Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 16: Hell Week

Elena dragged herself almost painfully back into the office. It was nearly 5pm on a Friday… literally minutes away from going home for the weekend, and was she ever ready for it. Most of her day had been spent buried deep in the underbelly of Midgar alongside Rude, shadowing a known anti-Shinra activist that was likely to have ties to the group known as Avalanche. It had been grueling, and – mainly because of her – they’d lost track of the man they were tailing somewhere between Sectors 5 and 6. The two had returned from the slums empty-handed, and though Rude hadn’t gone so far as to lay the blame entirely at her feet, she could tell he was… not angry exactly, but definitely irritated with her.

She couldn’t exactly blame him. She was certainly irritated with herself. It had been her first shadowing assignment that wasn’t just a training exercise, and she’d screwed the whole thing up. Royally.

“Hey, ‘Lena! How’d it go?” Reno said by way of a greeting. Elena groaned and let herself fall face first onto the couch by the window. He glanced over at Rude, who just shook his head. “That good, huh?”

“… Lost the target,” he said with a shrug.

“Her fault?” Reno asked.

“Mostly.”

The redhead cocked an eyebrow. That was a little harsh, coming from Rude… he wondered what the rookie had done. He’d have to get the full details later. Right now, however, he had a message to deliver. Reno prodded Elena in the side until she turned to face him.

“Heh… Ya know, I really hate to make your day worse than it already has been, but the boss wants to see ya, ‘Lena. Heidegger’s in there talkin’ to him now, though, so you’ll have to stick around a while. Also… Heidegger’s talkin’ to him, soooo… yeah. Have fun.”

Elena groaned again, burying her face in the cushions. Reno gently patted her shoulder in solidarity, before turning to Rude.

“Clock says it’s quittin’ time, partner. Let’s get the hell out of here before that door opens. See ya Monday, ‘Lena. Unless of course ya wanna join us when Tseng’s done. We’ll be at the Phoenix Nest… if there’s anything left of ya…” he said brightly. She wasn’t sure if he was joking about that last bit or not.

Elena didn’t even bother to look up. She simply gave him a half-hearted wave and listened as the two men’s footsteps faded down the hallway.

Dear Holy, she had really wanted to go home. Her stomach twisted nervously as she wondered what Tseng wanted to talk to her about. Whatever it was, apparently the Turk leader had deemed it important enough that it couldn’t wait until Monday… which just made her worry more. Had she done something? Not done something? Reno’d taken sole responsibility for them borrowing the helicopter a few weeks ago… and once Tseng got the whole story, he hadn’t seemed especially bothered by it beyond advising them not to ever mention anything about it to Heidegger, so surely it wasn’t that.

He couldn’t possibly know about how badly she’d botched today’s mission already… could he?

She sat up. Whatever it was, it probably wouldn’t help her case much if he found her face down on the couch. She began mentally cataloging all of the things she could have possibly done wrong lately that would warrant a private conversation. One that wasn’t to be put off until her next shift. Tseng’s office door opened around the time she reached item twenty seven, and she instinctively leapt to her feet as Heidegger stormed out.

“I expect results, Tseng,” he threw back over his shoulder. The large, unpleasant man glared at her as he approached. “Out of my way,” he growled, shoving her backwards. Elena landed on the couch behind her with a soft ‘Oof!’, as Heidegger exited the Turks office.

She blinked in surprise and glanced back at Tseng, who looked… livid. In fact, she was certain she’d never seen him so visibly angry before. He said nothing, however… simply turned and walked back towards his desk. She debated whether she was expected to follow him or not. Reno had said he wanted to speak to her… but she definitely didn’t want to risk making him any more irate than he already was.

“Elena, join me, please,” Tseng called out, solving the dilemma for her. She swallowed harshly and stood, hurrying to comply. She must have lingered on her feet moment too long, however.

“Sit down!” he snapped at her. Elena jumped, startled by her normally serene commander’s tone, and nearly tripped over herself as she scrambled for the chair in front of his desk. Tseng dropped his gaze for a moment and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose and taking a deep breath.

“Forgive me,” he sighed, “I’m not in the best of moods at the moment. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

“That’s alright, sir,” she replied automatically. He smiled weakly.

“It isn’t. But thank you, nonetheless.”

“S-sir? What was that all about, anyway?” she ventured. That Tseng disliked Heidegger was hardly a secret… but the pompous executive rarely got under the man’s skin to the extent he obviously had moments ago. Tseng shook his head.

“It concerns an old target of mine that has been in the wind for far too long. Largely because I’ve let her remain so… though Heidegger is unaware of that, so I would appreciate it if you kept it to yourself,” the Wutaiian Turk replied, “We are, of course, keeping her under surveillance should it become necessary to finally bring her in, but… frankly, I’m hoping that can still be avoided.”

“But… why?” Elena asked, astounded. She would never have thought Tseng would do something like that.

“Sentimentality, I suppose,” he said, “I’ve known her since she was a child, and I am peripherally aware of what they intend to do with her. I don’t wish to see her come to any further harm, particularly at the hands of Hojo… something I’m sure you can relate to.”

Elena shuddered at the mention of the scientist’s name… and the memory of how casually he was willing to throw away a life he deemed expendable.

“I was also less than pleased to see that oversized buffoon treat one of my Turks in the manner he did just now,” he added, irritated tone emerging again for a brief moment, which coaxed a shy smile from the rookie, “My issues with certain executives, however, are not what I wished to discuss with you. It’s come to my attention that you were promoted just over nine months ago.”

Elena did a quick count in her head, realizing that he was right. “Yes, sir… I suppose I was,” she replied, not certain what significance that held.

“Then, I fear I have bad news,” he said, though he didn’t seem especially perturbed by whatever it was. If anything, he looked vaguely amused.

“Bad news?” Elena asked anxiously. Tseng nodded.

“At nine months, a probationary level Turk is required to be evaluated. Shortcomings are determined so that additional training can be applied in the appropriate areas.”

Elena sagged in relief. An evaluation? That was all? She could handle that.

“I wouldn’t relax just yet, if I were you,” Tseng chuckled, “This particular evaluation has also become something of a rite of passage, you might say. It has affectionately come to be known as ‘Hell Week’, and can be quite… unsettling.”

“Unsettling… sir?” she said, hesitantly.

“For the duration of the week, from 7am Monday morning until 5pm Friday evening, evaluation of any given skill set may occur at any time in any location. You will not be given advance notice. You will not be told whether or not what is happening is part of the evaluation until the exercise is completed. It will not necessarily be confined to on-duty hours or company property, though that is at the sole discretion of the examiner. Hmph… In the simplest terms, you will likely not see it coming, and you are not safe anywhere,” he stated, matter-of-factly. Elena paled slightly as her previous relief evaporated.

“If it makes you feel any better, nothing in this evaluation is intended to injure you. Anger you… frighten you, perhaps… but not injure you. If you are ever truly in any danger, the exercise in progress will be suspended immediately.”

“Y-yes, sir,” she managed. She really didn’t like the sound of this. Then another thought occurred to her. “Um… Sir?”

“Yes?”

“You said that it was at the discretion of the examiner whether or not something will happen when I’m off-duty…” she began.

“That’s correct.”

“So… who’s the examiner?” Elena asked nervously. Tseng chuckled.

“The same person that’s responsible for overseeing all progress and training of probationary level Turks,” he replied. Elena’s eyes went wide.

“N-not… Reno?” she squeaked. Reno may have been friendly, funny, and occasionally even very sweet… but he was relentless when he was given an assignment. And this sounded disturbingly like an assignment he’d be very excited about, given that it essentially amounted to tormenting her for a week without having to face any repercussions from Tseng.

Tseng nodded in confirmation.

“And as I’m sure you know by now… despite his affectionate nature, he doesn’t hold back in professional matters. You’re also well acquainted with his… creativity… so I suggest you enjoy your weekend, if you can manage it. Your Hell Week begins on Monday, Elena.”

---

Sunday evening found her at Rude’s door, knocking tentatively. Aside from dreading tomorrow morning, she also wasn’t quite sure she’d be welcome… even if it was Shadow & Sword night. She wasn’t fully convinced that Rude had forgiven her yet for costing them their target on Friday.

The door opened, and she was greeted by the scent of something that smelled absolutely wonderful. The only thing better than finally having someone to obsess over her favorite show with was obsessing over it while enjoying Rude’s cooking. She never would have suspected the quiet, taciturn man of being so skilled in the kitchen, but he put her own meager efforts to shame by comparison.

“Hey, Elena,” he said, motioning her inside. She relaxed when she saw the table had been set for two, just as it was every Sunday night a new episode aired. Not only welcome… but expected. And apparently forgiven.

“Hi, Rude,” she replied, smiling as she returned the greeting and let him usher her in. It was becoming something of a tradition… She’d show up an hour before Shadow & Sword began, and Rude would serve her delicious food while they discussed the previous episode and what they expected from the next. Then they’d settle in for the show, watching excitedly until the credits rolled, and happily go on about their favorite scenes, the shocking deaths, and the vicious political intrigue until they both realized that they had to be at work in the morning and parted ways.

Tonight, however, something was different. Rude always tried to have at least one new dish for her to taste… but tonight, the table was laden with the familiar. What was more, everything he’d prepared was something she was particularly fond of. He was serving her favorite… everything.

“Last meal for the condemned,” he said, somewhat ominously. Elena groaned… the man was entirely too good at reading people. He’d known what she was going to ask before she did.

“So I guess you heard about Hell Week, then,” she said.

“Reno told me,” he replied, “Already knew it had to be coming soon, though.”

“So… how bad is it, really?” she asked, as she took her usual seat at the table. Rude smirked.

“Let’s just say it’s not something you’ll ever forget,” he replied, as he piled a broccoli and almond salad on her plate as a first course.

“I don’t suppose you could give me a hint or two about what he’s going to do to me?” she tried. She took a bite, and Rude shook his head.

“Sorry. Reno’s the only one who knows what he’s got planned. Only lets me in on it as needed. And even if he told me, I couldn’t. Not allowed.”

“Figures,” Elena sighed.

“…”

“What?” she asked, getting the distinct impression that Rude had something else to add.

“Be careful.”

Elena nearly inhaled the next mouthful. “Be careful?” she repeated, suddenly feeling very uneasy, “B-but… Tseng said that nothing Reno was going to do was going to hurt me…”

“… Hmph… Reno’d step off the edge of the Plate before he’d intentionally harm one of his own. But you could hurt him. He’s gonna come at you when you least expect it, and you’re probably gonna be armed. So just… be careful, okay?”

She’d been so busy thinking about what she was in for starting tomorrow that she’d never even thought of that. She frowned, and took another bite… it was really, really good. But she was finding it much harder to enjoy it now.

---

Monday morning, and Elena was, uncharacteristically, running late. Her sleep the night before had been fitful at best, yet she’d still managed to snooze straight through her alarm. She’d pulled into her parking space two minutes after seven and made a run for the elevator hoping that no one had noticed her tardiness yet.

She was breathing heavily as she stepped into the elevator car and hit the button for the Turks’ floor. Leaning back against the wall, she slowly caught her breathe as the floors ticked by. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, she realized that the car hadn’t stopped at its intended destination; instead it had continued on, passing the fiftieth floor… the sixtieth floor… the sixty-fifth… finally stopping at the sixty-ninth.

She sighed. Just what she needed… a broken elevator. She hit the button for her floor again, and waited. When nothing happened, she pressed it harder, as though that might somehow make all the difference.

Suddenly, the elevator car was plunged into darkness, and Elena let out a little shriek of surprise before the emergency lighting came on. She groaned out loud.

“Great… now I’m late and stuck,” she muttered, pulling out her PHS. Before she could dial a number, however, the car shifted, and she felt the panic-inducing sensation of rapid plunging descent in the pit of her stomach as she screamed.

The floor numbers on the screen above the door ticked by in a blur. Why weren’t the emergency brakes working!? She was falling past the fortieth floor now and seemed to be picking up speed. It wasn’t going to be long before she ran out of elevator shaft.

In a moment of clarity though her panic, Elena dove for the panel next to the door and wrenched it open, hissing as she tore a fingernail in the process, but ignoring it and yanking down hard on the manual brake lever inside. The screech of metal on metal set her teeth on edge, but to her great relief, her freefall began to slow and eventually stop altogether. Heart still pounding wildly, she looked up at the display, discovering that she was on the twenty-first floor.

Elena leaned back against the wall pulling her knees to her chest and trying to get her breathing under control. Then, as suddenly as they’d gone off, the lights in the elevator came back on, and to her horror, the car started to rise again.

This time, however, it stopped at her original destination. Shakily, she got to her feet, ready to throw herself through the doors the moment they opened. Her escape, however was blocked, by a grinning redhead.

“Mornin’ ‘Lena,” Reno said cheerfully, “Welcome to Hell Week!”

---

Elena was still shaking slightly when she sat down at her desk. Reno had vanished moments after he’d escorted her to the door of the main office, probably to prepare for whatever cruel torture he had in store for her next. For several minutes, no one spoke.

“What the hell is dropping me fifty floors in an elevator supposed to test?!” she finally cried, breaking the silence in the room.

“Panic response,” Rude said calmly, “You stop it before it hit single digits?”

She took a deep breath and nodded. “I ended up on twenty one.”

“Not bad.” She was pretty sure he sounded impressed.

“Not bad at all,” Tseng agreed, “Reno stopped it on fourteen when I did it to him… Rude holds the record at thirty eight. It would have stopped automatically on three, by the way. It’s the one exercise everyone gets at some point during Hell Week.” He pressed a mug of tea into her hands. “I think you’re safe for a little while. Common courtesy is to give a person some time to calm down between exercises.”

“Lulls them into a false sense of security,” Rude commented. Tseng raised an eyebrow but neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

“Sir? Everyone’s done that?” she asked.

“Yes… everyone. Including me, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“So… what floor did you stop it at?”

Rude suddenly snickered, and Tseng cast him a rather annoyed look. He sighed, looking slightly embarrassed.

“I… didn’t. I hesitated too long and reached the failsafe,” he answered, “Not one of my finer moments.”

“R-really? You, sir?” she said in a tone of disbelief.

“No one is perfect,” Tseng replied, smiling slightly, “Not even me, I’m afraid.”

“I… um… don’t suppose that’s possibly going to be the worst of it…?” she said, sipping the warm tea gratefully. The Turk leader chuckled.

“I think you know Reno better than that.” Tseng headed for his own desk, leaving Elena to settle down. She sighed, having expected as much, and studied her ragged fingernail. It had broken so far back on one side she wasn’t sure she could do much with it until it grew out some.

“If I somehow survive this, Reno owes me a manicure…” she groused. Rude smirked.

---

It was Tuesday afternoon, and Elena was getting jumpy. Thus far, nothing further had happened to her, and the longer things were quiet, the more paranoid she became. And it didn’t exactly help that Rude seemed to be encouraging her paranoia, making maddening little comments about his own Hell Week as fuel for her increasingly over-active imagination. She was beginning to wonder if Reno had actually set him that task, or if Rude was just a lot more sadistic than she’d ever realized… she knew his sense of humor was easily as warped as Reno’s could be. Maybe moreso.

She’d finally asked permission to head for the gym instead of continuing to torment herself with entering incident reports – nearly all of which had been generated by Reno, that lazy son of a bitch – into the Turks database, hoping to relieve the stress with some physical activity. Tseng had gladly granted it.

‘Maybe a little too gladly,’ she thought to herself, before shaking her head. She really was starting to see ulterior motives in everything.

In the locker room, she changed into her swimming suit. Since Costa del Sol, and her somewhat less than enjoyable boat ride, she’d been working on becoming a stronger swimmer… though she wasn’t sure she was really having much success.

Making her way to the pool, she lowered herself slowly into the shallow end She’d always been told that it was better to just get it over with quickly, but she had never liked the full-body shock of jumping into cold water. Instead, she waded from water that came just past her hips, until it was just above her shoulders. The pool itself was deeper still, reaching a depth of twelve feet at the far end beneath the trio of diving boards, but she didn’t dare swim where she couldn’t reach the bottom while she was alone.

She took a deep breath and began her first lap across the water, swimming with her best crawl stroke and trying to remember to keep her arms and legs more or less in sync. No matter how hard she concentrated on what she was doing, though, it always felt awkward to her… and she was concentrating very hard.

So hard, in fact, that she never even noticed a slim, streamlined figure gliding toward her under the water from the deep end.

When something clamped down around her left ankle, her first instinct was to surface… an instinct that was thwarted briefly as she was suddenly hauled backwards beneath the water. She felt herself dragged a fair distance before her travel finally ceased and the grip on her limb was released. Heart racing, she clawed her way toward the open air, trying to find her footing on the bottom of the pool. She realized a moment too late that the bottom was out of reach, as her head submerged just as she managed to take half a breath.

She’d been pulled into deeper water.

Panic took hold, then. Her lungs were burning as she flailed for the surface, head emerging for scant seconds as she tried to inhale, but mostly just got a mouthful of chlorinated water. She managed to come up again, coughing and sputtering and gasping… utterly terrified and desperate to get to someplace she could stand up. The trouble was… she’d lost all sense of direction and wasn’t even sure which way she should be trying to go.

Meanwhile, her body seemed to have forgotten everything it knew about keeping her afloat, and she was tiring rapidly when the surface slipped away again. She made another panicked attempt upwards, but came up short, her hand breaking the surface, but her head unable to follow. Her lungs ached so badly that she instinctively exhaled, bubbles rising around her. She fought against the desire to breathe in while submerged, her entire body screaming for air. Her desperation was growing with every second, but there didn’t seem to be anything she could do.

Suddenly, she felt herself seized around her torso by strong arms, and seconds later she broke through the surface of the pool, coughing violently and pulling in ragged, gasping breaths. Elena whimpered in distress and went limp as she realized that someone was supporting her.

“Easy, ‘Lena… I gotcha…”

One arm unwound itself from around her, and it took her a moment to realize that she was being pulled toward the pool’s edge. When she reached it, Elena clung tightly to the grate that ran the circumference of the pool, resting her head on the painted concrete ledge as she tried to catch her breath and convince herself she hadn’t just nearly drowned. A hand was gently rubbing slow circles between her shoulder blades.

She spent a minute or two motionless, save for breathing heavily, at the side of the pool before raising her head and turning to face her rescuer… and attempted murderer. Reno was watching her with an expression of concern.

“You okay?” he asked. She glared at him.

“You tried to drown me!” she shouted, though not with nearly as much force as she’d intended to. “No, I’m not ‘okay’, you jerk!”

Reno’s face broke into a grin. “Yeah, you’re fine.” He hoisted himself up onto the edge of the pool and climbed out of the water with ease. He extended his hands to her, and when she took them, he pulled her out with little effort. Firmly back on solid ground again, Elena rounded on the Turks second in command.

“What was that test for?! To see how well I sink?!” she yelled, poking him in the chest.

“No… to see how well you swim,” he replied, grin widening, “You weren’t supposed to sink. Geez, ‘Lena, I know you told me you a weak swimmer, but I didn’t know you were that bad…”

Elena’s eyes narrowed angrily, and before Reno realized what she intended, she shoved him hard, sending him toppling back into the pool. He surfaced moments later, grin still firmly in place.

“Ya know… if ya need some mouth to mouth, I actually am certified…” he teased.

“Asshole…” she muttered, storming off toward the locker rooms.

---

“Hey, ‘Lena! Wait up!” Reno called after her as she headed toward the elevator. Elena ignored him, and continued to do so even as he caught up to her, sliding into the car just as the doors were closing.

“I’m not speaking to you,” she ground out folding her arms stubbornly over her chest.

“Aside from tellin‘ me you’re not speakin’ to me, ya mean?” Reno laughed. She glared at him and said nothing. “Ah, come on, ‘Lena… don’t be like that. Hell Week’s not ‘sposed to be easy… or fun, for that matter, unless you’re on my end of it. But tell ya what. Since I actually do feel kinda bad about the whole pool thing, let me take ya out for lunch.”

“Right… like I’m going anywhere with you this week.”

“No Hell Week exercises, I swear,” he replied, refraining from commenting on the fact that she’d just spoken to him again, “Just lunch. Consider it an intermission.”

“Forget it,” she said, emphatically and not holding back any of the fury that was rapidly building. Reno blinked in surprise, and Elena couldn’t help but notice how wounded he looked.

“You really are pissed at me, huh?”

“Yes. I am.” Elena turned to face him, “You know I don’t swim that well. I told you that weeks ago! I mean… maybe it wasn’t done in confidence or anything, but I didn’t tell you just so you could use it against me! You could have killed me!”

The entire time she’d been yelling at him, she’d also been backing him up against the wall. Reno was effectively cornered now, and she was fuming.

“I…”

“Save it! You’re such a bastard, Reno.” The chime sounded at their destination, and the doors opened. Elena strode out quickly, expecting him to be following her, whether she liked it or not.

“I never woulda let anything happen to ya, ‘Lena,” he said softly, and maybe even a little sadly. She turned back, and saw that he hadn’t moved. The elevator doors closed before she could respond.

She made her way into the Turks lounge, suddenly feeling a bit deflated. She was angry at Reno, sure… but she hadn’t meant to hurt him. And she was pretty sure she had. Worse, she was also pretty sure she knew why. Rude really hadn’t been exaggerating by much on Sunday when he’d calmly stated that Reno would sooner die than intentionally hurt any of them. His protective streak had been readily apparent on numerous occasions, and she got the impression that it was something he took very seriously. Elena frowned as it occurred to her that maybe Rude’s admonishment to her to be careful ought to have extended beyond just what she could potentially do to Reno with a gun.

She sighed and pulled out her PHS, opening the messaging app.

‘Still want to have lunch?’ she texted him.

---

The workday was over, but her week of hell was not. Elena stepped out into the parking deck, checking her surroundings carefully. Only two days in, and she already found herself constantly looking over her shoulder. She was glad she’d taken Reno up on his offer for lunch. He’d been true to his word, putting Hell Week on hold for an hour and giving her some time to breathe… she’d kind of needed it.

But now, things were back on. She didn’t know when the next exercise was coming… or where. It could be tomorrow morning, or it could be two days from now – she wouldn’t put it past the redhead to let her stew. Elena froze as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She suddenly had the distinct impression she was being watched.

Or it could be right now…

She strained to catch any out of place sound, but the parking deck was silent. But, of course, Reno was very good at silent. Elena started toward her car, cutting through the center row, and ducking down below the roofs of the other vehicles. Moving as quietly as she could, she rolled underneath an SUV, coming out on the other side and staying low… hoping that she was out of sight. If Reno was stalking her, he’d be hard to lose, but that wasn’t going to stop her from trying.

As she was sliding under a large truck staring up at the axles, the thought occurred to her that perhaps losing him wasn’t the way to win this. She smirked to herself and settled into her less than ideal hiding place. Reno wouldn’t have any trouble finding her… and now she was counting on that.

Elena quietly removed her handcuffs from her belt, checking the fit for what she planned, and waiting. She didn’t have to wait long. Reno’s feet appeared alongside the truck.

“Found ya, ‘Lena… Come on out.”

The rookie Turk kept perfectly silent, hardly daring to breathe, as she willed him to move to where she could reach him.

“Seriously? You’re gonna make me come in after ya?” he said with a groan.

Yes… yes, she most certainly was. Elena readied her cuffs. Reno dropped to his knees, leaning on one arm as he peered beneath the truck, smirking at her.

“Time to give up. You lose, ‘Len… Ahh!”

Reno cried out in surprise as one end of the handcuffs snapped around his wrist and Elena yanked his arm toward her, sending him sprawling onto the pavement. The other end of the cuffs, she locked around the truck’s front axle before slipping out from the opposite side of the vehicle. She walked back around to Reno, and waved innocently.

“Very funny.”

“I thought so…” she replied. In a moment of inspiration, she grabbed the cuffs from Reno’s belt as well, and snapped them around his free wrist before he could twist himself around to stop her. It took some effort, since by then, Reno was onto her… but ultimately she had better leverage than he did, and she managed to wrestle him into a position where she could attach the second pair to the truck’s door handle. Which left him sitting awkwardly on the ground, one arm over his head, the other tucked behind him, under the truck.

“Oh, ha ha… That’s cute. Lemme go, ‘Lena,” he said dryly. Elena grinned evilly, and started walking toward her car.

“H-hey!” Reno shouted after her, “‘Lena!”

“Good night, Reno!” she called back.

“Ok, this isn’t funny anymore! ‘Lena, get back here!”

She could still faintly hear his protests as she climbed into her car, and shut the door. She pulled out her PHS and opened her contacts list, hitting the button to dial… she wasn’t heartless, after all. Moments later someone picked up.

“Rude here.”

“Hey, Rude,” she replied, “Reno’s gonna need you to bring a handcuff key down to the parking deck… Level C. Just follow the swearing.”

“… Will do.”

“No hurry, though,” she added, glancing out the window at the trapped redhead, who looked like he was trying to glare a hole in the side of her car.

“… Starting to think you two have been spending too much time together.”

She giggled somewhat devilishly. “Good night, Rude.”

“‘Night.”

Elena tucked her phone back into her jacket pocket, and pulled out of her parking space, giving Reno one final wave as she left for the evening.

---

Wednesday… Just the word was enough to make her not want to open her eyes. She was barely halfway through with this nightmare. Elena groaned and rolled over in bed, snuggling up against the nearest pillow. Which she quickly realized was definitely not a pillow… though she had a pretty damn good idea what it was. Or rather who.

“Mornin’, ‘Lena,” a familiar voice drawled. She sat up quickly, fully intending to give the obnoxious redhead a piece of her mind for pulling this shit on her again. Instead, she felt a sharp sting against her cheek and let herself fall back against the pillows, eyes automatically scanning her surroundings for threats.

“Ow! What the hell?!” She looked around her bedroom, and saw… well, she wasn’t quite sure what she saw. Thin wires had been run all around her room like some sort of metallic spiderweb. She rubbed at her cheek. It was no longer painful, but a ghost of the sensation seemed to linger. She sighed. “Reno?”

“Yeah?” he answered, looking far too pleased with himself for her taste.

“What is this?” she moaned in annoyance.

“Agility and coordination test,” he replied, “All ya gotta do is find your way through that while you get ready for work. Oh… and the wires are electrified. You touch one, you’re gonna know it.”

“What?!” she shouted, “Tseng said none of these tests were supposed to hurt me!”

“Yeah… Pretty sure he told ya they wouldn’t injure you. And this won’t. It’ll just sting a little. Don’t touch the wires and you won’t even have to worry about that.” Reno was smiling from ear to ear by now.

“And this requires you being in my bed because…”

He laughed, and put his hands behind his head, making himself more comfortable. “Gotta observe from somewhere… plus, watching you freak out when you wake up next to me is funny as hell. I’m thinkin’ about makin’ it a regular thing.”

“You’re a sick, sick man, Reno…” she sighed, hoping he was only kidding, as she carefully sat up, avoiding the wire she’d hit the first time.

“By the way… like I said, this is a coordination AND agility test. I’m timin’ ya, so ya better move quick. And no fair skippin’ anything you would normally do in the morning.”

She scowled. “This is revenge for last night, isn’t it?”

“‘Course not. I’ve had this planned from the beginning,” he replied, before grinning maliciously, “I moved it up to this morning as revenge for last night. Clock’s tickin’, ‘Lena…”

Resigned to her fate, she turned to the maze of wires. The first thing she needed to do was get to the bathroom so she could take a shower, brush her teeth, and take care of… other matters. She silently prayed that Reno hadn’t extended his handiwork that far.

Cautiously, she stepped over the first line, and ducked under the second. This wasn’t so bad… all she had to do was move slowly and…

“Ow!” she yelped as brushed against a wire she hadn’t noticed. She instinctively jerked backwards, and the back of her neck came in contact with another. “Ahh! Goddammit, Reno!” Elena froze in place. She could hear him snickering quietly from the bed, but she didn’t dare turn to look at him. It took her a solid five minutes, and a half dozen more swears, to navigate the web all the way to the bathroom door. She stepped through, and was relieved to find her path clear.

Elena hurried through her morning routine… though she did linger longer than strictly necessary under a steamy shower before toweling off. She just wanted this over and done with. It was right about then that she realized her mistake. She should have gone to the closet first and brought her clothes with her. Now she’d have to change in front of Reno – or risk backtracking to the bathroom for some privacy… not to mention the matter of getting to the closet after just stepping out of the shower. She sighed and looked for her pajamas – it wasn’t as if they were filthy… she could put them back on for a few minutes. It would be far easier than trying to do this in a towel.

It seemed, however, that Reno was a step ahead of her… they were nowhere in sight.

“Reno, you son of a bitch!” she shouted at the closed door. The only response she received was hysterical laughter from the other room. She groaned and cinched her towel tightly around her body, swearing vehemently under her breath as she yanked open the door and started across the room to the closet. Reno had taken over her entire bed by now, arms coiled around one of her pillows as he lay on his stomach, watching her closely, amusement evident on his face. She glared at him… and then shrieked as she grazed another live wire. Her destination almost in reach, she all but threw herself past the last few obstacles.

She pulled open the closet door, gathering her clothes, and then glanced back at Reno who was still watching her.

“Ugh… pervert…” she muttered. The redhead snickered loudly, but rolled over so he was facing away from her. She hurried to dress, and was nearly finished when Reno spoke again.

“Ya know, ‘Lena… ya really need to get over that whole modesty issue you’ve got,” he commented, “I’ve kinda given ya a pass seein’ as you’re the only girl on the team and that can be a little intimidatin’ at first, but I can’t do that forever…”

“Just because you have absolutely no shame…” she started to say, as she was buttoning her shirt, before Reno interjected.

“And just what do I have to be ashamed of?” he asked, turning back towards her, smirking. Elena rolled her eyes. “No, really. Tell me. I mean, not to sound completely self-absorbed, but I look pretty decent, I think. Why should I care if someone gets an eyeful? I mean, worst case scenario, they don’t like what they see. That’s more their problem than mine…”

Elena tucked in her shirt and pulled on her jacket. “Well… still… you don’t have to shove it in people’s faces.” She pointedly ignored the way he cracked up at her poor choice of words. “I don’t see Tseng or Rude getting drunk and streaking through my parking lot like someone I know…”

“Okay, fine… so maybe I’m a little more comfortable in my own skin than most people. But you’re deluding yourself if ya think either of ’em would have a problem strippin’ down if they had to.”

Elena shook her head and started the last leg of her escape… making her way out of the bedroom. Thankfully, it was a short distance and she managed it without touching any more wires. She stepped out into her living room in triumph and gazed back at Reno.

“So did I pass?” she asked smugly. Aside from a few minor hiccups at the beginning, she thought she’d done pretty well.

“Eh… ya did alright,” he responded. Elena glowered at him.

“Alright? That’s it?!”

“Just sayin’… coulda been faster, coulda been fewer hits,” he replied from the bed, shrugging.

“Yeah? If it’s so easy, let’s see you do it,” she challenged him. Reno snickered, and slid off the bed.

“Fine. I’ll even take the same route you did,” he replied. Then he paused a moment. “Since we’re talkin’ modesty anyway, ya want me to strip first and really show ya how it’s done?” he asked, grinning.

“Don’t you dare. The last thing I need is to have you naked in my bedroom,” Elena replied, groaning. He’d do it, too… She was sure he would.

“Heh… most women think that’s a great place to have me naked,” he lewdly retorted.

With that, he effortlessly ducked and stepped, turned and twisted through the tangle of wires, moving from the bed to the bathroom, to the closet, and finally joining Elena in the living room… all without so much as brushing against a single wire, and completing the entire course in about 30 seconds. Elena’s jaw dropped.

“So what’s for breakfast?” he asked, casually, as he strolled past her and over towards Snuffy’s cage to say hello to his favorite ferret.

---

Elena made it into the office with time to spare. She’d left Reno at her kitchen table playing with Snuffy – and ‘helpfully’ finishing off the leftovers in her fridge – with the warning that she expected her bedroom to be back to normal by the time she got home that night.

The morning dragged by. Rude had gotten a good laugh when she’d told him how Reno had shown her up with his little electric web, though he hadn’t seemed surprised. In retrospect, she wasn’t sure why she had been, either. The redhead was easily the most agile of them all. She supposed she’d simply never realized just how agile he was.

Aside from that little diversion, however, things were agonizingly slow… particularly without having Reno around to keep them all entertained, as was his wont. She’d hardly noticed until now, given that she seemed to be spending most of her time worrying about what was going to happen to her next, but save for the actual evaluation exercises, he had been almost entirely absent all week. She vaguely wondered where exactly he disappeared to when he wasn’t testing her. Was he watching her from somewhere waiting for the perfect moment to strike?

Tseng had tasked her with research today, and it occurred to her that nearly all of her recent assignments had kept her in the building, or at least nearby. She supposed that made sense, given that a controlled environment was probably preferred for Hell Week. Research, however, was boring. Frankly, she’d almost prefer the mind-numbing tediousness of data entry, but over the past two days, something unprecedented had happened.

The incident report backlog… was no longer backlogged. She’d finished it… at least until more reports got around to being filed. When she’d told Tseng earlier, he’d had such an expression of disbelief come across his face, she’d nearly started laughing.

“You look bored,” the Turk leader commented, jarring her from her thoughts. She sat up straight, flushing slightly.

“I… um… n-no, sir, I was just…”

“Very bored,” he finished for her, with an understanding smile.

“I… Yes, sir,” she admitted.

“Then I think some activity is in order,” he replied, “I need a sparring partner, if you’re up for it. Unless you prefer to wait here for whatever Reno has in store for you next…”

“I would definitely rather to go with you,” she stated, gratefully, standing up and following him to the elevator.

They had the practice room to themselves… not that many people other than their team used it at all to begin with. Building security personnel could be found there on occasion, but it was largely the unofficial domain of the the Turks. In the back of her mind, Elena wondered if she was being set up for her next evaluation… but aside from having her ass thoroughly handed to her by the Wutaiian Turk, nothing particularly noteworthy happened during the nearly two hours they were at it.

At last Tseng called an end to the practice, helping her up from where he’d just thrown her to the mat… again.

“You’re improving,” he commented.

“It doesn’t feel like it,” she replied, rubbing her shoulder, which was still aching from a badly executed rolling dodge. The Turk leader laughed softly.

“It will. Eventually,” he assured her.

They parted ways, heading for their respective locker rooms. Elena stripped off her workout clothes and headed for a shower stall. Tseng had really made her work today… she was practically drenched in sweat by the time they’d finished. The hot water felt wonderful on her freshly abused muscles. Sighing in contentment, she shut off the tap, and reached for her towel, drying herself down and wrapping it around herself as she padded toward her locker and and clean clothes.

As she passed the end of the first row, however, something caught hold of her. Elena squealed as her towel was neatly yanked away from her, the force actually spinning her around to face her attacker.

“RENO!” she shrieked when she caught sight of him, covering herself as best she could. She could feel the blood rising to her face, and knew she had to have been turning several shades of red. Reno was leaning casually against the lockers, her towel hanging from his index finger, smiling calmly at her.

“Hey, ‘Lena,” he said, as though everything were perfectly normal. She snatched at the towel… but was foiled when he tossed it onto the top of the row of lockers, out of her reach. Meanwhile, he’d hardly taken his eyes off of her. Elena shifted, unsettled by his gaze. In all the months she’d known him, Reno had never… just stared at her like that. In fact, the times it had come up that she was unclothed in front of him, he’d always made it a point not look… as recently as that very morning, in fact.

“W-why… ?” she started.

“Told ya earlier, ‘Lena… this modesty issue of yours has got to go,” he stated, though without his usual teasing tone. Her eyes narrowed.

“Ugh… what are you going to do to me, you perv?” she asked, glaring at him.

“Nothin’ too terrible,” Reno reassured her, “We’re just gonna have a nice conversation, that’s all.”

“While I’m not wearing any clothes, I suppose,” she all but growled.

“That’s right. We’re alone. Door’s locked. No one’s gonna walk in on ya,” he said, in a maddeningly calm voice. He opened one of the lockers to his right, revealing her uniform. “I’m gonna ask you questions, you’re gonna answer ’em. And for every answer I’m satisfied with, I’ll give ya back a piece of clothing. Up to you whether or not ya want to put it on immediately or wait ’til the end. I’ll let ya figure out yourself which option gives ya a better score.”

There wasn’t much to figure out. It was pretty obvious he wanted her to stay just the way she was until he finished with her. At the moment, she didn’t care much if she lost points. She was getting dressed at the earliest opportunity. Reno could go find some other way to get himself off.

“Just so ya know… ya get Nice Me for this one,” he added. Elena snorted derisively.

“Yeah? And just what’s ‘Nice Reno’ like?” she asked, not entirely sure she wanted to know, given the man’s tendency toward bad jokes. Reno chuckled softly.

“Exactly what he sounds like. I’m not gonna tease ya. I’m not gonna leer at ya. I’m not gonna touch ya. And I’m even gonna try very hard not to crack any inappropriate jokes… but Nice Me has his limits, so no promises on that last one,” he replied. Elena blinked in surprise. She hadn’t expected a serious answer. Bizarre as the situation was, Reno actually seemed to be trying to put her at ease.

“So… Question one. And keep in mind, that if I’m not convinced you’re bein’ honest, you don’t get your clothes back. Do you find me attractive?” he asked. Any of her blush she might have lost since Reno had snatched her towel immediately came back full force. She’d been wrong… he wasn’t putting her at ease. He was trying to get her to let her guard down so he could sneak in for the attack.

“W-what? NO!” she shouted. She should have known ‘Nice Reno’ was just as sex-obsessed as ‘Normal Reno’.

“Ouch… That kinda hurts,” the redhead responded, with a somewhat self-deprecating laugh, “Ya really totally hate lookin’ at me? I’m not even a little pretty?”

Elena ground her teeth in anger, and wondered whether or not Reno would stop her if she tried to simply walk out of this evaluation. Possibly not, she realized, if he was really serious about not touching her. But it wouldn’t exactly earn her a high score… and if Hell Week was meant to determine areas that required additional training, this might be the one area she should be worried about scoring low.

“Maybe. A little,” she ground out. Ok, maybe more than a little, but damned if she was going to tell him that. “But you’d better not be getting any ideas! Just because you’re not… completely awful… to look at doesn’t mean I’m interested in… in… doing anything with you!”

“I never asked if ya were. Not everything’s about sex with me, ‘Lena,” he said, lightly chastising her. He shrugged. “But for the record, I happen to think you’re beautiful. Doesn’t mean I’m comin’ up with ways to get ya into bed with me every time I see ya.”

The retort she’d had ready died on her lips. Reno tossed her a sock. She narrowed her eyes at him, and set it on the bench behind her. She was still planning on dressing as her clothing was returned, but it wasn’t as if she could cover much with a damn sock.

“Hey, I never said what order you’d get ’em back in,” he commented, “Question two… Are you uncomfortable with me watchin’ you right now?”

“Yes,” she hissed. At least that was an easy one. Reno grinned and returned her other sock, which quickly joined its mate.

“Question three. Why?”

“W-what do you mean ‘why’?” she stammered, eying him suspiciously. Was that some kind of a joke?

“Just what I asked. Why are you uncomfortable?” He shrugged, and folded his arms across his chest.

“Because… I… I’m standing here, completely naked, you creep!” she said incredulously.

“So?”

“So?! Isn’t that enough of a reason?”

“Nope. But how ’bout I make this easier? I’ll give ya some options and you can tell me which it is,” Reno offered. Elena rolled her eyes, but nodded.

“‘Kay, then… Do ya not feel safe around me? Not trust me?”

“O-of course I do…” she answered, a little shocked that was the first thing he’d come up with. Did he really doubt that, or had he just asked it to stretch things out longer? He smiled widely.

“Gotta problem with how ya look?”

“Well… No…” Of course there were minor things she’d change about herself if she could… but nothing she was truly displeased with.

“Worried about what I think about how ya look?”

“… No.” Never mind that Reno had already kind of told her point blank what he thought of her, physically. She blushed a little more, thinking about that. It had definitely caught her off guard to suddenly be told she was beautiful. Especially after the most she’d said about him was ‘not completely awful’… she sort of wished she hadn’t been quite so caustic.

“Think I’m gettin’ off on this whole exercise?” he asked with a grin.

“Ugh. You are the company pervert, after all,” she commented, and he laughed, “But… no.” Though she couldn’t deny that the thought had crossed her mind at the beginning. She actually felt a little ashamed of that now.

“Huh… well, I’m outta ideas, then. Why are you so uncomfortable?”

“I… guess I just don’t like feeling so vulnerable…” she admitted at last.

“Don’t know why that should bother ya. Thought you said ya trusted me,” he said, goading her slightly, and handing over her bra and panties, “Two for one on this round.”

Elena chewed her lower lip indecisively for a moment, and finally set her newest prize down next to the socks.

“Question… crap, what number were we on?” Reno asked.

“Four,” she supplied, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Right… Question four. And that wasn’t it, so you better not be expectin’ anything for it,” he stated. Elena couldn’t hold back the tiny laugh that escaped her lips, “Let’s see… If you could make me switch places with Tseng or Rude right now, who would you pick?”

She almost immediately said Tseng… until she really thought about it. She hated to admit it, but she still had little bit of a crush on the Turk leader, even though she got the feeling it was unrequited. Still… imagining him in Reno’s place right now was downright mortifying. She wasn’t really sure she’d be that much more comfortable with Rude, though. She rarely knew what the man was thinking unless he deigned to tell her, which he didn’t always do… Reno was a lot easier to read. And if he had something to say, he inevitably said it, which made it a lot easier to know where you stood with him.

“I guess… if it has to be one of them… Rude,” she said at last. A moment later, she decided she might as well be honest and added, “I’d… kind of rather stick with you, though.” This time, she got her pants back.

“Question five… why haven’t ya put anything back on yet?”

“I’m going for a perfect score,” she said, sarcasm plainly evident in her voice.

Reno snickered. “That didn’t sound like a serious answer to me…” he shot back.

“Ugh… I’ve been standing here for like… ten minutes now, anyway. You’ve already seen pretty much everything I have to offer. What’s the point?” she sighed.

“Good answer,” he smirked, tossing her shirt over. He picked up her jacket, which was the final item on the pile. “Last question. How pissed off at me are you?”

“Not as pissed as I was when you grabbed my towel,” Elena answered. The truth was she was finding it hard to be angry at him at all by now, even though she was pretty sure she should be furious. Reno tossed her the jacket.

“Heh… Fair enough,” he said. Reno pushed off the wall and walked out of the locker room, leaving her to dress in peace. A few minutes later, Elena followed, planning to head back upstairs. She found Reno waiting for her by the elevator.

“So… I’m not technically ‘sposed to tell ya this, but that was the only other exercise on the schedule for today,” he said.

“Then why are you telling me?” she asked, a little confused. He shifted awkwardly.

“‘Cause I feel like an asshole for puttin’ ya through that,” he replied, “It’s one of the three required areas to be evaluated during Hell Week and I get why we do it, but… ya know. Still feel like a jerk.”

“It… really wasn’t that bad, I guess,” she replied, “I mean you probably could’ve done a lot worse, right?”

Reno smirked as they stepped into the elevator, bound for the Turks’ offices. “Oh, believe me… I definitely coulda. There’s no set rules for that exercise like there are for the Elevator of Doom. Just general guidelines. Be glad I didn’t take a page from Tseng’s book on this one.”

“Tseng? Why?” she asked, curious.

“My Hell Week, he did pretty much the same thing I did to you… caught me comin’ outta the shower. ‘Cept to get my clothes back, I had to go find ’em. On the first floor concourse. While most of the building was either going to or coming from lunch. Son of a bitch actually hid them all over the area. It took me something like half and hour to find ’em all…”

Elena just stared. And thanked her lucky stars that Reno had been merciful… she wasn’t sure she’d have lived through something like that.

“Kinda backfired on him, though,” Reno added.

“What do you mean, it backfired?” she wondered. The elevator reached its destination, and they stepped into the hallway.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly shy,” he said, breaking into a sly grin, and starting toward the Turks lounge, “Tseng got to learn just to what extent that’s true.”

“Oh, god… what did you do?”

“Found my clothes… didn’t bother puttin’ ’em back on before I came back to the office,” he shrugged, “Rude thought it was hilarious… Heidegger? Not so much. Tseng got chewed out pretty bad by him. While I watched. Still naked. And then later by Veld, ’cause Heidegger bitched to him, too. By all rights, Tseng really shoulda killed me about twenty times over by now for some of the shit I pulled as a rookie…”

“I think the count is significantly higher than twenty. Fortunately for you, Reno, I’m the forgiving sort,” Tseng’s voice interrupted from behind the two Turks. He turned to Elena, “You will never know how eternally grateful I am that you are nothing like Reno when I first met him.”

“Ah come on, boss… you know you’d be lost without me…”

“Hmm… Lost, perhaps, but far less jaded,” Tseng replied, good-naturedly, “Thankfully, you ended up being worth the headache.”

“Heh… yeah, well, before I accidentally remind you of something that changes your mind on that, I’m outta here. Torment ‘n stuff to plan, ya know?” Reno replied, beaming as he took off back in the direction of the elevator, leaving Elena alone with the Turk leader. Tseng shook his head and laughed fondly.

“Irritating as he can be, I wouldn’t trade him for anything,” he commented when Reno was out of earshot.

“Um… Sir…?” she asked. Tseng pushed the lounge door open, waving her inside ahead of him.

“Let me guess… you’re wondering if he was really that bad?” Tseng replied, smiling when Elena nodded, “Yes… he certainly was. And on occasion, still can be, when he puts his mind to it… though I find I’m not nearly as dismayed by it these days.”

“Did he really…”

“Yes, he really walked into the office completely nude,” Tseng replied with a groan, “Heidegger was not amused… frankly, neither was I, once Heidegger got through with me. Even less so once Veld had his turn.”

Elena giggled softly and sat down on the couch, glad that Reno had let her know she was safe for the remainder of the day. It felt good to be able to relax again.

---

By Thursday, her brief, blissful few hours of relaxation were over. She was back to jumping at shadows, and looking over her shoulder. The morning had passed uneventfully, but she knew something was coming soon. She just knew it.

Elena had just sat down to lunch when her PHS rang. She glanced at the screen, seeing that it was Tseng, and quickly answered.

“Yes, sir?”

“Elena, I need you on the first floor concourse. There’s been an attack.”

“On my way,” she replied. She left her lunch behind and ran for the elevator, riding it down to floor one. The thought that this was part of Hell Week was the first thing that occurred to her, but when she reached her destination, it quickly became apparent that that was not the case.

Building security had blocked the doors, and no one was being allowed in or out. Scorch marks radiated out from the information desk in the center of the concourse, and a young woman was being tended to by an older lady in a lab coat. She easily spotted Reno along side the injured woman, and a moment later, caught site of Tseng and Rude at the security station. Reno looked up, and waved her over as the woman was carried off on a stretcher by two security guards.

“She’ll be alright,” the older woman said to Reno, “More shaken than anythin’, but she’s got a burn or two I need to see ta. If you need me, yeh know where ta find me.” With that, she hurried off after her patient.

“What happened?” Elena asked as soon as she had Reno’s attention.

“Tch… Some asshat thought they’d leave a nice little present for the reception staff to find,” he replied, “Poor kid got a nasty burn on her arm when it went off, but the doc says she’ll be okay. Mostly just scared shitless. Can’t exactly blame her…”

“Avalanche, you think?” she asked. The group hadn’t been violent as of yet… at least not that they were aware of… but they were considered a moderate to high threat.

“Doubt it,” Reno said, “Rude’s pretty sure that if they ever decide to target anything, it’s gonna be the reactors. Tseng agrees, and they’ve got me pretty well convinced, too. This actually looks like it might be personal.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Box was addressed to the kid they just carted off. Got left here right before her shift started, according to the guy she took over for, but no one saw by who. Kid told me her ex is kind of a nutjob. Tseng and Rude are checkin’ surveillance footage now to see if the cameras caught anyone droppin’ off the package, or if they can find someone matchin’ the ex’s description. Whole place is locked down, just in case whoever left it decided to stick around and watch the show.”

Reno’s PHS chimed, and less than a second later, so did hers.

“Looks like we got us a suspect,” he said, smirking. A photo had been sent to both of their phones, showing a younger man placing a box on the reception desk. “Come on… let’s go see if the lockdown caught him.”

The two Turks split up, each taking one side of the concourse. Elena saw Rude slipping into the side stairwell, and Tseng heading up the central stairs to check the upper level. She scanned the crowd of faces as surreptitiously as she could. It wasn’t until she was nearly to the main entrance that someone finally stood out.

She couldn’t see his face because of his hooded sweatshirt, but his posture told her he desperately didn’t want to be there. Elena glanced back, searching for Reno, and spotted him several yards away. She caught his eye and nodded toward the man. Reno moved toward her calmly, finally stopping beside her.

“That him?”

“I’m not sure… I can’t see his face. But he seems a lot more nervous than the other people stuck in here right now,” she replied.

“You stay here. Let Tseng know what’s goin’ on… I’ll confirm the target.”

Elena withdrew her PHS and dialed Tseng’s number. After a brief report on the current situation, she hung up, and drew her weapon, but kept it out of sight. She didn’t want to start a panic, especially with Reno in the middle of the crowd.

She watched anxiously as Reno moved into a position where he could ID the subject. Suddenly the man looked up, locking eyes with the redhead for a moment, and took off running. Elena heard Reno swear loudly as he ran after him. He would have caught him easily, too… had the man not taken a hostage.

He’d grabbed a little girl, no more than seven or eight years old – probably in the building to see where her mother worked – and held a knife to her throat as the mother in question screamed. Reno stopped dead, and barely glanced toward Elena giving her an almost imperceptible nod. Elena fired without hesitation.

Reno caught the girl as the target dropped to the floor, dead, turning her head away and clutching her to his chest before she had a chance to see anything she didn’t need to see. The girl’s mother was pushing her way through the crowd toward them both by the time Elena joined him. The girl was sobbing quietly against Reno’s shoulder as he gently rubbed her back.

“Lisbeth!” the girl’s mother cried, finally reaching them, and accepting the distraught child from the Turk. “Thank you…” she whispered to them both before carrying her daughter off, away from the grizzly scene.

“Come on… let’s go deal with the asshole,” he said, stalking towards the body. Tseng and Rude had arrived by then, and were organizing building security to deal with the crowd. Reno glared down at the man. “Serves him right, threatenin’ a kid like that,” he muttered, “Damn, ‘Lena… Nice shot.”

She’d put the bullet cleanly through her target’s left eye, without so much as grazing the eye socket.

“Kind of off center,” Elena said, frowning as she noted that the shot had drifted towards the outside corner of the eye. If there was one thing she prided herself in, it was her marksmanship. It was the one thing she rarely screwed up, and she was a picky when it came to her aim.

“Just take the fucking compliment,” Reno chided her, snickering, “Fucking perfectionist. Good news, by the way. This kinda negates the need for today’s Hell Week exercise.”

---

‘Friday at last!’ Elena thought to herself, feeling slightly giddy at the prospect. Hell Week would officially be over at 5pm, and it was already after four.

Tseng had been called away earlier that afternoon, taking Rude with him, to see to some problem in the biologic research department, which left her to mind the office in the interim. While not technically a safe zone – there was no such thing during Hell Week – the Turks’ main office was easy enough to defend. There was one entrance and few places to hide. All in all, she began to think, she was probably safer here than anywhere else.

And that was right about the time she heard the gunshots.

“Of course…” she groaned. She should have known it wouldn’t last.

Elena drew her own weapon… This was probably the start of her final exercise, but she wasn’t stupid enough to walk out of this room not ready for a fight on the off chance it wasn’t. Hell, even if it was an exercise, Reno would probably dock points for doing something that idiotic.

She pulled the door open, taking cover along the wall and peered out, scanning the hallway. There was nothing. Finger on the trigger, she advanced down the hall. She’d only gone a few yards when the lights went out. She flattened herself against the wall, waiting for the emergency lights to come on. When they didn’t, she realized that she needed to move; she couldn’t see what was coming, and she had no cover. Feeling her way along the wall until she reached a door… fairly certain it was the Turks archive room… Elena soundlessly pushed the door open, and backed inside, eyes open wide, trying futilely to make out any sort of shape in the darkness.

She tried the light switch, but wasn’t surprised when nothing happened. It seemed that power had been cut to the entire floor. She huffed in frustration… what she needed was a damn flashlight. And she suddenly realized that she had one. Elena reached into her jacket, withdrawing her PHS, and flicked on the screen. It wasn’t much, but it was better than the pitch black of what, indeed, was the archives room. She thumbed through the screens, finding the flashlight app, smiling as she could finally see what she was doing.

Her relief was short lived, however. A sharp blow from behind caught her off guard, forcing her to drop her weapon, and she heard it skitter across the floor as her attacker gave it a kick. She spun around, and in the harsh glow of her phone’s flashlight caught a brief glimpse of a hooded figure before the phone was knocked from her grasp as well. It landed several feet away, the light still on, but not doing her much good beyond not leaving her completely blind. All she could really see was her attacker’s silhouette.

Her first thought was that it had to be Reno. He was the right height and build. But as he advanced on her, she realized that he didn’t move like Reno. At all. She’d sparred against him often enough to recognize his fighting style. If anything, he moved more like Rude, but it certainly wasn’t him. Whoever it was, judging by his stance, he wasn’t going to let her just walk out of this room.

Elena deflected the first punch, and countered with a kick to the ribs. Her opponent grunted loudly but didn’t go down. She dodged what would have been a pretty vicious backhand, and punched him hard in the stomach, causing him to stagger backwards.

As she moved in to continue her attack, the man seemed to recover, and lashed out with a left hook. She only just managed to block in time, and aimed a punch at his throat, hoping to take him out quickly.

The man sidestepped at the last second. He caught her followup jab, and swept her legs from underneath her, sending her to the floor. A moment later he was straddling her, pinning her arms above her head. She smirked evilly…

“Big mistake, asshole,” she said as she brought her knee up as hard as she could between his legs. He howled in pain, and quite literally collapsed on top of her. Elena shoved him off, and he curled up on his side, hands between his legs, moaning pitifully.

She hurried to her feet and grabbed her light… along with her gun, which she spotted a few feet away, and turned back to her assailant. Weapon aimed, she jerked back the hood, revealing a very familiar shock of red hair.

“R-reno?” she said, stunned. She’d been absolutely positive it wasn’t him.

“Oh god, just kill me, ‘Lena…” he groaned, eyes shut tight. She snickered at his somewhat over-dramatic response. “It’s not funny!” he snapped at her, glaring angrily, “That fucking hurt!”

“Serves you right, attacking a poor defenseless girl in the dark,” she teased.

“Defenseless my ass…” he whined, “And you fight dirty…”

The lights came back on, and Elena flinched slightly in the sudden brightness. The door to the archives opened, admitting Tseng and Rude.

“I believe Elena managed a perfect score this round,” Tseng said, gazing down at his lieutenant, who was still doubled over on the floor. Rude knelt down beside him, smirking.

“… Want some ice?” he asked, as he placed a hand on Reno’s shoulder.

“Yes, please…” Reno answered weakly. Rude gently picked him up, bridal style.

“Come on, then… let’s go get you some ice,” he said, soothingly, as he carried him out of the room.

“I think he intended that to last a bit longer…” the Turk leader commented, “I warned him you weren’t above doing that… Maybe next time he’ll listen.”

“Sir? Is… Is it really that painful?” she asked, “I mean, I know it definitely hurts, but… Reno can be such a drama queen sometimes…”

“It is that painful, and that was no vie for attention, believe me,” Tseng answered, seriously.

“Oh…” she said softly. She couldn’t deny that she still felt a little justified in doing it. Still… she didn’t like seeing Reno in pain, even if he’d kind of asked for it in this particular instance.

“I’m fairly certain he’ll survive it. His weekend plans, on the other hand, I suspect have little chance of pulling through…” he added, mirroring Rude’s earlier smirk.

“Sir!” she exclaimed, eyes going wide. She would expect a comment like that from Reno… or even Rude. But from Tseng?

“It can occasionally be amusing… when it happens to someone else,” he said simply. With that, he turned and walked out the door.

---

“All I wanted was some damn painkillers, not… Ow! For fuck’s sake, look! Don’t crush!”

Elena paused outside the door to the Turk’s lounge, hesitantly debating whether or not she should actually go in. She’d been able to hear Reno all the way down the hall. She wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but he didn’t sound like he was enjoying it.

“Oh, quit yer fussin’, I barely even touched yeh,” a woman’s voice chastised him, “Now hold still.”

“Ahh, fuck, make her stop!”

“Afraid you’re going ta be bruised for a fair stretch, but shouldn’t be so painful by tomorrow. Just a bit sore,” the voice said.

“I could have fucking told you that. Now will you stop trying to kill me, and hand over the damn drugs?”

“You watch yer language, young man, or yeh get nothin’. And no treat, either! Now put yer pants back on, yeh big baby.”

Reno went silent, though Elena was sure she could hear Rude snickering. She hesitated a few moments more before slowly pushing the door open a crack.

“There yeh are… take those, then,” the woman said, “And no alcohol for at least eight hours after yeh take ’em. I mean that, Reno. You wouldn’t like the reaction and I’ll be very angry if I have to ship yeh off to the emergency room because yeh ignored me. And you’ve seen me angry.”

Elena peaked into the room. “Can I come in?” she asked.

“No,” Reno stated emphatically.

“Ah, don’t listen to him,” the woman – who Elena could now see was the same older lady she’d seen taking care of the victim in the concourse yesterday – said pleasantly, “He’s just a a bit out of sorts right now, that’s all.”

“… Who in their right mind gave you a license to practice medicine?” Reno grumbled, as Elena slipped into the room. He was ignored by everyone present.

“Well, now… I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,” the woman said, smiling at her, “Dr. Justinia Ward. Resident medical staff, and part-time bane of Reno’s existence.” She stripped off a latex glove and extended her hand.

“Hmph… part-time? You cheatin’ on me, Doc? Who’d you find to torture the rest of the time?” Reno commented. He was lying on his back on the couch, a bag of ice nestled on his lap.

“I’m Elena,” she said, paying no mind to the redhead, and shaking hands with the doctor.

“The other bane of my existence…”

“Oh, really? Now who’s cheatin’ on who?” Dr. Ward teasingly scolded him.

“Want me to dump her? I could always pawn her off on Rude…”

“… Leave me out of this,” Rude said, leaning back casually against the wall.

Dr. Ward laughed lightly. “Well, much as I’d love ta stay ‘n chat with yeh, I need to be getting’ back to the medical suite.” She turned to leave.

“Hold it!” Reno said firmly. When Dr. Ward turned back to face him, he held out his hand, expectantly.

“Yeh hardly deserve it,” she said, pulling a green sucker from her coat pocket and handing it to the redhead.

“I don’t deserve it?! I oughta get two, for lettin’ ya molest me like that…” he replied, pulling off the wrapper and shoving the candy into his mouth.

“One per customer,” stated Dr. Ward, smirking as she walked out the door, “Yeh want another one, let her knee yeh again.”

“I hate that woman,” Reno groused, glaring at the door.

“… No you don’t,” Rude chuckled, “And you know it.”

“I-I guess you’re alright, then?” Elena asked.

“Do I look alright?” he answered.

“He’s fine. Just ticked off,” Rude said, with a shrug, “Wanted me to get him something for the pain… so I got him Ward.”

“Yeah… next time I ask ya to do that, just get me some fucking aspirin.”

“Noted.”

“I’m so sorry, Reno… I was really convinced it wasn’t you,” she said.

Reno sighed. “Yeah… well… Guess I can’t really blame ya for that… That was kind of the point.”

“Told ya you should have just stuck to your own style,” Rude chided. Reno flipped him off.

“Run Dr. Ward off already, have we?” Tseng commented, edging into the room behind Elena. The redhead snorted.

“Yeah… after she had her way with me and drugged me,” he muttered.

“Shouldn’t that be the other way around?” Tseng replied, bemused by the not so subtle personality change his friend underwent any time he was injured.

“She wouldn’t give him the painkillers until he let her her examine him,” Rude supplied. Reno suddenly groaned in relief.

“Speakin’ of which, they just fucking kicked in,” he sighed, “Damn, that’s better.”

---

When Elena walked into the office early Monday morning, it was with a sense of being overjoyed at the prospect of not having to worry any longer about random attacks, bizarre tests, and near drownings. She was a little surprised to find that she was the first one in… She was early, but not that early.

Seven o’clock came and went, and not even Tseng was in yet. At five after, she checked her phone for voicemail in case she’d somehow missed a call. At ten after, she peered out into the hallway, and listened for the chime of the elevator. At a quarter after, she wondered if she should try calling them. Just as she was pulling up her contact list, however, a the door opened a crack and a canister bounced metallically onto the floor, rolling into the room.

Almost immediately, it began spewing copious amounts of thick, choking white smoke. Elena staggered to the door, desperate for fresh air, and nearly threw herself into the hallway. Still half-blinded by the smoke, she didn’t see the two figures waiting for her. She suddenly found her arms pinned tightly, as a bag was pulled over her head. She tried to kick out at her assailant but as soon as she did, a second pair of hands captured her ankles. She fought, but to no avail, as she was carried off.

But not very far… less than a minute later, her captors set her down in a chair, and the bag was whipped off her head. She sat, blinking in confusion, as she found herself practically nose to nose with Reno, who was crouching in front of her, in the Turks’ lounge.

“Surprise!” he shouted, grinning madly. Her eyes widened.

“I-I thought Hell Week ended on Friday,” she said nervously. She heard a deep chuckle behind her, and turned. Tseng and Rude were flanking her on either side.

“Oh, don’t worry. It was,” Tseng assured her, “But there’s still the matter of your scores. And naturally, Reno refused to simply write them down and hand them to you. That would be far too… sane. So, here we are.”

“Exactly!” Reno said, as he wheeled a dry-erase board into the center of the room, “Gotta make a presentation of something like this.” He flipped the board over with a dramatic flourish, revealing

a list of the exercises Elena had gone through.

“So, let’s see now…” Reno began, holding up a marker, “First up was the Elevator of Doom.”

Tseng rolled his eyes. “You know perfectly well that’s not what it’s called, Reno.”

“Yeah, but I like it better than ‘panic reaction delay exercise’. Deal with it, Boss,” he replied. Tseng plucked the marker from the redhead’s hand and crossed out “Elevator of Doom” on the board, writing in the proper name. Reno smirked and pulled a second marker from his pocket, wiping it away and restoring the original text.

Tseng sighed. “Sometimes I wonder why I bother…”

“Anyway…” Reno continued, “Ya beat my old score… and definitely kicked Tseng’s ass… but Rude still holds the record, right partner?”

Rude gave her a decidedly smug smile but said nothing.

“Still, ya did good, rookie. So full points,” he said, writing in “10/10” in the space beside the exercise title. Elena couldn’t help but grin happily.

“‘Course next up, we’ve got swimming…” Elena’s smile faded, and she cringed at that memory. “Unfortunately, that exercise had to be suspended on account of you… not actually doing any swimming. Now if we were testing your ability to flail wildly, swallow pool water, and sink…”

“I get it, Reno…” Elena said shortly, glaring at him.

“Heh… So, yeah… no points. But ya do get a nice consolation prize.”

“Consolation prize?” she hesitantly asked. She wasn’t sure she wanted anything Reno considered a ‘prize’ for Hell Week…

“Swimming lessons, of course,” Reno stated, writing in a zero on the board. Elena groaned.

“Not sure that qualifies as a ‘prize’ so much as extended torture, if you’re the one giving them,” Rude pointed out.

“Exercise number three,” he said, ignoring his partner’s commentary, “Was stalking detection and avoidance. Hate ta say it, but that was an epic fail. Found ya in less than two minutes.”

He wrote in a zero, but to Elena’s surprise, Rude suddenly grabbed the marker and replaced it with a ten.

“You found her, but you’re the one who ended up handcuffed to a truck,” he stated. Reno glared at him, and wiped away the one he’d added.

“It wasn’t the ‘handcuff Reno to a truck’ exercise. It was the stalking detection and avoidance exercise.”

Rude replaced his one anyway. Reno wiped it off again, and when Rude put it back, Elena couldn’t help but snicker.

“Enough, both of you,” said Tseng, using his own marker to write in a five, “Half points seems fair. She may not have successfully avoided you, but she did successfully detect – and ambush – you.”

Reno snatched the marker back from Rude. “Fine. Half points,” he grudgingly agreed.

“Moving on… Coordination and agility. Like I said afterward, ya did okay. Coulda been better, though. So I’m givin’ ya a six.”

Elena wasn’t too put out by that. Especially after having watched Reno’s effortless performance after she’d finished. She glanced down the list, and flinched when she saw what was next.

“For Leviathan’s sake, Reno… it is most definitely not called the ‘naked time with Reno’ exercise,” Tseng groaned. Elena flushed slightly.

“It is now,” he said with a smirk. This time, Tseng just let it be. “Gotta admit, I was impressed, ‘Lena, even if I did go kinda easy on you. So… ya get a five. Still got a lot of room for improvement.”

“At least there’s no consolation prize this time,” she muttered.

“Ya want one?” he asked, leering teasingly, “It could be arranged…”

“Move on, Reno,” Tseng ordered.

“Tch… You’re no fun, Boss,” he shot back, “Fine. Marksmanship… I think we all agree that one gets full points. Even if we never got around to holding the actual exercise I had planned…”

Tseng and Rude both nodded, and Elena beamed at the acknowledgment.

“Last… and definitely least,” Reno grumbled, “Hand to hand combat.”

“… I still say she deserves an eleven for that one,” Rude teased.

“I gave her a fifteen, initially,” Reno said in mock seriousness, “But then I had to dock her two points for ruining my weekend… and another three after the painkillers wore off…”

Rude sniggered somewhat maniacally, and Tseng rolled his eyes. Elena looked up at him, somewhat guiltily. Reno sighed.

“Aw, come on… Don’t give me that look, ‘Lena,” he said, dramatically, “I forgive ya… this time.”

“And on that note, I declare Hell Week officially over,” Tseng stated, “Which means it’s time to get back to work.” He turned to Elena, smiling warmly. “Well done.”

“Congratulations,” Rude added, “You survived.”

“Which, given your examiner, is no small feat, in and of itself,” the Turk leader joked, “And Reno… I don’t know where you found that board, but put it back before I’m fielding complaints about missing furniture.”

“Yeah, yeah,” the redhead muttered, waving him off. Tseng headed back to the main office, and Rude and Elena started to follow. Reno lingered behind. “Hey, hang back a minute, ‘kay ‘Lena?”

She turned back, a bit uncertainly, as Rude disappeared into the hall, leaving them alone.

“So… here.” He held out a small box to her, wrapped in silver paper with a red ribbon. Elena took the box, smiling shyly, and carefully pulled off the paper. Reno scoffed. “You’re ‘sposed to tear the paper off, ya know. Don’t tell me you’re one of those weirdos that saves it…”

“You can unwrap gifts however you like,” she replied, trying not to laugh, “This is how I do it.”

But just to humor him, she sighed and tore the neatly removed wrapping in half when she was done, shaking her head at his pleased expression. She lifted the lid of the box and, inside, discovered a tiny silver figurine in the shape of a dragon. It’s eyes were made of aquamarine crystal, and the whole thing was only about the size of an egg.

“Tseng gave that to me after I made it through Hell Week,” he said, “It’s… been kind of a good luck charm, I guess. He got it from Veld after his Hell Week. Figured I’d keep up the tradition.”

“Oh…” she said, feeling her eyes growing suspiciously moist as she peered at the detailed little figure, “I don’t know what to say, Reno…” She blinked rapidly as she looked up at him.

“Annnnd… you’re cryin’ again,” he teased, with an exaggerated sigh, “Shoulda seen that comin’ a mile away…”

“Sorry,” she giggled.

“Heh… whatever,” he replied, “I… uh… I probably don’t say it enough, but… I’m proud of ya ‘Lena.”

Elena couldn’t remember anything Reno had said that had ever meant quite so much to her. She moved a step closer to him, and hugged him tight, a moment later feeling his arms wrap around her as well, as he returned the embrace.

~fin~