Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 29: Disappearing Acts

Rude made his way up the narrow staircase that led to Junon’s mako cannon control room. It had been fairly easy to confirm where Reno would eventually come out… but he’d had to stop and ask directions more than once to actually find the place. It was hidden away in one of the more secure sections of the command tower. He’d gotten more than a few suspicious looks from security, as well… though, they’d left him alone once they’d realized who he was.

At the bottom of the stairs, he was confronted by yet another guard.

“This is a high security area. No unauthorized personnel. I need you to leave, immediately,” he stated, one hand already on his gun. Rude held up his credentials.

“I’m authorized,” he replied. The guard blinked in surprise, obviously not expecting that sort of reaction… and then paled slightly when he looked a bit more closely at Rude’s ID card and scurried to the side, out of his path. The Turk resisted the urge to chuckle as he pushed open the door and stepped into the control room. He did occasionally enjoy seeing people do that. It was a power he hadn’t been accustomed to prior to joining the Turks and one that was extraordinarily useful.

Rude had largely been a nobody back in Rocket Town. Quiet, shy, keeping to himself… Even when he’d gotten older and started flying for his dad’s freight company, no one had really paid him much attention and they certainly didn’t trip over themselves to get the hell out of his way. His promotion to the Turks had changed that overnight… though it had taken him quite a awhile to actually get used to it.

Beyond the door, a small crew was manning the control room. From what he’d been told, there were people at the post round the clock in case the cannon was ever needed. A few of them eyed him curiously, as he made his way inside and walked up to the officer in charge.

“I’m Corporal Mitting, sir,” she greeted him, saluting, “Base Security said we might get a visit from the Turks. How can I help?”

“First… I’m looking for the cannon’s loading bay.”

A slightly confused expression crossed the young woman’s face, but it quickly passed. “Er… yes, sir. Right this way.”

She led him through a set of reinforced doors and into a large chamber, the ceiling of which was lined with the same sort of crane system he’d seen back in the munitions building. One full wall of the room was slightly rounded, bowing out into the otherwise largely empty space. A sliding hatch was positioned towards one end… and Rude could only stare as he realized that he was looking at the barrel of the cannon itself. A small part of it, anyway. He’d never realized just how big it really was up close.

At the far end of the room were bright blue barrels filled with, according to the labels, industrial lubricant… not the first thing he would have expected to find down here… but then, the cannon was just a big gun, really. Guns had moving parts and those moving parts needed to be oiled from time to time.

“Where are the shells brought in?”

“Over here, sir,” Corporal Mitting, replied, directing him to an opening that was the twin of the one down in the munitions building. “They’re loaded in by crane down below and come up on a conveyor system. Then we load them out with our crane, and move them over to the chamber.”

“Any other way to move them?”

“We have a hand dolly for emergencies,” she said, gesturing to the aforementioned equipment sitting over in one corner. It was a hefty little cart sporting what looked like a hydraulic lift. “You wouldn’t want to try moving them by hand, though, if that’s what you’re thinking. It would take four people, minimum, and even then… they’re extremely difficult to maneuver because they’re so large and heavy.”

Rude frowned. “Would there be any way to get one out of the room once it was brought up from storage?”

The corporal shook her head. “It wouldn’t even fit through the door. Besides the conveyor, there’s only one way that I can think of, sir. Fire it out of the cannon.”

Rude grimaced as he realized that this was a bust. Even if the stolen shells had been pulled out of the munitions stores via the crane, they’d still be here. There was no other way to get them out of the loading bay. They were back to square one.

“Don’t s’pose anyone’s thought to check the chamber,” a voice echoed from the dark hole in the wall, and the unsuspecting corporal jumped in fright. Rude snickered. Sometimes it could be blatantly obvious who Reno’s mentor was. He occasionally liked to take the opportunity to scare the ever-living crap out of unsuspecting personnel by appearing out of nowhere… though he wasn’t nearly as good at it as Tseng could be. The redhead emerged from the tunnel, brushing himself off. “Heh… That thing gets to be kind of a tight squeeze in a few places.”

“Find anything?” Rude asked, ignoring his unusual method of arrival.

“… Maybe. Just not quite sure what, or if it’s even related to the theft. You?”

Rude shook his head. “If they wound up here, they’d still be here,” he replied. “Hmph… unless, like you said, someone loaded them into the cannon.”

“Never hurts to check…” Reno replied with a shrug, turning to Corporal Mitting, “You wanna open that up for us?”

She hurried over to haul open the hatch, and a moment later, the redhead sighed at the sight of the empty space inside.

“Well… it was worth a shot, anyway. Ifrit forbid this be an easy assignment.”

---

Rufus gazed out from the viewing window near the top of Fort Condor, looking down at the plains below. The little outpost was quite remote. There were a handful of small towns within a day’s walk or so, but by and large, it was uninterrupted terrain all the way to the southern ocean. The coastline was clearly visible in the distance, though the morning fog had yet to fully clear. He couldn’t see much beyond the shore.

“Sir?” Tseng queried, reappearing from his brief meeting with the fort’s commander. Rufus glanced over at him. “If you’re ready, your… inspection… of the facility can get underway.”

The vice president didn’t miss the emphasis on the word. Tseng was clearly under no illusion that this visit was for any reason other than to get him the hell out of Midgar for a few hours. Still… he had to make it look plausible. If his father checked in on him and learned that he’d spent the morning sitting around doing nothing, rather than joining his would-be “love interest” for brunch, he’d never hear the end of it.

“Tell me, Tseng… what do you think of this little outpost of ours?” he asked, and Tseng smiled faintly at the obvious attempt at making this seem less like the younger man hiding out, and more like a legitimate company endeavor.

“I think that, if one has a distinct fondness for solitude, it would be absolutely perfect,” he chuckled.

“Mmm… It is quite isolated, isn’t it?” Rufus agreed, “That’s by design, of course. Fort Condor is meant as an emergency backup power supply for Junon. Naturally, we still sell the energy produced by the reactor, but were it necessary, Fort Condor could take over for Junon’s reactor at a moment’s notice.”

“I… was actually not aware of that,” Tseng replied as they exited the viewing level and strolled around the short walkway to the reactor entrance. The Turk opened the door and escorted Rufus inside.

“I only learned of it myself when we were on the brink of war with Wutai and the Board was discussing potential weak points that would need to be secured. Apparently it was Father’s idea, years ago, when Shinra Company was still constructing Junon,” he said, “He does know how to plan ahead… I’ll give him that much.”

Tseng chuckled. “Reconsidering your father’s… advice… that you find a young lady, sir?”

“Absolutely not,” Rufus returned, scowling, “I will not be bullied into a relationship for the sake of passing my father’s genes on to the next generation. I don’t like children. I don’t want children. I won’t entirely rule out the possibility of that someday changing, but I will not be having one any time soon just to appease him.”

“Am I to be practice for the eventual conversation you intend to have with you father on the subject, then?” the Turk lieutenant inquired, and Rufus paused for a moment. That hadn’t been his intention, truth be told… he’d merely felt the need to vent. But now that he brought it up…

“… Would you be willing be subjected to my vitriol for the sake of practice?” he asked, curious, and the Turk laughed.

“Rufus… There are few things I wouldn’t be willing to endure for your sake. If you need a sounding board, I’m available.” He smirked slightly. “Though… it occurs to me that Reno might actually make a better stand in for your father. You rather seem to enjoy insulting him.”

“Hmph… You will stop at absolutely nothing to get me to accept the slum rat as your equal, will you?” he said, rolling his eyes. Tseng shook his head.

“I merely wish that you had others you could talk to like this. Others you trust to the same extent you trust me. You so often berate your father’s choices when it comes to those he surrounds himself with, but you seem to ignore the fact that most of them have known him for years. He considers many of them trusted friends. Don’t forget… one day you will be running the company, and capable as you are, you can’t do it all on your own.”

Rufus snorted softly and turned to look at the Turk. “Fishing for a spot on my future executive board, Tseng?”

“Sir… you couldn’t pay me enough to do that job,” Tseng deadpanned. “I’m just saying… now is the time to begin laying the groundwork for when you eventually take over for your father. Because others are almost certainly already gathering allies of their own, and I would not want to see you outmaneuvered and have to fight for your own birthright.”

The Shinra heir rolled his eyes. “As if I have anything to fear from the incompetent idiots Father has placed on the board…”

“Rufus, if you’ll pardon me for being blunt… you are exceptionally intelligent and capable, but if anything will be your downfall, it’s complacency.”

The younger man paused in his bid for the next chamber of the reactor. “You… think me complacent?”

“I think that you should be very careful to avoid becoming so. It never ends well… for anyone.”

Rufus nodded, considering the advice. He had to admit… Tseng wasn’t completely out of line. He did, after all, have a bit of a history of thinking himself to be somewhat… untouchable. The war with Wutai and the numerous attempts to capture and/or assassinate him had very quickly divested him of that notion, and as a result he was far more cautious these days when it came to his personal security. Perhaps, this time, he should take his friend’s advice sooner rather than later…

Tseng was… probably the only person alive who Rufus truly believed acted in his best interests. Others all too often had ulterior motives that primarily benefited themselves… his own father included. But Tseng had always been beyond reproach. To his knowledge, he had never lied to him. He had never used him for personal gain. He seldom so much as asked a favor of the younger man, and when he did it was usually almost comically trivial by Rufus’ standards. And that was why he trusted him so easily and so completely. He was the one person on the planet who had never betrayed him, and who the younger Shinra would have been legitimately shocked to his very core if he ever did.

Perhaps it wasn’t wise to have only one such ally. Though finding others would be… difficult. As much as it pained him to admit it… the only other person who even came close to measuring up to Tseng was the Ramuh-be-damned slum rat… a reality that irked him to no end, as giving Reno credit for anything was almost physically painful. Still, though he might not especially like the redhead ninety-nine percent of the time… he could honestly say that he did trust him.

“Sir?” Tseng prodded, and Rufus suddenly realized that he’d been standing in silence for nearly a full minute.

“Let’s get this farce of an inspection over with, shall we?” the vice president said, finally giving up on the rather pointless charade. “And then, I think, an early lunch in Kalm. I’d very much like to hear more about your opinion on those who are, as you put it, ‘almost certainly already gathering allies of their own’… and what I should do about it.”

---

Reno poked at his lunch, too deeply in thought to really care much about what he was eating. Occasionally, he reflexively lifted the fork to his mouth and took a bite, hardly even noticing.

They’d come up empty in the loading bay. And then, they’d come up empty back in the munitions building. It was pretty damn obvious those Ifrit-forsaken shells were only leaving one of two ways… either they went up the conveyor belt to the loading bay, or they left the same way they came in. The loading bay was a dead end. Literally. Once they were up there, the only way out was via the cannon itself. Logic would therefore dictate that they must have been removed via the munitions building’s main freight elevator just like everything else coming into or leaving the facility… but they’d checked it thoroughly. Not only were there multiple cameras pointed at the damn thing and not a shred of footage of their thieves… it was connected directly to the Junon supply depot. Even if the thieves had managed to get the shells out via the elevator, they wouldn’t have been able to take them very far beyond that without being noticed. Supplies were always coming and going from Junon. That building was never unmanned or unguarded.

Hell… even if they’d enlisted inside help, there was just no way in hell they wouldn’t have been caught on at least one camera, and Viridia’s men had been combing though the footage since before he and Rude had arrived in Junon that morning. There was nothing.

“Tch… What are the odds the damn things fell into a black hole, or somethin’?” he asked, shaking his head.

“Pretty slim,” Rude replied. Reno sighed and looked at the blue stain on his fingers. He’d thought the paint might have had something to do with the theft at first… but he hadn’t been able to make any kind of connection between the two in the three hours or so he’d been intermittently thinking about it. For all he knew, some maintenance guy had just gotten a little sloppy.

“We’re missin’ somethin’, man. We gotta be. There’s no way in fuck these Zenshou guys are that good.” He pressed his palms against his face, and groaned in frustration. “Okay… Let’s start over. If you were gonna steal a giant goddamned bullet from a secure military facility what’s the first thing you’d do?”

“Reevaluate my life choices,” Rude replied. The redhead opened his mouth to reply, but instead merely ended up laughing. Rude cracked a teasing smile in response.

“Heh… Yeah, okay. I think I kinda needed that,” Reno snickered, “I just don’t get it, though. These fuckers are huge. How the crap do ya get one of ’em, let alone two, off base with not one single goddamn person seein’ ya do it? It’s… fuckin’ impossible.”

“Hey, I’m just the muscle,” Rude joked, “You’re the brains of this operation.”

The redhead snorted a laugh, and then sighed, resting his chin on one palm.

“Think the position might be open if you’re lookin’ to move up… ’cause I got nothin’. I just don’t see how it could be done. Every time I think I got something that’s even remotely possible, I run into the fact that there’s a literal fuckin’ army guardin’ this place. There are eyes everywhere. Cameras everywhere. And after what happened at the treaty signing, security’s tighter than ever. Not to mention, we’re like five hundred feet in the air.”

“Three hundred… not that it makes much of a difference in this case.”

“There’s no goddamn way in the Nine Hells someone could take those things off base. There’s just no fuckin’ way. They’d have to be some kinda magician.”

“Doubt a few card tricks and little sleight of hand would help them pull this off. Can’t exactly hide ’em under your hat, after all,” Rude replied.

“Yeah…” Reno sighed. Besides… magicians were all just professional bullshitters anyway. Making you look left when you outta be looking right…

The redhead suddenly blinked and sat up. He glanced down at his fingers again, rubbing at the blue paint… and grinned.

“Holy fuck…” he breathed, as an idea began to form in his mind. He shook his head. “No… No way they’re that ballsy.”

“… You gonna share?” his partner asked, “Or do I need to spontaneously develop psychic abilities here?”

“They didn’t steal ’em,” Reno said, still looking at the blue paint, “They hid ’em. They knew they couldn’t get ’em out, so they hid ’em and they’re waitin’ for an opportunity to get ’em off base. The shells are still here somewhere.”

That had to be it. There was just no other way. Take the shells. Hide them somewhere. Be patient. Wait until the coast was clear. Wait… until Junon stopped looking right and started looking left, instead.

They were playing the long game.

“Where?” Rude asked, perplexed.

The redhead’s eyes went wide as he realized exactly where they might be. Reno held his hand up, displaying the bright blue stain.

“Under their hat,” he said, grinning.

---

Tseng smiled slightly as he watched Rufus enjoying the warm spring sunshine of Kalm. The younger man always seemed far more relaxed in the little village… which was probably why his visits to it were so frequent. He loved their various festivals and fairs, and had ever since he’d been a child.

At present, they were having lunch at a small cafe, seated at a table outside on a patio overlooking the main square of the town. Tseng had opted, at Rufus’ insistence, to join him in partaking rather than merely standing guard over the vice president, and as he’d had a rather light breakfast, he’d agreed.

“Now, then,” Rufus suddenly spoke, “I believe, we had been discussing my complacency and the scheming of my father’s so-called ‘friends’ on the board…”

Tseng sighed softly at the dismissive tone.

“Sir…”

Rufus held up a hand. “Rest assured, I am taking you seriously on this, Tseng. I really would be very interested to know who you think I should keep an eye on.”

“I wouldn’t wish to speak ill of Company executives, sir,” the Turk lieutenant replied, and the younger man snorted.

“Please. I’ve heard some of the names your pet slum rat calls that fatass nitwit Father put in charge of your parent division. I suspect all of the Turks, yourself included, have plenty you wish to say… even if you don’t generally have the audacity to do so.”

Tseng frowned. “I clearly need to have another little chat with Reno about self-censorship when we return to the office…”

Rufus suddenly smirked. “Is it true that you wash his mouth out with soap for each infraction?” he asked, almost joyfully, and the Turk was forced to chuckle. Word had gotten around the office about that quite some time ago, but he hadn’t been aware that it had reached the vice president’s ears, as well.

“Not… every infraction, sir. He’s improved significantly since I began using that particular method of correction. I’m willing to let his more harmless slip-ups slide these days..”

The younger man laughed, but quickly composed himself.

“Your candor will go no farther than myself… You needn’t worry about them finding out.”

“Then, sir… in my opinion, the greatest threats to you are probably Heidegger and Scarlet.”

Rufus rolled his eyes. “Those two? Please. Heidegger is utterly incompetent. Even Palmer has more brains than that idiot. And Scarlet is nothing more than a gold-digging whore.”

“Heidegger is also intimidating and occasionally abusive, with a very large department working under him. Fear can be a powerful motivator,” Tseng pointed out, “The General Affairs department oversees not just the Turks, but also the day to day operation of building security. And while not directly under his command, he has cultivated friendships amongst the leaders of SOLDIER, as well. As for Scarlet… she is a born manipulator, and power-hungry to an extreme. I doubt she even thought twice about sleeping her way onto the executive board. She will do whatever it takes to hold onto the power she has gained and to amass more. She also has an established a history of simply… taking what she wants.”

He was quite sure that he hadn’t been able to keep the angry growl entirely out of his voice, because Rufus curiously raised an eyebrow at that last sentiment. The young executive leaned forward, elbows resting on the table as he steepled his fingers before him in a gesture that Tseng was quite sure the younger man had actually picked up from himself over the years.

“I am admittedly not as well trained as a member of the Turks in the art of observation… but I know barely repressed anger when I hear it. Just what did she do that managed to provoke you, of all people?”

Tseng sighed. He should have been more guarded. Reno had been very clear as to his feelings about discussion of this matter. It wasn’t Tseng’s place – at all – to bring yet another individual into the loop on the situation. But… Veld wasn’t prepared to do much of anything official about it, and he himself didn’t have the authority to go against his commander’s orders. Rufus, on the other hand, was under no such stipulation and might be willing to help… though Tseng was hesitant to ask, given what the fallout might be. Still… it might be to their benefit at some point if he was, at least, aware of the generalities of the situation.

“… It’s… something of a delicate subject, and very much a personal matter for one of my Turks. I’m not at liberty to discuss it in detail. Suffice it to say that Scarlet has been… making unwanted advances… towards a member of my team to the point that Veld and I have decided to keep them as far away from one another as possible for the time being.”

Rufus frowned. “I see. And there’s been no formal complaint… why, exactly?”

“For one, Veld doesn’t wish to bring Scarlet’s wrath down upon the entire department,” Tseng replied. And while he personally would have liked nothing more than to go scorched earth with the woman, he understood his mentor’s predicament. Scarlet was an executive. It wasn’t as if she’d be fired, or even particularly severely disciplined. What’s more, she was most definitely the type to retaliate, and with her position in the company, her revenge could potentially be very painful for them all. There was also the little matter of her still being in Heidegger’s good graces – and quite possibly, still in his bed, from time to time. If she took her grievances to him, things could get very messy indeed.

“For another,” he added, “The individual in question would prefer the situation not turn into the latest subject for the company gossip mill.”

“Would you like me to step in on your behalf as I did with Hojo?” Rufus queried, and Tseng smiled.

“I appreciate the offer, sir… and if things fail to improve, I may still take you up on it… but I fear that right now, it may ultimately do more harm than good. Veld and I will figure something out for the long term. In the meantime, we will simply continue to institute a policy of avoidance.”

“As you wish,” the vice president replied, with a dismissive wave. “Though frankly, if your long term solution turns out to be hurling her bodily off the edge of the Plate, I wouldn’t be especially devastated… nor would I tell anyone.”

The Wutaiian Turk chuckled softly.

“Your discretion is very generous, sir,” he said, a hint of teasing in his voice.

---

“Remind me… why are we doing this?” Rude asked as he followed the redhead through the somewhat claustrophobic passageway. The conveyor belt led upwards at a fairly steep angle, and at present, he had to crawl on his hands and knees because the ceiling was too low for him to stand and stooping had become uncomfortable in the extreme. Reno, too, was creeping along their path, though he didn’t really seem to mind the cramped space. Of course… he fit a lot better.

“‘Cause I got a hunch…”

“Hmph… I’m going to have a hunch by the time we get out of here. In my back,” the bald Turk replied, “But I meant, why are we going this way where there’s a perfectly good staircase in the command center…?”

“‘Cause if I’m right, I don’t wanna tip ’em off yet. If the shells really are still here, there’s a pretty good chance the thieves are still here, too. We play our cards right, maybe we can get our shit back and nab the fuckers,” the redhead said.

“Hmph… over-achiever,” Rude teased, “So… you ever gonna tell me what this hunch of yours is?”

“Come on, Rude. Where’s the best place ta hide somethin’?” Reno asked, glancing back at his partner.

“I can only assume it’s in a the loading bay of a giant cannon, since that’s where we’re heading…”

Reno snickered as he finally reached the top. “Man… who turned your snark meter up to eleven today?”

Rude rolled his eyes and dragged himself out of the tunnel and into the larger chamber at the top, grateful to finally be able to unfold himself. He shook his head.

“You’re always about six steps ahead of me when it comes to this kind of thing. Would it kill you to just tell me the answer once in awhile?”

The redhead flashed him a grin. “Best place in the world to hide anything is in plain sight… ‘n I think that’s exactly what they did.” He walked over towards the collection of lubricant barrels stacked in pairs in the corner of the loading bay. “I’d say two of these things stacked on top of each other’d be just about the right size…”

Rude blinked and hurried over to join the redhead, who, by then, was edging his way around one side of the pile. He tapped on one of the barrels with his knuckles, eliciting a hollow, metallic sound, and shook his head before moving on to the next. Rude quickly joined in, checking the barrels one by one. On his third attempt, instead of a hollow echo, his knock was met with a dull thud.

“That sounds promising…” said Reno, as Rude lifted his ever-present sunglasses for a better look. The barrels in question were near the back, out of direct view. He touched the side of the lower barrel, and felt the telltale tacky sensation of not-quite-completely-dry paint. Looking closer, he suddenly realized that the surface hadn’t just been painted blue… it had been painted with enough detail that, from a distance, it actually looked like two separate barrels stacked on top of one another. He rubbed away some of the paint, revealing part of the Shinra logo stenciled on a silver surface.

“I don’t believe it…” Rude breathed, “I was looking right at them just a few hours ago.”

Reno, meanwhile, was continuing his own search. He finally tapped against a barrel in the back row that made the same sound Rude’s had. He grinned.

“Think I just found number two…”

“I’ll notify Lieutenant Commander Nacelle,” said Rude. “She’ll be relieved to get them back.”

“Tell her to come up the same way we did. Don’t wanna go drawin’ attention to anything if our Zenshou thieves or anyone they got workin’ with ’em are hangin’ out somewhere nearby.”

As Rude moved off to make a phone call, Reno crouched down next to the camouflaged artillery shell. There was still something he didn’t quite understand. How the crap were they planning to get them off base once the heat died down? This was still pretty much a dead end, and the supply depot was still pretty much impossible to avoid being seen hauling two giant mako shells if they decided to backtrack… even if they had been disguised.

Sure… there was the cannon. But what were they gonna do? Climb inside and push them out the end? Okay, yeah, a person could definitely do that with a little effort… but who the fuck was gonna be there to catch them? It was a good three hundred foot drop, directly into the ocean. And they’d never get an aircraft close enough for long enough to make the transfer. Hell, they’d have trouble even getting a boat in unless it was tiny and damn near silent. Junon security didn’t screw around. Not that one of these shells could land on a boat after a three hundred foot drop and not sink the damned thing. Or blow it up.

He huffed in frustration and got to his feet, walking over to Rude just as he ended his call.

“She’s on her way,” Rude said, tucking the PHS back into his pocket. Reno leaned back against the wall, and folded his arms over his chest.

“Now we just gotta find the assholes who thought they could help themselves to classified Shinra tech…”

The pair was silent for a few minutes, as they waited for the security officer’s arrival. It wasn’t long before a faint thunk, followed by a somewhat irritated “Ow!” echoed up from the tunnel. A moment later Viridia emerged from the darkness. Reno grinned and straightened up as she strode over to the two Turks.

“Hey, Vir… Guess what we found!” he said, smirking slightly.

~end chapter 29~