nodded in acknowledgement.
"Erm… whatever she said, Mr. Prez."
Reno, who entered next, slouching as usual, gave a sloppy salute, one as sloppy as his uniform (which was saying something; his polo was tucked out, his suit was unbuttoned, and the edges were horribly frayed… to name a few faults).
Speaking of professionalism…
"As you may know," Rufus began, pacing to and fro the large guest room like some military general briefing his troops. At that Reno started to nod, paying only half of his attention to the President of the Shinra Electric Company: his boss loved preambles; he did not. So he only caught a few words such as "kids" and "downtown" and "dangerous" and "I shall" and "with them" and "you" and "guard duty" and…
WHAT?!
The redhead looked like he had been shocked with his EMR once again as he raised his head to shoot a quizzical look at his boss. "Whaddya mean, 'guard duty,' eh?" he rejoined, sounding rather too rude (no, not Rude: rude) for an employee addressing his superior.
"I meant what I had said, Reno," Rufus snapped back. "We cannot risk the children to run dangers. It would be very bad for the company, for I do not doubt that Mr. Armante would not be pleased at all should–"
"Geez, they're not really that important, yo!" Reno exclaimed. (He did not see Rufus' eyes twitch.) "I mean, we do have more rich business partners than Mr. Armante – no offense to his wine an' all–"
"I've heard enough, Reno–"
"–so he's practically dispensable, right? And after all, Shinra's now doin' so well–"
"Enough, Reno!"
But it was not Rufus who had shouted the last order; it was Elena, who had seen the President's fists curl tightly, as if ready to strike. And, Mako-enhanced or not, Reno would have an angry Rufus Shinra to reckon with.
(If we may veer slightly off-track: Elena wondered where the President learned how to fight. He must have had a good teacher to fight one-handed with a shotgun – and while ill and in freefall, as demonstrated in his fight against Kadaj the Remnant, the story of which is told elsewhere.)
Reno was about to answer Elena scathingly when he caught a glimpse of Rufus' expression. It was… not pretty at all. So he decided to shut it.
Rufus' voice was hard-pressed to retain its usual calm, cold, distant quality as the man in white continued. "You shall do as I say. We are to give them a ride under the pretext of touring Junon's business district. Of course they would assume that, since the school is on the same route as ours, it would be practical for the children to ride in our vehicle. Understood?" And with that he shot Reno a glare that plainly meant that he would not take a 'no' for an answer.
"Y-yes, s-sir!" Elena complied, saluting again.
"Reno?"
The redheaded Turk hung his head in submission. "Yeah, yeah," he uttered quietly.
Just like the last time, when Reno tried to convince the President into postponing a visit. (Reno's nightlife suffered a lot during such visits.) Really, why was Rufus so touchy as far as the Armantes were concerned?
…
"Ergh, I can't stand all this girl talk," said the young boy, Lavender or whatever his name was, who was sitting at the back of Rufus Shinra's white limousine together with the President, Elena and his sister, the shy girl. The problem was that Elena had taken to discussing "school" (which actually meant boys and make-up policies) to the other female. "Can't ya speed up the ride, Reno?" the boy added, drawling as if immensely bored.
"Hey, it's Uncle Reno to ya, upstart," the Turk jibed back. Heh. He might as well try to make this "mission" as entertaining as possible. "And besides, I can't take this baby on a speedfest: the boss man'll get all pissed. Can't ya see the Prez caressin' his shotgun, yo?"
Which was true; indeed Rufus, as Reno had spotted out of the corner of his sharp eye, was spending most of his time in this trip studying his shotgun, which he had named Destined when it was built (customized and all) about ten years ago. Well, yeah, it looked a little funny – Reno could have sworn that the shotgun's handle was taken from a pistol and attached to the long barrel – but that was no reason to ogle at a weapon for that long, right?
Apparently the Armante first born shared the Turk's sentiments. "Why are you so intent on that gun, Mr. Shinra?" he asked, careful to be polite. With the President's face as serious as it was now, being polite was perhaps the wisest thing to do.
"It is a matter that I would like to keep to myself, Evander," Rufus replied curtly.
"W-well," the boy – oh, so his name's Evander; Reno forgot about that – stammered, "g-guess you've got y-your r-reasons, sir."
That made Elena laugh. "What's the matter, Evie?" she snorted. "You don't sound as cocky as usual. Oh, but don't worry; the President just has your safety in mind. That's what our presence is all ab– oh no. Oh no."
Great! Ya just can't keep your mouth shut, can ya, 'Laney? Reno's inner self growled. She hadn't changed a bit ever since she gave away Sephiroth's location to Cloud Strife five years ago.
Evander's eyes grew wide upon hearing that information.
Well, so did the girl's (her name was Jenara, by the way: from Jennifer, her mother; and from Arabella, her aunt).
But not because of that.
It was because a black van had suddenly appeared, cutting their vehicle off.
Reno only had a split second's warning. "GET DOWN!" he roared.
And then bullets rained down upon the limousine. And made their way through the shatterproof glass (which broke) and the steel-reinforced (which could have been made of tin for all the protection it offered) chassis.
"What the–?!"
However lame Reno's work ethics were when it came to periods of safety, the redhead was an excellent Turk should real duty (which meant fighting) called. "Get the kids to safety!" he spat at Elena. Having said that, he jerked the driver's car door open, – and thank Ifrit for his agility! – crouched catlike to dodge the bullets, and then rushed towards the people (sporting black attires and matching black masks) shooting from behind the van, swinging his EMR into life.
Rufus was in his element. He stood up with as much elegance as emergencies allow, cocked his shotgun, and began firing at the enemies as well. "Go!" he snarled, desperation barely concealed in his voice. "I will cover you."
With that Elena pulled Evander and Jenara by their respective arms and quickly dragged them out of the battered limousine. She led them into an open spot some feet away from the commotion. But then, she could not bear to leave her superior, Reno, behind – and the President! They were terribly outnumbered. So, after hastily ordering the siblings to get into safety, Elena drew her gun with the intention of rejoining the battle. But–
"Leaving so soon, sunshine?"
Elena turned around. Much to her alarm she found out that one of the kidnappers had somehow slipped past Reno and the President – and was holding Jenara, gunblade poised against her neck!
Furthermore, this goon was… a woman!
Being a well-trained Turk (whatever her shortcomings may be), Elena could take a brief note of her quarry's appearance (and, to some extent, skill). She was slim yet muscular, wearing heavy black pants and a tight black tank top revealing a deep scar across her thin chest, and with dark ebony hair, thin lips, smart dark brown eyes, and another small but prominent gash over her left cheek. She was armed with an antique-looking revolver and a stylishly-fashioned gunblade, both of which shone silver against the sun. But what really stood out was the circlet set against her head. It seemed to be wrought of gold and studded with beautiful gems. (Why is she up to kidnapping rich kids when she has a crown like that? Elena wondered.) At once Elena knew that the other woman was a foe that could not go down so easily.
But – for Jenara's sake! – she had to try.
"Who are you?" Elena called out, hoping to buy some more time.
"Mine to know and yours to find out," was the other's reply; she had a cowboy's drawl, the kind one could find in the Corel area. "Though I think one among you might know me. But really, it was stupid of you to leave your charges vulnerable. An elementary mistake, dear. Tut tut." The enemy backed off a new paces, still grasping Jenara. "Too bad I've no choice but to take pretty Miss Armante with me."
"Oh – yeah?" Elena retorted, trying – and failing – to make a formidable threat. "I'd like to see you try."
She fired the first shot, aiming for the other woman's head. For one wild moment Elena thought she had succeeded – but that was before she saw the enemy still standing but now further away from her, still clutching the helpless Armante girl. "Nice try, baby," the gunwoman quipped. "But not good enough. Ta-tah!" And with that, she became nothing more than a black blur, darting quickly to the left, then to the right, then left again, and then up. Elena tried following the enemy with her bullets, but they all missed.
With the gunwoman gone, the black van revved back into life and pulled away.
Just like that. It had all been quick.
Just like that.
"…What was that all about, Elena?" Evander groaned, putting a hand against his forehead. (It appeared that the gunwoman had knocked him down to get his sister.)
"I-I dunno…"
Looking back at the ruined limousine, Elena saw Reno, sporting a bit of blood on his lips yet otherwise unscathed, looking absolutely puzzled. And the President, Rufus Shinra, the man whom no one had ever seen bleed or cry, was also unhurt, and he was staring right back at Elena's direction. Yet he did not seemed angry or frustrated or disappointed with her – he just seemed to be… shocked?
It was as if he had seen a ghost.
…
Rufus was thunderstruck.
Perhaps, he, Rufus Shinra had seen a ghost.
And that ghost had a name.
That ghost was the one he had killed ten years ago.
But... it couldn't be... could it?