Bullet Catchers

Bullet Catchers

By Jazzbo22
Jazzbo22@hotmail.com

An assassination attempt leaves Rufus questioning his vulnerability. The Turks struggle to keep the President out of harm’s way, but is it enough?

TsengxRufus, RudexReno, yaoi, angst

A/N: Thank you all for reading so far and for the reviews? They are mucho appreciated! As always, drop me a line and I will...be very happy and be motivated to write, write, write! Enjoy this next chapter!


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Chapter Four


This was not the usual start to Rufus’ day. A typical day included an early morning caffeine shot followed by two aspirin, a pen, and lots of paperwork. Maybe if he was lucky he could get out of his office for awhile and attend some meetings. Today wasn’t a usual day.

Rufus allowed the makeup to be dusted onto his face, knowing without it he would look ghastly on camera. Last night he had gotten no sleep whatsoever. The reporter probably chalked it up to stress, or – God help him, fear, but for him it was just a night of thinking. What was his next move, how was he going to play this out to make the company look better? Were his Turks going to have good news for him in the morning? The answer for that question had been a very solid no. He heard from Tseng his theory, backed up by strong evidence. The nervousness and stress within him started bubbling up again. No, he couldn’t let it get the better of him, not right now. He had to save face.

Rufus tolerated all the fussing with a cool stare, the soundman clasping a microphone onto his jacket collar. The reporter was a young blonde woman, trying to look appealing to him, but he was not interested. All reporters were the same- they wanted to get the story, not caring whether or not how terribly you came across.

She had a sly, calculating look behind her eyes, something she tried to sweeten with her smile. He had dealt with her type before- she thought she could cut him down, but really it was the other way around. If she tried to back him into a corner, he would make sure she left the interview crying.

“Are you ready, Mr. President?” Her voice was just as sweet as her looks, and Rufus felt like gagging himself. He nodded in response as the cameraman positioned himself across his desk. Tseng was a solid, comforting presence beside him. He always attended interviews, whether he was asked to or not.

Looking up, Rufus could see that the monitor only captured the reporter – Jessica-what’s-her-name, and himself. Tseng was not on camera. Probably for the best anyways. The normally handsome Wutaian was looking just a little worse for wear this morning – no doubt having gotten no sleep, and not planning to anytime in the near future.

With a three-two-one, the light on the camera went green, Jess-a-what’s-it regarded him seriously. Oh, if she wanted to act this, he could meet her step for step. He was a veteran on camera.

“So tell me Mr. President, do you have anything to say about the assassination attempt?” Same old questions. He felt like he had already answered this one over many different phone interviews.

“Whoever was responsible for it will be found and dealt with accordingly.” He wanted to cut the bull. Give them straight answers and suddenly they have nothing to talk about.

“Are you taking part in the investigation?” Well blondie, what do you think? Rufus raised a delicate eyebrow.

“I am overseeing all investigations. I am far to busy to participate in any field work, that’s the Turks territory.”

“I see. I suppose then that you have enough faith in three men to do the job for you? It’s common knowledge that the Department of Administrative Research is not a big one. You can probably see our surprise in knowing you’re not willing to utilize the entire SOLDIER program.” Well, well. Someone actually read up on Shinra before coming here.

“This is a job for the Turks. As President I happen to work very closely with them. SOLDIERs are part of the Shinra Military. They are all over the world on their own assignments, equally as important as this one. I am not about to order them all home to do work that the Turks can do just fine on their own.”

She made a show of leaning forward, attempting to see right into him. He had witnessed this approach before – the whole purpose was to make you uncomfortable, feel like you had to elaborate on what you just said. She wanted him to bear his soul.

“It’s no secret that the footage of the attempted assassination has been overplayed on the television. Everyone on this earth has probably seen it now. I guess one of the questions we all have for you is this – were you afraid?” Well, he had expected this question, but for her to have to nerve to even bring it up made him want to spit at her.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She smiled uneasily, but regained her composure fast.

“When you were shot at, were you afraid?” Rufus had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. People were so stupid sometimes. He gave her the option to drop it. Now he would have to cut her down.

“You mean the invasion of privacy seen over and over again on the news channel? My face? Imagine this – you’re making a speech for business owners and Mako consumers all over the world. Suddenly your bodyguard is in front of you, taking a shot from a sniper rifle that would’ve gone straight through your head if he hadn’t been paying attention. Add onto that getting a faceful of blood before being hauled away. I was surprised, as anyone else would be. Whoever was filming should have done something intelligent like point their camera towards the rafters instead of focusing on my facial expression. To specifically answer this intrusive question, no, I was not afraid. I was caught off guard as my Turk jumped in the way of the bullet.” Rufus hated her.

Now she fiddled nervously with her skirt. She had probably anticipated him not having an answer, looking vulnerable as he tried to come up with an excuse. Rufus was on top of it though. No silly reporter was going to throw him off his game.

“Well,” She shifted anxiously, clearly losing her train of thought. “Do you have any leads on the terrorists?” None of your business, bitch.

“We are still under investigation, but we have found some evidence.” He knew he sounded confident and looked composed. He hoped it had made the terrorists nervous to see how calm he was about it, how he was in control.

She asked some more silly questions that earned roughly the same answers, thanking the President for his time.

“There you have it world, straight from the President’s office. I’m Jennifer Walkins from Midgar News, here at Shinra Headquarters. Back to you, Jon.” The recording button flashed red, indicating taping was done. Rufus’ mic was removed, and Jennifer shook his hand one more time before gathering her things and making a hasty retreat. The tech crew was right behind her. Rufus knew he cut an imposing figure, but practically running away? That was funny.

Turning to Tseng, he realized it was probably not him they were trying to get away from. Tseng actually was frightening, all big bad Turk with the cold, unfeeling eyes and his menacing stance. Rufus couldn’t have asked for anything more.

“I think after that Mr. President, you aren’t going to be asked for interviews anytime soon.”

“Good, I have enough to do.” Tseng walked around Rufus’ desk, seating himself directly across from him.

“Have you given any more thought to my suggestion?” Rufus sighed. It was a good plan, really, to have him not live at home for the next few weeks. It was true that if the terrorists could get into the Supreme Conference Center undetected, then breaking into his estate would be no sweat. Having Tseng around all the time wasn’t the problem either, it was just….

“I can’t be cooped up, looking afraid to stay where I am and stick up for myself. It can’t seem like I’m running.” Tseng regarded him with softer eyes. Unfeeling? Yeah, sure. Tseng knew what was going on in his head before he had even spoken in the first place.

“I wouldn’t look at it as fear or running away. I would think it to be practical, the intelligent option. Especially since everyone knows where you live. I can’t do my job when there are so many angles to cover. To have you stay in a safe place where no one knows where you are – that makes it easier for me all around to watch over you.”

“You really think it has to come to that?”

“I really do.” Tseng was dead serious. His expression held no argument.

“So you think staying with you is my best option.” Tseng nodded.

“Apart from the rest of the Turks, you’re the only one that knows my Midgar address. The Turks are a thorn in many peoples sides. It was imperative when this program was started that Turk information remain completely confidential, otherwise we’d probably be the first people taken out in our sleep – makes getting to you a whole hell of a lot easier.”


That was true at least. The only address on Tseng’s data was his Mideel summer home – though he hardly got to use it. The man was inbetween Junon and Midgar, accompanying him everywhere.

Reno and Rude had a box office number – that was it. At least, to everyone elses knowledge, except his own. Reno had a tiny apartment in the not-quite-ghetto neighbourhood just before the slums. A stone’s throw from where he grew up. Rude was doing a little better – although he didn’t reside in a wealthy neighbourhood, he had a decent flat on the upper plate. Same with Tseng for that matter.

“Well, I didn’t bring anything with me to my office. I’ll have to stop at my house to get all my necessities.”

“That won’t be a problem. Once we’re done here for the day we can make a quick stop before heading to my place.” Tseng’s place. Rufus didn’t think he had ever seen it. Judging from Tseng’s mannerisms though, he supposed the head honcho of the Turks had an immaculate home.

“Well, we won’t be leaving here for awhile. Not only do I have nine more interviews lined up, I have to get this stack here signed and sent off by the end of the day.” Rufus said, motioning towards a paper tower of doom. Tseng just nodded. He was used to this by now.

“We’ll leave whenever you’re ready.”

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“You think whoever did this is stationed in Midgar? Maybe they came in from another city.” Reno spoke absently. They had already checked the Midgar SOLDIER base for the missing men. No surprise – they weren’t there. After that they had gone to family and friends, trying to locate them. No surprise again – no one had a clue where they went.

“They probably are staying close. They won’t be satisfied until Rufus is dead.” Rude answered him. Right now it felt like they were chasing bread crumbs – no real trail, no clues to where they might have gone. It was frustrating.

“If I was a terrorist, I wouldn’t run away. I would hide right under our noses, because it would be the last place we check.”

“If it’s the last place, why don’t we make it the first?” Rude asked. Reno gave an annoyed tug on his ponytail.

“Because I don’t know where to look, damnit! There’s probably a million places where they could be that’s technically right under our noses. The slums always attract the lowlifes, the upper plates have their own breed of wrong…Midgar is so big, they could hide anywhere in here and still slip by us.”

“We found Avalanche.” Reno sighed.

“They wanted to be found. This is different. These guys come out of the woodwork only when it suits them. Unfortunately they come out right when they’re close to killing the President. Next time will most likely be a close call as well.”

That was enough to silence both Turks. The atmosphere was heavy enough knowing their boss took the hit. He wouldn’t be able to do that too many more times – for all they knew, the terrorists could be after Tseng next. Get rid of the wall and then you have the President. They couldn’t let it come to that.

“Well, I don’t know how to be useful right now. Do you?”

“No.”

“We’re probably going to have to take a different angle with this, eh Rude?”

“Yes.”

“For instance, and I don’t know how reliable they are, but Shinra used to have feelers out in the slums. That’s how I got recruited for the Turks. I was their eyes when they couldn’t do all the work themselves. I know there’s a list somewhere in HQ of active feelers. We should ask about it.”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” Reno rolled his eyes. “I’ll ask, Mr. Antisocial.” He pulled out his PHS, connecting to Tseng.

“Any news?”

“None so far chief.” He didn’t need to be in his office to know that Tseng was disappointed. It had its own way of leaking through the phone. “But, I just had a brilliant idea. There’s no way Rude an’ I will be able to dig up all of Midgar and still be looking for the rats that come out of hiding, so we were thinking about using the feelers.”

“The ones from the slums?” Reno nodded. Useless, since Tseng wasn’t there beside him. Oh well. At least it helped Rude to know what was going on.

“You had some on the top plates too right?”

“Yes. We haven’t used those for awhile. You’re going to have to confirm that they are still working or alive. We haven’t had to use them for quite some time.”

“That’s no problem Tseng. Better chasing them around then trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

“Yes. I’ll have lists of feelers on both of your desks by 1400.”

“K. I’m out.” Reno closed his PHS, pocketing it. Rude was looking at him, well…just blankly. Reno knew him well enough to know he was expecting him to elaborate.

“Lists will be on our desks at 1400. Then we go hunt them down and scare the shit out of them so they do what we say.”

“Sounds good.”

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The lists Tseng had provided were out of date, to say the least. Rude guessed that they hadn’t been called on in a long time. Halfway through the first page, and already ten were dead or MIA. Three were currently good to go. He had crackled his knuckles and very seriously stated that lack of cooperation would result in balls being torn off. Obviously he made a strong impression, because all three were quick to pledge their unfailing allegiance to Shinra. Good on them.

Reno sat beside him in the Mercedes now. He had driven all morning, and now it was Rude’s turn to take over. They were both working on no sleep since yesterday morning, and it was already starting to show. Reno needed coffee every hour. While that wasn’t too much of a stretch from normality, now the redhead was taking it with three shots of espresso. Rude didn’t know how he stomached it.

“One more page to go.” Reno spoke, the file in his hands. Rude glanced over at him. They were both tired, Reno looking slightly more rumpled than usual. He’d probably start looking worse and worse as the week wore on, if that were even possible.

Pulling up beside one of the many Midgar bars, Rude put the car in park.

“Guess we’ll just ask the bartender if he’s seen this guy around.” Reno said, holding up a very unflattering mug shot. The guy’s name was actually Falcon. Poor kid.

“Guess so.”

Reno sighed, leaning back into the headrest and closing his eyes.

“Need a quick nap?”

“No, I’m good. Just need to close my eyes for a minute.” So, a quick nap then. A minute was never actually a minute with Reno. Just like when he says he’ll be in at work soon, he means within the hour. The guy worked on his own clock, unless Tseng was exercising his tight fist. You didn’t mess around when Tseng meant business.

Rude decided to take advantage of the quiet moment as well, letting his hands drop from the steering wheel into his lap. Within the next couple hours he was going to have to take a decent nap, his body was working on limited reserves. He didn’t know how Reno could just fall asleep in a carseat, but he probably had slept in far more uncomfortable places before joining Shinra. He didn’t know that much about his partner, but he knew where he came from.

Rude turned to him, watching as he dozed lightly. For all that Reno was – a poor kid from the slums turned professional killer, possessing a foul mouth but yet a keen sense of intelligence – he didn’t look at all like it as he slept. Rude would never compare his looks to a woman, though he did have some delicate features. Didn’t make him look all that tough here – a slightly upturned nose, high cheekbones, large nearly turquoise eyes framed by long lashes, and a mouth more suitable for kissing than swearing. Whoa, where did that come from?

Rude tore his eyes away, willing himself not to think of Reno’s entirely too kissable mouth and slim white throat. A throat he found himself wanting to mark. These were not the things he should be thinking about. Reno was his longtime partner, his friend – but sometimes he thought about him that way, and it always caught him off guard.

He had never had any sort of relationship with a man beyond friendship. It never occurred or interested him. Reno was a different case though. He got to him in ways no one else ever could, and sometimes it was unnerving. He always knew what he was thinking, what he was going to say – the telepathy happened almost instantaneously once they became partners. That’s why Rude always let him handle the talking – Reno already knew what he was going to say. No use wasting any breath.

As for everything else…Reno was appealing to him in a way he didn’t quite understand himself. Sure, they were close enough. He didn’t know too much about Reno’s background pre-Shinra, and vice versa. He did know how Reno operated on the field, how they had grown close over the years, what Reno was like in pain, and how willing he was to guard his back even injured. Reno was always curious about him – he had no problem asking questions, wanting to get the latest dirt. Reno loved the gossip, ‘who do you like?’, ‘if you could fuck anyone, who would it be?’. Too many times Rude wanted to answer truthfully - ‘you’. Instead he mumbled some bullshit about not knowing and being too busy for all that.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed Reno was starting directly at him.

“What’s so funny?” He asked. Rude shrugged.

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve got this huge dumbass grin on your face, and I want to know why. C’mon, was I drooling or something?” More like Rude was drooling. He coughed, adjusting his raybands.

“Maybe I’ll tell you after this mission is done and we can drink again.” Reno rolled his eyes.

“I know man. No alcohol, no fooling around, no sleep. It’s getting rough.”

“It’s our job.”

“I know,” Reno grinned. “And I wouldn’t change a damn thing.”




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