New Blood

Well, thought Kerri, it had been a good plan anyway.  She leaned back against the wall, trying to get comfortable despite the handcuffs that held her wrists behind her back.  The day after Reno had made love to her for the second time, Rufus had called her into his office.  The Academy had forwarded a letter from her father.  It had been Rufus's idea for her to reply, telling him that she had dropped out of the Academy and would like to come for a visit.  He assured Kerri that no one at the school had informed her father that she was now a Turk.  Elena and Tseng were to be her backup, following her, but not too closely.  Kerri's orders were simply to keep her father off guard until her backup could move in and take him prisoner.  Rufus had assumed that her father would not have a great number of guards around while his daughter was visiting.  



It had taken her father three weeks to write back, telling her that a visit was a fine idea.  Her days during those three weeks were spent training intensively, her nights were spent with Reno for the most part.  Hell, the redhead had practically moved her into his place.  He showed very plainly that he considered her to be his woman, and therefore should be in his bed at night.  She felt a bit guilty over the fact that he didn't go out at night while she was there.  Rufus didn't want her being seen in the company of other Shin-Ra employees; in fact he didn't even want her to leave the building yet.  So since she couldn't go out, Reno stayed in to keep her company.  



He drank quite a lot at night, but it hardly seemed to affect him.  He admitted to her that he started drinking when he was just thirteen, and it took a lot to get him drunk now.  She'd joined him one night, and ended up getting extremely sick since she wasn't used to drinking much.  Kerri had woken up the next morning with a pounding headache and vague memories of Reno holding her hair back while she vomited, and later laying beside her in bed rubbing her stomach gently to help her sleep.  She hadn't went over two beers since then.       



When she had stayed at her own apartment for the few days that she'd been on her period, Reno had sulked his way through those five days.  The other Turks had found his attitude most amusing, since Reno had no compunctions about telling them just why she was staying out of his bed.   Kerri herself had gotten highly pissed at him for it, and locked herself in her apartment in the evenings, so angry that she didn't even want to visit him before she went to bed.  After three days of this, Reno had kicked the door in, and had carried her to his own place.  She'd been beside herself with fury at him after that, especially since he just grinned while she yelled at him and calmly stated he'd done it because she hadn't answered his knock and he was worried.  He hadn't attempted to sleep with her that night, giving up his bed to her and sleeping on the futon.  But the next night when he found out her period was over, he had taken her to bed and teased her until she thought she would go mad, bringing her to the brink of a climax over and over only to stop without taking her over the edge.  She'd ended up begging pitifully, then screaming in frustration before he finally relented.  Kerri was quite sure he'd done it to punish her, though he denied it.



Rufus wanted her to leave for Kalm two days after her father's letter came.  Outwardly she was fine.  Inside she was scared to death.  She wasn't afraid of being hurt or even killed.  But she was very frightened of screwing up, of failing her comrades and Rufus himself.  She was also afraid of not being able to return, of never seeing Reno again.  This was her first assignment, and it was a big one.  She confided her fears to Reno the night before she was to leave, and ended up crying in his arms.  When her tears ceased, he had assured her that she would do just fine, and that he would be waiting for her to return.  Then he had made love to her more tenderly than usual, bringing them both to the pinnacle slowly, gradually, until their orgasms had burst over them like a storm on the ocean.  Afterwards he had whispered, “I know you'll come back to me, Kerri.”



“How can you be so sure?” she'd asked.  



He was silent for so long that she thought he'd fallen asleep.  Then he said in such a shy tone that it caught at her heart, “Because you were meant for me.  You're my woman.  That's all, yo.”  Kerri had been very grateful for the darkness that hid her tears at these words.  



The door opened, snapping Kerri out of her memories.  Yes, it had been a good plan, but there was one flaw.  Her father knew she was a Turk.  There was an informant at the Academy.  He'd known since the day she left the school.  A truck had forced her off the road when she had been two-thirds of the way to her destination.  She'd hit her head on the steering wheel when her car slid into a ditch and grayed out for a time.  She came to when the door opened and a giant of a man jerked her out, pulling her gun from the hidden holster on her calf.  “Get up, Shin-Ra whore!” he'd barked at her, but she was still too dazed to gain her feet.  “This'll wake you up,” he said, and ripped the silver hoop Reno had given her out of her ear, tossing it on the front seat of the car.  She'd leapt to her feet in response to the pain, trying to fight, but he simply wrapped his slablike arms around her until she lost her breath and collapsed once more.  He'd cuffed her hands behind her back and threw her in the truck, tying a blindfold on her.  He had driven roughly half an hour before stopping and forcing her from the truck.  “Come on, Turk bitch.  Your daddy wants to see you,” he laughed.  She listened hard, but heard no distinctive noises that would tell her where she was.  She was taken inside some kind of structure, where her blindfold was removed just before she was shoved into this room and locked in.



Now she looked up to see her father enter with the man who had taken her.  The giant closed the door behind them, and leaned against it, leering at her.  Her father crossed the room to her and squatted in front of her, staring into her eyes.  Suddenly he reached out and grabbed her ripped earlobe, twisting, making it bleed again.  Kerri showed no emotion at the pain, and bared her teeth at him.  Her father held his bloody hand in front of her for a moment, then slapped her with it.  She looked back at him, sneering.  



“You actually thought I would welcome a traitor into my home?” he asked.



“I'm a traitor?  Perhaps to you, but at least I've never murdered children.” she answered.



He ignored this.  “How many are following you?” he asked.



“None.  I'm on my own,” she said, meeting his eyes squarely.



“I don't believe you.”



“I don't care,” she replied, and he slapped her again.



“It doesn't matter.  They won't find you.”  He stood up and backed away from her.  “Vertro,” he said, and the tall, fat man stepped forward.  “Search her.  Make sure she's not wearing a wire or carrying any weapons.



“With pleasure, boss,” the other man said.  He came forward and jerked her around by her braid until she was laying on the floor.  Dropping his weight on her thighs, he simply tore her shirt to shreds.  He grinned at the sight of her round breasts encased in her plain white bra, and then tore that off her as well before squeezing them hard enough to leave bruises.  Moving swiftly for such a huge man, he changed position, dropping a knee on her shins long enough to rip her pants off, then her underwear.  “No weapons, boss,” he said.  “Pretty little thing, though.”



Her father shrugged.  “Do what you want with her.”  Vertro leered and began unfastening his pants.  



Kerri turned her head, looked into those blue eyes so like her own.  “Father!  Don't let him do this!  I'm still your daughter!”



“I have no daughter.  All I see in front of me is one of Shin-Ra's Turks.”  There wasn't an ounce of pity in his eyes or voice, and Kerri's own eyes turned ice cold.



“You piece of filth.  You'll die in agony, Darkin.  My colleagues will see to that.” she snarled.  His eyes showed a flash of anger at her words, but he didn't speak, merely turned and left the room.  



“All right, Shin-Ra whore,” Vertro said.  She looked at him standing there naked, and felt a wave of revulsion at the sight of his erection, along with a hint of amusement.  For such a huge, fat man, his penis was actually smaller than she expected.  Especially compared to Reno's.  It wasn't going to make this any easier, though.  “How many times have you fucked your male partners?” he asked.  She turned her head without comment.  “Bet they've taught you a lot,” he continued, “but have they taught you this?”  



She felt him grab her ankles, flipping her onto her stomach, then using the handcuff chains to pull her to her knees.  “Have they taught you this?” he growled again before brutally thrusting into her ass, ripping the delicate tissue, making her bleed.  



Kerri bit back her screams, trying to rise above the pain.  Don't scream, don't scream, she told herself over and over.  You're a Turk, and you're Reno's woman.  He said so.  Don't disgrace them by showing weakness.



*****



Rufus Shinra snapped his phone closed and dropped it into his pocket.  He hated making mistakes, but he'd certainly made one this time by underestimating the enemy.  Now one or more of his Turks might pay for his arrogance with their lives.  Elena had been nearly frantic on the phone when she informed him that she and Tseng had found Kerri's car in a ditch, with no sign of Kerri.  He sighed and took out his phone again.  He would have to send Reno and Rude to help find Kerri and get her back.  It never crossed his mind to leave her.  She was one of his Turks, and as such, was under the umbrella of his protection as surely as he was under the umbrella of theirs.



*****



Reno had the chopper in the air within fifteen minutes of being informed of the situation.  He didn't speak on the way, and after one look at his partner's white, strained face, Rude decided against making conversation.  As soon as the chopper landed, Reno was out before the blades had even stopped turning, running to where Tseng and Elena stood by the car.  Rude was barely a step behind him.  



“Have you found anything?” Reno asked with eerie calm.



Tseng and Elena exchanged a glance, then Elena held out a silver hoop earring, identical to the one Reno wore.  The redhead took it, felt his stomach drop to his feet.  It was the one he'd given her the day after they made love for the first time.  The silver was dark with blood, as if it had been ripped from her earlobe.  He clutched it in his hand for a moment, then dropped it into his pants pocket.  “So what are we waiting for?  She was headed for Kalm, so that's where we start.”  Reno turned and stalked back to the chopper without waiting to see if they would follow him.  After a moment, they did, Tseng and Elena leaving the company car parked behind the old clunker Kerri had used.



Before they could reach the chopper, however, they heard a child's voice call out, “Hey!  Hey!”  They turned to see a young boy of about nine years running down the road to them.  “You're Turks, right?  From Shin-Ra?”



“Yes, we are,” Tseng answered.  



“Cool!  Are you looking for the lady who was in that car?” the boy asked.



Reno spun around so fast that his ponytail hit him in the side of the face.  “Have you seen her?” he demanded.



“Sure have.  Some big guy pulled her out of her car.  I was over there in my clubhouse and saw it.”  He pointed toward a treehouse nearly hidden by the branches around it.  “He put her in an ole truck and drove away with her.”



“Which way?” Reno asked.



“Down there,” the kid said, pointing at a side road.  “There's just a warehouse down there that nobody uses no more.”



“Thanks, kid!” Reno said, and started to run back to the car.  



Tseng grabbed his arm and stopped him.  “Reno, perhaps you should stay with the chopper.”



“Fuck that!  It'll be safe, and we can't use it.  It would warn them that we're coming.”



“Mister?  I could stay here and watch it,” the boy volunteered.  



“There ya go, Tseng.  Great idea,” Reno said.



“Are you insane?  Leave a child in charge of a chopper?” Tseng asked.



“Hey!  I know not to get in and start pushing buttons!” the kid told Tseng.  “I'll just watch it for you.  You should go find that lady.  That big guy hurt her.  I saw it.  He squeezed her until she fell down.”



As soon as the words were out of the boy's mouth, Reno was off and running to the car, followed by Rude and Elena.  Tseng gave up on trying to restrain him, and paused only long enough to tell the kid, “Make sure you do stay out of it,” before following his colleagues.  



Reno had already slid behind the wheel and fired the engine.  Rather than argue, Tseng jumped in the back with Elena.  “Reno, we can't drive all the way.  We have to stop and hide the car before we get there.”



“You got it,” Reno replied as he peeled out.



*****  



The four Turks watched from the cover of the trees as the dark haired leader of GALEFORCE stepped out of the abandoned warehouse.  He lit a cigarette and stood there smoking, staring off into the distance.  “Only one vehicle,” Elena whispered.  “The place feels almost empty, doesn't it?”  Tseng nodded in agreement.  He didn't have to ask what she meant.  They'd all developed a sense that warned them of potential dangers.  They could tell when they were being watched, and when they weren't.  “Do we move in?” Elena asked.



“Too late,” Rude said, and pointed.  Reno had broke cover and was striding toward the terrorist leader.  He never heard the red haired Turk until Reno was behind him holding a knife to his throat.  



“Idiot!” Tseng spat.  “Come on,” he ordered, “let's back him up.”  



They approached the pair, Tseng and Elena with their guns drawn, Rude with his electro-mag rod at the ready.  As they drew near, they heard Reno ask with deceptive calm, “Where is Kerri?”



“I don't know who you mean,” came the answer, followed by a cry of pain when Reno's knife broke the skin of the man's neck.  



“Your daughter, you sick fuck,” Reno said, sounding almost cheerful.  “You can tell me, or I can start slicing pieces off of you.”



“She's inside,” Darkin answered quickly.



Tseng moved in front of the man, pointing his gun between his eyes.  “How many of your people are inside?”



“Fifty,” Darkin sneered.  “You'll be killed as soon as you step foot inside.”



“And you would go with us,” Elena said, moving up to cuff his hands behind his back and plucking the gun he wore from his belt.  “But somehow I doubt there are that many people inside.  Five at the most, if there's even that many.”



Reno used the cuff chain to turn Darkin toward the door, the knife firmly settled against his Adam's apple.  “Let's go find my woman, you filth.”



“Wait, Reno,” Rude said, and pulled out his handkerchief.  He stuffed it in Darkin's mouth.  “So he can't shout a warning.”



“Which way?” Tseng asked Darkin once they were inside.  The terrorist only looked straight ahead until Reno sliced a piece of skin off his neck.  Squealing in pain behind the makeshift gag, he jerked his chin toward a door on the far wall.  



“Stay where you are, Reno,” Tseng ordered.  “Elena, Rude, go.”



The two Turks moved swiftly and silently toward either side of the door.  Elena looked at Rude, nodded, and the big man kicked the door open with one fluid motion.  Elena darted past him into the room, spotting Vertro at once.  He looked at the Turks in shock, dipped his hand toward his belt for the gun he wore.  “Stop right there,” Elena snarled, her gun already aimed at his face.  “Or don't.  Give me a reason to kill you and I will.”  Faced with her beautiful but chilling smile, Vertro raised his hands above his head.  “And here I was hoping you'd give me a reason,” Elena said.  She strode over to him and grabbed the gun from the holster, stuffing it into her waistband for the time being, and stepped back out of reach.  “Rude?” she called, knowing better than to take her eyes off the enemy.



Rude was immediately there.  He raised the rod and brought it viciously down on the back of Vertro's head.  Blood sprayed from his scalp and the giant collapsed with a thud onto the floor, out cold.  Elena looked at Rude, who was standing with his weapon still raised, clearly struggling with himself not to beat the man to a pulp.  Finally he lowered it, and nodded toward the corner.  Elena looked, and felt the blood drain from her face.  Kerri was huddled on her knees, her head against the wall, her hands cuffed behind her back,  and didn't seem to realize that her colleagues were even there.  There was blood on the backs of her thighs, and Elena knew all too well what that meant.  She re-holstered her weapon and went to kneel beside the younger woman.  “Kerri,” she said softly, touching her face.  There was no response, though she was conscious.  



Rude squatted beside Elena.  He'd taken off his jacket and now draped it across Kerri's back, partially covering her nudity.  He took Kerri's swollen face in his hands and turned her head to face him.  Elena hissed at the bruises that marred her skin, the broken nose.  “Kerri, we've come for you.  You're safe now.” he said.  Slowly, recognition dawned in her eyes but she made no sound.



“Is she there?” Reno yelled, a note of panic in his voice.



“She's here,” Rude called.  “Just stay put, we're bringing her out.”   Elena went to the man who had so obviously raped Kerri and cuffed his hands behind him.  Once he was bound, she searched his pockets until she found a small key.   Returning to Kerri, she used it to release her wrists.  Rude pulled his jacket closer around her battered body and picked her up as gently as he could.



Reno let out a cry of pure agony when he saw Kerri cradled in Rude's arms.  He knocked Darkin to the floor with one blow and ran to her.  Rude gave her into his friend's arms, his heart aching for them both.  Reno sank to his knees with her.  “Baby,” he said in a voice none of his friends had ever heard from him, yet knew instinctively that it was the voice he used when in bed with her, “Kerri, your Reno's here.”  



That special tone seemed to get through to her.  She raised a hand to his chest and looked at him to whisper, “I didn't scream, Reno.  He couldn't make me scream.  Only for you.”



“I know, baby.  You're so brave, yo.  You make me proud.” he said, and kissed her forehead before standing back up with her in his arms.  “I want you to go with Tseng and Elena now.  They'll take you outside.”  



Tseng came to take Kerri into his own arms.  As he got his first good look at her, the memories of how Elena had looked after their ordeal with the Mako brothers swam into his head.  “Take your time, Reno,” he said grimly.  “We'll take care of Kerri.”  A look of perfect understanding passed between the two men.



As soon as they were outside, Reno turned to his friend.  “Can I borrow your gloves, Rude?” he asked.  Rude peeled them off and handed them over without comment.  They were a little large on Reno's smaller hands, but they would serve.  Rude went to the unconscious body of Darkin and pulled him by the hair into the room where Kerri had been tortured.  Reno closed the door behind him.  Vertro had regained consciousness, and Reno nodded in satisfaction before stooping to backhand Kerri's father to awaken him.  Vertro sat up as Reno approached and was immediately shoved back down as the redhead dropped his weight onto the giant's thighs.  



“You,” Reno said, “you touched my woman.”



“I did more than touch her, Turk.  I broke her ass in.  Literally.” the man sneered.



Reno smiled and nodded.  He almost looked happy if one didn't notice the cruel look in his eyes.  “I hope it was good for you.  I really do, yo.”  He looked over at Kerri's father, who was watching them apprehensively.  “Because both of you are going to pay dearly for raping a Turk.”



“I didn't rape her,” Darkin snapped.  



“Shut the fuck up!” Reno roared.  “You allowed this piece of shit to rape your own daughter!  You stood by while it happened, so it's the same goddamn thing!”  He drew his knife and pointed it at Darkin.  “So you pay the same price, asshole.”



Turning back to Vertro, he said, “As I was saying, I hope it was good for you.  Because it's the last piece of ass you're ever gonna get.”  Suddenly he ripped the man's pants open, exposing his genitals.  Grabbing the head of  Vertro's dick, he stretched it brutally.  While the rapist was still frozen in shock, Reno's knife flashed downward.





Outside, the three Turks clearly heard the screams of agony from inside the warehouse.  Tseng and Elena exchanged a glance of satisfaction, and Kerri's swollen lips curved in a cold smile.