Chapter 13 - Crisis of Comburent Pt. 1
Masterlist
Chapter 12 - Crisis of Coordination
Counter Crisis
by White Mage Koorii & Dragoon-Sama
Chapter 13 - Crisis of Comburent
[ μ ] - εуλ 0002 (March 25th)
Ah, the Department of Administrative Research. Reno inhaled deeply as he stepped into the Control Room. It smelled like gun oil, explosives, and a hint of coffee. Just the way he liked it. There was nothing like a hit of java to start off the day, night, or anywhere in between in his opinion. The only thing better was if he could get away with adding a little something special to his cup of joe.
"Am I late?" he asked, letting that nasally tone he used when he was being a real shithead seep in. He was pretty sure the answer was no. The only one there was Rude, sitting near one bank of terminals with a newspaper held up in front of his face. Reno tapped his electro-mag rod on his shoulder and sauntered further into the Control Room, eyes scanning the computer screens. All of them showed various views of the ShinRa building: boring office workers buzzing around down there, a glimpse of the entrance over there. Normal ShinRa day, normal ShinRa hub-bub.
No fun. He wondered when his turn on night duty rotation was going to come up. If Rude was on morning shifts for monitoring the monitors, then that probably meant...He'd have night duty soon. Good. Reno grinned, ducking his head as he caught the back of one of the chairs and yanked it out, spun it around, and straddled it. Night at ShinRa was both the most boring time to be on the monitor... and the best time. It meant a guy got the best chance at catching busybodies up to no good. On the flipside, it meant a guy got the chance to turn his attention to other matters. Reno liked to make good use of it for his favorite snooping past-times.
The soles of his shoes and the chair he sat on squeaked as he turned it from side to side, watching a pair of 3rd Class SOLDIERs in the cafeteria playing a card game on a nearby screen.
"Reno."
"Huh?" Reno looked over at Rude only to meet the impenetrable stare of his shades over the folded paper he'd been reading. Rude's head tipped downward a little toward the chair he was perched on, and Reno stopped moving. The squeaking ceased. Rude gave an approving nod and flipped his paper back up, replaced with an image of Scarlet from a recent ShinRa shindig.
Sometimes Reno wondered why he put up with the guy. So stiff, but he guessed that was the point. Where he was laid back, Rude was serious. Where he was fiery, Rude was cool as ice. Rude was the power, he was the speed. They balanced out, worked good as partners. That was why they got assigned together so often. They made the most efficient team. After all, Rude lacked the interpersonal skills that Reno could provide, and Rude brought other things to the table. Like being intimidating, and quiet, and keeping Reno from going overboard. Yeah, efficient use of resources. Reno loved that about his job.
There were other perks of course, lots of them.
"Sooo, Rude, buddy," Reno drawled. "Any idea what I've been called in for?" Today was supposed to be his day off. He'd been looking forward to heading down to the slums and spending a few hours in that pub in Wall Market. Damn.
"Status report?" Rude offered.
Reno turned his gaze upward and scratched under the band of his goggles with the end of his electro-mag rod. Dangerous? Maybe, but only if his finger slipped. "Nah, doubt it. Don't think that requires me to bring full gear." The paper dropped down and Rude's shades stared at him. Reno pointed the tip of his electro-mag rod at Rude, then waved it around expressively when Rude ducked out of the way. "Yeah, yeah, we're always in full gear."
It was true. Each and every Turk took their job seriously. That was the point, that was why they were here. Someone didn't get to be a Turk if they didn't. At least they weren't one for very long. If a Turk didn't measure up they were a liability, and the Turks didn't like liabilities. ShinRa didn't like liabilities, and the Turks were usually the clean up crew. The dark underbelly to ShinRa's sleek steel and spit-shined outer shell.
Reno drummed his short nails against the electro-mag rod's side while Rude went back to his paper. There were a number of reasons Tseng could have called him in. Anything from AVALANCHE activity to Operation Blondie and all the way along the list from assassination, extortion, control in the slums, and something as simple as 'recruitment'. Man, but Reno hated waiting. He just liked to get the mission statement, hit the road, and get shit underway.
Except when he didn't, but a man had to have his priorities.
There came a faint shush of the door opening a second before the precise click of shoes on tile, only it wasn't just one pair it was two.... Reno looked over to see Tseng follow Director Veld in. Veld who carried a styrofoam cup of coffee in his hand while Tseng touted a number of manila folders.
So, not Operation Blondie then.
He had to admit it was nice seeing Veld about. Having him get demoted-brief as it had been-was enough to give anyone a heart attack. Having to put up with Heidegger shuffling them about? He'd been about ready to ship out and put in his retirement papers. Well, no, not really. He doubted there was much that could ever get him to leave ShinRa or the Turks. It was a cozy position and he would probably never be where he was if it wasn't for them.
In all likelihood he'd either be dead, a thug, or gutter trash trying to turn a quick gil from whatever he could steal or scavenge or fuck knew what else.
ShinRa did that. It gave chances even if it took some away. He'd always thought the good it did outweighed the bad. After all, they brought power, they brought light, and to some degree they brought safety. Sure, not everyone agreed but it wasn't his or ShinRa's place to be nice and make friendship circles. It was their place to get the damn job done; whatever that job may be. A wise man just didn't ask too many questions in this type of business. At least in certain areas. His questions were for other places.
Veld sat his cup down and Tseng promptly handed a few of the folders over without a word. Reno lifted a hand, "Hey, Director."
Giving him a short nod, Veld said, "Reno." His attention was already in the folders laid out before him, his fingers typing access codes into the terminal. "I think you ought to get to work."
"On it," Reno drawled as Rude gave his chair a kick that he was sure meant 'leave the Director alone'. It also sent him rolling a few inches across the floor. He swiveled to give Tseng a smirk. "So watcha got for me, Boss?"
Tseng gave him a stare that was a little more severe than usual. He always got his undies in a twist when the Director was in the same room. Shame, really. Reno was pretty sure Veld for all his sternness had given up slapping him into shape years ago.
That didn't mean Reno gave him straight sass. He just edged around it a little. That man could be terrifying.
"We," Tseng said, interrupting Reno's train of thought, "are going to have a look around Sector 8. And perhaps a few other places as well."
"We?" Reno echoed. Sure, it was normal for Turks to patrol Sector 8. It was their territory. It was normal even for Turks who'd been here as long as he and Rude had been to be on the rotation. Tseng? Not so much. Tseng didn't usually do routine patrol and Rookie-baby-sitting duty. That was all theirs.
"We," Tseng agreed. "Reno, Rude. Let's go." Rude's paper rustled as he folded it, and Reno shoved himself to his feet, the chair spinning idly as he sauntered after the other two. Tseng lead the way along the hall, neatly polished shoes tap-tapping away. Unconsciously, Reno mirrored the rhythm in the tap of his finger against his electro-mag rod's handle.
Reno's eyes zeroed in on the back of Tseng's head, watching his ponytail sway. "Yo, boss? You on disciplinary?" Digging for information from Tseng was always a bit like a Turk's rite of passage. If you could get any right answers out of him, any accurate observations, it meant you were going somewhere. Of course, you had to level up through Reno first…
"Not in the slightest," Tseng said.
That meant it wasn't Standard Patrol Duty with a side of Tseng, then. "You heard from Shotgun lately?"
"She's arrived safely." Which meant there was no new news on Operation Blondie right now either. So that ruled out a meeting on the subject.
Reno ran his tongue along the inside of his teeth. Sector 8 didn't have much going on on a normal day. There was a reason that it was the newbie zone. So, what was off? While he turned it over in his mind, they arrived at the elevators and came to a hault. Tseng's ponytail shifted when he tipped his head forward to give them access to the elevator, and Reno sharpened his stare on him.
A glance at Rude showed nothing but the usual implacable exterior. Same old Rude, but Reno liked to think he could detect a hint of curiosity under that exterior. Every day he was getting better at reading him. He was already the best at it.
Then again, it would take ShinRa's third best Turk to be that amazing.
Inside the elevator Reno turned to face out the glass wall. Below them Midgar spread out to the edges of the plate. A strange, abrupt horizon ringed by the outer edges of the mako reactors which glowed bright against the the cloudy sky. He could hear the faint shift of fabric as Rude took up space behind him. Tseng was a silent, smaller shadow nearer the doors.
His stomach swooped as the elevator began its descent. "You gonna tell us the down low or are we going to have to find out on our own?"
He heard Tseng give a faint hum as if he were considering it. "We're going to investigate the remains of a burned down materia shop in Sector 8."
Oh. That. He'd heard about that on his way in today. It took a second before it really registered and Reno craned his head around to look over his shoulder. Rude's broad frame blocked his view so he turned away from the view of Midgar to slip around him. "Wait a minute. A burned down materia shop? That's it?" he said, indignant. Reno gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Send a rookie."
Tseng's dark gaze landed on him. "Stand down, Reno." With a grumble Reno subsided and turned back to the glass walls to watch Midgar rise up to meet them. A few more floors and the building engulfed them to cut off the view. Tseng's smooth voice filled the quiet space, "We suspect arson. It isn't the only shop to find itself completely burned out within the past few weeks. There has also been a warehouse and a parts shop in the number. All of which connect back to, and are supplied, predominantly by ShinRa rather than being private operations."
That made more sense than just investigating arson. As much as the Turks kept an eye on things, their concern was ShinRa. If it was in ShinRa's interest then it was in theirs.
"I still don't see why you can't get one of the rookies to do this. Rude and I have more important things to be doing. Recruitment, stalking blonds...."
"Well," Tseng said. The faint undertone of amusement in his voice immediately put Reno on alert. "I could always send you out to help look for more information on AVALANCHE."
….Shit. He had him there. Except. Reno smirked. "Or you can let us get back to snooping around Lazard."
He could see Tseng's reflection in the glass. His head turned just enough for Reno to make out the pale line of the side of his face. "I thought you turned in the report on that already?"
"...I did?" Reno asked, blankly. Nearby, Rude cleared his throat uncomfortably, and Reno whirled around to gape at him in betrayal. "Rude! No way." Rude shifted, shoulders hunching and head ducking.
The elevator swayed to a halt and Tseng announced, "Ah, we're here." Tseng disembarked and Rude hurried after him, steps just a bit too quick. Reno, left alone in the elevator, continued to gawp at his back.
"Traitor!" he hollered after him, throwing himself after the two at the last second and slipping between the closing doors. He caught up with them in a few seconds and fell sullenly in beside Rude. Tseng, the smug bastard, seemed to have developed a bit more of a bounce in his step.
He'd been enjoying that job. Ferreting around ShinRa's dirty secrets had always been his favorite. Reno liked to have his finger in all the pies, and Lazard's pie with it's shiny glistening crust turned out to be pretty deep, and pretty nasty. ShinRa's good boy Director of SOLDIER had a lot going on under there.
Tseng cut across to the entrance and the three of them filed out of the ShinRa Building and onto Midgar's streets. Reno breathed in the mako scented air, the smell of exhaust from construction machines, and the scent of food floating from a few carts parked along the road to take advantage of the commuters heading toward the ShinRa Building. Reno took in every bit of movement, every face that went by him. He recognized many of them, knew most of their names or at least their jobs. It was a Turk's duty to know who came and went from ShinRa and why.
Around them Sector 8's buildings rose up, tall brownstone with windows full of light-light that ShinRa provided. That was what ShinRa did. It provided light, power, work, safety, and money. ShinRa offered stability, and maybe a few people had to get stepped on or disposed of to make way for the better world that ShinRa was paving, but that was just business. Reno had learned long ago that to get ahead in life sometimes you had to step on a few toes. It was survival of the fittest at it's finest, and ShinRa was the biggest predator on the block. In it's early days, ShinRa had gobbled up all of it's rivals, and it kept on gobbling them up.
It was good work for the Turks. All they had to do was make sure anyone who got ideas of challenging ShinRa's power...Well, they tended to disappear.
That was the way of the world, and Reno couldn't say he didn't enjoy being near the top of the foodchain.
They cut across Fountain Square and onto LOVELESS Avenue, though their stay there was brief. Reno counted the number of troopers on patrol in the area as they passed through and off into the streets beyond. The streets off of LOVELESS Avenue were lined with two story buildings-shops shoved close together with multi-colored awnings over wide, tall front windows. Reno absently glanced in each as they passed. One sold clothes, another displayed delicate confectionery designs, and a third advertised tobacco. On they went, past convenience stores, a small liquor shop, and down another road. The traffic grew lighter, the everyday shops giving way to more specialized ones. Electronics there, a pawn shop a few doors down. A store with an array of knives and guns in the front window and more weapons on the shelves beyond.
It wasn't hard to spot their destination. It had been cordoned off, a number of ShinRa's troopers standing guard to make sure smart asses didn't sneak past and try to get into the ruined building. As they grew closer, Reno could smell smoke. The materia shop was still smouldering, smoke rising from the burst windows and scorch marks licking from them like a dragon had roosted inside and started spewing fire out. Tseng came to a stop before he stepped into the water that pooled on the street, slowly running down the nearby grates and into the plates dispersal pipes. The wood around the front door had caved in entirely.
"Casualties?" Rude asked.
"Four," Tseng answered, picking his way across the wet pavement. He ducked under the vivid yellow tape and headed toward the store front. The troopers barely gave them a glance. "The shop owner, his wife, and two children."
Reno made a faint noise in the back of his throat. Rude pulled the tape up and Reno used to chance to swing under past him before Rude followed. "Well, it's a fixer upper, but hey, prime real estate." The lot would fill in fast, greedy folks vying for better position, closer to the ShinRa building and closer to more traffic. Not to mention anyone in the slums with bright eyes for a better future and enough money to buy their way plateside. "Did they already secure the materia?"
Tseng made a noise of affirmation. "They found the bodies while looking for the shops stock records."
"Were they able to find them?" Reno stopped beside Tseng, observing the shop front more closely. Chipped brick littered the ground under the scorched out windows, and glass crunched under Rude's steps as he moved in closer.
"Yes."
That was good news at least. Reno didn't envy the poor bastards who'd have to cross reference the removed stock of materia with the shop's paperwork. They couldn't have loose materia. Not around here. It could be a reason for the arson, though what they wanted from a warehouse and a parts shop…. Well, that was what they were here to find out.
Reno heard the sound of a commotion near the perimeter behind them. One of the infantryman barked, "Sir! You're not allowed in this area right now, please step ba-"
"Hey, take it easy. I'm just going to have a word with Tseng. C'mon Cloud, let's go see what happened." If that wasn't Zack Fair, Reno was going to actually get his shoes polished and tuck in his shirt. He did perk up at the sound of that name though. Where Fair was, his little blond shadow was close behind.
"Hey Rude," Reno drawled tilting his head, and jerking his chin in indication. He didn't bother to turn toward the familiar voice. "You wanna take care of that?"
Rude nodded, disappearing out of view as he headed to intercept the intruders. As interesting as the pair were normally, this was Turk business. Nobody got to interrupt Turk business.
"Oh. Hey Rude just wanna...uh...get by you...you know. Can you move out of the way?" A brief pause, and Reno could imagine that implacable shaded stare. "Aw, c'mon…"
Over the sounds of Fair trying to find a way past Rude, Reno was aware of a quiet rustle, and abruptly realized someone was standing a few feet behind him. Reno tensed minutely, and didn't wait to see if his personal space invader was going to do anything. He whipped around, his electro-mag rod sparking with a charge as he aimed for the head, and kicked out with one long leg in the same movement.
Instead of the meaty sound of metal against skull, or even the clang of metal on metal as his strike was blocked, Reno was only aware of blond hair ducking under the swing of his rod, and the next moment a hand closed around his calf and yanked him further around with a pull. He spun in the air, the street and overcast sky flying by in a blurr. If he didn't do something he was in for a nasty landing.
He shot out a hand to push off the ground and gain control of his spin, getting his feet under him as he landed in a crouch. His electro-mag rod clattered loudly against the cement a few feet away. Straightening and brushing at the lapels of his coat, he attempted a nonchalant expression.
"Whoa, nice reaction time, blondie."
Strife looked blankly back at him, apparently not bothered that Reno had just tried to stave his head in. Over his shoulder, Reno could see Fair push past a distracted Rude. (Nice backup, partner….)
"He learns fast," Fair said blithely, then waved. "Hey! Tseng!"
"Zack," Tseng returned mildly. "Did you need something?"
Reno turned his attention on his current favorite puzzle and ShinRa enigma. Strife appeared unaffected by Rude's presence looming over him. For his part, if you were to ask Reno, Rude looked very put out at being ignored so successfully by the two trespassers. Ignoring that, it was pretty interesting that the blond was so composed in the middle of a group of Turks. Everyone from the lowliest janitors to the top executives tended to walk on spun glass when Turks had business in their vicinity.
Except for Fair, of course. Reno could hear him harassing Tseng and didn't envy the boss his position.
It was interesting to get a look at Strife close up. The last time had been way back in December, and he'd only seen him in photos since then. If he were to hazard a guess, Reno might say that Strife looked better. Pale, still, but it was the complexion a lot of northerners sported. He didn't look like someone who could keep up with Sephiroth though, that was for sure. Strife was on the short side, a little reedy, looking like he hadn't quite grown into himself. He probably hadn't, given the age on his personnel file.
Strife sported those creepy glowing eyes that all SOLDIERs did, however. That, coupled with his near blank expression did lend a more imposing presence than 'scrawny teenager too big for his britches'. And he was carrying around one of those cheap weed whackers they handed out to SOLDIERs like candy. Seriously, the budget for equipment was ridiculously high in that department. Reno may have had a specially modified and expensive, exclusive-to-him-only weapon, but he took care of it.
Speaking of taking care of things...
"A word of advice, don't let Fair teach you bad habits like crashing a Turk party. It'll get your further around here," Reno drawled. He watched, keen eyed for any reaction from Strife. Anything at all that could give a hint toward if he was interested in climbing the ranks-that was normal in ShinRa, that was wanted. ShinRa liked to encourage a little survival of the fittest among its employees. It just gave them character. On the other side of the coin…. Reno jerked his head at the burnt out building nearby. "Or are you just returning to the scene of the crime?"
Strife turned his head in the direction Reno indicated, but whether he was taking in the blackened husk or had indigestion, Reno couldn't tell. "I've never been here before," Strife murmured blandly, giving Reno nothing to go on either way. He was doing a good job at making Tseng look like an open, chatty book.
"We were on our way back to the apartments," Fair said, stepping into the conversation as if he'd been there all along. Reno made a note of that. He seemed to keep piping up when anything was addressed to his little stray trooper, and Reno couldn't help but wonder. "I was supposed to meet with a buddy of mine for some extra sword practice...ten minutes ago. Oops." Reno stared as Fair stepped away again, taking his phone out and dialing.
Tseng drifted in as if he'd been waiting for the chance and took his place. He leveled a cool look at Reno. "Don't cause a scene."
"Hey," Reno complained, "I wasn't the one who started causing scenes. That's all on him."
He jerked a thumb at Fair just as a loud, "Hey! Luxiere. Sorry about the wait. There's a situation…" punctuated the conversation. Right on time. Good to know Fair could be relied on to make his case for him.
Tseng released a breath. "He had a good point regardless." He jerked his head toward the burned out building. "We need to have a look at the damage."
Reno looked back toward the building. "Yeah, we'll get right on that bo-"
"Reno," Strife's voice cut in, and Reno turned just in time to prevent his electro-mag rod from smacking him in the face. He fumbled it, shaking out his stinging palm and glad he'd not caught the on switch.
"Hey, watch it!" Reno yelped, and shot a glare at the blond. He wasn't sure, but Reno swore he saw Strife hiding a smirk behind his trooper scarf. The little brat. Forget what he said about him being mature, Strife was obviously still a sniveling teenager. Tipping the end of his electro-mag rod toward Strife, he gave him a sharp look. "Why don't you go over there with your noisy handler and stay out from under our feet, 'kay."
Stife stared Reno down for a couple heartbeats longer than was strictly comfortable, like he wasn't waving a dangerous weapon in his face, before he turned away dismissively. Not to leave, Reno noted, but to move close to the burned wreckage.
"Hey!" Reno called after him, "What did I just say?" With a huff, Reno looked over at Rude. Rude who hadn't moved a muscle the entire time. "Can you believe this guy? Get this joker outta here." Rude's brow rose visibly above his sunglasses, and his entire expression-the bits of it Reno could see at least-screamed 'I'm not doing it.' Reno waved a hand at him in a shooing gesture, and jerked his head at Strife. Rude shook his head at him. Insubordination everywhere. If it wasn't one of the Rookies, it was his own partner. He saw how it was.
"Reno. Rude." Tseng's voice broke through Reno's attempts to silently convince Rude that, yes, he needed to do this in the face of Rude's continued refusal.
"Yeah, boss?" Reno asked, at the same time Rude said, "Sir?"
Tseng turned and headed toward the building. "Zack suggested the damage looked like that done by Wutai firebombs. Get on it."
Right… Back on duty. With a last, long look at Strife Reno followed after Tseng. "Hey, Rude, give me a leg up would you? I can probably get up to the second floor easy…."
-
Reno didn't change, Cloud reflected. Tseng at least looked less lined around the eyes, and even Rude wasn't quite the muscled mountain that the world-threatening events would hone him into. Reno though? Looked like he'd stepped right out the the future to harass Cloud again. Even the way he 'greeted' Cloud had been a familiar song and dance. The only difference was the lack of the long pony tail he'd sported. It made it somewhat difficult to hold his tongue against the sarcastic barbs the Turk's presence always inspired.
For all that their hands weren't the cleanest, the Turks as a whole weren't bad people, exactly. The fault lay in their loyalty to the wrong people. Unlike Sephiroth, who wasn't yet the man who could destroy the world out of insane hatred, the Reno of now was exactly the same as the one who'd pushed the button to send Plate 7 crashing onto the slums below, just because it had been an order. Yet Cloud had to keep in mind that Reno hadn't done that yet, that he might never have to if Cloud managed to play his cards right.
...It still had been satisfying to send him flying.
The amalgam of past and future was incomplete, however, without the fresh-faced Elena flittering around her senior Turks, eager to help restore the group's reputation. She would have been useful here, as she always gave away more information about what they were up to than any of the others. Reno did too, eventually, but it was rarely worth putting up with his attitude to get. It was always good to know what the Turks were up to, since they were usually right in the middle of the biggest conspiracy.
All in all, Cloud felt pretty surreal as he watched the Turks climb about the burned out shell of what had been a materia shop. It was too familiar, too similar to interactions Cloud had had in his past-future, and only Zack's grounding presence reassured him that he wasn't lost in a twisted memory.
Bits of debris crunched under his boots as Cloud wandered aimlessly, waiting for Zack to finish his phone call. He wasn't sure why they'd stopped here, aside from the fact that Zack was naturally curious about anything out of the ordinary and it was impossible-or at least impractical-to stop him when he caught the scent of something interesting. That, coupled with the Turks, was enough to pique Cloud's interest as well. He didn't see what was so unusual about the ruined shop, however. Except maybe the lack of damage to the neighboring buildings. They were so tightly packed together that it was strange for the fire to have been so contained. Probably why the Turks were snooping, since it didn't seem to be a natural occurrence or an accident.
Cloud's steps took him by Rude, who was looking up to the upper level where Reno was still scrambling around. As expected, Rude didn't say anything to Cloud, though Cloud caught the glint of the man's eye from the side of his sunglasses when Rude shot him a sideways look. That was the nice thing about Rude. He didn't say anything excessively, but you could read his mood all the same. Right now his entire posture was screaming 'curiosity' and 'irritability'. At least a small part of that had to be Cloud's fault. The majority was probably more due to things like the singed piece of wood that just bounced off his head from Reno's bumbling about.
"Yo, Rude!" Reno hollered from above, Cloud glanced up to see him lean out away from the burned window. He nearly toppled as he dropped something. This time Rude caught it in his fist rather than his head, and Cloud wasn't able to make out exactly what it was before he tucked it away into his jacket. A moment later a pair of arms closed around him, yanking him backwards. He kicked back automatically, his arms pinned to his sides. The sole of his heavy boots hit the shin of his attacker, and Zack's sudden laughter was intermixed with a pained yelp that sounded right in his ear.
He should have known. "Zack." His boots weren't even on the ground anymore.
"No fair," Reno's voice called down again. "The noisiest SOLDIER in the lot can get the drop on your scrawny ass and you make me look bad? I'm offended!"
Zack gave him a squeeze, still snickering and hollered back, "You're wrong, Reno. It's all fair here!" Cloud just kicked him again.
"I'm pretty sure that jokes expired."
"Reno," Tseng's voice cut across the impending argument, sounding entirely world weary. "Get back to work."
Wriggling, Cloud managed to loosen Zack's hold enough that he could stand on his own two feet again. "Seriously Zack," he hissed, but cut himself off as Zack used his grip to drag Cloud away from the congregation of Turks. When he deemed them far enough away, Cloud dug his heels in and tugged himself away. Frowning, he crossed his arms and shot Zack a look that demanded explanation.
"I told Luxiere we'd have to meet with him later," Zack said in an undertone, and jerked his thumb toward the Turks and the burned building. "I want to stick around here and see what's going on."
Raising an eyebrow, Cloud nodded agreeably. "Trouble?" he asked, cautious despite the distance between them and the Turks. Turks had long ears.
Zack rocked back on his heels, and rubbed his palms together. "Maybe, maybe not, but when it comes to something that looks like Wutai work...I want to know." He slanted Cloud a sidelong look. "I've got enemies."
"Ah…" Cloud frowned at the reminder; Zack, for all his easy camaraderie, was a dangerous person to be on opposite sides to. "What makes you think it's Wutai?"
"You ever seen the damage done by a Wutai firebomb?"
Cloud flicked his eyes toward the Turks, not answering the question. That should be answer enough to Zack.
"Yeah, well, it's got all the markers," Zack breezed on. "Self contained, no damage outside what they want, directed. That particular burn pattern around the windows. And there's some scraps of the containers they use if you look." He lifted a hand and pointed toward one of the upper windows where a bit of bright yellow clung that didn't look like much, but to the trained eye… Zack inhaled deep. "There's a particular scent to them as well, you know?"
He did know. Yuffie had played around with small, homemade firecrackers, but spoke fondly-too fondly-of the larger, more professionally made explosives of her hometown. It was a grittier, chemical scent that fire or magic induced fire didn't carry. Now that he was looking for it, he could detect the faint scent in the air under the cleaner smell of burned wood.
"When I went into Fort Tamblin," Zack said, voice barely more than a breath, "I let a member of the Crescent Unit go alive and he promised he'd come for my head eventually. So, if we have Wutai insurgents getting into Midgar I want to know if I need to sleep with one eye open." A surge of adrenaline shot through Cloud as his gaze sharpened at the knowledge that Zack might be in danger. That was definitely something he could get behind bothering the Turks over. "You don't mind hanging around right?"
The last part came out louder than the rest, but Cloud gave a sharp smile in return. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was getting a little bored hanging around Midgar doing piddling little missions. This was both interesting, and also meant he could look out for Zack's back if he was in trouble here.
"Hey, hey, hey," Reno's voice cut in. A sharp clack announced him landing on street level again, and Cloud looked over to see him saunter toward them. "No one invited you chumps to the party, you hear?" Reno brought his electro-mag rod up, letting it thwack solidly against Rude's chest. Rude's head jerked slightly, the only sign he made that he'd even felt it. "We got Rude for the brawn, Fair, and I don't think you're going to bring much in the way of brains to the operation."
"No wonder Tseng's here then," the words were out of Cloud's mouth before he could censor them. He could sense Zack tensing up behind him, and mentally cursed his slip. He wasn't supposed to know them that well...
Reno's brows shot up, nearly disappearing under his goggles, though his shock passed in a second. "Cold, real zinger there. You think you can keep up with a Turk?"
Then again, it was Reno. "Better than you can keep up with me."
"You're a real hoot." Reno lifted his electro-mag rod up in a ready position, looking for all the world like he was two seconds away from launching himself at Cloud. Narrowing his eyes, Cloud shifted his stance to a more ready position himself. That was fine by him, if Reno wanted to get his ass handed to him again in as many minutes.
Before anything could happen, Rude stepped up behind Reno and grabbed him by the back of his shirt to haul him away. At the same time, Cloud felt a hand at his own collar lifting him up and back, Zack's voice in his ear going, "Whoa, whoa, whoa you two! No fighting in the streets."
Tseng walked between the two groups, snapping his phone closed as he said, "Children."
Cloud flushed, irritably aware that he had been acting a fool. However if Zack didn't let him down in the next second, he was going to see just what soft spots he could hit from this height. Zack seemed to sense his mood, and dropped Cloud ungracefully to the ground. He straightened his scarf in an attempt to ignore Reno's smug expression across from him.
Tseng's next words wiped it right off Reno's face. "We'll discuss this later, Reno. For now… If you're finished, Gun is meeting us in Fountain Square with the files on possible Wutai spies in Midgar."
"Mind if we tag along?" Zack called after Tseng. Tseng glanced back and lifted a hand to wave him to follow. As they caught up with Tseng, Zack positioned himself between Cloud and the rest of the Turks, though he did it so casually it looked like he'd just happened to wander there. Cloud wasn't the least bit fooled. He wasn't a child who couldn't control themselves. It was just that...well, it was Reno.
"It's a mission that was going to wind up in SOLDIERs hands originally," Tseng said to Zack. "We're picking it up now to expedite things in the face of recent damages."
Zack held his phone up. "Is it in the system?" At Tseng's nod and pushed a button on his phone and began checking it over. "I'll pick it up then."
"Good. That will prevent futile action on someone else's part."
"ShinRa efficiency," Cloud muttered under his breath.
"Ain't it beautiful?" Reno's nasal twang still sounded too smug.
Cloud tried to shrug off his irritation at being overheard. "It's something, alright," he replied neutrally. And then Zack elbowed him hard enough to make him stagger. It still surprised Cloud on occasion that there were people here just as strong as he was, just as able to throw that strength around. The shock wore off quickly, and Cloud turned his glower on the side of Zack's face.
His irritation faded quickly, as he was unable to hold a grudge against Zack who was just trying to keep him from slipping up in front of such ShinRa loyalists as the Turks. That...aspect hadn't changed much, from now to the future. What had changed, what Cloud was only just coming to realize, was ShinRa itself.
The company that Cloud had fought against, whose efforts against Sephiroth and Meteor had been futile at best, had been nothing compared to the ShinRa of now. Now it was at the height of its power, with an army of trained SOLDIERs at its beck and call, mako energy still fresh and seemingly bottomless. It was organized, and ambitious, and active.
Rufus had been right about that, at least. His father had let ShinRa stagnate, was too content in his glass tower and unquestioned power to see that the company was on the brink of destroying itself and the Planet. The corruption of the land that surrounded Midgar in the future was a clear indicator of the harm Mako energy had produced, and was ignored in favor of finding the mythical Promised Land, an endless land of resources ShinRa could use forever. Cloud knew better, of course, but what had changed the President from the intelligent man who was able to create and hold such an empire to one who would follow such a hard-to-believe story? Compared to now, with ShinRa's recent defeat of Wutai and heavy activity around the Planet, it was such a great contrast.
Reluctantly, Cloud could admit that Rufus' vision for ShinRa then was better than the reality of now. Not his initial dream of ruling the world through fear, but the humbled plan to rebuild Midgar and work with the Planet to heal it and its people. He wasn't stupid enough to think that Rufus hadn't had an ulterior motive, hadn't intended to come out on top of that with as much power as he could grab. There would always be those trying for control. After Meteor, much of that had been tempered into a sense of gratefulness at surviving, which had in turn soured in the face of the Geostigma plague.
It would have been better to start over. For ShinRa to let Midgar be swallowed back into the Planet and let the people build anew. Unfortunately, the people were scared and congregated toward what was familiar, what had once been 'safety'. Edge city hadn't been necessary. People just couldn't let go of the remembered strength and power Midgar once held. Kalm would have been a much more viable, much healthier option to build if the people had just tried. Cloud would have helped...had helped the few who'd made the journey.
That was all gone, now. The ShinRa of now was an efficient machine that took as much out of the world as it could without care to what it destroyed in the process. As he'd told Zack, it was inevitable that ShinRa would fall. Too much was consumed without being replaced, and the company would run out of Planet, people, and power to exploit. Cloud had tried his best to stop the destruction before the Planet had been irreparably harmed, and failing that had done what he could to soothe the wound. He and his friends had worked hard for that future. Maybe this time, he could prevent the damage in the first place.
A sharp pang of homesickness struck him. He would never see his willful Tifa again, or quiet Denzel, or cheerful Marlene. Cid was a ShinRa man who cared more about the stars than what lay beneath them. Barret was somewhere, working hard for the betterment of ShinRa, not yet touched by bitterness or hatred. Even if Cloud were to meet them here, it would never be the same; those people were lost to him.
In a bitter haze, Cloud looked up, and realized they'd made it to Fountain Square while he'd been lost in thought. A short, blonde-haired woman dressed in the dark Turk suit was waiting in the courtyard ahead of them, her back still turned to their approach. His heart gave a little leap of recognition, even as he couldn't believe it. Surely it couldn't be Elena here, not now. She'd been a new recruit in the future, and would be too young for the Turks…
Then the woman turned, and while the face was similar, it wasn't Elena that greeted Tseng with a sharp salute. "Sir, your files."
"Thank you, Gun," he replied, taking the manilla envelope and tucking it under one arm. "I apologise for calling you out here on a simple errand."
"I am happy to provide assistance, sir," Gun said, with a sharp nod. "If you need anything else, let me know."
"Actually," Tseng said, holding up a hand to prevent her from turning away. "You've been gathering information on the movements of our targets, correct?" Cloud bristled at the choice of words, but tried to suppress his distaste. For now. It was just like the Turks to use such a dehumanizing term. Gun nodded an affirmative, and Tseng continued, "I'll need your assistance on this job. We need to flush out as many of the Wutai insurgents as possible, now that their threat has escalated."
Turning back to Zack and Cloud, Tseng continued with a faint smile, "Zack, play bait."
"Sure thing!" Zack gave a cheerful pair of thumbs up. Stunned for a moment at how ridiculous such a request from Tseng was, it took a moment for Cloud to register Zack's enthusiastic reply. He kicked Zack's ankle in irritation at how easily he agreed to throw himself into danger. Didn't he just get done telling Cloud he was a target for these people? Zack balled his hands into eager fists and shifted restlessly, ignoring Cloud's kick completely. "They won't know what hit them."
"I know," Tseng said over his shoulder, already walking away with Gun trailing at his side. "Rude, Reno. Back him up."
"And you got my back too, right Cloud?" Zack asked, turning a bright smile on him.
Cloud regarded Zack for a quiet moment. The exchange between Zack and Tseng highlighted how their odd friendship worked, though Cloud wasn't sure he appreciated it. The Turks were better off as reluctant allies than friends, unless you were the target of their loyalty. Letting the silence stretch a bit too long-Zack's smile never wavered, he knew Cloud's answer-Cloud finally gave a sharp nod.
"Of course."
Part 2
Chapter 12 - Crisis of Coordination
Counter Crisis
by White Mage Koorii & Dragoon-Sama
Chapter 13 - Crisis of Comburent
[ μ ] - εуλ 0002 (March 25th)
Ah, the Department of Administrative Research. Reno inhaled deeply as he stepped into the Control Room. It smelled like gun oil, explosives, and a hint of coffee. Just the way he liked it. There was nothing like a hit of java to start off the day, night, or anywhere in between in his opinion. The only thing better was if he could get away with adding a little something special to his cup of joe.
"Am I late?" he asked, letting that nasally tone he used when he was being a real shithead seep in. He was pretty sure the answer was no. The only one there was Rude, sitting near one bank of terminals with a newspaper held up in front of his face. Reno tapped his electro-mag rod on his shoulder and sauntered further into the Control Room, eyes scanning the computer screens. All of them showed various views of the ShinRa building: boring office workers buzzing around down there, a glimpse of the entrance over there. Normal ShinRa day, normal ShinRa hub-bub.
No fun. He wondered when his turn on night duty rotation was going to come up. If Rude was on morning shifts for monitoring the monitors, then that probably meant...He'd have night duty soon. Good. Reno grinned, ducking his head as he caught the back of one of the chairs and yanked it out, spun it around, and straddled it. Night at ShinRa was both the most boring time to be on the monitor... and the best time. It meant a guy got the best chance at catching busybodies up to no good. On the flipside, it meant a guy got the chance to turn his attention to other matters. Reno liked to make good use of it for his favorite snooping past-times.
The soles of his shoes and the chair he sat on squeaked as he turned it from side to side, watching a pair of 3rd Class SOLDIERs in the cafeteria playing a card game on a nearby screen.
"Reno."
"Huh?" Reno looked over at Rude only to meet the impenetrable stare of his shades over the folded paper he'd been reading. Rude's head tipped downward a little toward the chair he was perched on, and Reno stopped moving. The squeaking ceased. Rude gave an approving nod and flipped his paper back up, replaced with an image of Scarlet from a recent ShinRa shindig.
Sometimes Reno wondered why he put up with the guy. So stiff, but he guessed that was the point. Where he was laid back, Rude was serious. Where he was fiery, Rude was cool as ice. Rude was the power, he was the speed. They balanced out, worked good as partners. That was why they got assigned together so often. They made the most efficient team. After all, Rude lacked the interpersonal skills that Reno could provide, and Rude brought other things to the table. Like being intimidating, and quiet, and keeping Reno from going overboard. Yeah, efficient use of resources. Reno loved that about his job.
There were other perks of course, lots of them.
"Sooo, Rude, buddy," Reno drawled. "Any idea what I've been called in for?" Today was supposed to be his day off. He'd been looking forward to heading down to the slums and spending a few hours in that pub in Wall Market. Damn.
"Status report?" Rude offered.
Reno turned his gaze upward and scratched under the band of his goggles with the end of his electro-mag rod. Dangerous? Maybe, but only if his finger slipped. "Nah, doubt it. Don't think that requires me to bring full gear." The paper dropped down and Rude's shades stared at him. Reno pointed the tip of his electro-mag rod at Rude, then waved it around expressively when Rude ducked out of the way. "Yeah, yeah, we're always in full gear."
It was true. Each and every Turk took their job seriously. That was the point, that was why they were here. Someone didn't get to be a Turk if they didn't. At least they weren't one for very long. If a Turk didn't measure up they were a liability, and the Turks didn't like liabilities. ShinRa didn't like liabilities, and the Turks were usually the clean up crew. The dark underbelly to ShinRa's sleek steel and spit-shined outer shell.
Reno drummed his short nails against the electro-mag rod's side while Rude went back to his paper. There were a number of reasons Tseng could have called him in. Anything from AVALANCHE activity to Operation Blondie and all the way along the list from assassination, extortion, control in the slums, and something as simple as 'recruitment'. Man, but Reno hated waiting. He just liked to get the mission statement, hit the road, and get shit underway.
Except when he didn't, but a man had to have his priorities.
There came a faint shush of the door opening a second before the precise click of shoes on tile, only it wasn't just one pair it was two.... Reno looked over to see Tseng follow Director Veld in. Veld who carried a styrofoam cup of coffee in his hand while Tseng touted a number of manila folders.
So, not Operation Blondie then.
He had to admit it was nice seeing Veld about. Having him get demoted-brief as it had been-was enough to give anyone a heart attack. Having to put up with Heidegger shuffling them about? He'd been about ready to ship out and put in his retirement papers. Well, no, not really. He doubted there was much that could ever get him to leave ShinRa or the Turks. It was a cozy position and he would probably never be where he was if it wasn't for them.
In all likelihood he'd either be dead, a thug, or gutter trash trying to turn a quick gil from whatever he could steal or scavenge or fuck knew what else.
ShinRa did that. It gave chances even if it took some away. He'd always thought the good it did outweighed the bad. After all, they brought power, they brought light, and to some degree they brought safety. Sure, not everyone agreed but it wasn't his or ShinRa's place to be nice and make friendship circles. It was their place to get the damn job done; whatever that job may be. A wise man just didn't ask too many questions in this type of business. At least in certain areas. His questions were for other places.
Veld sat his cup down and Tseng promptly handed a few of the folders over without a word. Reno lifted a hand, "Hey, Director."
Giving him a short nod, Veld said, "Reno." His attention was already in the folders laid out before him, his fingers typing access codes into the terminal. "I think you ought to get to work."
"On it," Reno drawled as Rude gave his chair a kick that he was sure meant 'leave the Director alone'. It also sent him rolling a few inches across the floor. He swiveled to give Tseng a smirk. "So watcha got for me, Boss?"
Tseng gave him a stare that was a little more severe than usual. He always got his undies in a twist when the Director was in the same room. Shame, really. Reno was pretty sure Veld for all his sternness had given up slapping him into shape years ago.
That didn't mean Reno gave him straight sass. He just edged around it a little. That man could be terrifying.
"We," Tseng said, interrupting Reno's train of thought, "are going to have a look around Sector 8. And perhaps a few other places as well."
"We?" Reno echoed. Sure, it was normal for Turks to patrol Sector 8. It was their territory. It was normal even for Turks who'd been here as long as he and Rude had been to be on the rotation. Tseng? Not so much. Tseng didn't usually do routine patrol and Rookie-baby-sitting duty. That was all theirs.
"We," Tseng agreed. "Reno, Rude. Let's go." Rude's paper rustled as he folded it, and Reno shoved himself to his feet, the chair spinning idly as he sauntered after the other two. Tseng lead the way along the hall, neatly polished shoes tap-tapping away. Unconsciously, Reno mirrored the rhythm in the tap of his finger against his electro-mag rod's handle.
Reno's eyes zeroed in on the back of Tseng's head, watching his ponytail sway. "Yo, boss? You on disciplinary?" Digging for information from Tseng was always a bit like a Turk's rite of passage. If you could get any right answers out of him, any accurate observations, it meant you were going somewhere. Of course, you had to level up through Reno first…
"Not in the slightest," Tseng said.
That meant it wasn't Standard Patrol Duty with a side of Tseng, then. "You heard from Shotgun lately?"
"She's arrived safely." Which meant there was no new news on Operation Blondie right now either. So that ruled out a meeting on the subject.
Reno ran his tongue along the inside of his teeth. Sector 8 didn't have much going on on a normal day. There was a reason that it was the newbie zone. So, what was off? While he turned it over in his mind, they arrived at the elevators and came to a hault. Tseng's ponytail shifted when he tipped his head forward to give them access to the elevator, and Reno sharpened his stare on him.
A glance at Rude showed nothing but the usual implacable exterior. Same old Rude, but Reno liked to think he could detect a hint of curiosity under that exterior. Every day he was getting better at reading him. He was already the best at it.
Then again, it would take ShinRa's third best Turk to be that amazing.
Inside the elevator Reno turned to face out the glass wall. Below them Midgar spread out to the edges of the plate. A strange, abrupt horizon ringed by the outer edges of the mako reactors which glowed bright against the the cloudy sky. He could hear the faint shift of fabric as Rude took up space behind him. Tseng was a silent, smaller shadow nearer the doors.
His stomach swooped as the elevator began its descent. "You gonna tell us the down low or are we going to have to find out on our own?"
He heard Tseng give a faint hum as if he were considering it. "We're going to investigate the remains of a burned down materia shop in Sector 8."
Oh. That. He'd heard about that on his way in today. It took a second before it really registered and Reno craned his head around to look over his shoulder. Rude's broad frame blocked his view so he turned away from the view of Midgar to slip around him. "Wait a minute. A burned down materia shop? That's it?" he said, indignant. Reno gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Send a rookie."
Tseng's dark gaze landed on him. "Stand down, Reno." With a grumble Reno subsided and turned back to the glass walls to watch Midgar rise up to meet them. A few more floors and the building engulfed them to cut off the view. Tseng's smooth voice filled the quiet space, "We suspect arson. It isn't the only shop to find itself completely burned out within the past few weeks. There has also been a warehouse and a parts shop in the number. All of which connect back to, and are supplied, predominantly by ShinRa rather than being private operations."
That made more sense than just investigating arson. As much as the Turks kept an eye on things, their concern was ShinRa. If it was in ShinRa's interest then it was in theirs.
"I still don't see why you can't get one of the rookies to do this. Rude and I have more important things to be doing. Recruitment, stalking blonds...."
"Well," Tseng said. The faint undertone of amusement in his voice immediately put Reno on alert. "I could always send you out to help look for more information on AVALANCHE."
….Shit. He had him there. Except. Reno smirked. "Or you can let us get back to snooping around Lazard."
He could see Tseng's reflection in the glass. His head turned just enough for Reno to make out the pale line of the side of his face. "I thought you turned in the report on that already?"
"...I did?" Reno asked, blankly. Nearby, Rude cleared his throat uncomfortably, and Reno whirled around to gape at him in betrayal. "Rude! No way." Rude shifted, shoulders hunching and head ducking.
The elevator swayed to a halt and Tseng announced, "Ah, we're here." Tseng disembarked and Rude hurried after him, steps just a bit too quick. Reno, left alone in the elevator, continued to gawp at his back.
"Traitor!" he hollered after him, throwing himself after the two at the last second and slipping between the closing doors. He caught up with them in a few seconds and fell sullenly in beside Rude. Tseng, the smug bastard, seemed to have developed a bit more of a bounce in his step.
He'd been enjoying that job. Ferreting around ShinRa's dirty secrets had always been his favorite. Reno liked to have his finger in all the pies, and Lazard's pie with it's shiny glistening crust turned out to be pretty deep, and pretty nasty. ShinRa's good boy Director of SOLDIER had a lot going on under there.
Tseng cut across to the entrance and the three of them filed out of the ShinRa Building and onto Midgar's streets. Reno breathed in the mako scented air, the smell of exhaust from construction machines, and the scent of food floating from a few carts parked along the road to take advantage of the commuters heading toward the ShinRa Building. Reno took in every bit of movement, every face that went by him. He recognized many of them, knew most of their names or at least their jobs. It was a Turk's duty to know who came and went from ShinRa and why.
Around them Sector 8's buildings rose up, tall brownstone with windows full of light-light that ShinRa provided. That was what ShinRa did. It provided light, power, work, safety, and money. ShinRa offered stability, and maybe a few people had to get stepped on or disposed of to make way for the better world that ShinRa was paving, but that was just business. Reno had learned long ago that to get ahead in life sometimes you had to step on a few toes. It was survival of the fittest at it's finest, and ShinRa was the biggest predator on the block. In it's early days, ShinRa had gobbled up all of it's rivals, and it kept on gobbling them up.
It was good work for the Turks. All they had to do was make sure anyone who got ideas of challenging ShinRa's power...Well, they tended to disappear.
That was the way of the world, and Reno couldn't say he didn't enjoy being near the top of the foodchain.
They cut across Fountain Square and onto LOVELESS Avenue, though their stay there was brief. Reno counted the number of troopers on patrol in the area as they passed through and off into the streets beyond. The streets off of LOVELESS Avenue were lined with two story buildings-shops shoved close together with multi-colored awnings over wide, tall front windows. Reno absently glanced in each as they passed. One sold clothes, another displayed delicate confectionery designs, and a third advertised tobacco. On they went, past convenience stores, a small liquor shop, and down another road. The traffic grew lighter, the everyday shops giving way to more specialized ones. Electronics there, a pawn shop a few doors down. A store with an array of knives and guns in the front window and more weapons on the shelves beyond.
It wasn't hard to spot their destination. It had been cordoned off, a number of ShinRa's troopers standing guard to make sure smart asses didn't sneak past and try to get into the ruined building. As they grew closer, Reno could smell smoke. The materia shop was still smouldering, smoke rising from the burst windows and scorch marks licking from them like a dragon had roosted inside and started spewing fire out. Tseng came to a stop before he stepped into the water that pooled on the street, slowly running down the nearby grates and into the plates dispersal pipes. The wood around the front door had caved in entirely.
"Casualties?" Rude asked.
"Four," Tseng answered, picking his way across the wet pavement. He ducked under the vivid yellow tape and headed toward the store front. The troopers barely gave them a glance. "The shop owner, his wife, and two children."
Reno made a faint noise in the back of his throat. Rude pulled the tape up and Reno used to chance to swing under past him before Rude followed. "Well, it's a fixer upper, but hey, prime real estate." The lot would fill in fast, greedy folks vying for better position, closer to the ShinRa building and closer to more traffic. Not to mention anyone in the slums with bright eyes for a better future and enough money to buy their way plateside. "Did they already secure the materia?"
Tseng made a noise of affirmation. "They found the bodies while looking for the shops stock records."
"Were they able to find them?" Reno stopped beside Tseng, observing the shop front more closely. Chipped brick littered the ground under the scorched out windows, and glass crunched under Rude's steps as he moved in closer.
"Yes."
That was good news at least. Reno didn't envy the poor bastards who'd have to cross reference the removed stock of materia with the shop's paperwork. They couldn't have loose materia. Not around here. It could be a reason for the arson, though what they wanted from a warehouse and a parts shop…. Well, that was what they were here to find out.
Reno heard the sound of a commotion near the perimeter behind them. One of the infantryman barked, "Sir! You're not allowed in this area right now, please step ba-"
"Hey, take it easy. I'm just going to have a word with Tseng. C'mon Cloud, let's go see what happened." If that wasn't Zack Fair, Reno was going to actually get his shoes polished and tuck in his shirt. He did perk up at the sound of that name though. Where Fair was, his little blond shadow was close behind.
"Hey Rude," Reno drawled tilting his head, and jerking his chin in indication. He didn't bother to turn toward the familiar voice. "You wanna take care of that?"
Rude nodded, disappearing out of view as he headed to intercept the intruders. As interesting as the pair were normally, this was Turk business. Nobody got to interrupt Turk business.
"Oh. Hey Rude just wanna...uh...get by you...you know. Can you move out of the way?" A brief pause, and Reno could imagine that implacable shaded stare. "Aw, c'mon…"
Over the sounds of Fair trying to find a way past Rude, Reno was aware of a quiet rustle, and abruptly realized someone was standing a few feet behind him. Reno tensed minutely, and didn't wait to see if his personal space invader was going to do anything. He whipped around, his electro-mag rod sparking with a charge as he aimed for the head, and kicked out with one long leg in the same movement.
Instead of the meaty sound of metal against skull, or even the clang of metal on metal as his strike was blocked, Reno was only aware of blond hair ducking under the swing of his rod, and the next moment a hand closed around his calf and yanked him further around with a pull. He spun in the air, the street and overcast sky flying by in a blurr. If he didn't do something he was in for a nasty landing.
He shot out a hand to push off the ground and gain control of his spin, getting his feet under him as he landed in a crouch. His electro-mag rod clattered loudly against the cement a few feet away. Straightening and brushing at the lapels of his coat, he attempted a nonchalant expression.
"Whoa, nice reaction time, blondie."
Strife looked blankly back at him, apparently not bothered that Reno had just tried to stave his head in. Over his shoulder, Reno could see Fair push past a distracted Rude. (Nice backup, partner….)
"He learns fast," Fair said blithely, then waved. "Hey! Tseng!"
"Zack," Tseng returned mildly. "Did you need something?"
Reno turned his attention on his current favorite puzzle and ShinRa enigma. Strife appeared unaffected by Rude's presence looming over him. For his part, if you were to ask Reno, Rude looked very put out at being ignored so successfully by the two trespassers. Ignoring that, it was pretty interesting that the blond was so composed in the middle of a group of Turks. Everyone from the lowliest janitors to the top executives tended to walk on spun glass when Turks had business in their vicinity.
Except for Fair, of course. Reno could hear him harassing Tseng and didn't envy the boss his position.
It was interesting to get a look at Strife close up. The last time had been way back in December, and he'd only seen him in photos since then. If he were to hazard a guess, Reno might say that Strife looked better. Pale, still, but it was the complexion a lot of northerners sported. He didn't look like someone who could keep up with Sephiroth though, that was for sure. Strife was on the short side, a little reedy, looking like he hadn't quite grown into himself. He probably hadn't, given the age on his personnel file.
Strife sported those creepy glowing eyes that all SOLDIERs did, however. That, coupled with his near blank expression did lend a more imposing presence than 'scrawny teenager too big for his britches'. And he was carrying around one of those cheap weed whackers they handed out to SOLDIERs like candy. Seriously, the budget for equipment was ridiculously high in that department. Reno may have had a specially modified and expensive, exclusive-to-him-only weapon, but he took care of it.
Speaking of taking care of things...
"A word of advice, don't let Fair teach you bad habits like crashing a Turk party. It'll get your further around here," Reno drawled. He watched, keen eyed for any reaction from Strife. Anything at all that could give a hint toward if he was interested in climbing the ranks-that was normal in ShinRa, that was wanted. ShinRa liked to encourage a little survival of the fittest among its employees. It just gave them character. On the other side of the coin…. Reno jerked his head at the burnt out building nearby. "Or are you just returning to the scene of the crime?"
Strife turned his head in the direction Reno indicated, but whether he was taking in the blackened husk or had indigestion, Reno couldn't tell. "I've never been here before," Strife murmured blandly, giving Reno nothing to go on either way. He was doing a good job at making Tseng look like an open, chatty book.
"We were on our way back to the apartments," Fair said, stepping into the conversation as if he'd been there all along. Reno made a note of that. He seemed to keep piping up when anything was addressed to his little stray trooper, and Reno couldn't help but wonder. "I was supposed to meet with a buddy of mine for some extra sword practice...ten minutes ago. Oops." Reno stared as Fair stepped away again, taking his phone out and dialing.
Tseng drifted in as if he'd been waiting for the chance and took his place. He leveled a cool look at Reno. "Don't cause a scene."
"Hey," Reno complained, "I wasn't the one who started causing scenes. That's all on him."
He jerked a thumb at Fair just as a loud, "Hey! Luxiere. Sorry about the wait. There's a situation…" punctuated the conversation. Right on time. Good to know Fair could be relied on to make his case for him.
Tseng released a breath. "He had a good point regardless." He jerked his head toward the burned out building. "We need to have a look at the damage."
Reno looked back toward the building. "Yeah, we'll get right on that bo-"
"Reno," Strife's voice cut in, and Reno turned just in time to prevent his electro-mag rod from smacking him in the face. He fumbled it, shaking out his stinging palm and glad he'd not caught the on switch.
"Hey, watch it!" Reno yelped, and shot a glare at the blond. He wasn't sure, but Reno swore he saw Strife hiding a smirk behind his trooper scarf. The little brat. Forget what he said about him being mature, Strife was obviously still a sniveling teenager. Tipping the end of his electro-mag rod toward Strife, he gave him a sharp look. "Why don't you go over there with your noisy handler and stay out from under our feet, 'kay."
Stife stared Reno down for a couple heartbeats longer than was strictly comfortable, like he wasn't waving a dangerous weapon in his face, before he turned away dismissively. Not to leave, Reno noted, but to move close to the burned wreckage.
"Hey!" Reno called after him, "What did I just say?" With a huff, Reno looked over at Rude. Rude who hadn't moved a muscle the entire time. "Can you believe this guy? Get this joker outta here." Rude's brow rose visibly above his sunglasses, and his entire expression-the bits of it Reno could see at least-screamed 'I'm not doing it.' Reno waved a hand at him in a shooing gesture, and jerked his head at Strife. Rude shook his head at him. Insubordination everywhere. If it wasn't one of the Rookies, it was his own partner. He saw how it was.
"Reno. Rude." Tseng's voice broke through Reno's attempts to silently convince Rude that, yes, he needed to do this in the face of Rude's continued refusal.
"Yeah, boss?" Reno asked, at the same time Rude said, "Sir?"
Tseng turned and headed toward the building. "Zack suggested the damage looked like that done by Wutai firebombs. Get on it."
Right… Back on duty. With a last, long look at Strife Reno followed after Tseng. "Hey, Rude, give me a leg up would you? I can probably get up to the second floor easy…."
-
Reno didn't change, Cloud reflected. Tseng at least looked less lined around the eyes, and even Rude wasn't quite the muscled mountain that the world-threatening events would hone him into. Reno though? Looked like he'd stepped right out the the future to harass Cloud again. Even the way he 'greeted' Cloud had been a familiar song and dance. The only difference was the lack of the long pony tail he'd sported. It made it somewhat difficult to hold his tongue against the sarcastic barbs the Turk's presence always inspired.
For all that their hands weren't the cleanest, the Turks as a whole weren't bad people, exactly. The fault lay in their loyalty to the wrong people. Unlike Sephiroth, who wasn't yet the man who could destroy the world out of insane hatred, the Reno of now was exactly the same as the one who'd pushed the button to send Plate 7 crashing onto the slums below, just because it had been an order. Yet Cloud had to keep in mind that Reno hadn't done that yet, that he might never have to if Cloud managed to play his cards right.
...It still had been satisfying to send him flying.
The amalgam of past and future was incomplete, however, without the fresh-faced Elena flittering around her senior Turks, eager to help restore the group's reputation. She would have been useful here, as she always gave away more information about what they were up to than any of the others. Reno did too, eventually, but it was rarely worth putting up with his attitude to get. It was always good to know what the Turks were up to, since they were usually right in the middle of the biggest conspiracy.
All in all, Cloud felt pretty surreal as he watched the Turks climb about the burned out shell of what had been a materia shop. It was too familiar, too similar to interactions Cloud had had in his past-future, and only Zack's grounding presence reassured him that he wasn't lost in a twisted memory.
Bits of debris crunched under his boots as Cloud wandered aimlessly, waiting for Zack to finish his phone call. He wasn't sure why they'd stopped here, aside from the fact that Zack was naturally curious about anything out of the ordinary and it was impossible-or at least impractical-to stop him when he caught the scent of something interesting. That, coupled with the Turks, was enough to pique Cloud's interest as well. He didn't see what was so unusual about the ruined shop, however. Except maybe the lack of damage to the neighboring buildings. They were so tightly packed together that it was strange for the fire to have been so contained. Probably why the Turks were snooping, since it didn't seem to be a natural occurrence or an accident.
Cloud's steps took him by Rude, who was looking up to the upper level where Reno was still scrambling around. As expected, Rude didn't say anything to Cloud, though Cloud caught the glint of the man's eye from the side of his sunglasses when Rude shot him a sideways look. That was the nice thing about Rude. He didn't say anything excessively, but you could read his mood all the same. Right now his entire posture was screaming 'curiosity' and 'irritability'. At least a small part of that had to be Cloud's fault. The majority was probably more due to things like the singed piece of wood that just bounced off his head from Reno's bumbling about.
"Yo, Rude!" Reno hollered from above, Cloud glanced up to see him lean out away from the burned window. He nearly toppled as he dropped something. This time Rude caught it in his fist rather than his head, and Cloud wasn't able to make out exactly what it was before he tucked it away into his jacket. A moment later a pair of arms closed around him, yanking him backwards. He kicked back automatically, his arms pinned to his sides. The sole of his heavy boots hit the shin of his attacker, and Zack's sudden laughter was intermixed with a pained yelp that sounded right in his ear.
He should have known. "Zack." His boots weren't even on the ground anymore.
"No fair," Reno's voice called down again. "The noisiest SOLDIER in the lot can get the drop on your scrawny ass and you make me look bad? I'm offended!"
Zack gave him a squeeze, still snickering and hollered back, "You're wrong, Reno. It's all fair here!" Cloud just kicked him again.
"I'm pretty sure that jokes expired."
"Reno," Tseng's voice cut across the impending argument, sounding entirely world weary. "Get back to work."
Wriggling, Cloud managed to loosen Zack's hold enough that he could stand on his own two feet again. "Seriously Zack," he hissed, but cut himself off as Zack used his grip to drag Cloud away from the congregation of Turks. When he deemed them far enough away, Cloud dug his heels in and tugged himself away. Frowning, he crossed his arms and shot Zack a look that demanded explanation.
"I told Luxiere we'd have to meet with him later," Zack said in an undertone, and jerked his thumb toward the Turks and the burned building. "I want to stick around here and see what's going on."
Raising an eyebrow, Cloud nodded agreeably. "Trouble?" he asked, cautious despite the distance between them and the Turks. Turks had long ears.
Zack rocked back on his heels, and rubbed his palms together. "Maybe, maybe not, but when it comes to something that looks like Wutai work...I want to know." He slanted Cloud a sidelong look. "I've got enemies."
"Ah…" Cloud frowned at the reminder; Zack, for all his easy camaraderie, was a dangerous person to be on opposite sides to. "What makes you think it's Wutai?"
"You ever seen the damage done by a Wutai firebomb?"
Cloud flicked his eyes toward the Turks, not answering the question. That should be answer enough to Zack.
"Yeah, well, it's got all the markers," Zack breezed on. "Self contained, no damage outside what they want, directed. That particular burn pattern around the windows. And there's some scraps of the containers they use if you look." He lifted a hand and pointed toward one of the upper windows where a bit of bright yellow clung that didn't look like much, but to the trained eye… Zack inhaled deep. "There's a particular scent to them as well, you know?"
He did know. Yuffie had played around with small, homemade firecrackers, but spoke fondly-too fondly-of the larger, more professionally made explosives of her hometown. It was a grittier, chemical scent that fire or magic induced fire didn't carry. Now that he was looking for it, he could detect the faint scent in the air under the cleaner smell of burned wood.
"When I went into Fort Tamblin," Zack said, voice barely more than a breath, "I let a member of the Crescent Unit go alive and he promised he'd come for my head eventually. So, if we have Wutai insurgents getting into Midgar I want to know if I need to sleep with one eye open." A surge of adrenaline shot through Cloud as his gaze sharpened at the knowledge that Zack might be in danger. That was definitely something he could get behind bothering the Turks over. "You don't mind hanging around right?"
The last part came out louder than the rest, but Cloud gave a sharp smile in return. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was getting a little bored hanging around Midgar doing piddling little missions. This was both interesting, and also meant he could look out for Zack's back if he was in trouble here.
"Hey, hey, hey," Reno's voice cut in. A sharp clack announced him landing on street level again, and Cloud looked over to see him saunter toward them. "No one invited you chumps to the party, you hear?" Reno brought his electro-mag rod up, letting it thwack solidly against Rude's chest. Rude's head jerked slightly, the only sign he made that he'd even felt it. "We got Rude for the brawn, Fair, and I don't think you're going to bring much in the way of brains to the operation."
"No wonder Tseng's here then," the words were out of Cloud's mouth before he could censor them. He could sense Zack tensing up behind him, and mentally cursed his slip. He wasn't supposed to know them that well...
Reno's brows shot up, nearly disappearing under his goggles, though his shock passed in a second. "Cold, real zinger there. You think you can keep up with a Turk?"
Then again, it was Reno. "Better than you can keep up with me."
"You're a real hoot." Reno lifted his electro-mag rod up in a ready position, looking for all the world like he was two seconds away from launching himself at Cloud. Narrowing his eyes, Cloud shifted his stance to a more ready position himself. That was fine by him, if Reno wanted to get his ass handed to him again in as many minutes.
Before anything could happen, Rude stepped up behind Reno and grabbed him by the back of his shirt to haul him away. At the same time, Cloud felt a hand at his own collar lifting him up and back, Zack's voice in his ear going, "Whoa, whoa, whoa you two! No fighting in the streets."
Tseng walked between the two groups, snapping his phone closed as he said, "Children."
Cloud flushed, irritably aware that he had been acting a fool. However if Zack didn't let him down in the next second, he was going to see just what soft spots he could hit from this height. Zack seemed to sense his mood, and dropped Cloud ungracefully to the ground. He straightened his scarf in an attempt to ignore Reno's smug expression across from him.
Tseng's next words wiped it right off Reno's face. "We'll discuss this later, Reno. For now… If you're finished, Gun is meeting us in Fountain Square with the files on possible Wutai spies in Midgar."
"Mind if we tag along?" Zack called after Tseng. Tseng glanced back and lifted a hand to wave him to follow. As they caught up with Tseng, Zack positioned himself between Cloud and the rest of the Turks, though he did it so casually it looked like he'd just happened to wander there. Cloud wasn't the least bit fooled. He wasn't a child who couldn't control themselves. It was just that...well, it was Reno.
"It's a mission that was going to wind up in SOLDIERs hands originally," Tseng said to Zack. "We're picking it up now to expedite things in the face of recent damages."
Zack held his phone up. "Is it in the system?" At Tseng's nod and pushed a button on his phone and began checking it over. "I'll pick it up then."
"Good. That will prevent futile action on someone else's part."
"ShinRa efficiency," Cloud muttered under his breath.
"Ain't it beautiful?" Reno's nasal twang still sounded too smug.
Cloud tried to shrug off his irritation at being overheard. "It's something, alright," he replied neutrally. And then Zack elbowed him hard enough to make him stagger. It still surprised Cloud on occasion that there were people here just as strong as he was, just as able to throw that strength around. The shock wore off quickly, and Cloud turned his glower on the side of Zack's face.
His irritation faded quickly, as he was unable to hold a grudge against Zack who was just trying to keep him from slipping up in front of such ShinRa loyalists as the Turks. That...aspect hadn't changed much, from now to the future. What had changed, what Cloud was only just coming to realize, was ShinRa itself.
The company that Cloud had fought against, whose efforts against Sephiroth and Meteor had been futile at best, had been nothing compared to the ShinRa of now. Now it was at the height of its power, with an army of trained SOLDIERs at its beck and call, mako energy still fresh and seemingly bottomless. It was organized, and ambitious, and active.
Rufus had been right about that, at least. His father had let ShinRa stagnate, was too content in his glass tower and unquestioned power to see that the company was on the brink of destroying itself and the Planet. The corruption of the land that surrounded Midgar in the future was a clear indicator of the harm Mako energy had produced, and was ignored in favor of finding the mythical Promised Land, an endless land of resources ShinRa could use forever. Cloud knew better, of course, but what had changed the President from the intelligent man who was able to create and hold such an empire to one who would follow such a hard-to-believe story? Compared to now, with ShinRa's recent defeat of Wutai and heavy activity around the Planet, it was such a great contrast.
Reluctantly, Cloud could admit that Rufus' vision for ShinRa then was better than the reality of now. Not his initial dream of ruling the world through fear, but the humbled plan to rebuild Midgar and work with the Planet to heal it and its people. He wasn't stupid enough to think that Rufus hadn't had an ulterior motive, hadn't intended to come out on top of that with as much power as he could grab. There would always be those trying for control. After Meteor, much of that had been tempered into a sense of gratefulness at surviving, which had in turn soured in the face of the Geostigma plague.
It would have been better to start over. For ShinRa to let Midgar be swallowed back into the Planet and let the people build anew. Unfortunately, the people were scared and congregated toward what was familiar, what had once been 'safety'. Edge city hadn't been necessary. People just couldn't let go of the remembered strength and power Midgar once held. Kalm would have been a much more viable, much healthier option to build if the people had just tried. Cloud would have helped...had helped the few who'd made the journey.
That was all gone, now. The ShinRa of now was an efficient machine that took as much out of the world as it could without care to what it destroyed in the process. As he'd told Zack, it was inevitable that ShinRa would fall. Too much was consumed without being replaced, and the company would run out of Planet, people, and power to exploit. Cloud had tried his best to stop the destruction before the Planet had been irreparably harmed, and failing that had done what he could to soothe the wound. He and his friends had worked hard for that future. Maybe this time, he could prevent the damage in the first place.
A sharp pang of homesickness struck him. He would never see his willful Tifa again, or quiet Denzel, or cheerful Marlene. Cid was a ShinRa man who cared more about the stars than what lay beneath them. Barret was somewhere, working hard for the betterment of ShinRa, not yet touched by bitterness or hatred. Even if Cloud were to meet them here, it would never be the same; those people were lost to him.
In a bitter haze, Cloud looked up, and realized they'd made it to Fountain Square while he'd been lost in thought. A short, blonde-haired woman dressed in the dark Turk suit was waiting in the courtyard ahead of them, her back still turned to their approach. His heart gave a little leap of recognition, even as he couldn't believe it. Surely it couldn't be Elena here, not now. She'd been a new recruit in the future, and would be too young for the Turks…
Then the woman turned, and while the face was similar, it wasn't Elena that greeted Tseng with a sharp salute. "Sir, your files."
"Thank you, Gun," he replied, taking the manilla envelope and tucking it under one arm. "I apologise for calling you out here on a simple errand."
"I am happy to provide assistance, sir," Gun said, with a sharp nod. "If you need anything else, let me know."
"Actually," Tseng said, holding up a hand to prevent her from turning away. "You've been gathering information on the movements of our targets, correct?" Cloud bristled at the choice of words, but tried to suppress his distaste. For now. It was just like the Turks to use such a dehumanizing term. Gun nodded an affirmative, and Tseng continued, "I'll need your assistance on this job. We need to flush out as many of the Wutai insurgents as possible, now that their threat has escalated."
Turning back to Zack and Cloud, Tseng continued with a faint smile, "Zack, play bait."
"Sure thing!" Zack gave a cheerful pair of thumbs up. Stunned for a moment at how ridiculous such a request from Tseng was, it took a moment for Cloud to register Zack's enthusiastic reply. He kicked Zack's ankle in irritation at how easily he agreed to throw himself into danger. Didn't he just get done telling Cloud he was a target for these people? Zack balled his hands into eager fists and shifted restlessly, ignoring Cloud's kick completely. "They won't know what hit them."
"I know," Tseng said over his shoulder, already walking away with Gun trailing at his side. "Rude, Reno. Back him up."
"And you got my back too, right Cloud?" Zack asked, turning a bright smile on him.
Cloud regarded Zack for a quiet moment. The exchange between Zack and Tseng highlighted how their odd friendship worked, though Cloud wasn't sure he appreciated it. The Turks were better off as reluctant allies than friends, unless you were the target of their loyalty. Letting the silence stretch a bit too long-Zack's smile never wavered, he knew Cloud's answer-Cloud finally gave a sharp nod.
"Of course."
Part 2