LEFT BEHIND


Authors Note:
This story is being edited mainly for grammar and hopefully more coherent as well.
Thanks to all of you that reviewed to the original flawed text.

Summary:
Reno is missing in action after being sent on a simple scouting mission. Old relationships that were deemed unimportant are causing havoc in the recovering world...specifically Shin-Ra.


"Sir!" A voice interrupted his phone call. Tseng frowned and slammed the button on the intercom.

"I told you that I do not want any – ANY - interruptions!" he yelled as he still held the phone to his ear. He was trying to make sure that everything was being properly prepared for the retrieval mission. "It better be important!"

"Sir!" Her voice sounded strained and he calmed himself a little bit. She may be sitting at the desk, but she was not the type of person to be shaken so easily. After all, she had been working with Turk's her whole career. "There is someone here to see you and I think you should see her now."

He frowned. "Who the hell would be disturbing me at six in the morning?" He knew that he was tense and his nerves were frayed. He had to get himself back together or else he would be useless on the mission.

A voice that he had not heard in years came over the intercom. He heard his secretary gasp and the sound of a chair crashing. "I have info on your missing Turk, Tseng."

He froze at the sound of the voice. "Lira?"

There was a cold laugh that came over the intercom. "Are you going to see me now, Turk?"

He nodded before he realized that she couldn't see him, "Enter." He pressed another button at the bottom of the desk. It turned on the cameras as well as alerted his fellow Turks that assistance was required.

She entered his office.

She had matured from the seventeen year old girl that he saw last time. She strode into the room, wearing the Commander of Bearnin Militia uniform. She had on large dark sunglasses that covering her eyes and he was grateful for that. He had only seen her eyes once, and those cold icy bright eyes were enough to unnerve anyone. Her black hair was longer that before and reached down to her curvy hips which swayed with each step. She still held that aura of power but now it was mixed with madness as she squared her shoulders and a sneer formed on her full lips.

His eyes went to her hand where there was a flash of red.

Once he realized what it was, he gasped.

She threw it on his desk and he found himself staring at the red pony tail that he was certain belonged to Reno. He knew no one else that had hair like that.

"We have to have a little discussion about your stalking," she said and crossed her arms under her ample breasts. He was well aware that she had her spear attached to her upper right arm and even though it wasn't currently in her hand it, could be thrust through him at a moments notice. Her other arm was clad in black metal. It used to be grey, but she had obviously upgraded the armour. She cocked her hip to one side resting that clawed hand there. He could feel her cold glare, even with those dark glasses.

"We have interests in the town, and I had…"

"Don't bullshit me, Turk," she said, unmoving. "I was the only interest Shin-Ra had in Bearnin and I have no tolerance for you scum, SOLDIER, Turk, or scientist ruining my town and family."

"I am not lying, Lira," he said as he looked at the ponytail that was on his desk. He had some horrible images of what else she could have done to Reno. He had been the one that had taught her how to interrogate people, after all.

She shook her head. "It doesn't really matter. Your interests in the town are now going to shift. I am no longer there. I am standing in front of you and I am proposing a trade."

"Trade? You are trying to trade a Turk for something? We don't buckle to threats like that." He hated to lose Reno, but he wasn't about to let them succumb to terrorist threats and she was not on the nice list. He knew that Lira would go through with her threats. She was not one to buckle once she made a decision. It looked like she had the plan already in mind and Tseng was not liking the little smirk that was on her lips. If he had been a lesser man, he would have shuttered.

"I haven't killed him yet," she thrust her chin towards the pony tail that was on the desk. "He is hurting though and, as you well know, I don't have qualms about killing."

"What are you trading for?" he whispered. "I do not have the authority…"

"I already told you not to bullshit me!" She yelled, her voice sharp and full of ice. It was a voice that you could hear over the din of a battle.

"What do you want?" He said simply. His phone was blinking. They were surrounding his office.

"I need…" she lowered her head and her hair hid her face from him. He could still see how tense her jaw was though as she spoke the rest of the sentence through clenched teeth. "…medical help for Errow."

He blinked. "Errow?"

"I don't want any of that crap that Hojo was trying to pull on us. I don't want Hojo anywhere near him! Got that! This is my last chance for Errow and you will give it to me." Her voice cracked a bit but that resolve quickly returned. "If I see Hojo even in the same building, I will gut him."

"This is hardly the way that you would go around asking for help." He thought of adding that Hojo was dead and that would not be an issue, but he had a feeling that she wouldn't really listen to anything that he said. She had her own agenda and as illogical as it was sounding, she was set on her path.

"ShinRa, has never been forthcoming with assistance in the past," she snarled and raised her chin again. "Do we have a trade then?"

He looked at her. Her jaw was clenching and unclenching and it looked like she had a nervous tick under her left eye. He realized that she was clenching her hand to prevent herself from shaking. "Once Errow is healed, you can have the pesky Turk back," she said.

Tseng examined her and took a slow easy breath. "I cannot do that trade. I do not know…."

"It is what I am offering. It's a simple trade!" She snapped. "A life for a life! An eye for and eye! That is how it works!"

Tseng looked at her. She was completely mad. She gave a shrug of her shoulder and she was holding that spear in her hand. It was shaking as she held it. He could hear the metal glove armour clank as she clenched that hand into a tight fist. "It is ShinRa's fault that he is sick to begin with!"

"Lira, you need to calm down," Tseng spoke as calmly as he could. "We don't need to go this route."

She laughed.

The laugh sent a horrible chill down his spine. Her metal clad hand reached up and pulled through her hair. He doubted he could reason with her. Her chuckle continued. "Come on, you are the head Turk," she said with a crazy grin. "You do care about what I do with the red headed pest? Don't you?"

Tseng sighed. He realized that he should have kept a closer eye on her to prevent this from happening. He knew that she was not stable.

"How could I agree to this trade?" Tseng said. "What illness does this Errow have?"

Her crazy smile disappeared and a frown came over her face. "None of the doctors know but you have mad scientists at your disposal." He spotted tears coming out from underneath her sunglasses. "Your crazies can heal Errow and then you can have the Turk. Once he is healed, I will disappear back to the small crappy little town."

"It is not that simple, Lira," Tseng said. The blue light flashed on his phone. They were in position around his office. All he had to do was to say the word and they would rush in.

"You are the one making this complicated!" She snapped and took a step closer to his desk. "It is a simple trade. A life for a life!"

"You are asking something that I cannot guarantee," he said as calmly as he could. He could see that she was not stable. She shook her spear slightly as it extended forward and the tip was nearly touching his chest.

She sneered at him showing teeth now. "Doesn't your Turk mean anything to you?"

"Of course," Tseng said. "But this trade is ridiculous. We should not even be talking about this."

She took a deep breath and it was like her whole body shuttered. She lowered her spear but he knew that she was not at ease. He remembered well how she could handle that weapon. Even while looking relaxed it did not mean that if she chose to strike it would not be deadly.

She looked at the floor and in a low mutter, "Then they are both dead."