Aftermath

Author’s Note: And now, I must further the plot a little more. Don't worry, there's plenty of eyebrow-raising stuff going on, too. *chuckles*

Thank you to...
- Youkofox, for your beta reading and review. Do.not.make.me.blush. *blush* Damn!
- Squallfan, for your review. The answer you seek lies within... *laughs*
- Iggy Lovechild, for your review and discussions. It's a good thing I didn't bet against you on that guess.
- Akito Souma, for your detailed review. All of your ponderings will be touched upon by the end of this fic if you have the patience to stick with it.
- Pyra, for your review. *gets glomped and grins*
- kamizuki, for your review. That compliment meant a lot to me.

☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺

Chapter 5: Briefing

The red-headed Turk walked into the lodge feeling better than he had an hour ago. His headache was much quieter, and his stomach was starting to demand something solid and tasty. A cocky smile was plastered across his lips, as he thought about his exchange with Cloud just moments ago. He was very pleased with the way things had gone.

Reno had put all of his cards face up on the table, making sure to let Cloud know exactly how he’d feel about being rejected. He wasn’t sure how long it had been since he’d played that angle, but he thought that pure and simple honesty would be something Cloud would respond favorably to. He’d been right, despite the fact that Cloud’s hesitation had almost caused him to think he’d made a mistake. Almost.

Truth be told, Reno hadn’t been able to contain his impulses any longer. Something in his gut insisted that he act immediately to find out if Cloud was interested in him; it just wouldn’t wait. His method was a direct hit and extremely risky, but that’s just the way he did things.

Patience wasn’t normally something he had in abundance, but he usually managed to find some minimal self-restraint if the boss told him to. As he thought about it, he realized that he’d been doing an awful lot of holding back lately due to circumstances out of his control. Now that keeping his distance from Cloud was no longer an official order, he was free to do almost anything he wanted when it came to the blond. It’s no wonder he’d been unable to resist the opportunity; the repression had been lifted and his instincts had returned with a vengeance.

At the critical moment, Cloud had given in to what was probably a desperate need to connect with someone. Reno hoped that Cloud actually wanted him, and wasn’t just settling for anyone who expressed an interest, because he knew that getting more from Cloud really depended on whether or not the blond had really meant what he’d said about not forgetting what had happened between them. Not that Reno was picky in this instance. He’d take whatever he could get from Cloud, but he had to admit to himself that he wanted so much more than just an innocent little kiss.

Reno entered the break room and went directly to the coffee maker. He was dismayed that the leftover java smelled a bit burnt, like it had been sitting there cooking itself into a crisp for hours. Tseng was sitting quietly at one of the tables half-heartedly sorting a stack of papers. Right away, Reno suspected something was not quite right with Tseng; he felt the lead Turk’s eyes boring in the back of his head as he poured himself a cup of black coffee. Staying aloof, he decided to try and delay whatever serious thing Tseng had on his mind.

“We got any food around here?”

“Reno,” Tseng said. “How nice of you to finally show up for work.”

“Well, good mornin’ to you, too,” Reno said, muttering under his breath. “I got here as fast as I could.”

“You were expected back here at midnight last night.”

“Nobody told me that,” Reno said, turning around to face his fellow Turk.

“It is standard procedure,” Tseng said, forcefully.

Reno studied the raven-haired man intently. Tseng’s mood was very strained and for some reason, Reno had become the target of his frustration. No one usually cared if he stayed out all night, but for some reason Tseng was suddenly speaking to him as if he’d violated a strict company policy.

This behavior wasn’t typical of his senior at all. Reno had seen him acting similarly right after Tseng had discovered that his little pet ancient had been slain by Sephiroth. It had been a rough time for all of the Turks; Tseng hadn’t been himself for months following that event. Reno hoped that the shit hadn’t hit the fan last night while he’d been out partying.

“What the hell’s with you?” Reno said. “Somebody die?”

“No,” Tseng said, clenching his jaw.

Reno pondered what else could have happened last night. The only other time Reno had seen Tseng this upset, was right after a major confrontation with Rufus. Tseng had not been very happy about some of the things expected of him, and had demanded that Rufus clearly outline his official job description. In fact, any disagreement or frustration with Rufus had the potential to put Tseng on edge these days.

From the way that Tseng was on his case, it sounded like he and Rufus might have gotten on each others nerves again. Or maybe it was something a little more serious. Tseng was hinting that if Reno had been there last night, he wouldn’t be in such a bad mood this morning. Reno’s devious mind worked furiously to connect the two scenarios. What could he have possibly prevented?

He glanced at Tseng out of the corner of his eye, a wicked smile playing up on his lips as the answer came to him: it could only mean one thing. Leaving his coffee mug on the counter, Reno swaggered over to the table where Tseng was busy sorting papers. He leaned against the table, leering at Tseng with a knowing smile.

“Did the boss show you a little extra attention last night, yo?”

Papers went flying out of Tseng’s hands and his fingers grabbed for Reno’s throat. Reno tumbled backwards, moving deftly out of Tseng’s initial reach. Reno’s startled laughter bounced off the lounge walls; it looked like he’d guessed correctly.

“How dare you imply—,” Tseng said angrily.

“Take it easy, man. It’s not a big deal.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Shit happens. You just gotta find a way to deal with it.”

“I am not in the mood, Reno.”

“Not in the mood for what?” Elena said, interrupting their conversation as she entered the break room.

Tseng shot Reno a warning glance that clearly indicated that he didn’t want Elena to be involved in this discussion. Reno grinned and shrugged. It amused him a great deal that Tseng was trying to protect his reputation, when it didn’t really matter so much. He suspected that Elena already knew about whatever happened last night anyway.

“For sortin’ paperwork,” Reno said. “Can you blame him?”

Elena glanced warily at Reno, looking like she didn’t quite trust what he was telling her. She sat down at the table, and leaned on her elbows. Elena looked at the papers scattered all over the table and the floor.

“I can help if you want,” she said.

“That is not necessary, Elena. We are just waiting for Rude to return from the storage vaults, and then we can get the meeting underway.”

Reno took a sip of his coffee and grimaced in disgust; it was horrible tasting. He dumped the contents of his mug out in the sink, leaving the cup behind. He drifted over to the window and lingered there for a brief moment. From here, he had a good view of the driveway. He was imagining that Cloud’s bike was still sitting out there, and that Cloud was waiting for him. It was a good daydream, but it was quickly interrupted by Tseng.

“Rufus wants to see you,” Tseng said, clearly wanting Reno to leave the room. “You might as well go now. We have a couple minutes.”

Reno popped a piece of gum in his mouth and winked at Tseng, careful not to let Elena see his gesture. He strode off toward Rufus’ office, hands in his pockets. Teasing Tseng was fun, especially because he knew that the raven-haired man’s reaction was mostly an act: all of the Turks were fiercely loyal to Rufus, and most of them would do anything he asked. Despite Tseng’s occasional disagreements with Rufus, he was still one of the most loyal. Maybe even more so than Reno.

The red-headed Turk was insanely curious what exactly had happened between the two of them last night, but decided that he probably wouldn’t bring it up unless Rufus seemed to want him to. He climbed two flights of stairs, taking the steps two at a time, until he finally reached the top floor. There was only one room on this floor: Rufus’ office. It was a far cry from what the old office on the seventieth floor had been, but it certainly wasn’t a shithole either. He paused, attempting to smooth a few wrinkles out of his suit, and then rapped his knuckles against the boss’ door.

“It’s open.”

Reno poked his head inside the dimly-lit room, and saw Rufus standing with his back to the door, just staring out the window. The curtains were slightly parted, and the lights were off.

“You wanted to see me, boss?”

Rufus turned around slowly, and the left corner of his mouth turned up in what looked like a calculating smile. Reno got the impression that Rufus had been doing a lot of thinking, and he appeared to be quite pleased with whatever all that thought had been about.

Rufus crossed the room, taking small careful steps. He sat down heavily in his plush leather chair, taking a moment to shuffle a few papers into his wastebasket. He reached out and gently pulled the shiny metal chain that connected to his desk lamp. A faint light illuminated his desk, causing his flawlessly white suit to take on an oddly unsettling yellow hue.

“Come in, and close the door behind you.”

Reno did what he was told and shuffled over to Rufus’ desk. He was too tired to consider doing otherwise. Unsure what the boss wanted, he stood there silently with his hands in his pockets, just waiting.

“I trust that you enjoyed yourself last night?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“Cloud seemed rather. . . attached to you this morning.”

Reno chuckled, not surprised that Rufus had seen their semi-public display of affection. Rufus always had a knack for knowing exactly what was going on at all times with his Turks, and Reno’s interaction with Cloud was no exception. Now, Rufus was probing for more information. Reno was almost positive that Rufus was asking very discreetly if they had slept together. The young President always maintained a very high level of tact when approaching such subjects, and Reno was very careful to make sure that he mirrored whatever kind of conversation his boss wanted to have.

“He was, wasn’t he?” Reno said. He drew out each word slowly, being deliberately vague.

“Reno—“

Rufus was interrupted by the sound of his desk phone ringing. Annoyance flickered briefly in his blue eyes as he picked up the receiver on the second ring. He turned his concentrated gaze toward the red-head and his eyes lost a bit of their intensity. Rufus was staring at him with an expression that Reno didn’t quite recognize: it was somewhere on the line between lust and contentment, and that was a very strange combination, to say the least. Reno felt like he was being intimately scrutinized, while Rufus spoke to whoever was on the other end of the line.

“Yes, of course,” Rufus said. “Time is of the essence then. I’ll send him back down.”

Rufus hung up the phone and his expression turned thoughtful. He opened his top left drawer and pulled out a small envelope. He placed the letter on his desk and pushed it toward Reno.

“Tseng is ready for the meeting now,” Rufus said. “I will not be attending.”

“Are you dismissin’ me?”

“In a minute,” Rufus said, tapping his perfectly manicured fingernails against the envelope he’d just placed on his desk. “Here, take these. I’ll never use them.”

Reno took his hands out of his pockets and eagerly picked up the small white envelope. It wasn’t sealed, so he peeked inside, unable to contain his curiosity at what might be in there. It looked like some sort of tickets or vouchers.

“In case you weren’t sure, those are free passes to various entertainment venues downtown: dinner, movies, shows, that sort of thing,” Rufus said, shrugging his shoulders uninterestedly.

“Thanks, boss.”

Reno tucked the envelope into his inside jacket pocket without questioning the reason for the gift. Rufus often gave Reno all sorts of things like this, even though he wasn’t sure why the President would want to. At times, it seemed like Rufus was living vicariously through him. If that was the case, Reno didn’t mind one bit. In fact, he rather enjoyed the time he spent reporting his latest adventures to Rufus, especially when he was on the clock.

Sometimes he wished that the young executive would take some time off to actually go out and enjoy himself, but having a fun night out on the town never seemed to be something that Rufus had any interest in. Any time Rufus ever put in an appearance at a social event, as far as Reno knew, it was for public relations purposes only.

Rufus stood up from his chair, and took a few halting steps back toward the window. Since he’d been cured of his Geostigma, he’d been getting around better every day. That was good progress, considering that he’d only recently abandoned his wheelchair. Reno knew that Rufus hadn’t really needed that wheelchair, but it had been a small help. Now that the Geostigma was no longer weakening his immune system, Rufus was expected to make a full recovery.

Rufus was still healing from his near death experience during the infamous Diamond Weapon crisis two years ago. Reno frowned slightly, remembering how fucked up Rufus had been when he’d found him amidst the rubble of the burning headquarters building. The Turks had almost deemed Rufus a lost cause, but a gut feeling had compelled Reno to risk his own life, running up all seventy flights of steps before he could agree with them. It was a decision he would never regret.

Reno stared at Rufus’ back silently, waiting for his official dismissal. Finally, after what seemed like a long silence, Rufus spoke quietly, his tone unreadable.

“You may go now.”

When Reno returned to the break room, Rude was there waiting for him. Tseng and Elena were missing, along with the papers Tseng had been so meticulously organizing. His partner grunted something that sounded like a greeting, and motioned for Reno to follow him.

“You sure pissed off Tseng,” Rude said.

“His mood ain’t my problem.”

“Yeah, yeah. C’mon, the meeting’s in room twelve.”

Reno started to protest and then just sighed in exasperation, giving up before he could work up a good excuse. Rude chuckled, but didn’t reply. Reno knew that his partner was enjoying picking on him. That was fine; he’d get Rude back later.

Both of them found seats in the meeting room, and settled down under Tseng’s no-nonsense gaze. Reno noted with mild amusement that Tseng wouldn’t look directly at him. He was probably trying to focus on the task at hand, which Reno couldn’t fault him for.

Tseng turned off the lights and switched on a projector screen in front of them. The darkness threatened to lull the red-head to sleep; Reno hoped he would be able to keep his eyes open.

“The reason Rufus wanted everyone here this morning, is because of the urgency of some new information we have come across. I have some photos to show you, taken at long range by Elena. The scanning system is down, so these pictures could not be dispatched to your phones,” Tseng said.

Tseng put the first picture up on the display. He used his laser pointer to draw attention to a particular man in the photo. The man was well past middle age, tall, and burly. He was wearing a very expensive looking brown suit. One of the man’s hands was holding onto his tan fedora in an attempt to keep it from blowing off his head. With the hat floating above him, his neatly cut brown hair could be seen clearly, as well as his entire face.

“As you are already aware, this is our current surveillance target: Don Seneco, a local self-appointed crime boss. We have confirmed that he is based in Edge, but all signs indicate that he has small bases in every city with an active port. It is estimated that he may have one hundred men and women at his disposal. Some are family, some are recruits. We have been working to get a solid number on the books.”

“And how does this affect us?” Reno said.

“He has been spotted on the north side of old Midgar, on Shinra property. This photo illustrates that he has been spending some time visiting our defunct Mako reactors.”

Tseng switched to the next photo, showing the same man standing in close proximity to the charred and rusting northern reactor. Other suited men and women stood around him. Reno quickly counted the people in the picture, noting that the guy traveled with quite an entourage. There were about seven people visible in that picture, and at least four of them looked like bodyguards.

“Even though these properties are currently considered to be worthless, Seneco has approached the President with a purchase offer.”

“Of course, Shinra has an interest in knowing why this rogue mafia group would be so interested in something we consider a loss. As you know, Elena and I have been working diligently to try to discover the reason for their interest. After long hours staking out the premises, we think we’ve discovered something you both will find very interesting.”

Reno sucked in his breath as the next photo displayed on the screen. It was a full color picture of the northern reactor, taken at night. The old wreckage of the Sister Ray still covered it, almost completely. There was a faint blue-green glow surrounding the reactor, and the reactor number could just barely be seen in the photo.

“No fuckin’ way!” Reno said in disbelief. “That reactor hasn’t worked since AVALANCHE blew it up.”

“We have not yet had a chance to get close enough to see what is actually causing this light pollution, but from what we can tell, it appears that someone is definitely using it for something. That is where you two come in. We need you both to go take a look: up close and personal.”

Reno glanced at Rude, who was sitting with his arms crossed. Reno didn’t like the idea of patrolling around on deserted Shinra property, but it sure beat hanging around the office filing paperwork or playing bodyguard for the millionth time. Maybe he’d actually get to experience something that vaguely smelled of excitement. Although, he had to admit that his odds of finding anything to hold his interest weren’t very good. Aside from the recent incident involving the remnants of Sephiroth, nothing bloody exciting had happened around this place in years.

Reno shook his head in silent annoyance, trying to hold back a complaint that was on the tip of his tongue. It was probably just a couple of mafia goons using the old reactor as a fucking hidey-hole for something illicit. Besides, the mako harvesting capabilities couldn’t really be working again, could they? That seemed absurd, considering what the planet had just been through in the last couple of years.

“I don’t get it. It’s private Shinra property. Why can’t we just smoke the bastards out?” Rude said.

“It is more complicated than that. We just do not have the manpower to remove them without first knowing how many combatants we face. That said, I should warn all of you that Rufus is not interested in giving the public any further reasons to dislike the Shinra Corporation. Let us just say, that he is more interested in diplomacy these days than he has been in the past.”

“So we can’t blow shit up,” Rude said, sounding disappointed.

“Correct.”

Tseng turned off the projector, and switched the lights back on. Reno blinked, trying to adjust his eyes to the bright light.

“Now, we have one last item to cover. We have discovered several unusual trinkets in the northern incinerator, very close to the reactor,” Tseng said, placing two thick wire loops of metal onto the table.

“They appear to be some kind of ornament worn on the head. We have not yet identified if they belong to Seneco’s gang or not, but we are not taking any chances. Please take a closer look and be careful: those pins are sharp.”

Reno cautiously picked up one of the odd loops to examine it. The large trinket appeared to be made of copper and was oval in shape, resembling an oversized hairclip with gripping teeth. He looked closer at the teeth, and saw that they were actually needle sharp pins. It looked like whoever wore this thing was serious about not losing it: serious enough that they thought it was necessary to attach it to their head with a bunch of sharp connectors. Reno wondered what kind of person would wear something this disturbing.

“Damn,” Rude said, eyeing the thick needles.

“Yeah,” Reno said.

Blue glass beads were spaced out equidistantly down the entire length of the metal loop. The little blue orbs looked like a decoration, but Reno couldn’t be sure about that. At the back of the head piece, the sharp teeth ended and the flexible metal loop was held together by a solid fold over clasp. Held tightly in the clasp, was an unusual charm. The charm looked like a square mesh cage, with something that faintly resembled a colorless glass ball inside.

Reno turned the charm over, trying to peer through the tiny mesh holes, checking to see if there was a way to open it. He turned it around a few times, inspecting each side carefully. There didn’t seem to be any way to get it open. The mesh was crafted solidly together.

“What’s in there?”

“We are not sure,” Tseng said. “We are awaiting lab results to determine what it might be.”

“Have you tried putting it on?” Reno said, wondering exactly why one would wear it.

“No,” Elena said. “Are you volunteering?”

“No, thanks,” Reno said, tossing the trinket back onto the table. He saw Rude shift in his seat uncomfortably. Apparently his partner didn’t like the idea of sticking himself with that thing either.

“Well, that concludes my update. Any questions?” Tseng said.

“When are we gonna go pay them a visit?” Rude said.

“Early morning seems to be the best time to get in and out without running into too many people. Most of the activity seems to be taking place during the evening and night,” Elena explained.

“Correct. Elena will waking both of you at 4:00 A.M. Do not leave the premises tonight unless you get my explicit permission.”

Once it was established that no more questions were going to be asked, Tseng adjourned the meeting. The Turks filed out of the meeting room one after the other. Tensions were oddly high, so Reno decided to keep his thoughts about this mission to himself. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but it certainly could be worse.

A hunger pain chewed through his stomach, reminding him that he needed to eat something. He took the elevator down to the dormitories and went immediately to their shared kitchen to dig around in the refrigerator. As soon as he opened the door, he sighed with relief: the fridge had just been stocked.

“What are you gonna make?”

Reno closed the refrigerator door and turned around, hearing Rude’s voice behind him. He hadn’t realized that his partner had followed him.

“Somethin’ that goes good with a glass of whiskey,” Reno said, taking pleasure in seeing Rude’s shocked expression.

“Whiskey at eleven o’clock in the fuckin’ morning?”

“Yeah, somethin’ vintage should help me get rid of this damn hangover.”

“You ain’t never gonna learn,” Rude said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

“Nope, I guess not,” Reno said. He put two highball glasses on the counter, and filled them halfway with ice. “Want one?”

“Of course.”

☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺♫☺

A/N: Please review, and be kind. ^_^