Ill Wind

The weather on the morning of the plant dedication couldn't have been more perfect. Sunny and warm without being sweltering, with a slight breeze blowing. Tseng had talked to her and Rude before Rufus arrived, cautioning them to stay alert for anything and everything, letting them know where the members of the military would be posted, and as always, he told his Turks to be careful.

Tseng and Rude were standing on either side of Rufus's podium, slightly in front of the president instead of slightly behind as usual. Kerri, as the rookie, was regulated to the post behind Rufus. She knew she was unlikely to spot potential trouble first in her position, but her nerves were still on edge, all her senses seemed to have been turned up a notch. Glancing at her male co-workers, she could tell by the way they were holding themselves that they felt the same way. Only Rufus, making his speech, seemed relaxed and calm, but that shouldn't have come as a surprise. She'd heard the story of how he was pushed off the top of a building, and kept firing and smiling as he fell to what should have been his death. Only Tseng and Elena's quick thinking and reflexes had saved him.

She suddenly became aware that her nerve endings were sizzling, that somewhere something was out of place. Kerri had heard Rude describe the feeling of being watched as being like feeling shade on your skin when it should be sunshine, and that was an apt description of how she felt right now.

Kerri caught movement from the corner of her eye, and snapped her head around to see the barrel of a gun parting the curtains to the side of her, and swiveling to aim directly at President Rufus. "Boss, down!" she yelled as she had been trained to do. No wasted words, let Rufus know as quickly as possible that he was in danger. She didn't look around to see if he had dropped, or to check on what her fellow Turks were doing.

Time seemed to stretch and slow as she drew her weapon, and a coldness filled her mind, erasing all emotion. This is what they feel, Kerri thought. Shit, how do they bear it? Yet she knew that part of her liked the feeling just fine, relished it, in fact. She aimed at a spot a few inches above the gun barrel and fired twice. The gun clattered to the floor of the stage and there was a thud from behind the curtain.

Still holding her weapon at the ready, she ran to investigate, aware that Rude was now beside her. The bald man drew the curtain for her, revealing the dead body of the would-be assassin, and stepped over him to check the back-stage area for any accomplices. Finding none, he returned to where Kerri stood, still gazing at the dead man. The look on her face, that of shock and disbelief, brought back almost forgotten memories of his own first kill. He placed his hand on her arm that still had the gun trained on the corpse and gently lowered it. “Good job,” he told her.

She looked at him, not comprehending at first, then nodded slowly, her eyes returning to the man she had just killed, and he shook her arm. “Go see to the boss,” he ordered. “You still have a job to do.”

Those words reminded her of her duty, brought her out of her state of shock enough to shake the numbness that engulfed her, and she did as Rude said. Once she got her feet moving it was easier, and she sped over to where Rufus was crouched behind the podium, Tseng standing guard next to him.

“Cover me while I get him back to the limo,” Tseng said, and Kerri turned, scanning the crowd for potential trouble in that direction, knowing that Rude was covering the only backstage exit, the one the assassin had entered through. The crowd was panicking, running in all directions, and she briefly felt sorry for the military ineffectually trying to control them, trying to keep anyone from being trampled. That wasn't her concern, however. Her duty was to Rufus Shinra.

“Let's go, Kerri,” Rude said, and she turned to follow him through the exit after Tseng and Rufus.

*****

“It looks like I now owe you my life as well, Kerri,” Rufus said back in his elegantly appointed hotel room. “I suppose this means you are now truly a Turk.” He gave her his charming half-smile, which she tried to respond to as best she could.

“Thank you, sir, but it's my job.” she said.

“I can tell that Tseng had a hand in your training,” Rufus said in amusement. “Be that as it may, Tseng tells me that he wanted to give you the next two days off if things went smoothly today. Though that wasn't the case, I would still like you to have the time off. You deserve it; you acquitted yourself well at the ceremony.”

“Thank you, sir,” Kerri said again.

“You are welcome, I'm sure. You may go now, Kerri.” Rufus dismissed her, and she wasted no time in leaving his room. The young president turned to Tseng. “She's having a bit of difficulty coping with what she did today, though she hides it well. Did you notice?”

“Yes, sir,” Tseng replied. “It's not surprising. We all went through it to some degree the first time we had to kill someone.”

Rufus nodded. “I'm sure.” He paused, drumming his fingers on the arm of the wing chair he sat in. “Reno informed me he wants to visit her tomorrow.”

“I was expecting that,” Tseng said. “What did you tell him?”

His boss shrugged. “What could I tell him? I tried to dissuade him, but he has the time off coming. There isn't much I could do to prevent it short of a direct order.”

“Once he finds out what happened today, I'm not sure even an order will stop him from coming to see her,” Tseng supplied, and Rufus nodded.

“At any rate, Tseng, you should go see how Rude is doing with the investigation. First, however, make sure that our new member is coping with what happened,” the boss ordered.

*****

Kerri answered the knock on her hotel room door to find Tseng standing there. “May I come in for a moment?” he asked.

She stood aside and gestured for him to enter, and closed the door behind him. “Have a seat, Tseng,” she said. He sat down in one of the chairs around the small table and Kerri joined him. “What do you need me for?” she asked.

He noticed that she had her cell phone in hand and nodded to it. “Have you spoken with Reno?”

Kerri sighed. “I've been trying, but he's not answering his phone,” she said. “I guess he's forgotten it again.”

“Very probable,” Tseng agreed. “Is there anything I can do?”

She looked at him, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

He reached across the table and took her hand gently, looking at her with concern. “I mean you killed a man today, Kerri, for the first time. Do you need to talk?”

Her bottom lip trembled for just a second before she tightened her mouth. “I'm fine. I just...I just want to talk to Reno,” she said.

Tseng squeezed her hand before releasing it and getting to his feet. “Well, then, I'll be going. You have my number if you do need me.” He went to the door and opened it, pausing for a moment to look back at her. “You did the Turks proud today. President Rufus was impressed with you. So am I, for that matter.”

"Thank you, Tseng," she replied, his words bringing a flush of pride to her cheeks in spite of her gloomy mood.

He smiled at her and nodded. “Good luck with contacting Reno,” he said, and closed the door behind him.