Chapter 99: No Time to Grieve
For a moment, Rude didn’t know what had happened. The entire building around him shook with the reverberating boom of a nearby explosion, and then every video feed went dead as the power cut out and the emergency generators kicked in. As it finally clicked that the bomb Sato had been attempting to disarm must have gone off, he got to his feet, fearing the worst for his fellow Turk.
With the cameras offline, the monitors were useless. He hurried to the door and growled, annoyed, when the electronic lock refused to disengage immediately. The damned thing was supposed to keep unauthorized personnel out… not keep him in. At last, though, it registered his access card and gave a somewhat feeble, low-power beep before unbarring the exit for him.
Outside, the fear that rippled through the crowds was palpable… but something seemed off as he looked toward the tram where Sato had been working. Nothing seemed damaged. No one was screaming – at least not the way he would have expected them to be had something just blown up in their general vicinity. No one was running away. If anything, people seemed to be surging back in the direction of the tram.
And then it hit him… the bomb Sato had been dealing with wasn’t what had exploded. He slowly turned towards the direction of the base’s elevator. A plume of smoke rose from somewhere nearby.
Reno frantically searched the ground below as the helicopter rose steadily into the air… but he was too far away at present to see much. The smoke, certainly, was ominous. He couldn’t tell for certain where it was coming from, though. The administrative building blocked his view, and by the time they were above it, the aircraft had turned towards Midgar, and Junon quickly disappeared from the limited area he could see through the windshield in the cockpit.
He swore under his breath and returned to the back, leaving the pilot to her job. This was a military supply transport. No openings to peer through in the cargo hold. It had been closer to their evacuation point than the executive copter they’d arrived in yesterday, making it the obvious chose for an emergency evac… but it certainly didn’t compare to the luxurious interior of the VIP aircraft.
Thankfully, at the moment, both the President and Rufus seemed a little too shaken to comment on the lack of accommodation. Reno slipped into one of the narrow, uncomfortable seats, next to Remy and strapped himself in, pulling on a headset.
“Got any idea what the fuck’s goin’ on?” he asked. He hadn’t received any additional updates since the abort code. The accompanying message had ordered the others to clear the area around the tram due to a bomb. He could only assume that was the explosion they’d heard, and he hoped that they’d gotten everyone out in time.
Remy shook her head. “No… But I would assume Veld and the others have their hands a little full at the moment,” she replied, and Reno had to strain to hear her, even through his headset. “We’ll be updated when we need to be. Right now, our responsibility is to get them safely back to Midgar.”
The redhead glanced over at the pair of executives. President Shinra was doing his best to have a phone conversation in spite of the noise from the helicopter’s engines. He caught a word or two, here and there, and came to the conclusion that the man was trying to figure out if Wutai had double crossed them. Rufus, meanwhile, simply looked shell-shocked.
He wasn’t exactly surprised. Kid had to be wondering if that bomb had been meant for him… and given the fact that, at least in part, it probably was, it was no wonder he was a little freaked out at the moment. Rufus had been through a lot in the last couple of months. It had to be getting to him by now… even if he’d never admit it.
It was certainly starting to get to Reno, though, and he’d freely admit that to anyone who asked. He was fucking sick of this bullshit. He’d honestly thought this would all be over once Wutai surrendered. Things would calm down… go back to normal. He wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else he cared about getting blown to hell by that asshole mercenary group. What the ever-living fuck did Wutai have to gain from pulling something like this?
Sure… if they’d successfully eliminated the company’s top two executives Shinra Company would be in disarray. But only in the short term. The rest of the board of Directors had remained in Midgar for this very reason, as a contingency. And the army would hardly be rendered ineffective by their deaths, either… not to mention SOLDIER. And the Turks, for that matter. The Turks, in particular, were more than capable of functioning without direct orders from the top and did so on a fairly regular basis.
So what the hell did this accomplish, short of potentially restarting the war?
Reno frowned to himself as he considered that thought. Maybe that was the goal. And just maybe this wasn’t Wutai’s doing at all…
Cissnei bit down on the inside of her cheek as she tightened the tourniquet around her leg and tried to focus on something other than the pain. She was starting to worry that maybe telling Saya and Tseng to go after Tres instead of taking her to the medical unit was a mistake. She really hadn’t thought it was that bad.
When it had become apparent that they were going to be gone for awhile, she’d made the attempt at getting herself out of her predicament… but the bullet wound had started bleeding again, almost as heavily as before. She was starting to feel a little light-headed by now.
It had been a stupid mistake and she was going to be kicking herself for it for weeks. She didn’t know what she’d been thinking stepping out of cover like that. But the target had moved, and she’d needed a better position to aim from. Her foolishness had cost her. Thank Shiva for Saya… If she hadn’t been there to pull her out, she’d almost certainly have taken more than just one bullet.
She wasn’t too concerned, though. Once Istev was safely in custody, they’d come back for her. She just hoped that Sato was alright. He’d been handling Istev’s bomb, after all… and that explosion a few minutes ago could only mean that he hadn’t been able to disarm it. Hopefully, he’d gotten clear of the device before it had gone off.
Cissnei still couldn’t believe that someone had gotten something like that past security in the first place. It couldn’t have been easy, and she couldn’t even begin to imagine where the hole in their net had been. Everything had seemed so… impenetrable.
The rookie Turk was jarred from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps racing toward her from the alley, and she let up on her grip on the tourniquet with one hand to reach for her gun. She may have been down, but she was by no means out just yet. If someone thought they were going to ambush the others from behind, they’d have to get through her first.
But as a figure emerged from the shadows, she sighed in relief and lowered her weapon.
“Rude!” she called out, and the senior Turk skidded to a halt, his gaze seeking her out, and finally locating her. He hurried over to her, kneeling down at her side.
“… Bad?” he asked, nodding to her leg.
“Worse than I first thought,” she admitted.
Rude grimaced and glanced quickly in the direction he’d been heading before he ran into the rookie, apparently torn between staying with her or going to help the others. Before he could make a decision one way or the others, more frantic footfalls announced a new arrival.
“The fuck are yeh two doin’ sittin’ around?!” Sato panted, thoroughly out of breath.
“Cissnei was hit in the firefight,” Rude said quickly, “The others went on ahead to the elevator… I haven’t heard from them since the explosion.”
“Right… I’m on it. Yeh get her ta medical, ‘n then come after me. Best tell ’em where ta send a doc or two while yer there, ta boot, if they havnae already. Someone’s bound ta be hurt after a blast like that ‘un,” the Mideelian said.
Cissnei felt her stomach drop as Sato’s words sank in. If it hadn’t been the bomb at the tram that exploded… then what had?
Rude didn’t give her the opportunity to ask, nor did Sato stick around to answer. The Mideelian resumed his course towards the elevator, disappearing as quickly as he’d come. Rude, meanwhile, lifted her carefully into his arms, carrying her back towards the base’s medical bay.
Sato ignored the stitch that was forming in his side. He’d never been much of a runner, but he was starting the think that it might be possible that his cousin was right about him being a wee bit out of form. She’d been badgering him for weeks to start joining her for her weekend runs, blaming his ever so slight weight gain on his latest homebrew. He was of the opinion that got plenty of that sort of thing during regular training, and besides which, the last batch was a bloody masterpiece, thank you very much.
Still… he was regretting not taking her up on it – just the tiniest bit – at the moment.
He didn’t have time to concern himself with his exercise routine right now, though. It had occurred to him the moment he’d spotted the device on the tram that there might be more than one. What hadn’t occurred to him was that Istev might still be carrying one around with him.
Istev was no suicide bomber. This was a bloody paycheck to him… not a cause for martyrdom. He wasn’t about to sacrifice himself just to take out the President. But if he had the right opportunity, a bomb made for a very effective deterrent to anyone who might be following him. If he’d been able to drop it and activate the damned thing remotely once he was clear… well… there was a reason Sato was in a hurry.
He’d learned, over time, to respect the bomb. They were living, breathing, almost sentient things, imbued with devastating power. He treated them with the utmost care… even talked to them when he was called in to disarm one. Back in the old days, when he was working on the demolition team in the local quarry, more than a few people thought he was completely mental for it. But then… more than a few of them hadn’t shown the bomb the proper respect and learned the hard way that explosives aren’t picky about who and what they destroy.
Sato skidded to a halt as he came around the corner of the alley the smoke plume was emanating from, and for a moment, all he could do was stare in shock. It was a narrow space, and the explosion had originated somewhere near the center. He could see the telltale blackening of the walls that spread out like a starburst from the point of ignition. But that wasn’t what he was most affected by.
“… No…” he breathed.
Rude quickly discovered that getting medical assistance for Cissnei wasn’t quite as easy as he’d thought it would be. Junon’s military was effectively keeping the nervous spectators from stampeding for the exit… but that was about all they were doing. There were just so many people…
It took him far longer than it should have to get through the crowds, and by the time he’d managed it, the rookie had passed out. At last, though, he managed to stagger through the doors of the medical building, and into the bustling little lobby where emergency crews were loading carts with supplies and preparing for any patient that might need to be seen. At least a few casualties had beaten him there… though they looked to be unrelated to the explosion. One man in a cadet’s uniform had a bloody nose that refused to subside. A young woman… very obviously a civilian who’d come to see the treaty signing, and even more obviously pregnant… looked to be in labor. A few other people were scattered here and there, but nothing looked too serious. Thus it took only a moment for the Turk to be spotted by a member of the medical staff.
“What happened?” he asked, taking one look at the unconscious rookie in his arms before guiding them into an exam room.
“Gunshot to the leg,” Rude replied, setting Cissnei down on the table, “Bleeding hasn’t stopped. She passed out on the way here. There was an explosion near the elevator… they’re going to need some help over there, too.”
The man nodded and turned his attention to Cissnei after relaying Rude’s concerns to a nearby orderly. The senior Turk watched for a moment, but ultimately ducked out of the room. He hated to leave her there alone, but the fact was there was nothing more he could do here. Sato and the others needed him more than Cissnei did right now.
That thought in mind, he made his way back out into the chaos, and raced toward the elevator.
He was numb. That was the only word for it. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should be feeling something… seething anger, overwhelming sorrow, blatant denial… something. But he didn’t. It was as if all of his capacity to feel had up and left him, and all he could do was stare blankly at the young woman in his arms.
There was a reason everyone had always referred to them as twins. And it wasn’t just the family resemblance, which, admittedly wasn’t exactly subtle. As kids, they’d done damned near everything together. They were inseparable. They even shared their birthday… albeit a year apart. They were the best of friends, and close as any siblings. Always had been, right from the start.
Most people had always thought he was just a wee bit bonkers. And to be fair, he probably was. And to be completely fair, he knew that even she’d thought so. The difference between Saya and just about everyone else on the planet was that she’d never once held it against him. Of course, there’d been times he driven her nuts with whatever his latest bit of lunacy was… but Saya always had his back, even at his worst.
She defended him when he didn’t really deserve defending… and she kept his wilder tendencies in check. She was his common sense, personified.
Footsteps behind him forcibly jarred him back to the present and the gruesome scene that was spread out in front of him. He finally lifted his gaze from his cousin’s broken body, and looked up at the new arrival. Rude had come to a stunned halt, just as he had several minutes ago.
The younger Turk, however, didn’t remain frozen as Sato had, moving forward into the scene of the explosion towards the other far-too-still figures on the ground. Sato turned his attention back to Saya.
“I never really thought yeh’d go ‘fore I did…” Sato said with a quiet, half-swallowed sob, and gently closed his cousin’s lifeless eyes.
Reno tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the coffeemaker to finish. He definitely didn’t need any more caffeine at the moment… he was jittery as all fuck after having finished off an entire pot already on his own… but he needed something to do.
There still hadn’t been any further word from Veld. Granted, the rest of the team was probably chasing down whoever the fuck was responsible for the bombing, and keeping him and Remy up to date on the situation was going to be a low priority for the moment… but would it have fucking killed him to send them a message letting them know everyone was still in one piece?
He was pretty sure it was starting to bug Remy, too. After making sure the executives were safely settled in their offices, and then spending almost an hour pacing the floor of the lounge, she’d finally retreated to her office to catch up on her reports. They were officially on standby until they received new orders. Unfortunately… that literally meant that they stood around doing nothing.
The redhead sighed. He supposed he could always try and make a dent in his own paperwork. He seemed to have a lot more of it since being promoted, and it was starting to get away from him. He should probably head it off at the pass before he let himself get too far behind.
The coffeemaker gurgled as the last of the water drained from its reservoir.
Yeah… he’d do the responsible thing and start in on those reports. But first, he’d take Remy some coffee. She could probably use some by now, too. And maybe, while he was at it, he’d see if she wanted to grab some lunch… and then possibly hit the training hall for a quick practice session. Because, you know… training was important, after all.
He grinned slightly. Hopefully, by then, they’d have heard something from Veld, and he could go back to not thinking about his damn paperwork. That thought in mind, he poured a mug for each of them and headed down the hall towards Remy’s office.
He could see that her door was open as he rounded the corner, and he could hear her talking to someone as he made his way towards it.
“Yes, sir… I… I’ll send him out as soon as possible,” she said, “Are… you sure I shouldn’t come, too?” She paused a moment, and Reno realized that she must be on the phone. “Yes, sir. I understand. I’ll be waiting.”
He peered inside, just as she was hanging up.
“Hey. I you brought coffee,” he said, grinning widely, “So… Good news?”
Remy took a deep breath before exhaling somewhat shakily, and she pressed the palms of her hands down against the top of her desk, as if physically bracing herself.
“I wish I could say yes,” she replied. The redhead’s grin quickly faded. He set the mugs down, out of the way.
“It’s bad, isn’t it…” he surmised, and the senior Turk nodded slowly. “… How bad are we talkin’ here?”
“Fuhito and Istev somehow made it past our security. Sato was able to disarm one bomb, but… there was a second.”
“So… the explosion we heard?”
Remy nodded again. “Several of the others went after him. He used it to escape.”
“… So who’s hurt?” Reno asked, hoping that an injury or two was all it was. The senior Turk swallowed sharply.
“Cissnei was shot in the leg. It nicked an artery, but she had the presence of mind to apply a tourniquet. She’s lost a lot of blood, but she’ll be fine. Tseng was… not quite so lucky… but he’s stable and not in immediate danger.” She swiped a hand over her eyes, and Reno suddenly realized that she was trying desperately not to cry. “Tres is in bad shape. There’s no official word yet, and he didn’t come right out and say it, but… Veld didn’t sound very optimistic about his chances.”
She took another deep breath, as though steeling herself for the worst of it.
“Saya and Shay… are both dead,” Remy said at last, “And they think Rodney may be, too. There’s a collapsed section of building, and they think he’s under it somewhere. Shinra troops are searching for him now.”
Reno had to catch himself on the edge of her desk and sit down before his legs gave out beneath him. Shay… and Saya. Both of them? And Rodney, too? How was that possible? What the hell had happened?
And what about Tseng? Just how bad was he hurt? Were they talking desk-duty-for-a-week injured… or multiple-surgeries-and-months-of-physical-therapy injured? He’d only just gotten his mentor back. Like… for real back, not just going through the motions and pretending not to be a mess to make it through the day. He didn’t want to lose him to that dark pit of despair again.
And how bad off was Tres if even Veld was worried he wouldn’t pull through?
Reno blinked hard, several times, willing back tears.
“Reno?”
Remy’s voice recaptured his attention… though judging by her expression, it had taken a few tries.
“Y-yeah. I’m okay,” he said. Like hell. He was about as far from “okay” as he’d ever been at the moment. He had a feeling that Remy already knew that, though. “So… what do they need us to do?”
“Veld wants you back in Junon, immediately. I’ll hold down the fort here for the time being,” she said. “He’s sending Sato back to Midgar as we speak. He’s… not taking things well, for obvious reasons.”
The redhead suddenly felt chilled by that thought. Yeah… the Turks were family. For a few of them, the Turks were their only family. But Sato and Saya were actually related by blood. They’d grown up together, become Turks together… that bond ran a lot deeper for them.
“He should be here in about thirty minutes. The pilot will drop him off and pick you up for the return trip,” Remy continued.
“… Right. I’ll be ready,” Reno replied, somewhat distractedly. Whoever was responsible for this was going to pay. Be it Fuhito or Istev or some asshole in Junon who let the fuckers onto the base. They were going to pay. He’d make sure of it.
The answer was here. Somewhere. He just had to find it.
They may not have been able to watch every Ifrit-forsaken camera at once, but that didn’t mean that Tres’ network hadn’t been storing every second of video since the moment it had been turned on two days ago. Unfortunately, that meant nearly forty-eight hours of footage times seventy-five camera feeds.
The explosion had killed the connections to about half of them… but Rude wasn’t interested in the live feeds anymore. He was looking at the backlog. Trying to retrace Istev’s steps, starting with the last time they’d seen him, and working backwards from there. If he could figure out where and how he and Fuhito had gotten in… Well, it wouldn’t bring back Saya or Shay or Rodney… but it would go a long way towards determining who was responsible.
Because someone had to be responsible. They’d been too careful… taken too many precautions. Two known mercenaries simple could not have just walked in with a bag full of explosives. So, either the Turks had dropped the ball on an epic scale somewhere along the way and left them an opening, or someone had let them in… and he was going to find out which. And, if the latter, who. Because that who might be able to lead them to Istev and Fuhito.
It would have been a far easier task if Tres were there to help him, though.
Rude tried not to think too hard about why his mentor wasn’t there. When he’d first seen him, he’d thought he was dead. He’d damned well looked dead. His left leg had been badly mangled, the bones shattered. The right was just… gone… from the knee down. How he hadn’t bled to death before someone had reached him, Rude had no idea, but as he’d knelt down next to him, assuming the worst, he’d opened his eyes.
Thankfully, by then, reinforcements in the form of medical personnel, had arrived on the scene, as well. The last thing Tres had said to him had been “Find him.”
That’s what he was trying to do now, with varying degrees of success. He’s managed to track Istev back to early this morning… but prior to that, he was having trouble locating him on any of the recordings, and he wasn’t sure why. He hadn’t yet seen hide nor hair of Fuhito before his sudden appearance on the rooftop. Wherever they’d been hiding, they’d been doing a damned good job of it.
“Rude…”
“…”
“Rude, I need you to stop.”
The younger Turk made a soft sound of irritation, and turned in his seat to find Kai standing behind him, a grim expression on her face.
“I’m busy,” he replied, shortly, before turning back to the screens.
“I know,” she said, “But I need you to stop and come with me. It’s Tres. He’s asking for you. You need to come now.”
Rude froze, and for a moment, he was half convinced his heart had stopped dead in his chest.
“Now, Rude,” Kai repeated. The younger Turk somewhat shakily abandoned his monitors and followed her, wordlessly, out of their temporary headquarters. Kai wasted no time in making her way across the base, and Rude was somewhat shocked by how empty the place suddenly seemed.
Aside from the security patrols, who, he knew, were sweeping the entire base from top to bottom looking for more explosives, there was hardly anyone to be seen. It was a rather stark change from just a an hour ago. Apparently, Junon security had been swift and efficient in removing the civilians. There was no one to slow them down as they approached the medical bay.
Kai led him down one of the side corridors, and stopped outside of a room. Veld and a doctor emerged as they approached, and judging by the look they shared, it wasn’t good news.
“They’ve done all they can. I’m afraid he doesn’t have long,” the Turk leader said, and Rude swallowed sharply as Veld turned to him. “He’d like to see you.”
The former rookie nodded and slipped past him, into the room, only slightly surprised when Veld closed the door behind him. As he walked slowly towards the bed, he could hear his mentor’s strained breathing. Tres’ head turned towards him at the sound of his approach, and he managed a weak smile.
“Hey, kiddo… any luck findin’ that bastard, Istev, yet?”
Rude shook his head. “Workin’ on it.”
Tres was pale. The dark tattoo that covered one side of his face stood out even more starkly than usual.
“You’ll find ‘im. I know you will,” the senior Turk replied. “Heh… ‘least I know I’m leavin’ the team in good hands. They can’t get by without people like you ‘n me. Don’t ever let ’em tall ya different.”
“Tres…”
“Hey… I need ya to do somethin’ for me,” Tres continued. “Back in Midgar. Check my desk, top left drawer. There’s letters. See that they get into the right hands ‘n burn the ones that don’t matter anymore, will ya? Not usually the sentimental type but… there’s a few things I wanted to say.”
He coughed violently, and Rude could see blood on his lips. He moved closer and somewhat tentatively took a seat beside his mentor’s bed.
“Fuck… they say life’s a bitch ‘en then ya die. Just so ya know, dyin’s a bitch, too,” Tres groaned. “Kinda wish that asshole just took me out clean like he did the others instead of half-assin’ it like this…”
“… Can I do anything?” It seemed like such a stupid question. Really, what could he do? It wasn’t as if he could fix him. Even the doctors hadn’t been able to do that.
“Tch… not unless you can pull a some new vital organs outta your ass,” he replied, and Rude could tell that he was fighting just to hold on now. His voice was strained, and his skin was beginning to take on a grayish hue. “Look, kid… It’s all on you now. They depend on us. You get out there and you show ’em how good I taught ya.”
Tres weakly lift an arm and reached out for Rude’s hand, fingers curling around his.
“I know you got this… right, kid?”
“Yeah. I got this,” Rude responded, trying to ignore the way his voice broke as he said it. Tres nodded, and closed his eyes.
He didn’t open them again.
~end chapter 99~