Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 69: A Return to Wutai

It had taken days. Days of patient, tedious waiting. Days of being hunkered down on a grimy little fishing trawler, at the Wutaiian capital city docks. Days of painstakingly watching.

But it was finally going to pay off.

The Zenshou had been quiet, but not quiet enough. Rude had found a source, and that source said that they were prepping a shipment of Shinra weapons technology and other items, due to leave tonight. It was bound for somewhere on the western continent. If they played their cards right, not only might they be able to reacquire their stolen weapons… they could also find out once and for all who the Zenshou’s middleman was – the one coordinating the orders for those weapons to begin with.

They’d need to be careful, though. Thus far, he and Remy had gone to great pains to stay under the radar, but once the Zenshou set things in motion, the two of them would have to move out into the open. They needed to take them all… If one of them escaped and got back to their base to warn their leadership that the Turks were on their trail, everything they’d done up to this point would be for naught. The thieves would cut their losses and vanish again, Rude was sure of it.

To that end, he and Remy had split up… she was watching from the docks, while Rude was on board the fishing boat, preparing to cut off their exit. The Zenshou had the numbers – there were four of them presently in the city – but with the element of surprise on their side, Rude was confident that they could make quick work of them.

All that was left to do now… was wait for nightfall.

---

Remy glanced out at the tranquil water of the bay as it shimmered in the moonlight. Wutai always seemed to have a sort of peace that lingered over it like a veil. Even after having weathered a war, that somehow hadn’t changed.

It had been a very long time since she’d come purely as a visitor. In fact, now that she thought about it… she was pretty sure the last time she’d been in Wutai for anything other than Turks’ business had been nearly six years ago, when her grandfather had died. She’d only just been starting out in the Turks at the time… recently promoted from rookie, and still very green. Barring a handful of fairly distant cousins, he’d been her last living link to her father’s ancestral home.

Though she was really only half Wutaiian. The other half of her heritage could be found in Mideel, where her mother’s side of the family was quite… well-established. In fact, she was actual very – VERY – distantly related to Sato and Saya through the marriage of one of her fourth cousins, apparently. It was never a relationship she’d given much thought to, as she herself have never even lived in Mideel and hadn’t known either of them until they’d been promoted to the Turks… but Mideelian natives practically lived and breathed genealogy, so naturally she heard all about it when she mentioned the pair to her maternal grandmother one Christmas. But… it had been one of the reasons she’d traveled to the little island country for Sato’s funeral. He was… family. Both Turk brethren and kin… even if only just.

The other reason she’d gone had been the guilt she’d felt over the way they’d last parted. The man was endlessly annoying, bordering on insane – and she had frequently been the target of his efforts to cause mayhem around the office – but she still, to this day, regretted the things she’d said to him the last time she’d seen him alive. She regretted that her last memory of him was one of anger.

The Turk sighed and shook her head, forcibly pushing aside her musings. After all… now was hardly the time or the place to wallow in one’s own regret. She was supposed to be keeping an eye out for the Zenshou. Wutai always seemed to bring out her introspective side.

Two quick flashes of light from somewhere offshore brought her back to the present, however. Rude’s signal. He’d spotted something on the water. A moment later, the hum of an engine could be heard from somewhere out in the darkness.

And a moment after that, she heard the faint sounds of footsteps…

---

Rude watched in silence as the small speedboat made its way across the bay and towards the docks. He almost hadn’t even noticed it until it was practically right on top of him. The craft was quiet, stealthy, and fast… the perfect method of transportation for people who didn’t want to be seen coming and going.

The fishing boat he and Remy had borrow was anchored a short distance out in the water, nestled between two fairly large freighters that were far too deep on the draft to safely reach the Wutaiian docks themselves, and relied on tender boats to ferry cargo and crew to and from shore. As the speedboat had approached, he’d hurried to signal his fellow Turk before pulling up anchor and creeping up to the boat’s wheelhouse, preparing to start the engine. If they were quick, they could pen the Zenshou in. Take them by surprise. Remy would confront them as soon as they set foot on land, and Rude would block their boat’s escape and provide cover if necessary from the water.

The smaller boat slowed as it approached the docks, and Rude turned his own vessel towards them, easing the throttle forward.

Just as he was moving into position, however, the Zenshou’s engine suddenly revved up to full speed, and they were flying towards the docks. The speedboat whipped around, and cut its engine, allowing it to drift sideways towards the dock, while reorienting itself so that it was pointed out to sea, and Rude’s eyes widened. They were preparing to make a run for it.

He was close enough by now that he could see three shadowy figures on shore heading for the new arrivals… One of said figures was struggling against the other two.

“It was a trap!” Remy’s voice called out, and Rude’s heart leapt into his throat as he realized that she was the prisoner.

One of them struck her, hard, over the head, and Rude heard a faint cry of pain before Remy went limp in her captor’s arms. The Zenshou unceremoniously hauled her aboard the speedboat.

“Damn it!” Rude hissed, and shoved the throttle to full forward, simultaneously reaching for his gun. The Zenshou’s boat shot forward as well, making a quick escape from the approaching Turk.

Or… at least that’s what he expected them to do. He didn’t expect the Zenshou to aim their boat directly at his in some sort of deranged game of chicken. Rude abandoned the controls and took aim at the approaching speedboat, squeezing off several shots at their engine, hoping to cripple them… but they were moving too fast for him to get a solid lock on his target.

As they came closer, one of them stood up at the front of the boat. A faint plume of smoke launched towards the Turk, pale and barely visible in the moonlight. It took Rude far longer than it should have to realize what it was… and when he did, his blood ran cold.

The Zenshou had just fired at him with a goddamned rocket launcher.

He didn’t have time to think… only to act. Rude turned and fled to the side of the fishing boat, and dove, hitting the cold water just seconds before the deafening explosion, muted only slightly by his submersion, turned his vessel into driftwood. He forced himself deeper as flames lit up the world above him, and stayed down until his lungs burned with the desperate need for oxygen.

When he finally surrendered to the need to breathe, his head emerged above the water’s surface, and he drew in deep lungfuls of air. The burning remains of his boat were scattered all around him, being pushed back and forth by the waves, and in the distance, he could hear the whine of a speedboat engine fading into the night.

For a moment, he could only stare in disbelief as they vanished into the darkness. They’d taken Remy. He swore loudly and started for shore. He needed to contact headquarters. Now. Shiva only knew what the Zenshou would do to their prisoner…

---

As the elevator made its way down to the ground floor, his PHS rang. He hurried to dig it out of his pocket, not really having to wonder who’d be calling him so early. It wasn’t unusual for Tseng to catch him before he left for work if there was urgent assignment waiting for him. When he noticed that the caller ID displayed Veld’s information, however, his concern deepened.

“Reno here,” he answered.

“Where are you?” the Turk commander demanded.

“Literally just walked outta my apartment. I’m headin’ for the car,” Reno replied.

“Don’t bother. Get up to your roof. Kai’s on her way. You’re going to Wutai.”

Reno blinked in surprise just as he arrived in the lobby and reflexively hit the button for the building’s rooftop instead. The doors swished closed again and the elevator started upwards

“What’s goin’ on?” he asked. If he was being sent to Wutai first thing in the morning, before he even made it to the office, obviously something had happened… Most likely, something involving Remy and Rude and their investigation.

“Rude needs your help, and speed is of the essence. Kai will fill you in on the details,” Veld replied, and the call ended. He was still vaguely mystified. Whatever was going on, it must have been serious if Veld wasn’t even taking the time to brief him personally. That likely meant that he had other tasks that he was juggling that were just as urgent.

The doors opened on the top floor of his building, and Reno hurried to make his way up the narrow staircase that led out onto the roof. As he emerged, he was greeted by the sound of a helicopter streaking towards his location. He sprinted towards it as it arrived, shielding himself from the buffeting downdraft of the rotors as he hoisted himself in through the open door on the side of the aircraft before it had a chance to land.

Reno dragged the sliding door shut and made his way into the cockpit, dropping into the copilot’s seat next to Kai and pulling on a headset.

“The fuck’s goin’ on? I just got a call from Veld tellin’ me to get my ass up here ’cause we’re goin’ to Wutai.”

“Rude checked in about fifteen minutes ago. Something went wrong on their op, and Remy’s been taken prisoner by the Zenshou,” the diminutive Turk responded, as she turned the helicopter away from the building and took them higher. Reno quickly pulled the harness across his body, strapping himself in.

“So what the fuck are we waitin’ for? Get a fuckin’ move on!”

---

Midgar to Wutai was going to be very long flight. It had taken them significantly less time in the Highwind than it would in the much smaller aircraft they were currently aboard. The Turks’ helicopter didn’t have anywhere near the speed or the range of the massive airship. They’d be traveling a good three and a half hours to Costa del Sol – and that was with the wind cooperating – where they’d refill the fuel tanks, and from there it would be another four to five hours to Rocket Town for a second refueling. And then, nearly eight hours to the Wutaiian coast, plus however long it took them to reach the region of the island they were meeting Rude.

All told, they were looking at anywhere from a fifteen to eighteen hour flight, not counting the time it would take to refuel twice on the way, and again when they got there. Over half a day, just getting there. And then they had to find Remy.

Reno couldn’t help but worry. Eighteen hours was a long time to be a prisoner. Anything could happen to her before they even got anywhere near the island nation. And Rude was on his own, too… Not captive, but still in potentially hostile territory with no backup.

“Hey,” Kai said, nudging him slightly. He looked up at her, setting his concerns aside for the moment. “I’m gonna take the controls for the trip to Costa del Sol and the jump over to Rocket Town. When we get to Rocket Town, you take over for me, okay? And… try and get some rest if you can before then. It’s a long flight, and it’s going to feel like it.”

“Yeah… Sure,” the redhead nodded. He couldn’t really find any fault with that logic. The last part of their trip was going to be the long haul. It made more sense to have a fresh pilot at the controls for that, rather than trying to split the two shorter legs of the flight between them. “Hey, Kai? Ya think she’s still… ya know… alive?”

It wasn’t a question he’d wanted to voice… but it had been on his mind since the moment Kai had filled him in, and he felt as though, if he didn’t ask it, it was going to drive him crazy. There were plenty of reasons for the Zenshou to keep Remy alive. Ransom. Leverage. Information. But there were just as many reasons to off her… not the least of which being revenge. The Turks had taken and tortured one of theirs… Now, they’d taken a Turk.

“If she’s not…” Kai said, with an audible growl, as they reached the edge of the Plate and Midgar disappeared from beneath them, “… they’re not going to live long enough to regret killing her. And I’ll start with that lying bitch whore that got away from us.”

Reno had nothing to say to that.

---

Victor helped himself to a cup of coffee… and immediately grimaced at the overwhelming bitterness of the liquid. Whoever had made it certainly liked it strong. He heard quiet snickering behind him, and turned to see Sykes walking through the lounge door.

“Sorry… I meant to warn you sooner. Veld was the first one in this morning. It’s… usually better to just avoid it when he makes the coffee.”

The rookie grinned and took another sip of the harsh, black liquid.

“Nah. This is the way I like it,” he laughed, “Reminds me of the stuff I drank back in Junon. Besides… this just looks like motor oil. I think the mess hall on base uses actual motor oil in theirs.”

“Oh, that’s right… you’re former military, aren’t you?” Sykes said, nodding.

“Airship crew, five years. General infantry for a year before that. Joined up right after I turned eighteen.”

“So, why the sudden change of career?” the senior Turk queried. Victor shrugged.

“I did my part in the war. Lost more than a few good friends. Was proud to serve,” he said, shaking his head slightly, “But, afterwards? I don’t know if it was the military that changed after the war, or if it was me. I just… didn’t feel like I really belonged there anymore. Then I heard about the recruitment program and thought I’d try my luck.”

“Where’d you come from originally?”

“Little mining town in the mountains called Corel. Heard they built a reactor up there a few years ago, but I haven’t been back in awhile. Rest of my family up and moved to Costa del Sol soon after I left ’cause my granddad just couldn’t handle the winters anymore. Not after working the mines for so long. How about you?”

“My hometown’s so tiny it doesn’t really have a name,” Sykes snickered. “It’s a little village about fifteen minutes up-slope from Icicle Inn with all of eight buildings to show for it… if you count the chocobo barn. Started out as rescue base and avalanche watchtower for the ski resort. Then the lookouts brought their families up the glacier, and built themselves their own little town.”

“Sounds cozy.”

“Definitely was in the winter,” Sykes teasingly replied, “About all you really wanted to do was huddle under a blanket next to the fire all day with everyone else.”

Victor chuckled and settled himself on the couch with his coffee. He liked Sykes… but like most of the senior Turks, he hadn’t had much of an opportunity to really sit down and get to know the guy on a personal level yet.

“Been a Turk long?” he asked, and Sykes shook his head.

“Not really. A year and change. Almost two. I was actually just promoted to full status… so… to be honest I still feel a little like a rookie sometimes.”

The rookie nodded, now recalling that Tseng had briefly mentioned something about the younger man being recently promoted during their initial introductions. And he certainly understood the feeling. He remembered when he’d been promoted to airship duty and how long it took to get used to the idea of some of his friends back in the infantry referring to him as “sir” all of a sudden and it not being just them teasing him. It was a little strange to think that… he’d be going through that all over again.

The truth was, he’d almost backed out of the recruitment program altogether at the last moment – right after he’d seen just how young everyone else in the little hoard of incoming recruits had been compared to himself. Some of them – like Zephyr – were barely more than kids, and he’d wondered if he was making a mistake. If he was just… too old… to be there. Eventually, though, he’d shoved those thoughts aside and done what he’d come there to do. The next thing he knew, he was officially a recruit. And now… now he was a Turk.

“So… what’s it really like around here? You know… when we’re not training our asses off…” Victor asked, putting aside his musings for the moment.

“Exhausting… Stressful… Dangerous,” Sykes snickered, “But… once you get into the routine, it’s pretty great. Everyone’s got each other’s back. We’re like a weird little family.” He paused for a moment, grinning slightly, “A weird and borderline psychotic family, sometimes, but…” He shrugged, trailing off.

Victor choked slightly on the sip of coffee he’d just taken, laughing. “I had a few buddies back in Junon that could fit that description, too. I’m starting to look forward to getting to know everyone better.”

“Well, you’ll get to know Liam and Petra real well, since you’ll be training with them pretty much… all the time,” he snickered, “And since Tseng’s in charge of everything related to rookies you’ll definitely get to know him once he’s off medical restriction. Reno’ll still be handling a lot of training stuff, too.” He grinned slightly. “Just between you and me, though… I always kind of liked training with Reno better. Tseng can be a little too by the book. Reno… not so much.”

The rookie grinned widely. “Yeah, Reno definitely seems like a character, all right,” he chuckled, “I get the feeling he knows his shit, though.”

“Oh, he does,” Sykes replied, nodding. “And, well… I mean, he certainly should, considering…”

“Considering what?”

The senior Turk laughed softly. “Considering that he’s going to be the next second in command. He’s not working with you rookies just because Tseng got hurt, you know…”

“Really… ?” Victor replied, somewhat surprised. Though… maybe he shouldn’t have been. After all, the redhead had not only been present at their final evaluation, he’d been introduced specifically as Tseng’s personal protege. What bother giving them that information at all right out of the gate if it didn’t have some significance?

“Hey, Sykes,” a voice greeted the senior Turk before the conversation could continue, and pair looked up to see Liam making his way into the lounge. “Where the heck is everyone? The morning briefing is starting in less than five minutes, and I haven’t seen Veld, or Tseng, or Kai, or Reno anywhere. Neither has Petra.”

“Um… I think they’re in the Commander’s office,” another familiar voice piped up from the direction of the door, and Victor saw that Zephyr had silently crept in behind Liam. “Or… someone’s in there, at least. I could hear voices when I walked past a minute ago.”

Sykes glanced over at Liam and frowned. “Something must have happened if Veld pulled them all into a private meeting right before the briefing.”

“Maybe Remy and Rude found something in Wutai?” Liam offered. Sykes nodded.

“Could be.”

“What’s going on in Wutai?” Zephyr asked.

“Long story…” Sykes replied, “The short of it is that we’ve been dealing with a group of thieves that have been causing Shinra some serious problems lately. Remy and Rude were sent to try and track down information on who’s paying them to steal from the Company.” He looked over at the clock hanging on the far wall. “But like Liam said, it’s almost time for the briefing. If something’s going on, that’s where we’ll find out.”

Victor set his now-empty coffee mug aside, and got to his feet, quickly falling into step behind the others as they made their way out into the hallway and down to the conference room. When they walked in, he somehow wasn’t especially surprised to see that Ryu had beaten them there. He was seated near the head of the table, somewhat grudgingly talking to Petra. Victor smirked slightly. Ryu was kind of the epitome of anti-social. He really only dealt with people if he absolutely had to, and much preferred to simply be left to his own thoughts. By the looks of things, though, he’d met his match in Petra, as she was quite happily chatting away, and ignoring the annoyed look on the young Wutaiian’s face. Since his little run-in with Rufus, though, Ryu did seem to be making more of an effort with the others, so maybe this was just Ryu being “personable”.

The new arrivals quickly took their own seats… just in time, as it turned out, as mere seconds later, Veld stepped into the room, followed closely by Tseng. There was, however, no sign of either Reno or Kai.

“Our day seems to have started early,” Veld began, as Tseng took his seat nearby. “As I’m sure you’ve by now noticed, we’re a couple of Turks short this morning. Remy has been taken prisoner by the Zenshou. Kai and Reno left a short while ago for Wutai to assist Rude in a rescue operation.”

Victor heard a somewhat startled gasp from the other end of the table, and saw that Petra was staring wide-eyed at the Commander.

“Unfortunately, that also means our numbers are going to be stretched even thinner than they already were, as we still have escort assignments to handle,” Veld continued, before glancing over at Sykes. “Sykes, you’re on Heidegger’s detail today with Victor. He’s traveling to Fort Condor.”

“Yes, sir,” said Sykes.

“Petra… you and Liam will be accompanying Palmer to a Rocket Town. Be prepared to stay overnight.”

“Understood, sir,” Petra replied, with a nod. Veld turned his attention on the other rookies.

“Ryu… Zephyr… the training hall awaits. Tseng will conduct as many exercises as he is physically able, and I’ll fill in for the more hands-on lessons as my time allows. If an appropriate opportunity comes up, I may have one or both of you join me on assignment. I have a feeling I’ll likely be relegated to escort duty myself before long.”

---

Reno groaned faintly and took his hand off the controls just long enough to rub his eyes. He yawned and cracked his neck as he returned his gaze to the darkness outside.

It was now nearly one in the morning. They’d been traveling for sixteen hours straight – barring very brief stopovers for fuel and food – and had another hour to an hour and a half to go before they hit Wutai. Kai was asleep in the copilot’s seat, her head lolling to one side in a way that probably wouldn’t leave her neck feeling particularly pleasant when she woke up.

He’d managed to doze a bit between Costa del Sol and Rocket Town himself… but not for long. The vibrations of the aircraft had inevitably jarred him from sleep shortly after he’d achieved it, every damned time. Eventually he’d given up on the idea altogether. Instead, he’d passed the time talking to Kai and watching the sun as it reached its zenith and then began its slow decent. By the time he’d taken over as pilot, it was well and truly setting… and at this point, he was surrounded by almost pitch darkness. Even the stars were hiding tonight, as some fairly heavy cloud cover had rolled in over the ocean just after sunset.

It was a little intimidating. He’d flown at night before, but he’d never felt quite so… isolated. They were over water right now, so even if there had been a little bit of moonlight to see by, there really wouldn’t have been much of anything to see. Everything below him simply fell away into inky blackness, and the view upwards was no better. The only thing that told him he was even moving forward at the moment was the faintly illuminated instrument panel.

Reno heard a loud groan over his headset, and turned to his right to see Kai grudgingly rousing herself. She yawned and looked over at him.

“How long ’til we reach the shore?” she asked, rubbing her, now likely stiff, neck.

“Probably another hour or so. We picked up a tailwind a little while ago, so… that’s helpin’ a little.”

“Have you checked in with Rude yet?”

“Yeah, about fifteen minutes ago,” the redhead responded. “He’ll be waitin’. Says he’s got someone who might know where they took her…”

When they’d left the city, Rude had still been trying to piece that together. He hadn’t been able to follow them after the fact – owing to the untimely destruction of the boat they’d taken down the coast. Apparently, it had taken him most of the night to get back to shore and find a way to contact headquarters… his PHS having been lost to the deep during an unexpected swim to escape the explosion.

But Reno wasn’t at all surprised to learn that his friend had found someone who could point him in the right direction. When he’d checked in with him earlier in the day, as they were refueling in Rocket Town, Rude had told them that he was essentially going to be breaking cover and forcing the location of their base out of the next Zenshou he crossed paths with. It was a risky move, and one he and Remy had initially wanted to avoid, as they hadn’t wanted the thieves to even know they were there, let alone watching them… but now that they had Remy – and obviously knew they’d been under surveillance – the old plan was kind of out the window anyway. Secrecy no longer mattered. The information did.

“And Veld? Did you check in with headquarters?”

“Not since Rocket Town, but he said he’d call if he had any updates… and he hasn’t.”

“No demands, then…” Kai said with a sigh. Reno shook his head. That little detail worried him more than anything else. The Zenshou were after a profit. It stood to reason that they’d nabbed the Turk primarily to ransom her back… but it was going on twenty-four hours since Remy’s capture, and they hadn’t heard a peep from her kidnappers. If they hadn’t taken her for a quick payday… then what were they doing with her? Most of the possibilities weren’t good ones.

Kai lapsed into silence, staring blankly through the windshield, lost in thought. After about thirty minutes of an uncomfortable lack of conversation, the redhead suddenly spotted the welcome sight of faint lights, far in the distance, outlining the little village to the north where Rude had said he’d meet them.

“Hey… Kai…” he said, drawing her attention to them.

“About damn time,” the senior Turk muttered as she sat up in her seat.

---

He hadn’t slept. Not since Remy had been taken. The first few hours after her capture had been spent in a desperate attempt to find a way to notify headquarters of what had happened. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that when he’d discovered his PHS missing from his pocket, Rude had very nearly panicked. He was cut off at the worst possible time, and it had taken until the following morning to find a damned phone.

Since then, he’d been spending a great deal of his time thinking. Judging by the way they’d hauled ass out of there, the Zenshou had known ahead of time that they’d be watching. Maybe they’d even been stalking the two Turks beforehand. He had no way of knowing how long ago their presence had been noticed.

He’d also been thinking about ways to find his fellow Turk.

South. That the best he could do to describe the Zenshou’s destination. They’d fled to the south and vanished into the night. He could have found another boat and gone after her, in the hopes of getting lucky… but his training urged him to take a different approach. Tres had always taught that if it came down to a choice between the known and the unknown, the known was almost always the better option. In this case, the “known” was the little village he and Remy had been staked out in initially, watching the Zenshou safehouse. There had been at least one other Zenshou still there when they’re left to tail the others… and Rude caught up to him as quickly as he could.

Rude rubbed his tired eyes and leaned back in the chair he’d taken up residence in. He’d tried to get some sleep – after all, he knew that, though they were coming as fast as possible, Reno and Kai wouldn’t be there until the early hours of the morning, and there was nothing he could do before then – but sleep had been elusive. He’d finally just settled for resting quietly while he waited for them to arrive.

And occasionally checking in on his own prisoner, naturally.

The Zenshou he’d tracked down in the hours since he’d made his call for help was nothing special. Just a kid really… probably a fairly recent recruit, and not experienced enough to know when to get the hell out of town because someone might come looking for him. He hadn’t known much – Rude had gotten the distinct impression that he was little more than an errand boy for them rather than an actual member of the gang – but he’d given him strong contender for the location of the group’s main hideout after a little persuasion. Hell, he hadn’t even had to do much more than scare the poor kid, in the end. He’d given up everything he knew with barely more than the threat of a beating.

Well… and Rude putting his fist through a door had probably encouraged him a bit, too.

Rude glanced down at his watch. It was almost two in the morning, and he wondered how much longer it would be before his backup got here. He was normally a very patient person… but knowing that Remy was – at best – being held prisoner somewhere made him anxious to do something about it.

Almost as soon at the thought entered his mind, though, the faint, but welcome, sound of rotor blades slicing through the air was carried through the open window on the night breeze. Rude breathed a quiet sigh of relief and got to his feet, walking over to the window and peering out into the darkness. He couldn’t see much. Rain had been threatening since before sundown, and though the weather had yet to turn, the clouds had firmly rooted themselves in the heavens for the time being, blotting out the stars and the moon. It wasn’t long, however, before the familiar flashing red light on the helicopter’s tail could be seen somewhere out over the water, as the sound that had roused him drew closer to shore.

---

Reno shut down the engines, and flipped on the overhead lights in the cockpit. They’d set down a short distance from a little fishing village on the eastern coast of Wutai… and hopefully hadn’t woken up too many of the locals doing so. The last thing they needed was a bunch of civilians getting curious and coming to investigate.

“Give Rude a call and wake him up. Let him know we’re here,” Kai said, unstrapping herself from her seat’s harness and getting to her feet. “I’ll keep an eye on things outside while we wait.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll –” the redhead began, only to be cut off by the insistent ringing of the PHS in his pocket. He grabbed it and flipped it open, noting the caller ID with a snort of laughter. “Guess he was waitin’ up for us.” He hit the button to answer the call. “Hey. Guess ya already figured out we’re here. Where do you want to meet?”

“I’m coming to you,” Rude replied, “Don’t get comfortable. I have a possible location.”

“We’ll be waitin’,” Reno replied, grabbing Kai by the arm as she was making her bid for the door to start her patrol. He hung up the phone and glanced up at her. “Might as well strap back in. Rude’s on his way and he knows where we’re goin’.”

Kai nodded her head and slipped into the back, grabbing one of the jump seats in the cargo area, presumably, Reno mused, to leave the copilot’s seat open for their incoming navigator. A few short minutes later, the redhead spotted a dark figure emerging from the shadows and approaching the aircraft. In due course, the door on the side of the helicopter slid open, and Rude all but tossed a teenage boy inside, bound and gagged, before hurriedly climbing in himself.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you two…” he said, by way of greeting.

“Who’s the kid?” Kai queried.

“Hmph…” the bald Turk replied. “He’s with the Zenshou. Only one dumb enough to stick around a known safehouse after they grabbed Remy.”

Reno twisted in his seat to get a better look at the kid. He couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen. And he was terrified. The redhead suddenly blinked in surprised recognition.

“Tch… Didn’t learn your lesson the first time, huh, kid?” he said, addressing the young Wutaiian. Rude looked over at him, questioningly. Reno shook his head. “This is one of the assholes that got away from us in Junon. The one that jumped outta the end of the damn cannon.” He turned his gaze on the boy again. “You gotta find yourself some better friends, man…”

Kai hauled the door shut. “No time for reunions,” she said, briskly, “Where to?”

“Southeast,” Rude replied. “Our new friend here says they’ve got a hideout on the coast about 40 minutes from here by boat.”

“Southeast it is…” Reno said, as he powered up the engines.

---

The pain was enough to take her breath away… so much so, that the scream that would almost certainly have escaped her lips was strangled before it even fully formed. Her vision grayed slightly, and had she not been strung up from a wooden beam that ran the length of the space, she had no doubt that the blow would have dropped her to her knees. As it was, her tenuous balance faltered and the ropes took her full weight, digging sharply into her wrists. Remy hurried to find her footing again, to relieve some of the tension on the ropes.

She’d been like this for hours… wrists lashed together and hoisted over her head, the rope pulling them higher and higher, until only her toes remained on the floor to support her. She felt as though she was being stretched. Her shoulders still burned from the futile efforts she’d made to try to escape, and by now, she could hardly even feel her fingers anymore.

They’d simply left her like that. At first.

For a time, she’d thought she was merely a prisoner. No one seemed interested in interrogating her, and her bonds, though supremely uncomfortable, weren’t likely to inflict any lasting damage unless she struggled too hard against them.

But then she’d appeared.

The malice in the woman’s eyes was unmistakable, and Remy didn’t have to wonder where it came from or why it was directed squarely at her. After all… she’d spent nearly a month systematically torturing the Zenshou woman. Now, it seemed, it was her turn to suffer.

There had been no questions. No demands for information. Remy had lost track of how long it had been going on. At some point, she was almost certain she’d passed out, only to be revived so that the beatings could continue. Knowing that her tormentor was after nothing more than pure revenge instilled in her a sense of dread, the likes of which she’d never known before.

She knew there was to be no reprieve. No mercy. This woman was going to continue to inflict pain until she either drove the Turk to madness or killed her outright… or until she was rescued.

And Remy wasn’t entirely certain which might come first…

~end chapter 69~