After the meteor disaster, ShinRa, the largest corporation in the world had been left to pick up the pieces. Rufus ShinRa, president of the corporation claimed to be rebuilding society after the destruction obviously caused by the misuse of mako energy; the planet's life source. The sudden appearance of "kadaj's gang" ripped up ShinRa's hopes of rebuilding its shattered reputation, it crumbled once more as the silver haired brothers kidnapped a bunch of kids and attempted to resurrect Jenova. Or something like that anyway… Luckily Cloud Strife stopped them. Yes Cloud bloody Strife. Reno scowled at this thought. No one knew that himself and his fellow Turk Rude had put their lives on the line too to prevent the three from causing havoc. Instead ShinRa was blamed for the incident, Rufus (now cured of geostigma like everyone else had been after the defeat of Kadaj) was forced to go into hiding. The hatred of ShinRa was finally released and there was an uprising of sorts. Groups like AVALANCE were becoming more popular and it just wasn't safe for ShinRa employees to go out anymore. Many packed in their jobs for something new, however some were still tied to their duties. Once a Turk, always a Turk.

Reno's job became very boring very quickly. To change their current image, the famous Turks were no longer called upon to finish off any of ShinRa's dirty work, thus leaving one very bored man. Instead the Turks were confined to the luxury of the ShinRa HQ, body guarding the president Rufus, ensuring his safety was still their number one priority.

He slouched lazily over his desk, jacket and dress shirt crumpled and untucked as usual. Two mako blue eyes were half shut in a bored daydream, his fingers idly drumming against the mahogany surface. Long wild red hair was tied back into a loose ponytail; his pair of black goggles sat comfortably on his forehead, keeping the rogue strands of hair out of his eyes. A pile of paperwork loomed over him precariously close to the edge of the desk. It had been like this for weeks and was grating on Reno's humour. Across from him at a desk of his own, was Rude. Almost the exact opposite, Rude sat straight backed and alert, his suit immaculate and his face unreadable, a pair of dark sunglasses donning his eyes. His desk had a considerably smaller pile of paperwork on it.

The office was almost dead silent, excluding the annoying tick of the clock on the far wall. Reno sighed for the third time in 5 minutes. His friend was not the best at conversations and usually just listened to Reno's babbling. But today Reno was not in a particularly talkative mood. Uncharacteristically Rude spoke up, "What's up?"

Reno glanced up from his current position on his desk, "bored, yo," he muttered moodily. Rude nodded silently.

"I know, we'll go out tonight, go to some bars, I know you love it Rude," Reno suggested with a smirk. Rude looked to be in thought and then finally shook his bald head.

"…"

Reno's eyes narrowed in annoyance, "why not?"

"…"

"You're no fun anymore, since all that Sephiroth crap. I can expect it from Tseng, but you..." Reno finished with a low whistle to express his disappointment. Once again, there was no answer, and yet Reno seemed to understand what his partner was thinking.

"Fine, if you're gonna be a stick about it, I'll go on my own!" And with that Reno rose from his chair and strolled right out of the door. With only half hour to go till the end of his shift, Reno figured that his abrupt departure would not be dealt with severely. After all, everyone knew that Reno was never one to live like clockwork. Grumbling to himself, Reno took the lift to the ground floor and swiftly exited the run down building. He had a car parked close to the entrance, an ancient thing that was on its last legs so to speak. But Reno had grown up with and refused to accept a company car like the rest of the Turks. Slamming the door rather harshly he twisted the key in the ignition and pulled off, sparing a quick glance at the office window where he and Rude worked. He didn't know why, but Reno hoped to see Rude standing at the window, watching him as he left. There was no one there.

Back in the office, Rude sat looking at his finished pile of paperwork. Reno's hadn't even been half done and he inwardly groaned. Once again, he was left to pick up after his careless partner. He cared for Reno of course, and they got on well when they were in action, but Reno was ultimately unstable, hated being tied down and because of this Rude felt that sometimes he was not only a partner, but a babysitter too.

If he left the ominous pile of paperwork for Tseng to find the next day, Reno would be hauled in again and ripped to bits by their boss. Sighing, Rude walked over to Reno's desk and grabbed a few folders. Although Reno constantly moaned at how long each case took, in Rude's experience it took about fifteen minutes for each complete report. With just under half and hour to go he could probably help Reno out a bit.

"Hey you guys, have you seen…" Elena, the blonde Turk entered happily but trailed off as she caught sight of Rude with files fillings his hands. She placed her hands of her hips sternly.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"…Gone home," Rude answered simply.

"Typical! Just typical, and I guess he just left all that paperwork for you to do! Well I won't stand for it. Tseng will hear about this"

"Elena don't. Reno's just finding it hard what with the downfall of ShinRa," Rude argued.

Elena's furrowed brow softened, "he's taking advantage Rude, just like he always does. You shouldn't cover for him so much."

"He's my partner, I have to."

Elena smiled fondly at him. On the outside Rude was terrifying to behold. He was massive and cold looking, but under that suit, those sunglasses, he was just a big softie. Deciding to change the topic, she finished what she had originally came in to say.

"I was going to ask if you had seen the Junon file. Tseng and I are assigned out there tonight. Some rebel activity."

Luckily, the Junon file had been one of Rude's and he plucked it out of his stash in no time. She nodded politely and left without saying much more. Rude looked at the clock, he now had fifteen minutes to go before the end of his shift.

Reno had found a run down bar (his favourite) in one of the back streets of Midgar, however the area was still populated. Since Kadaj's reunion and the mysterious geostigma cure, people had felt it safe to come out again.

The grubby door creaked as he pushed it open and cigarette smoke assaulted his nostrils; he took a step into the dimly lit room. In one corner a jukebox played quiet music, the bar stood on the far side of the modest room. There were a few tables and chairs scattered about, stools placed at the bar, and a TV on a stand on one of the walls. It was hot in the room (probably to encourage people to drink more) and the metallic fans above Reno's head swung round slowly, but did not do anything to cool his surroundings.

The red haired man made his way to the bar, and ordered a strong drink. He slapped down a large amount of gil and told the bar man to keep the drinks coming. And there he sat, hunched over his drinks for at least two hours. By then he was pretty far gone, and he found it increasingly difficult to lift his hand to take yet another sip of the whiskey he had moved onto. The bar was quite full too. It consisted mostly of men who seemed to all belong in gangs, and young women, clad in very little. Reno in his suit and bright red hair stood out like a sore thumb. It was not long until someone had noticed him.

"Rebellions caused by the company's actions have become an every day occurrence, the latest outbreak resulting in the death of a rebel member. Unusually, ShinRa's terrorist department, known simply as the Turks have not made an appearance since rumours of Rufus ShinRa going into hiding. Recent reports say that the president of ShrinRa was also cured of his geostigma along with the rest of the Midgar population. …" The young female TV reporter on screen was standing smartly in front of the rubble remains of the ShinRa monument which had been built in the centre of Midgar.

Reno glanced up sleepily from his drink to watch the short news report, not registering the restless bustling of a bunch of men sitting nearby. Draining the remainder of his beverage, Reno yelled at the bar man for another. The bar man appeared worried.

"Don't you think you've had enough mate?" he reasoned, taking in the very drunk appearance of the Turk.

"I'll tell ya when I've had enough, yo!" Reno shouted causing the gang of men to glare at him from their table. A particularly burly man whispered to someone sitting next to him.

"Just get me a bloody drink, or you'll regret it!" Reno warned dangerously. Now the whole bar had gone silent, save for the TV's soft murmuring. The bar man looked intimidated now and took a step back.

"Hey I recognise 'im! He's one of them Turks!" a man accused. Reno got up unsteadily to face the man. He met a gang of five men, all of whom had produced from their jackets weapons of some sort.

Reno snickered, "and what are you? A bunch of AVALANCE rejects?" Thankfully the young Turk's legs supported him.

"Oi, this dirty Turk giving you trouble?" A man who appeared to be their leader spoke up, aiming his question at the bar keeper. The man being questioned nodded, probably more scared of what the gang would do if he had said no and retreated to the opposite end of the bar. The majority of the people in the room had left, sensing an outbreak was close.

"You heard the bar man boys, this guys making trouble," the leader said to his gang members, then, turning to Reno he added, "You Turks ain't at the top of the food chain anymore."

Reno immediately withdrew his nightstick from his jacket and placed it by his side. His face, though smiling held a deadly serious look. His eyes darted from each man, surveying his situation. He still felt extremely drunk and wished Rude (who compared to Reno could handle his drink) had decided to come along with him, he needed a bit of back up.

Disrupting his train of thoughts, a tall guy wielding a small dagger rushed forward thrusting the metal weapon at Reno's midsection. The Turk backed away clumsily and swiftly brought his nightstick onto the attackers head, an electric current went through the man's body and he dropped to the floor, slightly smouldering. This outraged the rest of the gang and they all advanced on him. There were too many to count now as Reno suspected that more joined in from other gangs too. He swung his electrical rod in a wide circle knocking back a few people running at him. His vision was not the best and he fought to stay upright as well as defending himself against the attackers. Someone from behind him caught him with a powerful punch and Reno staggered back slightly, before landing a countering kick and then ducking the next oncoming blow. The fight went on for another minute, Reno desperately knocking the gang members back, only to have another in their place. Then all of a sudden a loud bang sounded and Reno felt some sort of force push him backward, followed swiftly by an agonizing pain. Reno let out a strangled cry and clutched his shoulder. His hand came away reddened and he felt sick. He could now see someone handling a pistol, aiming it straight at him.

"Aw fuck," was all he could think before someone else crashed a baton like weapon over his head. Another burst of pain flared up in his head and he stumbled, and then fell onto the grubby flooring tiles. He could hear laughter about him as he attempted to get up, his nightstick still held tight in his right fist. A large metal tipped boot landed on it, crushing his fingers beneath it. Reno hissed and finally let go of the electrical rod. The leader picked it up and pointed it at the Turk's face.

Reno gasped at the pain flaring in his body. His left shoulder had been shot and was bleeding profusely, the throbbing in his head was less than uncomfortable and his right hand was unable to move without him wincing. A small trail of blood ran down his face and into one of his eyes, originating from his flaming hair. He thought of trying to contact Rude, if he could only get his PHS from his inner coat pocket… His trail of thoughts was interrupted as a blow caught him in his ribs. There was a slight crack and he knew straight away that at least one was broken. He hadn't time to fully register what was happening before a surge of electricity passed through his body. They were using his own weapon on him. He half screamed in shock and gasped like a fish out of water on the floor, hardly seeing the jeering men above him.

"See how he likes it!" the leader commented hitting Reno again the nightstick. Despite himself, Reno found tears in his eyes as he was constantly used as a punching bag for the numerous gang members. His last thoughts before he succumbed to unconsciousness were "I wish I hadn't left work early."