Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 94: Matchmakers and Vandals

Petra was humming softly to herself as the elevator carried her upwards bright and early on Monday morning. The week off had been lovely, but she was ready to get back to work.

And, hopefully, to see Rufus again.

It had just been one little kiss. One little kiss as a thank you. One little kiss under the mistletoe… just an obligation of tradition, really. But she’d been thinking about it almost nonstop since it had happened. Of course, she knew it could never go anywhere. Nevermind the fact they they’d both had quite a lot to drink that night, Rufus was her superior. For Typoon’s sake, he was her superior’s superior several times over. It was ill-advised, at best, if not downright inappropriate.

And yet those fleeting seconds of his lips pressed against hers insisted on replaying themselves over and over in her mind.

That she’d been enamored of the brusque and aloof Shinra heir for some time now was common knowledge. Sykes and Liam loved to tease her about it on occasion. But that night had somehow made her longstanding crush into something much more tangible and real, and it was proving difficult to get it out of her head.

Petra hadn’t told anyone what had happened… and she had spent the weekend wondering if she even should. After all, it wasn’t exactly likely to ever happen again. And she doubted that Rufus was planning on saying anything about it, so no one was ever going to find out unless she outed herself for… well, for what, really? Inter-personnel relationships certainly weren’t encouraged among the Turks, but there was no regulation specifically prohibiting them. And realistically, this was hardly a “relationship”, anyway. It was more a… momentary indiscretion.

In the end, she’d come to the conclusion that no one else needed to know. It was something between Rufus Shinra and herself, and it would stay that way.

That, of course, didn’t mean she couldn’t keep thinking about it. Petra smiled widely as the elevator chimed, alerting her to its arrival at her destination. She stepped out into the hallway on the 58th floor and made her way towards the lounge.

“Mornin’ Petra,” Reno greeted her, coffee in hand and grinning as she walked in. “Don’t get comfortable. They’re puttin’ us straight back to work. Boss says you ‘n me got an escort assignment first thing this mornin’. The Brat’s draggin’ us both along today by personal request.”

Petra blinked in surprise. Rufus didn’t usually request more than a single escort. Reno smirked slightly at her silent, but apparently obvious, response.

“Yeah, I know. Kinda overkill… but he’s meetin’ with Lord Godo to discuss the possibility of, and I quote, ‘other ventures in Wutai’. Think he might be just a little nervous ’bout goin’ back down there after what happened last time.”

The younger Turk shook her head. “I would have thought you’d be the one who was nervous about that, sir…”

Reno snickered loudly.

“Nah. Trust me, if I got scared ’bout goin’ back to places I got attacked, maimed, or almost killed, half the places I’ve been would be off limits by now…” he joked.

Petra couldn’t help but giggle at both the dismissive tone and her good fortune. She’d hardly expected the opportunity to see Rufus again so soon… let alone for what was likely to be a fairly long trip. Wutai was a good eighteen hours by helicopter. At the very least they’d be gone overnight and well into the next day.

“Anyway,” the senior Turk continued, “We’re leavin’ for Junon in about twenty minutes. Ya got anything ya need to do before we go, better do it now.”

“Junon, sir?” she queried, puzzled, and Reno grinned.

“Rufus is plannin’ on arrivin’ in style. We’re taking the Highwind. Which means we could be down ‘n back by tonight, unless the Brat decides to stick around for awhile after his little chat. Which… Tseng says he might. Apparently it’s considered rude to just up ‘n haul ass back home after meeting with heads of state, or some shit. So… ya know… Plan on an overnight, just to be safe.”

“Yes, sir…” Petra nodded. “I’ll just go and get my go-bag from my office.”

As she turned to head back out into the hallway, she very nearly walked headlong into Rude, who had arrived on silent feet and refrained from interrupting their conversation.

“Hmph… taking the Highwind back to Wutai, huh?” he said.

“Yep,” Reno replied, “Nothin’ like temptin’ fate, huh?”

“Hmph. If the Zenshou show up again, try not to almost die this time. Just let them have the damn thing,” the senior Turk said, teasingly. The redhead snickered.

“Aw, come on… Where’s the fun in that?” Reno laughed, as he proceeded to dump a truly impressive amount of sugar into his coffee cup – the contents of which must surely have been cooling while they’d been talking – stir it briefly, and down about half of it, “‘Sides… for all I know, the VP’s plannin’ on chucking me over the railing while we’re somewhere over the southern ocean, ‘n that’s why he’s bringin’ two of us.”

Rude snorted a soft laugh as he helped himself to coffee, as well, and Petra hurried off to grab the bag she kept for last minute out of town trips.

---

As Reno made his way out of the lounge a few short minutes later, he very nearly walked straight into Sykes as he rounded the corner at a near sprint.

“Whoa!” the redhead shouted, literally jumping out of the bulkier Turk’s path before he was mowed down. Sykes skidded to a halt.

“Sorry, sir… Remy and I are headed to Nibelheim…” he said, breathlessly.

“And we’re going to be late to catch our transport. Quickly, Sykes… we don’t have time for idle chitchat,” a voice from farther down the hall interjected. He glanced over and spotted Remy tapping her foot impatiently next to the elevator doors.

Reno shook his head and laughed softly to himself as the younger Turk resumed his dash towards the elevators. Apparently everyone was getting put right back to work today. Tseng had told him that Liam was being sent out with Zephyr to handle the monthly reactor security sweeps, and the two remaining rookies had been assigned to transcription duty and general paperwork, as quite a bit of that sort of thing had piled up prior to the holiday.

Veld was going to be sitting in on the post-holiday board meeting for at least part of today, and Tseng… well, the redhead wasn’t entirely certain what his mentor would be doing. Considering that literally everyone else was being pulled in eight different directions at once, he was probably stuck managing it all and making sure everything at headquarters ran as smoothly as possible.

Reno made his way, unhurried, back to his own office, coffee in hand. There was no need for him to rush. All he had to worry about was being on the roof in seventeen more minutes to board the executive helicopter. Plenty of time. He stepped into the peace and quiet of his office, and settled himself in the chair behind his desk. He had to admit… he was kind of starting to like having his own space. It had been a little daunting at first, but as he’d gotten used to it, it had grown on him.

And he definitely understood why Tseng had been so eager for him to take him up on the offer. Having an office to himself did make certain things a hell of a lot easier. Private meetings, for one. And it was, he had to admit, kind of nice being able to sequester himself somewhere when he needed a few minutes of quiet to think.

Truth be told, he’d been just the tiniest bit offended when Tseng had accused him of not liking change. The words had inexplicably stuck with him ever since. But the more he mulled it over, the more he’d realized that his mentor was entirely right about that. Moving offices was just one example. There were plenty more in his past that he could point at. Change, though, was inevitable in life. He knew that… It was just hard for him to let go sometimes.

Probably, he mused, because so many of the big changes in his early life had been sudden, unexpected, and thoroughly unwelcome. The redhead sipped his coffee and sighed. That was something he was going to have to try and let go of eventually. If he was going to be Second in Command one of these days, he couldn’t just sit around waiting for someone or something to convince him that new might be better, not worse, every time it came up.

And he was going to be Second in Command. Tseng had already made that decision. The thought still scared him a little. It was a lot of responsibility, and when the time came, he was going to have some pretty fucking big shoes to fill. His mentor was… a lot to live up to. And even though Tseng didn’t seem to harbor any doubts that he would be able to do just that, Reno still did. Small ones. Much smaller than when Tseng had first told him. But they were definitely there, and the redhead occasionally had to remind himself to keep them in check.

Tseng’s assurances that his promotion was still a very long time off helped. There was time for him to learn what he needed to learn. Just like today, there was no rush. He had plenty of time.

---

“Let’s get this over with,” Rufus groused the moment he stepped aboard the executive helicopter, and Petra jumped slightly at the unexpected, and less than friendly, greeting from the executive.

Reno snorted softly, and pulled the door to the aircraft shut behind the vice president.

“So… I’m guessin’ this trip wasn’t your idea, then…” he noted.

“Hmph… hardly,” Rufus replied, taking a seat in one of the plush passenger seats. He glowered out the window. “It’s nearly a new year, and Father has decided it’s time to press the reset button, so to speak. He’s matchmaking again.”

The redhead raised a slender eyebrow in curiosity.

“Oh yeah? Who’s he tryin’ to hook ya up with this time?” he asked. Tseng had filled him in on the details of the President’s attempts at finding his son a wife not long ago. Apparently, after a pretty disastrous attempt with some girl from Costa del Sol – who Reno’d later learned had also been the daughter of their tech thefts mastermind – he’d put the effort on hold for awhile. Seemed the President had decided that it was time to try again.

“Some member of Godo’s bloodline, obviously,” he scoffed, “I honestly wasn’t paying that much attention to the specifics. I’m only going at all because Father threatened me with the beautillion gala I’ve somehow managed to avoid since I turned eighteen if I refused.”

“A what now?” the redhead asked, blinking in confusion at the unfamiliar term. Rufus pointedly rolled his eyes.

“Hmph… of course. I forgot, for a moment, that I was speaking to the Company’s most uncultured idiot,” he replied.

“A beautillion is the male equivalent of a debutante ball,” Petra said, and Reno shook his head.

“… Yeah, let’s pretend I have no idea what that is, either,” he snickered, as he pressed the button to signal the pilot that they were ready to leave. “I’m guessin’ this is some rich asshole thing that I’d never get invited to?”

“You certainly won’t be invited to mine,” Rufus snorted, “Not that I intend on inviting anyone. They’re an utter waste of time and money, and I have better things to do.”

The helicopter lifted off, sending the skyward.

“Yeah? Like what, sir?” the redhead asked… part joking, and part genuinely curious what the brat did do in his spare time. Beyond knowing that he had a penchant for reading that could almost put Liam’s to shame, Reno really didn’t keep up with Rufus’ hobbies. Rufus, however, rolled his eyes.

“I’m certain I could think of something,” he deadpanned, “Frankly, just about anything would be more enjoyable. Even the Ramuh-forsaken music lessons Father used to force upon me. At least those were somewhat productive.”

“I didn’t know you played an instrument, sir,” Petra said, the implication she wanted to know more quite apparent in her voice. Rufus, Reno was fairly certain, blushed ever so faintly.

“… I… had piano lessons for several years as a child,” he said, somewhat vaguely, before clearing his throat and turning on the redhead. “How long to Junon?”

“‘Bout forty-five minutes. The Highwind’s already prepped and ready to go, so we’re pretty much literally gettin’ off the copter ‘n boardin’ the airship. Should be in Wutai just in time for a late lunch,” the senior Turk obligingly replied. He then grinned. “So how come this is the first time I’m hearin’ about you bein’ some kinda musical prodigy?”

Rufus glowered at him.

“None of your business,” he snapped, folding his arms over his chest in obvious annoyance… though the redhead detected a hint of embarrassment as well. Interesting… He was going to have to ask Tseng about that when they got back.

---

“Tseng?” Veld’s voice called out, just as the aforementioned Turk rounded the corner. He found his mentor peering into his presently empty office.

“Yes, sir?” he asked, quickly closing the distance between them. Veld jerked in surprise, spinning to face him.

“… For Titan’s sake…” he muttered, shaking his head. “Someday I am going to find a method of preventing you from doing that. Maybe a tracking implant…”

Tseng chuckled softly.

“I assume you need me for something?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact,” the Turk leader replied, “Is anyone available for a trip to the Slums? Apparently there’s been some anti-Shinra vandalism at the new Sector 4 train station. The Board got wind of it even before I did, and they’re out for blood, so to speak.”

Tseng frowned thoughtfully. “Remy and Sykes have already left for their assignment out of the city, as have Reno and Petra. It’s only myself and…” he paused, remembering that Liam and Zephyr had also left the office a short while ago for reactor security sweeps, “… two of the rookies in the office at present.”

Veld nodded in acknowledgment. “Where’s Rude?”

“On his way to Midgar University, on escort duty with Professor Hojo. He made the request shortly after you went upstairs. He has a lecture scheduled for their Biology department in half an hour.”

“I see…” Veld mused. He was silent for a moment before finally smirking slightly. “Well… in that case, I suppose I’ll just have to handle it personally.”

Tseng raised an eyebrow. “Sir? There’s really no need. I can go.”

Veld chuckled quietly. “Well, yes, I suppose that’s one option. But I have been spending an inordinate amount of time behind my desk lately, after all… Don’t want to get out of practice, now do I?”

The Wutaiian Turk sighed, but could only give a faint smile. “I’ll come with you, sir.”

“Worried I can’t handle myself?” his mentor teased.

“No… but if you’ll recall, you are the one who mandated no assignments in the Slums without backup after what happened to Rude last year,” he pointed out.

“Hmm… So I did,” Veld agreed. “I suppose it would be a bit hypocritical of me to blatantly go against my own edict, wouldn’t it? We shouldn’t be gone long. You’re sure the rookies can entertain themselves for awhile?”

“Yes, sir. They have plenty of paperwork to keep them busy for the morning, and they’re scheduled for free training after lunch, as I’d planned on having to manage anything that came up in the office at the very least until Rude returned. It won’t be an issue.”

Veld nodded. “Good. Shall we, then?” he asked, sweeping an arm in the direction of the elevators.

---

Reno stretched out along the length of small bench set into one wall in the Highwind’s forward executive cabin, turning his gaze out the narrow window nearby. He folded his arms behind his head, enjoying, what felt like at any rate, a very languid and relaxing journey to the southern island nation. In truth, the Highwind was traveling at a speed that the helicopter that had delivered them to its berth in Junon could hardly even hope to match.

A derisive snort from just over his shoulder interrupted his quiet enjoyment.

“Comfortable?” Rufus drawled, and the redhead could literally hear the eyeroll before he ever turned to look. He sat up and smirked slightly.

“Well, I was gettin’ there, anyway, sir…” he joked, “Somethin’ I can do for you?”

“Hmph… I wonder. If I responded to that question with a request that you be less annoying, would you even be capable of doing so?”

Reno mentally sighed. Rufus was still in something of a bad mood – likely due entirely to the reason behind this trip in the first place – and it looked like he was planning on taking said bad mood out on his security. Great. Not that he really gave a shit, personally… he was more than willing to give as good as he got where the Brat was concerned… but Petra didn’t deserve having to put up with his bullshit.

“Sir… me existing annoys you most days. So, unless you’re plannin’ on ordering me to throw myself over the railing on the observation deck, I think you’re outta luck on that one,” he said with a teasing grin.

“Don’t tempt me, Slum Rat…” Rufus shot back. A soft laugh from across the room interrupted the conversation as Petra let herself back into the room following a brief regulation-mandated patrol of the deck.

“Don’t you two do anything but snipe at one another?” she asked, and much to Reno’s surprise, the vice president actually… smiled in response.

“Hmph… It’s a long trip and I need something to entertain myself with…” Rufus replied, “And though he’s rather useless for most tasks, entertainment is one of the few things that idiot excels at. Are we on schedule?”

“Yes, sir,” Petra answered, “We should arrive in Wutai right around noon, as planned.”

“Good. The sooner this is over with –”

“The better,” Reno finished for him, snickering. “Yeah… you’ve mentioned that a once or twice since we left Midgar, sir.”

The vice president glowered at the Turk. “Go and throw yourself over the railing. That’s an order,” he deadpanned.

“… Okay, but just remember… if I survive it, Company health insurance is the one that’s gonna be payin’ my medical bills, sir,” he joked, getting to his feet.

“In that case, you’re fired, as well. Policy rescinded, effective immediately,” Rufus replied, smirking in amusement, “Now, go and jump.”

The redhead’s grin widened noticeably. “Ya know, if ya fire me… you can’t tell me what to do anymore, sir.”

The declaration drew a loud huff of irritation from Rufus… and a hastily smothered laugh from Petra.

---

Tseng glanced around at the largely empty train car. The morning rush had long since passed, and the lunch rush wouldn’t start for several hours yet. Aside from a small group of businessmen lingering near the back, and looking like they were preparing to disembark at the next stop, he and Veld had the space to themselves.

“You know, I have to admit, I’m quite looking forward to this,” Veld commented, offhandedly. “I wasn’t kidding about being stuck at my desk earlier. Lately, I feel as though I’m practically chained to it. It’s nice to get out for a bit… and away from certain board members.”

The Wutaiian Turk chuckled softly. “Yes, sir.”

“Oh… speaking of,” his mentor continued, “I wanted to talk to you about bringing Reno along to the next board meeting we’re called into.”

“What did Reno do that merits such a punishment?” Tseng asked, forcing back a smile. Veld snorted softly and shot him a look that plainly said the joke had been awful.

“He’ll have to suffer through them every now and then eventually… May as well start the torture early.”

“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled when I tell him, sir,” Tseng laughed, “He so enjoys sitting silently and being unobtrusive for lengthy periods of time.”

Veld smirked.

“I suspect he’ll be just as thrilled as you were, the first time I dragged you along to a board meeting. Hopefully, he won’t fall asleep halfway through the way you did,” the senior Turk teased. Tseng felt his face heat up.

“… I-I’d… had stakeout duty the previous night, sir! I couldn’t have slept more than a few hours before returning to the office that day…” he stammered, somewhat mortified by the reminder. Veld laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Yes, I’m sure that’s what caused you to doze off mid-budget review,” he said, grinning wryly.

“Well, it certainly didn’t help…” Tseng grumbled. Veld smiled warmly at him.

“You know…” he added. “I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. I sometimes miss the old days. Back when you still didn’t have the first clue what you were doing half the time and tried so hard to pretend otherwise. Watching you live those days with Reno now is a bit… bittersweet.”

The Wutaiian Turk ducked his head slightly and laughed. “Something tells me these days won’t last long. I think Renois picking things up far more quickly than I ever did. He has quite some way to go yet, but… he will fight tooth and nail every inch of the way to get there.”

“He is a determined little shit, isn’t he?” Veld snickered, “Almost as eager to please as his mentor has always been…”

Tseng sighed in longstanding frustration.

“Sir… is it really so much to ask that he be referred to by name and not some pseudo derogatory or infantile nickname? Between Rufus’ refusal to drop the Slum Rat insults and Kai’s years upon years of ‘Baby Turkling’ teasing, it’s frankly rather astounding any of the rookies can remember his name at all…”

Veld let out a hearty laugh and shook his head.

“I suppose you’re right,” he chuckled, “It’s not very professional of me to say things like that.” He smirked mischievously. “Even if it is sometimes a very accurate description. Though I notice you didn’t mention Dr. Ward’s little nicknames for him…”

“… Frankly, sir, I’m far too much of a coward to challenge Justinia on referring to him as a ‘toublemaker’ or ‘her little headache’,” he replied, only half joking.

Veld laughed again, but he sobered quickly, however. “Not to change the subject, but since you did mention her… has there been any further word from Kai as of yet? I know it’s not something you want to have to deal with, but… if she truly means to resign upon her return, it would be better to make it official sooner rather than later, so that I can go to Heidegger with a recruitment request before the budget is set in stone for the year.”

“No, sir,” Tseng sighed, “But I’m not really surprised. She said she wouldn’t be returning to the city until early January, and it’s not yet even New Years for another two days.” He shook his head. “I wish she would at least turn her phone back on, though. Capable as she is, I’m not overly fond of the thought of her out on that Leviathan-be-damned island all alone.”

The train wound its way down the city’s central pillar for several long minutes, and in the silence that fell between the two of them, Tseng turned his gaze to watch the various sectors go by again and again as they spiraled downward… and marveled, not for the first time, at just how much things had changed. It hadn’t been all that long ago that the only part of the Slums with a working train station was Wall Market. Now, the Shinra Transportation Department had extended the line into two more, with plans to finish at least twice that many more by the end of the coming year. Sector 4 had only just been completed… hence the supreme annoyance felt by the board of directors over this… incident.

The introduction of reliable and readily available public transportation would be a boon to everyone down below, but it seemed that not everyone felt that way. Since late last spring, when the Gongaga reactor had exploded, there had been a small, but growing anti-Shinra sentiment developing in some of the sectors down below. It was something he and Veld were peripherally aware of, but had only recently begun to concern themselves with. The activity had been largely sporadic and seemed to fizzle out almost as quickly as it cropped up. And quite frankly, until recently they’d had bigger problems to deal with. Rude was monitoring it, along with any number of other intelligence vectors, but had not reported anything substantial as of yet, and thus it had remained low priority.

News of this morning’s vandalism, however, had reached the Board’s ears… and they weren’t pleased to see what they viewed as a “good will” investment so callously desecrated. The perceived lack of gratitude on the part of those dwelling down below… irked them.

Which was, Tseng suspected, a part of why Veld had been so eager to have it seen to quickly. The train stations were, according to Rufus, going to be financial sinkholes. It would be quite some time before the investment even started to be directly profitable for the Company, even if it was something that was sorely needed. Apparently, it had taken quite a lot of convincing on the young V.P.’s part to get the other executives in agreement with accelerating and prioritizing the long-delayed project. And just as it benefited the denizens of Migar, it also benefited the Turks. Being able to slip in and out of the area quickly, easily, and without drawing attention was something that had been on their radar for years. Tseng doubted Veld wanted to see that gain set back or even canceled due to some idiot with a can of spray paint and an axe to grind.

At last the train pulled into the Sector 4 station, brakes grinding against the wheels as it slowed and stopped. Veld stood and made his way to the door, his protege not far behind. As they entered the station proper, Tseng had to stop and take a second look at the damage. It was surprisingly substantial, all things considered. Everything in reach from the ground seemed to have been covered in graffiti, and several of the metal benches had been overturned, flung into walls, and, in one case, apparently outright stolen, as Tseng didn’t see the missing seating anywhere in the immediate area.

“Well… whoever they are, they certainly did a number on this place,” Veld commented, taking in the carnage. A pair of unhappy-looking workers walked out of one of the employee-only rooms, buckets and scrub brushes in hand, and stopped short upon seeing the Turks. Veld nodded towards them, and Tseng joined him as the made his way over.

“Holy Hades… Headquarters sent the Turks to deal with this?” the shorter and, apparently, more senior or the two queried, sounding somewhat shocked, “Well, if that don’t beat all…”

“Are the security cameras here active yet?” Tseng asked. The man nodded.

“Sure are. IT just got ’em working yesterday, matter of fact…” He handed his bucket off to his partner. “I can show you the office. Jay, get started cleaning this mess up, will ya.”

Veld turned to Tseng. “I’ll go and check the video. You take a look around and see if our targets left us a trail to follow,” he ordered.

~end chapter 94~