Authors note : Another update . I've tried to speed thing up a bit other wise i'll still be writing this in years to come! This is mainly form Reno's point of view, the lines indicate moving in and out of his flashback. Enjoy!
Chapter 11 – Revenge
Elena slowly opened her eyes, shielding her face from the bright morning sun. Memories of what happened last night came flooding back to her as she looked over at Reno. He was apparently sound asleep, a smile lightly etched onto his face. She could see the slight mark that the needle had left in his neck, and a thought suddenly rushed into her head.
"Reno?" she said, shaking him, "Reno? For god sake wake up!"
Reno groaned and turned himself over. Loosing patience, Elena prodded him, hard, in the ribs.
"Oww…'Lena! There wasn't any need for that."
"You are such a heavy sleeper. Now listen. I just thought of something. You know that needle thing?" he nodded, "Well, how did it get in your neck? Claudia certainly didn't put it there before she shot you."
He thought about it for a minute, confused.
"Wait a minute. It was that guy. Yeah. I'm sure. He grabbed hold of my neck and I'm sure I felt something sharp."
"Claudia's b-boyfriend?"
"Yeah. Then when I wouldn't do what he asked, he did that." He pointed to the gash on his stomach.
"And…w-what did he want?"
"He wanted to see Rufus Shinra. I told him I didn't have the authority to let him do that, he didn't like it and … well."
"R-Reno? Are you quite sure you've never met Claudia before? She seems to want you dead, yet you don't even know her."
"I'm certain. I've only ever known one other person named Claudia. And that was, like 2 years ago."
"And who was she?"
"Some random girl, about 14, brown hair, brown eyes. Pretty serious stuff that happened back then…I'm not proud of it."
"Erm… Reno? Are you sure that wasn't the same Claudia? She does have brown hair and eyes too you know."
"I…I don't know."
"Well, what happened then?"
He sighed. "Well…"
It was a cold, February morning. Typical that it was a day like this Reno had to be outside. He stood in the rotting bus stop and lit up a cigarette. It was gonna be a long day. He looked over at the house in front of him. It was small and run-down, his target was in there. A middle-aged woman. A prostitute. Why did Tseng always make him deal with people like that? Apparently, she had stolen a remarkable amount of stuff from Shinra headquarters. Weapons, materia, that sort of thing. He had been ordered to either kidnap her, or kill her if she didn't co-operate.
"That sounds awfully familiar." Elena said.
Reno nodded.
He dropped the cigarette end on the floor and made his way towards the house. He brushed his wet hair off his face as he saw someone come out of the house. It was a young girl, about 14. This was Claudia. She sat on the front porch and looked up at Reno.
"Hello." She said, kindly. Her eyes were big and brown, he would never forget the sweet innocence he saw when he looked into them…
"Oh my god." Reno suddenly said.
"What is it?"
"It was her. That girl. It was her."
"What you doin' sitting out here all alone?" he asked her, sitting next to her.
"My mom told me to go sit out here coz I was bad. I stole her cigarettes. I wasn't gonna smoke them. But she didn't believe me." Reno was surprised how she was telling all of this to a strange man she had only just met. He never realised it was a cry for help.
"Is your mom in there?" he asked kindly.
"Yup. Just go in, the doors always open anyway."
He stepped into the house. It was just as small and run down as it looked on the outside. As he walked into the kitchen, he saw a woman sitting at a small table, smoking a cigarette.
"There's no need to ask you are." She said, cockily, "I'd recognise that hair anywhere."
Reno stayed silent.
"So, Shinra sent ya, did they? They always get you to do the dirty work?"
"That's what I'm paid for." He wasn;t in the mood to be played around with this morning. "Now, you know why I'm here. The question is, are you gonna come with me?"
"Ha, you Shinra thugs are all the same. Co-operate or get beaten. All brawn, no brains." She looked him up and down. "Although you appear to have neither."
He glared at her, she was really getting on his nerves now.
"I've been ordered to kill you if you do this. You want it to end this way?" he pulled the gun out his pocket.
"Go ahead. I've got nothing to lose." She said bluntly. "Though you don't look like the kind of person who has the guts anyway.
That was it. He held the gun up at her, his hand shaking slightly through annoyance. The loud bang could be heard a mile off, and all the birds fled from the trees in fear. The girl came running back into the kitchen, tears in her eyes.
"Mom? MOM!" she screamed running over to her.
"Sorry kid." Reno said casually. He walked past her and left the house, leaving the girl to cry over her own mothers dead body.
Elena stared at him.
"You killed her mother?"
He nodded.
"Oh Reno…"
