Taking Care of Reno: Meteorfall
Chapter 10: Place Your Bets
Tseng stood silently just behind the President’s right shoulder, hands clasped behind his back, watching the man across the table intently.
“Is he always so friendly?” Dio asked, his tone jovial, but the Turk easily caught the hint of nervousness underlying the words. Rufus settled back in the plush chair and swiveled it slightly, glancing back at him, unconcerned.
“No, he’s not. You’ve actually caught in an unusually good mood,” the President replied before turning back to the master of the theme park, and resting his elbows on the edge of the table, fingers steepled before him. Tseng said nothing… though it did take some effort not to chuckle when Dio blanched slightly at the comment. “But I’m not here to discuss my security detail. I’m interested in an artifact… and everyone knows that you’re the expert in such matters.”
“Yes… my secretary told me. A Cetra artifact, I believe she said.”
Rufus nodded. “Something called the Keystone, to be specific. I don’t suppose such an item has made its way into your collection?”
“I’m afraid not… I have very little of the Cetra, to be honest. Difficult to obtain… Every time I’ve managed to locate something for sale, a mysterious buyer always seems to outbid me,” he replied, with a pointed look. Tseng wasn’t surprised that he knew… or at least suspected. Shinra did its best to keep it’s acquisitions under the radar, but someone as deeply invested in the antiquities market as Dio was bound to have heard rumors.
“How… unfortunate,” Rufus said, with a hint of a smug smile. “Information, perhaps, then? Have you heard anything about it?”
Dio chuckled to himself. “Oh… I may have heard a rumbling or two.” Tseng’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. The man had heard more than a ‘rumbling’, he was certain. “But why would I just give away trade secrets?”
“How much?”
“Well, now… I suppose that depends,” he replied, leaning forward, “How badly do you want it?”
Rufus smirked and folded his arms. “Dio… I can assure you that you are not my only option here. If your intent is to squeeze me for a few thousand extra gil, you’re going to find yourself coming up entirely empty-handed.” He stood and turned to Tseng. “I believe we’re done here.”
“Now, wait… Wait just a minute. Tell ya what… I’ll give you a sample of what I’m offering and you can decide for yourself if you’d like to… uh… give my price a little more consideration.”
The President calmly sat back down. “I’m listening.”
“I don’t have the Keystone. But you’re not the first person who’s come asking about it recently. Difference is… I don’t think the other interested party was looking to buy.”
“Who?”
Dio grinned and sat back. “That’s the bit that’s going to cost ya.”
“Five thousand for his name.”
The man looked affronted. “Five thousand? That’s all Shinra Company can offer me?”
“Five thousand,” Rufus repeated, glancing over at Tseng. “… And my friend here will strive to maintain his good mood for the duration of our meeting.”
Dio frowned, and eyed the younger man appraisingly, and for a moment, Tseng was certain he’d accept the offer. At last, he smiled. “Tell ya what… Let’s bet on it. The chocobo races… The finals start tomorrow afternoon. You pick the winner in the first race of the day, I’ll give you his name. No charge. You pick a loser, I’ll sell you his name… for five hundred thousand gil.”
Not a bet Tseng would have taken… but then, he didn’t have a spare five hundred thousand gil just lying around. Rufus tended to be rather more conservative with company funds than his father had been… but he knew the man had walked in here willing to pay just about any price Dio asked… even if his demeanor said otherwise.
“Very well… I accept,” Rufus replied.
“Wonderful!” Dio exclaimed, rising to his feet. “I’m looking forward to it!”
Rude steadied himself against a large boulder as he yanked his shoe off and – perhaps a bit more aggressively than necessary – shook the pea-size pebble out of it. The damn thing had been stabbing him in the ball of his foot for the last fifteen minutes. Avalanche had been in a hurry, apparently. This was the first time they’d stopped to rest in almost four hours.
It wasn’t easy staying out of sight… the mountains provided surprisingly little cover. In the end, he’d had to take the high road, or risk being seen. Hopefully, they would keep to the main road to New Corel. If they ventured off in another direction, it would be a lot harder to tail them unobserved.
From what he’d gathered back in Costa del Sol, Hojo had told them to ‘head west’… no further explanation. Rude had no idea why the scientist would be helping them in the first place. The party had dutifully followed his advice, though… which was why he presently found himself on the upper ledge of the road that led to the Mount Corel reactor and the little settlement the remnants of the original town’s populace had built and christened New Corel.
He pulled his shoe back on and peered down at his quarry. They looked like they were getting ready to move again.
“A rather pricy purchase, don’t you think sir?” Tseng asked as they departed Dio’s meeting room. Rufus shrugged.
“Only if I lose the bet. Frankly, even if I do I’m getting off far cheaper than I expected. I am rather annoyed about the delay, though. I had wanted to be in Rocket Town tomorrow. But I suppose it can’t be helped. Did you have the opportunity to speak with Tuesti?”
Tseng nodded. He had, in fact, taken Rufus’ advice and contacted the head of Urban Development just as soon as they’d gotten themselves checked into the hotel. It had been a very… interesting… conversation, to say the least. He wasn’t entirely convinced of its chances of success, but it was better than nothing.
Reeve Tuesti, it seemed, had quite the skill set… though given that he’d been one of the driving forces behind the design of the company’s mako reactors, perhaps it shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did.
The man had built himself an automaton. Originally, it had been meant for demolitions work and disaster recovery… going into places too structurally unsound or too contaminated for a living person to venture. When funding to the department had been cut some time ago, he’d continued to work on it, off the books and on his own time… and apparently at his own expense. The result, as he’d described it, was an interesting hybrid of manual control and artificial intelligence.
If nothing else, at least they wouldn’t have to worry about a rescue operation if it failed to gain access to Avalanche or was revealed as a spy. The robot was on its way to them now. All he needed was an opportunity to introduce it to its targets.
But that would have to wait for the time being.
“Do you want me to take Scarlet to Gongaga now, sir?”
Rufus snorted in contempt. “Let the the cow wait. I’m not particularly inclined to do that woman any favors. Her ‘huge materia’ will keep, I’m sure. She and Heidegger both need to be reacquainted with their place in this company. I will not have them trying to undermine me at every opportunity as they apparently believe they can. Especially Heidegger.” He smirked slightly. “Hmph. That’s why I took his toys away.”
“I’m not quite sure how I feel about being referred to as one of Heidegger’s toys, sir,” Tseng chuckled, “But I certainly won’t complain about having to obey your orders instead of his.”
“That fat bastard would happily command you to leap off a cliff if he thought it would gain him something. He considers the four of you expendable. I do not.”
“Even Reno, sir?” Tseng teased, to which Rufus merely rolled his eyes.
“Obnoxious as he is, I’ll admit… even the slum rat has a few redeeming qualities,” he replied, shaking his head. “Though how that idiot ever managed to seduce someone like Elena, I will never understand.”
Tseng’s eyebrow rose in concern. “Please don’t tell me you’ve taken a more… personal… interest in one of my Turks…”
“Hardly,” the younger man, scoffed, condescendingly. “I merely find her company agreeable. Nothing more. And even if that weren’t that case, the woman is entirely too obsessed with fawning over her precious little redhead. It’s really quite disgustingly obsequious at times.”
The Turk leader gave a heavy sigh. “You have a crush on her, don’t you, sir…”
“I most certainly do not!” Rufus indignantly replied.
The dust cleared and he was alone. The silence of the ruined sector was deafening, and when some debris fell to the ground, the resulting crash threatened to shatter his eardrums.
“What have they turned you into?”
He spun to face the source of the voice, throat constricting as his eyes fell on Lira and the infant cradled in her arms. Her face was tear-streaked, and she gazed down sadly at the little bundle, wrapped in a ragged and stained light blue blanket.
“He never even had a chance…” she whispered, a quiet sob in her voice, and Reno felt his blood run cold.
Reno shook his head in denial, and squeezed his eyes shut, sinking to his knees in the rubble.
“No… You weren’t there. The baby wasn’t there. This is just a goddamn dream…”
“Wake up and face the truth! You’re a monster, Reno… Look what you did!”
“No…” he whispered in replied, refusing to do as she asked.
“Wake up!”
“Leave me the fuck alone!” he shouted, eyes snapping open… only to find himself looking into Elena’s very, very shocked face. He swallowed sharply, looking around at his surroundings in confusion for a moment. The villa. “‘Lena?”
She breathed a soft sigh of relief, and settled next to him on the edge of the bed. “It’s okay… It was only a dream.”
He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes as he sat up in bed. That was one dream he could have done without. “Well, that sucked.”
“Do you want to tell me about it?” she asked. “Was it… was it about me again?”
Reno shook his head and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him. He still felt cold, and she was warm.
“No… You weren’t in this one, thank Ifrit…” he said softly, as he buried his face against her shoulder. He inhaled slowly, the faint scent of her perfume oddly calming. “Lira was, though. And… the baby, too. She called me a monster.”
Her arms held him tight, and he slowly began to relax. It was just a dream. He’d known it even while it was happening. Still… it was going to take awhile to get that image out of his head. The baby had been so tiny… so delicate… and so still. And Lira had looked utterly devastated.
None of it was real, of course. Lira was safe and sound in Midgar, with Ward checking in on her on a regular basis. Her baby was months away from even being born. It wasn’t real… but for a few agonizing seconds, it had felt like it was.
For a moment, he felt queasy all over again.
Something soft was pressed into his chest, and he slowly lifted his head, lips quirking upwards when he saw what it was. Elena had retrieved El from the tangled bedding.
“I’m alright,” he said, as his fingers closed around the toy. He managed a quiet laugh. “That fuckin’ shrink back in Midgar would have a field day watchin’ me right now.”
Elena pulled away from him, and gripped him firmly by the shoulders, forcing him to look at her. “You’re not a monster, you know. No monster would be in so much pain.”
The redhead smiled faintly at that, and wondered if she had any idea what it meant to him to hear those words from her right now… if she was really aware just how important she’d been to keeping his head above water through all of this. She was seeing him at his absolute weakest, and she wasn’t giving up on him. He didn’t think he could even put into words how thankful he was for that… because he wasn’t sure he could have handled this on his own.
“Do you want something to eat yet?”
He really didn’t. His stomach had settled, but after that nightmare, any appetite that might have returned had quickly retreated. Still… an empty stomach wasn’t a good thing for him. He should get at least a few calories into him before he burned through whatever was left of his reserves.
“Somethin’ light, maybe.”
Elena smiled and stood up. “Get dressed. I’ll make you something… and then I’ll tell you about our new assignment.”
“Tseng here,” the familiar voice responded over the tiny speaker of Rude’s PHS.
“You’re never going to guess where Avalanche is headed.” He watched from the shadows of the tram station as they boarded. Their visit to New Corel had been a brief one. Apparently Mr. Wallace wasn’t very popular in his hometown these days.
“… Rude, these guessing games are becoming a rather distressing habit with you of late.”
The bald Turk chucked. “They’re boarding the tram to the Gold Saucer.”
“They’re here?”
“Just arrived. And apparently they’re not the only ones. Sephiroth was spotted in the area as well. He may have headed up to the Saucer. Can’t confirm.” He moved the phone slightly away from his ear as the speaker issued a long string of Wutaiian curses. “Hmph… Thought you might not be too happy to hear that.”
“Get up here as soon as you can.”
A familiar sound caught his attention and Rude glanced upward, spotting the helicopter heading toward the amusement part, the Shinra logo emblazoned on its side.
“On my way. You expecting a delivery?”
“As a matter of fact, yes,” Tseng replied. “And if Avalanche is about arrive, I had better go and see to it before I miss my opportunity.”
The call ended and Rude tucked the phone back into his pocket. The tram was just getting ready to leave… he could easily catch it. Unfortunately that would mean revealing himself to his targets. He sighed and shook his head.
“Damn heights,” he muttered, as the tram car began to leave the station. He slipped unseen past the station attendant, and hoisted himself onto the back of the car instead, hoping that the railing he was clinging to wasn’t just decorative. It was a hell of a long drop from the ropeway to the desert below.
The helicopter lifted off again almost as quickly as it had landed, leaving Tseng on his own with a very queer-looking companion.
“Not exactly subtle, is it, Mr. Tuesti…?” he commented.
“Reeve, please. And he was never intended ta be used as a spy, yeh know…” the head of Urban Development responded, his camouflaged voice issuing forth from the robotic cat seated atop a massive moogle, and Tseng cringed. The computer-generated faux-Mideelian accent just made it so much worse…
His doubts about this were rapidly increasing. Had the the potential intelligence gained from infiltrating Avalanche not been so important, he’d have given serious consideration to the possibility that Rufus had decided to play a truly Reno-caliber joke on him.
He prodded the cat, and it responded by swatting at him.
“Cait Sith dunna like ta be poked.”
“It’s doing that on its own?” he asked, surprised.
“He’s programed ta respond ta external stimuli without user intervention, like a human reflex. It’s intended ta prevent him from takin’ damage in the field. And it makes him seem more realistic.”
The Wutaiian Turk snorted softly. “As realistic as a talking cat riding a moogle can get, at any rate. Alright… I had hoped to have more time to prepare, but Avalanche is already on their way here. Let’s see what this little creation of yours can do.”
The cat and its moogle counterpart saluted in unison. “Yeh can count on Cait Sith!” it replied, before bounding off into the Saucer. Tseng shook his head, watching it go. He didn’t know Reeve Tuesti well… he was relatively new to the executive board; only in his third year. But his current impression was that the man was a bit… odd. Still, if he could actually pull this off, the information he would provide would likely prove useful.
It was at the moment, that he heard the tram pulling into the station, and he hurried out of sight. The car rumbled to a stop and the doors opened, its passengers disembarking.
“Hey, Barret, cheer up!” Aerith said, smiling as she strolled out onto the platform.
“I ain’t in no cheery mood… So jes’ leave me alone,” Barret muttered, stomping away a short distance from the group.
“Really? That’s too bad…” she replied, before seizing the ex-Solider’s arm and pulling him toward the park’s hub. “Let’s go, Cloud!”
Tifa and the feline creature joined her, and though he strained to listen in on the conversation, Tseng couldn’t make it out over the grating background music. Whatever they were discussing, it didn’t take long. Aerith covered the short distance to her sulking friend.
“We’re going to go play,” she stated, decisively. Barret glowered at her.
“So play! … Fuckin’ messin’ round ‘n shit. Don’t forget we’re after Sephiroth!” He stormed off and disappeared through one of the hub’s tunnels. Tifa rested a hand on Aerith’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry. He’ll be fine. Let’s take a look around.”
The group set off into the park and Tseng finally emerged from the shadows. It wouldn’t take them long to run into his freshly recruited spy. For now, however, he needed to get back to Rufus. Before he could, though, he heard a quiet grunt behind him as something dropped to the ground, and he turned back to the tram car.
“Hmph… Thought they’d never leave…” Rude said, flexing his aching fingers as he rounded the vehicle. Tseng laughed.
“When I said ‘as soon as you can’, that wasn’t quite what I had in mind.”
The other Turk shrugged. “It got me here, didn’t it?”
“Great… another damn boat,” Reno muttered, “The fuck’s he want in Gongaga, anyway?”
Hojo was already boarding the small ship. It would be leaving shortly, to carry him down the coast and around the southern-most tip of the continent to the little town. Why, however, was a mystery. There was next to nothing there. Just a ruined reactor and a handful of small-town hicks… who didn’t much care for Shinra, from what he knew of the place.
“Maybe he’s planning on going on to Cosmo Canyon from there?” Elena offered, peering at their target through the gap in the fence beside him.
That at least made some sense. The mountain village was a tourist destination… and Hojo still seemed to be in vacation mode. Reno couldn’t shake the feeling that the man had other purposes, though. He didn’t act like he was intentionally following Sephiroth… but he certainly seemed to be heading in roughly the same direction.
“Only one way to find out, I s’pose. You get the tickets?”
She held them up. “Are… you sure you’re going to be alright getting on a boat again so soon?”
“Only one way to find that out, too,” he replied, smirking. “Tch… I’ll be fine. Pretty sure the only reason the last trip made me so sick was Rude’s fuckin’ all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. I shoulda quit while I was ahead.”
Elena giggled quietly as they stepped out of their hiding place and started towards the boat. “Did you really just admit that it’s possible for you to eat too much?”
“Heh… even I have my limits, ‘Lena.” He leaned in and kissed her. “Ya know… one of these days, I’m gonna bring ya here for a real vacation.”
“We already tried that, remember? On the way home from Veraheim. You ended up with third degree sunburns thanks to me.”
“I’m not countin’ that… and it wasn’t your fault,” he replied, grinning. “But I am gonna bring ya here and we’re both gonna have a good time without havin’ to worry about chasin’ murderers or AWOL scientists or bein’ stressed out from bein’ buried alive by a couple of Wutaiian asshats. Just a nice romantic vacation for the two of us. Promise.”
She smiled and took his hand, pulling him towards their waiting transport. “That sounds amazing, but…”
“… But right now we gotta go to work,” he finished for her with a sigh, and shouldered his travel pack. The pair hurried up the ramp and found their compartment. It was a lot more comfortable than the utilitarian quarters they’d had on the cargo ship from Junon. It would take them the better part of a day to reach Gongaga, and the ship would be making some brief stops along the way, dropping off passengers near the Gold Saucer as well.
Elena sank down onto the bed and toed her shoes off with a contented sigh. “I feel like I’ve been running around all day…”
“You have,” Reno snickered. “First on the fuckin’ boat from Junon, then takin’ care of me, then followin’ Hojo around all afternoon. Lucky us, the bastard’s not goin’ anywhere for awhile…” He grinned as he knelt down next to her, taking one foot in his hands and pressing his thumbs deep into the sole. Elena groaned and laid back, letting her eyes close.
“You don’t have to do that…”
“I’m gonna do it anyway,” he replied. “‘Sides’… you’ve been waitin’ on me hand and foot for over a week now. ‘Bout time I paid you back.”
“Reno… you don’t owe me for being there for you. I take care of you because I love you.”
He grinned and redoubled his efforts, drawing a very pleased moan from his lover. “I know that. Goes both ways, though. So just let me take care of you for awhile, instead.”
“Mmm… That feels so good…”
“I live to please,” he chuckled, switching to the other foot. Elena propped herself up, watching him work, and the redhead smiled faintly to himself under the scrutiny, wondering what was on her mind now.
“Reno… can I ask you something?”
He glanced up with an amused expression. “You know you can ask me anything…”
She giggled. “How is that not a single one of the women you’ve dated managed to snap you up before we met?”
“Easy. None of ’em were you,” he replied. She used her free foot to playfully kick him in the shoulder.
“I mean it!” Elena laughed, “You’re what every woman dreams of finding. Someone who’s warm and funny and kind…” She grinned teasingly. “… and not too bad looking…”
“And obnoxious and a slob and more than a little fucked up…” he added, shaking his head, smiling slightly in return. “… and let’s not forget… total pervert.” Elena laughed again and gently pulled her foot from his grasp, sitting up.
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing…”
“Heh… Maybe. Guess there’s been one or two that mighta gone somewhere if I’d been willing to let it happen. But the truth is, no one’s ever made me feel the way you do, ‘Lena. You’re a first for me. And a last… ’cause I know if I ever lost you, I could never find anyone who could replace you. And I wouldn’t waste my time lookin’, either.”
“Reno…” she whispered, and the redhead sighed as he spotted the familiar glimmer of tears in her eyes. He smirked and climbed up onto the bed next to her.
“And now I’m back to soundin’ like your fuckin’ romance novels again,” he said with a feigned groan. Elena pulled him in and pressed her lips to his, claiming them as her own. He didn’t need any encouragement to respond in kind. When they finally parted, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes locked on his.
“I like it when you sound like a romance novel…” She placed a hand in the center of his chest, pushing him down onto the mattress. Reno grinned and pulled her down with him.
The sound of gunfire was what had summoned him… The sight of the gunman firing at anything and everything that moved sent him scurrying for cover before he was spotted. Rude’s eyes narrowed as the man calmly shot one more victim in the back as he fled… one of Dio’s security personnel, judging by the uniform. His body joined several others on the floor. The gunman laughed to himself and strode up the stairs toward the battle arena. Rude, meanwhile, was already reaching for his PHS.
“We’ve got a problem,” Rude said, as soon as Tseng picked up. “There’s been an attack outside the Battle Square.” He knelt down beside one of the dead men and rolled him over onto his back.
“Sephiroth?” Tseng asked.
“No… Didn’t recognize him. Had a weapon similar to the one Barret Wallace uses, though. Should I go after –” Footsteps echoed in one of the tunnels and Rude glanced up, swearing under his breath. He abandoned his investigation and ducked into a small side passage just as Cloud Strife emerged into the Square.
“Did Sephiroth do this?” the ex-Solider asked, seemingly to himself as his friends began to arrive one by one. He shook his head, answering his own question. “No… They’ve been shot. Not Sephiroth’s style…” Cloud’s attention, and Rude’s as well, was drawn to a slight movement in the corner. One of the gunman’s victims wasn’t quite as dead as the rest.
“Hey! What happened?” Strife shouted, kneeling over the man.
“A… man. A man… with a gun… on his arm…”
“Cloud… it can’t be…” Aerith whispered, a horrified look on her face.
“Hold it right there!” a voice suddenly boomed from one of the tunnels, and seconds later, Dio emerged, his security forces in tow. “Are you a part of this, too?”
Rude blinked in surprise as a large robotic moogle with a cat on its back bumbled out of one of the tunnels. “Run fer it! This is goin’ta get ugly!”
Avalanche didn’t hesitate… Cloud sprinted up the stairs toward the arena, the rest of his party not far behind. The Turk shook his head. The idiots had just cornered themselves. Dio and his men wasted no time in pursuing them.
“Looks like Avalanche is gonna take the fall for this,” he said, resuming his conversation with his superior.
“Not our problem. Rufus is with me, but Scarlet hasn’t returned from wherever she wandered off to. See if you can find her… and when you do, bring her back to the hotel. I want all of our assets secured until we’re certain the situation has been dealt with.”
“On it.”
“Well?” Rufus demanded, looking at him expectantly as the Turk leader pocketed his phone.
“Calm down, sir. We’re perfectly safe here.”
Rufus scowled, and stormed toward him. “To hell with our safety! Is he here?”
Tseng shook his head. “No. It’s not him. Rude didn’t recognize the attacker.” He ushered his charge over to the little sitting area of the room, and urged him down onto the couch. “Whoever he is, however, he’s still loose somewhere in the Gold Saucer… which is why we will be remaining here until things calm down.”
The young executive looked a bit deflated as the words registered, but said nothing more. Grudgingly, he turned his attention back to the roster for the chocobo races. He did, after all, have a bet he rather preferred to win… and to do that, he had to pick the winner of tomorrow’s finals. Rufus sighed.
“I may perhaps have been just a bit overzealous about this bet.”
The Wutaiian Turk chuckled and took the racing form from him, studying it. “Personally, I would go with Sevensarta. His stats make him exceptionally well-rounded, and if I recall correctly he’s won the last two Gold Saucer cups… Though his usual rider had a bad fall in his last race. I believe an alternate will be riding in the finals. That may affect Sevensarta’s performance tomorrow.”
Rufus eyed his bodyguard curiously. “Since when are you an expert in chocobo racing?”
“I… follow the professional leagues. It’s something of a hobby.”
“I’m fairly familiar with most of your hobbies. This is the first I’ve heard of this one…”
“It’s a fairly… recent… hobby.”
Rufus’ eyebrows rose. “This wouldn’t happen to have something to do with a certain Lieutenant Commander’s interest in the World Chocobo Racing Circuit, would it?” Viridia Nacelle’s obsession with the WCRC was well known in Junon. He’d never seen the appeal himself.
Tseng sighed. “I… decided to indulge her some time ago and joined her at a race. As it turns out, I rather enjoy it as well…”
“You know… I really don’t see why you don’t just marry her,” the President said, offhandedly, and he poured himself a glass of wine. “You’ve certainly been together long enough.”
“We’re both quite happy with things the way they are, sir. And I will thank you to leave it at that.”
“And why should I?” he responded, haughtily.
“Because if you don’t, I might accidentally let it slip to Reno just how ‘agreeable’ you find Elena’s company, sir.”
Rufus froze and looked up from the racing roster, studying Tseng carefully as if to determine whether or not that was an idle threat.
“So… Sevensarta, you think?” the younger man replied after a few moments.
Tseng smirked. “Yes, sir.”
“I know it sounds cliché… but I feel like I should we should be sharin’ a cigarette after that…”
Elena snuggled against his side and snickered. “You’re right… That’s horrifyingly cliché. And completely gross, besides. I’m glad Rude made you quit.”
Reno glanced down at her, curiously. “I never knew it bothered ya so much…”
“I’ve just never liked the smell. And it gets into everything, so even when someone’s not smoking, it kind of lingers around them.” She smiled and let her fingers drift along his arm. “I’d rather you just smelled like you.”
The redhead laughed quietly, and rolled to one side, landing gently on top of her. He captured her wrists and pulled them above her head, loosely pinning them with one hand, while the other traced a winding path down the side of her neck and along her shoulder.
“Yeah? So what exactly do I smell like?” he asked, grinning as she squirmed a little at his touch.
“Like soap and autumn leaves, with just a hint of rain,” Elena giggled, “It’s nice.”
“… Okay, seriously? No more romance novels for you.” That only seemed to make her laugh harder, and she pulled her arms out of his grasp and wrapped them around his neck instead.
“Well, you asked…”
Reno smirked and turned his attention to the soft, sensitive flesh at the base of her throat, teasing it first with his lips, before nipping at it gently with his teeth.
“Hungry? Or just seeing what I taste like?” she asked, coyly, and the redhead lifted his head to look up at her.
“Actually, now that you mention it… yeah. After all that exercise, I’m kinda starvin’,” he said with a laugh. And it didn’t exactly surprise him. Breakfast had been a complete wash, thanks to his unprecedented bout of seasickness… and lunch had been decidedly lighter than usual, as he hadn’t felt much like eating when he’d woken up. By now, it was going on eight o’clock at night, and he really hadn’t had a full meal – at least not one that had stayed down long enough to be digested – all day. Elena pushed him off of her and swapped positions, straddling him to pin him in place.
“Then let’s go see what they have to eat around here… before ‘all that exercise’ catches up to you and you starve to death,” she said with a giggle. Reno gave her a lewd smile.
“I can think of worse ways to go…”
“Pervert.” She rolled her eyes and climbed off of him, reaching for her clothes. “Come on… I’m a little hungry, too.”
A few short minutes later, they were making their way towards the ferry’s little cafe on the topmost deck. It wasn’t much… just an open area with a canvas roof and tables scattered at intervals throughout. The menuboard at the counter offered a handful of dishes, along with drinks and small side items, and a ‘daily special’ handwritten in the top right corner.
Elena studied the options for a moment, debating the merits of the chopped salad with kale versus the grilled chicken wrap. Reno, meanwhile, was already ordering the special… fish and chips with a side of cole slaw.
“For fuck’s sake, ‘Lena… quit tryin’ to figure out which one’s healthier, and just get what ya want…” he chuckled, picking up his plate. She joined him a minute later, having gone with the salad.
“Not all of us can eat anything they want and still weight a hundred pounds soaking wet, you know…” she teased.
“One forty-six, for your information,” he replied with feigned indignation, “And just for the record, I have to work to hang onto every ounce of that.”
Elena blinked in surprise. “That’s all you weigh?”
He shrugged. “Why so shocked? I’ve told ya… I burn through calories like a goddamn chocobo on speed. Hell, Ward had me labeled as dangerously underweight for almost a year before she finally figured out that this is normal for me.”
He happily downed one of the deep-fried fish filets before upending a bottle of ketchup over the fries and going on.
“Been that way since I hit puberty. Which, incidentally, kinda sucked back when I didn’t know where my next meal was comin’ from. That’s why I’ll eat just about anything. Couldn’t afford to be real picky as a kid.” He paused long enough to take another bite. “Also why I hate seein’ food wasted… though I didn’t mind that so much back in the slums,” he added, with a grin, “When people threw stuff out, it usually meant a little somethin’ extra for me.”
“W-what? Wait… so you…”
“Dug through the trash to eat? Hell yeah. Lots of kids like me did that. It was easier than huntin’ for cripshays or stealin’ it. Not that I didn’t do that, too. Didn’t have to do it quite so much after I started workin’… but what I made at the bar only went so far…”
Elena looked down at her plate, and took a tentative bite. “How did we ever let things get so bad in the slums?” she asked, quietly.
“Most people topside just don’t give a shit. They don’t see what it’s like, and I think if they were really honest about it, a lot of ’em don’t want to. They’re just glad they’re not stuck down there.”
“Okay… but why does Shinra let it go on like that? If the company got involved…”
Reno shook his head. “What? And hurt their bottom line?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… Shinra Company benefits from the slums bein’ the shithole they are. Think about it. Tons of labor, and they’ll work for next to nothin’ compared to people from the Plate. Just gotta bring ’em up on the trains every morning and chuck ’em back down there at night. They’re isolated, so… sporadic terrorist activity aside, we really don’t have to put a whole hell of a lot into policing the place to keep ourselves safe. Plus it’s the center of the local black market, and trust me… Shinra doesn’t wanna shut that down. We buy all sorts of things off the books that most people don’t know about,” he explained, “Hell, we even profit off Wall Market. Or we did ’til Corneo fucked himself over and hit the road. Shinra got a cut of his business in exchange for us not shuttin’ him down outright. Heh… and between you, me ‘n the kale, the former president occasionally took advantage of a… discount on services, too.”
“President Shinra… visited Wall Market?” she said in disbelief.
“Pretty regularly, accordin’ to Lira. Had some interesting tastes, apparently. None of the girls really liked seein’ him walk in,” he said between bites, “Tseng was the one stuck with the not-particularly-enviable job of escortin’ him whenever he was in the mood, ya know… ’cause the Pres actually classified the trips above even my clearance level just so no one else would find out. So… I’m technically not s’posed to know anything about it… and technically neither are you, but the son of a bitch is dead, so who the fuck cares? I’m pretty sure the boss knows I know, anyway.” He paused in devouring his dinner and glanced up, a serious expression on his face. “Whatever you do, do not mention any of that to Rufus, though.”
“Why not?”
“… ‘Cause his dad was an asshole. But he was still his dad. Why fuck up his memory of him even more than it already has been? The guy’s dead. Let it die with him.”
Elena smiled faintly. “That awfully compassionate towards a guy who calls you an incompetent slum rat every time he sees you…”
“Hmph… Come on, ‘Lena. You know by now that Rufus only means about half of what he says,” the redhead snickered. “‘Sides… I like the guy.”
“Masochist…” she teased, spearing a bite of her salad. “… but I guess I sort of like him, too. When he’s not being a total jerk.”
The redhead grinned and finished off his plate. “Guess that means I never have to worry about Rufus stealin’ you away from me, then. He’s a jerk about ninty percent of the time.” He got up from the table and started towards the counter again.
“Where are you going now?” Elena queried. As if she really had to ask.
“To get you some dessert. Shit you’d feed a chocobo is not a meal, ‘Lena.”
She rolled her eyes and went back to eating. Reno returned a few minutes later with two generous slices of cherry pie, with two equally generous scoops of vanilla ice cream on top, and she laughed seeing them.
“You have got to be kidding,” she said, snickering. “Reno… that’s got to be half a pie between the two of us.”
“What? A little junk food’s good for ya once in awhile.”
She snorted a soft laugh, but dug in to the sweet dessert. “Fine… but when I’m a four hundred pound behemoth, you’ll only have yourself to blame,” she teased.
“Heh… Pretty sure you’ll have to opportunity to work it off soon as we get to Gongaga.” He smirked, and added “But even if you were a behemoth, I’d still think you were beautiful.”
“Right up until I crushed you in bed, you mean…” Elena joked.
“At least I’d die happy,” he said with a wink.
“I hope, for your sake, you’re right about this… If not, I plan on taking the entire amount out of your paycheck. At your salary, it should only take you around five years or so to pay it off.”
“And I hope, for your sake, that that was a joke, sir…”
“Was that a threat?” Rufus asked, eyebrows rising.
“Of course not, sir. I’m simply pointing out that I will not be nearly as effective as a Turk should I be forced to take a second job in order to pay my rent…” the Turk leader responded with a slight smirk. He turned towards the race course… They’d been ushered into Dio’s private box, though he had not yet joined them. The chocobos had yet to line up at the starting line. Suddenly, the door slammed opened with a loud bang, and Tseng reflexively leveled his gun in the direction of the disturbance.
“Wonderful day for a… race?” Dio began to proclaim before realizing he was presently facing a deadly weapon. Tseng made a soft sound of annoyance and holstered the weapon. A quick glance at his charge told him that Rufus, at least, had been highly amused.
“It’s seldom wise to sneak up on one of my Turks, Dio,” he said, somewhat flippantly. “This one, in particular. He’s a bit over-protective.”
Dio edged his way around Tseng, joining the President at the balcony’s rail.
“You know… I wouldn’t mind seeing how that bodyguard of yours fares in the Battle Square sometime…” he commented. Rufus glanced back at the Turk.
“Perhaps I’ll consider it on another visit,” he said, and Tseng flashed him an irritated glare. “Today, however, I believe I’m more interested in the races.”
“Ha! Of course you are! So tell me… Which racer is it going to be?”
“Sevensarta.”
“Oh? Well, I have to say, I like your grit. That’s a risk right there! Sevensarta’s a good mount, but he’s being ridden by an alternate for this race.”
“So I’ve heard. Still, I stick by my choice.”
“Well, have it your way, then. As for myself, my money is on Peppermill today. Feisty little thing. Not terribly impressive in terms of stamina, but speed for days. She’ll be so far out in front, she’ll be able to walk the last quarter of the race and still win.”
A loud trumpet summoned the racers to the starting line, and as Tseng peered out at the lineup, a unexpectedly familiar face caught his eye. Seated on a chocobo so pale yellow it was nearly white, was none other than Cloud Strife. It took him a moment longer to realized that the bird he was riding was the same one Rufus had just bet on. And when his mount ducked its head in an attempt to throw the unfamiliar rider, he couldn’t help but cringe.
Dio, on the other hand, seemed more than pleased. “I don’t think your bird likes his new rider…” he cackled. Rufus pulled Tseng aside for a moment.
“Is that who I think it is?” he hissed.
“Yes, sir. The ex-Solider. Strife.”
“What in Rumah’s name is he doing down there?”
“I have absolutely no idea. Rude reported that he and the rest of Avalanche had been jailed for the attack on the Battle Square last night.”
“Those half-assed terrorists are beginning to annoy me…” Rufus said through clenched teeth, before resuming his position next to Dio. Moments later, the gun sounded and the chocobos were off and running.
“Hey.”
“Mmmph…” Elena rolled over, taking the pillow with her and burying her head underneath it. Something prodded her in the side, and she swatted blindly at it.
“Tch… Though I was s’posed to be the one of us who hated mornings…”
The covers were suddenly yanked away from her, along with the pillow, and Elena groaned as bright sunlight assaulted her eyes.
“Sorry, ‘Lena… but we’re gettin’ ready to dock. Time to get up.”
She yawned and sat up, pausing only a moment to orient herself before dragging her half-asleep self out of bed and groping for her clothes.
“It’s your fault, you know…” she said, tiredly. “You’re the one who kept me up half the night.”
Reno smiled lewdly. “Well… if you weren’t so fuckin’ gorgeous, maybe I could keep my hands off of ya… So it’s kinda more your fault than mine,” he reasoned, handing her the stack of clothing she was searching for. “‘Sides… last night’s probably gonna end up bein’ our last chance at that sorta thing for awhile. Got a feeling we’re gonna be puttin’ in a lot of extra hours on the clock from here on out. I wanted to make it count.”
He was right, she realized. The brief rest in Costa del Sol… the long ferry ride down the coast… It had been a nice respite, but there was a very serious situation that had to be taken care of. And that meant putting their personal lives on hold until it was dealt with. Elena was suddenly glad that he’d insisted on taking advantage of the down time… even if she could have used a couple more hours of sleep at the moment.
She couldn’t help but feel just a little disappointed by that reality as she hurried to dress. To be perfectly honest… before Reno, the last time she’d slept with a man had been well over two years ago. And even in that admittedly brief relationship, her sex life hadn’t been anywhere near as active as it was now. The redhead had only been teasing her a minute ago… but she actually did find it hard to get enough of him sometimes. And it wasn’t just that the sex was good… though Reno certainly knew how to please a woman… It was more that, when they were intimate, Reno’s entire world seemed to revolve around her and only her. She didn’t have that much experience to draw from – particularly compared to her lover – but that kind of devotion felt as though it must be rare, and she found herself clinging to it. And returning it in kind.
It almost made her want to laugh. She’d thought she’d been in love once before… Her first real boyfriend. She’d been nineteen when they’d met… twenty when things got serious between them. She’d even briefly considered not applying to the Turks’ recruitment program for him.
But that little fling was nothing like what she had with Reno. With him, there was so much intensity and desire it had actually been intimidating at first… until she’d realized that she felt the same way. And once she had, it had been so easy to fall in love with him. Nothing between them ever felt forced or feigned, the way it had with other relationships she’d had.
Before she could give the subject any farther consideration, however, her thoughts were interrupted by the familiar sensation of soft lips trailing along her shoulder, and warm breath against her ear.
“I know I’m irresistible, but you’re gonna have to snap out of it. We got a target to follow.”
Elena blushed as she realized that she’d managed to distract herself so much that she’d actually stopped what she was doing and had been staring at him unabashedly for a few seconds. Reno grinned and buttoned the last few buttons on her shirt for her.
“Was I really that good last night?” he asked.
Tseng watched as the pack of chocobo racers rounded a sharp turn, and couldn’t help but feel the familiar thrill Viridia had introduced him to at his first live race. Strife and Sevensarta were holding their own, and unless he was very much mistaken, the former Soldier had been carefully holding the bird back… saving its stamina for the last push for the finish line. He’d been alternating between second and third place for some time now, staying near the front, but not pushing too hard, too soon.
Viridia would have loved to have seen this race, he mused.
Going into the final turn, three of the mounts near the middle of the pack started to make their move, vying for better positioning for the last straightaway. Just as they were coming out of that turn, however, Sevensarta broke into a sprint. Dio’s pick, Peppermill, had been in the lead from the beginning… but she was clearly tiring. Sevensarta, meanwhile, seemed to have energy to spare, and it took him only seconds to catch up, running even with the lead bird.
When Strife’s mount began to take the lead, Tseng heard a decidedly excited cry from the normally reserved young executive, and he smiled. It was rare that he got to see Rufus actually enjoying himself at something that didn’t involve toying with those under his command. Moments later, Sevensarta crossed the finish line, winning the first race of the Gold Saucer Cup finals. Peppermill was mere steps behind him, finishing second.
Rufus was grinning widely as he turned to Dio.
“I believe you own me a name,” he said.
Dio sighed. “So I do. So I do. Well, I’m a man of my word. The man you’re looking for is called Werent. Dale Werent. Runs a little store a ways south of here… Deals mostly in weapons, but every once in awhile he comes across something a little more interesting. Stopped by for a visit a week or so ago, and asked me what something like the Keystone might be worth to… uh… the right buyer.”
“He didn’t try to sell it to you then and there?” Rufus asked, surprised.
“I made him an offer, but he played it close to the vest. Said it was just a hypothetical question… but he wasn’t very convincing. The guy’s a terrible liar, but he’s no fool. He’s out for the best price, I’m sure of it. Probably talking to the Zenshou by now, if he’s smart.”
“I see… Thank you, Dio. This should prove most useful. And the price was certainly right…” Rufus said with a smirk. He turned with a slight nod and walked out the door, Tseng not far behind. Dio merely smiled as he left.
“You get what you pay for, you smug little shit,” he muttered under his breath as soon as the pair were out of earshot.
Rufus rubbed his temples in a desperate attempt to stave off the headache that was rapidly forming between his eyes. That woman’s voice was beyond grating, and she’d been going on about her precious materia all morning. It was more than obvious to Tseng that his charge had had enough.
“For Rumah’s sake… fine. Tseng, take her to Gongaga.”
Scarlet turned to the Turk leader with a triumphant expression, but before she could gloat over her apparent victory, the President added, “And you can leave her there, for all I care.” The comment earned him a less than amused look from the weapons head, but she said nothing.
Tseng resisted the urge to smile. “Yes, sir,” he replied.
“And take Rude with you.”
The Wutaiian Turk froze, midway to the door. “Sir… I am not leaving you here unguarded.”
Rufus waved him off dismissively. “You won’t let me come with you because Gongaga is notoriously unfriendly toward anything having to do with the company. But a Shinra helicopter landing in their backyard is unlikely to go unnoticed. Just how do you plan to avoid having it turned into scrap metal while you and Scarlet are digging through the remains of the reactor?”
He had a point. Tseng knew the area. It was heavily forested. They couldn’t land directly at the reactor site… which meant leaving their only transportation unattended in a notably hostile area. The idea of being stranded out in the middle of nowhere with Scarlet wasn’t an especially appealing one.
“Sir…”
“I gave you an order, Tseng. I expect it to be obeyed.”
“… Yes, sir,” Tseng sighed. He distinctly heard Scarlet snicker as she slipped through the door an into the hallway already en route to the helicopter.
“I’ll be fine. Last night’s incident not withstanding, there are few places better secured than the Gold Saucer,” Rufus added, as the Turk reached for his PHS to summon Rude. “You’re entirely too over-protective at times. But… if it will assuage some of your concerns I’ll remain here in the room. I have some of Hojo’s files I need to go over, anyway. You may protect me to your heart’s content when you return.”
“I still don’t like leaving you here on your own.”
Rufus smirked. “Well… the sooner you give that woman what she wants and get her off our backs, the sooner I won’t be here alone.”
“Set us down well outside of town. There’s no sense in drawing attention with an air drop. I don’t want any of the locals coming to investigate if we can avoid it. Scarlet and I will make this quick,” Tseng’s voice stated, breaking the faint sound of static in Rude’s headset.
“I’ll swing south, and land outside of the treeline. It’s a longer hike to the reactor, but it’s less likely anyone will spot us coming in from that directions.”
Gongaga was little more than a tiny speck on the map these days. At one time it had been close to twice its current size… but that was before the reactor had gone critical and exploded, tearing both itself and a good-sized chunk of the town apart. Much like Corel to the north, the survivors had never really succeeded in rebuilding what they’d lost. Rude suspected that it was largely due to how remote the place was. It sat deep in the forests of southernmost stretches of the western continent. Were it not that it was a moderately convenient stop-over for travelers on their way to Cosmo Canyon, in all likelihood, it would have remained in obscurity.
The little village had it’s share of visitors… but it was only a waypoint. Those people never stayed… and so the population continued to slowly dwindle as older residents died off and the younger ones opted to look for a more fulfilling life elsewhere. Shinra had briefly considered rebuilding the reactor… but the bitterness following the explosion had quickly put a stop to that. Shinra would probably have had to eliminate the remainder of the town to make it work… and the reactor itself had never been as productive as they’d initially thought it would anyway, even before the mechanical failures had started. The executive board had eventually decided that it simply wasn’t worth the hassle and written it off as a a total loss. They hadn’t even bothered trying to recover what was left of the reactor for scrap.
Rude spotted the town and kept well to the east until he was in a position to approach from the south. The helicopter touched down in a wide clearing some distance from their destination, and he shut down the engines.
“Stay near the copter, but do us a favor and keep an eye on that southern road. Warn me if anyone is headed towards the reactor,” said Tseng. “The last time I visited Gongaga, I was greeted at gunpoint. I’d prefer to avoid a repeat.”
“Oh, will you just hurry up!” Scarlet snapped, wrenching open the door and climbing out. Tseng sighed.
“Remind me again why I’m not going to leave her here…”
Rude shook his head. “… I got nothing,” he replied, which earned a brief smile from the Turk leader before he followed the executive down the dirt road. Rude watched them go and then hopped out himself. If he was stuck guarding their escape, he could at least take the opportunity to stretch out a bit.
The road was quiet as he wandered a short distance from their landing spot. So was the thick forest that surrounded it, save for the occasional bird call. It was peaceful… and yet oddly unnerving. It was difficult to ignore the multitudes of hiding places afforded by trees and the brush. Even harder to ignore was the distinct sense of being watched that he felt… and he truly couldn’t be certain whether it was his imagination or a legitimate threat. His senses were better attuned to urban landscapes these days. Even before he’d been a Turk, terrain like this wasn’t exactly commonplace. Rocket Town was surrounded mostly by plains, and bordered on one side by the Nibel Mountains. Forests had been few and far between growing up.
Something rustled in the bushes behind him, and he turned, eyes scanning the shadowy foliage. He watched for almost a minute straight, straining to hear even the slightest out-of-place sound, but there was nothing… and eventually, he relaxed, convinced it was his imagination getting the better of him. He turned and started to walk back towards the helicopter.
And that’s when the attack came.
~fin~
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