Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 28: Investigation

“This is not a relationship,” Remy said firmly as her car sailed down the freeway. She could feel her passenger’s eyes on her as she drove… could practically sense the smirk.

“I’m pretty sure we agreed on no-strings-attached…” Reno pointed out. The senior Turk shook her head as she took the exit into Sector 0.

“I just… want to be clear. I’m not interested in a significant other, and the last thing I want to do is lead you on. I just want someone to… take care of certain needs from time to time. If this is to continue, then there needs to be some ground rules.”

Reno leaned back and snickered.

“Would ya relax, Remy? I’m not lookin’ for a commitment here, either, ya know. Nothin’ wrong with sex for the sake of sex.” He winced slightly as he shifted in his seat. “Sex with a fucked up shoulder, though… that mighta not been the best idea I’ve ever had. Gonna be feelin’ that for awhile.”

She shot him a glare, and he laughed.

“Okay, fine,” the redhead chuckled, “So what are these ‘ground rules’?”

“First… I don’t want to date you. I just want to sleep with you. We will not be going out for dinner or to the movies or anything like that.”

“Works for me…” Reno replied, with a chuckle. He loved it when a woman knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to ask. And Remy wasn’t the type to be afraid of much of anything.

“And second… We do not discuss arrangements, prior or future, in the office or while on duty. I’d like my private life to remain private,” she replied. Reno shrugged… and immediately wished he hadn’t, because his shoulder was still sore as all fuck from earlier. That little stipulation didn’t exactly surprise him. Remy… much like Tseng… was a very private person by nature. He didn’t really care one way or the other, personally. He allowed himself a small smirk.

“So… does that mean ya don’t want me to inform everyone in the office you’re bangin’ me now?”

“Reno!”

“I’m kiddin’! Lighten up, Remy. I actually kinda like the idea of bein’ your dirty little secret…” he teased.

“Reno, I swear to Leviathan…” she began, and the redhead quickly sobered.

“That was joke. I make jokes. It’s what I do,” he said, heading things off before she legitimately took offense. “Look… I’m good with however you wanna do this. You want me to just continue to keep my mouth shut, that’s fine by me. I told ya a long time ago… I’m not big on braggin’.”

“Hmph… says the Turk known to most of the building as our resident Lothario.”

“… Our resident what now?” he asked, unable to place the reference.

Remy shook her head and smiled finally. “He’s… a character in a very old book. Nevermind. It just means you have something of a reputation.”

The redhead snickered. “Ooooh… you mean I’m the company bicycle.” Remy glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. “Heh… ya know. Everyone’s had a ride?”

The female Turk rolled her eyes and turned into the entrance to the company parking deck.

“For the record… it’s not me braggin’ that’s earned me that reputation,” he added, grinning. “Just… ya know. Word gets around. Turns out the girls down in the secretarial pool are all terrible gossips.”

“Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Not especially. It’s all true,” he replied, laughing, and resisting the instinct to shrug again. “Well… mostly true. I’ll admit, I’ve heard a fewrumors that might be a little exaggerated. Actually, it makes it a lot easier to find a date these days, so I really can’t complain.” He paused for a moment, and glanced over at her, uncertainly. “Uh… speakin’ of. I’m not tryin’ to be an asshole, but… you’re not, like, expectin’ this to be an exclusive thing, right? ‘Cause I’ll be honest with ya… I’m not real good with exclusive. Which, I know kinda makes me a total manwhore, but… I don’t wanna give ya the wrong idea here.”

Remy pulled into her parking space and shut the car off.

“Let’s… just agree that your sex life and my sex life are our own business outside of where they intersect and leave it at that.”

“Fair enough.”

This may have been the most practical, business-like arrangement he’d ever had with a woman, but it was definitely something he could get on board with. It didn’t hurt that Remy was hot as fuck in bed, of course, and he readily would have agreed to whatever she wanted… but he hadn’t been joking about liking the idea of keeping this on the down low… though for an entirely different reason than Remy had. Honestly, it kind of turned him on.

He smirked and released his seatbelt. “So… just outta curiosity… at what point do ya consider us ‘on duty’? Ya know… so I know when to stop makin’ lewd suggestions ‘n shit.”

Remy returned his smirk and undid her own seatbelt. “I think right about now is appropriate.”

---

Friday seemed to go by in a blur… for everyone except Reno. He was still on medically mandated light duty, and, as the two most experienced rookies had been sent off with more senior members of the team, and Liam was with Veld and Tseng partaking of a strategy evaluation elsewhere in the building that afternoon, the redhead had found that his day had ground to a screeching halt shortly after lunch. He’d been relegated to grumbling over his long-ignored pile of paperwork.

The weekend, however, had proven to be a pleasant deviation from his usual routine. Remy had called him around nine on Saturday night. He didn’t return home until late Sunday morning, and he couldn’t help but think that if all of their encounters were like that… he was really going to enjoy this little arrangement.

Not that he’d never had a nice friends-with-benefits setup prior to this. He and Lira had been doing just that for basically as long as he’d known the woman. And Izzy had been more than happy to provide him with a warm bed and a soft body whenever she was free after work – and on more than one occasion, during work – until she’d up and married some guy from legal last year and quit sleeping around.

Well… he’d stopped sleeping with her, on account,anyway. Reno wasn’t interested in in being the “other guy”. It never ended well, and his experience with Rufus’ former secretary and her trigger-happy fiance had been all the proof of that he’d ever need.

But with Remy, it had been a little different. There’d been no small talk. No flirting. No awkward goodbyes afterwards or offers of breakfast the next morning. He was there for one reason, and neither of them were interested in the general niceties. They’d just gotten straight to it… and when they were done, he’d left and gone on with the rest of his weekend.

It was… pleasantly simple, actually.

That, however, was in the past. Today, he found himself begrudgingly dragging himself through the all-too-familiar doors on the ninth floor, and presenting himself and his formerly dislocated shoulder for examination.

“Well… don’t yeh look like yer pleased ta see me taday…” Dr. Ward commented upon seeing his resigned scowl. Reno fixed her with an irritated look.

“Can we just get on with this? I’m sick of sittin’ around the office all day.”

Ward chuckled and escorted him back behind the privacy curtains.

“How does yer shoulder feel, then? Yeh’ve stopped wearing the sling, I see.”

“Little stiff ‘n sore when I first wake up in the mornin’ the last couple of days… but other than that, seems mostly okay.”

Ward nodded. “Let’s check yer range of motion, then,” she said, “Arms straight out in front of yeh.”

The redhead complied, and the doctor took him through a series of poses that resulted in him looking like some sort of deranged pinwheel for several minutes until she was finally apparently satisfied with results. She nodded in approval.

“Yer not quite a hundred percent… but I think yeh’ll be alright ta resume most of yer normal duties. Noheavy lifting until I say otherwise, though, and stay off that Titan-forsaken obstacle course fer at least three more weeks. Don’t over exert yerself, and be sure ta use whatever common sense yeh may possess, fer once in yer life. If something yer doing is causing yeh pain, stop doing it.”

Reno snorted softly in laughter. “Yeah, yeah… I hear ya. So… I’m good? The boss can put me back in the field?”

“Yer cleared fer general duty,” she replied, reaching into the pocket of her lab coat and pulling out a somewhat off-white colored sucker, “Just… be mindful of yer limitations, and try not ta re-injure yerself. And I want yeh ta check in with me in two more weeks just ta be sure it’s healing up proper.”

Reno grinned and popped the candy in his mouth savoring the sweet taste of artificial pineapple. “Splurgin’ on the tropical flavors this week, huh, Doc?”

“I thought yeh must be getting bored of the the standard ones by now,” the doctor replied, “Off with yeh, then. Get ta work. I don’t want ta see yeh down here again until yer recheck.”

“Heh… you ‘n me both, Doc…” he said, grinning as he made his way out of the medical suite.

He didn’t even make it onto the elevator before his PHS rang. The redhead grunted in annoyance and fished the phone out of his pocket.

“Yeah, boss? What’s up?” he answered, pressing the elevator’s call button.

“Has Justinia cleared you for field duty?” Tseng asked. The doors slid open with a faint chime.

“Uh… yeah, actually. Just got done with me. I’m literally steppin’ into the elevator right now. Why?”

“Head straight to the roof. Rude is already prepping the helicopter. There was a theft in Junon last night, and our SOLDIER killer’s signature was found at the scene.”

“On it,” Reno replied. He ended the call and hit the button for the roof instead of the Turks’ offices. He was quickly delivered to his destination and strode out into warm spring air made just slightly chillier by the stiff winds that blew so high above the city. He spotted Rude aboard the aircraft, going through the pre-flight checklist and hurried over to join him.

Reno swung himself up into the cargo section of the copter and hauled the door shut behind him before he made his way forward into the cockpit.

“Gettin’ an early start on shit this week, I see,” he said by way of greeting.

“Hmph… Shiva forbid we ever have a nice, quiet Monday morning,” Rude chuckled, “Tseng fill you in already?”

“The boss just said somethin’ got stolen in Junon.”

“Two shells for the base’s mako cannon turned up missing this morning. Three spent bullet casings left in their place,” the bald Turk replied. “Lieutenant Commander Nacelle is expecting us.”

“Tch… better not keep Vir waitin’ then. Somethin’ got swiped on her watch, ya know she’s gonna be pissed.”

---

“Tseng… a word please,” Veld called out as the Turk lieutenant was on his way towards the elevators. Rufus was expecting him. That, in fact, was the reason he’d sent Reno to accompany Rude to Junon, rather than going himself. He seldom passed up an opportunity to pay Viridia a visit unless he had other commitments… even if it was only a very short visit that happened to accompany a situation briefing followed by an investigation.

“I’m afraid I only have a few minutes, sir… I’m due to escort Rufus on his inspection of Fort Condor shortly,” he said, in a clipped tone. Even having the weekend to calm down, he was not happy that his mentor had sent Reno into Scarlet’s domain against his express recommendations.

“It won’t take long,” the Turk leader replied, beckoning him into his office. Tseng joined him, pulling the door shut behind him. “You’re still angry with me, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir… quite frankly, I am,” Tseng said, “There was no reason subject Reno to that. Remy, or any of the others, for that matter, could have handled it. I trust you’ve had time to look over their statements?”

Veld gestured to the pair of chairs in front of his desk and Tseng took a seat, his superior following suit a moment later.

“I have. And I must admit, I found it to be rather disturbing reading. I… didn’t realize he’d been so adversely affected by what happened at Christmas. I simply thought it would be a good opportunity for Reno to face her and put it behind him once and for all, for his own peace of mind,” Veld explained, “I’m forced to concede that I was… wrong. I shouldn’t have sprung it on him the way I did. He wasn’t prepared for it, and it likely only ended up reinforcing the initial trauma. At the very least, I should have consulted with you first. I’m… sorry.”

Tseng was somewhat stunned by the admission. It wasn’t often that Veld openly admitted that he’d made a mistake. Though to be fair, if wasn’t often his mentor made a mistake like this, to begin with. Not at this level, anyway.

“You… had his best interests at heart, sir,” Tseng grudgingly allowed. Veld nodded in acknowledgment.

“I did…” he replied, and then gave a rather self-deprecating chuckle, “Titan save us from people who mean well.”

Tseng cracked a small smile at that comment. “Yes, sir.”

“You realize, though, that simply keeping him away from her is not a permanent solution? She’s an executive, and Reno is a Turk. Eventually, he’s going to end up having to interact with her for one reason or another.”

The younger Turk sighed and looked earnestly over at his mentor.

“Yes, sir… I know. But as last week’s incident, I think, very clearly demonstrates, forcing the issue will do more harm than good. He’s far more troubled by what happened then he lets on. That, combined with everything else that has happened over the past few months… I… have been considering suggesting that he speak with someone. I suspect he’ll be resistant to the idea, though. With the exception of Dr. Ward, he’s not overly fond the company medical personnel.” He sighed again and shook his head, “And frankly, I think he finds it too humiliating to speak to me about it in any great detail. My opinion of him… matters to him. Perhaps more than it really should, sometimes.”

“Hmm…” Veld replied, nodding. And then he smirked slightly. “Back in the day, when I was occasionally worried about you and knew you wouldn’t talk to me about whatever happened to be bothering you… I had a habit of offhandedly mentioning my concerns to Kai.”

Tseng’s eyes narrowed at his mentor. “That really should surprise me far less than it does, sir.”

Veld chuckled. “I’m just saying… it can be hard to admit your perceived failings to your mentor. Sometimes a young Turk needs someone slightly less… deified.”

“I don’t think Reno has placed me on quite that high a pedestal, sir,” Tseng deadpanned, rolling his eyes slightly, “But… perhaps I will have a word with Rude when they return from Junon.”

“A wise idea, I think,” Veld agreed. “I won’t keep you any longer. Go and see to Rufus. Preferably before I receive an angry phone call demanding to know where you are…”

---

The mountain range was still capped with snow as they passed over… though it was obvious that it was quickly receding as spring wore on and summer drew closer. In a month or two, it would only be found on the highest of peaks.

“Do anything interesting this weekend?” Reno asked, glancing over at his partner in the pilot’s seat. Rude shrugged and shook his head.

“… Not by your standards,” he chuckled.

“Tch… and just what’s that s’posed to mean?”

“There was Shadow & Sword marathon. It ended with the mid-season finale and a behind the scenes special on Sunday night.”

Reno groaned and rolled his eyes. “Seriously, man… how can you watch that crap? Only time it actually gets interesting is when they finally get around to killin’ someone off.”

He heard Rude laughingly snort over his headset. “I don’t get why you of all people hate it so much. Half the show is sex and violence. Seems like it’d be right up your alley.”

“Tch… what’s the appeal of watchin’ people pretendin’ to fuck when ya can just flip to one of the porn channels ‘n watch ’em gettin’ it on for real?” he replied, “And anyway… ya gotta listen to all the political bullshit and the romantic bullshit and the family lineage bullshit in between the halfway decent shit. It’s boring.”

Rude sighed heavily, shaking his head. “I give up…”

“Hmph… good. That means we can talk about somethin’ else. Anything else,” Reno snickered.

“What’d you get up to?”

“Eh… not much, really. Had a date Saturday night. Spent most of Sunday playin’ games. Though I did finally get around to cleanin’ some of the crap outta my closets. I’m still tryin’ to figure out how the fuck I’ve managed to collect so much stuff since I moved up to the Plate. I came up here with literally everything I owned in a goddamn backpack. Now I’m runnin’ outta closet space.”

It was true. The sheer amount of accumulation was a bit staggering. Things he’d bought. Things he’d been gifted. It had all added up so gradually that he hadn’t even realized how cluttered his place had been getting until he’d been showered in a minor avalanche of t-shirts awhile back. He’d been putting off the purge for quite some time now.

“That’s what happens when you don’t throw anything out for three years…” the bald Turk laughed.

“Hey, I’m not used to just tossin’ shit, man,” the redhead protested. “It’s weird for me, ya know? Hell… before I was a Turk, I had clothes that mighta been more patches than actual clothes before I finally had to quit wearin’ ’em.”

Rude snickered and looked over at him. “You want help going through things? Hmph… before you go full hoarder on me…”

“… Yes, please,” the redhead quietly admitted, and his friend laughed at his sheepish expression.

Junon came into view just beyond the mountains, and Rude veered more to the east, circling the military base while he radioed down for clearance to land. A short while later, they touched down on one of the helipads. Before the engines were even fully shut down, Reno spotted the familiar figure of Viridia Nacelle striding purposefully towards the aircraft.

“Uh, oh… she really does look pissed,” the redhead commented, hanging his headset up on the hook by his seat.

---

Rufus was… not the most pleasant of company this morning. Tseng had noticed it immediately, though he hadn’t expected the young man’s obvious displeasure to be so persistent. Normally, he rather enjoyed getting out of the city, even if it was only a matter of company business. Today, however, they’d been en route to their destination for almost fifteen minutes and Rufus had hardly said two words to him.

“Sir…” the Turk lieutenant began, only to be silenced by a glare and a harsh sigh from the Shinra heir.

“Yes… I know,” he snapped, though it was in a tone that suggested that he was actually attempting to be less petulant than he currently felt. “I’m in a terrible mood.”

“Is there something on your mind, sir?” Tseng prodded.

“Well, obviously,” he shot back, pointedly rolling his eyes. “But it’s not as if you can do anything about it…”

His father, then, Tseng surmised. The elder Shinra had been getting on his son’s nerves more often of late. Apparently, the Shinra heir was being pressured to find a companion of the female variety. Rufus was… less than thrilled by the intrusion into his private life.

“I simply don’t understandhis obsession with me… procreating,” he spat, when his escort didn’t comment further. “And in any case… I detest children. Did you know he had the audacity to arrange for me to meet some random woman for brunch later this morning?”

Tseng chuckled softly. “Ah… well, that certainly explains today’s impromptu trip to Fort Condor. I assume we won’t be returning until somewhere around lunch time?”

“I don’t find this the least bit funny, Tseng,” Rufus grumbled, “I don’t enjoy being forced into such meetings. Besides which, when… and if… I choose to marry, it will most certainly not be to some high-bred harlot handpicked by my father.”

“Forgive me, sir. I didn’t mean to make light of your situation. I know firsthand how uncomfortable that can be. My own father was rather insistent that I marry at a fairly young age, and I didn’t care for the idea, either.”

Rufus raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Oh? And how did you manage to get out of it?”

“I left home the night before I was to meet my future bride, stowed away on the first boat heading in the general direction of Midgar, and joined the Turks, sir,” Tseng replied, somewhat teasingly. The vice president snorted softly.

“I don’t suppose you currently have any openings…” he deadpanned.

“Not at present, no.”

Rufus sighed and folded his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his seat. A moment later, he reached for the glass of wine he’d poured himself shortly before take-off.

“Is that really true, Tseng?”

The Wutaiian Turk smirked slightly. “That we presently have no openings on the team? Yes, sir… I’m afraid so.”

The younger man rolled his eyes and took a sip of his wine. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“Yes… it’s quite true,” Tseng chuckled. “My father is… very controlling, and always has been. In retrospect, I suppose he meant well, but it did no great favors for our relationship. Obviously, given that we are no longer on speaking terms. It simply got to the point that I could no longer stand having my life lived for me.”

“I imagine he can’t have been happy at finding that his legacy had up and left the country under cover of darkness…”

Tseng smiled slightly. “No, he wasn’t. Though I had the good fortune to have been born the middle child of my family. Less was… expected of me in that regard.” He sighed and shook his head. “But from what my mother told me after the fact, he was actually quite devastated by my sudden departure… though I don’t think he ever truly understood why I left.”

“Do you… miss your family?” Rufus hesitantly asked.

“Yes, sir. Very much so,” he replied, adding “Even my father, on occasion. He will almost certainly never speak to me again, but for all our differences, he is still my father. I can’t help but care about him.”

The Shinra heir suddenly smirked. “Well… at least you won’t have to worry about introducing him to the heir-apparent you’ve managed to produce. If he’s anything at all like Father, I suspect the slum rat simply wouldn’t be up to standard.”

Tseng cocked an eyebrow at the younger man. “And just when did you come to the conclusion that Reno is my heir?”

“Please… I’m not stupid,” Rufus said, sipping from his glass. “Aside from the fact that you’ve all but adopted that little urchin of yours, you were Veld’s protege, and now you are his second in command. The slum rat is your protege… Logic dictates that he’ll eventually end up with your job.”

“I must admit, I’m rather surprised. You don’t seem particularly bothered by that thought anymore.”

“Hmm… I’ll take that as confirmation of my theory, then,” he said, smugly swirling the remaining liquid in his glass. “That obnoxious little bastard is a constant source of irritation, and I still think he’s rather beneath you. But he’s not stupid, either. You could do far worse.”

“I’m glad you approve, sir,” Tseng replied, smiling faintly, “I told you that Reno would eventually grow on you, if you just gave him a chance…”

“Hmph… He’s grown on me, alright. Grown on me like a bad fungus…” Rufus snarked, drawing a soft laugh from the Turk. Well… it was progress, at least.

---

“You two! Follow me,” Lieutenant Commander Nacelle demanded almost the moment Reno and Rude exited the helicopter. Reno’s eyebrow rose in surprise, but he said nothing… simply fell into step behind the notably annoyed security officer. They were halfway down the tarmac before he finally spoke.

“So… I’m guessin’ the higher ups aren’t real happy about the theft?” he ventured, and Viridia came to a dead stop, turning on her heel to face him… and for a moment, the redhead was half-convinced he was about to be very painfully murdered.

“That is putting it mildly,” she snapped. Reno blinked and backed up a step.

“… Sound’s like you’re not real happy, either.”

“I have two rounds of highly classified ammunition inexplicably missing from the munitions storage, and several commanding officers breathing down my neck, wanting to know just how they managed to disappear. I don’t have time to play nice with the Turks today!”

“Whoa… Easy, Vir. We’re here to help, remember?”

Viridia exhaled a long, aggravated breath, and resumed her course towards the aforementioned munitions building.

“I’m sorry,” she said curtly, “But this isn’t some minor theft. Those shells were mako rounds. You know the level of classification involved with any kind of mako technology. If we don’t get them back, heads are going to roll and as second in command of base security, mine is dangerously close to the chopping block here.”

“So let’s make sure we get ’em back, then,” Reno replied. Viridia escorted them through the, now even more heavily guarded than usual, munitions building, and down to the lowest level. The redhead had never been in this part of the base before… and he couldn’t help but think that Sato would have thought he’d died and gone to heaven if he’d been the one to accompany him. The stockpile of weapons, ammunition, explosives, and other equipment was impressive even to him… and Reno didn’t usually get all that impressed by weaponry.

“Uh… is it safe to store so much shit that might just up ‘n explode in one place like this?” he queried, as they passed a locked cage containing missiles for shoulder-mounted rocket launchers.

“Better in one place than scattered all over where we can’t reliably keep track of it,” Viridia replied. An explosion here would be significant… but mostly contained, even with the large amount of ordnance. This building is heavily reinforced.”

“Point taken,” the younger Turk responded… though he still wasn’t sure how he felt about walking through was what was, essentially, a giant box of bombs. They stopped in front of yet another secure cage, and Reno blinked in surprise.

The far wall was lined with shelves that went from the floor, all the way to the ceiling two levels above them. And sitting on the shelves, in neat rows, were shells nearly as tall as he was. Two slots were conspicuously unoccupied.

“How in the fuck did someone walk off with two of those things without anyone noticin’?” he managed, as Viridia unlocked the door to the secure compartment. The security officer responded with a glare. “Uh… right. I guess if ya knew that, we wouldn’t be havin’ this conversation, huh?”

Rude walked over to the empty spaces, and picked up one of the three comparatively tiny spent bullet casings that had been left behind. He flipped it over, examining the maker’s mark on the end.

“Same as Veld found next to the SOLDIER.”

“I have to get back. We’re in the middle of a base-wide search right now, trying to find where they got in… and back out again. And we have patrols searching the countryside for any sign of the thieves. Someone has to keep things organized,” said Viridia. Reno nodded.

“We’ll let ya know if we find anything.”

She took her leave with a sharp nod, and Reno turned to his partner.

“Okay, so let’s say you wanted to steal an Ifrit-forsaken bullet the size of… you. Where would ya start?”

“… Security patrols,” Rude replied after a moment. “First obstacle is to gain access. I’d need to know when and where I might have a chance at doing that.”

“I think we can safely assume Vir’s got that shit covered. Probably been grillin’ her personnel all mornin’. She’ll figure that one out before we do. So… next step. You somehow got inside. How the crap do ya move one of these?”

Rude studied the shells for a moment before walking over to one and wrapping his arms around it. He could barely reach halfway. Not enough to get the kind of grip on it required to move it.

“Hmph… not by hand, that’s for sure. Not sure I could do it, even with you helping me. Not that you’d be much help.”

“I’m gonna pretend that you didn’t just call me a weakling,” Reno snickered, “Any idea how the base personnel move ’em?”

“Mostly automated, I think,” he said, pointing to a large racking and crane system suspended from the ceiling high above them. He glanced around the somewhat cramped cage and spotted a controller hanging on the wall. Pressing the button marked “Down” caused the crane to whir to life and a cradle to descend to the floor. He smirked slightly and used the joystick to direct it towards the redhead, who grinned as he obligingly hopped aboard and was subsequently lifted upwards.

“Heh… Ya know, if I didn’t think it’d get my ass kicked by Vir – and then probably by Tseng – I wouldn’t mind playin’ around on this thing for awhile,” Reno called back down to him, “Hey, can ya send me over to that opening over there?”

He pointed to a small recess in the far wall with an arched opening in it. Rude did as requested, stopping the crane a short distance from the portal. It was dark inside. The service lights, apparently, didn’t extend into whatever this little exit was, and the bottom of the tunnel looked to be a conveyor belt of some sort. Obviously meant to transport the shells either into or out of the building.

“Where d’ya think this goes?” Reno asked.

“My guess would be to the cannon’s loading area,” Rude replied, shrugging. The redhead supposed that made sense. Those shells had to weigh several hundred pounds apiece. It’s not like you could just send some poor private to run down and grab a couple ’em in an emergency. A smear of color on the side of the tunnel caught his eye and he reached out, lightly touching the spot. His fingers came back coated in something slightly damp and blue.

“Paint?” he murmured softly to himself, rubbing his fingers together. Sure seemed like it. And given that everything else up here looked to be painted a bright safety-yellow… that was just a little out of place. “Hey, Rude… Find out where this thing comes out ‘n meet me over there. I’m gonna go check it out.”

“… Try not get stuck in the machinery or anything. I’m not explaining that to to Lieutenant Commander Nacelle. And I’m definitely not coming in after you.”

Reno rolled his eyes and flipped his friend off as he stepped from the cradle to the motionless conveyor belt and ducked into the tunnel.

~end chapter 28~