Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Interludes – Scene 49

Scene Notes: Arrest number 8 proved to Reno that Tseng wasn’t above showing Reno a little tough love back when he was a rookie.

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Reno pushed upwards, trying to lift the window, and swore when it didn’t budge. He was sure he’d left it unlocked. What the fuck was he supposed to do now? He looked furtively around the darkened block. Tseng’s car sat in its usual parking space… which meant that the Turk lieutenant was home. And if he was home, Reno had no doubt in his mind that he’d hear him if he came through the front door.

Hell, the son of a bitch was probably staking out the living room, waiting for him to come in.

It was his own fault… first the concert had run long, and then afterward, a girl had coaxed him into the back seat of her car. Not that he’d really needed much coaxing. Unfortunately, that meant that he was now trying to slip into the apartment he shared with Tseng, undetected, a little before one in the morning… which was well after the ten o’clock curfew Tseng had imposed upon him when he’d moved in. The effort wasn’t going well.

He’d nearly resigned himself to walking through the front door and taking whatever punishment was coming when a thought suddenly occurred to him. If Tseng really was sitting there waiting for him… then he wasn’t in his bedroom. And if he wasn’t in his bedroom, the teenager might still have a chance at saving his ass after all. Assuming, of course, that one of those windows happened to be unlocked.

Reno grinned to himself and slipped around front to peer through a small gap in the curtains. The senior Turk was, indeed, seated in his favorite chair, calmly reading a book. There was only one reason he’d be up this late… and that was to catch his rookie breaking curfew. The redhead smirked…

“Not gonna make it that easy for ya, Boss…” he snickered softly, and hightailed it around to the east wall of the building, easily finding his way to one of Tseng’s windows in the darkness. He tried to open it, but was met with resistance. Shaking his head, he moved on to the other window, and laughed at his good luck. Not only was it unlocked… it was open a crack to let in the warm night air. He slowly raised it just far enough to climb through, careful not to make a sound, and hoisted himself up and over the sill.

Just when he thought he was free and clear, a heavy hand clamped down on the back of his t-shirt, roughly dragging him backwards and throwing him to the ground.

“Hands where I can see ’em!” a voice ordered, and Reno’s eyes widened slightly as he suddenly found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. His eyes then locked onto the badge on his assailant’s chest, and the redhead groaned. He slowly lifted his hands.

“Uh… heh… I know this probably looks pretty bad from where you’re standin’… but I swear it’s not what it looks like…”

“Hands above your head, and roll over onto your stomach,” the police officer replied.

“Seriously, man… I wasn’t breakin’ in!” Reno protested even as he complied with the officer’s command. “I mean… I guess, ya know… technically… I was. But I wasn’t! I fuckin’ live here!”

His arms were unceremoniously seized and forced behind his back, and a pair of handcuffs snapped into place, securing them there.

“Got any ID on you to prove that?”

“… Uh…” the redhead stammered, remembering that he’d left his company credentials in his bedroom. And he didn’t yet have the driver’s license that Tseng had promised he’d help him get this weekend.

“Mmhmm… That’s what I thought,” the officer replied, hoisting the rookie Turk to his feet. He began prodding him toward his patrol car.

“W-wait! I’m not lyin’… Just go knock on the door! My… guardian…” he sighed softly, still not entirely comfortable referring to Tseng as such, “… is inside. He’ll vouch for me.”

“Oh, he will, will he? Let’s just go and see about that.” With that, Reno found himself being marched around to the front and up the walkway to the door. The man knocked loudly, and the young Turk shuffled in apprehension. Tseng wasn’t exactly gonna be happy about this… but, he supposed, it was better than spending the night in jail. The door opened a crack and his mentor peered out, looking distinctly displeased.

“Yes?” he answered.

“I’m sorry to bother you so late, sir… But I caught this young man attempting to break into your apartment through one of the windows. The boy claims he lives here and that you’re his guardian.”

Tseng’s attention shifted almost imperceptibly to the redhead, and for a brief moment Reno was absolutely certain he saw him smirk.

“I’ve never seen him before in my life,” Tseng said, calmly, and Reno’s jaw dropped.

“I thought that might be the case,” the officer said, with a tip of his hat, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this little miscreant. You have yourself a good night, sir.”

“B-but… I… hey, wait!” Reno sputtered, as he was dragged off towards the patrol car. He was quickly installed in the back seat, and the door slammed shut, trapping him. He turned toward the apartment, where his mentor still stood in the doorway, watching him, and saw him remove his PHS from a pocket, typing something into it briefly, before tucking it away and stepping back inside.

A moment later, Reno’s own phone chimed in his pocket. The police officer climbed into the driver’s seat, and started the engine. As they were pulling out of the parking lot, the redhead finally managed to maneuver the device out of his back pocket and open up the text message. He was forced to bite back several curses as he read it.

“Next time, don’t miss curfew. I’ll see you in the morning.”

~fin~