Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 70: The Coming Storm

Tseng announced himself by knocking quietly on the door frame. Veld glanced up from his computer and waved him inside.

“Sir, if this is about something Kai said…” he began. After taking some time to cool off, he’d realized that he had perhaps been slightly out of line earlier. Kai had been, too… but he could have handled things better. Veld, however, shook his head.

“No… though if you’re preemptively defending yourself, maybe I should ask…”

Tseng shut the door behind him and slid into the chair in front of his mentor’s desk.

“I… may have overreacted slightly while worrying about Reno’s trip to Junon. And I will apologize,” he replied.

“It’s almost painful to let him grow up sometimes, isn’t is?” the Turk leader snickered. “In any case, that’s not what I wanted to discuss. We’ve received a somewhat… sensitive… assignment. One that you’re best qualified for. It’s only your first day back… I need to know if you’re up to it.”

“Of course I’m up to it,” Tseng replied, slightly offended.

“You may not be so certain of that once I tell you what it is,” said Veld, in a serious tone, “You’ve suffered a traumatic and very personal loss. I want you back as much as anyone… but I want you back whole.”

Tseng raised an eyebrow, curious now, wondering just what this assignment was that his friend and mentor believed might affect him so much. It could be any number of things… but the most likely was something related to the war with Wutai. He vaguely wondered if Veld planned to send him back to Wutai so soon after his return. Were that the case… he may have been a bit premature in his assurances that he was prepared for such an assignment. He wasn’t so certain he could handle that quite yet.

“Just what is it you need me to do?” he asked after a moment.

“SOLDIER will be supporting the general military in Wutai, in the hopes of ending this as quickly as possible. As such, their director has asked the executive board that her personnel be briefed on your homeland over most of next week. Heidegger was, unsurprisingly, quick to volunteer you as a resource… most likely to make himself look good, rather than us.”

“How did he even know I was back?” Tseng asked, surprised. Veld snorted in contempt.

“I doubt he even realized you were gone… I swear the man only makes me file reports so that he has something to point to that makes him look as though he’s actually doing something all day. He is, however, aware enough to realize that you possess a great deal of knowledge that has suddenly become very valuable to our military. There aren’t many people in the company with your security clearance who also just happens to have been born and raised in the country we’re actively trying to beat into submission, after all.” Veld leaned forward, elbows resting on his desk. “I understand that this is essentially asking you to betray your homeland. And as much as we say that orders are orders, I refuse to force this on you, especially now. Shiva knows you’ve been through enough lately.”

“If Heidegger were to find out about that…”

Veld smirked slightly. “I’m not concerned about that. You showed up so unexpectedly, I haven’t yet had time to officially inform anyone outside of the team that you’ve returned from leave… so you’re not officially even here. I’m sure I can… avoid finding time… to file the appropriate paperwork until sometime around the end of next week. It’s entirely up to you.”

“… Would I have to go… home… for these briefings?” Tseng hesitantly queried. If this was starting next week, that could easily mean the members of SOLDIER he was supposed to be briefing were already in Wutai and he’d been traveling over the weekend.

“No. The director wants her people up to speed before they ship out. It will be conducted within SOLDIER’s headquarters.”

That, at least, was a relief. Veld was right, though… doing this did feel like a betrayal. But then… what ties did he really have to Wutai now anyway? He wasn’t welcome in his family’s home anymore… and his home… well, if he was being honest with himself, ‘home’ had really been Midgar for years now.

He could do this. It would almost certainly be a painful form of farewell to his life before the Turks, and not what he would have chosen under normal circumstances, but it could potentially shorten the conflict and, in so doing, save many lives that might otherwise be lost. And perhaps those lives might go a ways toward atoning for his role in Mayu’s death, as well. He could do this.

“Alright…” he said at last.

“You’re certain?”

“Yes, sir,” Tseng replied. Veld nodded.

“I’ll let Director Faine know to expect you on Monday, then,” said the Turk leader. He smiled faintly, “And while we’re on the subject of the various thorns in my side… Rufus.”

The Wutaiian Turk sighed in no small amount of frustration.

“Yes, sir… Would you like me to have a word with him about his personal safety? Again?”

“You do seem to the the only one of us he ever listens to. When he actually chooses to listen. And I got the distinct impression the other day that he’s been almost as worried about you as your rookie has. But I should also tell you that his father was not amused in the slightest when I returned him home last night. You might mention to him that behavior like this isn’t going to be tolerated with a war going on. President Shinra is seriously considering housing him outside of Midgar for the duration after that little stunt.”

“Rufus won’t like that at all…” Tseng frowned. Neither, for that matter, would he. He would prefer to keep the young man close, where he could personally keep an eye on him. His frown deepened slightly as he realized that he seemed to be having that thought quite often of late. Reno’s trip to Junon had emphasized just how much having the redhead out of his reach suddenly bothered him. It hadn’t occurred to him until now that he was most definitely feeling overly protective of those he cared for the most. He tried very hard to avoid thinking about losing them… but after having lost so much recently, it was difficult. The very idea of something happening to one of them evoked a nearly paralyzing terror deep within him.

“Tseng?”

He looked up, and realized that his mentor was watching him patiently, waiting for him to respond to an unheard query or comment. The Turk lieutenant shook his head.

“I’m sorry, sir… my mind wandered for a moment.”

“Why do I get the feeling there’s something you haven’t told me yet?” Veld asked. He was right, of course. Tseng had yet to say anything about what had happened when he’d returned to his family home. Now, he supposed, was as good a time as any.

“… Because you know me entirely too well, sir,” he replied, steeling himself to recount the story once again.

---

“Hey, look… he survived,” Kai’s voice teased as Reno stepped out of the elevator and into the hallway of the Turk offices. He and Kai were making their way toward him. Reno grinned widely.

“Just barely… Almost got talked into a fuckin’ coma by a Junon commander,” he replied, “Thought I was a goner for sure ’til Vir came ‘n rescued me.”

“Vir?” Luca repeated, looking slightly puzzled, until the name finally clicked and he snickered, “Ohhh… Right. Lieutenant Commander Nacelle. Heh… On a first name basis with Tseng’s mysterious girlfriend, now, are we?”

“What? You’re not?” the redhead teased. Kai laughed.

“Ha! Not since one of his little cyber experiments accidentally put the entire base on lockdown for almost two days a couple years back…” she proclaimed. “Viridia’s always held a grudge for that. Can’t blame her, either… the higher ups in Junon were pissed, and Luca here ran back to Midgar at the earliest opportunity instead of dealing with them.”

“I was recalled to Midgar, thank you very much,” the other Turk replied, defensively, “And in case you’ve forgotten, Veld wasn’t real happy with me, either. And Tseng was ticked I got Viridia in trouble. I was on everyone’s shit list for weeks!”

Kai grinned. “And that’s the story of why Luca’s not allowed to use the Junon computer network anymore.”

Luca awkwardly cleared his throat and nudged his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose.

“Anyway…” Kai sniggered, “I just saw Tseng head into Veld’s office. He’ll probably want a full report from you as soon as he’s done.”

“Oh, good… I can tell him all about Commander Viddick’s theory that the Turks would be ‘far more effective’ if we let Junon train our recruits for us.”

“Please… that asshole just wants to snag the best to recruit for his own troops,” Kai snorted, “Just like fuckin’ SOLDIER already does to us.” She shrugged and slipped passed the redhead, poking the button for the elevator. “Hell, they almost got Cissnei, from what I hear. Lucky for us, Tseng snatched her up first. Later, boys!”

Reno blinked in surprise as she vanished from view behind the doors. He glanced over at Luca.

“Was she serious? Cissnei was almost chosen for SOLDIER?”

“You’d have to ask Tseng… or Cissnei,” Luca replied, “but it wouldn’t surprise me. She and Rodney were at the top of their class… that’s bound to get someone’s attention.”

The rookie shook his head. “Okay… would you mind explainin’ to me how the whole recruiting thing works? ‘Cause I obviously don’t get it. I thought they all became Turks eventually…”

Luca laughed and started down the hall, towards the lounge. “You know, I think I’d somehow completely forgotten that you didn’t get recruited through the program. Not everyone that gets recruited ultimately gets promoted to the Turks. The program takes people we think could do well in the Turks, and also anyone who wants to try and get in, gives them some basic training and evaluation, and helps us weed out the candidates that aren’t suitable for one reason or another. Since we don’t always have openings, SOLDIER takes a lot of highly qualified candidates first. The Junon Materia Corps poaches them, too. It makes sense… I mean, why would you want qualified personnel just sitting around in basic training for years on end? There’s anywhere from 20 to 50 recruits in training at any given time, so the Turks can’t possibly take them all… but that means that, if we don’t have space on the team when they’re ready, we miss out on a good recruit and lose them to another department.”

They walked into the lounge and found Rude with various papers spread halfway across the room. The redhead snickered quietly as they paused in front of him.

“The fuck, man? You run outta space in our office or somethin’?” he asked, as Luca carefully tiptoed his way through the paper minefield to reach the coffee pot on the far side of the room.

“… Yeah, actually,” the other rookie replied, “Intelligence reports are coming in from all over the place and Tres wants the printouts sorted by location for easy cross-referencing. I’ve got thirty-seven separate piles so far. So whatever you do… don’t open the windows.”

Reno laughed and edged around the reports to take a seat on the couch. Luca poured his coffee and made his way back to the door with it, leaving the two rookies behind with a wave.

“Good luck!” he called over his shoulder.

“… So… anything I can do to help?” Reno asked, but Rude shook his head.

“Probably doesn’t look like it, but I’m just about done, actually. How was Junon?”

“Great up until they wouldn’t let me leave,” the redhead snickered. “Man… Remy was right about that Viddick guy. Couldn’t get him to shut up to save my life.”

“Helicopter still in one piece?” the other rookie teased.

“Oh, fuck you,” Reno laughed. “Hey… outta curiosity… did you ever hear anything about Cissnei almost endin’ up in SOLDIER instead of the Turks?”

“Mmhmm…” Rude replied, skimming through the report in his hands and placing it on one of the piles before picking up the next one. Reno waited silently for him to say something else, and the rolled his eyes when he didn’t.

“… You gonna elaborate on that ‘mmhmm’, or what?”

Rude glanced up, smirking slightly. “Not if you don’t bother asking me to…”

“Asshole,” the redhead snickered, “So what’s the story?”

The other rookie shrugged noncommittally. “Not much to tell, really. She outperformed a lot of the other recruits, and it caught Director Faine’s attention. Tseng got to her first.”

“Um… actually he didn’t. I turned SOLDIER down.” Both rookies looked up at the unexpected interjection, only to see the subject of their conversation standing in the doorway. Cissnei smiled at the pair of them and crossed the room, holding out a paper take-out bag from a little sandwich shop a few blocks over to Rude. “You missed lunch. I thought you might be getting hungry by now, so…”

“Thanks,” he replied, blinking in surprise.

“Ya didn’t get me anything?” Reno pouted as Rude dug into the bag and unwrapped its contents. Cissnei giggled quietly.

“Sorry… I didn’t know you were back yet. What’s with the sudden curiosity about me and SOLDIER?”

“Kai mentioned it in passing earlier. Just the first I’d heard anything about it, that’s all,” Reno replied. “So you really turned down the chance to join ’em?”

Cissnei nodded. “I’ve wanted to be a Turk since… well, for as long as I can remember, really. And there were rumors that the Turks were getting ready to promote right around the time Director Faine made a formal offer of promotion to me. So I turned her down, and hoped to Hades the rumors were true…”

Reno grinned. “Wait… so bein’ a Turk was your dream? Geez… kinda makes me feel like a loser. I just wanted to get the hell outta the slums ‘n took the first opportunity that came along. It was pure luck that said opportunity happened to be Tseng showin’ up on my doorstep one day.”

Cissnei laughed, “I don’t believe in luck. Things happen for a reason. You were always meant to be a Turk, even if you didn’t know it at the time. And so was I. That’s why I never had any second thoughts about turning Director Faine down. A week later? I found out I was one of the picks for final evaluation for the Turks.”

Rude, in the meantime, had finished half of his sandwich and then started gathering his sorted piles reports into individual file folders, and making a neat stack of them on the floor in front of him. He groaned in relief as he placed the last folder on top.

“Finally…”

“… Course you realize that soon as you take those over to Tres, he’s gonna have twice as many new ones waitin’ for ya,” the redhead pointed out.

“… Don’t ruin my moment of triumph. Remember… I’m the one who offered to make your birthday cake for the party tonight.”

Cissnei grinned and prodded him teasingly in the chest. “Yeah, Reno. Don’t do anything to mess up your own birthday party. After the week we’ve had, I’m really looking forward to celebrating something, rather than worrying about what’s going on in Wutai.”

---

“There you are,” Tseng said as Reno was leaving the lounge a short while later. “I trust everything went smoothly in Junon?”

“Yep… but, uh… remind me that the next time I’m over there I owe Vir a huge thank you for getting me outta havin’ to spend the rest of the day with Commander Viddick.”

Tseng chuckled quietly. “I’ll be sure to pass along your undying gratitude the next time I speak to her. For now, however, I have a new task for you.”

“… It doesn’t involve paperwork, does it?” the redhead asked, with trepidation. He’d been right about Rude’s workload. Just as he’d been preparing to carry off the sorted reports to his mentor, Tres had arrived with another batch. Cissnei had quickly offered to lend a hand. Reno, meanwhile – since Cissnei had already volunteered – had used the excuse of needing to report to Tseng to beat a hasty retreat.

“No, actually. Unless you’d prefer I find some for you…”

“Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. What’s up?”

“Rufus is apparently suffering the consequences of his little escape last night. His father has asked that we tighten security around him. He has a business meeting at the Silver Swan this afternoon and will need an escort. Veld is sending both Remy and you.”

Reno’s eyebrows rose.

“He’s not sendin’ you?”

Tseng shook his head and chuckled. “I’m being purposefully withheld today… as punishment for his foolishness.”

The redhead snickered, recalling the vice president’s comments about Remy the previous evening.

“Oh… so he gets his two least favorite Turks, instead.”

“Only one of them, I suspect,” Tseng replied, smiling slightly, “Rufus seems to have decided that you’re not wholly disagreeable… in small amounts.”

“Yeah, right,” the rookie snorted. Though he knew that Rufus did like him better than some people. Or at least tolerated him. Sort of. Mainly when it benefited him somehow.

“The meeting is at three. Remy will come and find you then.”

“Yeah, okay,” said Reno. Tseng nodded and turned to go. “Hey… um… you’re comin’ to my party tonight… right?”

“Now that I’ve finally been officially invited to the celebration that no one seems to be able to stop talking about today… of course,” he replied, somewhat teasingly. The rookie, sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

“Heh… yeah, sorry ’bout that. Been a busy day…” He grinned slightly, “And don’t worry ’bout gettin’ me anything. I’ve been tellin’ everyone that I all I really want is food ‘n company.”

Tseng rested a hand on Reno’s shoulder, squeezing gently, and smiled before heading back to his office.

---

“Oh, my god, you two are still at it?” the redhead laughed as he returned to the lounge an hour later. He’d made a point of avoiding it for awhile, lest he be recruited to help, but he’d thought that surely by now the flow of incoming reports would have dwindled a bit. Cissnei looked up.

“Oh, no… we finished with the intelligence reports ages ago. These are next month’s requisition forms. Veld asked Remy to take care of them while Tseng kind of… readjusts… to being back at work. After what happened last time, Remy said she needed us to help her get a head start on filling them out.” She held out a handful to him. “Here… just jump in anywhere.”

Reno grinned. “Heh… you know how much I just adore paperwork, but I’m actually headin’ out on assignment. Just gotta find Remy so we can get goin’. ‘Sides… no one can read my shit handwriting anyway.”

“Good point. Off to do anything interesting?” Rude asked. His fellow rookie shrugged.

“Not really. Babysittin’ the vice president at some meeting across town.”

“Oh… Do I feel sorry for you. From what I’ve heard, Rufus is in a really foul mood today,” Cissnei said, shaking her head. “Rodney ran into him earlier when Veld sent him up to the executive floor with some reports for Heidegger.”

“Great…” Reno groaned as Remy at last walked into the lounge.

“Reno? We’re leaving now,” she said, glancing at her watch.

“See you guys tonight,” the redhead said to his fellow rookies before turning and following the senior Turk out the door. They headed for the elevator, and Remy pressed the button for the sixty-sixth floor… the executive offices. Reno sighed and leaned back against the wall of the elevator car as it carried them upwards.

“Ya know…” he said after a few seconds of silence, “It wouldn’t kill ya to talk to me once in awhile…”

Remy jumped, startled slightly by the sudden proclamation and looked over at him.

“I… don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied. Reno rolled his eyes.

“Oh, please… you’ve hardly said two words to me that weren’t a hundred percent job-related since you fucked me. You really think I haven’t noticed?”

The senior Turk’s face flushed pink and she quickly cleared her throat. “This is neitherthe time nor the place to discuss this!” she hissed in a rather scandalized whisper.

“What the fuck are you whisperin’ for? Who do you think’s gonna hear us in here?” the redhead snickered in response. “Seriously, Remy… what’s the deal? I told ya… I’m not gonna say anything about it to anyone. I didn’t even tell Rude when he kept askin’ where the hell I disappeared to that night.”

“Reno…”

“And just for the record… other people are eventually gonna start noticin’ it, too,” he added. “Looks just a little weird when two people go from bein’ friends, to one of ’em goin’ out of her way to avoid the other.”

Remy pressed her hands over her eyes and made a sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh. “I know…”

Before she could say anything further, however, they reached their destination. The elevator chimed and opened, depositing them on sixty-six and the senior Turk hurried to reclaim her composure. Rufus was already waiting for them, a scowl firmly embedded on his face. If he noticed her discomfort, he didn’t seem to care about it.

“Of course it would be you two…” he muttered, stepping aboard.

---

Wine-colored carpet spread out ahead of him, plush underfoot, leading to a grand staircase that rose upwards towards a mezzanine that encircled the massive lobby and then continued up farther still to wide wooden doors that opened onto the second floor. The stairs gleamed in the light of a trio of crystal chandeliers – polished marble with rich, cherry wood banisters. The same wood also paneled the walls, giving the large, open room a surprisingly cozy feeling in spite of its grandness. Dark gray stone columns rose from floor to ceiling, flanking the staircase on either side and were reflected in the uncovered parts of the floor.

“Fuckin’ hell…” Reno murmured under his breath as he took in the opulence that surrounded him. He’d seen a lot in his time on the Plate… but this was something else altogether.

The Silver Swan hotel was widely regarded as the best hotel in Midgar – perhaps in the world – with prices to match. He’d seen it from the outside dozens of times but until today had never set foot through the large revolving door that transported guests from the hustle and bustle of the city into the quiet luxury of its lobby.

He and Remy trailed Rufus across the sprawling room, towards the elegantly detailed doors of what Reno quickly realized was a restaurant. The aroma from within made his mouth water and he was more than a little disappointed that he wasn’t going to be able to sample the menu. He was on the clock, after all. The group was greeted by the establishment’s host and escorted to a private dining room, away from the other guests.

“Ah… Rufus,” a man already seated inside said as they entered, standing up and walking over to shake the young executive’s hand. He wasn’t alone. Another, younger man, and a woman of perhaps forty remained at the table.

“Erik… Good to see you again,” Rufus responded… to Reno’s surprise, with none of his earlier annoyance. He wasn’t sure if it was an act or if the brat was genuinely pleased to see the man. The vice president turned to the pair of Turks. “This is a private meeting.”

“Yes, sir,” said Remy and obediently stepped back outside, the redhead scurrying after her. The doors closed behind them as the senior Turk took up a position to the left of the entryway. Reno shrugged and moved to the right.

“So… what? We just stand guard ’til he’s done in there?”

“Yes,” she replied. The rookie sighed. This was gonna be fun. Guard duty was even less exciting than escort duty… if such a thing was possible. Guard duty at the restaurant, where delicious smells were assaulting him from all sides, was barely a step away from physical torture. His stomach growled in agreement.

“Glad I got a party to look forward to tonight, or this would really suck…” he muttered, more to himself than to Remy.

“We’re here to watch Rufus’ back, not to chit chat,” Remy admonished him.

“Heh… guess that means this is ‘neither the time nor the place’ to talk about –”

“Reno!”

“Geez… alright, fine. I’ll shut up,” he replied. With a soft sigh of resignation to his fate, he folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall behind him, eyes on their surroundings.

“… We’ll… talk later, once we’re off duty. After your party. Alright?”

“Yeah, okay.”

It was going to be a long couple of hours.

~end chapter 70~