Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 75: Back to Work

Reno huffed in irritation and stuffed half a roll in his mouth. Rude had, as promised, returned with food… just as Tseng and Veld had returned from their meeting upstairs. For a brief moment, he had been convinced that his long, sequestered wait was finally over.

And then they’d summoned Rude in for debriefing instead of him, citing his injury as the reason for not wanting to make the older rookie sit around and wait. Apparently doing so to a starving redhead was perfectly fine.

At least he now had something to eat… though he was unexpectedly finding that his appetite was waning. His thoughts were too focused on what he was going to say to them. Reno must have gone over the events of that afternoon in his head a hundred times by then, searching for anything he might have done wrong – anything he might have to justify.

He’d come up with a few things, the foremost being the way he’d just started telling the others what to do. Technically, Rude had seniority. Even though he was a rookie, too, he’d been a Turk longer than either Reno or Cissnei. Plus the redhead was still fucking sidelined. If they were going strictly by the book, Reno should have deferred to him… not started giving orders like he had the faintest idea what he was doing out there. Hell, he ought to have deferred to him if only for the reason that Rude wasn’t a constant source of embarassment for the team. But he’d acted on instinct, and the others had obeyed without question.

Then there was the fact that, as he’d heard in passing from Tres shortly after Rude had left for the cafeteria, twenty-one people had died. Despite his best efforts to stop it, people were dead. Maybe if they’d moved faster… or maybe if he hadn’t sent Cissnei off to deal with the barricades… or maybe if he’d let Rude give the orders like he was supposed to… then maybe they could have been saved.

And undeniably far lessdamning, but still certainly something he didn’t look forward to informing them of, was the damage to his EMR. It would either have to be repaired or a new one requisitioned for him. Not a huge deal… but certainly a hassle, and he’d already caused his superiors enough headaches lately.

Reno picked in growing disinterest at the salad on his plate. He shook his head at Rude’s choices. All the healthy options on the cafeteria menu, of course (if said menu could be considered healthy. Most of the time, it could barely be considered food). Not that the guy didn’t eat the same junk Reno did… he just ‘did so in moderation’, as he put it. Still… it was food, or at least close enough to it. But hungry as he was, eating had suddenly lost much of its appeal.

The door to the lounge opened and the redhead glanced up, hoping that his extended torture was finally over and someone had come to summon him to Veld’s office so he could just get this shit over with. He mentally groaned when he saw it was only Rodney.

“Do you ever stop eating?” the other rookie asked, rolling his eyes as he meandered over to the coffee maker and went to pour himself a cup… only to find the pot empty. “And can’t you make more coffee after you finish it off once in awhile?” he added with an annoyed scowl, “It’s not like you have anything better to do at the moment.”

“Can’t you not act like a total asshat once in awhile?” the redhead muttered, pushing his half-finished lunch aside.

“Oh, that’s rich, coming from you,” Rodney replied as he refilled the machine with ground coffee, and then snatched the pot, stalking off to fetch more water. He returned a few moments later, and set the machine to brewing. “I’m stuck babysitting Rufus all week, thanks to you. You know, if you’d just kept it in your pants for a change, you wouldn’t be stuck here, and I wouldn’t be stuck with the president’s spoiled little hellspawn for hours on end.”

He very nearly responded in Rufus’ defense just as a matter of principle. The fact that Rodney apparently didn’t get along with him only seemed to raise Reno’s opinion of the brat. Instead, though, the redhead scowled but did his best to tune him out, turning his attention back on his lunch.

“Cissnei told me all about the attack in Sector 4,” Rodney went on without any prompting from his fellow Turk, “You know… if I’d been there –”

“Yeah, well, you weren’t, were ya?” Reno snapped, cutting him off. He’d had enough. “Fuck off ‘n leave me alone, Rodney. I’m not in the mood to deal with you right now.”

“Most rookies would be grateful to have someone point out the mistakes they make so they can actually do something to fixthem.”

“When I want your advice, I’ll ask for it. I wouldn’t suggest holdin’ your breath, though.”

“Hmph… and that’s why you’re always going to be our little black sheep. No interest in self-improvement,” Rodney smirked as the coffee finished brewing. He poured himself a cup and left, leaving the redhead glaring at his retreating form.

“On second thought… hold your breath. Preferably ’til ya pass out,” Reno called after him.

He glumly sank down in his seat. For the most part, he tended to ignore the other rookie’s goading anymore… but today he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he had a point. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want to quit making stupid mistakes… hell, he was giving Tseng’s yoga idea a chance, wasn’t he? But what if that wasn’t enough? What if Rodney really did have some legitimate ideas about where he’d screwed up today? Wouldn’t it be better to hear him out… even if he was being a dick about it, as usual? Just because he was a dick didn’t mean he was wrong.

After awhile, he was so lost in thought, he didn’t even notice that he was no longer alone in the room until Rude was standing two feet away from him and had waved a hand in front of his face. The redhead jumped slightly at the unexpected movement, and looked up.

“… Veld wants you,” his friend said as he glanced down at the largely untouched plate of food that was sitting nearby and frowned.

Reno sighed and dragged himself to his feet before wordlessly making his way down the hall.

The first time he’d been formally reprimanded, he’d emerged from Tseng’s office feeling almost like he’d been physically beaten – though in that instance it certainly hadn’t helped matters that his mentor had also given him an early heads up about his Hell Week as well. He wondered if this would somehow manage to be worse. Technically, it was just a debriefing, not a reprimand. But… people had died. And he’d been the one giving the orders. He’d have to justify everything he’d done, and he honestly wasn’t sure he could.

He paused outside of Veld’s office, hesitating as he raised his hand to knock. He slowly released the breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding, and tapped somewhat quietly on the door. It swung inward, and the redhead found himself being ushered inside by Tseng. Reno swallowed sharply as he took a seat in front of the Turk leader’s desk.

“I’d like a full report on what happened this afternoon,” Veld said, looking at him gravely. His serious expression didn’t exactly do much to put the rookie at ease.

“… Yes, sir,” he replied, “Me ‘n Rude ‘n Cissnei were over in Sector 4 for lunch. It was a special marketplace thing Cissnei told us about. Pretty crowded even before we got there. The street was packed.”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and glanced over at Tseng, who said nothing.

“Nothin’ seemed unusual…” he continued, “One second I’m waitin’ on pizza, the next somethin’ explodes loud as all fuck and I’m lyin’ on my back in the middle of the street. By the time I realized what was happenin’, people were runnin’ ‘n panickin’ ‘n tramplin’ each other to get out of there. Spotted the attackers as they were walkin’ out of the smoke from the explosion.”

“How many did you see?” Veld asked.

“It was kinda hard to tell at the time. Counted at least seventeen later on, but it was pretty crazy. I mighta missed some.” He mentally kicked himself for that. Why hadn’t he paid closer attention? How the fuck were they supposed to know if they got them all if they didn’t know how many there were to begin with? Had the others gotten a more accurate count? He hoped so…

Veld nodded, and made a note of the number on a small notebook on his desk before motioning for him to go on.

“I… sorta figured it might be a little more than the three of us could handle on our own, so I called Tseng, ‘n then I went to find Rude ‘n Cissnei ’cause we’d been in different lines before shit started blowin’ up. Once we’d regrouped, I told Cissnei to move the barricades at the end of the block before people started gettin’ trapped. Those guys were drivin’ ’em as close together as they could, far as I could tell. It looked like they wanted to make ’em easy targets for their gunners.”

But it hadn’t been enough for at least twenty-one of them, he silently reminded himself.

“Me ‘n Rude flanked the guys and dropped as many as we could. And then reinforcements showed up and started kickin’ ass for us, so I went lookin’ for the others again. Found Rude ‘n then Cissnei turned up not too long after that. Then Sato ‘n Saya found us and got us outta there while everyone else was workin’ clean-up. Been sittin’ in the lounge since I got back.”

Veld raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

Reno’s stomach twisted in uncertainty, not quite sure what else the Turk leader wanted to hear from him… or wanted him to admit to.

“Y-yes?” he finally replied.

“Why did you tell Cissnei to deal with the barricades? Why not do it yourself or send Rude?” Tseng prompted.

He glanced up at him, uncertainly. “… ‘Cause she’s smaller ‘n faster than Rude ‘n she doesn’t stand out as much as I do? It was easier for her to get through the crowd without turnin’ herself into a target. I thought that if she could give people a way out, me ‘n Rude could slow the fuckers with the guns down a little so they had a chance to escape.”

“And you don’t intend to mention anything about getting Rude to cover after he was injured?” Veld queried.

“Umm…” he responded, fidgeting nervously. Tseng moved to stand beside him resting a hand on his nervous rookie’s shoulder.

“Reno… are you under the impression that you’re in trouble for something?” the Turk lieutenant asked, a note of surprise in his voice.

“… Am I?”

“I think that I can unequivocally state that no… you are not. In fact, both Cissnei and Rude made quite the compelling case that, had you not been there with them, the death toll likely would have been much higher than it was. Rude, in particular, was quite adamant on that point.”

Reno’s shoulders slumped. “Twenty-one people still died.”

“And no one could have saved them all. That’s just the reality of war,” Veld stated. “I think we have all we need. You’re dismissed.”

The redhead blinked and somewhat awkwardly got to his feet, not having expected things to go so easily for him. Tseng let him out of the office, closing the door behind him, and Reno headed off in search of his fellow rookies.

---

“I really don’t get that kid sometimes,” Veld said shaking his head. “I’m tempted to put him up for commendation for the way he handled things out there, and he thinks he’s in trouble.”

Tseng deeply frowned. “Well, perhaps if you hadn’t referred to him as an embarrassment to the team after Director Faine’s unexpected visit to headquarters…” he replied, somewhat snappishly, and Veld’s eyebrows rose in challenge.

“I beg your pardon?”

The Turk lieutenant hurried to rein in his anger. “It’s just that… I believe I’ve mentioned to you – on multiple occasions, in fact – that Reno has a somewhat, shall we say, fragile ego at times. He’s extraordinarily hard on himself when he’s done something wrong. So much so that it tends to leak over into unrelated circumstances. We should have debriefed him first. He’s probably been sitting in there nitpicking and over-analyzing every decision he made today. It’s not good for him.”

“Cissnei was needed elsewhere and Rude should be resting, not concerning himself with a debriefing,” the Turk leader pointed out. “You coddle him too much sometimes, Tseng.”

The Wutaiian Turk stubbornly folded his arms over his chest.

“I was under the impression that my First Rookie is to be trained as I see fit.”

Veld suddenly smiled. “You know… there was a time when you wouldn’t have dared contradict me like that. Even in private.”

“There was also a time when you did your own share of ‘coddling’, sir…” Tseng shot back with a faint smirk.

“I would hardly call it that. You just needed the occasional hand-holding as a rookie,” he snorted in contempt, and then he sighed and shook his head. “Which, I’ll admit, my own mentor didn’t entirely approve of. But he didn’t know you as well as I did.” He paused for a moment before relenting. “And I suppose that I don’t know Reno as well as you do, do I? You’re right. He’s yours to train. After all… you may well be training your own replacement. You’re certainly not the first protege to take over as second in command after the mentor is promoted… and I doubt you’ll be the last.”

“Sir…” Tseng began, as a chill settled over him at that thought. He wasn’t in any hurry to take over for Veld. Particularly given the fact that, in order for that to happen, Veld would have to either step down – something that he was more or less convinced would never happen – or be killed.

“I don’t plan on going anywhere for a very long time, Tseng.”

“… No one ever does, sir,” he replied with a shake of his head. Veld looked up at him, a thoughtful frown on his face.

“Far be it from me to criticize someone so soon after a personal loss… but don’t you think that sort of sentiment is just a bit melodramatic? Particularly coming from you…”

Tseng briefly looked away, but then took a seat in the chair that his rookie had recently vacated. He was silent for a few moments, and Veld simply waited for him to speak.

“… Her death is still weighing very heavily on me, sir,” he said at last, “More so than any other loss I’ve ever experienced. And I… can’t seem to stop worrying about what else – who else – I might lose. Especially now with Shinra actively engaged in a war and virtually all of the people I can still count as family embroiled in it. Today’s events certainly didn’t put my mind at ease. Reno could have died today.”

“Yes. He could have,” Veld replied, gravely, “But he didn’t. I won’t patronize you by telling you to stop focusing so much on what could happen. That, I think, is probably far beyond your control right now. The only advice I can offer is to be grateful that what could have happened today did not happen. No one knows what the future holds. We can only take things one day at a time. You were able to live knowing that before. You’ll eventually be able to again.”

“A timeline of when I can expect that to happen would be much appreciated,” Tseng sighed.

“I wish I could provide it,” said Veld. “In the mean time… might I suggest a visit to our on-call counselor? Speaking to an unbiased party might help.”

Tseng shook his head. “I’d prefer not, sir,” he replied, flatly. He’d never cared for therapists. He’d go if Veld ordered it, but… Tseng was, by nature, a private man. He would rather keep it that way. Talking to Veld about this – a man who had, for years, been a second father to him – was hard enough. Talking to someone who, at the absolute best, might be considered a passing acquaintance due to previous mandatory appointments was not something he had any desire to even consider.

Veld nodded in understanding.

“Then… dinner instead? Esme has had a very large pork roast slow-cooking all day. She won’t mind setting an extra place at the table. And Felicia has missed you. You haven’t been by to see her since before you left for Wutai. You’ve always been her favorite Turk, you know.”

Tseng chuckled softly in spite of himself. “Until she met Reno, perhaps… I think I lost my status as such the moment she laid eyes on him.”

“You might still win it back… if you actually put in an appearance once in awhile, that is.”

“… I suppose it would be far preferable to subjecting myself to another night of my own cooking,” he finally replied.

---

Rude carefully made his way into his office the next morning, mindful of the crutches. Hobbling around on them was taking a little more getting used to than he’d expected, and he’d already had any number of embarrassing mishaps… quite possibly the worst of which had occurred only a few short minutes ago when he’d accidentally brought one down on some poor secretary’s foot in the elevator. Profuse, awkward apologies had ensued. It hadn’t been pretty.

“Hey… How’s the leg?” Reno asked.

“… Sore,” he replied, easing into his chair and setting the damned crutches aside. “And I hate these things.”

The redhead snickered. “Could be worse. They coulda put you on full restriction instead of just chainin’ you to your desk for a week.”

“Sounds like a nice vacation,” Rude replied, and the other rookie snorted.

“Sounds like torture to me.”

Rude shook his head and laughed. “That’s just because you’re part hyperactive squirrel. Most people enjoy having time off to sit around relaxing at home.”

Reno flipped him off, but silently grinned before returning to his perusal of the morning’s memos.

“There’s such a thing as too much time off, pal,” he said a couple of seconds later. “Tch… I might as well not have even been here all week. Other than yesterday, I haven’t done jack shit since Veld grounded me.”

“Naughty baby Turklings need to be punished,” a voice teased from the doorway, and Rude saw his friend roll his eyes before turning in his chair.

“Who fuckin’ invited you into this conversation?” he replied. Kai laughed and stepped more fully into their office. She walked over to him and ruffled his hair, and in response Reno smacked her hand away and glared. “Quit it.”

“Well, someone’s certainly grumpy this morning…” she snickered, “In any case, I’m here to inform you that you’re officially allowed back into the morning briefing. And that you’re working with me today. Don’t know if anyone told you, but one of those bastards from the attack actually managed to survive. He’s been stewing in lockup all night, so… we have an interrogation to see to.”

“I-I’m not stuck fuckin’ around, doin’ nothin’ all day anymore?” Reno replied a hopeful look in his eyes.

“That’s what Veld says,” Kai shrugged, and turned to go. “See ya in a few.”

“Oh, thank Ifrit…” the redhead breathed once the two rookies were alone again. “I don’t think I’da been able to take much more of that.”

Rude shook his head, laughing quietly to himself. His friend really was a walking contradiction sometimes. Reno loved being lazy… but apparently only when it was on his own terms. If he was forced to do nothing, he damn near lost his mind.

“Don’t act so surprised,” he said, “Veld would have an awful lot of explaining to do to the rest of the team if he kept you sidelined after yesterday.”

“Why?” Reno asked, a puzzled expression on his face.

Rude looked up incredulously. “… Because you kind of saved our collective asses? That attack took us all completely by surprise. Even Tres hadn’t heard any rumors beforehand… which he’s not happy about, by the way. And while Cissnei and I were still trying to figure out what the hell was going on, you’d already called in reinforcements and come up with a plan of attack.”

The redhead just shrugged.

“I don’t see what the big deal is. That’s our job.”

Rude had to resist the urge to facepalm. “Are you serious? Yesterday morning you kept telling me how you were a complete screw up. Today, you’re writing off stopping a surprise Wutaiian attack dead in its tracks as just doing your job?”

Reno shrugged again. “I guess it just doesn’t feel like one good day evens things out for all the shit I fuck up. I dunno… maybe I’m bein’ –”

“Where’s Tseng?” a petulant voice interrupted and Rude jumped slightly.

“Tch… Mornin’ to you, too, sir…” the redhead replied. Rufus scowled and slammed the door behind him.

“I want a new escort. Immediately,” he demanded.

One of Rude’s eyebrows rose slightly behind dark lenses, but he kept quiet. Rufus seemed to be in a decidedly foul mood this morning. Tres had warned him on multiple occasions that the Shinra heir could be a bit… unpredictable. In a way, he was rather glad he’d never had cause to interact with him much.

“So why are you tellin’ me?” Reno queried, confused.

“Because I can’t seem to locate either your mentor or your accursed leader at the moment, and I haven’t time to sit around waiting for them to return. You can deliver the message. It’s simple enough that even your feeble brain should be able to repeat it accurately. I want. A new. Escort.”

The rookie shrugged.

“Yes, sir. I’ll tell him.”

“Hmph!” the vice president snorted contemptuously before turning on his heel and storming back the way he’d come. Once he was gone, Rude finally deemed it safe to breathe again.

“What d’ya s’pose Rodney did to piss him off?” Reno mused.

Now it was Rude’s turn to shrug. Whatever it was, the executive was less than pleased. Frankly, Rude was just glad it wasn’t him who had to deal with the man. Still… while Rodney could certainly be abrasive at times and had a tendency to run his mouth, but he knew better than to step out of line with the higher ups. He was having a hard time imagining the other rookie angering Rufus to the extent that a formal request for a replacement was made.

He could easily see Reno doing so without even realizing it… but Rodney? He was always professional when he was working. Maybe not so much when it was just him and the other Turks, but in the field? Always.

And it piqued his curiosity.

---

Reno grinned widely as he claimed a seat in the briefing room and leaned back. Finally. He’d felt so utterly useless since the unfortunate incident with Director Faine, and he was only too happy to get back to work. He didn’t know if this meant that he was off Veld’s shitlist, or if the Turk leader had simply decided that continuing to punish him was a waste of resources… but he’d take what he could get.

Shay took a seat next to him while Rude was talking to Tres.

“I hear you were the star of the show yesterday,” he said with a slight smile. The redhead rolled his eyes.

“Ya know, there were three of us there, Shay…” he pointed out, which just seemed to make Shay’s grin widen.

“Oh, I know. Who do you think I heard it from?” Reno blinked in surprised, but the senior Turk was already on to the next subject. “Kai said you’re going to help her with the interrogation.”

“Yeah… guess so.”

“Can I offer you some advice?”

“Sure…”

“Be ready for anything. I’d wager good money it’s not going to be a standard interrogation,” Shay replied. “Times like this, information is paramount and we do whatever it takes to get it. Whatever it takes. Our… guest… probably won’t be leaving headquarters alive by the time Kai’s finally through with him.”

Reno swallowed sharply. The idea that the Turks occasionally tortured subjects for information wasn’t foreign to him by any means. He knew it happened. He’d just never sat in on it before. The redhead glanced over at Kai, who was casually chatting with Luca and Sato on the other side of the room, and wondered just what he was in store for. Kai was a little… nuts… sometimes. And given her fondness for blades, he shuddered slightly as he considered the possibilities.

Blood didn’t really bother him. Not really. Well… maybe a little, when it was coming out of a person rather than, say, a cripshay or some other small vermin. But he could deal with it if he had to. Outright torture, though… he wasn’t quite sure how he’d react to seeing that. He had no particular desire to find out, but knew that thinking he’d never be in a situation like that was hopelessly naïve. He’d known he’d be expected to do it eventually… he just hadn’t expected it to be today.

He didn’t have much time to think about it, however, as almost as soon as the words had left Shay’s mouth, Veld arrived. Tseng and Remy, however, were nowhere to be seen, even through everyone else now appeared to be accounted for. The Turk leader called his Turks to order.

“Sato. Anything to report on Fuhito’s new recruit?” he began without preamble.

“Nothin’ I can confirm,” the senior Turk replied sourly. “But I’d bet my last beer he was responsible fer the bomb that went off over in Four yesterday. Had a wee peek at what was left. Definitely looks like Istev’s style. Fucker’s disappeared on me, though. If Tres can spare his mini-me fer the day, I could use a hand trackin’ him down.”

“Rude’s on restricted duty,” Tres grunted from the other side of the room… and Reno had to bite down hard on his lower lip to hold back his laughter at the term ‘mini-me’. Tres and Rude couldn’t have physically looked more different if they tried – particularly given the distinctive tribal tattoo down the side of the older Turk’s face and the complete lack of hair on Rude’s part – and yet it was disturbingly apt…

“I know that, yeh pain in the arse. I’m not plannin’ on havin’ ‘im chase the bastard through Midgar fer me. Don’t need him ta do the leg work. Just the diggin’ in the archives.”

Rude glanced over at his mentor who, after a very brief consideration, nodded his consent.

“Find him. Eliminate him,” Veld intoned, before turning to Kai, “I assume you and Reno are prepared for your interrogation?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied, “Our… new friend… is already downstairs with Remy, under heavy guard.”

Veld nodded, and the redhead heard an annoyed scoff from somewhere to his left. He was sure it had come from Rodney… probably upset that he didn’t get picked to assist in such an important interrogation. Reno was almost tempted to offer to trade with him. Whatever assignment he got, it had to be better than that…

“Rodney, you’re still with the Vice President,” Veld stated.

Okay… maybe he wasn’t so eager to trade. Reno spared himself a brief moment to indulge in the look of dismay that came over the other rookie’s face before tentatively drawing Veld’s attention.

“Um… sir? About that…” he broke in, and the Turk leader eyed him, irritated by the interruption. “Rufus stopped by headquarters right before the meeting and told me to give either you or Tseng a message. He wants a new escort.”

He could practically feel Rodney’s eyes glaring a hole in the back of his skull at that pronouncement… and he wasn’t ashamed to admit that he relished it slightly. It was nice to give the asshole a taste of his own medicine for once.

Veld groaned and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Of course, he does,” he muttered. “Fine. Cissnei, he’s all yours. Rodney will take your place on escort duty for the other executives.”

“Yes, sir,” Cissnei replied, and Reno thought she sounded relieved. Not that he could blame her. Rufus might have been annoying as all fuck sometimes, but stand-by escort duty wasn’t exactly the most thrilling of assignments… especially when the people you were supposed to escort were, by and large, too terrified to leave the building. At least with Rufus, you could count on him to provide you with something to do besides stand around all day with your thumb up your ass.

“As for the rest of you… there’s plenty on the to-do list here at home, but I do need a volunteer to pay a visit to Nibelheim. Hojo has expressed some concern about his personnel there.”

Tres snorted in contempt. “You mean he’s worried about some of his precious ‘specimens’. That asshole doesn’t give two shits ’bout the people he’s got workin’ for him.”

“A volunteer to go to Nibelheim and retrieve sensitive research material and personnel,” Veld reiterated, ignoring the second interruption of the day.

“I’ll do it,” Luca piped up.

“Alright. Everyone… get to it,” Veld replied, dismissing them.

“Come on, Turkling. We’ve got a prisoner to interrogate.”

“Uh… yeah, I’m comin’. Gimme one sec,” he replied. Kai huffed and tapped her foot impatiently as Reno made his way over to the Turk leader.

“Sir? Er… Where’s Tseng?” he asked.

“In Junon. He left early this morning,” Veld said, “and he’ll be gone for the foreseeable future.”

“Sir?” Kai queried, having been unabashedly eavesdropping on the conversation. Veld sighed.

“There may or may not have been a disappearance. No one seems quite sure at the moment. Given the confusion, I thought it best to send someone immediately rather than hold off until a formal request was made. And base security is a bit more… cooperative… with Tseng than some of the other Turks. He was the best choice.”

Kai snickered softly. “You mean Viridia’ll do just about anything for the man she’s hooking up with, which makes getting a straight answer out of those Junon assholes a lot easier…”

“I believe that’s what I just said,” Veld replied, with a nearly imperceptible smirk, “Now get to work. I want to know what our prisoner downstairs knows.”

“We’re on it, sir,” she said, grabbing the rookie by the shoulder and guiding him out. She shook her head as they walked towards the elevator. “Figures… Tseng gets a nice long date with little miss military, and I get to spend my day with an angry Wutaiian merc.”

“Jealous much?” Reno teased.

“Well, of course I’m jealous,” Kai replied with a wink, “Viridia is totally my type.”

“Thought you preferred blondes…” he replied, straight-faced, and Kai laughed.

“Oh, believe me… if I thought I had a cripshay’s chance in hell, I’d make an exception for her,” she said with an over-dramatic sigh, “But… she’s only got eyes for Tseng.”

Reno eyed her for a moment as they stepped into the elevator. She burst into laughter under his scrutiny, and the redhead rolled his eyes.

“… You’re totally fuckin’ with me, aren’t you?”

She reached out and ruffled his hair.

“Of course I’m just fucking with you, baby Turkling,” she chuckled, “Learned my lesson about dating military the hard way. Never again.”

“There is somethin’ really wrong with you, Kai,” Reno stated, shaking his head.

“Mmm… I’ve never denied that. I just wanted to lighten the mood a little. This isn’t going to be a fun assignment. But… it’s gotta be done, and Veld put us on it. Hate to be him when Tseng finds out about this, though.”

“What’dya mean?”

Kai’s grin widened. “Oh, nothing. Just that he’s not going to be happy to come home and find you permanently traumatized.”

“Ha. Ha. Ha.” Reno deadpanned. Kai reached for his hair again, and he ducked away from her hand as the elevator chimed, announcing their arrival in the sub-basement. “Seriously, Kai… quit pettin’ me. It’s fuckin’ annoying.”

She sighed shook her head slightly and gestured for him to get out. Reno strode out of the elevator car ahead of her… only to have her hand gently fluff the wild strands of hair on top of his head the moment his back was turned. He growled softly, but before he could say anything else, Remy appeared from around the corner, holding a small case in one hand.

“I think he’s ready for you,” she said, holding it out to Kai, “He’s started shouting at the empty room, demanding that we release him.”

“Perfect,” she said, taking the case and opening it just enough to take a peek inside. “Com’ere, baby Turkling. Let’s get you equipped.”

Reno peered inside as well, and frowned at what he saw, not sure what the hell he was looking at. It was a tiny, rubbery ring, with a small metal piece attached on one side. There were two of them in the box.

“The fuck is it?” he asked, as Kai snapped the case shut again. Remy escorted the pair of them into a room down the hall. One wall was a huge one-way mirror looking into the next room over. Facing it was a long table with a few metal chairs, a speaker, and an open dossier on the subject in the next room; a young Wutaiian man, who was presently shackled to a chair in the center of that room, eyes wide, screaming soundlessly at the glass.

“They’re in-ear receivers,” Remy explained, “He’ll likely switch over to Wutaiian at some point… I’ll be in here, translating for you when he does.”

“Sit down and tilt your head, kiddo,” Kai said, grinning as she plucked one of the devices out of the case with a long pair of tweezers.

“Uhh… ‘kay…” the redhead managed, somewhat nervously, not entirely sure he was totally on board with the idea of Kai sticking something sharp and pointy into any of his various orifices. But he took a seat, and leaned his head to one side anyway. His eye twitched slightly as she slid it in, far deeper than he’d expected it to go. It didn’t hurt… but it certainly felt strange. He could feel the rubbery part pressing gently against his ear canal and a second later, he flinched at the short burst of static the thing emitted when Remy switched it on.

“How does it sound?” she asked, and Reno blinked as he heard her words echoed through the receiver.

“Like I got voices in my head,” he replied. Remy clamped down on a laugh and took the case back from Kai.

“Your turn.”

The process was repeated, and soon, the pair of them could both hear Remy’s voice speaking to them at a volume only they would be able to hear.

“Shall we get started?” she queried.

Kai’s mood quickly turned serious, and she nodded.

~end chapter 75~