Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 74: Midnight Fiasco

Remy slid from Reno’s back and down onto the plush leather sofa in the villa’s main sitting room, and immediately found herself surrounded.

“Remy!” Petra cried, hurrying over to her. Rude, too, followed suit, and moments later was joined by Veld. The injured Turk blinked, disconcerted, not having expected quite that sort of reception.

“Where is Kai?” Veld demanded of the redhead, and and Remy could hear the barely repressed rage in his voice. Reno shook his head.

“Haven’t found her yet.”

“I don’t think you will,” Remy interjected before Veld could continue, and sighed, glancing up at the Turk leader, “She’s in wind, sir. She made sure I would be alright until one of you came for me, and vanished. She’s been watching for you, she almost certainly knows you’re here by now, and she’s not going to come out of hiding until she’s ready to make her move on the Zenshou. I’d stake my life on it.”

The Turk leader frowned and turned toward the window, gazing out into the sunny street that ran alongside the house.

“… Sir?” Reno ventured, “Should I keep lookin’, or –”

“No. If Kai doesn’t want to be found, we’re not going to find her. We’ll have to wait until she shows herself. Right now, we have more urgent matters to attend to. In less than nine hours, our target will be meeting with the Zenshou at Bar del Sol. We have preparations to make.” He turned back to Reno. “Update Tseng on what’s going on and tell him to be ready to join me in speaking with Kai the moment we’re all back in Midgar.”

“Uh… yes, sir,” Reno responded, and pulled his PHS out of his jacket pocket before adjourning to the next room to make the phone call.

“Rude, you have surveillance sites picked out?” the Turk leader continued, and the bald Turk nodded. “Good. Get Remy settled in and then keep an eye on things. Petra, you and I are going to go over what you will be doing tonight.”

---

Reno slowly exhaled, and flipped his phone open. A sense of dread had inexplicably filled him the moment Veld had ordered him to call Tseng, and even as he dialed, he wasn’t entirely certain where it was coming from. Maybe it was just the fact that he was basically calling to inform his mentor that his best friend was due one hell of a formal reprimand when they got back. Or maybe it was just the feeling that he was ratting her out.

Somewhere around the third ring, he realized it was neither.

What was really bothering him was the fear that he’d failed. Kai was under his command on the Wutai mission, and Veld had given him the authority to order her return to Midgar. That she’d ignored him… well, to be honest, he wasn’t sure if that was Kai’s deep-seeded need for vengeance, or his own ineffectiveness as a leader.

“Reno?” Tseng’s voice answered a moment later, and the redhead very nearly choked on his words.

“H-hey, Boss…” he finally managed.

“What’s wrong?” his mentor asked, and Reno cringed slightly. He’d never been very good at hiding things from the senior Turk. Not that he really made a habit of it… but Tseng could always tell.

“So… Veld wanted me to let you know that him ‘n you are gonna be havin’ a little chat with Kai when we all get back to Midgar.”

Tseng was silent for several seconds.

“… I see,” he replied, “You’ve found them, then, I take it?”

“Sorta,” the redhead answered, running a hand through his hair, “I mean… we found Remy. She’s okay. But Kai… tch. She took off ‘n went radio silent. We’re pretty sure she’s somewhere in town, but she’s layin’ low, waitin’ on the Zenshou. Um… also the copter’s trashed.”

“Excuse me?”

“Tail rotor’s all tore up. Remy said Kai told her a forklift hit it during refueling last night,” Reno explained, and he could swear he could actually hear the deepening frown through the phone.

“And what’s your opinion of the damage? It is plausible that’s what could have happened?”

The redhead went quiet, trying to decide how best to phrase his answer, before finally realizing that there was no point in trying to sugarcoat anything. Kai was in deep shit no matter what he told Tseng.

“If by ‘hit’ she meant the whole damn forklift got air-dropped on top of it, then… maybe? It’s not just bent up. Half of the damn thing’s almost completely sheered off, and the whole tail’s dented all to hell. Just goin’ by my own personal experience… it’d either take some effort to do that much damage, or one hell of a fuck up.”

“Do you believe Kai intentionally sabotaged the helicopter?”

“I mean… I guess there’s always the possibility some maintenance guy was havin’ a really bad day, but… Looks pretty deliberate to me. Not necessarily sayin’ it was Kai that did it…”

“But you do suspect,” Tseng noted.

“I… yeah. Yeah, I think she did it on purpose,” the redhead finally admitted, swallowing sharply. “I’m sorry… I shoulda sent Remy back with Petra or Rude. This whole mess is all my fault.”

Tseng didn’t answer him right away, and for a brief moment, the younger Turk took that to mean that his mentor wholeheartedly agreed with his assessment. It just figured. His first real non-field command decision and he’d fucked it up royally.

“Reno… why did choose to send Kai back to Midgar?”

The redhead mentally groaned, and prepared himself for the forthcoming dressing down he was about to receive.

“… ’cause I thought she was losin’ focus. She wants revenge on the Zenshou, and… I wasn’t sure what she might do to get it.”

“And do you still believe that to be the case?” Tseng asked.

“Well… yeah. She’s running around on her own, doin’ fuck only knows what when she knows we got an operation tonight.”

“Then your reasoning was sound,” he said, and Reno’s breath caught in his throat. He heard his mentor sigh quietly on the other end of the line, “You made the same decision I would have made in your place.”

“Yeah, but –”

“Kai’s choices are her own. She’s opted not to follow the explicit orders she was given, and surely knows there will be severe consequences for her insubordination. You are not to blame for this,” Tseng continued, and Reno shut his eyes, sinking down onto a nearby chair. “Reno… listen to me. There will be times when those you command disobey. That’s human nature… not necessarily a failure on your part. And when it does happen, the true test of a leader is how he handles the repercussions.”

The redhead managed a faint grin.

“In other words, get the fuck outta my own head, ‘n deal with this shit?”

“Precisely,” Tseng said, with a quiet chuckle, “… though I think my way of saying it was a bit more eloquent.”

“Yeah, well… slum rat, remember?” Reno replied, smirking slightly. “Eloquent isn’t really my thing.”

“I’m well aware,” the Turk lieutenant deadpanned, finally drawing a laugh from his protege. “Be careful tonight. It goes without saying that Kai will inevitably attempt to interfere with the operation in some way. Be ready for it.”

“I’ve been thinkin’ about that,” the younger Turk mused, “Veld’s not planning on confronting the Zenshou at all if we can avoid it. He wants the guy who’s placin’ the orders, and if they don’t find out we nabbed ‘im, all the better. But the only way we’re gonna flush him out is if the Zenshou make it to that meeting tonight. What do we do if… Kai pulls somethin’ before they make it?”

“Were it me… I would do whatever it takes to prevent that,” Tseng replied. “Have you brought this to Veld’s attention yet?”

“Nah, I just got back with Remy. Veld told me to update you almost as soon as I walked in.”

“Talk to him. Make sure he understands your concerns. Veld may be in charge of field operations for this assignment, but he almost certainly will not have considered every possible angle quite yet. You, meanwhile, have a gift for doing so quickly and efficiently. Use it.”

“On it, Boss,” Reno nodded, “… and… um… thanks. I needed to hear some of that.”

“You’re welcome. Be safe.”

---

Tseng hung up the phone and set it aside on his desk before firmly massaging his temples with his fingertips.

“For Leviathan’s sake, Kai…” he sighed in exasperation, “What in the Nine Hells have you gotten yourself into?”

He would have given just about anything to be there right now. Two of the most important people in the world to him needed him… and he was stuck behind a desk, his leg still encased in a cast, and reliant upon crutches just to make it down the hall.

Reno would be alright, at least. The young Turk was very obviously second-guessing his choices, and suffering from quite a bit of self-doubt… but he would overcome it, just as he always did. Reno’s biggest weakness, in Tseng’s opinion, was,in fact, his own lack of confidence. His protege was an exemplary Turk, both in terms of physical ability and intelligence. His tactical skills bordered on genius at times. He was loyal, obedient, and dedicated. It was only his tendency to doubt his ability that was holding him back, and Tseng was working hard on mitigating that minor character flaw.

Kai, however…

He wasn’t quite sure what to think about her actions. Knowing the woman as well as he did, he didn’t think it likely that she would simply come to her senses and cease this one-woman vendetta before it did serious damage to her standing in the Turks. And, in truth, he very much understood her motivation. It was equal parts guilt, humiliation, and anger… The Zenshou had not only made a fool of her, they’d used her to hurt her family. And Kai was not one to let go of a grudge.

At the very least, she was going to end up on suspension. This act of insubordination was too great to simply sweep under the rug and ignore. Tseng intended to insist upon a mandatory psychological evaluation, as well… and he felt inexcusably guilty that he hadn’t done so sooner. Perhaps if he had, this whole situation could have been avoided.

Or perhaps not. He shook his head and chided himself for doing the very thing he’d only just finished chastising his protege for doing – second-guessing himself. Even if allowing her to deal with her issues on her own had been the wrong choice, the choice had already been made. He could only move forward and deal with what was happening now. He couldn’t afford to fall into the trap of ‘what if’ when there was no changing the past.

He knew all too well where that road led.

He was jarred from his thoughts by a sharp knock on his door. Tseng glanced at his watch and mentally groaned. He’d been hiding out in his office for far longer than he’d realized. The still-healing Turk reached for his crutches and hoisted himself upright, making his way over to the door, opening it to find one of his rookies anxiously waiting for him.

“Sir, there’s –”

“Yes, Zephyr, my apologies… I know. I’m late to supervise gauntlet runs,” he said, swiftly cutting the rookie off, “Are the others already downstairs?”

Liam had joined Sykes on an assignment in Kalm… so it was just the three new rookies today.

“A-actually, sir…” the younger Turk began somewhat hesitantly. She awkwardly cleared her throat. “It’s just… we… we knew how… busy… you’ve been with everyone else away on assignment, so… we…”

Tseng froze in his bid for the elevator. He knew that tone. And he instinctively knew what had happened, as well. They’d started the run without him.

“Who’s injured?” he sighed.

“Er… Ryu, sir,” Zephyr replied, “I tried your PHS, but it was busy, so Victor walked him down to Medical and sent me to get you.”

Well… at least whatever had befallen the young Wutaiian wasn’t so serious that he couldn’t walk. Tseng gestured towards the elevator and the rookie scurried aboard. He followed as quickly as his injuries would permit and pressed the button for the ninth floor.

“What happened?” Tseng asked, as the elevator carried them downwards.

“He’d just made it to the zip line. I was pretty far ahead, so I didn’t actually see it happen, but Victor said Ryu didn’t jump off when he should have. He… hit the end support pretty hard. It knocked him out for a couple of minutes.”

The elevator pinged, and the doors opened on Nine, granting the pair access to the Medical floor. Tseng made his way down the familiar hallway, Zephyr dutifully trailing behind him, and stepped into the main medical suite, where they found Victor waiting for them.

“Well, it’s about time…” an angry voice immediately berated him before he could address the eldest of the rookies. Tseng bit back yet another sigh of irritation. First Heidegger this morning… now Ward. At this rate, he really was going to have to learn how to teleport himself to wherever he needed to be at any given moment, the way Reno insisted he must be able to do.

“I came as soon as I learned what had happened,” the Turk lieutenant replied, in a somewhat snippy tone. “In case you’d somehow forgotten, I’m not exactly as mobile as I usually am.”

Justinia Ward eyed him with an expression that plainly said she was not above taking his attitude down a peg. Tseng quickly cleared his throat and tried again, with a bit less obvious irritation.

“How is he?” he asked.

“He’ll live,” Dr. Ward replied, “But he’s barred from training for the remainder of the day due to a mild concussion. Yeh can take him now.”

The aging physician gestured to a small partition and a moment later, Ryuunosuke emerged from behind it, looking slightly battered and very embarrassed.

“Hmph… I told yeh it was the over-confident ones that end up in my exam room first…” she said to the rookie as he made his way over to the group.

“… Yes, ma’am…” Ryu mumbled, flushing noticeably.

---

“See anything yet, partner?” Reno asked, wedging his phone against one shoulder as he leaned back against the adobe wall that ran between two buildings. He peered out at the darkened street. It was nearing midnight, but you certainly wouldn’t know it. Costa del Sol’s nightlife was almost as active as its daylife… just… considerably drunker.

“Seen plenty… Just not what we’re looking for,” Rude’s voice replied over the PHS. The redhead snorted softly.

“Ya know, if Kai’s little parking job tipped ’em off that we’re here, I’m gonna kick her ass,” he muttered. There hadn’t been much of anything they could do to hide the helicopter sitting at the port. It was currently inoperable, and while the machinery to move it was available… there really wasn’t anywhere else to put it. Plus the parts had arrived from Junon, and they were in the process of repairing it. It was still sitting there, out in the open, a blatant advertisement of Shinra’s presence in the resort town. The best Veld had been able to do was toss a tarp over it so the massive Shinra Company logo was obscured… but it had been there for the better part of twenty-four hours by that point. Reno wasn’t sure how much good that was going to do, if it’d already been spotted.

“Get in line. I get first dibs,” Rude grumbled, drawing a soft snicker from the redhead.

“Heh… Pretty sure Veld gets first dibs, pal. And Tseng’s gonna want second,” he chuckled. He ended the call without waiting for a response, and then dialed the Turk commander’s number.

“Report,” Veld answered, without preamble.

“Gonna be a short one,” Reno said, “Rude’s got nothin’ ‘n Petra hasn’t signaled that she’s seen anything either. All clear on my end, too. If the Zenshou are still comin’ to meet this guy, they’re takin’ their sweet time about it. No sign of Kai yet, either.”

The redhead’s gaze swept the street one more time, and he suddenly blinked as two figures strolled unassumingly down the main street.

“Hang on… I take that back. Think I mighta just spotted our Zenshou delegation.”

Two Wutaiian men… definitely not drunk and enjoying the festivities of the evening… were now making their way towards Bar del Sol. They paused at the door, peering in for a moment. Finally, one nodded to the other and they entered.

“Just walked in the front door,” Reno added.

“Move in and observe,” Veld ordered and the call ended. The redhead quickly tapped a text message into his PHS alerting Rude and Petra to the new arrivals, and left his hiding place, moving stealthily towards a better vantage point. He couldn’t see much inside the bar… but that’s what they had Petra for. His job was to keep an eye on anyone exiting said bar from the front, and, if it was their target, to tail them. Rude would be doing the same behind the place.

It was several minutes before his PHS buzzed faintly with an incoming text alert from the rookie.

‘Male. 5’6″. 55-60. Balding. Red shirt, white hat.’

She’d identified their target. Now all that was left for the Turks to do was to wait for him to conclude his business with the Zenshou, and… introduce themselves. Reno grinned slightly in the darkness. This was almost too easy.

And as soon as he thought it, he cringed, mentally kicking himself. He knew better than to jinx shit like that. At least he hadn’t said it out loud…

A few seconds later, he spotted movement in the shadows a short distance down the street. Reno froze and then slowly backed himself deeper into the cover provided by a nearby building’s awning, and locked his gaze on the spot. For a moment, he thought he’d imagined it… but then, a faint flicker of motion drew his attention a second time.

His phone buzzed again, and he took his eyes off of the newcomer just long enough to glance down at the message. This one was from Rude.

‘Target leaving through back door.’

Just as he was looking up again, a figure darted out of its hiding space. There was a bright metallic glint in the moonlight as something sailed from its hand and embedded itself in the chest of a man who had just emerged from the front door of the bar.

“Fuck!” Reno swore under his breath, as he easily recognized the assailant. It was Kai. The wounded man made no sound, but in a split second he and his partner were returning fire with handguns. Reno shot out of his own cover and tackled Kai to the ground, sending them both rolling into the alley on the opposite side of the street. “Are you outta your fuckin’ mind?” he growled at her.

Kai glared at him angrily, and shoved him bodily off of her, getting to her feet.

“Stay out of my way, Reno…” she replied, a dangerous note in her voice. He didn’t have time to answer, as a hail of gunfire sent them both scrambling for cover as the two Zenshou continued their retaliation. The redhead dove behind a collection of garbage cans, swearing loudly as he pulled his gun from the holster beneath his jacket. Veld was not going to be happy about this. The Turk leader had been very clear that he wanted to avoid a confrontation with the Zenshou.

So much for that.

Reno haphazardly shoved his phone into his shirt’s breast pocket and rolled to his knees. He raised himself up just high enough to take aim at one of the Zenshou, and fired off a handful of shots before quickly ducking back down.

One of them shouted in pain, and Reno risked breaking cover a second time to see what had happened. Kai, however took the opportunity to move into position, and flung three more knives in quick succession at the men. As her attack hit home, taking one of the Zenshou down, however, Reno heard the sound of footsteps coming up fast behind him. At first, he thought it was one of his own team, coming to back them up… but as the new arrival rounded the corner at the end of the alley, his eyes went wide.

They had backup, too.

“Kai! Look out!” he cried, but the other Turk was too focused on the first two Zenshou to notice the third.

He didn’t think… he only moved. Kai was too far from him to tackle her a second time, so he did the only thing he could do. He stepped out in front of the third Zenshou just as she fired a bolt from a crossbow. The impact alone was enough to send him to the ground. The redhead wasn’t sure if the subsequent forcible expulsion of air from his body was from slamming into the cobblestones flat on his back or due to having just been shot in the chest. He didn’t even feel the pain right away. For several long moments, all he was aware of was a terrifying inability to expand his lungs.

“Reno!” he heard Kai call out, followed by more gunshots, and angrily issued orders in Wutaiian. He found that he couldn’t answer immediately, instead simply laying there, the winded knocked out of him, as he forced himself to suck in a breath. As the panic at not being able to inhale began to fade, the pain finally hit.

“Oh, dear Shiva… No. Baby Turkling?!” Kai was crouching beside him now, and Reno lifted his head off of the ground just enough to get a halfway decent look at the crossbow bolt that was sticking out of his chest. He blinked, a little surprised that there wasn’t more blood.

“Reno!”

This time it was Veld’s voice, and he turned to see both the Turk commander and Petra rushing towards them. The Zenshou were gone. He looked back down at the bolt.

“Not again…” he groaned. Petra knelt down beside him.

“I-I don’t think it’s as bad as it looks,” the rookie said, in a cautiously relieved tone. “It didn’t penetrate. Well… it did,but…”

She moved his jacket aside slightly and exhaled in relief, smiling faintly. “You got really, really lucky, sir…”

The senior Turk blinked in disbelief as he took in the sight. The crossbow bolt had hit home alright… Clean through the PHS in his breast pocket. It was still quite firmly embedded in his chest, but now that he looked at it, he realized that it hadn’t gone nearly deep enough to be lethal.

“Heh… Phone didn’t fare so well, though,” he managed, through gritted teeth. It may not have been a fatal shot, but it still hurt like a bitch. “What happened to the Zenshou?”

“They took off when they realized the numbers had evened up,” Veld replied, “Can you walk?”

“Yeah,” Reno replied, with a grimace, “Just… get me back on me feet.”

Veld and Kai hurried to help the redhead up, and the group made their way back down the street to the Shinra Villa. Reno dropped onto the couch in the sitting room with a pained moan and glanced down at the crossbow bolt.

“Um… so… do I just yank this thing out or what?” he asked, looking up at their resident crossbow wielder. Petra shook her head.

“I wouldn’t, sir…” she replied, frowning as she prodded the injury site, “I can’t get a good look at the head, and if it’s barbed, it might end up doing more damage coming out than it did going in…”

“The two of you stay with him,” said Veld, and he pointedly stared Kai down, “And I do mean stay. I’ll go to the local clinic and bring back someone with a bit more expertise in this area… One of you, let Rude know what’s going on and to hold on taking the target. Tell him to observe only until further notice.”

“On, it…” Reno said as he instinctively reached for the pocket he normally kept his phone in, only to stop mid-movement, and look down at his chest, “Oh… right.”

Petra giggled softly. “I’ll do it, sir,” she offered, producing her own PHS. Reno nodded and settled back against the couch cushions as Veld turned and left the villa in search of a doctor. Before Petra could finish dialing Rude, though, Reno looked up at her, a grin suddenly crossing his face.

“Hey, rookie… your phone got a camera on it like mine does? Uh… did?”

“Er… yes?” Petra responded, slightly perplexed.

“Awesome…” he said, grin widening. He gestured to the bolt that still partially impaled him. “Once you got Rude caught up, I need pics of this…”

“Why?” she asked, looking slightly disgusted.

“Petra… I got a fuckin’ arrow pinning my phone to my chest ‘n I’m not dead. No one is gonna believe this if I don’t have proof,” he snickered.

---

It could have been fireworks. He’d seen more than a few guests lighting them off on the beach and in the town center when he’d started tailing his mark. It definitely could have been fireworks.

But he knew it wasn’t. Rude had been in the business long enough to know the difference between a bottle rocket and a gunshot. Those had been gunshots.

He had very nearly stopped his pursuit and doubled back. The most likely people to be shooting at one another were his fellow Turks and the Zenshou, after all… but they needed to know who this man was, and if Rude lost sight of him now, he might never get another chance. So he’d followed, leaving the disturbing sounds of the firefight behind him and hoping that his teammates could handle things without him for now.

The man who’d met with the Zenshou, for his part, didn’t even seem to notice anything was amiss. He hadn’t noticed the gunshots, and he didn’t seem to suspect that someone was watching him from the shadows as he made his way down the boardwalk. It wasn’t long before Rude found himself on a very affluent part of the beach. He could just make out, set back among the palm trees, a few of the large beach houses belonging to the wealthier residents of Costa del Sol.

The man was taking his time, strolling along like he hadn’t a care in the world, and Rude quickly realized that this was no servant or courier or other intermediary. This man belonged here. One of those homes was very likely his. Rude frowned thoughtfully. That certainly gave his theory that the man was reselling what he ordered from the Zenshou credence. Living full time in Costa del Sol wasn’t cheap. Living on beachfront property that included a sizable portion of said beach even less so.

Rude followed him until the man made his way up one of the cobblestone-paved pathways that led from the beach back into the trees where, as he’d expected, a large bungalow was nestled. He made his way inside, and the Turk started forward in an effort to get a look inside. He stopped short when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

The bald Turk reached for the PHS, and answered the incoming call.

“Yes?”

---

Tseng was roused from a sound sleep just before his alarm was set to go off the following morning. He groggily rolled over and groped for his phone, noting the caller ID and striving to wake himself up a bit.

“Yes, sir?”

“Don’t panic. He’s fine. I’m only calling to give you a head’s up, since I opted to alert Dr. Ward that she will have more than one patient upon our return and you’ll inevitably run into her before we arrive,” Veld’s voice intoned, and Tseng was suddenly very awake.

“What exactly am not panicking about, sir?” he asked, scrambling from his bed, and reflexively moving to get dressed.

“Reno was injured last night,” his mentor replied, and Tseng froze in his bid to collect a fresh uniform from his closet. “Not seriously, but… he was shot while saving Kai from a sneak attack.”

Tseng’s eyes narrowed angrily. Kai. If her willful disobedience had ended up putting Reno out of commission, he was going to –

“But that’s only half the reason I’m calling this early,” Veld continued, “Difficulties aside, Rude managed to identify our target. I need you to speak with Rufus immediately regarding a man named Silas Vasquez.”

“Vasquez?” the Wutaiian Turk repeated, a puzzled expression replacing the anger on his face. “Interesting you should mention that name. Rufus was just complaining yesterday that the President has demanded he apologize to him for some incident at an investor’s meeting. He’s planning on going to Costa del Sol to speak with him as soon as security is available.”

“Save him the trip,” Veld said firmly. “Vasquez is the Zenshou’s client.”

“… Well… that’s certainly an interesting turn of events,” Tseng mused.

“What can you tell me about him?”

“Not much, really. I believe he’s an old friend of the President’s… as well as a member of the board of investors… though Rufus did mention that he’s not one of the larger stakeholders,” Tseng began, searching his memory for anything the younger Shinra may have told him about the man. “Rufus has a general attitude of disdain towards him.”

Veld snorted softly. “Rufus has a general attitude of disdain towards ninety-nine percent of the planet’s population.”

“Yes, sir,” Tseng acknowledged, cracking a faint smile, “But… this goes a bit beyond his usual. Vasquez has a daughter. The President tried to arrange a match between the pair some months back, and both rather resented the idea… and acted to willfully sabotage the effort.” He frowned slightly, thinking back. “Come to think of it… I believe that was right around the time the thefts began. It was shortly after the SOLDIER was murdered, if I recall correctly.”

“Hmm…” Veld a silent for a moment in thought. “Not the trigger for the thefts, then… but I find it hard to believe it’s not related in some way.”

“I’ll see what else Rufus can tell me,” Tseng replied, glancing over at the clock by his bed. It was still rather early, even by his standards. The younger Shinra likely wouldn’t arrive at the office for quite some time yet.

“Keep me informed. After the fiasco last night, I don’t want to move on him until I have at least some idea what we’re dealing with,” his mentor ordered, “And while you’re at it, your protege will be needing a new PHS. You may want to requisition one for him.”

“Yes, sir,” said Tseng, “… You’re certain he’s alright?”

“He’s still in some minor pain… owing largely to the fact that the clinic was lacking in painkillers he can safely take, and aspirin can only do so much. We should be able to get that sorted once the local pharmacy opens. Fortunately for him, the IT department seems to have upgraded us to phones that can stop a crossbow bolt at two hundred yards.” The Turk leader then chuckled. “I have never met anyone with the sort of luck Reno seems to be surrounded by… I’m sending him home with Remy and Kai as soon as repairs to the helicopter are complete. Rude, Petra and I will remain here to deal with Vasquez. I have officially suspended Kai, pending a full investigation.”

“Understood, sir.”

“And Tseng?” Veld prodded, just as the younger Turk was preparing to end the call.

“Sir?”

“I promise you… my job isn’t always as horrible as these past couple of weeks have been,” his mentor stated.

“I sincerely hope not, sir… because at this point I’m seriously reconsidering accepting promotion when you retire,” Tseng teasingly replied.

~end chapter 74~