Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 31: Planning

“Well, that’s just fuckin’ great…” Reno muttered, glaring at the pool of blood that had been left behind in the wake of the medical team’s arrival. The bodies had been removed, and the lone survivor carted off to the med bay, the evidence of the attack remained. “Who the fuck are these assholes?! I mean, seriously… who just fuckin’ murders their way out of Shinra military installation without anyone even noticin’?”

Tseng folded his arms over his chest and scowled as he shook his head.

“The Zenshou are an offshoot of a particularly violent Wutaiian crime syndicate. They’re certainly not squeamish.”

“Think they’re stickin’ around? Hopin’ to get another shot at those shells?”

“… I’d say no,” Rude cut in, “They don’t call themselves the Zenshou Traders just for the hell of it. At the end of the day, they’re all about profit… and they’ve already been captured once. Can’t have been easy… or cheap… to get in the first time, and now the whole base is on high alert and knows what they look like. Gets to the point that even if they do somehow get the shells, they won’t be able to recoup their investment. Better to cut their losses and move on to the next job.”

“So what now?” the redhead asked, glancing over at his mentor.

“We’re done here,” Tseng replied. “Rude is correct. The odds of them making another attempt after a failure like this seem slim. Your mission was to recover the missing shells… and you’ve done that. Time to return to Midgar and regroup. I suspect this won’t be the last we hear of the Zenshou. As I understand it, Shinra presently owns several items on their list. Rude? Go and prep the helicopter for our return trip.”

“Yes, sir,” the bald Turk replied, and hurried off to see to the order.

“Tch… so just like that, huh?”

“I’m afraid so. There’s nothing left to do here that Junon security can’t see to. We have other assignments,” Tseng replied, guiding his protege out of the bloodied office and into the fresh morning air.

“I fuckin’ hate failin’ a mission,” the redhead grumbled, and Tseng smiled slightly.

“I would hardly class this as a failure. You were ordered to recover the Company’s stolen property and capture the perpetrators. That’s precisely what you did. Everything beyond that was out of your hands.”

“I just feel like I shoulda seen this comin’…” the redhead lamented. If he had those two guards might still be alive, and the third wouldn’t be in emergency surgery right now.

“Reno… you have a brilliant strategic mind, but you cannot possibly predict every outcome,” his mentor said, firmly. “No one can.”

Reno sighed and at last nodded in understanding. Tseng was right, of course. It’s not like he could see the future. He just… usually had better instincts than this. He heard Tseng chuckle faintly beside him.

“Stop dwelling on it. That’s an order. You can’t be right one hundred percent of the time, and you’re no more psychic than I am.”

Reno snorted softly. “Says the guy who’s always right about everything…” he replied.

“Hmph… the fact that you can say that with a straight face just proves to me that you didn’t get nearly enough sleep last night. You, of all people, know that I have a far from perfect record in that regard.”

The younger Turk cracked a smile at that and shook his head… but didn’t voice a denial. Because that was true, too. Tseng had made his fair share of mistakes over the years, and Reno had been on the receiving end of more than a few. His mentor had always made it up to him, though… and he tried very hard not to make the same mistake twice.

“So… any idea what Veld’s got for us when we get back?” Reno asked shifting the conversation to a new topic, and Tseng smirked.

“Actually… I have an assignment for you. Or more specifically, I require your help with my own assignment, and I intend to make very good use of you…”

Reno raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Oh, yeah? What’s goin’ on?”

“Sykes’ Hell Week. You will be assisting me in planning his evaluation.”

He blinked in surprise and came to a rather abrupt halt. Tseng, too, paused, and turned back to look at him, clearly amused by the reaction.

“I… always thought that was somethin’ you were s’posed to do on your own.”

“It is. And I will be conducting his evaluation entirely myself, barring the occasions I need an extra set of hands, as is tradition. But the process is something that I… would like you to have a better understanding of. Particularly since your own Hell Week went a bit off the rails.”

Reno laughed quietly. “Yeah, I guess that’s one way to describe it…” he snickered.

---

For the remainder of the week, Reno spent the vast majority of his time sequestered in Tseng’s office, devising what he jokingly referred to as – much to his mentor’s disapproval – Rookie Torture Scenarios. As it turned out, there was a lot more to Hell Week than he’d ever realized.

First and foremost, he hadn’t known that there were three separate areas that were required in the evaluation. Every Turk got some sort of test in all three of those traits. The first was panic response… which was the same test, universally. The rigged elevator. He vaguely recalled Rude telling him – after Reno’d finally stopped shaking from his own experience in the amusement park ride from hell – that everyone got that one at some point.

The second was the modesty eval, which could, apparently, vary pretty widely in how it was conducted, but always had the same purpose: to determine just how comfortable a Turk was in their own skin.

The third was a simple hand-to-hand evaluation… which usually began with a sneak attack. Reno very vividly remembered his own experience with that, as well. The bruises had stuck around all week, and he still hadn’t learned how to effectively counter the move that Tseng had used on him to finally take him down.

Everything else, however, was at the discretion of the examiner. Sometimes the tests focused on areas the rookie in question had obvious issues in. And sometimes they played to the rookie’s strengths, to gauge just how good they were with a particular skill. In Syke’s case, Tseng had decided on a mixture of the two, though favoring skills the rookie needed to work on. Reno had suggested lockpicking and stealth.

Sykes was almost comically good when it came to stealth. You wouldn’t have expected someone with his build and tendency to underestimate his own strength to be particularly agile and silent in his movements… but he was. Lockpicking, on the other hand… not so much. He lacked finesse when it came to small, fiddly tasks and quickly grew frustrated with them. The rookie wasn’t so great when it came to disarming Sato’s dummy bombs, either, for much the same reason.

His suggestions had made Tseng’s shortlist of final candidates, as did a few others.

And Reno had to admit, he was enjoying himself. He liked working with the rookies. A lot, actually. Getting to help out with a Hell Week was a whole new experience, and he kind of wished that he could do more than just assist with the planning. But the evaluation was Tseng’s job, not his. Still… he hoped his mentor would tap him to participate in an exercise or two at some point.

Kai, too, seemed to be holding out hope for that. She’d somehow gotten wind of the fact that preparations were officially underway, and had spent a great deal of her free time lurking near Tseng’s office and “conveniently” bumping into the Turk lieutenant. Tseng, for his part, seemed to take a slightly sadistic pleasure in feigning ignorance anytime his friend tried fishing for information… to the point that the redhead had finally been unable to contain his laughter during their most recent run-in.

By Thursday, Reno, too, had gotten in on the teasing.

As he sat, quietly eating his lunch and pondering possibilities for a scenario Tseng was still somewhat on the fence about, he was interrupted by a loud clatter as Kai set her tray down with far more force than was strictly necessary and sat down across from him, glaring.

“What?” he asked, innocently.

“I know you know…” she said, menacingly, “When is it starting?”

“When’s what starting?”

“Stop that! You and Tseng have been torturing me all week! Will you just tell me already?”

The redhead grinned and bit into his sandwich.

“No idea what you’re talkin’ about, Kai,” he replied, grinning.

“Come on… You know how much I love Hell Week. I just want to know when it’s going to be. That’s all. Please?!”

“Sorry,” he said with an indifferent shrug, “Sworn to secrecy.”

“Ugh… You’re getting to be as annoying as Tseng…” she groaned in defeat, “You really need to quit spending so much time together. His worst traits are rubbing off on you.”

“Thought you two were best friends again…” Reno teased, and the senior Turk rolled her eyes.

“Just because he’s my best friend doesn’t mean he can’t be an asshole sometimes, too. Especially when he WON’T TELL ME WHEN HELL WEEK IS STARTING!”

Most of the cafeteria collectively turned and stared at the two Turks following the sudden outburst, and the redhead broke into hysterical laughter.

“For fuck’s sake, Kai… I’m startin’ to think you’re obsessed…” he finally managed. Kai folded her arms over her chest and glowered at him. Reno grinned evilly. “I’m not tellin’ you shit… so you might as well give up. Consider it payback for every single time you’ve called me a baby Turkling…”

“Hmph… Oh yeah?” she replied, smirking in response. “Well, two can play at that game. See if I ever stop calling you that now… Baby Turkling.”

“… Worth it,” Reno snickered.

---

As he peered out from behind the bed of a truck, Liam was suddenly tackled to the ground, landing with a loud oomph on hard concrete. He struggled valiantly to break his attacker’s hold, but it soon became clear he was out-classed. With a defeated groan, he yielded.

“Okay, okay… you got me…”

Sykes chuckled and helped him to his feet.

“Where the heck did you even come from?” the younger rookie asked, shaking his head. He’d been sure he was out of sight. Hell, he’d thought Sykes was still clear on the other side of the parking deck. Liam had no idea how the other rookie had managed to flank him like that.

“I took the north stairs down to Level 2 and then came back up the east stairs. Right behind you,” Sykes replied, grinning, “You need to watch your back better.”

There was a soft click, and a moment later, a crossbow bolt embedded itself in the wooden post of a reserved parking sign to their left.

“And you should take your own advice,” Petra snickered as the pair turned in unison, twin expressions of shock etched on their faces.

“You do knowthis is supposed to be stealth practice… not sniping practice… right, Pet?” Sykes teased. Petra smirked and walked past them, yanking her bolt out of the post and tucking it back into her quiver.

“There’s no reason it can’t be both. Snipers are the ultimate stealth agents, after all. By the way… we’re going to be late for our training with Kai if you two keep skulking around the parking deck.”

Liam glanced over at Sykes.

“… I think we should keep skulking, personally…” he deadpanned. He liked training with Kai. He did not, however, like the Gauntlet. Today was Gauntlet day. Sykes laughed and clapped him on the back.

“We do that and she’ll make us run it twice, you know,” he said, guiding him towards the elevator. Petra giggled quietly and followed.

Technically, they were on their lunch break… but Petra and Liam had both overheard Kai the day before talking to Reno in the cafeteria about an upcoming Hell Week. Well… “overheard” might have been overstating it a bit. The entire cafeteria had heard it.

And since Sykes had been the first of them promoted to rookie status, it stood to reason that he’d be the first to go through Hell Week. He’d asked them to help him out with a little extra practice ahead of the intimidating evaluation and they’d readily agreed.

“So…” Liam said, as they boarded the elevator, “Do you think Reno’s going to be the one testing you? I mean, since he obviously knows about it…”

Petra shook her head, before he could answer. “That’s the second in command’s job. But I bet Tseng’s got him helping, and that’s why he hasn’t been around much this week.”

“I almost hope you’re wrong about that,” Sykes with a somewhat serious note in his voice, “Just imagine what kinds of tests Reno could come up with…”

Liam couldn’t help but think the same thing. The redhead did have kind of a twisted sense of humor sometimes. That, combined with his penchant for both planning and improvisation, as well as just how well he knew all three of the rookies by now, made the thought just a little frightening. Hell Week was rumored to be as much a psychological ordeal as it was a physical one. Who knew what might get thrown at them?

“Hmm…” Petra hummed thoughtfully, and then shook her head, “No… I think I’d rather not have nightmares.”

“So… is it really true that they can test you anytime, anywhere?” Liam asked.

“That’s what’s I’ve heard,” Sykes confirmed.

“Same,” Petra agreed, “Of course… that’s what they tell everyone in recruitment. No one who’s actually gone through it is allowed to discuss it with those of us who haven’t.”

Liam gave a nervous laugh. “Well, I’m just glad my Hell Week won’t be for a good long while yet.”

---

“How goes the planning?” Rude asked as Reno all but collapsed into his chair sometime after lunch on Friday.

“Fuck, man… I never knew how much work went into this shit,” he said, reaching into his desk drawer and pulling out his secret stash of gummy worms. He shoved a handful into his mouth. “Did you know that Tseng personally tests all the shit he’s gonna put a rookie through ahead of time? He’s got me standin’ in for him, runnin’ shit as if he was Sykes.”

“Makes sense,” Rude said with a shrug, “It’s an eval, after all. He has to make sure it’s all going to work the way he thinks it will. And that no one’s going to get hurt.”

“Heh… yeah, I know. But try condensing an entire Hell Week into one morning, and see how you like it. And then doin’ it again in the afternoon. For a week. I’m fuckin’ exhausted… and I wasn’t even the one doing the actual tests.”

Rude snickered and leaned back in his seat.

“So does that mean Tseng has things finalized?”

“Not quite… there’s still a few details we’re workin’ on. But I think he’s pretty close to bein’ satisfied.”

“When’s he gonna tell Sykes?” Rude queried, and the redhead smirked.

“Nice try, pal. But like I told Kai, I’m sworn to secrecy. You’re not gettin’ anything but bitchin’ ‘n moanin’ outta me,” he replied with a wide grin, “And you wouldn’t even be gettin’ that much if your nosy ass hadn’t already figured out what the Boss has me doin’.”

“Hmph. Spoilsport,” Rude chuckled. The redhead stuffed several more pieces of the chewy candy into his mouth and flipped his friend off. “You seem like you’re enjoying it, though.”

Reno harshly swallowed the mouthful and grinned.

“Yeah… It is kinda fun, actually.”

“Good practice, too.”

The redhead raised an eyebrow. “Practice for what?”

“For when you’re doing it on your own one day.”

“Tch… when the hell is that ever gonna happen. Hell Week’s the second in command’s responsibility, ‘n last I checked, that was Tseng,” he laughed, dismissively, and Rude rolled his eyes.

“Tseng’s not going to be Second forever. Eventually he’ll take over for Veld, and there will be a new Second.”

Now it was Reno’s turn to roll his eyes.

“Oh, come on, Rude. You’re not still hangin’ onto that weird fantasy about me gettin’ picked to replace Tseng someday, are ya?” he said, snickering. “I told ya. Never gonna happen. It’ll be Remy. Or maybe Kai. For fuck’s sake, you’ve got seniority over me. Might just end up bein’ you.”

Rude shook his head. “You’re his protege. That counts for something.”

The redhead sighed and popped another worm in his mouth. “Yeah, I know. But seriously? Whoever takes over as Second when Veld retires has gotta be the person that’s best for the team. And… let’s face it. I don’t have the best track record. You put me ‘n all my fuck-ups as a rookie next to Remy ‘n all her experience, and it’s pretty obvious who’d be better for the job. That’s who Tseng’s gonna pick, ‘n that’s who he should pick… ’cause the team’s gotta come first.”

“Remy only has all that experience because she’s been around longer than you,” Rude pointed out. “It’ll probably be years before Veld decides to step down. Think you’re writing yourself off a little prematurely.”

“Think you’re livin’ in your own little fantasy world,” Reno snickered.

“Hmph… You’ve got it all figured out, huh? So, then, why’s Tseng teaching you how to do a job that only ever falls to the second in command?”

“‘Cause it’s a hell of a lot of work and he needs some help with it. And ’cause my Hell Week didn’t exactly go entirely accordin’ to plan… ya know, with Heidegger almost killin’ me ‘n shit. Plus, I was out of the city almost the whole time Cissnei was goin’ through hers. This’ll be the first one I get to see all the way through with no murder attempts or near-firings.”

The bald Turk threw his hands up in surrender. “I give up,” he said, with a somewhat exaggerated sigh, “Reason and logic are no match for your inferiority complex.”

“Tch… inferiority complex my ass…” the redhead snorted, “I’m just bein’ realistic.”

Still, though. Rude did kind of have a point. There was really no reason for the redhead to be seeing all the behind the scenes shit if he was never actually going to be doing it himself. Just as quickly as he entertained the thought, though, he dismissed it. Tseng had never so much as mentioned the possibility to him. Surely, if that was his intention – even if he were just being trained as a backup for someone more qualified – his mentor would have told him so at some point. Right?

He didn’t have long to think about it, however.

“Got plans for tonight?” Rude asked, and Reno shrugged.

“Nothin’ in particular. You wanna do somethin’?”

“How do you feel about Costan food?”

Reno grinned widely and leaned forward. “You really gotta ask? ‘Sides… if you’re cookin’ it, I don’t care what you’re servin’… ’cause it’s always awesome.”

“Good. Just got some new recipes. Wanna help me test ’em?”

“Heh… you had me at ‘food’, pal.”

---

The redhead moaned faintly, splayed out across the couch. When Rude had said he had some new recipes, Reno hadn’t expected to be treated to what felt like nearly an entire cookbook’s worth. He felt as though he’d been eating non-stop for hours. The redhead glanced at his watch. Actually… he had been at it for hours. It was almost eleven.

“Rude… I think somethin’s seriously wrong with me,” he jokingly called into the kitchen, “I’m not hungry anymore.”

His friend poked his head out into the room and snickered.

“That’s too bad. I was just getting dessert ready.”

Reno pushed himself upright and grinned.

“I just said I’m not hungry… I didn’t say I was full…” he replied. Rude rolled his eyes and disappeared, returning a moment later with a pair of plates, each bearing a mound of… something. It looked like some kind of gel… a creamy, pale yellow in color, with a smooth dark brown top and some sort of golden sauce underneath.

“What’s that?” he asked, curious. It reminded him a little of pudding, but it looked slightly more… solid.

“Vanilla flan with caramel sauce,” Rude said, setting one of the plates on the coffee table in front of him, and taking a seat himself. The redhead poked at it and the little mound wobbled slightly. He shrugged and grabbed a spoon, trying a bite… and blinked.

It was… strange. Not a sweet as he’d expected it to be. And the texture was… weird.

“That’s… different,” he commented, eyeing it.

“If you don’t like it…” Rude began, but Reno shook his head.

“I don’t not like it…” he said, trying another spoonful, “It’s just… I don’t think I’ve ever had anything quite that… Hell, I’m not even sure how to describe it…”

Rude snorted a soft laugh. “Now that I think about it, that was kind of my reaction to it the first time I tried it, too. I guess I sort of forgot that it’s a little bit of an acquired taste. I got so used to eating it when I was flying to Costa del Sol all the time back in the day.”

“Huh… ya know…” Reno said, continuing to eat, “It’s not what I usually go for, but it’s not bad.”

“High compliments…” Rude snickered, watching his friend finish off the treat.

“Okay… now I think I might be full,” the redhead laughed, pushing his empty plate away. He leaned back, letting his head loll against the back of the couch and closed his eyes in content. There were few things better than a full belly and good company. Tonight was just what he’d needed after the long hours he’d put in with Tseng this week.

“Hmph… good. Means I might actually have a shot at catching you if you try and run off on me…”

He cracked an eye open and stole a curious glance at his friend. “Why would I suddenly try ‘n make a run for it… ?” he asked suspiciously.

“Because we need to talk. And you’re not gonna like the subject.”

Reno groaned and slowly sat up again.

“Oh, I get it. This was all a ploy to lull me into a false sense of security…” he said, and sighed, resigned to his fate, “Asshole. Okay, fine… what’s so important ya felt the need to stage an intervention this time…”

“Scarlet,” Rude stated, and Reno visibly cringed. “I know. You don’t want to. But you need to.”

The younger Turk folded his arms over his chest and sank down into the cushions of the couch. He was right about one thing, for certain. Reno didn’t want to talk about that. Unfortunately, he’d learned a long time ago that, when Rude decided that something was for his “little brother’s” own good, there wasn’t any getting out of it. And the son of a bitch had an annoying habit of also being right about that sort of thing. Reno had long since given up trying to fight him on shit like this. It was futile… and, he grudgingly had to admit, ultimately beneficial, anyway.

“Ya know what the worst part is?” Reno finally said after a long silence… during which Rude had merely waited patiently for him to say something. “If it had been just about anyone else, none of this shit ever woulda happened. But it had to be fucking Scarlet. I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do when I got a Shiva-be-damned executive tryin’ to forceably get in my pants? Ya know… besides bend over ‘n take it.”

He shuddered violently at the thought of the woman’s hands on him, the memory of his most recent encounter still far too fresh in his mind. And then shuddered again at the thought of “bending over and taking it”… as he realized that Scarlet seemed entirely too much like the type to be into that sort of role-reversal kinda thing.

… Not that he’d never tried that before with some of his more adventurous lovers. But he doubted Scarlet would be as gentle with a strap-on as, say, Izzy.

“… I mean… She could make me do anything she wanted me to,” he continued, his voice growing quiet, “And what am I gonna do? Fight her off? Tch… That’d end real well. Hell, if Remy hadn’t been there to get her offa me last week…” He swallowed sharply and risked a glance over at Rude. “I didn’t even tell ya about that, did I?”

Rude shook his head. “I knew something must’ve happened, the way Tseng was laying into Veld when he found out where he’d sent you… but I figured you’d tell me about it when you were ready.”

“Ya know, I grew up watchin’ assholes lookin’ at my mom like she was a piece of meat. Lira, too. And I hated it, ’cause I knew they hated it. But I never realized just how much worse it is to be on the receivin’ end. Ya can’t do shit about it. They got all the power, and you just have to take it. It’s like… you’re not even a person to ’em.”

“What’d she do?”

“Not as much as she wanted to… Hell of a lot more than you’d think she would, with Remy standin’ right behind me, though,” he replied, and dropped his gaze, “And I just… froze. I just stood there and let her.”

Reno swallowed a whimper as Rude reached over and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him tightly against his side. The redhead sighed and leaned into the embrace.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt more… worthless… than I did in that moment,” he added after a brief silence. “Why the hell couldn’t I just tell her to fuck off ‘n leave me alone? I mean… she probably wouldn’t have, but… at least… I woulda been on record as sayin’ no.”

“You’re not worthless. And it’s not your fault. None of it’s your fault.”

“I mean… I know that,” Reno said, curling up against his friend. “I just… what if… someone else doesn’t think so…”

“Tseng knows that, too,” Rude assured him, and Reno was silently grateful that the older Turk understood him so well. With Rude, he could voice his worst fears without coming right out and saying them. “He’s the one who wanted me to talk to you, you know. I was going to let you come to me in your own time… because I knew you would eventually. Tseng’s worried you think that he thinks less of you after all this. He doesn’t.”

Reno exhaled a shuddering breath at that declaration. That, at least, was one weight off his shoulders. A rather large one, in fact. He liked to say that he didn’t give a crap what people thought of him. He was happy with who he was and if someone didn’t like it, they could fuck right the hell off. And for the most part, that was true.

But not when it came to Tseng. Tseng’s opinion mattered. The Turk Lieutenant had taken a risk on him… Recruited him. Rescued him. He’d given him a whole new life and a chance to be something more than a pathetic little slum rat. Everything he was now, was thanks to Tseng. Reno didn’t want to disappoint him.

He would not disappoint him.

~end chapter 31~