Reno did so, heading out of the curtain and back into the lights and smoke and music of the club, licking his lips, nerves still pleasently buzzing.
Rude chose to finish his first drink before joining the crowd. He liked the buzz this time... Perhaps the last few times he'd done the drug it wasn't as pure as the shit they served at the club.
For Reno the mako dissolved his inhibitions, removing his fear of casual touch, turning him into a creature of sheer sensation. . .he waded out into the crowd on the floor, bumping a hip here, casting a wide smile and a brush of an arm there, he'd never go so far as to have sex with anyone else without Rude's permission, but he touched and accepted touch freely when buzzed on the stuff.
Rude raised his glass in a gesture towards the bartender, waiting until he caught the man's attention. He set his glass on the table, then made a smoking gesture. He wanted a pair of fine cigars at the table upon his return, and the bartender nodded and smiled. He mouthed the word 'newlyweds?', only to have Rude smile slightly and move his hand in a 'sort of' motion. With that, he made his way towards the writhing redhead on the dancefloor.
Reno turned as he felt a pair of strong arms encase him and looked up at Rude with a soft, sexy grin. .it was during these times he looked almost feminine while at the same time his body, rock hard with lean muscle and a hint of rib, told differently. He leaned back for a kiss, those laughing eyes pinning Rude's through the shades. So this is why Reno had gotten so addicted to the rock. ...
Rude leaned forward to claim Reno's mouth, his tongue slipping past those lips as he ground his arousal against the back of the redhead's pants.
Reno ground right back, soft gasp passing his lips. "You feel like you have a problem there, love."
"Nothing you can't fix," Rude replied, body moving against Reno's to the rhythm of the music.
Reno's smile grew almost secretive and he whispered. "It's too bad I'm not wearing my leather. I'd be able to fix it right here with none the wiser."
"You're a Turk," Rude teased, letting one hand slide from Reno's neck down to his waist, holding the redhead tightly against him as he ground his hips forward. "Improvise."
Reno kept his hips grinding, his hand reaching in between, releasing Rude's cock from it's prison. "Why do you think I chose white, yo?" He kept the linnen clad ass mpoving, then turned around so Rude could free his just enough.
"Because you're virginal and pure?" Rude teased.
"Nah, because the cumstains don't show." He chuckled darkly now as he rubbed himself against Rude, their crotches covered, with this crowd no one would be the wiser to what they were doing.
A tiny gasp left Rude's lips. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been that hard. And Reno did have a point. Everyone on the dancefloor was either too drunk or high to notice anything, and if they did, they wouldn't comment. Rude felt his piercing catch against Reno slightly, causing another tiny gasp.
Reno gasped as well, but continued their sensual little dance. ..They could probbaly strip and fuck on the floor and none would be the wiser but the bounces.
Rude agreed with Reno's assessment, and with as much as he was spending that evening, he was certain even the bouncers would look the other way, if not hand over sufficient lubrication at the critical moment. Speaking of, he noticed that the cigars he'd ordered had made their way to their booth. He smiled, gesturing with his head towards said booth while he worked on putting himself back in his pants.
Reno did so as well, heading back to the table for his cigar.
Rude pulled a pair of fine, hand rolled cigars from the small humidor that sat on the table. Using the clippers, he clipped the ends of two of them, handing one to Reno with the pack of matches. "Pull the curtain," he said, voice dropping into a slight growl.
Reno slid it closed, that growl meant one thing. ..it was going to be quick, rough, and mind-blowing, just as he liked it when buzzed like this.
Rude lit his cigar, taking a few thoughtful puffs before catching Reno's gaze again. "Take your pants off," he ordered.
Reno divested himself of them very quickly, his round bottom in the air now as he bent over the booth, never dropping the cigar.
He took a moment to just gaze at the scenery. Reno really was a piece of work, and were he not a Turk, Rude was certain the redhead could've been a model or something. He took another thoughtful puff from the cigar, his free hand tracing fingers across the flesh presented to him.
That flesh under Rude's fingers shuddered as his nerves fired at the touch, with the volume of the music he could shout and no one would hear him, a thing both scary, considering the number of murders that had occured inside this club, and thrilling.
Rude stood, unfastening his pants and letting them drop to his ankles. He used the non-lit end of his cigar to trace meaningless patters over Reno's flesh while he dipped his finger into his refilled snifter.
Reno moaned, deep inside his belly. ..his body on fire. .."touch me. ..take me. ." he whispers.
Rude chuckled as a few stray ashes fell along Reno's spine. He knew they weren't hot, but for some reason, it made him laugh anyway. He swirled his finger around the edges of the glass, picking up some of the Mako gel that lined the edges.
Reno's hips moved in that sensual manner they had when he was like this..
Holding his finger up for his own inspection, Rude flicked his tongue out to taste the Mako and cognac combination before slowly pressing the finger against Reno's entrance. "Ever been fucked with Mako?" he asked, unsure as to whether or not he really wanted to know the answer, but a little too out of his normal state of mind to care.
Reno shook his head, but he'd heard . ..that it left a biting sting almost on the skin, but as the sting faded it fired the nerves the way potions did.
At that head shake Rude pressed his finger forward, not stopping until he was buried to the knuckle.
Reno gasped . ..his body shaking, then a soft groan as his body fought to take the invader in yet deeper...his gut felt to be burning for several long moments. ..until the stinging burn faded and a warmth spread through his nerves. ..body turning pink as the blood flowed closer under the skin. .."Fuck me, Gods. ..fuck me now. .
Rude's finger twisted, coating Reno's insides with the Mako/cognac mixture. He took another puff from his cigar before removing that finger and placing himself against Reno's opening. "How does it feel?" he asked, taking another puff.
Reno had no words for the way his nerves lit up. ..just hitching moans as the sensation came close to stealing his breath completely, as it had robbed him of all conscious thought. .. he fElt like phoenix with the way he burned with need and so many other sensations.
After a slight pause for thought and another puff, Rude pushed himself roughly into the redhead below him, not stopping until he was buried to the hilt.
Reno let out a harsh cry, it burned for a moment as his flesh stretched to accomadate the rough entry, but the sting only raised his arousal even higher, as the weeping rod against the leather of the booth attested to.
Rude didn't wait for Reno's muscles to finish fluttering delicately over him. He pulled nearly all the way out of his partner before thrusting back in, just as forcefully.
Reno as the sting left him began moaning with each thrust, the leather against him driving things higher. .
Rude began rocking harshly into and out of Reno, trying to make sure his piercing touchED the redhead in all the right places. The ashes from his cigar were scattering across the booth's table from his jarring movements.
Reno WAS letting out mewling moans with each thrust, meeting them with one of his own, not caring about the tiniest bit of blood that stained the piercing from the initial entry, the sensation added to the pleasure he was feeling. ..his body pulsing around Rude as he was driving closer.
Rude had the oddest thought cross his mind directly before orgasm claimed it: just why did he keep that metal bar in his cock anyway? And why was he wearing it in more and more?
Reno let out a loud shriek as his head reared back. ..his mouth foring a grimace of sheer lust-fired bliss as his body rocked, then locked up, he spewed over the burgundy leather, leather he was sure had seen plenty of spillage of seed on top of it.
Rude somehow managed to keep himself somewhat standing. As he pulled himself from the redhead's body, he took another puff from his cigar, noticing that it was already half gone.
Reno let out a last soft gasp as Rude pulled himself free. ..sending one last spasm through his body. ..he got his pants back on rather shakily.
Tseng meanwhile had been going through the local police records, searching for something to make his agent's target more willing even to co-operate when something he found made those almond shaped eyes go wide. .. an arrest record for an Urar. .but not Eric. ..one for assault with a deadly weapon. ..Eric was the victim of said assault. "Did you. ..know about this, Rufus-san?"
"Know about what, Tseng?" Rufus asked, standing up, stretching and showing off just a little bit of belly in his casual outfit of tailored jeans and a green t-shirt.
Tseng shows him the arrest record. ..one from 8 years before. ..Rude's mugshot even then clearly recognizable.
"I was not informed of this charge, no," Rufus answered, taking the file from Tseng's hands. The other charges, the drugs, the assaults, the breaking and enterings... but not that one in particular.
"I had to dig deep to find it. ..it. ..explains a lot."
"So it does..." Rufus said thoughtfully, reading through the file and pacing back and forth within the room. "It claims he did 90 days, then left town for work related reasons... Tseng, how old was Rude when he joined the Turks?"
"He joined 8 years ago. ..a year before Reno sir, 6 months after these charges were cleared."
"I see..." Rufus frowned. Rude had been hired just six months after the charges were filed, he did 90 days... which meant the bald man had been out of jail for three months before his hire date. He flipped the folder in his hands shut. "I want copies of Rude and Eric's entire histories. I want the name and number for the arresting officer, as well as the judge, for this offence. I believe we may have a timebomb on our hands..."
"Yes sir. ." He goes trhough the rest on the records on the computer, finding the arresting officer, Eric's long arrest record. .."Officer Daniels, and his phone number is here, sir." He handed the printed out record with the name and phone number.
Rufus sat down, pulling a highlighter out from the pencil holder on the desk. He began highlighting coinciding dates on the two brothers' arrest records. "When was Reno and Rude's last psych evaluation?" he asked, hoping it wasn't that long ago... and wondering just how one could hide something like this from a trained professional.
"Reno's was a year ago, sir, when he was prescribed the SSRI's after the plate drop. Rude's was around the samee time. He was cleared as fit for duty."
Rufus' frown deepened. "How was a man with that much rage buried in him cleared fit for duty?" he mumbled, pulling out the required psychicatric examination from the incident in question.
"He keeps it in tight rein sir, he always has. ..He was there for his partner in every way possible during that time."
Rufus was silent, reading the evaluation in front of him. His question was rhetorical anyway... not that it ever stopped Tseng from answering.
"And once all outlets for his rage that the job provides are gone sir? What then?"
"Then, Tseng," Rufus said, eyes hard as he looked his lover in the eye. "I believe we have done our fair Reno a great disservice by sending him to spend extended time alone with him."
"Perhaps so. ..we need to nip this sir. ..force him to face the problems head on. ..denying the problem exists does not make it go away."
"I know this," Rufus replied, going back over the psych report and highlighting certain things. He paused. "I also want an appointment with the woman who did this evaluation. Tomorrow. Morning if you can swing it."
"Yes sir. " He is immediatly on the phone, he caught her just before she went to bed, when he hung up he turned to Rufus "Tomorrow, 9 am sir."
"Good," Rufus said with a nod. He highlighted another line of the report, then looked up. "Rude must be treated with extreme caution until we can get this settled, Tseng. He's been domestically violent before, and the last thing we need is him doing so on a man who believes he deserves whatever beatings he gets."
"Yes sir. .." Tseng seemed to drop into thought for a moment. .."It mnight be a good thing they've been under this stress, sir. . .we might not have caught this until it was too late otherwise." By too late of course he meant one Turk dead at the hands of one he thought he could trust with his life and much, much more.
Rufus wondered idly if that was what had attracted Reno to the large Turk. They really didn't have anything at all in common, but they worked so well as partners at work, it was only a matter of time before Reno tried to make it more. What had surprised him, though, was that Rude had agreed to the relationship. Rufus had thought that Rude was only interested in the female persuasion, considering his usual fare of conquests...
"Shall we call them back here, sir?"
"No," Rufus ordered, sitting back in the chair in thought. "If we called them back with no reason, it would raise their suspicions. And, for the time being, I believe it would be prudent to treat Reno as equally unstable as well. He is aware of what is boiling underneath Rude's skin, but he may be unwittingly enabling it if we give them a reason to be suspicious of our intentions."
"Yes sir. .." he had every reaason to want to stop this slow downward spiral. ..he idly wondered how much Rude's parents knew about this.
Rufus closed the folder in front of him again, returning the highlighter its proper place. "I believe we've done all we could here," he said. "I can't do anything more without speaking to that psychiatrist tomorrow."
Tseng nodded. ..hoping that rage stayed under wraps for the rest of the night.
Rude leaned back in the booth, having tucked himself back into his pants and opened the curtain again. He could feel the warmth of the Mako mixing the with warmth of the cognac in his stomach, and he wondered idly just how much of the green gel he'd consumed thus far.
Reno meanwhile had headed back out onto the floor moshing in this large group, moving flirtatiously against this slender blond that looked a LOT like Rufus. ..he obviously was too young by several years but the resemblance was still startling.
Rude picked up his snifter, swirling it around to get the maximum amount of Mako into the liquid. He'd forgotten just how nice the buzz was... However, he did keep part of his attention on Reno and the strange blonde who had appeared by him. He really didn't want to have to go out there and break the boy's head for doing something stupid.
Reno turned, suddenly finding the self-same blond's mouth pressed against his posessively. ..now his eyes were wide with shock, and he strugglled to free himself, let none mistake that, but it wouldn't be visible from Rude's angle really until he came closer. the boy was strong, his eyes gleaming with a mako-glow, whether from SOLDIER, or from the loads of illicit product that flowed through some of the more notorious techno clubs one could not be sure.
Well, there it was. The blonde had sealed his fate. He thought everyone was aware that the redhead was only touchable by him, Rude, no one else. Without permission, of course, but that blonde hadn't even glanced his direction. He swallowed the last of the liquid in the snifter, setting it almost reverently on the table before turning and stalking towards the dancefloor.
Reno when he saw Rude coming finally managed to break free of the boy's grip, he stepped back, gasping for air with a yelled "What the FUCK did you think you were doing, asshole?"
Rude didn't, couldn't, hear Reno's words. He didn't pause in his stride, only lifting his arm and punching the blonde boy across the cheek.
The kid sailed back, then landed on his feet with a flip. "He didn't tell me he belonged to anyone else. If he was yours, why didn't you just say so"
"Í didn't think you'd just plop a wet one on me without evens eeing if I was INTERESTED first, jackass."
Rude paused, his eyes flashing darkly behind his sunglasses. He turned slowly to look at Reno. "You started this?" he asked, not waiting for an answer before commanding, "Don't move." He spun back on the kid, stalking forward again. "He belongs to me," he growled, another punch dropping the blonde to his back. Rude sat on the boy's chest, grabbing one hand while the blonde furiously tried to free himself with the other.
Reno was stock still. .No, he HADN'T started this, he had merely been dancing with the kid, that was all. ..he had no idea the prick would kiss him.
he kid was finally completely unconscious, and the bouncers had been called over, one of them had called the police.
Rude grunted as he was pulled off the kid, noticing that he'd managed to break seven of the blonde's fingers, and probably his jaw. Served him right.
Reno simply stood there in the middle of the floor as the police cuffed his husband and dragged him otu. .the shakes wouldn't come until later. ..when he remembered the look in those dark eyes when he'd been ordered not to move. ..he called Rufus immediatly.
Rufus wasn't going to answer his phone, really he wasn't. It wasn't every day he got to cuddle with his new husband in front of an old movie, just sitting there, enjoying each other's company. However, when he noticed it was Reno calling, his stomach sank. It was 3am... why would Reno be calling? "Yes?" he asked.
Reno related everything that had happened. ."They took him outta here in cuffs. ..the look in his eye, though. ..Gods. .."
It appeared things were disintegrating faster than Rufus had initially assumed. "I want to see you here at the hotel in 15 minutes, Reno." The order left no room for question or dissent. He needed to show Reno their findings, maybe allow him to sit in with his meeting with the psychiatrist. Either way, Rude was going to be spending at least the rest of the evening incarcerated.
Reno knocked on the door of their hotel room, the shakes had hit. ..hard ..Yes, the world could beat him up all it wanted, he'd just let it slide off his back. ..but Rude? No, Rude had promised to protect him...to take care of him, to keep him safe both in body and in spirit. when had things gone so wrong?
Rufus answered the door. This was important enough for him to at least do that. "You look like hell," he said, plainly, gesturing for the redhead to enter.
Reno only nodded as he walked in, he had some of the kid's blood on his shirt and pants, the spatter had flown THAT FAR, which would be an indicator of just how hard Rude had been hitting the lithe blond.
Rufus tossed the folder that held Rude's arrest record in it on Reno's lap. Without another word, he walked over to the coffee maker to make some coffee. He was certain they were going to need it.
"This explains why he pulled me offa Eric. ..guilt. ..he kept telling me. .I was safer not knowing. .shit. .."
"Now, take into consideration what offences he either got stricken from the record or didn't get caught at," Rufus said, handing Reno a cup of coffee.
"I don't wanna know. ..Whatever happened to that other street kid he brought home? Anyone know?"
Rufus just shook his head.
"Gonna ask Sam and his mom in the morning, I think..."wheels were spinning in his mind, in directions he'd rather not allow.
"Do you think even they know?" Rufus asked. As close as Rude was to his brother and mother, he wasn't entirely sure he'd tell either of them of all his exploits.
"Sam might. ..he confided in Sam a lot, and Sam he says is the one who bailed him out most of the time."
Sam. The elder brother. The SOLDIER. Perhaps... "Tseng... I have another request of you," Rufus said, looking over his shoulder at his lover.
"Yes sir."
"I need you to pull up Sam's record as well," Rufus stated, face thoughtful. "I have a feeling the elder brother may have done more than just bailed our dear Rude out once or twice."
Tseng did so. ..finding Sam's name on MULTIPLE bail records, at least a dozen. .. "most of them are petty thefts and drug posession, though there was one other assault on here. ..there are no details on the record, however. ..it's as if the details were stricken."
"Now, how many of those cross reference with times when Rude had been caught?" Rufus asked. He was wondering if perhaps the elder brother was taking some of the fall for his younger sibling. A thought struck him. "And cross reference those with Eric's arrest record."
Tseng did so, showing him the results, Sam had only ONE arrest on record, an assault as well, though he later had had the sentence nulled when it had been discovered he'd been protecting his brothers from a dealer. Eric had several, one of which had occured 3 days before the assault charge against Rude. "This one looks as if it had been amended as well. ..."
"Rude did mention one time Eric had done something and blamed it on him, might be related, yo."
Rufus pointed to the incident in question, the one that happened three days before Rude's arrest. "This is it. The catalyst," he said. "We find out what happened here, and I believe we have the key to unlocking Rude's anger"
"The arresting officer's name is the same as for the assault. . perhaps. ..he will have the answers you seek."
Reno's phone rang, he looked at the caller id, a flash of something like sorrow crossing the handsome features, before he let it go to his voice mail.
Rufus looked over to Reno. "Was that him?" he asked.
Reno nodded. "Prob'ly callin' ta have me bail him out. ..but I can't yet. ..'smuch as I love him, I can't."
"I understand," Rufus said. "But you'll have to face him someday, Reno."
"His mom'll prob bail him out if Sam doesn't. ..I'll go talk ta him tomorrow after we talk to the cop who arrested him that time."
"He will not be happy that you didn't take his call," Rufus mentioned. He wasn't trying to scare Reno, just making sure the redhead knew what consquenes his actions may have caused.
"I know, he's liable ta be mad, gonna tell him I was sleepin', if I have to. .I don;'t wanna get you guys in hot water, to"
"Speaking of sleep," Rufus said carefully. "I know how hard it's going to be, but I think we should all get some rest. We're going to have a long day tomorrow."
"Yes, sir." Reno headed out into the living room, curling up on the sofa. ..it took a good hour for sleep to claim him but it finally did.
Rufus was already up and making coffee when there was a knock at the door. "She's here," he said to himself. "Tseng," he said more loudly. "Could you get the door, please?"
Tseng nodded, opening the door, "Good morning, ma'am."
Reno was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee that had just finished brewing, he looked absolutely forlorn.
The woman nodded, her heels clicking as she walked. She held her hand out to Rufus when she saw him. "President ShinRa," she said in greeting.
Rufus nodded back to her. "Doctor Richardson," he greeted back, shaking her hand. He nodded towards the other occupants of the room. "This is Tseng and Reno, two of my Turks."
Reno nodded a greeting, he'd used some makeup to hide the circles under his eyes, applying it as if expert, which he was. .he'd used it to hide bruises inflicted by his father for years.
Being a woman, and having women's intuition, Dr. Richardson asked, "Did he hit you?" of Reno.
"No ma'am, it's just dark circles...I haven't slept well. .." In reality Rude had never hit him. ..though he was now beginning to wonder if it was only a matter of time.
"Would you like some coffee, Dr. Richardson?" Rufus asked before sitting down.
"Please. Cream and sugar as well," she smiled at the President, then turned back to Reno, her face hardening slightly. "I take it you are the lover?"
"Husband, yes ma'am. as well as working partner."
"I see. Rudolph has been known to attach himself to redheads," Dr. Richardson commented. She reached into her briefcase, pulling out a few file folders.
Reno simply nodded, silently thankful the bruises sam had created on his arms had already begun to heal most of the way, THAT was a situation he'd rather not explain.
"But, you didn't call me here just to comment on Rudolph's choice in partners," she said, opening the first folder before handing it over to Reno. "I would assume you've all read my psychiatric assessment?"
Tseng spoke up "Yes, ma'am. ..we were curious how he managed to get cleared for duty with his obvious buried rage"
Reno meanwhile began to go through the folder, face growing paler with each page as he began to wonder JUST what he'd gotten himself into.
m"As you've seen from my initial interview with Rudolph, he was a very angry young man," Dr. Richardson said, taking off her tiny wire-rim glasses as she spoke. "He has severe issues with control, and must be in control of all situations at all times. When things are out of his hands, so to speak, it gives him an intense feeling of helplessness. Now, I realize that most people have these feelings, however, Rudolph, according to his mother, was always an emotional child, and things bothered him that most children would be able to shrug off. Sensitive, is the term, I believe."
Reno nodded, and things started falling into place. ..the jealousy. ..the posessiveness. ..
"Rudolph feels that those feelings of inadequesy are wrong and therefore suppresses them far past a normal, healthy limit." Dr. Richardson paused, folding her hands in her lap. "This has led him to supress all, what he deems, negative feelings from being expressed. Over time, those things began eating away at his consciousness, even without his knowledge as to what they were and why they bothered him so much. Finally, they would all come to a head in a sort of manic attack, where he would express all classic symptoms of having a manic disorder."
"Which Reno here has witnessed."
Reno shuddered, remembering the incidant at the condo. .
"You have?" she asked, then elaborated. "They usually start as a form of hypersexuality, then once something triggers it, an overwhelming... the only word that could describe it is... rage."
Reno slowly relates the night at the condo. ..the stress preceding it. .then. ..the explosion.
"I see..." Dr. Richardson said, then continued. "I have found that the usual trigger comes as a feeling of loss, be is loss of control, loss of a person, or just loss of an object." She paused. "Regardless, I have also found that just prior to the trigger, Rudolph would tend to behave in a reckless manner, usually committing a minor criminal offence."
"We were both terrified we were gonna die that night. ..I'd say that would be a definate trigger." He doesn't tell her about the cutting incident before it, not sure if he wanted Rufus and Tseng to know that, but his face does color.
Dr. Richardson leaned forward, towards Reno. "I would be interested to speak with you about Rudolph in a more... private setting." She knew Reno was hiding things, things that could possibly help her understand why the man did what he did to himself. It was a sort of mental self-mutilation in her opinion. "However, I am more than a little curious as to why you asked me to come here and talk about a report I made eight years ago"
"He got arrested for beating up a kid at the Silver Condor last night. . .I'm sure you know the place if you know Rude well. ..it's the techno place at the edge of town."
"You were there?" she asked Reno. "Tell me exactly what happened. I might be able to help you."
"We'd had cognac and mako shooters. ..I'd gone out onto the floor, just moshin' with a huge group of people like I like ta do sometimes, and I ended up dancin' with this kid that actually looked a lot like the president here. ..the kid just up and KISSED me.. .Rude walked over and PUNCHED the kid. Admittedly, I hadn't told the kid I was there with Rude, but I hadn't expected him ta plant one on me."
Dr. Richardson rolled her eyes. She leaned over, pointing to a specific bullet point in her report before she read it word for word. "Not permitted usage of Mako in any form." She paused. "Do you know why? He is one of the few who are unable to get addicted to the substance. Also, when the substance breaks down and is processed by his system, it triggers an ususual amount of adrenaline and testosterone to be released into his blood stream. Most people hallucinate when it breaks down, but something about his body chemistry causes that reaction. Add all that to the suppressed anger and you are just asking for trouble."
"I never knew, yo. ..he told me he didn't like using it once, but he never told me he wasn't supposed ta. ..anyway. ..when the kid said he didn't know. ... he just LOOKED at me...and his eyes were just. ..cold as ice."
"Are you familiar with the tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?" she asked.
Reno nodded, he'd read it...and had seen the movie as well.
"At its heart, it is a tale of suppression," Dr. Richardson explained. "Instead of expressing his baser emotions, like anger and lust, the good doctor denied them. However, once he'd taken his potion, Hyde became the embodiment of all that he'd denied himself. With Rudolph, it's very similar. I've read over his psychiatric evaluations since joining the Turks, and I find the similarities rather interesting."
"I call it his 'Beast'.. .I've seen it on or two occasions ..full unleashed. ..it's a scary thing. .. but even then. ..when it was full bore. ..he didn't hit me.. .some part of himself held on to the oath he'd made never to lay a hand on me in anger. ..'snot ta say it wasn't some scary shit."
"I see," Dr. Richardson said, going back into her briefcase for another folder. She pulled a pair of video disks from the file. "Here are copies of two of the sessions I had with him while he was incarcerated. You may or may not find them useful in understanding him."
Reno nodded, his phone rang again, and he gave Rufus a look that clearly asked "should I answer it?" holding up the phone to show it's Rude.
Dr. Richardson raised an eyebrow.
Rufus nodded, his face showing a look that indicated that it wouldn't be wise to blow off the bald man again.
"Hey. .."
"I'm sorry." Rude didn't even bother with any other words at the moment.
"Yeah...I know.. .I. ..I hadta get some sleep so I didn't answer this morning. ..haven't even listened to the message yet. ..I love you, ya know that.. ." His voice held so much sorrow to it. .."You admit now we gotta fix this? I don't like bein' afraida you. ..it's not healthy for me, and it's sure as Hell ain't healthy for you."
"I just need to stay away from the Mako," Rude said, blaming the entirety of his current assault charge, and drug charge, on the drug's effects.
"I...I know that's not just it. ..was that responsible for the condo? or. ." and he gulped, Rude didn't know he'd found out. "Eric? I knownow, Rude. ..I did a little digging of my own."
"What?" Rude's voice had turned instantly to the temperature of the middle of a glacier at the Northern Crater.
"I found out about Eric. .." His own voice got small. ..very small. ..though Rude wouldn't know, Rufus would see the near-impercecptible shiver that ran through the slim frame.
"I told you. Eric is none of your concern." If it was at all possible, that voice got even colder. "You disappoint me, Reno. Do you trust me so little that you have to go behind my back to find out things you're better off not knowing?"
"I thought I knew you, Rude. ..I thought you trusted ME enough to still love you no matter what I knew. ..you know me inside and out. ..but. ..it does explain. ..a whole lot of things."
"Tell me," Rude's words could have very well had a blizzaga behind them with the total amount of ice they held. "Tell me what your discovery explains. Tell me how much better than me it makes you to know."
"It explains. ..a lot of what happened with the blow ups before. ..you BURY shit. .you always have. ..you're so fucking afraid of losing control that you don't realize that when you don't let go and handle a problem head on. ..you end becoming exactly the thing you're so damn afraid of"
He paused, just for a moment, he was full on trembling now, but it didn't show in his voice. "Is that what happened with that other street kid? Did he ask too much, get too damn curious?" He hated asking that question. ..he loved Rude, he would always love his partner, no matter what. ..but he had to know what he was dealing with.
All Reno got was a disconnection signal as Rude howled in rage, throwing his phone against the wall and breaking it.
Reno sagged, just literally sagged. ..the helpless look he threw his two superiors spoke volumes
"Gentlemen," Dr. Richardson said to Tseng and Rufus. "If I may..." she gestured at Reno, indicating that she would like some time alone with the redhead. It seemed that Rudolph had gotten far, far worse since she'd seen him last, and she wondered if it was all because of this Reno.
He follows her back. ..he's shaking. .."I. ..I don't know what I did. .."
"Shh..." she comforted, placing her hand on Reno's. "You did nothing wrong. You said nothing wrong." She paused, thinking. "However, perhaps there was a better way to bring up Joshua Miller."
"Yeah. ..he just. ..made me so damn frustrated. ..I wanna solve this. ..I hate being afraida him."
"I believe he is more afraid of what you could do than anything he could possibly do," she said carefully. She paused, frowning as she lightly grabbed Reno's chin and turned his face to face hers. "I do, though, see just why a mention of Mr. Miller from you would set him off. You do resemble him."