A Day in the Life
Reno.
---32---
Reno is sure it won't work.
He holds his cellphone securely in his right hand, cigarette in the left, and doesn't have to wonder at the response he'll get when Strife answers on the other end. In fact, he'd put money on it that the ex-SOLDIER won't even grace him with his voice, let alone a greeting.
The situation is serious, and Rufus has succumbed to asking the blond ex-mercenary slash ex-rival for help, but Reno isn't sure what's worse. It wasn't too long ago that they were all fighting, that Strife was Shinra enemy number one.
Last he heard, Cloud Strife was hanging low.
So when the phone answers before the second ring, Reno is so startled, he forgets whom he was even calling. But it's the voice on the other end that brings him back to reality and his thought process stutters to a halt just in time for him to realize that he's supposed to be responding back.
"Lockhart?"
"May I ask who's calling?"
Considering their history, he's surprised she doesn't recognize his voice. He wants to mess with her, maybe cut her down a few pegs—just for old times' sake and all—but he can't muster up the humor in the midst of his request.
"Reno."
It isn't until her familiar laughter, soft and humorless, flows across the line that he relaxes. He was supposed to talk directly with Strife, not the brunette bartender. Then again, he'd been dreading this call all day.
"Yeah, I remember you," she responds, and her voice garners an edge to it he knew would be there.
It isn't until she asks him why he's calling that he remembers why he's calling, and he's for once glad to be speaking to her rather than her ex-Shinra counterpart.
"Lookin' for Strife—he there?"
She laughs again, and he wonders why this is so, considering there isn't much to laugh about nowadays.
"He's out."
Dropping the cigarette he'd forgotten about to the ground, he crushed it underneath his left boot as he took a deep breath of the humid air outside the lodge. It had rained earlier that morning, and mist was beginning to rise through the trees. In the distance, he could vaguely hear the sounds of Edge as midday began to pick up.
"Got some work for him—he available?"
The glare of the sun causes him to squint as he shields his eyes from its rays.
"Maybe. Why?" Her tone is challenging—he likes it.
"Got a job for him. Tell him to get to Healin as soon as he can."
He's glad he doesn't have to explain anything; even if she asked, he won't tell her.
"Fine."
Click.
She doesn't deserve to know, Reno thinks bitterly to himself. Nobody does.
Yet he wonders how far it's spread.