Truth be told, Reno didn't quite remember how it got to 3am. He knew there was coffee involved, thanks to the cold mug in front of him, and lots of patches of one-sided conversation, in which he talked and Rude said nothing. He also suspected there might have been retribution for the sunglasses – his nose had been bleeding at some point, and it was only when he stopped for a bathroom break that he realised. All in all, it was one of his better nights.
He also wasn't sure how they'd managed to get into the AV room, although he suspected Rude had something to do with that, too. He knew why they were there, though – the antics of the other rookies during the film would make perfect blackmail material, and he was searching for some nice stills of some of the more embarrassing positions, before he wiped the evening from the records. He didn't want anyone else having the same bright idea as he'd had, after all. So far, he had Shru and Chell covered – one camera had a very nice view of what Shru's hand was doing behind Chell's back, while another showed where she had her hands. Very unseemly behaviour for Turks, Reno mused, and perfect for showing to Tseng, should there ever be a need...
Rude appeared to be rearranging the wires underneath the desk, which gave Reno the perfect excuse to start tampering with the camera feed. If, as he suspected, the cameras were the new X50 model, then he should be able to pan around the saved feed, and zoom in, hopefully giving him a nice view of what Bokken was doing when he thought no one was looking...
Surprised, he let out a curse, and absently heard a thudding noise, the shattering of glass and a different expletive. A quick glance confirmed that, yes, he'd startled Rude, and yes, his other pair of glasses was broken. However, that was nothing compared to what was on his screen. Ignoring the glare from his partner-in-crime, he went back to manipulating the camera feed, rewinding to the point which had caused him to curse.
"Rude?"
"Yeah?"
"These cameras got audio?"
An affirmative grunt. One last wire was clipped into place, and the speakers on the wall crackled with ambient noise. As Reno zoomed in on the two figures on his screen, the noise faded away and was replaced by the crystal-clear sound of the lovers as they caressed and kissed each other in front of the screen.
"He called me Bertha! Seriously, does he have no idea who I am?"
"I know your name, and who you are..." A quick kiss. "He doesn't know any of our names. Too high and mighty to mingle with the likes of us." A longer kiss this time, tongues flicking. Reno found himself leaning in closer, marvelling at the details the cameras had recorded. "Tseng's favourite... Guaranteed a place at the top... Why would he want to bother with the likes of us?"
"Don't be daft, Matt." A soft caress. "Come on... You're supposed to be a sex-crazy, unlimited-libido owner!" She grabbed his hands and held them to her face. "Don't touch me like I'm a block of wood!"
"Only if you kiss me again, El... And do it like you-"
A hand on his shoulder pulled Reno's attention away from the interplay between the two rookies on the screen. He wasn't sure how he hadn't noticed them while the film was on, but he had an inkling he'd been stealing Kat's popcorn while he wasn't on his beanbag. He looked up at Rude, and puzzled over the appearance of a new pair of sunglasses on his partner's face.
"Can you believe that? They're mistakin' natural talent for favouritism! And he thinks I'm 'high and mighty'! Plate-born bastard thinks I'M too far up myself to bother with the likes of him... Guess it never occurred to him a slum-rat might have learnt this Turk stuff from a young age..."
Rude handed him a new, steaming cup of coffee. Reno wasn't sure where from – there were plenty of *No eating or drinking in the AV lab* signs, and no kitchen attached with all the fancy appliances for making the fancy coffee Rude was giving him, but here he was, coffee in hand. Reno took a sip of the fancy coffee and continued.
"I mean, jus' coz I couldn't read nothin' on the intake day, so their fuckin' name tags meant nothin' to me, they think I'm one of them – a stuck up plater with nothin' to do all day but sit and read shit. And we get given so many code names in trainin', is it any wonder I don't know what their real name is?"
Rude passed him a vodka shot and a bottle of white liquid. Reno gratefully added the vodka to his coffee, ignoring Rude's wince, and looked at the white fluid in confusion.
"Wha' the fuck, yo?"
"You have training."
"And this is...?"
"Liquid caffeine. Used in the field during prolonged missions."
Reno flicked the cap off the bottle and added it into his coffee, before heading to the door. Rude shook his head at the mistreated coffee and sat down at the computer.
"Ok, so I gotta go then, else Tseng'll have my ass. Can you burn me a copy of tonight, with audio, before you wipe it?"
"Wait."
Reno turned back and went over to where Rude was expertly tapping on the keyboard. Bertha and Kata- no, "El" and "Matt" were centre-screen, back on their beanbags after dancing together. Matt was staring at his popcorn bowl in confusion, while El was looking sadly at the now-empty bottle beside her, certain it had been full when she left. Reno could be seen in the corner of the screen, smug and contented.
"I didn't do it, yo!"
"I didn't say you did."
"Rude, I'm gonna be late... Tseng's gonna kill me!"
"Shh."
"Rude..."
"Look."
Reno looked. Rude zoomed in. Reno's jaw dropped.
"When you bring my blouse back later, will you be staying?"
"Why, my dearest Elena, did you have something in mind?"
"Well..."
"Hmm?"
"OOH! Stop that!"
"Tell me..."
"Oh, fine."
Matt waited expectantly as Elena pouted.
"Well, Janet then... She did a lot of singing while Rocky was sexing her up, right?"
"There was singing? I only noticed the sexing. There was good sexing. Lots of it."
Reno was struggling to equate Kat the Tseng-mimic with Matt the lover. He sincerely doubted that Matt was genuinely in love with Elena – he'd made the same small talk with a lot of women, and slept with them later, but he'd never hidden his true self from them. What they saw was what they got – a cocky, self-sure redhead with unlimited energy and a good reputation. None of this *peel back the perfect exterior, and reveal the REAL man underneath* crap.
"You dirty... Yes. And the major theme of the singing was... sex. Really good sex."
"You want really good sex? I can do really good sex!"
"So I've heard... But, I've never had 'really awesome sex'."
"You've never let me try."
"Oh, hush. I would, but..."
"But? I sense a big but here. Why do I get the feeling I won't like it as much as I like yours?"
She swiped at him. Reno cheered.
"Stop that! You just... Ugh. For once, it'd be nice to have a guy make me... well... um..."
"Spit it out!"
"I've heard you don't like it when a woman does that."
"No, I don't..." He leant in closer; Rude zoomed the camera in and turned the speakers up. Elena shivered as he nibbled her ear. "But I'm always willing to make an exception for you."
The look on Elena's face was a little over the top, Reno decided. How could she not see he was playing her, and doing it well?
"Tell me what you want, my dear..."
She appeared to be struggling to think straight. On-screen Reno glanced over and rolled his eyes at the pair, then drank some more beer and went back to throwing popcorn at the screen.
"Matt..."
"Tell me..."
"I... want a guy... who can make me... Hey! Stop that, I said! He'll make me... wetter than... an... ocean... and begging... for... MERCY!"
Matt leaned back smugly.
"Why, did I not just do that?"
Reno and Rude sat there, stunned. A little voice in Reno's head was whispering that it was 3.35am, and he was meant to be in the dojo. However, a much louder voice was telling him to use that film somehow, to take the recording and plot and scheme until he had the perfect revenge on the pair of them. Well. Mostly Matt, Reno admitted to himself. Damn plater wouldn't know what hit him. But, he'd get to make Elena's wish come true as well. Reno's brain did the maths – two birds add one stone equals one pie, plus spare ammo for later – what more could anyone ask?
Rude watched as Reno's eyes sparked with ideas. He'd been watching the rookies for a while, scouting the group for those with the talent to be promoted to active Turk duty. The others would be diverted to protection duties for less-important individuals – the people important enough to warrant Turk protection, but not important enough to get an actual Turk.
Veld had strongly hinted that Rude would be rewarded for recommending Matian to Heidegger as the best rookie to be promoted to the Turk's senior ranks. Tseng had heavily implied this would be a bad idea, and favoured Elena. Rude couldn't quite fathom that choice – yes, she was cute and perky, and quite creative, but she was also only a month into her training and still more likely to harm herself or her partner than her opponent. Not that he could see what Veld saw in Matian either. True, the guy could wield a katana with fearsome skill, and his professionalism rivalled that of Tseng himself, but...There was something about the man that made Rude feel uncomfortable. And, given as the new rookie would probably become his partner, that rookie making him feel uncomfortable was not a good thing.
That didn't leave many other choices,though. None of the other rookies were up to parr with Matian, except maybe Reno. But where Matian was almost a carbon copy of Tseng, Reno was the anti-Tseng. Matian had excellent hand-to-hand weapon skills; Reno could shoot like he was born in a Western. Matian had power and strength that nearly rivalled Rude's own. Reno had stealth and grace equal to that of Veld himself.
Matian fitted the Turk image better. Reno embodied the spirit of what it meant to be a Turk. Rude knew who he wanted as his new partner, and it certainly wasn't Matian. The difficult part would be in convincing his superiors of his recommendation. It wasn't likely to be popular.
A PHS rang. Both men patted down their pockets. Reno found his, and cursed as he saw the time. 3.45am. Rude's phone wasn't ringing, so Reno hit the redial button.
"Yo, Tseng, s'up?"
Rude pulled up a text programme on the computer. They weren't supposed to be in the AV lab; it was off limits to rookie Turks, and senior Turks without good reason. He needed to tell Reno this, and quickly. He could only pray Reno had learnt to read since his acceptance into the Turks.
"Where am I? Why, what time is it?"
Rude beckoned Reno over to the screen.
"I'm with Rude. Have you seen the bombs the guy makes? We were just about t'go blow an old warehouse up, so I could see some of the flashier ones. He said he'd take me! ... Well, no. But, he didn't say he wouldn't, so... Yes boss. No boss. Three bags full of TNT, boss."
Reno hung up. Rude had tidied, clearing all the empty bottles and coffee cups into the chute, and had started wiping the evening from the records.
"Apparently, I'm late for trainin'. Comin'?"
And together, they left the President's AV lab.