Chapter Four

Then

Elena twisted the handle and entered the room. Three desks were set in a sort of semi-circle, all complete with computers and sheathes of paper. At the one to the left, a tall, incredibly well muscled man was sat, a non-plussed expression visible beneath expensive sunglasses.

'H,hi,' she stammered, trying to smile. 'I'm Elena? Rosalind's sister? I, uh, I'll be your new colleague?' Inwardly, she kicked herself. God, Elena. Get a hold of yourself. You're a Turk now!

The man grunted. 'Rude,' he said, in a surprisingly soft voice. He indicated the most central desk. 'That's Reno's. You'll take the other.'

She nodded, moving nervously towards it. As she sat down, Rude said 'Are you aware of what's happening today?'

Elena shook her head. 'N,no. Tseng said he and Reno would be back later...?'

'...' Rude sighed. 'Just remember what you are now, okay?'

Elena wondered what he meant by that. 'Of course, sir.'

'Don't call me sir. And whatever you do, don't call Reno it.'

Chastised, Elena mumbled 'Of course.'

There was a moment of silence. 'You know the building?' asked Rude, not sounding too interested.

'We were made to memorise it's blueprints at the academy.'

An almost smile passed over his face. 'Good. You have any questions?'

She squirmed slightly, uncertain as to what she should say. Should she appear curious, or should she make herself seem as though she knew everything already?

'Erm, no...?'

Rude sighed. 'Elena.' He sounded strange, saying her name. She frowned, uncomfortably. 'It's okay,' he said, unexpectedly. 'You're being thrown in at a rough time. You'll pick everything up.'

She smiled. 'Thank you, si- I mean, Rude.'

He shrugged. 'Don't thank me. Just don't fuck up.'

For the next few hours, he showed her the administrative side of things- how to write up mission reports and such like. Then he checked her knowledge of Shinra rules and protocol 'Most of which you'll break anyway,' as he informed her.

'Mostly rookies start at Sector Eight,' he told her, in that soft voice. 'But...' he trailed off, then shrugged. 'Tseng can explain,' he said.

She was about to say something more when the door opened, and a tall, lanky red headed figure came in, swearing and muttering under his breath. He stopped abruptly when he saw Elena, turning instantly to Rude for an explanation.

'This is Elena. If you ever attended meetings, you'd know she was the new Turk,' Rude said, tiredly. He turned to Elena. 'This is Reno.'

The pair stared at each other for a moment. A flash of recognition passed over Reno's face.

'Yeah, I met you, didn't I?'

Elena nodded. 'Rosalind's my sister,' she said in a small voice.

Reno arched an eyebrow. 'I see,' he mused. He shrugged. 'Okay. Fine.' He sighed. 'Missed the fucking Ancient again,' he told Rude.

Rude's expression was unreadable. 'She's pretty tough.'

'She had some guy with her...'

'They were... Mako eyes.'

'Bodyguard? Boyfriend?'

'He looked like a Soldier.'

Elena listened to the conversation feeling awkward, wondering what was happening. Rude seemed to realise she was confused, because he said 'There's this girl, an Ancient, we've been seeking her for a long time.'

Reno cut him off. 'The little bitch keeps getting away, but one of these days,' he shook his head, eyes burning. Then he frowned. 'Where's Tseng? I'da thought he'd have stayed around if there's a rookie.'

'He's with Reeve and the mayor,' said Rude.

An odd expression flashed over Reno's face. 'Heidegger around?' he asked, casually.

'I think he's there too.'

'The President?'

'... Yeah.'

Reno sighed. 'Okay,' he said, sounding defeated. 'I... should go,' he said, not sounding as if he was talking to his colleagues anymore. He looked at Elena suddenly. 'Nice to meet you, rookie,' he said, his voice a weird mix of sincere and emotionless.

Elena nodded, confused. 'Ah, you to, sir, I mean, Reno.'

He smiled, almost sadly. 'See you later, folks,' he said, as he left. Rude didn't reply, just stared after him.

Elena waited a moment, then said 'Is something...?'

Rude cut her off. 'It's okay,' he said. 'You'll be briefed.'

xoxoxoxo

At around eleven that night, Elena was sitting at her desk, practising writing reports. Earlier, she'd spent an hour in the shooting range, then she'd been shown around the building by one of the mayor's lackeys, then she and Rude had played cards for a while.

'Standard Turk practise,' he told her. 'We wait around a lot. You gotta know how to play.'

So they'd played poker til around half ten, then Rude had sighed and reluctantly gone back to his computer, telling Elena to just hang around for a bit. Looking at the clock, he said 'Tseng and Reno won't be long.'

And so at eleven, she was just sitting at her desk, pretty much minding her own business. The window was slightly open, the warm, muggy Midgar air filtering in. It was nearly quiet outside, save for the usual distant traffic sounds.

'It's time.'

A sudden, sharp explosion snapped her from her thoughts. Alarmed, she turned to Rude. 'Wha...' she trailed off, seeing outside the window. Smoke, rising...

'Mission accomplished.'

Sighing, Rude repeated his words of earlier. 'Tseng and Reno won't be long,' and Elena understood.

She forced back a wave of nausea, as the sound of screams reached the Upper Plate, even from the bowels of the slums. This was a test, it was all a test, just a test... 'Of course,' she said, with a little smile. Rude nodded at her.

True to his word, Tseng and Reno were back within forty minutes. Reno went straight to the infirmary, with a suspected broken arm and a number of cuts and bruises. Tseng took the elusive Ancient to a prison cell, then went to tell the President she was finally caught. When he was done with their superior, Tseng came to Reno and Rude, and now Elena's, office. He looked tired, but there was a contentment to him that surprised Elena.

'It's done,' he told Rude.

The large man grunted. 'You don't say.'

'Elena.' The Wutain man turned to her. 'Can you go and sit with Reno in the infirmary? He's a pain when he's injured, but he might be easier for the medical staff to handle if he's got someone to distract him.'

Meaningthought Elena, someone to aggravate. But she smiled. 'Of course.' She tried not to let how shell-shocked she was show, but Tseng seemed to notice.

'Elena,' he watched her, biting his lip. 'You understand, don't you? You heard about the reactors destroyed by AVALANCHE?' She nodded. 'We needed to show them that they can't expect to get away with it. They're terrorists. It's extreme, but, by destroying Sector Seven, we've probably stopped them from killing thousands more.'

It was a funny logic, mused Elena, when you considered how many would have been in Sector Seven when it was destroyed. But Tseng seemed one hundred percent sincere, and she found herself nodding, somehow believing it herself. 'Of course. AVALANCHE need to know that Shinra will not accept their petty terrorism.'

Tseng smiled, a genuine, teeth showing smile, an occurrence that she would soon learn was incredibly rare. 'That's exactly right,' he said, sounding pleased. He nodded once. 'You're going to be a good Turk, Elena. Rosalind and your family will have much to be proud of, I'm sure.'

Elena allowed herself a smile, though she didn't really care what her sister thought. She cared what Tseng thought though. There was so much to admire in him... For the second time that day, she realized he was speaking, and she was paying absolutely no attention.

'... on the sixty eight floor,' he was saying, handing her a keycard

Sixty eighth... Of course. The infirmary. 'I'll get there right away,' she said, saluting him quickly.

He nodded. 'Thank you.'

He turned to Rude, and Elena realised she was dismissed. She went quickly to the elevator, swiping her card. She watched the skyline, lacking somewhat now. There were smoking embers visible, though happily she could no longer hear the screams.

The nurses directed her straight to Reno's room, and she found the redheaded man yelling at a doctor for trying to pop his arm back into place. When she entered, both men looked up at her. Reno smiled in recognition.

'Hey there rookie. This jackass here thinks he's going to reset my arm. Tell him to fuck off, wouldja?'

The doctor glared at her. 'Tell him I'll be seeing him for a limb amputation if he doesn't get it reset now.'

Cautiously, she said 'Reno, maybe you should just get it done...?'

He watched her for a moment, then sighed. 'Fine. Whatever. Just make it quick okay?'

It was over in a matter of seconds, with a sickening pop and a sharp breath, and then the doctor was gone, telling Reno to get some rest. The second it was just them in the room, Reno got up, going to look out the window. He didn't speak for a moment, then he turned to Elena.

'I'll probably get a couple weeks vacation,' he said, almost cheerfully, though his eyes were sad. 'Not that there's anywhere to go on this shithole planet. But I can rest up, you know?'

Elena nodded. 'Rest is good,' she said softly, uselessly.

Reno nodded at her, a kind of gratefulness in his eyes that Elena hadn't mentioned the obvious. She smiled at him, trying to convey her understanding, though truthfully she felt sick. She could smell the slums on Reno's blazer, discarded on the chair, and for a moment, when she looked at him, she would have sworn she saw flames dancing on his head, licking at his face.

A/N- a pretty long chapter, and not one I'm too happy with. I've tried to get across how the Plate being dropped was something the Turks had to accept or else, but I'm not sure I managed it. It might be edited at a later date, if I can think how to improve it. Anyway, I'd appreciate feedback on this chapter, so y'll know what that means. Review! Please? The next chapter's ready, and if you review, I'll put it up quicker XD