Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 17: Double Trouble

Reno stuck his head out of the passenger side window, laughing as the wind made an even bigger mess of his unruly hair, as the truck sped down the freeway.

“This is awesome!”

“What?!”

He snickered and pulled back inside the vehicle.

“I said this is awesome,” he repeated, grinning widely. “Gotta admit… It’s fuckin’ weird not havin’ the Plate overhead, though. I’m not used to lookin’ up and seein’… ya know… nothin’.”

“… So, you never left the slums before Tseng recruited you?”

Reno shook his head. “Not really. I mean, I’ve been to the perimeter wall, where you can kinda see out past the edge of the Plate, but… leavin’ the slums? Nah. Never had anywhere to go besides the Plate, and I sure as hell didn’t have the money to get there.”

“Why not leave Midgar altogether?”

“Tch… and go where? Got no family, got no friends outside the slums. Barely made enough to live in Sector Two without starvin’. Where was I gonna go? I mean, no one was forcin’ me to stay there, but… how was I gonna be able live anywhere else?”

“…”

Rude took the exit to Sector Seven, and Reno watched as the buildings zipped by.

“It was kind of the same for me,” he said at last. “Until I heard about the Turks recruitment program… I always just thought I’d be stuck in Rocket Town working for my dad. Because where else would I go?”

Reno leaned back in the seat, and glanced over at his friend. They turned down a side street.

“What’s Rocket Town like?”

“It’s alright,” Rude said with a shrug, “Actually, it’s pretty nice, all things considered. But… it’s boring. Most people either work for Shinra’s space department, or they fly. Half the population are pilots of some sort. The other half are engineers. My dad runs an air freight company. I flew for him for a couple of years before I left.”

“That’s your idea of boring?” the redhead asked, incredulously. Flying certainly didn’t sound ‘boring’ to him. Rude snickered.

“It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. I mostly just flew supply runs to and from Costa del Sol in a beat up old cargo plane. Dad didn’t trust me with the longer jobs… Hadn’t been doing it long enough.”

“Yeah? What’s your dad like? Got any other family?”

“…” Rude hesitated in his answer. “He’s… Distant.”

“What’dya mean?”

“He… used to be different, but…” His fellow rookie shook his head. “He was never quite the same after Mom died. It was just me and him, afterwards, but… we don’t much these days.”

“… Oh. Sorry.” Neither of them spoke for a few moments. Eventually, though, Reno felt the need to break the silence. “… My mom died, too. Long time ago. It’s rough, huh?” He cleared his throat and glanced out the window again before quickly changing the subject. “So… where are we goin’ anyway?”

“Right here,” Rude replied, as he pulled into a large parking lot. He flashed the redhead a quick smile and hopped out of the truck. Reno hurried to follow. “First stop on the Midgar tour… the Sector Seven Zoo.”

Reno laughed and trailed behind his fellow rookie as they approached the main gate. “Isn’t this kinda shit meant for little kids?” he asked, somewhat skeptically. Rude shrugged.

“… I guess. But if you’re going to live here, you have to see it at least once. And to be honest… I think it’s pretty cool. Even if it is for kids.”

“Heh… well, lead on, then, tour guide,” the redhead snickered.

---

Tseng glanced down at his watch. Almost three. Reno had been gone for hours, and while he didn’t want the young man to feel as though his mentor was constantly checking up on him… he desperately wanted to check up on him.

His note had simply said ‘back later’. Apparently, by that, the redhead had meant much later. Tseng pulled his PHS from his pocket and flipped through his contact list, finger poised over the dial button when he reached Reno’s name. He hesitated.

He didn’t want his rookie thinking that he didn’t trust him, either. Especially after the fiasco of a first week they’d both endured. On the other hand… Tseng was a little surprised to realize just how concerned he was, having let Reno out of his sight for the day. After all… the last time he’d done that, it had backfired rather spectacularly. He scowled and flipped the phone shut, pointedly shoving it back into his pocket.

Reno was fine, he was sure. Especially if, as he suspected, Rude was with him.

Then again… what if Rude wasn’t the friend the younger rookie had gone to see? But if not Rude… then…

Tseng suddenly froze in his tracks as it dawned on him that most of the people Reno would consider friends were down below… and he groaned at the realization. He hadn’t really run off to visit someone in the slums on his own… had he? Tseng was suddenly all but certain that the answer to that question was a resounding yes. Most likely, the girl… Lira. Which meant that he was in Wall Market. Possibly at the Honeybee Inn.

He swore softly in Wutaiian, and hurried back to his car, his present errand forgotten. The Honeybee was Corneo’s domain, and Don Corneo did not take kindly to unannounced visits from the Turks at his place of business… a fact that Tseng had failed to mention to the teenager. Corneo’s men wouldn’t recognize the rookie. But if Reno made the mistake of revealing who he was – and the Turk lieutenant could think of several scenarios just off the top of his head in which such information might come to light given that the redhead didn’t know not to let it – there was no telling how badly wrong things could go.

He settled into the driver’s seat, and pulled out his phone again. Best to not panic. First, he would try to get ahold of the boy and determine his whereabouts. Failing that, he’d head for the Sector Five station, and catch the next train down.

---

“… Huh. Ya know, I always kinda thought nibelwolves were bigger,” Reno commented. He leaned against the railing, peering out at the small pack of the animals that lounged lazily on a large pile of rocks in the center of the exhibit. Rude chuckled.

“Bet they look a lot bigger when they’re pissed off and trying to eat you.”

“Good point,” the redhead snickered. They wandered down the path, pausing in front of the various pens and cages. Reno had to admit… this was kind of fun. And Rude made for pretty great company. He was glad he’d run into him earlier. “Ya know, you were right. This place is okay.”

“Hmph… Told you so. Hey, look. Your favorite,” Rude said, his tone undeniably amused. Reno turned his attention in the direction the other rookie was pointing and groaned. Chocobos.

“Ha, ha… very funny,” he replied, rolling his eyes. Rude laughed and practically dragged him up to the creatures, who warked loudly at their approach. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no… keep those feathered fucks away from me. Chocobos do not like me… and the feelin’s mutual.”

“Oh, come on. You ever even seen one in person?”

The redhead scowled. “Matter of fact, yeah. When I was like… nine. Fucker bit me. I still have the goddamn scar. Those things are all assholes.”

Rude laughed, and walked up to one of the large birds, holding out a hand. The chocobo leaned forward over the fence, and butted its head against his palm.

“Yeah… they’re real terrors,” he teased. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a one gil coin, tossing it to the redhead. “Here… get ’em some greens from the machine. They’ll love you forever if you feed them.”

Reno snorted in contempt, but made the requested purchase. He carried the handful of vegetation over to the fence, and was almost instantly swarmed by four of the creatures.

“Ah! Hey, watch it!” he muttered as one of them immediately snapped up a leaf from his hand. Reno hurried to offer up the rest to the hungry birds. They warked happily as they claimed their snacks.

“See?” Rude chuckled. Reno opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the suddenly ringing of his PHS. He hurried to retrieve it and glanced at the caller ID displayed on the front. It was Tseng.

He went to answer it… only to have the device snatched out of his hand by a large, sharp beak.

“HEY!” he cried in shock, and watched in horror as the chocobo flipped his still-ringing phone up into the air and caught it again. “You miserable little bastard!”

Rude, meanwhile, was in hysterics, clutching at his sides as the redhead swore at the bird… so much so that he very nearly didn’t hear his own phone when it began ringing. It took him a moment to regain his composure… particularly with the enraged redhead still berating his new-found foe several feet away from him. He quickly cleared his throat and answered the call.

“Y-yes, sir? This is Rude…” he said, doing his level best to keep the amusement out of his voice.

“I realize it’s something of a long shot… but by any chance have you seen Reno today? I can’t seem to reach him,” Tseng’s voice queried. A snort of laughter escaped, unbidden.

“Um… yes, sir. He’s with me. But he’s… a little busy at the moment.”

“Doing what, exactly?” Tseng asked, suspiciously.

“… Trying to get his PHS back from a chocobo, sir,” the rookie replied. Reno, by then, was climbing the fence as the chocobo darted back towards its herd, the device still clasped in its beak.

“He’s… what?!” The sheer level of disbelief in the senior Turk’s voice shattered what little self-control Rude had left and he burst out laughing again and watched as Reno stalked menacingly towards the avian.

“Alright, you goddamn son of a bitch. Hand it over!”

The chocobo whistled, and tossed the phone into the air again, but this time, instead of catching it, the bird swallowed it whole… and then looked up at the redhead with a decidedly smug expression.

“NO!” Reno shrieked.

“What happened?” Tseng asked.

“… I… think you’re going to need to requisition him a new PHS, sir.”

“Hey, you! You can’t be in there!” an angry voice shouted, and Rude spotted two of the zoo’s staff rushing toward the chocobo pen.

“… and… possibly post bail,” he quickly added, before turning his attention back to the redhead. “Reno!”

Reno turned, only then noticing their approach, and ran for it, vaulting over the fence, and racing toward Rude. He grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him down the path.

“Think it might be time to go!” he shouted, and Rude nodded in agreement, falling into step beside him as they ran for the main gate. Unfortunately, security had apparently already been notified, and said gate was locked down, now under guard by several more staff members. Reno skidded to a halt and looked around for another means of escape. “Umm…”

Before he could find another exit, however, the sound of sirens filled the air. Two police cars pulled up outside.

“… Think we better just cut our losses,” said Rude.

“… Rude, man… it was nice knowin’ ya,” Reno replied, slowly raising his hands in surrender. Rude looked over at him, uncertainly. “What? I’m pretty sure this is the last time you’re ever gonna see me alive. Because Tseng really is gonna to kill me this time.”

---

Tseng walked into the Sector Seven police station nearly forty minutes later to retrieve not just one, but two rookies.

“I’m here for the two young men you arrested at the Sector Seven Zoo,” he said, without preamble, as he approached the desk. The officer seated behind it began to reply… until he got a good look at the credentials the Wutaiian was holding up.

“Er… Yes, sir,” he replied, clearly surprised by the sudden appearance of one of Shinra’s Turks, and reached for the phone. A few short minutes later, the two rookies were being escorted to the front of the building in handcuffs. “I’ll be taking custody of them. Release them, please.”

Once the cuffs came off, he said nothing farther. He simply fixed both young men with an annoyed glare and pointed to the door. Reno and Rude hurried to comply with the unspoken order. He didn’t say a word until they had climbed into his car.

“What in Leviathan’s name were you two thinking?!”

Reno sank down in the seat, and Tseng took a breath. He was angry, certainly… but they’d already been through this once, and it had resulted in the teenager being half-convinced that he was about to be expelled from the Turks altogether.

“… It was my fault, sir,” Rude stated before the younger rookie could answer.

“No it wasn’t,” Reno objected, vehemently shaking his head. “Please don’t blame Rude for me bein’ an idiot.”

“You wouldn’t have been anywhere near the chocobos if I hadn’t dragged you there.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like you told me to jump the damn fence…”

“Not like I tried to stop you, either…”

Tseng glanced into the rearview mirror, studying the pair of them for a moment.

“Are you two really arguing over which of you gets the privilege of taking the blame for this?” he asked, vaguely entertained by the unexpected discourse. “Because I’m sure there’s plenty to go around…”

“… Yes, sir,” they chorused.

“Just… explain to me what happened,” Tseng said with a soft sigh. Reno shifted uncomfortably in the back seat and looked up at the ceiling.

“Rude was showin’ me around a little, that’s all. We stopped at the zoo and… uh… long story short, one of those stupid birds grabbed my phone when it started ringin’. So… I went in after it.”

Tseng’s reflected gaze shifted to the other rookie. “And what did you do?”

“… Mostly just laughed… sir,” Rude said, awkwardly.

“And then the zoo staff started yellin’ at us. They looked seriously pissed off… so we made a break for it. And that’s kinda when the police showed up.”

“… How much trouble are we in, sir?” Rude asked. Tseng turned onto the on-ramp for freeway.

“I haven’t decided yet. Reno, however, will be spending the remainder of the weekend at home.”

The redhead groaned and sank down farther into the seat. “The rate I’m goin’ you might as well just lock me in my room for good…”

Tseng snorted softly. “I hardly think you’d learn much of anything if I did that. We’ll discuss further disciplinary action… for both of you… on Monday.”

“… Sir?” Rude queried.

“Yes?”

“… Would it be alright if I told Veld about this, instead of you doing it?”

Tseng smirked slightly. “If it assuages your conscience to confess to your mentor, you’re welcome to do so. However, I have no plans to inform the commander of this incident.”

Rude looked up in surprise.

“Sir?”

“Aside from the fact that I had to interrupt my own weekend to come and reclaim the two of you… this is not Turks’ business by any stretch of the imagination. Off duty, your time is your own. I see no reason to bother Veld with something so trivial.”

“Oh, thank merciful Odin…” Rude breathed, and Reno immediately snickered at his reaction.

“Seriously? You’re more afraid of Veld than Tseng?” the redhead teased him, and Tseng chuckled softly.

“Well, I would certainly hope so. Just who do you think trained me?” the Turk lieutenant replied.

“… Ya know… I just realized somethin’,” said Reno. “None of this woulda happened at all if you hadn’t called me. So… if ya think about it, it’s really more your fault than ours.”

Tseng very nearly laughed. The redhead was obviously joking, but the fact that he’d managed to voice that leap in logic with a straight face was obnoxiously amusing. More to the point, however, it seemed the senior Turk had been successful in not utterly terrifying his rookie for a change.

However… he certainly wasn’t about to take responsibility for this debacle.

“Don’t push it, Reno…” he intoned, warningly.

~end chapter 17~