Chapter III: Repeat

Reno sat in his office. It was small, but efficiently organized. A regulation-sized desk, and his regulation computer were the centerpieces of this room, and a small window allowed him to look out beyond the four entombing walls. A gray file cabinet was behind him in the corner, and two chairs sat in front of his desk in case he had visitors. Aside from that, there was nothing of Reno's. No pictures, posters, inspirational art, etc.

Shinra allowed their staff to add ornamentation to their offices, but he never found it necessary. He preferred field-work anyways, and he wanted it to be perfectly clear that this was just where he worked, nothing else.

His task for today was filling out the usual post-mission paperwork. He had a video debriefing in the main conference room today at noon. It was now 9:43 AM. Reno slowly and carefully filled out the papers, with all the zeal of a man about to be executed. He chuckled lightly as he signed the final dotted line and set the papers in his outgoing box.

A moment later he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in," he shouted, leaning back in his chair.

In walked a young man with blonde hair. He wore a white jacket and pants, and his hands were clothed in black, military-issue, shock absorption gloves. This was the President's son, Rufus Shinra.

Reno stood up the instant he recognized him. "Vice President, sir. What are you doing here?"

Rufus smiled. "Sit down, Reno. And call me Rufus."

Reno sat down. "Um, okay Rufus. What brings you here?"

Rufus pointed to the ceiling. "The people upstairs are beginning to get a little antsy about a situation we have."

Reno's expression changed to that of fascination. "Situation" usually meant "problem". And "problems" usually called for Turk activity.

"What kind of situation?" Reno asked.

Rufus leaned forward. "Can you keep a secret for me?"

Reno leaned closer to Rufus. "That's my job."

Rufus nodded. "Only Tseng, myself and the higher-ups know this. About five years ago an operation went wrong. Two members of SOLDIER were dispatched to Nibelheim to take care of a monster 'situation'. One of them was named Zack, and the other…" Rufus sighed. "The other was Sephiroth."

Reno almost fell out of his seat. "Sephiroth? I thought he was a legend."

"Oh no," Rufus replied. "He is very real. He managed to take care of the problem single-handedly, but certain complications arose. We're uncertain what sparked it, but we believe that Sephiroth found out about the 'SOLDIER Protocol' and went mad. He proceeded to burn down the village and kill all but a handful of its inhabitants. Two of those that survived were Zack and another soldier… I think his name was Claude or Cloud or something. In any case Hojo was given the green light to experiment on them for advanced SOLDIER prototypes and now… they have escaped."

"So where do I come in?" Reno asked.

"You are to wait for orders from Tseng. I have him calling the shots on this one. Right now, I have a more immediate piece of work for you," Rufus said.

"You're so kind," Reno smiled. "I take it that means I am excused from the debriefing."

"Well if anybody asks that is precisely what I was doing in here. Now about your mission," Rufus opened up a briefcase he had set beside him. In it was a single folder with a black tip.

"Ah, pressing paperwork, I see," Reno nodded.

"The name is Henderson. He is a Sergeant Major in the Shinra Army," Rufus said.

Reno heard the name and his blood froze. "Sergeant Henderson?"

Rufus nodded. "Yeah I know it's an odd coincidence. He's the son of your former Drill Sergeant."

That prick had a son? Reno thought.

"He has been a sympathizer of certain terrorists in the Sector 7 area. He has been neglecting his duties and Shinra would not be the least bit upset if he was 'replaced'." Rufus said.

Reno nodded. "All right. I'll take care of him."

The base was exactly as he had remembered it. More up-to-date equipment are armaments, and the vehicles were sturdier, but otherwise the layout was the same. Reno had deduced that if he was anything like his father, Henderson would not be leaving the compound alone.

He had been told, however, that said issue was immaterial. Collateral damage would make it easier to pin the blame on terrorists. And it is not like Reno had a problem murdering people. He had done this all before.

Reno had a theory about these things. That people had an incredible capacity for evil that even they were unaware of. Abyss he called it. The abyss of their soul. The darkness that lay underneath. To be a Turk, one had to be very in tune with it. Reno had learned to handle it.

Which is why when Sergeant Major Henderson and two Staff Sergeants came walking out of the door, he had no hesitation. His rounds were accurate and deadly. The first bullet out of his gun hit Henderson square in the face, the next took out the first Staff Sergeant, and as the second was reaching for his Rifle, the third took his life.

An alarm sounded, and Reno dropped the gun in a nearby sewer. He then pulled out another gun and came running onto the scene as a crowd was gathering.

"What happened here?" He shouted.

"They've been shot: three headshots, all fatal blows. It sounded like a high-calibur handgun," an MP replied.

"I hear terrorists prefer handguns. Check out everyone in this Sector. You find anybody skulking nearby I want them brought in for questioning," Reno ordered.

"Nice work," Rufus grinned as he debriefed Reno the next morning. "All the presses are running the same story: 'Military Leader Killed By Slum Thugs'."

Reno nodded. "Yeah, well that's why you hired me."

Rufus shook Reno's hand. "It's a pleasure to be working with the best. Oh, by the way about the conversation we had the other day. We've spotted Cloud and Zack near Midgar. Go report to Tseng."

Reno nodded again and walked down the hallway to his next mission.