Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 88: A Raid and a Return

Tseng gazed out over the dancing flames of the campfire and into the inky blackness of the plains. One hand unconsciously stroked the still-damp hair of the redhead curled up in the sleeping bag beside him. The sheer relief he’d felt upon finding the two of them earlier had nearly knocked him from his mount, and he was certain he was still shaking slightly even now. And now that he had his rookie safely back under his watchful eye, he was finding it difficult to even consider sleeping, lest he disappear again.

Not that he’d have much luck at any such venture, anyway, given the way Sato was snoring like a damned buzzsaw a few feet away. Reno must truly have been exhausted. Normally the slightest sound or nudge was enough to wake him… but at the moment, he was quite dead to the world, even with the racket the other Turk was making in his sleep and the constant petting of his hair.

The rookie stirred slightly, but didn’t wake… instead murmuring something unintelligible about ‘goddamn chocobos’ and settling back into his tightly curled position. Tseng shook his head in vague amusement before turning his attention on the night once more.

It hadn’t escaped his notice just how bruised and battered the rookie was when he’d stripped out of his wet clothes and scrambled into the dry warmth of the sleeping bag. He was half tempted to wake Sato up and demand he tell him what had transpired while they were missing… but the other Turk was clearly just as worn out as the redhead, and just as battered. Their first stop once they made it back to the city would be the medical suite. He wanted them both looked over by the doctor before returning to duty.

He frowned slightly at that thought. Reno would almost certainly protest… and Sato wasn’t exactly fond of spending time in Medical, either. Normally, it wouldn’t be an issue, but, per his suspension, he technically couldn’t order them to go. And if he couldn’t convince them to go willingly, he’d have to take the time to find Veld and hope he wasn’t too busy dealing with the current field operation to demand they report to the doctor.

The Turk lieutenant sighed softly. He couldn’t seem to catch a break. He most certainly wasn’t fit for duty, and he damned well knew it… but at the same time, having his former authority stripped away from him meant that he may not be able to properly care for his rookie. Reno wasn’t a child anymore. He was eighteen and legally an adult. Tseng couldn’t simply threaten to send him to his room or ground him for the weekend for not doing as he was told. He could only advise him on the best course of action… and teenagers were rather notorious for not following the advise of their elders.

He certainly had been at that age, at any rate… It was largely the fear of repercussions that had kept Tseng in line as a rebellious teenager. Though to be fair, it was that same rebellious streak that had led him to the Turks to begin with. His father had outright forbade it when he’d told him his plans… but by then, Tseng, too, was an adult and no longer willing to allow his father to run his life for him. Though, in retrospect, he really had been quite the disrespectful brat during said discussion of future plans.

But… he’d just been so tired. Tired of having his life dictated to him… of having his adulthood planned out from start to finish for him with little regard as to what he wanted. By the time he’d left Wutai, his father had even been trying to arrange a marriage for him to a young woman… the daughter of a family friend he hadn’t seen in nearly ten years and barely knew anymore. That had, in fact, been the last straw for Tseng. He’d left the following day for Midgar and joined the Turks recruitment program.

It was, perhaps, the one thing about Reno’s upbringing that he slightly envied. The redhead may have been alone and poor and hungry… but he’d been free to make his own choices virtually his whole life. The irony that the rookie probably would have preferred to have Tseng’s loving – albeit strict and occasionally far too traditional – family instead, if given the choice, was not lost on him.

“Yeh plannin’ on keepin’ watch all night?” Sato suddenly asked, blearily, startling the other Turk from his musings.

“I hadn’t planned on it… But I had little choice in the matter. You snore like a Leviathan-be-damned behemoth,” he replied, smirking faintly, “The fact that she hasn’t yet suffocated you with your own pillow supports my long held suspicion that your cousin must sleep with earplugs in every night.”

“It dunnae seem ta bother the wee rookie,” the other Turk said with a yawn. Tseng glanced down at the redhead.

“Only because, I suspect, he’s utterly spent and has no other option but to sleep.”

Sato chuckled and rolled over before giving him a dismissive wave. “Aye… I’ll try ‘n keep it down…”

Things were silent around the campfire after that. Tseng stole a quick look at his watch. Two in the morning. The sun would be up around six and he wanted to be up and on the move at first light. They still had quite a long walk back to the city, and he would prefer to get his fellow Turks home sooner rather than later. He gave the rookie’s hair one final pet before attempting to make himself comfortable on the ground by the fire.

Just as he was beginning to doze off, the snoring resumed.

---

Rude fired off two shots in quick succession. The first one put down the man who had a bead on Cissnei. The second forced the rather large and intimidating woman charging Tres from behind to come up short and stumble, face-planting on the ground. The senior Turk turned at the sound of the shot and quickly dealt with his would-be attacker before giving the rookie a thumbs up.

He was trying not to get too complacent… but tonight’s operation, thus far, had gone flawlessly. The weapons shipment was already secure and under guard. The sellers had fled the city the same way they’d entered as soon as the shooting had started and were no longer an issue. And as for the Wutaiian mercenaries… twelve of them were already dead, and three more had been taken prisoner for questioning. At this point, it was largely just a matter of cleaning up the stragglers that had been hiding in the shadows and making sure none of them slipped away to warn anyone who might have stayed behind back at their base.

Speaking of stragglers… Rude picked off a third merc as he vaulted out of his hiding place and over a crumbling wall and then spotted Remy chasing another down an alleyway. She had him on the ground before the rookie even had time to take aim. Things seemed quiet for a few moments and Rude thought it was finally over.

Apparently his whole not getting too complacent plan was a spectacular failure, however. The moment that thought entered his mind, the door behind him was kicked in. The rookie, caught off guard, tried to turn his rifle on the invaders, before realizing what a mistake that was. He should have gone for his sidearm instead. It was too late now, however, and the two men were on him, kicking the rifle out of his hands. It clattered across the floor, and slid under the remains of an old bed.

Rude managed to fling one of them over his shoulder and directly out the window behind him, the man’s scream ending abruptly a few seconds later. That action, however, had left him dangerously open to attack from the other, as the second Wutaiian came at him with some sort of two pronged variation on an EMR. The weapon made contact before Rude had time to move, and suddenly, it was as if all of his senses were being completely overloaded. He had no control over his body… barely even felt the impact as he dropped to the ground like a ton of bricks. He had no idea how long he stayed like that… barely aware of anything but the painful, involuntary contractions of what seemed like every muscle in his body.

And then, as quickly as it had begun, it stopped. His attacker joined him on the floor a moment later, blood oozing from his lips, the sharp point of a blade protruding from his throat.

“Rude!” Kai’s voice called out, and the rookie found himself being rolled, still twitching slightly, onto his back. “Hey… Answer me!”

“… Ow,” he managed, dazed.

“Oh, good… you’re not dead,” the senior Turk snickered softly, “Don’t scare me like that.” She helped him sit up, propping the rookie up against the wall. “Sorry about that… Don’t know how those two managed to get past me. Didn’t spot ’em until they were already halfway up the stairs.”

“We done yet?” Rude asked, shaking his head to clear it. That weapon packed at least as big a punch as Reno’s electro-mag rod. And that hadn’t been a low setting, either.

“Looks that way. Veld’s team is securing the prisoners for transport. I imagine we’ll be getting the all-clear any minute now.”

“Rude… Kai… The area’s secure. Fall back to the extraction point and regroup.” Remy’s voice said over the radio.

“Speak of the devil,” Kai laughed, and pressed the button to transmit, “Acknowledged. We’re on our way. Tell Tres we’re making a side trip to Midgar General on the way back, while you’re at it. He’s still in one piece, but his pet rookie took a pretty nasty hit.” She then turned back to Rude and slid an arm around him. “Alright… Let’s get you on your feet.”

Rude staggered upright, leaning heavily on the much shorter Turk as she lead him out the door and down the stairs.

---

Reno woke to the sound of thunder in the distance and the sensation of a rock prodding him in the back the moment he rolled over. He groaned faintly and sat up… or tried to, at least. His body was less than thrilled with the idea. He was a bit more successful on the second attempt.

The redhead dragged himself from his sleeping bag, and reached for the clothes that had been drying on a branch near the campfire. He yawned as he dressed, grimacing at the deep purple bruising on his chest. That was gonna feel real nice for the next few days. The rest of him hadn’t fared much better, to be honest. Being so fair-skinned, any little blemish tended to stand out like a fake tit… which inevitably meant that even minor injuries tended to make him look like he must’ve gotten his ass beat by every other person who’d crossed his path in the last twenty-four hours. He was gonna get an earful when the Doc got a good look at him, he was sure.

He looked around the camp. Sato was still snoring away near the dead tree… but Tseng was nowhere to be seen. The chocobo, too, was gone. He didn’t have time to wonder where his mentor had run off to, though, before the loud wark of the obnoxious bird drew his gaze out to the plains. Tseng was riding towards them, the reigns of a second chocobo firmly in hand.

“Tch… one of those stupid feather dusters isn’t enough for ya?” he asked, only half serious. Much as he hated the damned things, even he had to admit, riding would be a hell of a lot faster than walking. And one chocobo wasn’t going to be able to haul all three of them back to Midgar. “Where’d ya find it, anyway?”

“I spotted it out on the plains when I woke a short while ago and rode out to retrieve it. It’s clearly tame… likely turned loose by whomever rented it to return home on its own.”

“They’ll do that?” Reno asked, curiously. Tseng chuckled softly.

“Yes. They will. They’re actually very intelligent animals… which, if you weren’t so combatively opposed to interacting with them, you would know by now.”

The redhead rolled his eyes. “Hey, I can’t help it if those giant fuckin’ chickens all have somethin’ against me.”

“You might try refraining from constantly referring to them in such a derogatory manner, to start with,” the Turk lieutenant chastised, “But in any case, this should make our journey back to Midgar go a bit more quickly. Sato can ride one, and you can double up with me. Have you eaten yet?”

Reno shook his head. “Only been up long enough to put some clothes on ‘n check how much of me’s turned purple,” he snickered, “I look like I fell down the mountain instead of just gettin’ trapped under it for awhile.”

Tseng silently raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. “I think we’ll put our upcoming travel time to good use, and you can tell me exactly what happened after you and Sato were attacked yesterday.”

“Heh… can do, boss. Oh… and just in case Sato tries to tell ya otherwise… he was the one who crashed the copter. Not me,” the redhead said with a grin.

“I heard that, yeh wee traitor…” the aforementioned Turk suddenly muttered sleepily from his position on the ground.

---

“Hey,” a quiet voice called out as a familiar face peeked around the doorframe and into Rude’s hospital room. The rookie glanced up and smiled at his visitor.

“Hey.”

Cissnei slipped inside and made her way over to his bed. “How are you feeling?”

Rude shrugged. Really, he felt fine… but Tres had insisted on his admission to the hospital and so had Dr. Ward when she’d been notified that he’d been hit with enough voltage to send him to the ground in a series of uncontrollable spasms. It was more of a precaution than a necessity. The doctor had wanted him monitored overnight, just in case of any lingering effects from the shock. He was due to be released any time now.

“I saw Dr. Ward. She’s getting your discharge paperwork ready,” his fellow rookie continued. “And… um… Tres said to make sure you were ready to work as soon as we got in, so, I was wondering… Do you want to come have breakfast with me? There’s a nice little cafe over by the train station. They’re still interrogating the prisoners, so we’ve got some time before they’ll need us for anything, and it would definitely be better than hospital food or the building cafeteria. We can eat and then walk across the street and catch a ride in to work.”

“… Sure,” Rude replied, smiling slightly. Cissnei’s smile widened noticeably at his agreement.

About fifteen minutes later, the two rookies were making their way down the street toward the nearby train station. The morning rush hadn’t yet started, and the largely deserted streets were still and quiet. For a little while, he and Cissnei just walked in companionable silence.

Rude had to admit… he liked Cissnei. She didn’t make him uncomfortable and self-conscious like a lot of women did… and she didn’t push him to talk to her every second they happened to be alone in the same room together. She was perfectly content to just… hang out… when they had some down time. It was nice.

After a few blocks, she looked over at him. “So have you heard anything more about Reno and Sato?”

The other rookie shook his head. “Not since Tseng’s text last night. They’re safe, though. That’s all that matters.”

“Yeah. I’ll still feel a lot better when they’re safe and home, though,” Cissnei replied. Rude nodded in agreement.

“Me, too.”

“Oh! I almost forgot… That weapons shipment? It included some of the stuff from the Junon weapons depot theft a few months ago. I overheard Veld saying something about shipping it back down there immediately, so… sounds like one of us rookies might have a courier job later today.”

Rude grinned slightly. “Wouldn’t mind taking on that assignment.” He loved flying the helicopter. Maybe not as much as Reno did, as he really would have preferred something like his dad’s old freight plane, to be honest, but it felt good to be back in the air now and then. It was also a nice change of pace from the usual training schedules and paperwork. He paused for a moment. “You guys been working all night?”

“In shifts, yeah… though Rodney and I have mostly just been the designated office gophers. Getting coffee, cross referencing statements, that sort of thing. Tres thinks that the op last night has probably got anyone we missed panicking. Just about everyone has had a turn in the interrogation room, trying to get the location of their headquarters out of them before their leaders take off and disappear. He’s really hoping that Fuhito is in the city… but I think he’d settle for Istev.” She suddenly giggled a little and grinned. “And… he’s been worried about you all night, too. I wouldn’t have expected that from a guy like Tres. He’s usually all snark. It was actually kind of adorable.”

The other rookie snorted softly in laughter.

“Tres is a pretty nice guy, deep down. As long as you stay on his good side.”

They at last reached the little cafe. It was early, but several of the apparent regulars were already seated and enjoying breakfast. Cissnei grinned and all but dragged him bodily inside.

---

“So… yeah. Levikrons tried to fuckin’ eat us, so we hid in a hole in the ground. And that’s how we wound up stuck in a cave half the night.” Reno twisted slightly in his seat to grin at his mentor. “You don’t even wanna know how Sato got us outta there.”

Tseng snorted softly. “I’m quite sure I heard his method of exit from nearly a mile away. As did half of the countryside.” He looked over at the other Turk, a slightly disapproving expression on his face. The Turk lieutenant couldn’t be too overly upset with the man, however. Were it not for his obsession with explosives, the pair might well still be trapped… and it wasn’t exactly likely that Tseng would have found them on his own.

By now, they were nearing the city. Tseng had sent Veld a brief message before they’d departed, letting his mentor know approximately when to expect them. Reno, meanwhile, had spent most of the ride regaling him with the duo’s tale of narrow escapes. Hearing what they’d been through seemed to fill Tseng with equal parts dread and pride. His rookie really had come a long way from the sarcastic little underage bartender he’d been when they’d first met. He’d become a smart, capable, and exceptionally courageous young man… and Tseng wished somewhat futilely that he could keep him just the way he was now.

He knew he couldn’t, though. Veld was already bringing up the idea of promotion for the redhead. And as much as Tseng was loath to admit it, there was some truth in the accusation his mentor had made just a couple of days ago… It was entirely possible that Tseng was the one who wasn’t ready for it. It was a difficult thing to admit, even just to himself. Reno did have a lot left to learn… but remaining a rookie was hardly a requirement for that. Still… Tseng just couldn’t bring himself to seriously consider the idea of recommending him for promotion, and he wasn’t quite sure why.

For now, however, he could safely put the thought out of his head. Tres hadn’t yet put in for a promotion for Rude, either, and the older rookie had nearly half a year’s seniority on Reno. It was perfectly reasonable to wait until he was promoted before worrying about it for the redhead.

His rookie would remain his rookie for awhile longer yet.

It wasn’t long before the lower gates of the city were looming before them, and Tseng breathed a quiet sigh of relief. They were home.

---

Reno had resisted the urge to groan when they’d arrived at the Shinra Building, as Tseng had informed them that their first stop would be the Medical Suite. He’d done so because he knew complaining wouldn’t get him anywhere. Tseng would insist. It had briefly crossed his mind that, technically speaking, Veld had told him that his mentor had temporarily been stripped of authority… and that he could refuse to go, if he wanted to.

Somehow, though, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He’d given Tseng enough to worry about in the last twenty-four hours. And he’d already decided that he didn’t want to make things harder for him if he could avoid it. That thought in mind, he obediently complied as the Wutaiian Turk guided him off of the elevator and towards the door to Dr. Ward’s domain while Sato limped along beside him.

It didn’t stop the redhead from briefly voicing his displeasure as they stepped inside, however.

“Do I have to see the Doc?”

“Yes. You do,” Tseng replied, “You’re essentially one giant bruise at this point. Now, come on. Dr. Ward doesn’t bite.”

“Hmph… Prove it,” Reno shot back. Though to be fair, he did prefer her over any of the other staff. At least he got candy from her… and he had to admit, he liked the feeling that he was more than just a name in a file to her. Even if she did have an ever-growing history of sticking him with needles.

Sato chuckled quietly. “Yeh can see that old harpy if yeh want ta. Me… I’ll be stickin’ ta that pretty, young brunette that start here a month ago.”

“And just who are yeh calling a harpy?” a somewhat cross voice demanded, and the senior Turk yelped in surprise. He pointedly placed the redhead between himself and the doctor.

“No one! No one at all. ‘Tis just the pain talkin’…” he replied, crouching slightly behind the rookie. Ward gave a snort of contempt.

“Yeh’d best behave yerself, Sato O’Connor. I still keep in touch with yer granny now ‘n then, yeh know. Don’t think I won’t tell her how yer bein’ disrespectful of yer elders…”

Reno couldn’t help but snicker as Sato mutter a hurried “Yes, ma’am,” and lowered himself into the wheelchair one of Ward’s staff had brought out for him. The senior Turk was quickly wheeled off for his own examination while the doctor turned her attention on Reno and Tseng.

“Have yeh reported in yet?” she asked the Turk lieutenant, and Tseng shook his head.

“No, not yet. I thought it best to make sure these two were taken care of first.”

Ward gave him an approving nod and placed a hand on Reno’s shoulder. “I’ll take it from here. Yeh go ‘n see ta that. Seems yeh’ve got a team full of worried Turks that could use a first hand update.”

Tseng hesitated a moment, his hand still resting on the redhead’s shoulders, as if he were reluctant to leave him. At last, though, he sighed.

“I’ll return shortly.”

“Hey…” Reno said before he could step away, “If ya run into Rufus, tell him I want my uniform back!”

Tseng chuckled softly, and gave his shoulders a gentle squeeze. “I’m sure he’d like his clothes back sooner rather than later, too.”

Reno looked down at himself, eyeing the once immaculate garments that were now coated in a thick layer of dirt and grime from having been trampled, buried, and nearly blown up.

“Tch… the son of a bitch’ll probably take the cost of gettin’ ’em dry cleaned outta my paycheck.”

The Wutaiian Turk laughed openly at that comment, and turned to go, leaving the rookie under Ward’s tender care.

“Hmph… I knew not seein’ yeh all this week was too good ta last,” the doctor sighed, as Tseng disappeared through the doorway. She strolled over to one of the exam curtains, pulling it aside, “Well? What’ve yeh done ta yerself this time, then?”

“Tch… I didn’t do anything, Doc. Stupid chocobo decided to kick the crap outta me. And then Sato crashed the helicopter… ‘n some levikrons tried to have us for dinner… ‘n then we got stuck in a cave all night and had to blast our way out. Ya know. The usual.”

Ward shook her head and gestured towards the exam room. Reno quickly joined the doctor, and Ward pulled the curtain closed.

“Well? Let’s see what sorta damage we’re dealing with then…”

The redhead tossed the suit jacket onto the exam table and unbuttoned his borrowed shirt, wincing slightly as his injuries protested the movement. Ward clucked her tongue disapprovingly, and the rookie didn’t have to look down at his bare chest to know why. His skin from his navel to the top of his sternum was varying shades of black and blue. Not to mention the lovely marks left by the helicopter’s safety harness when it had stopped him form flying head first through the windshield. And she hadn’t even seen the bruises on his knees and shins from crawling around in the cave for hours yet.

“Alright, hop up here and lay back,” the doctor commanded, patting the table. Reno did as ordered, letting the woman gently poke and prod him, searching for signs of internal damage. It was several minutes before she seemed satisfied.

“Hmph… I think yeh were right lucky. The damage seems ta be superficial… Yeh’ll be a wee bit sore fer a few days, I’ll wager, but I think yeh’ll live. Though I’d still like ta take some x-rays ta rule out any rib fractures before I clear yeh.”

Reno sighed. “I knew I wasn’t gonna get outta here easy.”

“I’ll be quick about it,” the doctor chuckled, and helped him up, “Come with me.”

He followed her into a small nearby room filled with various machinery, where Ward set him in front of some kind of plate mounted on the wall and demanded he take a deep breath and hold it, all while something that looked a bit like an oversized camera in the center of the room made a loud whirring and clicking sound. It was a little off-putting.

He did his best to ignore it, and instead found his thoughts drifting back to Tseng once more. He had intended to ask for Dr. Ward’s advice on what he could do to help his mentor. He supposed now was as good a time as any.

“Hey, Doc?” he asked after a moment, but the woman quickly shushed him.

“Yeh stay still and don’t talk. We’re almost done. One more deep breath, please, and hold.”

The redhead bit back an annoyed grumble and resumed his statue-like, non-breathing pose until Ward finally released him.

“Alright… That should do. These’ll be ready in just a few minutes,” she said, gently guiding him back to the exam room. “Now… what’s so important yeh had ta interrupt yer own x-ray?”

“Um… Did… did you happen to see Tseng the other day?” the rookie hesitantly began, “Like… see him, see him. As a patient?”

Ward perched herself beside him on the exam table and sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t tell yeh that. Patient records are confidential.”

“It’s just… I’m kinda worried about him.”

The doctor smiled understandingly.

“I know yeh are, my little headache. But my hands are tied,” she replied, a hand lightly stroking his hair. “Yeh wouldn’t want me advertising everything in yer medical records ta anyone who asked, now, would yeh?”

His shoulders slumped slightly. “Guess not…” Reno murmured.

“Just take my word fer it… I understand exactly why yer concerned. Yeh let me worry about him. It’s my job to put Turks back tagether, after all.”

“Can you?” he asked, a note of desperation slipping into his voice, swallowing sharply as he looked over at her.

Ward smiled warmly at the rookie. “I’ve seen far worse in my day. Yeh leave him ta me ‘n the rest of the medical staff. We’ll take good care of him.”

“… ‘kay,” the redhead said, somewhat grudgingly, “But… you’ll tell me if there’s anything I can do to help… right? Like… stayin’ outta trouble ‘n not goin’ missin’ for like… a day… ‘n not stressin’ him out ‘n shit?”

The doctor shook her head, chuckling slightly. “Well, it certainly wouldn’t hurt ta not up ‘n vanish during a mission again any time soon. I think everyone would appreciate that, in fact.” She gently cupped his chin in one hand, forcing him to look at her. “But the best thing yeh can do is just be there fer him. Tseng a stubborn, prideful, pain in the backside… ‘n he internalizes a lot of what he has ta deal with as a Turk. Always has. I think if he finally decides he needs a shoulder ta cry on, it’ll be either yers or Veld’s. There’s no one on the planet that man trusts more’n yeh two.”

She released him and nodded to an all-too-familiar piece of equipment that sat against one wall.

“In the mean time… and while we’re waiting fer yer x-rays… let see about keeping yeh healthy, too. Hop onta that scale fer me.”

The redhead groaned, but complied, hoping that, for once, he hadn’t lost any weight. To his surprise, Dr. Ward smiled with delight.

“Up a tenth of a pound from yer first checkup,” she declared, “Good. It’s about time yeh finally started gaining a wee bit. Yeh keep it up ‘n we’ll have yeh at an acceptable weight in no time.”

“Tch… didn’t we decide I’m just naturally a shrimp?” the rookie replied with a roll of his eyes.

“Aye, we did. But just because yer normal is a bit off from everyone else’s normal doesn’t mean yeh don’t have a healthy weight yeh should try ta maintain. Especially now that yer getting ta the point where yer more aggressive training should be winding down and yer being sent off ta be shot at and whatnot more often.”

Reno blinked in surprised realization. That was how things had been for a little while now, and somehow he hadn’t really noticed the change until it had been pointed out to him. He was spending far less time in the training hall and far more time taking part in actual missions. Not just tagging along for the experience, but being expected to pull his own weight in the field. Hell… he’d been given a solo escort mission just days ago, taking the fucking vice president of the company out to one of the reactors, and the implications of that had barely even registered. If Ward noticed his reaction, she didn’t comment on it.

One of the medical suite’s nurses peered around the curtain and calmly handed a folder to the doctor. Ward drew out the films from inside and clipped them onto a lighted board on the wall, illuminating the views of the rookie’s chest, and studied them intently.

“More good news fer yeh… I don’t see any fractures,” she said at last, “Yer cleared ta return ta work… but at least try and let some of that bruising heal up before yeh go out and acquire more.”

The redhead smirked slightly.

“No promises, Doc.”

Dr. Ward gave a soft snort of annoyance before handing him his usual treat.

“Well, then… I hope yeh’ll at least come and see me if yeh’re ever more concerned than usual about that mentor of yers. I can’t give yeh specifics, ‘o course… but a reminder that he hasn’t been forgotten might help ta put yer mind at ease.”

“… Thanks, Doc,” Reno replied.

---

The elevator door had only just opened on the fifty-eighth floor. Reno hadn’t even had a chance to step out yet.

“What in Ramuh’s name did you do to my clothes?!” an angry voice demanded. The redhead blinked and instinctively took a step back from the unexpected verbal assault before it finally registered that he was face to face with Rufus.

“Uhh…” he stammered, glancing down at what he was wearing and trying to come up with an answer that didn’t make him sound like a smartass.

“They’re utterly ruined. You may as well dispose of them,” the executive muttered, shoving an armful of fabric at him. Reno somewhat belatedly realized that it was his uniform just as Tseng and Veld rounded the corner.

“Sir…” the Turk lieutenant said in a somewhat warning tone, and Rufus rolled his eyes.

“Fine. I… suppose I can overlook the damage, given the circumstances,” he replied tersely. “Where’s the other lunatic, anyway?”

“Still down in Medical, sir,” Reno answered, and then looked over at Veld, “Doc says to tell you that Sato’s gonna be on crutches for a few days ’til the swelling goes down. And that if you know what’s good for you, you’ll make sure he actually uses ’em this time. Uh… her words, not mine, sir.”

Veld gave a somewhat weary sigh and shook his head. “I’ll talk to Saya… She’ll undoubtedly have better luck with him than I will. Have you been cleared for duty?”

“Yes, sir,” the redhead replied.

“Good. Go get changed and then report to Kai down in interrogation.”

“Yes, sir,” he repeated, and hurried off towards his office. As he stepped inside, the redhead was almost immediately waylaid a second time as Cissnei leapt up from the chair behind his desk and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Rude wasn’t far behind… though, thankfully he settled for merely ruffling his friend’s hair and grinning.

“We were so worried!” Cissnei cried, “Where in Shiva’s name were you guys?”

“Heh… Uh, I’d love ta tell ya, but you’re kinda squeezin’ the life outta me…” Reno grunted.

“Oh! Sorry…” the other rookie said, releasing him.

“Geez, Cissnei… A guy’d think ya missed him or somethin’,” he snickered, and the young Turk blushed faintly.

“Well, I was worried!” she restated, “Everyone was. It was like you and Sato just fell off the face of the planet!”

“Yeah… Felt like it for awhile there, too. Tell ya what. Veld wants me down with Kai in interrogation right now but how ’bout I tell you guys the whole sordid tale over lunch?” he replied.

“Hmph… Our treat, I suppose?” Rude teased.

“Well, if you insist…” Reno laughed, setting his uniform on the desk, “Rufus happen ta leave my boots here by any chance? These fancy pieces of crap are killin’ me.”

He toed off the leather shoes and somewhat vindictively kicked them into the corner.

“Acutally, I have those,” a voice behind him replied. Tseng stepped into the office and offered up the well-worn hiking boots the redhead had grown rather attached to over the last few months. He smirked slightly. “Rufus… forgot… he was still wearing them. Clearly just an oversight due to stress.”

“Clearly…” Reno snorted, vaguely amused. Not that he could blame the guy for trying to keep them. Those damn things were comfy as hell.

“Hurry and get dressed. Kai is waiting for you,” Tseng added.

“I’ll see you guys at lunch time,” Cissnei said, slipping out of the office. Tseng followed her after a moment’s hesitation, leaving the redhead alone with Rude.

“Heh… no rest for the wicked, huh, pal?” he snickered as he reached for his clothes… only to be caught up in a somewhat crushing bear hug. “… Seriously?”

“I was worried, too,” was Rude’s only reply.

~end Chapter 88~