Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 40: Lira

Reno knelt down and picked up a scrap of fabric. It was soft, pale blue silk… high quality and expensive. Or at least it had been. Now it was little more than a tattered rag. He recognized the patterning on it. It was part of a robe he’d given her for her birthday a few years ago… and it was among Lira’s favorites.

Other articles of clothing lay scattered and similarly destroyed all over her little apartment. Almost nothing had been left untouched. Books torn apart, furniture tossed haphazardly and broken… virtually everything she owned was spilled across the floor. There wasn’t much that was likely to be salvageable. But worse than that, there was no trace of the owner of said possessions… not beyond a shattered mirror attached to her closest door with a few rivulets of blood running down it. The redhead ground his teeth as he touched it.

“Who would do this?” Elena asked.

“Don’t know…” Reno replied, “But when I get my hands on ’em, they’re gonna be sorry they were ever born.”

He blamed himself. Lira had always been so stubborn about continuing on in the slums, in spite of the fact that he would have happily found a place for her on the Plate… Hell, he’d have taken her in himself if he’d had to. Anything to get her out of Wall Market. Maybe if he’d just tried a little harder to talk her into it…

It had always been in the back of his mind that one day, he might find her just… gone. And he’d prayed for years that he would never see that fear actually come to pass.

“Do… you think it’s because she agreed to work for us?”

The redhead saw his partner cringe at the rookie’s hesitant question, and desperately hoped not. Rude tended to take it hard when one of his informants got into trouble on his account. He felt responsible for them… and he did his best to keep them in one piece. On top of that, Lira wasn’t just any informant. She was also a friend. Moreso to Reno, but Rude got along with her pretty well, too. Lately, Reno’d been getting the feeling that Lira may have had more than just a friendly interest in the quiet Turk… though with Lira, it was sometimes hard to tell. She may have just been flirting for the sake of flirting. In her line of work, it kind of became second nature.

“Maybe,” he finally answered, “But it seems kinda unlikely… she only got put on the payroll last week. Hasn’t even filed her first report yet, has she, partner?”

Rude shook his head. “Wasn’t due for a couple more days.”

“But she’s helped us out before…” the rookie was quick to point out.

“Yeah… I know. But come on… Malloy’s dead. Corneo’s still in the dark about who was behind Talia’s rescue. And the info she passed us before that was all pretty benign, even if someone did know about it. Nothin’ someone’d be this pissed off at her about, anyway.” He looked over at Rude, who by then was going through the carnage near Lira’s bed. The other Turk paused suddenly, reaching down for something. “Find anything interesting?”

“Depends… She use?” The other Turk held up an empty syringe that had been lying on the floor next to the overturned mattress. Reno’s eyes narrowed and he shook his head.

“Lira’s no junkie. Fuck, she went outta her way to keep me away from it when we were kids… even the lightweight shit. Always said she was afraid to try it after what it did to her mom.”

“Then I’d say I found something interesting. Whoever did this came here with a plan.”

---

Everything was spinning. Even lying down – she was lying down, wasn’t she? – nothing wanted to hold still. It was making her a little queasy. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it out, but it didn’t seem to help.

On top of that, her head was pounding.

Lira tried to bring her hands to her face to try and soothe the incessant throbbing, but they were stuck… trapped above her head. She groaned and craned her neck, the movement causing a fresh wave of dizziness to wash over her. They were tied together… secured to a heavy metal ring on the wall. She blinked slowly in the partial darkness, trying to get her bearings.

Something felt off. She didn’t feel quite… all there… and the desire to go back to sleep was strong. In fact, the only thing keeping her from giving in to that desire was a sense of foreboding she couldn’t quite shake. This was wrong. Very, very wrong.

She couldn’t remember how she got here… or where here was. And the more she tried, the more jumbled her thoughts seemed to get.

“Lookie who’s awake…” a voice in the darkness called out, cutting through her haze of confusion for a brief moment. The voice seemed vaguely familiar, but Lira couldn’t quite place it… and she couldn’t see anyone in the shadows.

“W-who… ?” she tried, but her own voice seemed distant and far away right now, and she couldn’t quite manage the question she’d meant to ask.

“We’re gonna have some fun later, pussycat… but right now, you’re goin’ back to fantasy land. I got some business to take care of.”

She could just make him out now… but only his silhouette. Moments later, the man moved toward her, close enough that she could see finally his face.

It had been years since Lira had felt truly afraid. A person couldn’t be in her line of work and be squeamish. Some of her clients had peculiar tastes, and she was expected to do whatever they wanted her to do. She’d long since let go of her unwillingness to be used, and with it, a great deal of fear. But as sickening recognition dawned in her dazed mind, and she felt the the sharp stick of a needle, there was one thing she was certain of…

Right now, at this moment… she was more terrified than she’d ever been in her life.

---

“Go home. All of you.”

“Tch… You go home if you want. I’m gonna head back down.”

He hadn’t wanted to come topside in the first place… but Tseng had insisted. The Turk leader had been waiting for them at the station.

Tseng glanced at his watch and shook his head. “Reno… just how do you plan to accomplish that? The last train left ten minutes ago. Unless of course you’re planning on climbing down.”

The redhead opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss. He hadn’t realized it was that late already.

“And besides… Rude already has people asking around,” the rookie chimed in. Reno glanced over at his partner, who nodded.

“You’ll only draw unnecessary attention right now,” Rude concurred.

“And you’ll be of no use to Lira if you’re so tired you can’t see straight when we finally do get a lead,” Tseng continued. “We will resume first thing tomorrow.”

Reno scowled and then sighed, conceding defeat. They were absolutely right. The other women who lived in Lira’s boarding house hadn’t been able to tell them anything useful… Only that they’d heard a lot of noise coming from Lira’s room about an hour before the three Turks had arrived. He’d been exceptionally ticked that not a single one of them had bothered to find out what was going on until after everything was quiet… not that he couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t, but he was still angry about it.

With nothing to go on, even if he did find a way back to Wall Market tonight, there really wasn’t much he could do besides harass the women desperate enough to stay out on the street corners this late… and he doubted they’d have much to tell him. Even if they’d happened to have seen something, the ones who worked outside of the brothels tended to be pretty cautious about discussing anything more than their prices. It made far more sense to let Rude’s little army of spies do the legwork for now. Elena took hold of his arm.

“Come on… Let’s go get some sleep so we can start fresh in the morning.”

“Fine.” This wasn’t an argument he was going to win, anyway. Between Tseng and Elena, he didn’t have a fighting chance at all. He gave in to her quiet demand, and let the rookie guide him towards the exit. “Hey, Rude… someone wakes you up with news, you’d better fuckin’ wake me up, too.”

“Count on it.”

The pair of them made their way out into the parking lot, the others not far behind, and he climbed into his car alongside Elena, starting the engine.

“I’ll drop ya off at home…”

“No, you won’t,” Elena said, firmly, “You’re staying with me. I know you. If I leave you alone, you won’t let yourself get any sleep.”

“Tch… what makes you say that?” he asked dismissively. She was right, of course… but he didn’t have to admit it.

“Because that’s exactly what you’d be doing if it were me. Lira’s important to you.”

Reno glanced over at her as he pulled onto the freeway, heading for her apartment building. She was right about that, too. “What about Nana and your brother? Won’t it be kinda awkward if I’m walkin’ out of your bedroom in the morning?”

“Please. I don’t think either one of them is naïve enough to actually believe that we’ve never spent the night together.” She smirked slightly in spite of the seriousness of the evening’s events. “Although Del would probably like to think that…”

Reno managed a smile. “Yeah… alright. Gotta admit, I didn’t really want to go home alone anyway…”

“I wish you’d tell me what you do want more often. You spend all your time worrying about what I want out of this relationship… but I like making you happy, too.” She paused briefly studying him. “I’m not going anywhere. You don’t have to be perfect to keep me.”

“Just keep remindin’ me of that. It’ll sink in eventually.”

They rode in silence for the rest of the short drive. By the time they arrived, the lateness of the hour and stress of the evening was beginning to catch up to Reno. He followed Elena up to her apartment, nodding minutely as she silently reminded him to keep quiet so as not to disturb her houseguests before opening the door. She needn’t have bothered.

“Everything alright?” Josephine asked softly as they entered.

“Oh, Nana… you didn’t have to wait up for us…”

The old woman waved her granddaughter off. “Of course I did. You don’t really think I could get myself to sleep after the way you two took off out of here, do you? Did you find your friend?”

“No… just a pretty bad mess in her apartment.”

“Looks like she fought back… but whoever took her was determined she was comin’ with him,” Reno added, “No one we talked to saw anything, but Rude’s got people on it. We’re waitin’ for a lead, now.”

“Oh, dear. The poor thing… I don’t know what I could possibly do to help, but if there’s anything,you let me know…”

Reno smiled. He doubted there was any way either Josephine or Del could actually assist with the investigation, and he was sure she knew that… but he certainly appreciated the sentiment.

“Well, at any rate… You two should get yourselves to bed. You both look completely spent.”

Josephine shooed them off to Elena’s bedroom and a few minutes later, Reno found himself enveloped in soft sheets and even softer arms. In spite of the comfort and warmth, though, he was finding it almost impossible to relax. Fingers tenderly stroked their way down his back, again and again, until he had no choice but to give in to them.

“We’ll find her,” Elena murmured gently in his ear. He hoped she was right.

---

She was awake again. She didn’t know how long she’d been awake, but she was definitely awake. The pounding in her head made her very aware of that fact. Things were only just now starting to become clearer… she’d been in and out of dazed consciousness for what seemed like hours, alternating between dreams and hallucinations. Whatever she’d been given, it was potent.

That she remembered clearly. And she could still picture the face of the man who’d shot her full of that shit. It was one she was intimately familiar with…

But she didn’t have time to think about that. Right now, she was alone. Lira groaned softly as she forced herself to sit up, sending the room spinning around her. She grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes tight shut, waiting for the vertigo to subside. When it finally did, she opened them slowly, looking around the room.

There wasn’t much to see, really. She was on an old mattress crammed up against one side of the room, her bound wrists still attached to the loop on the wall. Dusty curtains covered most of a small window on the far side, a miniscule amount of mako-generated light, with it’s signature pale green hue, peeking through the gap… which likely meant she was still somewhere in the slums. Possibly even still in Wall Market, though if that were the case, it was awfully quiet. Even during the daytime hours, when most of her clients were either at work or firmly entrenched in a bar, the redlight district bustled with activity. It was never this silent in Wall Market… not even in the residential areas.

She was still wearing the soft cotton pajama pants and t-shirt she’d pulled on after her shower. The upper part of her shirt, she noted, was stained with blood… probably from her head, if the sharp, stinging sensation in her scalp was anything to go by.

So much of what had happened was a blur right now. She’d been stupid to answer the door without checking who it was first, but she’d been expecting a friend. Instead, she’d had the door kicked violently into her face, sending her tumbling to the floor. After that… it was only bits and pieces. She remembered clawing at her assailant… then being slammed into the mirror so hard it had shattered. Screaming, even though she knew no one was going to come to her rescue. Curling into a ball to protect herself… something she hadn’t had to do since she was little and her father came home drunk and angry at the world and determined to take it out on her. And after that… there was nothing but the drug-induced haze and the memory of her short few minutes of semi-lucidity before being dosed a second time.

Lira pulled at the ropes binding her. If she could just work her way free, that window would make a perfect escape route. It was small, but then, so was she. She could make it. All she had to do was get over to it. When pulling didn’t seem to be making any worthwhile progress, she put her teeth to work as well, tugging at the rope until it finally began to loosen.

Finally, one hand slipped free, and if she’d been certain that there was no one outside the room to hear her, she would have laughed.

‘Nothing to it,’ she thought, as she worked her other hand out of her bonds. She stood up slowly, still reeling a bit from the drugs, and feeling sick to her stomach as the room lurched again. She just had to get out of here and find a safe place to hide. She’d make her way home once she was feeling more herself. Lira staggered to the window and hauled aside the curtains, peering out, and found herself looking directly down into an alley. She suppressed a groan as she realized she was on the third floor.

‘Fuck it… I’d rather take my chances with the fall than with that bastard…,’ she thought, as she pushed the narrow window open. She’d get out, find a place to hide… and then she’d try to contact Reno. He was probably looking for her already. Meika would have called him – and Rude – by now.

Meika had worked at the Honeybee for almost as long as Lira had herself. She was reliable, if nothing else. It was why she’d given the woman Reno’s number in the first place… just in case. She’d passed along Rude’s number, as well, just days ago. And by now, Meika would have have seen the destruction in her room at the boarding house… they always watched Shadow & Sword together on Sunday nights.

Run away, hide, wait for Reno. It wasn’t a terribly creative plan, but it had worked for her in the past. And besides… her brain was still too clouded to come up with anything better. With great effort, Lira hoisted herself up onto the windowsill, and swung her legs over the ledge. It was a tight fit, and for a brief, terrifying moment, she was certain she’d never get past her hips… but a little shimmying and she managed to free herself. Lira clung to the windowsill, easing herself out onto the barely-there ledge outside.

“Oh, no you don’t!”

Lira screamed as a hand roughly grabbed at the back of her shirt, hauling her inside again and slamming her to the floor.

“Bad… Kitty…” her captor chided her, punctuating each word with a sharp kick to her ribs. She lay curled on the filthy wood, helpless and gasping as the wind was knocked out of her. He seized her by one arm and flung her back onto the mattress. “Looks like I’m gonna need to make sure my new pet doesn’t run away…”

Lira moaned softly and tried to sit up again, but he backhanded her hard across the face before she made it very far. She heard him laughing quietly to himself and lifted her gaze, defiantly, to look him in the eye… and was surprised to see him holding up a PHS. Her PHS. She easily recognized the pink case and tiny chocobo charm dangling from it.

“Smile pretty, pussycat… Gotta make sure my old pal Rude recognizes ya.” When she only glared, he laughed and turned the camera on himself. “You ‘n that slum rat friend of yours mighta chased me outta Sector 2, you fuckin’ piece of Shinra shit, but I got another one of yours, Rude. I killed the last one quick… This one’s gonna suffer. So’s every other snitch I get my hands on. And you’re gonna watch ’em all. Think I’ll start by making sure she stays put.”

Lira’s eyes went wide as he hefted a hammer in his free hand…

---

It was only thanks to years of practice that Rude managed to keep his expression neutral. At first, he’d felt a distinct sense of relief when the message from Lira had popped up on his phone. It was early, but he’d wanted to get a head start on things. He’d just walked into the office, prepared to begin sorting through whatever information had been accumulated overnight. The relief died almost as soon as the short video began to play and it became clear that it wasn’t his new informant that had sent the message.

He swallowed sharply and ran it a second time, watching Lira’s tiny image on the screen. Her hair was matted with what was likely dried blood, and more blood dripped from her nose. A dark bruise was already forming under one eye where she’d been struck. She looked frightened, but angry, as the cameraman taunted her – and then him – and Rude couldn’t help but be impressed. Many people would have gone to pieces in a situation like that. The view swung around, revealing a face Rude had assumed he wouldn’t be seeing again.

In retrospect, that was a decidedly stupid assumption to make.

Jericho stared back at him, a slightly mad glint in his eyes, threatening to dismantle Rude’s intelligence network piece by piece, starting with Lira. He watched as the woman’s eyes widened when the former gang leader advanced on her, and though he would have liked to have simply stopped the video as the hammer swung downward, he forced himself to let it play. And to watch. This was happening because of him. It seemed wrong to take the easy way out and look away.

Lira’s pained scream as the hammer connected with her knee, however, made him wince.

“How much do you think she can take, Rude?” Jericho’s voice asked as he filmed her, breathing heavily and trembling in pain. The video cut off there, and the Turk let himself lean back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling and waiting. The others would be arriving within minutes. They’d have to find her fast… or there wouldn’t be anything left to find.

---

When Reno and Elena arrived, they found Tseng waiting for them, a grim expression on his face. Elena stopped short, and looked at him, half-expecting the worst. The redhead seemed to share that concern.

“What happened?” he asked, looking from Tseng, to Rude over at his desk, and then back to his mentor again.

“We know who took Lira,” Tseng replied. It didn’t take Elena’s year and a half’s worth of experience as a Turk to read between the lines there. Whoever had her, the woman was in serious trouble.

“You gonna tell me, or are we gonna stand here starin’ at each other ’til she turns up dead?”

“Rude received a message from Lira’s phone this morning,” the Turk leader began. “The good news is that she’s still alive. Or was so as of six forty-two this morning, when the video was filmed.”

“So what’s the bad news?”

“It was Jericho,” Rude said simply. For a brief moment, Reno seemed to pale slightly… He managed to recover quickly.

“That fucker’s s’posed to be dead.”

“You know as well as I do that we were never able to confirm that,” Tseng pointed out, much to the redhead’s annoyance. “He disappeared… and it was far more likely than not that he was injured… but we never found a body.”

“And now he’s got Lira…” the redhead spat.

“And now he’s got Lira,” Rude confirmed.

“Fuck.”

“You said there was a video?” Elena asked, curious as to why that hadn’t been the first thing they’d shown them when they arrived. Rude visibly cringed, and she got the feeling that he hadn’t been looking forward to this. He pulled his phone from his jacket pocket.

“You’re not going to enjoy this,” he said, handing it to the redhead. Reno thumbed the message open and played the short clip, his expression growing more and more irate the longer it ran. Elena gasped when the woman screamed, turning away instinctively. For a moment, Reno was silent. He wordlessly handed the PHS back to his partner.

“Reno… ?” Elena prodded, not entirely sure what to make of the reaction… or lack thereof.

“I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him,” he replied, voice almost frighteningly calm. “And I’m gonna do it slow.” He looked over at Rude. “You got any idea where that son of bitch is hidin’ out?”

“The Sector 6 ruins.” Really, it was just a guess. But it wasn’t without supporting evidence… One of his more reliable spies from Sector 4 had spoken to a working girl at the Wall Market train station. She’d seen someone go over the wall and into the ruins last night… carrying something heavy.

When most people thought of Sector 6, they thought of Wall Market. But in reality, the redlight district occupied only a fraction of the space beneath the Sector 6 plate. Much of the outlying area, however, was heavily damaged… the result of a reactor accident that had occurred above on the plate years ago – one of the main reasons the Sector 6 plate was still unfinished. The Number 6 reactor had malfunctioned… badly. The resulting explosion had caused a temporary support pillar near the outer ring to collapse, and a large section of the incomplete plate – along with the original Number 6 reactor itself – had plummeted into the slums. It had set construction back considerably. It had also made that part of the slums virtually uninhabitable. There was no running water, almost no intact power lines, and very few of the remaining buildings were structurally sound. Not to mention the risk of mako poisoning that had lingered there for years, even after the reactor had been rebuilt and brought back online. On top of that, twisted wreckage was everywhere, making it difficult to even move through the area. Even in the slums, most people weren’t that desperate… unless they needed a place to hide that no one would bother looking for them.

“Guess I’ll be in Sector 6, then,” said Reno, turning to leave.

“Wait,” Tseng called after him.

“I’m not just gonna sit around up here doin’ nothing, boss.”

“I’m not suggesting you do. But you’re not going alone. Take Elena with you. Meanwhile, Rude and I will delve a bit deeper into the video and do what we can to narrow down the search area.”

---

Reno wasn’t especially talkative as they boarded the train. In fact, they were nearly halfway down before he said anything.

“I promised her I’d never let this happen again…”

“Reno… it’s not your fault…” Elena insisted, though she didn’t think it was going to do much to assuage the guilt he was obviously feeling.

“You sure about that?” he asked, “I’m the one that fuckin’ talked her into it to begin with. Shoulda just left well enough alone. Only way Jericho’d know Lira was workin’ for us is if he’d seen one of us talkin’ to her… and which of us has been down there, setting things up with her for the past couple of weeks? Asshole already knows me, and doesn’t like me much… Had to’ve been me. I never even realized I was bein’ shadowed…”

“Reno…”

“And even if I thought I could worm my way outta responsibility for that… I still fuckin’ promised her I’d never let that bastard hurt her again!”

Elena was a little taken aback at the sudden outburst. She hadn’t known Lira had a history with the Sector 2 gang leader. The redhead’s shoulders slumped a little.

“I wasn’t around to protect her that time, either,” he admitted. “I was over in Sector 3, workin’ a night shift. Lira was doin’ her thing back in Two. Jericho followed her home and forced his way into her place… You’ve met the guy. You can probably guess what he did to her. I didn’t even know about it ’til the next evening when I went to see her and found her curled up in a closet… She was too scared to leave her room, even to get help.”

“What did you do when you found her?”

“Took her to see Sarge, for starters,” Reno replied, “He was an old army medic. Kind of an asshole, but he’d do what he could for the people in the neighborhood who couldn’t afford a real doctor if ya agreed to owe him a favor. Then I went after Jericho.”

“And since he’s still walking around, I guess that didn’t go quite as planned.”

Reno laughed mirthlessly. “That’s one way to put it.” He pulled up the bottom of his shirt, revealing a nasty scar near his naval. She’d seen it before but had never asked… she’d always just assumed he’d come by it on a mission. “He’s the one that gave me that. Just barely managed to stagger back to Lira’s place. She got Sarge to stitch me up, and even then, I was in pretty bad shape for a few weeks. Bastard stuck me pretty deep. Twisted the knife, too.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t try again after it healed…”

“I was gonna. Lira made me swear I wouldn’t risk it. She was afraid I wouldn’t come back a second time, and she was probably right. So I promised I wouldn’t go lookin’ for trouble from the fucker. But I also promised that I’d never let him touch her again.” He let his head lean back against the window, staring up at the ceiling. “She’d been goin’ back and forth about tryin’ her luck over in Wall Market for awhile before it happened… but bein’ under contract with Corneo kinda worried her, so she wasn’t sure about it. Think Jericho’s what finally made up her mind for her. She didn’t want to be in Two anymore. She couldn’t stand it there, and Wall Market was the quickest way out.”

The train rattled to a stop and the redhead sat up. The two Turks stepped out onto the platform, and headed out.

“You know much about the ruins?” Reno asked her.

“… I… know how they got there,” Elena replied hesitantly. She was intimately acquainted with that knowledge. “My dad was inside Number 6 when it happened.” Her father had, in fact, been the foreman for the Number 6 reactor… and he’d been there the day it exploded. He was one of fifty-three Shinra employees who didn’t come home that day.

“Fuck… Sorry, ‘Lena. I didn’t know.”

There was no reason he should have. If it was even mentioned in her background file, it was probably little more than a footnote. She’d only been twelve at the time. The rookie shook her head. “It was a long time ago. Don’t worry about it.”

Reno led her away from the station. The edge of the wreckage was largely hidden behind a cobbled together wall. “If you’ve ever wondered why it’s called Wall Market… there ya go. Corneo had that built so tourists from the Plate wouldn’t have to look at the mess,” he explained, “It’s also his unofficial border. Everything this side of the wall is Corneo’s territory. The rest of the sector is up for grabs… not that many people are interested in goin’ in there.”

“Where do we start?” she asked, looking up at the looming structure. The redhead hoisted himself to the top with ease.

“Up and over. Unless ya wanna go hunt for a door. Not really sure they bothered buildin’ one, though.” Elena scrambled up behind him. When she lost her grip near the top, Reno quickly grabbed for her, hauling her up next to him. “Watch where you’re walkin’. Nothin’ back here’s in real good shape.”

The pair of them carefully lowered themselves down the opposite side and ventured into the ruins.

---

“Run it back a few seconds…”

The video obediently ran in reverse and then began to play again on the large screen on the wall. Tseng shook his head. “Pause it.”

“Looks mako-generated,” Rude commented, picking up on what had caught the Turk leader’s attention.

“Yes… It does.” Much of the Sector 6 ruins were open to the sky and daylight reached the ground… but there were a few areas that were still sheltered by the Plate above. It was in those areas that limited power flowed… remnants of the electrical grid that were still plugged into the same power substations as Wall Market. It was more trouble than it was worth for Shinra to bother disconnecting them, and the draw on the reactors was negligible anyway. They’d simply left them in place. Which meant that in a handful of decimated neighborhoods, the old-style mako street lamps – most of which had long since been replaced with newer technology elsewhere in the slums, save the poorest sectors – still glowed with their characteristic greenish tint.

Just like the light peeking through the curtains on the window.

Rude found and pulled up the energy division’s map of Sector 6. “That would limit him considerably. Power doesn’t reach out too far from Wall Market anymore. Most of those lines have gone dark.”

“Where did your source say he saw someone going over Corneo’s wall?”

The other Turk pointed at the screen. “Here… pretty good hike from Lira’s place, which would make sense. He could have gone over a lot closer to where he took her, but it’s a lot easier to carry an unconscious woman through the back alleys of Wall Market than the ruins.”

“How long do you think Jericho will keep her alive?”

Rude hesitated. Jericho was known for being swift and brutal… but he also had a sadistic streak. “I think he’ll keep her alive as long as he possibly can. Lira doesn’t matter to him. He wants to hurt me. He’ll drag this out until she can’t take any more.”

Tseng shook his head in disgust. He had no great love of torture. It was sometimes a necessity for the Turks… and, he was forced to admit, it was a tool of vengeance he employed himself on more than one occasion for those few who’d done something egregious enough in his mind to warrant it. But save for one particular instance, he’d never taken much satisfaction in causing another human being that much pain… Carson March held that distinction, after what he’d done – and what he’d attempted to do – to Elena. He had suffered, and Tseng had savored every moment of it. He didn’t regret a a thing.

“What we need,” he said at last, “is an aerial view.”

“Jericho will hear a helicopter coming a mile away,” Rude pointed out.

“I know… Which is why I have something else in mind. Come with me.”

---

“Did you hear something?” Elena asked, keeping her voice low. Reno shrugged.

“Probably just shit settling… Surprised half this place isn’t cavin’ in around –” He was cut off by a low growl. “‘Kay, I definitely heard that.”

Elena’s eyes scanned the area around them, but she couldn’t see anything moving among the wreckage. Reno, though, had apparently spotted something she’d missed. He stopped abruptly, one hand going to his electro-mag rod.

“Where is it?” she asked, likewise drawing her weapon.

“To your right… twelve feet up that pile of scrap. On top of the upside down pickup truck.”

The rookie blinked as she zeroed in on the spot, wondering how in the hell the redhead had even spotted the creature. Parts of it were insect-like. It’s head reminded her of a very large beetle. The rest of it, though…

“What is that?” Whatever it was, it certainly didn’t look friendly. The beetle-like horned protuberances merged with an almost human face. A very ugly, deformed face with yellow eyes and squashed, evil-looking features. It stood on all fours, though the body, like the face, seemed vaguely humanoid.

“Ah, hell, it’s just a cripshay,” he responded, relaxing, “Ugly little fucker, isn’t it? You find ’em down here in the abandoned parts of the slums. They like things dark and quiet.”

“Is it dangerous?” she asked still a bit uncertain as to whether or not she should stand down. It couldn’t have been more than three feet long… but it looked decidedly mean.

“Nah, not really. Not unless you run into a bunch of ’em and let ’em surround you. They’re territorial, though, so keep an eye out. Bastards’ll charge ya if you get too close to their nests. They might be small, but they’ll knock ya over.”

They continued on, skirting the cripshay’s apparent den. It stuck with them, watching from a distance.

“Are there likely to be more of them?” Elena asked, watching it out of the corner of her eye. Reno shrugged.

“Probably. Used to be pretty common over in Two… heh… ’til someone figured out they were edible.”

Elena paled a little. “Edible?” she asked, slightly disgusted. “You’re not actually saying… I mean… you didn’t…”

“‘Course I did. Food is food. And cripshays actually aren’t half bad, all things considered. Tastes a little like pork, but kinda on the chewy side. Probably wouldn’t even realize you were eatin’ it if no one told ya.”

“Ugh… Please just stop. I really don’t need to know what they taste like.”

The redhead grinned somewhat evilly. “Trust me, that’s a long way from the worst thing I’ve ever eaten. Wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what Jericho’s been livin’ off of down here, though. It’d save him from havin’ to show his face around Wall Market or anywhere else we mighta been watchin’.”

“No wonder we never heard anything after he vanished…” The rookie shuddered at the thought. The idea of eating something like that creeped her out. She quickly decided to change the subject. “How are we even going to find him in all this?”

“We’re not,” the redhead acknowledged. “Tseng and Rude’ll have a better shot at that. But you ‘n me bein’ down here already is gonna put us in position to move in quick when they finally get around to givin’ us a location.”

Elena blinked in surprise. She’d thought Reno had intended to go on a one-man search and rescue operation until Tseng had ordered him to take her with him. He turned back to look at her, and laughed softly.

“‘Lena… I’m worried as all fuck about Lira… and when I get my hands on Jericho, I plan on showin’ him exactly why it’s a bad idea to fuck with someone I care about. But that doesn’t suddenly mean I’m dumb enough to think I can just walk in here and save her on my own.”

“But last night…” It had take him ages to finally fall asleep. He’d kept her up as well, alternating between complaining that he was stuck there on the Plate while Lira was down below, and worrying that they wouldn’t find her in time. It had taken more than a little effort to calm him down and lull him into a restless sleep.

“Last night we didn’t know anything. Now we’ve got somethin’ to work with.”

Elena shook here head, vaguely amazed at the shift in his demeanor in just a few scant hours. But it probably shouldn’t have come as so much of a shock, when she thought about it. Reno, when given a task to perform, would perform that task with an almost single-minded focus. Without specific direction, though, he tended to shift from one thing to the next, wherever and whenever he was needed… which frequently gave him the appearance of being disorganized. Elena had learned long ago, however, that appearances could be deceiving. The redhead was far from disorganized. It was just that his idea of organization tended to be a little out of the box.

“So… do we just keep wandering around in here until Tseng and Rude contact us?”

Reno smirked and shoved a chuck of twisted metal off of an old, badly chipped, concrete bench. He sat down and patted the seat next to him, inviting her to join him.

“Nope. This is as good a spot as any. Now we sit back and wait,” he replied. He glanced up at the debris pile they’d just passed, and Elena followed his gaze. The cripshay was still eying them warily from its new perch. “Unless you’d like a little snack. They’re not really that hard to catch…”

Elena groaned in disgust.

---

Lira’s fingers gripped the edge of the mattress as she silently willed the pain in her leg to subside. It didn’t… though her knee did give a truly excruciating throb that caused her vision to gray around the edges for a few moments.

He’d left her untied this time… It certainly wasn’t as if she was going to be making another escape attempt any time soon. She couldn’t even bend her leg without being reduced to tears. If she somehow got out of this alive, it definitely wasn’t going to be on her own two feet.

And that was if she managed to survive this.

She wished she’d never agreed to work with Rude. She’d had a bad feeling about it right from the start, but Reno had promised her… promised her… that he’d keep her safe, and she could never seem to say no to him. Not when it came to anything important.

This was the first time in her life he’d ever let her down… even though he likely would have argued the point with her. Reno had always blamed himself if anything happened to her… whether he could have prevented it or not. He’d blamed himself the first time Jericho had attacked her as well, to the point that he’d taken off in a rage, hellbent on revenge. She’d spent nearly a day waiting for him to come back, and when he finally did, he’d very nearly bled out in her arms. How he’d even made it back in the condition he’d been in, she still didn’t know. It was only the fact that Old Sarge had been there, checking on her injuries, when Reno had turned up that he was still alive at all.

Lira laid back, staring up at the grimy ceiling above her, half-wishing that Jericho had given her more of whatever it was he’d used on her before. Anything had to be better than this constant pain… even the mindless high he’d forced on her twice now already. Almost as soon as she thought it, she silently berated herself for it. As a child, she’d watched drugs destroy her mother, and she’d sworn never to make the same mistake. To this day, she didn’t know if her mother was still alive somewhere, strung out and destitute, or if she’d been dead for years… though she strongly suspected the latter.

As far as parents went, she didn’t know if her father was still alive, either… though frankly, she didn’t give a shit if he was. She hadn’t seen him in over twelve years, and if she had anything to say about it, she’d never see that bastard again as long as she lived. He could rot in hell for all she cared, for what he did to her after her mother ran out on them.

Reno had saved her from that life. He’d looked out for her… he’d shown her a kindness she’d convinced herself didn’t exist in other people. And even when he’d found a way out of the slums, he’d refused to abandon her.

The door to her room opened with an ominous creak.

“Ready for some more fun, pussycat?” Jericho asked, a sadistic grin on his face. Lira took a deep, shuddering breath, and tried not to think about how much her leg hurt.

Reno hadn’t abandoned her then. And he wouldn’t abandon her now.

---

“… You’ve finally lost your mind, Tseng.”

The Wutaiian Turk gave a soft snort of derision. “Were it Reno suggesting this, you wouldn’t even bat an eye.”

“We both know Reno’s crazy,” Rude joked, and the Turk leader chuckled softly. “Let me guess… you expect me to go.”

They were standing at the edge of the Sector 5 plate… well beyond the safety barriers that kept the general public from wandering into the Sector 6 construction area.

“Someone has to operate the crane…” he pointed out, motioning to the large piece of equipment. Rude scowled behind dark glasses.

“Since when are you certified to operate heavy construction equipment?”

Tseng smiled slightly. “I never said I was.”

The bald Turk shook his head, and reached over to grasp the thick cable that dangled from the crane’s arm. “Hmph… You might at least try to convince me I’m not going to be plummeting to my death in the next thirty seconds…” he quipped, hoisting himself onto the large hook. Tseng passed him up a set of binoculars.

“I’m fairly certainly I can manage not to kill you,” he replied, before heading for the crane’s cab.

“Yeah… Much better,” Rude called after him. The Turk leader was right though. This was by far the easiest way to get an overhead view of the area without drawing attention to themselves. He just wished Reno were here to do it. The redhead was much better suited for this sort of thing… and heights never seemed to bother him.

Rude, on the other hand, hated them. An aircraft was one thing… but hanging several hundred feet above certain death from a wire attached to a hunk of equipment that hadn’t been used since the Sector 6 budget had run out three years ago? No thank you. It wasn’t exactly what one might call a paralyzing fear… but he still preferred to keep his feet planted firmly on the ground.

He groaned softly as the crane roared to life and Tseng swung him out over the gaping hole in the plate. A few moments later he began to descend. Rude did his best to ignore the stiff wind that was gently rocking his perch, and raised the binoculars to his eyes, scanning the ruined area below.

---

“Why is it just… watching us like that?”

The cripshay was still standing, almost statue-like, on the top of the debris pile, staring at them, unblinking. Every once in awhile, it would let out a low growl. It was a little unnerving.

“Probably pissed we’re still so close to its nest,” Reno replied, “Come on… You hang out in their territory too long they either get aggressive or they start callin’ for reinforcements. And we don’t want either right now.” He led her off, away from the cripshay… This time, it didn’t seem to be following them. As they rounded a pillar of junk, they came upon a huge metal panel half-embedded in the dirt. The number 6 was painted on it in green and white.

“Shit… That from the reactor?” Reno asked staring up at it, “Can’t believe it ended up this far in…”

“No… It’s from a substation,” Elena replied, pressing a hand against the cool metal.

“How do you know that?”

“Every once in awhile, when there’s a power surge or something, the substations go offline. My dad got called in sometimes to reset them on his days off… He let me come with him once.” She laughed slightly. “Well, really, I hid in the back of his truck and tagged along. He knew I was there the whole time, but he still acted surprised when he ‘found’ me.”

“Thought you never did anything you weren’t supposed to as a kid,” he teased. Elena rolled her eyes.

“I was entering my rebellious teenage years,” she said dryly. Reno snickered softly.

“I’m havin’ a hard time picturing you as a rebellious anything, ‘Lena.”

The rookie smirked back at him. “Oh, I was a real handful at twelve. Sometimes I stayed up until nine… even ten o’clock at night.”

“Your poor parents…” He leaned casually against the panel. “Probably spent all those ‘late’ nights readin’ or some shit…”

Elena blushed, a little embarrassed. “Um… actually, yeah.”

“You’re such a fucking nerd…” Reno laughed, grinning widely. His grin faded slightly a moment later. “… Thanks.”

“For what?” she asked, cocking her head in curiosity.

“For keepin’ my mind off Lira while we wait. This woulda sucked if I’d come alone like I’d planned on doin’.”

“She’ll be alright,” Elena assured him once again.

“Hope so… Not sure what I’d do without her.”

She wasn’t quite sure how to take that statement. Reno had told her, more than once, in fact, that his relationship with the woman had always been a close friendship, and a lover of convenience rather than emotional attachment. She’d always wondered, though, if there was more too it than that.

“Don’t get jealous,” the redhead added, breaking in on her train of thought. “Lira’s a lot more to me than just a friend. And I love her… but I’ve never been in love with her.”

“I’m not jealous,” she protested… and she meant it. Though the mischievous smirk on Reno’s face quickly told her he hadn’t really thought she was. “I guess I just have a hard time wrapping my head around you and Lira.”

“She’s… special. You kinda have to understand… we didn’t have anyone else when we were kids. We relied on each other. Protected each other. Took care of each other,” Reno replied, looking as though even he was having some difficulty explaining it. “Findin’ someone like that when you’re completely alone…” He shrugged dismissively. “You had a family growin’ up, ‘Lena… I had to build mine one piece at a time. It came out a little… complicated.”

Elena wrapped an arm around his waist and hugged him against her side. “I think I get what you’re saying.”

“Ya know… I don’t know what I’d do without you either,” he added, and then smirked, “Just so you feel a little less jealous.”

Before she could reiterate that she wasn’t jealous of Lira, Reno’s PHS rang. She rolled her eyes at his slightly smug expression as he answered it.

“Tell me you’ve got some directions for me, partner…”

“Got some directions for you,” Rude obligingly responded over the phone, “In fact, you’re not that far away.”

Reno blinked and scanned the area. “How the fuck do you know where I am?” he asked, incredulously, “Ah, fuck it… nevermind. Just point me towards the asshole.”

“There’s what looks like part of an overpass sticking up… almost vertical.”

“Yeah… I see it.”

“Building just south of there. One corner’s caved in, but the rest is in pretty decent shape. Old mako streetlights outside.”

“Got it… This a guess or you actually seen him?”

“Haven’t seen Jericho, but there’s definitely someone there. Cook fire’s still smoldering out front. We’ll meet you. Wait for us.”

“Understood.” He ended the called and turned to Elena. “Time to go.”

---

Rude held fast to the cable as Tseng slowly raised the hook level with the edge of the Plate and swung him over the unfinished roadway. Gratefully, he stepped down, back on solid ground again. The Turk leader joined him moments later.

“How long will it take us to reach them?”

“Reno and Elena will be there before we even make it to the station.”

“You told him to wait, I assume?”

Rude nodded. Though he had his doubts as to whether or not the redhead would actually listen. Reno generally obeyed orders… but if he felt that waiting was putting Lira in further danger, he was sure his friend would go in after her, backup or not.

“We should hurry,” Tseng continued, apparently coming to the same conclusion. He glanced up at the crane again. “How long would you say that cable is?”

The other Turk bit back a groan. The things he did for his job…

“… Long enough.”

---

Elena’s stomach heaved as soon as the smell hit her. “Oh, dear Shiva… What is that?” she asked, careful to keep her voice down. They weren’t far from their target now, and she didn’t want to give them away… but dear god… It was making her eyes water. It had the sickening stench of rotting flesh, along with an underlying sweet, but acidic odor. It was horrible.

“Cripshays… Someone knicked the stomach when they butchered one. Nasty as all fuck… you don’t even wanna know what they eat,” Reno said matter of factly. “I’ve made that mistake before… You don’t forget that smell…”

They rounded a corner and nearly stepped right into the source of it. Three of the creatures… or what was left of them,anyway… were piled up in a neat stack. Most of the meat had been carefully removed, leaving just the entrails and bones behind.

“Told ya.”

“Ugh…” Elena coughed slightly, and tried to breath through her mouth… which, unfortunately, only seemed to make things worse. She could practically taste it now. Somehow, she managed to clamp down on the nausea. Thankfully, Reno didn’t linger. She followed him to clearer air, though a faint hint of the smell seemed to have lodged itself firmly in her nose for the moment.

“That’s it,” he said quietly, pointing towards a crumbling building some distance ahead of them. “Come on… there’s cover on the other side of the street. We’ll get as close as we can and wait for Tseng and Rude.”

The pair of them slipped behind the crumpled remains of a backhoe, winding their way toward the building. Elena found herself staggering in the rubble several times as she tried to keep up with the redhead. Suddenly, the ground creaked under her feet, and she felt something shift. She froze.

“R-Reno?”

He’d just turned back when it gave way. Elena gave a sharp squeal of panic as she lost her footing, and was sent plummeting down a steep incline in a shower of broken wood and chunks of concrete. She slammed to a halt moments later at the bottom.

“‘Lena?!” Reno called down to her, as loudly as he dared.

“I’m okay…” she responded. Elena picker herself up, brushing away the dust and debris from her uniform and looked up. She’d ended up in a pocket in the wreckage… Reno was peering down at her from the edge of the newly opened hole some twenty feet above her. With an irritated huff, she started to climb back up.

The rookie made it halfway before her handholds began to crumble and she slid back down.

“Hang on… You’re never gonna make any progress like that,” Reno said, as she moved to try again, “Give me a second… I’ll find somethin’ to pull you outta there with.”

Before he could move, however, a pained scream echoed through the still air of the ruins. The redhead’s attention was immediately drawn toward the building they suspected Jericho to be hiding out in, and even from her current position, Elena could see the concern on his face. He glanced back down at her, conflicted.

“Go! I can get out on my own!” she shouted, though she wasn’t entirely confident in her ability to do so… and she was pretty sure he wasn’t either.

“Dammit…” Reno swore, looking again between Elena and the direction of the scream. Another shortly followed.

“Just go!”

Reno hesitated briefly, but then disappeared from her sight.

---

He didn’t waste time trying to sneak in. Reno darted across the road, and straight for the front door, leaving Elena behind. The thought of her trapped down there worried him… but she wasn’t hurt, and she wasn’t in any immediate danger. Lira was.

A cracked wooden door hung half off it’s hinges, and the redhead easily shouldered it aside, stepping into the darkened building. He gave his EMR a sharp flick, letting it extend to it’s full length and moving swiftly deeper into the room. He could just barely hear a quiet sobbing from somewhere inside, and strained to track it. It seemed to be coming from upstairs.

Finding the staircase wasn’t difficult, and he crept silently upwards, listening intently. A third scream from above urged him to quicken his pace, passing the second floor entirely and moving on to the third.

“I fuckin’ love that sound, don’t you, Rude?!” a slightly unhinged voice demanded to know, and for a moment, Reno thought Jericho had heard him coming and mistaken him for his partner. “I’m gonna be watchin’ this over and over tonight. How ’bout you?”

Reno’s eyes narrowed. The sick fuck was recording it again. He was close enough now to hear a metallic rustling, and followed it to a door in the middle of the hallway. He kicked it in with enough force to splinter the old wood.

Lira was hanging by her wrists from one of the thick beams that crisscrossed the ceiling, her toes barely touching the ground. Her clothing was little more than tattered, bloodstained rags at this point, and the reason for that was immediately apparent. Jericho’s hand was clenched around a length of chain that Reno was fairly certain would perfectly match up with the welts he could see on the woman’s exposed skin.

“You’re fuckin’ dead,” the redhead growled, launching himself at the larger man. His mag rod made brief contact before Jericho managed to step to one side, whipping the chain around. It caught Reno in the thigh, sending him to the floor.

“Fucking slum rat,” he muttered. “Shoulda finished you off back at the warehouse.”

He swung the chain again, intending to bring it down across Reno’s face, but the Turk was much too fast for him. He rolled to one side, blocking the blow with his mag-rod. It wrapped around the weapon, and Reno sent a jolt of electricity back through it. Jericho stumbled backwards, dazed and in pain as the redhead jerked his makeshift weapon from his grasp.

“I was thinkin’ the same thing about you, asshole.”

Reno tossed the chain aside and advanced on him, jamming his elbow into the other man’s gut, sending him to his knees.

“Reno, look out!” Lira cried.

The Turk had only a split second to back off as the blade slashed at him. It missed him by a fraction of an inch, and in that moment of distraction, Jericho tackled him, sending the EMR clattering across the room and the pair of them crashing through the drywall. Reno’s head connected painfully with the floor on the other side, and he saw the flash of the blade again.

He twisted an arm free, and caught hold of Jericho’s wrist, forcing his aim off. The knife embedded itself deep in the floor by his head and the man was forced to release it. Instead, a massive hand closed around the fabric of his shirt, lifting him… dragging him. The next thing he knew he was being slammed hard into another wall. Reno kicked out at his opponent, catching him in the gut a second time. The grip on him loosened.

He had to end this… now. Jericho was twice his size, and easily as strong as Rude. He didn’t stand a chance if he let things drag out much longer. With the other man still reeling, the redhead went for the sidearm holstered safely beneath his jacket. Before he could get off a shot of his own, however, one rang out from just outside his range of vision.

Jericho released him, staggering backwards, one hand clutched to his stomach as blood seeped between his fingers.

“You alright?” a voice beside him asked.

“Good timing…” the redhead replied, panting softly as Rude steadied him. Tseng was already moving in to secure the wounded gang leader… none too gently.

“Where’s Elena?” Tseng asked, looking up from his task for a moment.

“Here, sir,” the rookie’s voice called out from the other room, and Reno sighed, relieved she’d managed to extricate herself after all. He quickly shook himself from his daze and pulled the knife from the floor, leaving Jericho to the other two Turks.

“Lira?” he queried, already moving to release her from the ropes that held her suspended. Elena helped him ease her down onto a mattress in the corner. Lira whimpered softly as she was moved. “Hang in there. I gotcha now…”

“I knew you wouldn’t let me down…” she said with a weak smile, “Never have…” A moment later she passed out.

“Rude… Call for medical evacuation,” Tseng ordered, still keeping a close eye on their prisoner, and the bald Turk quickly did as requested. Reno remained crouched beside Lira while they waited.

“Hey… ‘Lena. Do me a favor, will ya?” he said, as more Shinra personnel finally arrived and began preparing the injured woman for transport.

“Sure… what is it?”

“Stay with Lira for me. I got somethin’ to take care of before I head back,” he replied, glaring at Jericho. Rude’s shot had wounded… but either it hadn’t done nearly as much damage as the rookie would have expected, or Jericho was very good at hiding pain. He glared right back at the redhead from his position on the floor.

“Try not to take too long,” Tseng acknowledged, calmly escorting Elena towards the door, following behind the medics. “Rude… back him up. Just in case.”

The rookie cast an uncertain glance over her shoulder as the other two Turks, moved toward their prisoner.

“Sir?” she asked, when they’d reached the ground floor. “What’s Reno going to do?”

“I think you already know the answer to that.”

She shivered slightly… Jericho deserved whatever slow, painful death Reno had in mind for him, and probably much more. But she couldn’t deny that the idea still bothered her.

“You think he deserves mercy?” Tseng queried, curiously.

Elena quickly shook her head. “No… it’s not that.” She wasn’t entirely sure what it was. She’d never been a fan of what Tseng termed ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’… but she understood why the Turks sometimes employed them. This wasn’t an interrogation, though. This was retribution. Reno was going to kill that man… and it wasn’t going to be a quick and painless death.

On the other hand… if someone had done to Reno what Jericho had done to Lira, she couldn’t say with any certainty that she wouldn’t be just as out for blood as Reno was right now. At the very least, the idea would have tempted her. The more she considered it, the more she was certain it would have done more than just tempted. And, frankly, that scared her a little.

“We are all twisted in our own ways. We couldn’t do this job if we weren’t. Eventually you learn to embrace it rather than fear what that makes you,” said the Turk leader, drawing her out of her musings.

“What does it make me, sir?” she asked, with one final glance back at the building before they boarded the helicopter alongside Lira. Tseng chuckled softly.

“It makes you a Turk, Elena.”

---

Elena yawned and tried propping her feet up on the side table. She stayed that way for a few more minutes until she realized that no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, the stupid chair was not going to let her get comfortable. With a sigh, she sat up and stretched out her stiff muscles before glancing over at the figure asleep on the nearby bed.

It could have been much worse. Lira had taken a hell of a beating… and her knee was probably going to require additional surgeries, along with mako regeneration therapy, before she’d be walking without help… but when Elena thought too hard about what Jericho could have done to her – and probably would have eventually – she found herself wishing that she’d asked to back Reno up instead of leaving it to Rude.

The rookie looked down at her watch, and marveled at just how quickly the day had gone by. Technically, she’d been off duty for over an hour now, and hadn’t even realized it. Tseng had returned to headquarters after seeing to Lira’s care at Midgar General… but Elena had remained behind. Officially, she was on guard duty… though Tseng had hardly made it an order. It was really just an excuse to allow her to watch over the woman in Reno’s place without necessitating the extra paperwork for personal leave…

Her stomach growled and Elena suddenly realized she hadn’t eaten all day.

“Hey.”

The rookie jumped at the sudden greeting. She’d gotten used to being ignored. The doctors and nurses were in and out at least once an hour, but they all seemed to be keenly aware who she was and what she was, ostensibly, doing there… and apparently they weren’t anxious to risk annoying a Turk in the name of congeniality. Strangely enough, it didn’t bother her today. Normally, she enjoyed a little small talk to break the monotony… but right now, the pseudo-solitude was somehow preferable.

“How’s she doin’?” Reno asked, closing the door to Lira’s room softly behind him.

“Okay, I guess. They sedated her as soon as we got here and took her straight to into surgery for her knee. She’s been out all afternoon,” Elena replied, standing and walking over to him. She hugged him tight, and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “Dr. Ward stopped by awhile ago. She said to tell you that if any of the staff were slacking off with Lira to let her know and she’d put the fear of Ifrit into them.”

The redhead snickered. “Forget Ifrit… Ward’s scary enough herself.”

“Where have you been all this time?”

“Dealin’ with Jericho took awhile. Then we had a few loose ends to take care of. Thought about just leavin’ those to Rude, but… I knew Lira’s be safe with you around, and I didn’t wanna just dump it all on him.”

“What did you do to Jericho, anyway?” Elena asked, hesitantly. She wasn’t sure she’dfeel better knowing, to be honest. Reno shook his head.

“Asshole’s dead… Beyond that, I’d rather you didn’t ask,” he said, “I don’t want you to have to think too much about that. You’re not ready for it. Not yet.” She flashed him an annoyed and slightly insulted look, and he smiled. “You’ve come a long way, but you’re still a rookie, ‘Lena…” he gently chided, before turning more serious. “And more importantly… I don’t want you thinkin’ I’m some kind of monster.”

She’d intended to reassure him that she could never think that of him, but something in his eyes was pleading with her to just let the subject drop. And if she were honest with herself… she didn’t really want to hear the details. Maybe he was right… maybe she really wasn’t ready to venture into that territory yet.

“As long as he can’t hurt anyone anymore, that’s all that matters.”

Reno looked decidedly relieved to hear her say that… though whatever else he’d planned on saying to her was interrupted as Elena’s stomach loudly protested its lack of meals again. The redhead laughed.

“Go home and get some food. I’m stayin’ here tonight.”

“You don’t want some company?”

“Sure, I do… but, uh… Don’t you think Nana’s probably gettin’ a little worried by now?”

Elena’s jaw dropped slightly. “Oh, no… I completely forgot to call her and Del.”

A grin crept over Reno’s face. “Heh. I kinda figured. Fortunately, I didn’t. And I told her I’d be sendin’ you home, so don’t make me a liar. Somethin’ tells me Nana’s as scary as Ward when she’s pissed off.”

---

When Elena returned to the hospital the next morning, she found one occupant of the room wide awake, and the other passed out on the bed… as was to be expected after yesterday’s events. What she hadn’t expected was that it would be Reno with his face buried in pillow, sound asleep, not Lira. She rolled her eyes and snorted softly in amusement. The redhead was curled up in the horrendously uncomfortable chair, his head resting, facedown, on the bed next to him. Lira was lightly stroking his hair, and shushed her as she entered.

The rookie was careful not to make a sound as she approached.

“How are you feeling?” she whispered.

“My leg’s killin’ me… but other than that, mostly just relieved. Gonna be havin’ some rough nights for awhile, though…”

Reno murmured something unintelligible, and hugged his pillow tighter. Lira bit her lower lip, stifling a laugh. “He’s so cute when he’s asleep, isn’t he?”

“Adorable,” the rookie agreed, grinning.

“For Ifrit’s sake…” Reno muttered, his voice muffled, “I’m not cute and I’m definitely not adorable. Turks aren’t fuckin’ adorable. We’re shit-your-pants intimidating.”

“Says the adorable little Turk who’s talking in his sleep and snuggling a pillow while being petted like a kitten…” Lira teased. Both women sniggered as he finally lifted his head, rubbing at bleary eyes and glaring half-heartedly at the woman in the bed. Then he turned to Elena.

“And aren’t you s’posed to be workin’?” he demanded, in a meager attempt to deflect attention from himself. The rookie leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

“It’s only a quarter after six. I left early so I could stop by and see how Lira was doing,” she replied, still smiling, “And… to give you this. Nana says to remind you that she’s going to fatten you up if its the last thing she does, by the way.” She handed him the basket her grandmother had all but shoved into her hands on her way out the door. Reno raised an eyebrow.

“Thought Little Red Riding Hood was s’posed to deliver food to her grandmother… not the other way around,” he snickered as he lifted the towel that concealed a miniature banquet of baked goods. He managed to wait all of five seconds before giving in and stuffing most of a pastry into his mouth. “Not that I’m complainin’…”

“Feed him and his mood improves instantly…” the rookie commented to Lira, smirking. She giggled softly in response.

“Food and sex… that’s all you really need to keep Reno in line…”

“Ya know… I don’t think havin’ you two in the same room together is a good idea. All it ever seems to result in is you makin’ fun of me…” the redhead groused, setting aside the basket of goodies, and standing up. “And if I’m gonna be takin’ this kind of abuse this early in the morning… I need coffee.”

The pair of them watched him as he slipped into the hallway before breaking down into laughter. After a few moments, Elena finally sobered.

“So… How are you, really?”

Lira sighed and rand her fingers through her hair. “Still fuckin’ terrified. Even knowin’ Jericho’s gone, I keep gettin’ freaked out. That’s why Reno was sleepin’ like that. I kept waking up all night long, just… completely panicked… until I realized I wasn’t alone. If there were more room up here, he’d probably have just gotten into bed with me.” She looked up at Elena apologetically. “I hope that’s not weird for you… I mean, with our history and all…”

“A little, maybe…” she confessed.

“He’d never let anything happen between us, you know…”

“I know.” Elena shook her head, and laughed. “He knows I’d kill him if he did…” she joked.

Lira shifted in bed, grimacing in pain as she turned her leg slightly. “I think he might actually consider that to be gettin’ off easy…” she said, seriously, “He’s terrified of losin’ you, Elena. He really is. I don’t think he’s quite so afraid that one little mistake is going to cost him everything at this point, but he still worries you’re just gonna walk out on him one of these days.”

The rookie settled herself into the recently-vacated chair and sighed. “I wish I could convince him that I’m not…”

“Had the same problem when Tseng snatched him up, ya know…” she said, rolling her eyes, “Every damn time he came to see me, it was just an endless stream of ‘I’m never gonna fit in at Shinra’ and ‘Tseng’s gonna realize what a stupid idea this was’… Took him ages to realize he fit in just fine and no one was gonna be sendin’ him back down to Sector 2. That idiot really doesn’t see his own worth sometimes.”

Elena snickered. “So what finally changed?”

“Nothin’ really… I think it’s just that, every time he made a mistake and didn’t immediately get canned, he got a little more confident.”

“So… basically, you’re saying that all I have to do to make him see I’m not going to dump him is… not dump him,” the rookie said, smirking a little.

“Pretty much,” Lira laughed. She sank back against the pillows, and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. “Don’t worry. He’ll get there.”

“I’m sorry…” Elena suddenly said, causing the other woman to look over at her. “Here you are in the hospital, in pain, having just lived through something… awful… and I’m obsessing over my own stupid problems.”

“Actually, I’m enjoyin’ this,” Lira replied, grinning, “Takes my mind off other things…” She reached for the basket the rookie had brought for Reno and stole one of the pastries, nibbling at it. “Wow… that’s really good. So what was all that about fattening him up?”

“My grandmother. If you’re not at least ten pounds overweight, she’s certain you must be starving to death.”

“Well that could get interesting…” she laughed, and Elena nodded in agreement.

“The last time she cooked for him, I think she almost broke him. I’d never seen Reno have to start turning down food before…”

Lira’s eyes widened slightly. “Neither have I…” She sniggered softly, “I wouldn’t mind witnessin’ that sometime… if only to prove to myself it’s possible.”

“Do you know how long they’re going to keep you here? Nana isn’t staying in Midgar long, but I know she’s going to insist on doing all the cooking while she is here… And I’m sure she wouldn’t mind an extra guest.”

“They haven’t said,” she replied, “But probably a while. And… I’m actually kinda glad.”

“Why?”

Lira stared down at her hands and sighed. “The slums have been my home all my life… I know a lot of people only live down there ’cause they don’t have a choice, but… I always felt like I belonged there. I liked bein’ close to the land. Everything up here just seems so… cold and artificial. That was the one thing Reno never really understood about me.” She laughed softly. “Not even when I’ve tried to explain it to him. He was always just the opposite. Hated it down there, and couldn’t begin to imagine why anyone’d want to stay if they didn’t have to.”

She took another bite of the pastry and shook her head. “I don’t think I want to go back anymore.”

Elena wouldn’t have either. Not after what Lira had gone through.

“Look… Don’t tell Reno that, okay? Things are still really fucked up for me, and I might still change my mind, and… I don’t want to get his hopes up. He’s really wants me to leave Wall Market, and I’m just not sure yet.” she added.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep it to myself,” the rookie smiled. Any further conversation on the subject was quickly put on hold as the redhead himself shouldered the door open, both hands clasping styrofoam cups from the cafeteria.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Lira said, exasperated, “I know you’re a goddamn coffee fiend, but you’re double fistin’ it now?”

“No…” he replied, indignantly, “One of ’em’s for ‘Lena. Unless she doesn’t want it. In which case I’ll just have to suffer through a second cup.” He held one of them out to the rookie, “Here. Cream, no sugar. Which almost makes me wonder why you’d even bother…”

“Thanks,” she said, snickering. “I should get going. If I leave now, I might just make it to the office on time.”

Reno snuck a quick kiss as she stood.

“Come on… I know you can do better than that,” Lira teased, “Now, kiss her like you mean it…”

“Heh… Well, if you insist.” The redhead plucked the coffee cup from her grasp and set it safely next to his own on the bedside table, before smiling impishly. One arm encircled her waist, bending her back, and dipping her low towards the floor as his lips took possession of hers. Elena’s eyes fluttered closed and she eagerly returned his enthusiasm, her own arms snaking their way around him as well. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered how the man could think any woman would willingly give this up… let alone her. Much too soon, the rookie found herself back on her feet again, and Reno reluctantly releasing her.

“So much better,” Lira commented.

“I agree,” Elena said somewhat faintly, blushing. She’d very nearly forgotten they had an audience.

“I live to please.” Reno grinned and returned her drink. “Now go to work. I’ll be in after lunch.”

---

As promised, Reno returned to the office later that afternoon… after leaving Lira safely in the hands of Dr. Ward who, in turn, had promised to make sure she was well-looked after while he was gone. If he’d had the option, he would have stayed with her longer. Lira was doing her best to act like nothing was wrong, but he’d known the woman far too long to fall for it. He could tell when she was scared… and she was definitely still scared.

Much like Elena after Hojo’s pet project had attacked her, she was jumpy and skittish, and hesitant to sleep. And just as with Elena, he didn’t really want to leave her on her own quite yet… but there was only so much ‘guard duty’ Tseng could justify to Heidegger and his stock of personal leave was, as usual, depleted. In the end, he’d just had to trust that the doctor would take good care of her while he was at work.

“Hey… Got a minute?” Rude asked as he was leaving the elevator. Reno turned, surprised to see his partner lingering in the hall.

“You waitin’ for me or somethin’?”

“… Yeah. Wanted to talk to you.”

Reno shrugged and followed him to the lounge for a little privacy. “What’s up?” he asked, planting himself on the couch and looking up at the other man expectantly.

“How’s Lira?”

“She’ll be okay… Kind of a mess right now, though.”

Rude sighed and leaned back against the door. “It’s my fault Jericho went after her. I never should’ve asked you to recruit her for me.”

“Tch… Don’t go hoggin’ all the blame to yourself on this one. ‘Least some of it’s mine. I’da told you to go fuck yourself soon as you suggested it if I’d thought anything like this was gonna happen,” Reno replied, “Face it, pal… We both got a little complacent.”

“…”

The redhead snorted softly. “Would ya relax already? I fucked up just as bad as you did. Ya can’t seriously think I’d put it all on you…”

“…”

“I’m not ticked off at ya… Not any more than I’m ticked at myself, anyway. We’re good, ‘kay?”

“… That’s a relief,” Rude said at last, “You didn’t say much after you finished with Jericho.”

Reno rolled his eyes. “Come on, Rude… You’re family.” Rude smiled faintly and joined him on the couch.

“Anything I can do?”

“Nah, not at the moment. Might have somethin’ for you when they let her out, though.”

One of Rude’s eyebrows rose in curiosity. “What are you planning now?”

“Gonna try ‘n talk her into staying topside again. I don’t want her goin’ back there, man. I don’t care if Jericho’s not around, it’s just not safe in the slums. Not even Wall Market, these days,” Reno replied, “… And, anyway… she shouldn’t have to be sellin’ herself to get by. I’d take care of her if she’d just fuckin’ let me, but she’s more stubborn that I am sometimes. So… ya know… if you could maybe ask around and find out what departments are hirin’… Assuming she agrees to stick around.”

“Not a problem.”

“Thanks.” The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes. There wasn’t much of anything left to say, but neither of them was eager to switch back over to work mode just yet. It was Reno who finally pressed forward. “Come on… the boss is probably wonderin’ where the fuck we’re hidin’.”

Rude shook his head. “He’s out. Took Elena with him, too.”

“Out where? We get an assignment while I was gone?”

“Junon… Rufus sent for him. Told him to bring a copilot, so I’m guessing Tseng will be sending Elena back without him.”

The redhead went still, looking up at Rude in no small amount of horror. “She’s flyin’ solo again?”

Rude shrugged. “Best guess. Not like she hasn’t done it before…”

“Once!” Reno nearly shouted, looking decidedly nervous all of a sudden, “She’s done it once! Why the fuck didn’t he take you with him if he knew he was stayin’ behind?”

The bald Turk couldn’t help but snicker quietly before answering. “Probably because she’s only done it once. Needs to log more solo hours to qualify for her certification.”

Rude patted his friend comfortingly on the shoulder as Reno groaned and buried his head in his hands. “Fuck, man. Like the last forty-eight hours haven’t been stressful enough. You tryin’ to drive me to a nervous breakdown or some shit?”

---

Elena returned shortly before quitting time, sans Tseng. Though whatever the pair of them had been up to in Junon, she apparently had been sworn to secrecy and wasn’t talking. Her only response when he and Rude had asked had been a wide grin.

“I’m gonna getcha to talk, you know… You’d save us both a lot of time and aggravation if you’d just spill it already.”

“Sorry… Tseng made me promise. And anyway, you’ll find out tomorrow when he gets back,” she teased, as she pressed the elevator button. Reno scowled and mentally ran through his options.

“If you don’t tell me… I won’t do that thing you like so much tonight,” he said at last, folding his arms triumphantly across his chest.

Elena elbowed him. “You won’t be doing that tonight anyway… not with Nana and Del in the next room.” She smirked at him. “And you like that just as much as I do… so who are you really denying here?”

The smug look dropped from his face immediately. “Fuck…” he muttered. The elevator chimed and let them out onto the parking deck. “Wait a minute… that doesn’t mean we’re not doin’ anything ’til they leave, does it? ‘Lena… they’re here for two fuckin’ weeks!”

The rookie shot him a slightly sadistic grin. He moaned softly in despair. Elena laughed, and kissed him on the cheek.

“Oh, quit being so melodramatic… It won’t kill you.”

“It might…” he snarked back, pausing beside her car and opening the door for her with a heavy sigh. “Fine… But I’m still allowed to come over for dinner, right?”

Elena giggled. “Reno… I’m not banning you from my apartment.”

“Tch… Just from the bedroom.” He put on his best pout, hoping to get her to reconsider. Apparently, she saw right through it.

“Oh, knock it off…” she laughed, climbing into her car. She flashed him a coy smile. “Besides… I was thinking maybe we could… um… go out for lunch a couple times this week instead.”

The redhead blinked, surprised. “Just to be clear on that, you’re definitely not talking about hittin’ up a nice restaurant, right?”

“I’ll see you at dinner. Nana’s making… well, probably everything, since she know you’re coming,” she replied, a smirk firmly embedded on her face as she shut the door and started the engine.

“‘Lena?! Come on, ya can’t just imply somethin’ like that and then take off on me!” he called after her as she pulled out of the space.

Her only response was a wave from the open window.

---

Reno poked his head into the room, his gaze falling upon the figure lying perfectly still in bed. He was expected for dinner with Elena and her family… but there was something he had to do first.

“Reno?” a voice called out to him.

“Heh… Thought you were sleepin’ for a minute there…”

Lira yawned and shook her head. “I think I’m s’posed to be. I was waiting up for you.”

The redhead slipped into the room, and dropped into the seat by her bed. He picked up her hand, mindful of the IV line that was attached a little ways up her arm, and placed a teasing kiss on her knuckles. “Ya miss me or somethin’?” he grinned.

“Just a little,” she replied, returning the smile. “It’s after visiting hours, you know…”

“Tch… Like ta see ’em throw me out.” He took a breath, and slowly let it out. At the best of times when he’d brought this up, she’d been dismissive… at worse, they’d argued. “We need to talk.”

Lira’s grin slowly shifted to a more pensive expression. “About what?”

“You’re not goin’ back down there, Lira. I can’t fuckin’ let you. I’ll find ya somethin’ up here on the Plate, and you can come stay with me ’til we get shit sorted out. But I can’t watch you go back.”

“Reno…”

The Turk shook his head. “No. I’m not debatin’ you on this anymore. The slums are too dangerous, and I can’t keep you safe if you’re down there. I know you’ve got your reasons for wantin’ to stay, but for fuck’s sake, Lira… he coulda killed you. He almost did!”

“Reno, will you just –”

“Please…” he said, pleadingly, “Just do this one thing for me…”

Lira smiled softly and twined her fingers with his. “I’m not going back.”

The redhead’s jaw dropped slightly and for a moment he couldn’t seem to form any kind of response. “… What?” he finally managed, blinking in utter shock.

“I’m not going back,” she repeated. “I was already thinkin’ about not goin’ back soon as I woke up here. And… well… Your friend. Dr. Ward? She told me somethin’ a little while ago that kinda made up my mind for me.”

Reno swallowed sharply. “What’d she tell ya? Nothin’s wrong, is it?” he asked. Ward had assured him her leg would heal with time and proper treatment. Was there something else? She couldn’t be sick… could she? Before he convinced himself that must have been it, Lira laughed.

“For Shiva’s sake, Reno… Quit lookin’ at me like you think I might be dyin’…” she said, giggling.

“… You’re not, right?”

Lira rolled her eyes at him. “No. I’m not dyin’.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t fuckin’ scare me like that! … So then what’s goin’ on? I’ve been tryin’ to get you to say that for ten years. Why the sudden change of heart?”

She gently caressed the back of his hand. “It’s not that I don’t want to go back. I mean… I kinda don’t right now, actually, but I think that’s more the trauma talkin’ than anything else. But even if I decided I wanted to… I can’t. Not now.”

“Why not?” the redhead asked, thoroughly confused. Lira pulled his hand closer to her, and placed his palm gently against her abdomen.

“Because the slums are dangerous… and I’ve got someone else I gotta think of now…” she said, letting a small smile spread across her face.

~fin~