Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 62: A Market of Information

Tseng slowed slightly, and Veld quickly matched the new speed. Running wasn’t especially conducive to conversation… but they could manage well enough if they toned it down a bit.

“Something on your mind?” the Turk leader asked, correctly interpreting the reason for the change in pace. “Or are you just getting tired?”

Tseng chuckled somewhat breathlessly. “Tired, sir?” he replied, “Of course not… I was merely concerned that you might be overdoing it.”

“Hmph… I really shouldn’t let you get away with a comment like that…” Veld laughed, “What is it?”

“I was hoping to ask your advice on a personal matter,” he said.

“Well? Let’s here it.”

“I’ve been thinking,” Tseng continued, having been granted leave to do so, “Mayu is to return home tomorrow. If we fail to prevent this attack, she may well return to a battleground, and even if we do prevent it, you know as well as I do that it’s only a matter of time. My family won’t entirely approve, but I’m beginning to wonder if I should simply insist that she remain here in Midgar. She’ll be returning for school in the fall anyway. She has less than three months remaining of her education in Wutaii… She could easily finish it here. Perhaps even be granted an early graduation. Mayu has always been an excellent student.”

“I can certainly see your point,” Veld replied, “But I don’t think you should, as you put it, ‘insist‘ on anything.”

“Sir?”

The older Turk slowed to a stop, and spent a moment catching his breath.

“She’s not your subordinate, Tseng,” he chuckled, “She’s your sister. And from what little time I’ve spent with that girl, I get the feeling she’s just as goddamn stubborn as you are. You start insisting, and she’ll be back in Wutai before you’ve finished the sentence… out of pure spite. In fact, as I recall, that’s much how you ended up here against your father’s wishes.”

“Yes, sir,” Tseng replied, with chagrined smile. He was right of course. ‘Insisting’ had been entirely the wrong word to use. Mayu had never liked being told what to do anymore than Tseng did.

“But, that being said, I do think it would be wise to, at the very least, suggest it to her. I would in your position.” He suddenly smirked. “Of course, you might want to consider the dangers of her living here, as well…”

“Sir?”

“Keeping her away from your rookie, for instance?” he teased. “You’d have to be blind not to notice what a lovely young woman Mayu’s become. Reno isn’t blind.”

Tseng laughed quietly. “I think Mayu can fend off any unwanted advances from Reno.”

“Hmph… That little devil’s already got my sweet Felicia smitten with him, and all he had to do was say hello. What makes you so sure they’d be unwanted?” Veld asked… and then resumed his run before his protege could stammer out a reply.

---

“So tell me,” Tres said as they stepped off of the train and into Wall Market, “What do you actually know about Corneo’s setup?”

Reno downed what coffee remained in his cup – they’d made a brief detour when switching trains in Sector 5 – and shrugged.

“Well, I know he’s a fuckin’ pervert…” he replied. Tres snickered.

“Says our own resident pervert…”

“Tch… I got nothin’ on Corneo. Lira’s told me some shit.”

“Such as?” Tres prodded. The redhead frowned slightly and shook his head.

“Like the fact that the fat bastard makes the new girls fuck him before he starts payin’ ’em to fuck everyone else,” he replied in obvious distaste.

“Hmph… If that’s the worst you’ve heard, you ain’t heard shit. Remind to to tell ya why I left his employ sometime… ya know, when we’re not tryin’ to stop shit from bein’ blown all to hell.”

“I always just figured the Turks made ya a better offer…”

Tres paused mid-stride and smirked. “Better offer, huh?” he laughed. “Hate to break it to ya, but I took a pay cut joinin’ up with Shinra, kid. Fuckin’ worth it to get away from that sick son of a bitch. But I’ll tell ya that story later… Right now, I wanna make sure you know what we’re walkin’ into. We got a truce of sorts with Corneo and I don’t need you gettin’ pissed off ‘n doin’ something to fuck that up. You ever actually been in the Honeybee?”

“… Uh… not really. I mean, I’ve walked Lira to work a few times when I’ve been down here. Never saw much more than the lobby, though. I wasn’t payin’ and some asshole who looked like he’d probably be able to snap me in half didn’t seem to want me hangin’ around if I wasn’t lookin’ to spend some gil.”

“Oh, so ya met Moss,” Tres chuckled. “Yeah, he’s a prick. None too bright, though. It’s his little brother ya gotta watch out for. Not a whole lot smarter, but Kotch is a goddamn psychopath. That little shit’ll probably end up being the Don’s right hand one of these days on ruthlessness alone. Look… some of the regulars have some… eh… interesting… fetishes. Just stay off security’s radar while we’re in there. No matter what you might see goin’ on. Don’t give ’em a reason to get pissed at you, and we’ll be fine.”

The pair made their way through the narrow streets of Wall Market. Despite the early hour, the place was definitely open for business. Girls… and more than a handful of attractive young men, as well… were already vying for the best corners and setting up shop, while others were gradually working their way in the roughly same direction as the Turks. Probably the Honeybee Inn’s morning shift.

As they slipped past a small shop, a hand reached out and clamped around Reno’s upper arm, yanking him roughly towards the open door before either he or Tres could react.

“Hey! How much?” The man towered over the rookie and stank of alcohol and stale cigarette smoke… among other things. Reno jerked his arm out of his grasp and darted back.

“Tch… More’n you could afford, asswipe,” Tres sneered, and pointedly put himself between the man and Reno before steering the rookie away from his would-be customer. They rounded a corner, leaving him behind, before the senior Turk finally relinquished his hold on the redhead’s shoulder. “Hmph… You’re too goddamn pretty, ya know that?”

“Hey, you’re the one that woke me up from a perfectly nice dream at an ungodly hour ‘n dragged my pretty little ass down here,” the teen shot back. Tres snorted in amusement and gently shoved him forward.

“Fair enough, kid.”

The next street over led straight to their destination and Reno watched as the two ladies out front, dressed in the brothel’s trademark provocative bee outfits where replaced by two identically clad girls from inside. One of them yawned gave a tired wave before disappearing inside. It took the redhead a moment to realize that he recognized one of the replacements and he couldn’t help but grin at her as he and Tres approached.

“Don’t you say one goddamn word, Reno…” Lira warned him… though the way her antennae flopped angrily on top of her head didn’t exactly make it easy to take her seriously.

“What?” he replied, innocently, “I was gonna say that’s a great look for ya…”

Lira rolled her eyes and set her fists on her hips.

“What are you doing here?” she sighed, ignoring the teasing. Her gaze fell on Tres and she gave him a quick once-over. “Judgin’ by your friend there, I’m guessin’ it’s business… not pleasure.”

“Lookin’ for a girl who had a client from out of town last night,” Tres replied. Lira snorted softly.

“Like we ask about that sort of thing.”

“Lira… come on. It’s important. We’re lookin’ for a Wutaiian… definitely not a local. He was s’posed to have been here last night.”

“Alright, alright…” she replied, shaking her head, “Look, I just got here, so I haven’t had time to catch up on the gossip yet, but I overheard Sera mention somethin’ about an unusual client while I was gettin’ dressed. You wanna talk to her, better hurry. Her shift’s just endin’ and she likes to sneak out the back.”

“Thanks,” Tres said and climbed the steps, pushing open the doors to the Honeybee.

“Seriously love the outfit,” Reno snickered, and hurried after him before Lira could smack him.

“One more comment like that, and you can just forget about gettin’ any from me this weekend,” she hissed in reply.

“Workin’ this weekend anyway,” the redhead shot back, and as he vanished through the doors, he distinctly heard Lira’s fellow bee giggle beside her. Teasing her like that was probably going to come back to bite him in the ass later. He’d heard endless rants from his friend about how much she hated ‘bug duty’, but he’d never actually gotten to see the woman in one of those ridiculous costumes before. He just couldn’t resist.

The heavy doors closed behind him, and he turned to find himself in the vaguely familiar lobby. Security was elsewhere, apparently, and the pair of Turks walked up to the young woman waiting to greet new customers.

“We’re lookin’ for a girl named Sera,” Tres said, without preamble.

“Sera’s off, sweetie,” the girl answered, with a decidedly fake smile. Apparently, she’d already decided that she didn’t like him.

“Yeah. I know. Go grab her before she hauls ass outta here.”

“I already told you… she’s off. You’ll just have to pick another girl.”

Tres sighed and shook his head. “I don’t fuckin’ have time for this. Rose around?”

“Yes…” the girl said, warily, eying them both now.

“Go get her, then.”

“… Wait here,” she replied, and rushed off to one of the rooms in back. Tres elbowed the rookie and pointed towards the back of the lobby.

“Down that hall, all the way to the back. Grab the girl, keep her here ’til I get permission to talk to her, and for the love of Ifrit, don’t get caught by security.”

“On it…” Reno replied, and dashed off in the direction Tres had pointed.

The hallway was dimly lit, but hardly silent. With each door he passed, some sound or another emanated from within. He cringed slightly at a particularly loud crack of a whip, and a faint whimper, and tried not to wonder if it had come from one of the rentgirls or her client. At the far end of the hallway, he found an exit door, leading out behind the building, and just around a corner was another door… this one labeled “Employees Only”. He ignored the sign and pushed it open, slipping inside.

“What are you doing in here?! Get out!” a voice immediately demanded, and a moment later, he was pegged in the chest by a flying hairbrush.

“Ow! The fuck was that for?!” he instinctively replied before looking up. The woman who’d thrown it was half undressed and clutching what looked like a yellow sweater to her otherwise bare chest, glaring openly at him. It suddenly dawned on him that this was the employee dressing room. “Uh… oh. ‘kay, I guess I mighta had that comin’…”

“I’m callin’ security,” she stated, reaching for what looked like a small switch on the underside of one of the makeup tables.

“Wait! H-hang on, okay? I’m not lookin’ to cause trouble or anything. I’m a friend of Lira’s and if I start pissin’ people off in here, she’s gonna kill me. Just tell me… are you Sera?”

“Why do you want to know?” she asked suspiciously, but she did, at least, retract her hand from the alarm.

“I’m with the Turks. We’re lookin’ for a guy that was here last night. Wutaiian. Lira said he mighta been one of yours.”

She scowled slightly, and eyed him of a long moment. “Turn around.”

“Uh… Why?”

“Because I’m off the clock, and I’m not givin’ away a free show just ’cause you claim to be a Turk. Now turn the fuck around so I can finish gettin’ dressed.”

The redhead obligingly turned his back on her, and after a few second of rustling clothes, he heard her sit down in the chair next to the makeup table.

“So you’re Lira’s Turk friend, huh?” Sera said, and Reno took that as an invitation to look at something besides the dressing room door. “What was it, again? Rene?”

“Reno,” he replied, taking a seat in one of the chairs himself. Sera folded her arms over her chest.

“Well, Reno, my shift ended ten minutes ago, my kid’s waitin’ for me to bring him breakfast, and the last place I wanna be right now is here. So let’s get to the point. If you want information, it’s gonna cost ya. So what’s in it for me?”

“Uh…” Tres had just asked him to detain her until he could get back here himself. He hadn’t actually given him any instructions beyond that. Nor did the rookie have much of anything on hand to offer her. What little cash he had on him at the moment would probably have been a joke to someone who made Honeybee Inn money. Thankfully, he was saved from having to spontaneously come up with some form of payment by the arrival of his partner for the day.

“You find her?” Tres asked, trailing a slightly older woman into the room. The rookie nodded.

“Sera, tell them whatever they want to know,” the woman said.

“B-but, Rose…”

“Don’t worry. You’re gettin’ paid for it. I’ve already seen to that.”

Sera scowled and leaned back in her chair. “I’d better be. I’ve been workin’ all fuckin’ night. I got better shit to do today than waste my time talkin’ to the Turks…”

“Girl out front heard you say somethin’ about an unusual client last night,” Tres said, taking her response as an agreement to talk. “I wanna know about him.”

“Tch… The Wutaiian guy? Ugh. Yeah, he was mine. Fuckin’ pig. Looked like a halfway decent guy when he walked in. Real polite, paid upfront, didn’t hassle the other girls or nothing while he was waitin’. Seemed like he just wanted to get his rocks off ‘n leave. Hmph… don’t I wish. I always get stuck with the weirdos. Asshole wanted me to –”

“Not interested in his perversion of choice,” said the Turk, cutting her off. “Did he say anything to you?”

“Oh, he said plenty to me. I don’t speak a whole hell of a lot of Wutaiian, though. But then, I’ve had enough clients like that over the years to know when they’re callin’ me ‘Mommy’ no matter what language they’re speakin’.”

Tres shook his head, and Reno could practically feel the man’s frustration. He shared it. This wasn’t really getting them anywhere.

“Did he say anything about himself? Even just his name?”

“Nope. We played his little game, he got what he wanted, ‘n then he left. Heh… you could see the shame in eyes after he finished. He knows exactly how fucked up he is. Gave me a decent tip, though.”

“Dammit…” Tres breathed. He sighed and stood up, shaking his head. “Thanks anyway. Come on, kid… looks like this was another dead end.”

Reno moved to follow.

“Hey… um… hang on. He did say somethin’ weird as he was leavin’. Not about himself, though.”

“What was it?”

“He… asked me if I ever went to Sector 5. I do ’cause I got family there, butI told him no, ’cause I thought he might be fishin’ for personal information. I’ve had a few that got to like me a little too much ‘n tried to find out where I live ‘n see me outside of the Honeybee. But he didn’t ask me anything else. He just said… good.”

Tres blinked in surprise. “Sector 5? You’re absolutely certain he said five?”

“Yep. He definitely said five.”

---

As the train wound it’s way up Midgar’s central pillar, Tres rubbed his hands over his eyes and let his head thump back against the window.

“It doesn’t make any fuckin’ sense,” he said at last, breaking the silence that had lingered between them for a good seven or eight minutes now. “Everything we’ve learned has been pointin’ toward the reactors in Sectors 7 and 3. What the hell does 5 have to do with anything?”

Reno picked at the cracked vinyl on his seat’s armrest and repressed a faint groan as his stomach growled. The coffee had woken him up, but he still hadn’t had breakfast.

“Maybe they know we’re onto ’em. Maybe they planted the info, knowin’ you’d track down the girl.”

Tres snorted in contempt. “These fuckers are smart, but they ain’t that smart.”

“You sure? Maybe they’re smart enough to assume that’s exactly what you’d think…”

“Bullshit,” the senior Turk declared… but something in his voice told Reno that he was giving the possibility at least some consideration. Another silence settled between them, only to be broken a few minutes later. “It still doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t jive with any of the other intelligence we’ve collected. It’s completely random. If they were tryin’ to legit throw us off the track… why not point us to somethin’ we already suspect they might be targetin’? Like the Number 3 Reactor? I thought three might be a backup… but it could just as easily be a red herring. Why five and not three?”

The redhead turned his gaze out the side window, watching as the slums slowly grew more and more distant the higher they climbed. Around and around the central pillar. It was hard to believe that one of these days all of the Sectors would be on the rail system… but construction of tracks and a station in Sector 1 had been approved by the executive board just last week. All to funnel more money to Wall Market, really. From what Reno’d heard, Shinra was getting a nice little kickback from Corneo in exchange for shuttling in more customers from other parts of the slums…

“Maybe you’re lookin’ at it backwards?” he mused.

“Meanin’?”

“What if this was the slip up… and everything else you found was planted? I mean… forget what I said a minute ago. What are the actual odds of you hearin’ about one random guy payin’ for a quick fuck at the biggest whorehouse on the goddamn planet?”

Tres sat up slightly and frowned. “Keep talkin’, kid…”

“Tch… well… look at what we found in the sewers. They left us a goddamn trail to follow down there. Like, a literal fuckin’ trail. Of neon orange arrows. Yeah… maybe they just figured we wouldn’t think to look there, or even if we did, that we wouldn’t stumble across it in all those tunnels. But… doesn’t it seem just a little convenient that we did find it?”

“You’re givin’ ’em an awful lot of credit plannin’ out something like that.”

Reno shrugged and turned his attention to the window again. Really, who the hell was he to be telling a seasoned Turk… one who was regarded as a goddamn master when it came to intelligence… that he was wrong?

“Yeah, maybe. But I’m just sayin’… maybe you’re not givin’ ’em enough. I mean… whoever’s runnin’ shit obviously knows what they’re doin’ even if the assholes he sent to pull it off are just a bunch of hired goons. All you know about this Fuhito guyis his name.”

Reno was convinced, in the silence that followed, that Tres had dismissed his idea… until the next time the senior Turk spoke, that is. It was only a single word.

“Fuck.”

~end chapter 62~