Ill Wind

After Tseng left, Kerri continued trying to reach Reno, without success. Finally, she gave up and lay down, feeling guilty for not helping with the investigation, even though Rufus had told her to go ahead and take her time off. She probably wouldn't be much help if she was working anyway—not with everything that was on her mind. Her colleagues and boss would be surprised to know that her first kill was a secondary concern right now, even more shocked if they knew the reason for it. Ironic that the day she found out that a new life had been started was the day that she had taken her first life. She covered her face with her arm and lay thinking about what had happened before work, wondering how the hell she was going to tell Reno—not to mention President Rufus.

*****

Nausea had awoken Kerri early that morning. “Oh, not again,” she'd groaned, jumping from bed and running to the bathroom. She had barely made it in time. After it was over, she'd flushed the toilet and gotten unsteadily to her feet. At the sink she had splashed water on her face and rinsed her mouth out, then had stood looking at the box she'd left lying on the back of the toilet. This was the third time in a week she'd been sick in the morning. It had always passed off before time for work, but twice had been enough to raise her suspicions. Not to mention that her last period had been nothing but a few spots. She had sighed and opened the pregnancy test. No use putting it off any longer.

A short while later she had stood looking glumly at the test stick in her hand. Positive. Not much chance of it being wrong, either. She had tossed it in the garbage and covered her face with her hands. "Dammit!" she thought. She was the first new Turk in years, she was still a rookie, she'd gotten herself captured on her first assignment and the others had had to come to her rescue...and now she'd gone and gotten pregnant. Rufus should just have her shot and be done with it. She had opened the medicine cabinet and taken out her contraceptive pills. "A lot of good you fucking did," she'd muttered, and tossed them in the trash along with the pregnancy test.
*****

Tseng wasn't even halfway to his own room when his phone rang. "Tseng here," he answered without stopping.

"What the hell is going on with Rufus, yo?" came an irritated voice.

"What are you ranting about, Reno?" Tseng asked while unlocking his door and going in, closing it behind him.

"Before he left for Kalm, I told him I was going to go see Kerri for a couple of days since I had some free time, and all of a sudden he started this crap about how I should stay here just in case Elena needs me. Hell, man, Elena doesn't need my help. She spends half her time chasing me out of her office, everybody knows that. So since when does the boss play cockblocker, Tseng?" Reno nearly yelled.

"Have you spoken to either Rufus or Kerri today?" Tseng said carefully, and sat down on the sofa.

“No, I forgot my cell this morning. Why? What happened?” Reno demanded.

Tseng quickly detailed the incident at the ceremony, including the fact that Kerri had saved Rufus's life by killing the assassin. “She has been trying to reach you since then,” he told Reno. “You didn't know she has been calling?”

“No. I haven't been back home yet, I just got back to the office. Fuck! How is she, man?” Reno said.

“She seems fairly calm, but she wouldn't talk to me about it. Maybe if you called her you would have better luck,” Tseng answered.

“Yeah, I'm gonna call, but I'm still coming down there. I'll be there tonight. Elena can handle anything here.”

“Reno, wait,” Tseng began, but the younger man cut him off.

“Sorry, I gotta go call my woman. I'll probably see you tomorrow, yo.” He hung up before Tseng could say another word.

Tseng stowed his phone away in his pocket again. He knew he should call Rufus and let him know Reno's plans, but suddenly it just seemed like too much effort. Besides, he sympathized with the young lovers; he thought they were good for each other. Kerri had been a bit of a calming influence on Reno's wild ways of drinking and carousing, and Reno gave Kerri's professional confidence an added boost. Not to mention his selfish reasons for hoping the relationship continued. If Rufus managed to put a stop to Reno and Kerri being together, there was little chance for himself and Elena, something he had secretly hoped for for years.

*****

"Hi, babe," Reno said when Kerri answered her phone. His voice was full of concern, and she knew he had heard about what happened. “How are you?”

“Not too good, but not too bad, either,” she answered honestly. “Where have you been?”

“Out of the office all day. Of all days to forget my phone, huh?” he said.

“That's what happens when I'm not there to remind you of stuff like that,” she said. Sighing, she continued, “I wish you were here, Reno.”

“I will be. I'm driving down after work, yo. You hang in there until then, okay?” he said.

“That's good. I...I need to talk to you.”

“I know, babe, your first kill is hard to deal with,” he said.

“It's not just that. There's something else more important that you need to know,” she told him.

"What's that?" Reno asked, concerned.

"Not over the phone. I need to see you," she said.

The redhead was quiet for a moment. Finally he asked, "Are you dumping me?"

The question actually surprised a laugh out of Kerri. "Of course not! Don't be an idiot."

She heard him breathe a sigh of relief that made her heart melt. "Then it can't be all that serious," he said. Oh, if he only knew! "Why can't you tell me now, yo?"

"Because I need to tell you face to face, babe," she said, and in spite of his concerns, he grinned at the way she was picking up his endearments.

"What time is it?" he asked.

Kerri looked at her watch. "It's almost 4:30. Why?"

"It's a four hour drive," he said. “I'll be there in three.”

"Reno, no! It can wait until tomorrow," she protested. “I don't want you rushing down here for something that's not an emergency.”

"I don't give a shit. If you have something that is this important to you to tell me, I want to hear it today," he said. "I'll see you in a few hours."

"Wait!" she said, but was talking to an empty line. Reno had already hung up. Kerri dropped the phone beside her on the sofa, sick once again, this time with the strange mixture of relief and anxiety she felt.