Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 71: A Unexpected Acquisition

Liam soundlessly made his way closer to where he’d seen the man by the rocket. It was probably just one of Palmer’s engineers… but it wouldn’t hurt to check things out, just in case. Besides… he’d been standing watch for over two hours before Petra had come to relieve him. It felt good to be able to move around again.

It was a nice night… Chilly, but the skies were clear, and the rain that had threatened briefly during the late afternoon had never materialized. He remembered nights like this during the brief period of time he’d live in Rocket Town. There had been any number of times that he’d crept outside after the rest of his family had gone to bed just to look up at the stars and enjoy the peace and quiet. Rocket Town wasn’t a military installation. There were no night shifts or security patrols to disturb him, like there were in some of the other places he’d been over the years. It was… relaxing. Things hadn’t changed much.

As he neared the rocket, he could hear voices from above him on the walkway, and he paused, straining to make out what they were saying. To his surprise – and no small amount of concern – what he heard was plainly Wutaiian.

“Akai waiyaa o hazushimasu,” said one voice, followed by something he didn’t quite catch. There was a loud clank, that reverberated in the night, and the same voice hissed, “Sore ni chuui shite!”

‘Remove the red wire,’ Liam mentally translated, ‘And be careful with it!’

“Shigoto sa sete, bakayarou…” a second voice replied. ‘Let me work, asshole.’

The rookie’s eyes widened slightly, and he hurriedly ducked into the shadows, ensuring that he was out of sight. He supposed they could have been part of Palmer’s team – it wasn’t impossible that the man had recruited specialists from Wutai, after all – but if so, why were they working so late? And in the dark? And keeping their voices down like they definitely didn’t want to be overheard?

The more he considered it, the less likely it seemed like those two were supposed to be up there. Were they Zenshou, then? After some bit of tech Shinra had built for the rocket?

He certainly couldn’t just let them do whatever it was they were doing without finding out one way or the other. But if they were Zenshou… he was going to need some help.

---

Reno’s head broke the surface of the water, and the young Turk desperately pulled in deep lungfuls of fresh air. Coming out had seemed like it had taken much longer then going in… but then, that might have had something to do with the fact that he’d been holding his breath the entire time. In reality, it couldn’t have been more than thirty or forty seconds… Now that he knew the route, he’d had no trouble navigating the dark little tunnel.

Though that had been plenty long, from his point of view. He’d just learned the hard way that, likely owing to his injury and not being entirely back in shape yet, he couldn’t hold his breath nearly as long as he’d been able to the last time he’d done this. He hadn’t been willing to take the air supply from Remy, however. Because, even though by the time they’d made it out of the cave his vision was starting to gray around the edges and his lungs were burning like the Nine Hells, she needed it more.

Remy’s head popped up half a second after Reno’s did, and he slipped his arm around her, supporting her as the waves rocked them gently back and forth. Remy leaned her head against him, fighting to stay conscious, and the redhead began the swim back to shore. The whole time he was also watching for Kai, and as the minutes passed with no sign of her, his concern began to grow. What in Ifrit’s name was taking her so long?

The thought of saving Remy only to lose Kai in the process terrified him slightly. What if the Zenshou had caught her before she’d made her own exit? Would they take her prisoner? He doubted it… just as he doubted that Kai was planing on leaving that Zenshou woman alive. And if she didn’t turn up soon, he’d be faced with the decision of whether or not he should go back for her.

If he had to choose between retrieving Kai and getting Remy to a doctor… what would even be the right choice? Sure, he could leave Remy with Rude… but he couldn’t expect them to wait while he went back in search of Kai. And if Kai was already dead… then what? Logically, it made sense to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.

But this wasn’t just about what was logical. If there was even a chance that Kai was alive, he couldn’t just leave. He’d never be able to live with it if he did.

Just as he’d half convinced himself that he was going to be handing Remy over to Rude and then swimming right back into that Shiva-be-damned Zenshou den, a slight movement near where the entrance of the cave would be caught his eye in the moonlight that had finally decided to peak out from behind the clouds. For a very brief moment, he was worried that maybe a their secret passage had been discovered, and one of the Zenshou had gone in after them… but three faint flashes of light in quick succession quickly calmed those fears.

At that point, he was almost to the shore, and he slowed his progress slightly to allow Kai to catch up to them.

“How is she?” the more senior Turk asked when she finally reached them.

“Been better,” Reno replied, shifting Remy to his other side as his feet finally reached the bottom. He glanced at the Wutaiian Turk’s face and frowned. “Shit.. Think she passed out.”

He awkwardly stripped off his fins so that he could gain better purchase on the sandy ocean bottom, and pulled Remy’s arm around his shoulders. Kai did the same and slipped under the other arm, hoisting her between the two of them as they dragged her from the water and hurried up onto the beach. It was going to be a long walk back to where Rude was waiting for them.

---

Rude sat quietly in the open sliding door of the helicopter’s cargo section, gaze fixed on the dark water. They’d had to land almost a mile up the beach to avoid the possibility of being spotted from the ground. The area was remote, and a helicopter flying at night was bound to raise suspicions. He was close enough that he could reach his fellow Turks in a timely manner if they signaled that they needed him, but far enough away that it was unlikely he’d run into any trouble while he was on his own.

The bald Turk stole a quick glance back at the jump seat into which his prisoner was secured. The kid had largely seemed to accept his fate after awhile. Either that, or he’d worn himself out, trying to get loose earlier. Rude wasn’t quite sure which. At the moment, he was dozing in his rather uncomfortable upright position, arms fastened to the armrests of his seat, legs bound together with duct tape, and mouth still firmly gagged.

He almost felt bad for the kid. During their earlier… conversations… Rude had gotten the impression that he didn’t really have much loyalty to the Zenshou. He was just in way over his head, scared, and had no idea how to get himself out of the trouble he’d managed to get himself into. His name was Eiji and he lived in the little village up north where the Zenshou had their safehouse. From what Rude had gotten out of him, he only seemed to be working for the thieves in order to take care of his ailing grandfather and younger sister.

That was the main reason that Rude hadn’t used any physical interrogation techniques on the kid, despite his current affiliation. He’d scared the ever-living crap out of him more than a few times, yes… but hadn’t gone so far as to actually hurt him. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with him at this point. Reno had said they were taking him back to Midgar with them as a prisoner, but… it felt wrong.

The kid was just their errand boy. He passed messages and delivered packages. Sure, they’d dragged him along on the Junon theft, but that was really only because he was small and could fit into the air vent they’d used to get him onto the base so he could let the rest of them in – a detail the Turk would be mentioning to base security at the first available opportunity when they got back.

Once this was done and Remy was safe, he’d talk things over with Reno… see what he thought. Rude was beginning to think that Eiji might be more useful to the Shinra here in Wutai. He didn’t have any further information of substance. There was no point in taking him back to Midgar just to interrogate him… and he very seriously doubted the Zenshou cared enough about him for him to be useful as a hostage. But if they put him back where they found him and gave him a little… monetary incentive… to turn informant… who knew what they might learn?

His silent planning, however, was cut short as he spotted movement in the darkness. His hand immediately went to his weapon… and remained there until he saw the three flashes of Reno’s signal light. They were just down the beach, but moving slowly. Rude hopped down to the ground and made his way out to meet them.

“Take her, will ya, partner? I’m not built for this…” Reno said, panting softly, as he turned slightly to offer up the injured woman who, though unconscious, was instinctively clinging to his back as he carried her piggyback style. Rude frowned at the state of his fellow Turk.

“… Was she out the whole way back?” he asked, carefully taking Remy from him, though he didn’t get an answer from the redhead. Reno immediately ran ahead to the copter as soon as his burden was lifted.

“Yeah. We pulled her out mid-torture session,” Kai replied, more than a slight hint of anger in her voice. Reno returned to the group before they’d even covered half the remaining distance, a blanket in his hands. Rude paused long enough to let him wrap it around the injured Turk’s nude body.

“Less talkin’, more escapin’. We’re still in Zeshou territory, and they’re bound to have noticed they’ve had visitors by now. We can debrief later… right now, let’s get the fuck outta here before someone figures out which direction we went.”

Rude nodded and quickened his pace towards the helicopter. Within minutes, they were airborne.

---

Remy woke with a start, finding herself in near-pitch darkness, surrounded by a flood of sound that threatened to deafen her, utterly uncertain of where she was. All she knew for sure was that everything hurt, and something was holding her in place. She struggled weakly against whomever or whatever was restraining her.

“Easy, Remy…” a voice said, near her left ear. Not a shout, but loud enough to be heard over the din. “You’re okay. We’re takin’ you someplace safe.”

“… Reno?” she managed, though she couldn’t even hear her own words. It took her several more moments to recognize the sound that was nearly drowning out everything else as the familiar roar of the team’s helicopter… and then she remembered.

She relaxed as much as her abused flesh would allow her to, sagging back against the redhead’s warm body. He was holding her protectively, his back pressed up against the rear panel of the cargo space and seated on the floor. Remy turned her head just enough to nuzzle her cheek into the side of his neck, and let out a sob of relief in spite of the pain she was in.

They’d come for her. She known they would come for her, but there had certainly been plenty of doubt as to whether or not they would find her before it was too late. Some of the things that woman had done to her… well… the physical scars wouldn’t be the only scars she carried after this. There had been times when she wished that she’d just get it over with. It had been more than apparent right from the beginning that the Zenshou’d had no intention of allowing her to leave that place alive… and was planning on taking her time dispatching her.

Remy shuddered and felt Reno’s arms tighten ever so slightly around her in response, as if he desperately wanted to comfort her but was afraid of hurting her further. She loved that about him. Her little redhead had such a unique gentleness to him… and not even the nature of their job had been able to stamp it out.

She held onto both that thought and the younger Turk as exhaustion eventually claimed her once again.

---

“You should get some rest.”

Reno snorted softly and took a long drag off his cigarette as he gazed out at the rising sun.

“Tch… yeah, right. Rude, I’ve been up all night, and I just finished off my second pot of coffee. I’m so fuckin’ wired right now, I couldn’t sleep if I tried.”

“… You drank all the coffee?” the bald Turk queried, a faint note of teasing in his voice. Reno sniggered and knocked the cigarette’s ash off against the step he was sitting on.

“I mention yet just how much I’ve been missin’ havin’ you around to make fun of me?” he chuckled, “How’s Remy?”

“Still asleep,” Rude replied, joining his friend on the stairs in front of the small clinic, and frowned, “… You want a rundown?”

Reno grimaced. The doctor hadn’t said much to them when they’d arrived last night. He’d taken one look at his patient and kicked them the hell out while he got to work. The redhead had spent the time since then making sure they hadn’t been followed and calling headquarters with an update.

“Do I want one?” he replied with a somewhat mirthless laugh. “Not really. But you probably oughta give me one anyway…”

“There’s the obvious… she was whipped and beaten, probably for hours. They pulled out three of her toenails. Punched her hard enough to chip two teeth and split her lip open. Beyond that, she’s got four broken ribs, a shattered eye socket, and a lot of internal bruising. And that’s just what the doctor could see. Plenty more they could’ve done to her that wouldn’t necessarily leave a mark…”

The redhead’s fist clenched, and she suddenly found himself hoping that Kai had made that bitch suffer before she took off to catch up to them.

“Do me a favor,” he said, glancing over at Rude.

“… What?”

“Talk me outta goin’ back there ‘n takin’ out every last one of ’em with extreme prejudice.”

Rude snorted faintly in laughter. “Alone? When did you develop a death wish?”

“Don’t have one. That’s why I asked ya to talk me outta it.”

The bald Turk shook his head. “We need you here. With us… because I’ve been awake even longer than you have, and you drank all the damn coffee,” he said with a smirk, before turning serious, “Besides… I’m no leader, and Kai’s… Kai. She’s pissed and she doesn’t always make the best decisions when she’s pissed. We need someone who can still think clearly telling us what to do.”

Reno sighed and stubbed out what remained of his cigarette before flicking the butt into the bushes.

“Tch… Fine. Guess no one else is dyin’ today,” he muttered. He’d only been half serious with his request to begin with, but he must have been pretty convincing because Rude looked notably relieved when he said that. Reno paused a moment. “Hey… What’d you do with the Zenshou kid?”

“Thought you said no one else is dying today.”

The redhead rolled his eyes. “Not why I asked, asshole. He’s secure, right? Not gonna go runnin’ back to ’em before we get outta here?”

“He’s not going anywhere for the moment. I did want to talk to you about him, though. You still planning on taking him back to Midgar?”

“Heh… a question that loaded, I’m guessin’ you’d rather I did somethin’ else with the kid… What’d you have in mind?”

“Cut him loose,” Rude replied. Reno blinked in surprise, a deep frown etching its way across his lips.

“Why the fuck would we wanna do that?” he asked, slightly taken aback.

“Because he’s not a Zenshou,” said Rude. “He’s not a thief. He’s not a killer. Hell, he doesn’t even know how to act tough. He’s a scared kid who bit off more than he could chew and who’d rather be just about anywhere else right now.” The older Turk smiled slightly. “And besides which, the Zenshou don’t know we grabbed him. He doesn’t know anything we don’t know right now. But he might learn something useful later. And he might be willing to share… for the right price.”

“You just gonna trust him not to double cross us? Feed us false info?”

“Kid knows he fucked up, and he’s got family he wants to protect. So we make sure they’re protected… pay to send ’em somewhere safer, maybe. I don’t think we’ll have to worry.”

Reno glanced upwards at the sky, considering the suggestion. He wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to kill the kid, or to interrogate him… and Rude did know how to work an informant, as well as the risks of tainted intelligence. If he thought he was of more use here in Wutai than back in Midgar, the redhead was inclined to follow his advice.

He groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Fuck, this leadership thing sucks,” he muttered, chuckling softly, “Tch… This better not come back to bite me in the ass. Okay. You wanna cut him loose, cut him loose. But don’t do it ’til we’re ready to leave. No sense in takin’ unnecessary chances…”

Rude nodded and got to his feet, patting the redhead on the shoulder as he stood.

“Kai’s got things under control here. If you’re not going to sleep, at least come and get some breakfast with me. You can’t live on coffee and nicotine indefinitely.”

“Ya think so?” the redhead retorted, “I dunno… I lived on less sometimes back when I was a kid.”

The bald Turk smirked slightly. “You’re not a kid anymore, Reno. Can’t keep using that as an excuse not to take care of yourself. Now come eat.”

Reno snorted softly and held a hand out to his friend… who promptly rolled his eyes and pulled him to his feet.

“The doc happen to say when we can get Remy loaded up and get our asses home? I’d rather not be here if the Zenshou come lookin’ for us…” he asked as the older Turk led him through the morning streets towards a little cafe a short distance from the clinic. Rude shrugged.

“She’s good to go whenever. Pretty sure he’d like her to stay a few days, but she’s stable and resting comfortably. It’s the rest of usI’m worried about. We’re all kind of running on fumes right now. At least one of us needs some downtime before we’re in any condition to even try for Rocket Town… much less Midgar. Hmph… even you look like you’re maybe an hour away from crashing, and that’s with six and a half gallons of coffee in your system.”

“Tch… please. I couldn’t possibly have had more than four or five,” Reno snickered, teasingly. Rude shook his head.

“I’m serious, Reno. It’s a long flight. None of us can do it half asleep. It’s not safe.”

Reno sighed and shook his head. “Yeah. I know. I don’t particularly like it, but I know. Look… we’ll eat, check in on Remy, ‘n then I’ll take over guard duty while you ‘n Kai get some rest. By then, I’ll be so wiped, I’ll probably be able to sleep even with all the noise on the copter. You two get us to Rocket Town ‘n I’ll jump on the controls from there to Midgar.”

Before Rude could answer, their conversation was broken in upon by the sharp sound of the redhead’s PHS, its tone announcing the identity of the caller without him even having to look at the screen.

“Yeah, Boss?” he answered, pausing in his bid for the cafe. Rude came to a halt a few steps later, turning to look back at him, curious as to what the Turk lieutenant needed so soon after they’d already reported in. Reno only shrugged in response to his inquiring gaze.

“How soon will you be leaving Wutai?” Tseng asked, his voice somewhat staticy over the connection. Reception, for whatever reason, wasn’t great in the Wutaiian capital.

“Uhh…” He glanced over at Rude and then down at his watch. “Well, we were plannin’ on a few hours from now now, so… ten… maybe eleven? Why? What happened?”

“It seems you weren’t the only ones busy last night,” the Turk lieutenant responded, “Liam and Petra ran into a pair of our thieves attempting to remove engine parts from the Shinra No. 26.”

Reno felt himself go slightly pale at the news. “They okay?” he asked, urgently.

“They’re fine. They have things under control, but… they quite understandably would welcome some more experienced assistance, particularly given that I don’t think it wise to bring both an executive and two Zenshou prisoners back on the same transport… which means they’ll have to split up, as Palmer is planning to leave shortly after lunch. If you can move your own departure time up a bit, I think they would appreciate it. As would I.”

“Honestly, Boss… I’m not sure we can push it much more than we already are. We’re all anxious to get outta here, but none of us are really fit to fly right now,” he replied, running a hand through his hair. “Me ‘n Kai are both gettin’ dangerously close to forty-eight hours without sleep, ‘n Rude’s been up even longer than us. I’d kinda like to make to there in one piece.”

By then, Rude’s expression was turning to one of concern. The redhead put his hand over the phone for a moment.

“Rookies caught themselves a couple of Zenshou in Rocket Town,” he quickly explained, and watched as his friend’s eyebrows shot upwards.

“Then rest. It’s not so desperately urgent I would risk endangering any of you further,” Tseng said.

“You sure, Boss?” he asked, hesitantly, “I mean… I’m not exactly great right now, but enough coffee ‘n I could –”

“No,” the senior Turk said, firmly, “If you’re not comfortable flying right now, then you shouldn’t be. Veld and I will find an alternative. Worst case, the commander will go himself… and I will sit here uselessly and continue to curse the fact that Justinia has not yet seen fit to release my Leviathan-forsaken leg from this cast.”

Reno snorted a faint laugh in response to the proclamation. “Boss, don’t even talk to me ’bout bein’ useless,” he teased, “I spent four fuckin’ weeks not even allowed outta bed, and another three sittin’ around on my ass, remember?”

“Duly noted,” Tseng chuckled, “How is Remy? Has she regained consciousness yet?”

“Eh… In ‘n out,” Reno replied, “Doc’s got her pretty doped up, apparently, so…”

“I see. Get the rest you need and get home.”

“Yes, sir,” the redhead answered, and ended the call, only to find Rude looking at him expectantly. “Plan on about three hours of sleep, partner. Boss says to rest up and get our butts in the air. Liam ‘n Petra are holdin’ two Zenshou prisoners in Rocket Town, and one of ’em’s gotta escort Palmer back to Midgar after lunch, so they’re gonna need backup, ASAP. Veld’s gonna try ‘n get someone else there ahead of us, but…”

“But it’s just him and Sykes handling all new field assignments right now,” Rude finished for him with a nod, “and they have no transport.”

“Right,” said Reno, “Tseng’ll probably call in a favor from Viridia for that, but better we get movin’ just in case, than dick around here longer than we gotta.”

---

A short while later, Reno found himself sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to Remy’s bed, watching her sleep, as the familiar sensation of exhaustion staved off only by caffeine and sheer will began to seep into his bones. Tseng had been right. He never would have made it to Rocket Town in his current state… and the redhead had been stupid to even suggest it. He’d just been worried about his rookies.

Eight hours to Rocket Town – maybe seven if the wind cooperated and they didn’t run into any inclement weather – and they couldn’t even leave for about another three, minimum. It was beyond frustrating, and the redhead was quickly nearing the end of his patience. He hated sitting around, doing nothing, especially when there were things that he knew needed doing. And especially,especially when his fellow Turks needed him.

A soft noise from the direction of the bed drew him from his irritated musings, and he turned to find Remy starring at him, groggily. She blinked and raised a hand to rub her eyes.

“Reno?” she queried, and the younger Turk grinned.

“Hey,” he said, moving from the chair to settle on the edge of her bed. “‘Bout damn time… I was startin’ to think you were just gonna sleep all day.”

The senior Turk looked around the room in vague confusion for a moment.

“Where am I?”

“Clinic in the capital city. We’re just here long enough to get you patched up ‘n let our first pilot get some sleep ’cause fuckin’ Rude won’t lemme fly the damn helicopter on nothin’ but hope and a massive caffeine overdose. There we’re all headin’ home.”

Remy smiled faintly, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“And I’m sticking around to keep you company ’til we leave,” he added, reaching for her hand, and taking it gently into his own. “So… ya know… don’t go runnin’ off on me. I haven’t slept in days.”

“I’m glad you’re here…” Remy said, softly. She pulled his hand closer until she could grasp it with both of hers, and closed her eyes for a moment, slowly exhaling. “Don’t go anywhere… alright?”

“Tch… I’d like to see someone try ‘n make me,” the redhead responded. He brushed a few stray hairs away from her cheek as Remy drifted off again.

---

Normally, Rude didn’t mind a lack of conversation. Before he’d become a Turk, there were times when he would go for days without saying a word to anyone, and without anyone saying a word to him. He was no longer so dedicated an introvert, but generally he remained perfectly happy to sit in silence if no one was in the mood to talk.

Kai wasn’t usually the type to keep to herself, though, and the fact that she’d hardly said more than a sentence or two since they’d boarded the helicopter was… disquieting. It was plain that there was something on her mind. And while he had a pretty good idea of exactly what it was, he wasn’t entirely certain as to whether or not he ought to broach the subject with her. Thus, once Reno had gone quiet, having fallen asleep in the back with Remy, he’d opted for his old fallback of companionable silence.

Reno had, of course, filled him in on what had gone down inside of the Zenshou’s stronghold last night, but part of the story was still unaccounted for. Reno hadn’t been around to see what Kai had done to her one-time lover… and Kai didn’t seem to be in the mood to regale them with tales of revenge. He suspected that that was what was occupying her thoughts.

It couldn’t have been an easy thing to do, taking out someone you knew so intimately… Or, he considered, maybe it had been, and that unexpected ease was what was bothering her. Besides that, Kai had blamed herself so much for what had happened to Reno. Seeing the woman responsible for all of that again had to have stirred some of the guilt up, and it wasn’t surprising she didn’t want to discuss it.

There were plenty of things he didn’t like to talk about, either. Come to think of it, the item right at the top of that list happened to reside in their present destination. He wondered, vaguely, if they might run into his father while they were there. The last time he’d had an assignment in Rocket Town, neither of them had acknowledged one another. He’d briefly caught sight of him, heading into the local tavern, but if his father had noticed him, he’d just kept walking.

It was something that Rude was still coming to terms with. His father didn’t hate him. He knew that much. But he didn’t seem to love him, either. After his mother had died, they two had simply grown farther and farther apart. Once Rude had left home for good, it was like he’d simply been erased from his father’s life.

And by the time he’d figured out why, it had been too late to do anything about it.

“Hmph… I thought he couldn’t sleep with so much noise…” Kai’s voice prodded over the headset, and Rude glanced over at her questioningly, only to find his copilot suddenly turned awkwardly in her seat, staring into the back of the aircraft. Rude spared a quick glance over his shoulder, and quickly confirmed the subject of her comment.

Remy was still fastened in securely on top of a makeshift stretcher for the flight, though at the moment, she seemed to be sleeping soundly. She,however, was not the Turk Kai had been referring to. That honor went to the redhead, who at the moment, was thoroughly passed out in one of the jump seats, half falling out of it, as he apparently either hadn’t bothered to strap himself in, or had released the his restraints at some point in order to get more comfortable.

Rude snorted softly. “Do something about him before he ends up on the floor…” he said, shaking his head in vague amusement.

It was now three in the afternoon, and, after leaving a bit earlier than their initial planned departure, they were only about three more hours from Rocket Town. He hadn’t heard a peep from the younger Turk since the last time they’d checked in with headquarters with an update, and that had been just as they’d hit the halfway mark around two thirty. Not that he was surprised. He’d noticed over the years, that if his friend truly was tired enough, his usual inability to sleep through even the smallest disturbance quickly evaporated, and he slept like a Hades-be-damned log in whatever contorted position he happened to pass out in.

He heard Kai snort softly over the headset as she released herself from her own harness and disappeared into the back section of the helicopter.

“Poor Baby Turkling wore himself out,” she sighed, and Rude couldn’t help but roll his eyes… though at least now she was talking instead of sitting in silence.

“When are you going to stop that?” he asked, mildly annoyed at the persistent nickname. “You know what Tseng’s planning for him.”

“So? He’s not second in command yet. And he won’t be for a good, long time.”

“And?” Rude queried, looking back at her and watching briefly as she fastened Reno into the seat properly. The redhead didn’t so much as stir. “How are the rookies he’s eventually going to be in charge of supposed to be expected to take him seriously if a senior Turk is constantly calling him that?”

It had been something that had been getting on his nerves more and more of late. Reno tolerated it, because, really, it was all in good fun… but Rude was starting to think he’d let it go on too long. Particularly given the issues he’d been having with one of the new rookies – a subject that his friend had only too enthusiastically updated him on over breakfast.

Kai huffed loudly into the microphone as she made her way back up front.

“He told you about Ryu, didn’t he?” she replied.

“Among other things,” the bald Turk confirmed.

“That was all Rufus and his slum rat bullshit, you know,” Kai said, somewhat defensively, retaking her seat and strapping in. “You want my opinion, that little shit needs a good smack upside the head once in awhile.”

Rude snorted a faint laugh. He didn’t entirely disagree with the sentiment… though he wasn’t about to admit it.

“Maybe,” he replied, “But if we don’t start treating Reno like Tseng’s successor, why should they?”

“Hmph… ever the big brother, eh, Rude?” Kai replied, rolling her eyes. Rude smirked.

“He needs one. Just think of all the trouble he’d have gotten himself into as a rookie if I didn’t talk some sense into him once in awhile.”

“Didn’t you two get arrested together at least once?” Kai pointedly shot back. “I seem to recall something about harassing the chocobos at the zoo…”

Rude chuckled. “Exactly. He still managed to get into trouble even with me around. Now imagine if I hadn’t been keeping an eye on him…”

Kai sighed and glanced back over her shoulder again.

“I suppose you have a point. I doesn’t set a very good example for the Turklings, does it?” She leaned back in the copilot’s seat and frowned. “I don’t seem to be getting much of anything right lately.”

“…”

Rude didn’t know what to say to that… and eventually the pair lapsed back into silence again.

---

At the faint sound of helicopter blades slicing through the air, Petra turned her gaze upwards, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Veld had arrived on an early afternoon supply transport from Junon, but there had been nothing leaving Rocket Town until the day after tomorrow… which meant that she and the Turk commander were stuck babysitting their newly acquired interrogation suspects until the team from Wutai got there. Liam had left with Director Palmer shortly after lunch, as planned, and she had been on her own for quite some time before her backup had arrived. It had been… nerve-wracking… to say the least.

Though to be fair, she was lucky to be alive.

When Liam had sent her the message last night, at first, she’d thought he was just being overly cautious. Rocket Town certainly had its fair share of Shinra tech, but weapons? Those were in pretty short supply around here. The little village wasn’t part of the weapons program. It’s inhabitants didn’t develop them. They didn’t stockpile them. They didn’t ever carry anything much more advanced than an old fashioned hunting rifle. What were they going to do? Steal the rocket itself?

As it turned out, that wasn’t as far-fetched as she’d initially thought. She’d caught up with Liam at the bottom of the gantry, where he’d retreated to wait for her. They’d crept silently up the winding staircases, and with each step, Petra had been slightly terrified that the Zenshou would hear their boots on the metal or feel the vibrations of their footfalls in the scaffolding… but somehow they’d taken them unaware.

The two men hadn’t gone down without a fight, however, and Petra had come dangerously close to being sent flying off of the platform by a well-timed kick she hadn’t been able to dodge. It was Liam’s quick thinking that had saved her. The younger rookie has swung one of the cables used to lift supplies to the top of the gantry over to her and she’d been able to catch herself before she’d fallen.

It wasn’t nearly as close a brush with death as some Turks could boast… but it had still scared her.

And now, here she was, waiting for a ride home, like it happened everyday. The helicopter was approaching quickly, now, and she saw that it was headed for the a small landing strip on the edge of town… the same place the executive helicopter had set down when she and Liam had arrived. She hurried over to meet them, passing Veld as he emerged from the little cottage they had temporarily taken over for use as a prisoner holding cell.

“Petra!” he called after her, and she came to a sudden halt, turning to face him.

“Yes, sir?”

“Tell Reno I need to speak with him privately.”

“Yes, sir…” she replied, with a nod, and hurried off to meet the others.

The downdraft of the rotors, sent dust flying all around her, and the rookie had to shield her face from the onslaught, even from several dozen yards off. At last, the aircraft came to a rest, and the engine slowed and stopped. The door along the side slid open, and a familiar redheaded figure disembarked. He grinned when he spotted the younger Turk and made his way over to her.

“Sir? Is –” she began, only to be quickly cut off by the senior Turk.

“Remy’s okay,” Reno said, “Kinda beat up, but we got her back in one piece.”

“Oh… Thank Odin…” Petra breathed, relaxing. Veld had said that they’d managed to get her out, but details had been in rather short supply. It was good to hear.

“So I hear you ‘n Liam decided to show us up and capture a couple of Zenshou yourselves, huh rookie?”

“I guess you could say that…” she said, giggling slightly. It was almost as big a relief to finally have more backup as it was knowing that Remy would be alright. “Veld wants to see you.”

“Heh… lead the way,” he replied, and gestured for Rude and Kai to wait where they were.

~end chapter 71~