Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 61: Kill Shot

Liam was shaking. Not in the metaphorical sense… literally shaking. And it had nothing to do with the vibrations of the helicopter as it streaked across the ocean, either.

He’d been so excited about the prospect of a mission outside of the city. When he’d found out he’d be accompanying the senior Turk all the way to Costa del Sol, he’d hardly been able to contain himself. The last time he’d left Midgar on Turks business had been Wutai… which hadn’t gone quite how he’d expected it to. The attempted theft of the the Shinra flagship and Reno nearly dying while saving the vice president had certainly made it a memorable trip… but not in the way any of them had wanted. An assignment in sunny Costa del Sol promised a far more enjoyable excursion… even if he would be working.

And then Reno had told him why they were being sent there.

He’d always known that, eventually, as a Turk, he’d have to kill. It was part of the job, and an unavoidable one at that. He just… didn’t think it would be so soon. He certainly hadn’t thought it would be today.

He felt chilled in spite of the warm sunlight streaming through the cockpit’s windshield, and shuddered slightly when he realized that he could see the dark band separating sea from sky that denoted the western continent’s shore. They were almost there.

After Reno had finished briefing him on their mission, they’d lapsed into silence. Liam hadn’t been able to think of anything to say, and, he suspected, at least, that the senior Turk was simply giving him time to process what he was expected to do when they reached their destination.

“Hey,” a voice spoke directly into his ear, and Liam startled violently, looking around… until he realized that he was wearing one of the aircraft’s headsets, and the voice had only been Reno’s. The redhead gave a soft laugh. “Sorry… Didn’t mean to scare the crap outta ya.”

“I… guess I was little lost in my own thoughts, sir,” the rookie replied, face flushing in embarrassment. He heard Reno sigh over the electronic channel.

“Yeah. Sorry ’bout that,too.” He shook his head slightly. “I honestly don’ know what’s worse. Tellin’ a guy he’s gotta kill someone ‘n lettin’ him spend the next few hours thinkin’ about it? Or springin’ it on him outta nowhere.”

“… I almost wish you’d sprung it on me out of nowhere, sir…” Liam said. Reno gave him a somewhat sad smile.

“Trust me, rookie. That’s no picnic, either.”

Liam looked over at the senior Turk.

“Is… that what happened to you?” he asked. The redhead nodded.

“Yep. Tseng hauled me across half the damn western continent, without sayin’ a word about it. Our target was hidin’ out in the forest around Gongaga, so we ride in on chocobo-back, get set up stakin’ out his camp, ‘n the whole time I’m thinkin’ I’m just there to watch… ‘n then… Yeah. I’m not gonna sugar coat it for ya. This is gonna suck. It’s gonna suck a lot.”

“What if I… can’t?” the rookie hesitantly queried.

“You can. And you’re gonna. It’s my job to make sure ya do.” He snorted mirthlessly, “Which, full disclosure, isn’t exactly what I wanted to do today, either. But… ya know. Orders are orders.”

Liam lapsed back into silence again after that. What if he really couldn’t go through with it? Would Reno just report back that he’d failed the mission? Or… would he actually force him to do it somehow? How do you force someone to kill another person, anyway? The rookie wasn’t sure he wanted to find out…

---

Rufus scowled at the latest message from Erik Setzer… the owner of the property upon which the Gongaga reactor had been built. It was a firm “no” on any sort of additional recovery effort. Shinra wasn’t welcome… not even to clean up their mess. The reply had been worded apologetically, stating that he was doing this in the interest of keeping up his relationship with the rest of the townspeople… but there was an undercurrent of anger in the short missive that didn’t slip by the vice president’s notice.

He really couldn’t blame the man. Rufus had heard from a moderately more friendly contact in the town that Setzer’s son had fallen ill with mako poisoning after the explosion and was still suffering from some of the effects. He couldn’t stand the spoiled little prat, personally, but… he could hardly fault a father for siding with protecting his offspring, loathsome as he was, rather than continuing to pursue the business deal that had caused the injury in the first place.

Unfortunately, that left him in somewhat hot water with his own father. The President had been counting on Rufus to negotiate some sort of agreement with the man… if not to rebuild, than at least to recover scrap and any materia that had accumulated in the core. The highly classified technology – the pieces that had survived the blast, at any rate – had already been removed by the Reactor Maintenance Department during the investigation into the cause of the explosion… but there was still several million gil worth of scrap metal on the site, and any remaining viable materia could be processed and sold, as well. It wouldn’t do much to offset the loss of the facility… but it would help. If nothing else, it would likely cover most of the cost of the remediation efforts Shinra had already funded to get the town back up and running again. It seemed that they weren’t even going to get that much of a concession, however.

“Sir,” his intercom suddenly called out, interrupting his ruminations, “Veld of the Turks to see you.”

The vice president’s eyebrow rose in curiosity. It wasn’t often that the Turk commander made his way up to the executive offices without being explicitly summoned. And generally, if Veld needed something from from him specifically, he sent Tseng with the request, as it was far more likely to be granted coming from his second in command.

“Send him in,” he responded, somewhat intrigued. A moment later, the door opened, and the man himself stepped inside. He pointedly closed the door behind him and made his way over to Rufus’ desk, pausing in front of it. He stood, waiting for the younger man to acknowledge him… and normally Rufus might have been tempted to make him wait, but today his curiosity got the better of him.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked, dryly.

“I have a request, sir,” Veld stated, bluntly, and Rufus snorted.

“Just because I occasionally deign to entertain minor favors for your protege when it doesn’t unduly inconvenience me doesn’t mean it’s something I wish to make a habit of. Or extend to the rest of your ranks.”

To his surprise, the comment drew a quiet chuckle from the man… which only served to to further pique the executive’s interest.

“No, sir. I quite understand that. It’s not… precisely… a favor I’m after, however,” Veld replied. Rufus gestured to one of the chairs in front of his desk, and the Turk readily accepted the invitation.

“Then just what does bring you here? I was under the impression that you were sufficiently occupied with this Ramuh-forsaken Zenshou situation. It seems to me that social visits should be taking a back seat for the time being,” he snarked.

“I’m here to request your assistance,” Veld said, “You’re absolutely right. The Turks have their hands quite full at the moment… but there are other matters, not related to our current investigations, that can’t simply be ignored in favor of focusing everything we have on the Zenshou. You may have heard we’re adding additional personnel next week, for instance.”

“Tseng may have mentioned as much,” Rufus replied, feigning disinterest… though he had a feeling Veld saw right through it.

“Did he also mention that he’s chosen a successor?”

Rufus rolled his eyes. “You mean the Slum Rat? Please… that’s hardly news. He’s been showing blatant favoritism to that idiot for nearly four years now. He certainly didn’t have to make an announcement regarding his intentions.”

“Yes, sir,” Veld replied, and Rufus got the distinct impression that he was trying very hard not to laugh, “In any case… Tseng is, in fact, the reason for my visit. It’s time for me to evaluate him. A final evaluation of sorts.”

The vice president blinked in surprise, sitting up slightly.

“Evaluate him for what, exactly?” he asked, now far beyond merely curious.

“To see how close he is to being truly ready to take over for me one day,” Veld replied, “I’d like you to assist in that evaluation.”

“… Why me?” he asked, dropping all pretense of disinterest, and leaning forward in his chair.

“Because of the nature of your relationship with him. You’re close to him. Closer, even, than many of his fellow Turks, in fact. What I have in mind requires that. As well as absolute secrecy. He cannot know about any of this beforehand. It’s not a difficult task I have in mind for you… but it is an essential one… if you’re willing, sir?”

Rufus smirked slightly and folded his hands in front of him on top of his desk.

“Just what is it you would have me do… ?” he queried.

---

Reno watched as a man of about twenty-five made his way down the beach towards the water, a surfboard tucked under one arm. He had the look of someone who hadn’t seen the sun in years. Pale, almost pasty complexion… long hair, unkempt from the warm breeze blowing across the sand… the awkward gait of someone who spent long hours sitting…

That was their rogue computer nerd, alright. Liam had spotted him, too. The redhead had seen the tension in his body visibly increase as soon has he’d wandered into view. He was just waiting for the kid to say something… had been waiting for a good three minutes, in fact.

He couldn’t say he didn’t understand. As soon as one of them acknowledged the target, they were on, and the rookie would have to make his first kill. As much as he wished he could do otherwise, Reno couldn’t let the delay continue indefinitely. He’d just opened his mouth to say something, when Liam beat him to it.

“I-I… I see him, sir. Over there. Heading into the water.”

Reno lowered his binoculars. “Yep. That’s our target.”

He heard Liam slowly exhale a long, shuddering breath.

“Sir? How are we going to do this with so many people around?” he asked.

“We’re not. Gonna have to watch ‘n wait ’til he moves somewhere a little more secluded,” Reno replied, settling back against the palm tree they were presently seated under. “Get comfortable, kid. I have a feeling we’re gonna be here for awhile.”

Liam sighed and joined him in the shade, eyes still firmly locked on the man they’d been sent after. He was silent for several minutes as they watched Ellerton enjoying himself in the waves. Eventually, he glanced back at the senior Turk.

“Sir?”

“Yeah?” Reno asked, head cocked to one side, wondering what – besides the obvious – was on the rookie’s mind.

“Do you… ever think about him?” he asked, “Er… the first man you killed?”

“Sometimes, I s’pose,” Reno replied, honestly. “I mean… I didn’t really know anything about him, aside from what was in his file so there’s not a whole hell of a lot to think about. And I sure as hell didn’t need to go lookin’ into the guy afterwards.”

“What did he do?” Liam queried.

“Stole a weapon prototype. He worked in one of Scarlet’s labs. One day, I guess he just said fuck it ‘n walked out the door with one of her projects,” the redhead replied, “Don’t get me wrong… killin’ him sucked. But I don’t have a whole lotta sympathy for the son of a bitch. He tried to shoot me with it. Pretty sure I’d be dead right now if the fucker actually knew how to aim. Damn thing reduced the tree I was usin’ for cover to next to nothin’.”

“Do you ever get used to it? To killing?”

“… Ya know, I kinda wish I could tell ya no,” Reno said with a quiet sigh, “But… yeah. Truth is, ya do eventually get a little numb to it. Heh… How fucked up is that?”

“Have… you killed a lot of people?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Kid… take my advice. Don’t start countin’. I kept track for awhile. I quit pretty soon after I hit double digits, ’cause it started keepin’ me up at night. It doesn’t do ya any good to remember ’em all by name. Or… ya know… at all.”

Liam sighed and leaned back against the trunk of the tree.

“I don’t know if I can just… not remember them.”

The redhead smiled slightly and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He stuck one between his lips and then fished around for his lighter for a moment before lighting it up and taking a long drag off of it.

“We’re Turks,” he said, exhaling a cloud of smoke, “We do the shit other people don’t wanna do. It’s just somethin’ we gotta learn to live with…” He suddenly laughed softly. “Fuck,I missed bein’ able to smoke. Remind me to never get shot in the lung again.”

Liam managed a faint, and somewhat forced, laugh himself.

“I guess I just can’t imagine it not bothering me, sir…”

Reno flicked the ash from his cigarette into the breeze.

“I know,” he said, eyeing their target. He was still in the water, fumbling on top of the surfboard, attempting to stay upright on top of the waves. He lasted all of about fifteen seconds. “The first person I killed wasn’t the first person I tried to kill, ya know. Back before I was a Turk, right before I got recruited, I got jumped over in Sector Eight. I fought back. Stabbed the asshole in the chest… Thought he was dead for a second. Totally self-defense, and I still felt like I was gonna be sick ’cause I’d just killed a guy. ‘N then the fucker yanks the blade outta his own chest and comes at me again. Tseng put a bullet in his head.” He took another drag off his cigarette before continuing. “Our lives are dangerous. There’s always gonna be someone out there that’s ready, willing, and able to kill you. You hesitate, thinkin’ too hard about what takin’ a life makes you, ‘n you’re gonna die. Or, worse, someone you care about’s gonna die. Turks are killers because we don’t have any other choice. I almost learned that the hard way before I even officially was one.”

Liam nodded in reply, turning his gaze back on their target. He seemed to have tired of his attempts to surf, and was making his way back up the beach.

“Come on, rookie. Time to put all that shadowin’ practice to good use. Let’s see where he’s goin’.”

---

“Where he was going” turned out to be all over the goddamned town. Reno was half convinced they’d end up having to take the son of a bitch out in the middle of a crowd if they wanted to get back to Midgar sometime before next week. They tailed Ellerton from the beach to a cabana party to the bar to a beach volleyball game, back to the damn bar, and then down to the beach yet again for a firedancing show before he finally decided to turn in for the night and started making his way back towards his hotel room.

The pair of Turks watched him silently from the shadows as he moved farther and farther away from the crowds of vacationers enjoying the resort town’s nightlife.

“Ready?” he asked, glancing over at Liam. The rookie Turk swallowed nervously.

“… As I’ll ever be, I guess…” he replied.

“Wait ’til he’s in the alley. And use your silencer. No sense wakin’ up half the neighborhood.”

Liam nodded and hurriedly attached the silencer to the barrel of his weapon.

Ellerton was drunk. He stumbled through the warm, tropical night, humming to himself and catching his balance on the palm trees that lined the small street he was slowly making his way down. Reno watched in silence as the rookie made his move, creeping up behind the man just as he entered the alleyway that would take him over to his hotel. Reno waited a moment and followed, keeping some distance between himself and the rookie. He had to remind himself that he was only there to back the kid up. Not to take out the target for him.

Liam slipped into the alley behind him, and took aim… and froze. The redhead waited, giving him a chance to compose himself, but suddenly a loud yelp from the far and of the alley alerted him to the fact that their target had spotted his would-be assassin. There was a loud flurry of movement as he attempted to flee to the relative safety of the opposite street.

Reno sighed, and moved in.

By the time he arrived at the entrance to the alley, Liam had the man in his sights, his arms shaking, his finger frozen on the trigger. The senior Turk swore softly under his breath and drew his own weapon, quickly taking aim and squeezing off a single shot. Ellerton went down with a shriek, and the rookie breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

“Don’t relax just yet, rookie,” he said, and motioned for him to follow. He headed down the alley at a sprint, and found the man whimpering in pain, his right leg bloodied around the knee. Liam watched, slightly horrified as Reno tucked his gun back into its holster. Reno glanced back at him with an expression of pity.

“Sorry, kid. But I was specifically ordered not to do it for ya…”

Liam looked decidedly ill as he approached, raising his weapon.

“… N-no… P-please…” Ellerton moaned, half in pain, half in abject terror. The rookie looked up at the redhead, wide-eyed.

“Orders are orders,” Reno said quietly. Liam wordlessly took aim, and then closed his eyes, turning his head away… and pulled the trigger.

Reno flinched at the sound of the gunshot, which, even silenced, seemed far too loud to his ears, and swallowed harshly as he turned towards Liam.

He suddenly had a whole new respect for his mentor. That day in the forest near Gongaga, he’d thought that what he had to do was hard. But what Tseng had done… that had to have been far worse. Taking someone and stripping away a part of their innocence. Tuning them into a killer against their will. It hurt… and it left him feeling dirty. And Reno suddenly felt the overwhelming need to apologize to Tseng for his own reaction all those years ago. For the anger and the bitterness. For the cruel words he was certain he’d at least thought, if not said out loud. For turning his back on him, however briefly.

He quickly shook himself from his thoughts, snapping back into the present. Ellerton was very much dead. And they needed to get out of there before the locals discovered them standing over the body and started asking uncomfortable questions.

“Come on, rookie,” he said, turning the younger Turk around and hightailing it out of the alley, back the way they’d come. Before they reached the street at the end, he took the gun from Liam’s hand and tucked it into his pocket, out of sight. Liam didn’t say a word the entire walk back to the small hotel they’d booked a room in earlier that day. He didn’t say anything as Reno guided him inside and locked the door behind him, or when he sat him down on the bed. Or when, a moment later, Liam stood up again and all but collapsed into the redhead’s arms, holding onto the senior Turk as if his life depended on it.

---

Liam woke the following morning with a dull headache and a vague sense that something was different. For a very brief moment, he had no idea where he even was… until it all came flooding back into his head a few moments later.

Ellerton.

He’d frozen completely the moment he had him in his sights, and when the man had looked back and seen him standing there, pointing a gun at him, his resolve had left him completely. He just… couldn’t do it. When he’d heard the shot fired from Reno’s gun, the relief had been so profound that he’d nearly dropped to his knees in gratitude. In that moment, he really had thought that the senior Turk had taken pity on him. That he wasn’t going to have to do this. Not yet.

And then he’d followed the redhead to the other end of the alley where Ellerton was lying on the ground, moaning in pain as he clutched at his bleeding leg. The shot looked like it had hit the back of his knee as he was trying to run. He was just… lying there, helpless… and Liam knew.

There was no pity. Or… given the way Reno had looked at him, maybe there was, but the senior Turk couldn’t have acted on it, even if he’d wanted to.

Liam hadn’t been able to watch while he’d done it. He’d pointed the gun and he’d looked away. He didn’t even remember looking back down at Ellerton after the fact… though to be fair, everything after that was kind of a blur anyway. He remembered walking – not running, just walking briskly – and Reno saying something to him. The next thing he knew he was waking up, with little more than a fuzzy memory of being held.

Which was, itself, a little embarrassing. Had he cried? Dear Shiva, he hoped he hadn’t cried. What kind of a Turk cried over following orders? Reno had to think he was a total pussy after last night.

Liam groaned and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

Speaking of Reno, where was he? The rookie glanced around the room, and noticed that the doors were open to the balcony, and over the soft sound of tropical birds singing and crashing waves, he could hear a quiet voice. Liam dragged himself from the bed and crept over to the balcony.

“Yeah, I know… I let ‘im sleep in a little. We’re leavin’ soon as the kid wakes up,” Reno said, speaking into his PHS as he exhaled a plume of smoke from a cigarette. “Heh… well, actually we’re gettin’ coffee first, ’cause there’s no way in hell I’m makin’ that flight uncaffeinated. Then we’re leavin’.”

He paused for a moment, listening to the reply on the other end of the line.

“Tch… well, I would, but I’m not sure we’re gonna have time. Kid’s been pretty much dead to the world since last night.”

Liam hesitantly peered around the doorframe, waiting for the senior Turk to finish his call… but apparently he wasn’t quite stealthy enough, because the moment he did, the redhead’s gaze drifted over to him and he smirked slightly.

“Gotta go, Boss. Looks like I’m gonna have time for breakfast after all.” He snapped the PHS shut and tucked it back into his pocket. “Hey.”

“… Hey,” Liam replied.

“You look like hell,” the senior Turk commented, dropping the remains of his cigarette on the balcony and grinding it beneath his boot.

“…” The younger Turk dropped his gaze, face flushing with embarrassment.

“I’m kidding,” Reno snickered, “Well… mostly. Go get dressed. Boss wants us back in Midgar by this afternoon ‘n it’s already goin’ on ten. If we’re gonna get food, we’re gonna have to do it fast.”

“W-what about Ellerton?” the rookie asked.

“He was pretty dead, last I saw him. Don’t think he’ll be joinin’ us,” Reno snickered.

“I mean… what about the body?”

The senior Turk shook his head. “Locals are takin’ care of it. Far as they’re concerned, he’s just an unlucky tourist that got mugged. Happens on occasion, even here. Which works to our advantage, seein’ as now we don’t have to deal with cleanup.”

“… Oh.”

Reno sighed softly and stepped back from the railing, joining Liam back inside the room and resting a hand on his shoulder.

“I told ya it was gonna suck, didn’t I?”

“Yes, sir,” the rookie breathed.

“It gets easier,” he assured him, “Which… I know probably isn’t all that comforting right now, all things considered. It probably shouldn’t get easier. But it does.”

He was right. Liam didn’t really find that comforting at all.

---

Reno sank down on the bed after Liam had disappeared into the bathroom for a quick shower and some clean clothes. The rookie had been a mess last night… to the point that the redhead had legitimately questioned if he’d done the right thing by telling him ahead of time.

When Tseng had surprised him with the order, he’d been so pissed off afterwards, he’d largely forgotten to be upset. And then he’d spent the remainder of the evening worried half out of his mind because his mentor hadn’t come back before the storm that had hit the area started. By the time he’d really had a moment to process what he’d done… the initial shock had already long since passed. It had still hit him pretty hard… but not nearly as hard as it could have.

Maybe he’d been selfish in opting not to risk having the rookie’s wrath directed squarely at him. His own anger had protected him from the worst of it, even though he still felt bad about Tseng having to bear the brunt of it at the time.

Plus there was the fact that he knew damn well that this mission wasn’t just about the rookie making his first kill. It was also about Reno. This was… maybe not a test, exactly, but certainly a learning experience. That was why he’d been sent. Not Kai. Not Sykes. Him.

He was going to be second in command. One day, all of Tseng’s responsibilities would revert to him. He was beginning to understand that Tseng’s role on the team extended well beyond training and keeping order and making difficult decisions… and that sometimes it was hard to balance responsibility with compassion.

---

Victor rubbed his shoulder as he made his way back upstairs. He was pretty sure Kylie was still pissed that he’d gotten a promotion and she hadn’t even been considered for final evaluation. She damn sure hadn’t pulled any punches this morning, that was for certain. He was kind of going to miss her when he moved out, though. Sure, she was a giant bitch most of the time, but she was easily one of the best when it came to sparring. He respected that.

Speaking of moving out… he still had to find a new place. It wasn’t like they were going to immediately throw him out of the dorms as soon as his promotion officially kicked in, but now that he was finally going to be drawing a real salary again instead of the fairly meager stipend recruits received while they were in training, he was eager to have his own space.

He really hadn’t had a place of his own since he’d left home, seven years ago. He’d joined up with the Shinra army almost literally as soon as he was of age – it had been a mere three days after his eighteenth birthday, in fact – and had been there right up until he’d decided to throw his lot in with the Turks after the war. And while he had enjoyed the camaraderie of bunking with his fellow soldiers, and later his fellow recruits, he was more than ready to have a room to himself again.

Ryu, apparently, agreed. Hell, he was already packing. Victor had initially assumed he was moving back in with his family for awhile, seeing as they lived right over in Sector 1, but he’d learned just that morning that he already had an apartment lined up. Before he could ruminate further on that matter, however, he spotted another familiar face. One he’d been looking for all damn week, and somehow hadn’t been able to catch up to… in spite of the relatively small size of the recruitment center.

“Hey! Zephyr!” he called out, quickening his pace to catch up to the young woman. She paused in her bid for the elevator as her fellow recruit came up to her. “Finally. I was starting to think you were avoiding me.”

Zephyr sighed. “Sorry. I’ve kind of been avoiding everyone. I just… had a lot to think about.”

Victor frowned slightly, assuming the worst.

“… Don’t tell me you didn’t make the cut.”

The younger recruit shook her head. “No… I did…”

“So what’s up? You don’t look especially happy about it…”

“I’m not accepting,” she replied, dropping her gaze to the floor.

Victor blinked. “Say what?! Zephyr… What the hell? You’ve been working towards this for almost a year now! You turn ’em down, they’re not gonna make you a second offer…”

“I know,” she whispered, and then shook her head, “I just… I don’t want to talk about it.”

With that, she turned on her heel and practically sprinted for the elevator.

“Zephyr!” Victor called after her, but she’d already darted through the doors and hit the button. They closed behind her before he could say any more.

---

The helicopter arrived on the rooftop of the Shinra Building at exactly 2:17 pm. A little later than Reno had intended, but they’d had to fight a strong headwind the entire way back. By the time they’d reached the city, the wind had shifted… but now it was blowing in from due north, which was almost worse than tackling it head on. Judging by the clouds that were being blown in with it, Midgar was in for a little weather this afternoon.

Reno had seen the rookie back to his office, and then had gone on to report in himself. He’d found Tseng in a… somewhat undignified position… with his injured leg on top of his desk as he frantically jabbed the eraser-end of a pencil into the top of the cast.

“Uh… Boss?” the redhead snickered.

“This Leviathan-forsaken thing is driving me mad,” he hissed, “It’s as if it’s been intentionally engineered to trigger an itch that’s just out of reach.”

Reno grinned and pulled his EMR from his belt, before extending it with a flick of his wrist and tossing it to his mentor. Tseng didn’t need any further encouragement, sliding it into the gap between his leg and the cast and groaning in relief.

“Thank you,” he breathed. He shook his head as he withdrew the weapon. “Weapons Research would have a fit if they knew an advanced piece of mako-powered weaponry was being used as little better than a back scratcher.”

“I won’t tell Scarlet if you don’t,” the redhead teased. Tseng grudgingly returned the EMR.

“How was your flight?” he asked.

“Fine,” Reno replied with a shrug of his shoulders, “Kid was pretty quiet the whole way back… not that I’m real surprised.” He paused for a moment before finally taking a seat in front of his mentor’s desk. “And also… I’m really, really sorry for bein’ a such a little shit back in Gongaga.”

“You already apologized for that over three years ago. You needn’t do so a second time.” Tseng smiled faintly. “You didn’t have to do so the first time, in point of fact. You had every right to be furious at me.”

“Yeah… maybe,” Reno breathed, running a hand through his hair. “But experiencin’ it from your point of view… I get it now. I mean, I kinda got it before, but… I really get it now. I shoulda done it the same way with Liam. I think I kinda fucked up, tellin’ him ahead of time like I did.”

Tseng shook his head. “There is no ‘right’ way to introduce a young Turk to murdering a fellow human being. And it’s never pleasant… for anyone involved. He accomplished his mission. And you accomplished yours. Now you both have to learn to live with that.”

“I feel like the biggest asshole on the fuckin’ planet for makin’ him do it.”

“I’m… very familiar with that feeling. You’re never truly prepared for it. And I’m afraid it doesn’t get any less distasteful with experience,” he said, “Beyond what you told me on the phone this morning… were there any complications?”

“Nah… it was a pretty textbook termination. Checked the local news before we left. It’s bein’ written off as a mugging gone bad, just like I figured it would.”

“Good. I’ll let Veld know that he can extend our… condolences… to Ellerson’s former coworkers for his unfortunate run-in with the criminal element in Costa del Sol.”

Reno snorted in somewhat mirthless laughter. “Boss? Does it ever bother you that every time we have an assignment like this, we gotta not-so-subtly let the people that worked with our target know that we were the ones that took ’em out?”

“It’s a necessary evil,” Tseng replied, “And a very effective one, for the most part. Consider how many more such assignments we would likely have if we didn’t deter others from making the same mistake.”

“Yeah, I s’pose you’re right. Still pretty fucked up, though.”

“Yes… It is,” Tseng readily agreed. “And that’s precisely why it falls to us.”

~end chapter 61~