Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 31: Grand Theft Auto: Midgar City Stories

“Come on… can’t ya even tell me a little bit of what happened?” Reno pleaded. Rude resolutely shook his head.

“Sorry. Not allowed.”

“A hint… a vague innuendo… come on, man. You gotta give me somethin’!”

“… Hell Week has that name for a reason,” the other rookie said at last, a smug grin gracing his lips. Reno groaned.

“You suck, man. You seriously, seriously suck.”

A firm hand clamped down on either teenager’s shoulder, and Kai bent down slightly so that she was at eye level with the two seated rookies.

“You two know the rule abut discussing Hell Week with Turklings that haven’t been through it yet. And bad little Turklings miss out on all the fun… so you better behave yourselves,” she said, somewhat enigmatically, a shooting them a knowing grin.

“Tch… Your idea of fun I think I can stand to miss out on,” the redhead replied, annoyed by the interruption. “It usually involves me goin’ home lookin’ like I got jumped.”

Kai giggled madly. “Oh, I think you’ll wanna keep yourself in the running for this one. Of course… you’ve already got a distinct advantage over the rest of us. Tseng hardly goes anywhere without you these days,” she laughed. She reached over and gently tugged on the short little ponytail the redhead had tied his hair back in that morning. “Jeez… you’re even starting to look like him.”

Rude sniggered quietly next him and Reno glared at them both.

“Fuck you, Kai… That’s got nothin’ to do with Tseng. I’ll do whatever the fuck I want with my hair,” he replied, crossing his arms and jerking his head to the side to yank it out of her grip. “And I’ll thank you to keep your hands the fuck off of it.”

The senior Turk’s grin widened and she softly ran her fingers through the messy locks on top of his head.

“But it’s so soft and fluffy!” she teased. Reno scowled and ducked out from under her hand, glowering at her. But before he could tell her to fuck off, the door to the conference room opened, admitting Veld and Tseng.

“Alright… Quiet everyone. I’ve been asked to join the executive board meeting this morning, so we’re going to have to make this fast,” the Turk leader began. Kai obediently abandoned her teasing of the redhead and took a seat a few chairs away, next to Remy. Veld waited another moment until the general chatter in the room had ceased before continuing. “Tres, Corneo’s asked for a meeting. See what he wants. Luca, Remy, Shay… I’d like a review of Turk candidates from the recruiting program by the end of the week. Our numbers are still low, and the sooner we get them built back up, the better. I want to know how close the new recruits are to being ready for promotion and who’s got the most potential. Rude… You’re with Sato today for demolitions training. Saya… you’ve got your interrogation subject. Reno… with Tseng. He’ll fill you in.”

It was rattled off so quickly that the entire meeting was over almost before the rookie had realized it had started. Veld really must have been in a hurry this morning, and he vaguely wondered if something was up. Turks weren’t typically asked to sit in on board meetings. Tseng lightly cleared his throat as Veld began to bring the briefing to a close.

“Ah… Yes. I nearly forgot,” Veld replied with a nod. “President Shinra and his family will be taking their annual vacation to Costa del Sol in three weeks. As always, three of you will accompany them as security. Tseng has already been assigned to lead the detail. The other two will be assigned at his discretion.” He smirked slightly and chuckled. “So… I suggest you prepare your bribes. Dismissed.”

Reno glanced over at Rude, a curious expression on his face, as the other Turks began to get up from the table and disperse, murmuring amongst themselves.

“… We’re expected to bribe our way into guard duty?” the redhead asked, incredulously. “Tch… no thanks.”

“Don’t be daft, yeh little know-it-all… Vacation security is a very coveted assignment,” Sato snickered, as he approached them to claim his rookie for the day. “It’s basically a vacation fer whoever gets ta go, too. Yeh hardly have ta do anything but sit on the beach all day ‘n keep the locals from gettin’ too close ta the President. At worst, yeh might have ta stop Rufus from drownin’ his high-‘n-mighty self on that damn surfboard ‘o his…” He turned to Rude with a grin. “Yeh ready ta go ‘n blow some shite up, rookie?”

“You’re supposed to be instructing him on how to prevent things from blowing up,” Tseng corrected him as he strode up to the little group. Sato laughed.

“He’s a beginner. Mistakes’re bound ta happen.”

Tseng pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated. “Just… don’t blow him up, please. Let’s go, Reno. We have what I suspect will be a very… stressful… day ahead of us.”

Reno shrugged. “Catch ya later, Rude,” he said in farewell as he got to his feet and followed his mentor out of the room and down the hallway. They stepped into the elevator and Tseng pressed the button for the parking deck. “So… What’s up?”

The Turk lieutenant sighed softly. “Something I must confess I’ve been putting off far too long. I really should have done it quite some time ago, but I haven’t exactly been looking forward to it.”

The redhead swallowed nervously as he wondered what the hell kind of training Tseng would balk at conducting. Was it going to be even worse than their recent trip to Gongaga?

“… I… um… Is this gonna involve me… ya know… killin’ someone again?” he asked somewhat hesitantly. He’d obey the order if it was given… but he’d kind of prefer not to have to. His first kill was still a little too fresh in his memory.

Tseng smiled slightly, and rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Not unless something goes terribly, terribly wrong,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “There’s no need to worry. Actually, I suspect you will end up enjoying it immensely…” He sighed, and added, “I,on the other hand, will be lucky not to have a nervous breakdown by the end of the day, if past experience is anything to go by…”

The elevator dropped them off at the parking deck, and Reno followed Tseng toward his car… only for the senior Turk to walk right past it, continuing on down the long line of parking spaces. He finally came to an abrupt halt near the end of the row.

An older car sat, unassumingly, in the last space. It had certainly seen better days… The side panels were badly dinged and scratched, and there was a large dent in the passenger side door. The gray paint was chipped and peeling near the rear fender, and rust had set in on the exposed metal.

“Get in…” Tseng said, gesturing to the vehicle. The redhead shrugged, and took a step towards the passenger’s door… only to be blocked by his mentor. “The driver’s side,” he added, resignation evident in his voice. Reno’s eyes went wide.

“W-wait… You mean I get to drive?” he asked, an excited grin spreading over his face.

“Yes. And I would suggest you get behind the wheel quickly… before I regain my sanity.”

Reno laughed and dashed around the car, yanking open the door with abandon and sliding into the driver’s seat. He gripped the wheel and turned ecstatically towards his mentor as he – with slightly less enthusiasm – climbed in beside him. He held up a set of keys, and Reno reached for them, only to have the snatched back before his fingers could close around them.

“You will take this seriously, and follow instructions.”

“Yes, sir,” Reno quickly replied. Tseng finally relinquished the keys, and then reached over and pulled the seatbelt across himself, fastening it securely. The rookie did the same.

“Dear Leviathan, please just let me survive this…” the senior Turk breathed, as the redhead gleefully started the engine.

---

Several hours later, Tseng silently staggered into the Turks’ lounge and collapsed onto the couch, letting his head flop backwards against the cushion. He groaned.

“Went that well, did it?” Saya sniggered, looking up from the report she was editing.

“… He doesn’t actually need to be able to drive. Does he?” the Wutaiian asked, drawing a loud laugh from the other Turk.

“Oh, now… it couldn’tna been that bad.”

“In the grand scheme of things… no. It really wasn’t. But teaching a very… enthusiastic… seventeen year old how to drive may well be one of the most terrifying things I have ever done in my life.”

“More terrifyin’ than havin’ ta do the same fer me ‘n Sato?”

The Turk lieutenant sat up slightly and looked the woman square in the eye.

“Astoundingly enough… yes.”

The younger woman laughed and shook her head. “Where’s the wee thing gone off ta now?”

“Lunch,” Tseng replied, “We’ll be resuming afterward. Unless of course I give in to my sense of self-preservation and call in a bomb threat. I’m quite sure a building-wide evacuation would get me out of driver’s ed.”

“Oh, it is going that well?” a voice said from the doorway, and Tseng glanced up as Veld joined them. Tseng shook his head in dismay.

“He’s something of a menace behind the wheel at the moment,” the Wutaiian replied. “Incidentally, the department will be getting invoiced for repairs to the parking deck’s main gate.”

Veld smirked.

“Just remember… it was entirely your idea to recruit an inexperienced sixteen year old boy. You’ve no one to blame for this but yourself,” he teased. Tseng snorted softly and fixed him with a sharp look.

“… And you remember, sir… You have a twelve year old daughter who, in three or four years time, will be demanding that you teach her to drive. And I will not hesitate to mock your terror and dismay as you mock mine.”

Saya coughed in a poor attempt to hide her laughter, as the Turk leader chuckled and walked over to his lieutenant, offering him a hand.

“Let’s go and get you some nice, calming tea,” he replied, “It sounds like you could use it. And I have some interesting news to share.”

Tseng was quick to accept the offer.

---

“So how’s demolitions training goin’?” Reno asked, in between bites. He swallowed harshly. “Blow anything up yet?”

Rude shrugged and continued his own meal at a more sedate pace. “A few things…” He suddenly grinned. “It was pretty awesome. What’s Tseng got you doing that’s such a big secret.”

The redhead snickered and forced down another oversized mouthful.

“I’m learnin’ to drive,” he replied with a wide smile.

“No wonder he looked so scared at the briefing this morning…” Rude snickered.

“Hey! I’m doin’ alright…” Reno shot back. “I mean… okay, so I might taken out a couple of gates on the way outta the parking deck, but… I didn’t hit anything else.”

“… Tseng say anything about the Costa del Sol assignment while you were out?”

The other rookie shook his head. “We didn’t really talk about much of anything. Mostly he just kept naggin’ me to ‘keep my eyes on the road’, and ‘watch out for pedestrians’, and ‘use my turn signal’, and ‘for Leviathan’s sake, look out!’,” he said, laughing, “The whole tropical vacation thing didn’t come up.”

“So you don’t know if he’s taking you?”

“Not for sure,” the redhead said with a shrug, “… but come on. Kai said it earlier. I’m his rookie. Tseng hardly goes anywhere without me. I’m totally goin’.” He grinned widely. “I’ll put in a good word for ya, if you want…”

“Hmph… Doubt he’d take two rookies on an assignment like that,” Rude replied, and the redhead was slightly surprised to hear a note of disappointment in his voice.

“… You really wanna go, don’t you?”

Rude shrugged noncommittally, and turned his attention back to his plate.

“I like Costa del Sol. Used to go there all the time back when I was flying for my dad. Haven’t been in a couple years, though. I just… kinda miss it.”

“… Want me to turn it down, so you can go?” Reno asked, somewhat hesitantly. He really did want to see what all the hype was about over the resort town, but… it sounded like it’d mean a lot more to Rude. Plus the guy had just gone through Hell Week. He kinda deserved a break, if it was really as bad as everyone seemed to think. Reno could always go another time… Maybe when he had some vacation time saved up.

Rude smiled and shook his head. “You’ve never been. If Tseng picks you, you should go. You’ll love it.”

“Yeah, but…”

“How long ’til you’ve got a full week’s vacation coming?” Rude suddenly asked. Reno looked at him, puzzled for a moment.

“I dunno… few more months maybe? Why?”

“You go on the assignment if it gets offered to you. Then we’ll hit up the beach together when you got the time off. More fun that way, anyway.”

“You sure, man? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure I’ll survive without being sent off for guard duty on the beach.”

“Don’t you two think you’re getting just a little ahead of yourselves?” Luca’s voice interrupted. The senior Turk set his plate down and took a seat next to Reno. “Neither one of you’ve been given the assignment yet.”

He took a bite of his sandwich and fixed the redhead with a slightly disapproving look.

“And just because you’re his rookie doesn’t mean you’ve got yourself a guarantee,” he added. “You start acting like you’re entitled to special treatment, you’re gonna get on a lot of people’s nerves, Reno. You might belong to Tseng, but you’re no better than any other rookie Turk… so you’d best remember your place.”

“… Yes, sir,” the redhead replied, thoroughly chastised. Luca nodded in approval… then he smirked.

“So… what’s this I hear about you destroying half the parking deck?”

The redhead rolled his eyes.

“For fuck’s sake… It was just a gate!”

---

Over the course of the next few weeks, Reno’s driving improved markedly… and by Friday, Tseng had gradually started to relax the white-knuckled grip he tended to have on the car’s emergency brake.

“So now that I can drive… when do we start trainin’ on the copter?” he asked as they pulled back into the parking space inside the Shinra Building’s parking deck. Tseng shook his head.

“Not until you’ve passed the city’s driving test and obtained your license,” Tseng replied. He quietly added, “… Hopefully by then it will be the dead of winter and we’ll have to put it off until the spring thaw.”

“Aw, come on, Boss… I’m doin’ pretty good, aren’t I?”

“Yes… I have to admit, you are,” the Turk lieutenant chuckled. The pair of them exited the vehicle and made their way back to the elevator, bound for the Turks’ offices. “And that being the case… I suppose now is as good a time as any to inform you that you’ll be coming to Costa del Sol with me.”

“Sweet!” the rookie replied with an exuberant smile. As the doors opened, Reno found himself greeted by a familiar face.

“Reno! Hi!” Izzy cried, grinning widely, “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you around lately…”

“Eh… You know. Tseng’s been keepin’ me busy… learnin’ to drive,” he replied, returning her smile. “You up to anything tonight?”

“Well… there’s a party over in Sector Five. I could use a date… Wanna come?”

“Hell yeah…” the redhead agreed.

“Great! Things start at nine…”

His face fell slightly, and he blushed, embarrassed.

“… Oh. Um… I kinda… have this… curfew… thing…”

Tseng sighed quietly. “Perhaps it’stime I gave you a bit more freedom. The purpose of a curfew was to keep you from getting into too much trouble while you adjusted to your new living situation. I… think you’ve done that.”

Reno looked as though Tseng had just told him they were going to the Gold Saucer that very night, and the Turk lieutenant couldn’t help but chuckle. Izzy giggled.

“Well, in that case… I’ll give you a call later with the details, ‘kay?” she said.

The redhead nodded, and Izzy leaned in an kissed him on the cheek just before the doors opened on her floor. She grinned and scrambled out, giving him a quick wave as they closed again. Tseng shook his head, with a soft laugh.

“Do try to stay out of trouble…”

“Ah, come on, boss… You know me.”

---

Tseng was awake even before his phone rang. He wasn’t sure why, but somehow he just knew it was going to. Sure enough, a scant thirty seconds later, it did just that. The Turks second-in-command sighed and rolled over, wondering if his decision to relax Reno’s curfew was as wise a move as it had seemed that afternoon.

He shook his head. Maybe he was simply jumping to conclusions. There was always the possibility that it was Veld calling to notify him of an assassination attempt or a break-in on one of the classified floors at headquarters or some such emergency.

Somehow, though… he knew it wasn’t. He didn’t even bother glancing at the display as he answered.

“At what point in my life did I do something so unforgivable that I deserve this?” he asked crossly.

“Er… I’m sorry, sir. Maybe I have the wrong number. This is Detective Arnet with the Midgar Police Department. I’m trying to reach Tseng Itsudake?”

Tseng mentally kicked himself. He’d been expecting Reno to call personally… which, in retrospect, was a bit silly, if he was, in fact, sitting in a jail cell.

“You have. I apologize… I assumed you would be someone else. What is this regarding?”

“Well… This evening we pulled over a car for excessive speed in Sector Five. The driver was a minor without a valid license. When we ran the registration, it came back as belonging to you.”

Tseng’s hand clenched in a death grip around his PHS and his jaw tightened in barely restrained fury. Surely he wouldn’t have been that foolish. If he found out that Reno had taken his car without so much as asking permission – not that he would have granted it – he was going to murder him. Painfully.

“I see,” he responded in a clipped tone, “And where is my car now?”

“Sector Five impound.” His eye twitched. “The driver has refused to cooperate, so we haven’t yet located a parent or guardian. We’re waiting on fingerprints now. Once he’s been identified, you’ll be able to press charges if you wish.”

“Let me guess…” Tseng hissed, roughly pinching the bridge of his nose, “Approximately seventeen years old, red hair, very thin, with two crescent-shaped facial tattoos around his eyes and a tendency to swear every other sentence?”

“I… Yes, sir,” the detective answered, sounding surprised.

“Which station is he at?” the Wutaiian Turk ground out.

“Sector Five, Substation C.”

“I’ll be there in thirty minutes. Tell him I’m coming. That should make him far more cooperative.”

---

It was closer to forty-five minutes before Tseng stormed angrily into the police station. The trains had been running slow. He had little trouble spotting the redhead through the window of an interrogation room, and started towards him. His progress was halted by older police detective.

“Mr. Itsudake?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps you could clear some things up for me. He seemed a bit… er… terrified… when we told him you were on your way here. How exactly do you know him?”

By then the redhead had spotted him as well, and was watching the senior Turk through the tempered glass window, looking decidedly pale. Tseng scowled at him and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Unfortunately, I’m responsible for him.”

“You’re his guardian?” the detective asked, leafing through his notes. Apparently his rookie hadn’t been especially forthcoming, even after being informed of Tseng’s imminent arrival. They’d be having a word or two about that later…

“Technically, he’s a ward of Shinra Company,” Tseng replied, “But he is under the direct supervision of the Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department… more specifically, under my supervision. I have legal authority over him until he’s of age. Assuming he lives to see tomorrow, that is…”

The other man swallowed nervously. “The Turks?”

“Yes.”

The detective cast a glance over his shoulder at the redhead, offering him a look of sheer pity, before turning back to Tseng.

“I take it you won’t be pressing charges, then.”

“No… I’ll deal with him personally. What exactly has he done?”

The man cleared his throat and flipped open his notebook. “He was pulled over for speeding about an hour and a half ago. He failed to present a valid license, and, obviously, the car wasn’t registered to him. He was with a young lady… also a minor… who was extremely inebriated, and there was an open container of alcohol on the floor of the car. She has since been remanded to the custody of her parents.”

Tseng’s eyes narrowed. “Is he drunk as well?” If he was, the senior Turk was going to strangle him. Drinking on his time off was one thing… though Tseng didn’t, strictly speaking, approve. Drinking and then going on a joyride – in his car – was quite another.

“No, he’s not. He claims he hasn’t had anything to drink at all, actually… though being a minor, we’re limited in what tests we can perform without a parent or guardian’s permission.”

“Anything else?”

“He did try to flee after he was pulled over. The arresting officer said he got about six blocks before he apparently thought better of it and surrendered peacefully.”

The Wutaiian Turk ground his teeth. Of all the idiotic things to do…

“I assume there’s no issue with releasing him to me… Along with my car?”

“No… No issue. Uh… Right this way.” He led him towards the interrogation room and unlocked the door. Tseng stepped inside pausing directly in front of his wayward rookie.

Reno scrambled to his feet, fearfully coming to attention. “I can explain…”

“I would strongly advise holding your explanations until I’m in a slightly less homicidal mindset,” he intoned, dangerously. He pointed to the door. “Now move.”

“Uh… I kinda think I might rather stay in jail tonight…” the redhead replied, eying his irate commander with trepidation.

“Move,” he repeated, in a tone that was not to be argued with.

“… Yes, sir…” the rookie squeaked, meekly, before cautiously slipping past him and out of the interrogation room, never taking his eyes off of Tseng.

The Wutaiian Turk clamped a hand down on the teenager’s shoulder and roughly guided him out the front door of the station, following the officer to the impound lot. Neither of them said a word to one another as Tseng reclaimed his stolen property and forcibly strapped Reno into the passenger’s seat. The silence lingered over them until they were nearly halfway back to the apartment. Finally, the redhead seemed to work up the courage to break it.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re most certainly going to be,” the senior Turk responded, eyes locked on the road in front of him. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Reno flinch… which normally would have bothered him immensely, but at the moment he was teetering dangerously on the edge of murderous, and frankly, it was probably a good thing that the rookie was a bit scared. “I hesitate to even ask for an explanation right now. I’m far too angry with you as it is…”

The redhead sank down lower in the seat. “I… I was…” He took a deep breath, visibly attempting to calm himself. “Izzy’s car wouldn’t start. I… told her I’d give her a ride. I know it was stupid of me. I just… You were finally trustin’ me, ‘n…I didn’t wanna miss out. I screwed up.”

“Was she the girl the police found you with?”

“Uh… No. I met her at the party,” he admitted, “Izzy was talkin’ to some friends of hers, ‘n I was just hangin’ out. The kid was doin’ vodka shots in the kitchen with some other guys.”

“Were you drinking as well?”

Reno vehemently shook his head in denial. “I wasn’t… I swear. Not when I knew I was gonna be drivin’ home later. I’m not that stupid.”

“That’s up for debate…” Tseng glanced over at the rookie, who by then seemed to be trying to make himself as small as possible in the seat. He didn’t seem to be lying.

“And just where were you taking this apparently very drunk girl the police found you with?”

“It’s not what you think… I swear it’s not what you think.”

“What I think is irrelevant. Answer the question.”

“I was takin’ her home,” the redhead said quickly, “Look, I know what it looks like, but I wasn’t gonna try anything with her. Some asshat slipped her somethin’. I… just didn’t want anything to happen to her.”

Tseng’s harsh glare softened slightly at that. The redhead was likely being honest about his intentions… He’d seen enough of his ward to know that he did have something of a protective streak when it came to women. Though that one good deed didn’t change the fact that he’d stolen a car. His car. A car he was very, very attached to.

“S-so… on a scale of mandatory guard duty ’til I’m forty to pack your shit, I’m drop-kickin’ you back to the slums… How much trouble am I in?” Reno nervously asked in a small voice.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Tseng said, evenly. “And I don’t intend to until I’m less likely to do something I’ll eventually regret. But I will tell you this. The Costa del Sol detail next week? You can most certainly forget about that. Rude will be taking your place on the security team.”

He knew his rookie had been looking forward to that assignment. Luca had mentioned overhearing the team’s rookies discussing which of them might be going. The teenager had had so few opportunities to ever leave the city… Tseng couldn’t blame him for being rather excited when such a mission came up.

“Yes, sir…” the redhead replied, his voice sullen and resigned. Tseng turned into the parking lot of their apartment building and pulled into an empty space.

“We’ll discuss the specifics of your punishment in the morning, after I’ve had some time to calm down. In the meantime, I suggest you enjoy your remaining few hours of freedom, Reno… because they’re the last you’re going to have for awhile.”

~end chapter 31~