Chapter I

The tall, lanky figure emerged from the veil of steam. His wet hair seemed to slither between his shoulder blades like the tail of a ruby dragon. He grabbed a towel and briskly padded the dripping strands until they were merely damp. He ran the same towel over his body in an attempt to dry off.

Back in his bedroom he tossed clothes from his closet until he was able to put together a clean but horribly wrinkled white shirt, dark blue slacks, and matching suit top. Some of the clothes landed on the figure in his bed and she woke.

"Where are you goin' so early baby?"

"Work," was his simple reply.

"When you gonna be back, muffin? Ima get lonely here without you."

He grabbed his gun and electromag rod off the dresser, strapping the gun to a holster beneath his suit. He buttoned his shirt leaving the top two undone and his shirttails hanging out.

"Don't you worry about that, " he replied before leaning down to kiss her neck almost passionately. She let out an inviting sigh as he began to whisper into her ear. "You'll be gone hours before I get back."

His words caught her completely off guard.
"Reno?"
He silenced her by putting a finger to her lips. He turned to leave the room but paused in the open doorway.

"Oh and...lock the door on your way out." And he was gone. Gone was the passion she'd heard in his voice and felt in his actions the previous night.

She sat there in his bed gaping at the bedroom door, only the silk royal blue sheets covering her nakedness. But she didn't stay that way very long. She put on her clothes and grabbed her purse from the floor next to the bed. As she left the apartment she locked the door just as he had told her and left still feeling the sting of his words.

The sting soon turned into hate. How dare he just use her like that. How dare he whisper sweet words of love then throw her out like the whore she was. How she wanted revenge...to make him pay for discarding her like bland chewing gum. He'd robbed her of her flavor then gotten rid of her when he was done.

But she knew better than to act on that hate...to take revenge on Reno of the Turks. If she valued her shameless life, which she did, she would just accept what happened to her and shove any thoughts of revenge on Reno out of her sinful mind. And that's just what she did, making her way back to the bar for some cheap gil.



Reno stepped through the glass doors of Reeve Power Co. headquarters earning brief glances from a few employees. They were all used to his sloppy demeanor and didn't pay him more than an indifferent glance.

He strode past the secretary at the front desk, winking at the young woman stationed there. He didn't have to watch to know she was blushing furiously behind those thin wire-framed glassed. It had been pretty obvious for the past couple of weeks that she had a crush on the autumn-haired Turk. Reno himself felt nothing for her personally. He just found it humorous how she didn't know how to handle herself when he casually brushed past her in the halls or sent a grin in her direction.

He reached the elevator as it was closing and held it open. He slipped inside and grinned at the bald Turk to his left.

"So how'd it go with Elena?"

"...fine, " he answered without facing his friend.

Reno waited expectantly for Rude to expand on his night with Elena but none came.

"And...?"

The bald man remained unresponsive. That was just response Reno needed to confirm his suspicion. "Tseng still has her, huh?"

"I don't know why. It's been five years since....you know." Reno nodded knowingly as Rude turned to watch the people below grow smaller and smaller as the elevator rose. "And there I was like a fool thinking she would magically forget him for me."

"Rude, I probably know you better than any other man on this continent. If you were a fool I would have known long before today." He leaned his back against the glass and began to idly tap the glass with his nightstick. "She'll come around."

Rude guffawed quietly, still watching the city below them. "I guess you would know Reno. So who was last night's lucky lady?"

"Ah, you mean Simone? I got rid of her today. Her overbite was getting to me."

What still had Rude perplexed to this day was how Reno did it. Women knew his reputation as a player and that he used them. Yet, they still didn't seem to hesitate with the chance for a possible relationship with him. None of them lasted more than a couple of days, of course. All Reno thought women were good for was a quick roll in the hay.

The soft tone interrupted their conversation. They stepped off onto the forty-seventh floor of the building. The new headquarters was built in the restored city of Midgar. It wasn't the seventy-story monster that the ShinRa headquarters had been. It was fifty stories and the top three floors were used as file storage rooms. The very top floor was where they kept the most private documents.

At the end of the hall, Reeve's office was the largest on the forty-seventh floor. Around ten or eleven o'clock the Turks would check in with him and inquire about new assignments.

They knocked on the ebony doors and were given permission to enter from a tired voice. Reeve was taking a sip from his coffee when the two stepped inside and closed the doors.

"Mornin' fellas." Reeve's voice was heavy with a lack of sleep but he forced a tired smile in their direction.

"Looks like someone could use a nap, " Reno observed humorously.

"Actually several would be nice, "he replied.

Rude placed the usual security report on his desk before asking, "Have anything for us today?"

He didn't respond immediately. He massaged the bridge of his nose for a moment before answering. "Yeah, actually. Ms. Dean, the head electrician, reported hearing some noises while in the basement yesterday. She said it sounded kind of human, like someone was in some real pain." He ran a hand through the ebony strands that pooled around his shoulders. "You think you could take a look for her sake? She was pretty spooked when she came in this morning."

"No problem," Reno answered coolly. "What about Elena?"

"She said she would be a little late today...her cat wasn't feeling to well."

Reno chuckled at this. Elena had a soft spot the size of the Northern Crater for her cat Pickle. She would rush him to the vet if he even meowed funny.

Rude, however, didn't believe Elena was late because of her cat. He hoped that what he said last night didn't upset her. The last thing he wanted was for her to be angry with him.

"When she gets in I'll send her down to help."

With that the Turks were dismissed and on their way to the basement.
The middle-aged woman eavesdropping on the other side of the door scurried away quickly her head spinning with plans.



Rude slid his ID card through the security check device on the wall next to the basement doors. The basement was broken into three sections. One held company supplies, both old and new. The second was basically a giant boiler room and the third was where those boilers were operated. That section held countless thermostats, regulators and fuse boxes. The first place they checked was there. It was dark except for the pale blue light coming from the end of Reno's nightstick. They could see the outline of complex control panels and switches.

"How the hell do you turn on the lights?" To answer Reno's question, the lights suddenly snapped on. He turned around, startled, to see Rude standing near a simple light switch by the door. "Very funny Einstein."

There were some pipes running from the floor to the ceiling in the corners so Reno made his way over there and listened for any groaning or funny noises.

Nothing.

Rude did the same and they agreed to search the "boiler" room. They listened carefully while examining the machinery. They were ready to check the last room when Rude heard something.

"Let's go Rude. That geek probably got herself shocked and-"

"Shhh!" Rude silenced him abruptly and they both listened for what Rude thought he heard.

Then they heard it. It was nearly inaudible but it was clearly human. It lasted about two minutes but they had both heard it. It was a series of long and drawn out wails. Rude was definitely no fearful man but the sound sent chills fluttering down his spine.

They both turned to each other to silently confirm that they both heard it. Then the ground trembled. It was almost non-existing but in their heightened state they felt it nonetheless. It did it again. That was all the confirmation Reno needed. "Let's tell Reeve."

They headed for the basement entrance and Reno's heart skipped a beat when he plowed right into a familiar blonde.

"What's wrong guys?" she risked brief eye contact with Rude but looked to Reno for an answer.

"Not here...I'll explain on the way up."

As they took the elevator back up Reno couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't going to like what those wail's lead to.