Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Who's John ShinRa? ❯ A Snake in the Shadows ( Chapter 12 )

Note: I do not own Final Fantasy VII.

 

Chapter 12: A Snake in the Shadows

 

It was eight-thirty in the morning Costa Del Sol time and little activity could be seen in the resort town. The early-morning surfers were already finishing their run with the waves as a few joggers ran along the beach. A blond-haired woman with sunglasses and a pink dress could be seen walking professionally along the sidewalk towards the residential district.

 

These things could all be seen by a man hiding in the alley behind the local seafood restaurant. He had been perched along the walls of the dank alley for over thirty hours after he had accepted his latest assignment. It was one of those jobs that most assassins with any shred of morality left would adamantly refuse. Those were the jobs that he loved the most.

 

The man smiled as he lit a cigarette with his gloved hands and watched the door of his targets. The lady with the pink dress he had spotted earlier had stopped at the door and adjusted her dress and the papers in her hand before ringing the doorbell. He scrunched his face in disgust as he thought about the time delay she presented to him. He wanted to start the hit in a few minutes when his targets were about to sit down for some breakfast.

 

The frown soon turned into a smirk as he thought of the ways he could eliminate the woman with the pink dress along with his other targets. He always enjoyed adding an extra body to his kill count. It was those unexpected added hits that made his job more interesting.

 

He watched the woman with keen interest through his gray eyes. A woman with short brown hair had answered the door to greet the woman in the pink dress. The man's eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of one of his assigned targets. His fingers were itching with anticipation as his right hand shook with excitement causing the rifle he was holding to rattle against the concrete wall.

 

His excitement subsided as his target allowed the woman in the pink dress inside her home and shut the door. He could still see the two women talking through the window that was adjacent to the door. He saw his first target reach down to pick-up a child and rest her on the woman's hips as she escorted her unexpected guest inside the house. The man smiled as he blew smoke out of his nostrils and mouth. He had confirmed both of his targets and even acquired a new one for pure thrills.

 

The man rolled up the sleeves on his left arm to check the time. As he did so, his fingers traced the lining of a tattoo he had on his left forearm. The long curvy black lines ran up and down his arm wrapping around it like the image it portrayed. To an outsider, anyone looking at the tattoo would quickly recognize it at a snake.

 

The head was distinctly marked with its mouth open wide as if it was going to bite the watch that the assassin was staring at. Its long neck and body slithered around the man's arm and stopped shy of his elbow. Anyone who had any knowledge of the species could immediately recognize the serpent to be an adder with black scales.

 

The man quickly rolled back his sleeve and checked to make sure he had his pistol and knife. He was certain that he had all the equipment he needed for the job. His eyes roamed to the left side of the house where he knew the bathroom window was unlocked. He unconsciously rubbed his left forearm where his tattoo was and cautiously peered up and down the alley to make sure no one could see him walk out from behind the row of trashcans he had been hiding behind.

 

To his left he could still see a few morning joggers on the beach and to his right the only sounds he could hear were the faint meowing of a cat at the entrance to the alley. There was no one around. He walked out from behind the trashcans and proceeded towards the house he had been spying on earlier. His black combat boots lightly treaded on the concrete making hardly any noise for anyone to hear.

 

Only the sounds of the ocean and the cat hiding somewhere in the alley could be heard as the assassin inched his way towards the house. A sudden shrill whistling noise was heard coming from the other end of the alley away from the man's targets. The man tried to disregard the whistling noise until he heard the whistling accompanied by the sharp click of dress shoes on the concrete pavement. Someone was walking into the alley and heading towards him.

 

The whistling grew louder and louder as the unknown perpetrator's footsteps rhythmically echoed down the alley. The assassin tried to act casual and leaned against the wall to pull out a cigarette until his ears recognized the tune that was being whistled. He had never learned what the song was, but he only knew one person who whistled that tune and that was Reno of the Turks.

 

The assassin dropped his cigarette and turned around behind him to see a pair of glowing blue eyes and Reno's signature red hair. The Turk was twirling his nightstick as he continued to whistle the nameless tune. Reno stopped whistling and stood staring coldly at the man in black clothing as he continued to twirl his nightstick.

 

“Black Adder, long time no see,” Reno seethed.

 

“Reno,” Black Adder hissed.

 

“Out for the blood of women and children again I see.”

 

“I wouldn't talk so boldly. I heard about what you did to Sector 7 in Midgar,” Black Adder scoffed.

 

Reno winced as he stopped twirling his nightstick. Dropping the plate on Sector 7 was not one of his most shining moments as a Turk, but it was a part of his job. Now his job called for stopping Black Adder using whatever force necessary.

 

“Don't worry, I won't be the one doing all the work today. I'm sure you remember that I'm not the one with a grudge against you,” Reno smirked.

 

Black Adder opened his mouth to say something when he realized that Reno was referring to Rude. He quickly turned around and reached for his gun, but a quick hand already had his wrist in a painful grip. Black Adder looked up only to see the shine of brass knuckles before his face felt the sharp sting of Rude's fist.

 

The assassin could feel his blood pour of his mouth where a few teeth had been knocked out. He shouldn't have been so careless when he was talking to Reno. Rude had unexpectedly gotten behind him. Black Adder opened his eyes to see the towering figure of Rude as he cracked his knuckles.

 

“Get up,” Rude said flatly.

 

Black Adder spat some blood out as he tried to reach for his gun again, but couldn't find it in his vest where he had put it.

 

“Looking for this?” Rude said as he pointed to the revolver that was stuck underneath his foot.

 

Black Adder staggered to his feet, cursing himself for leaving his rifle behind the trashcans. He didn't think the Turks would interfere with his job. He should have been more careful.

 

“And what do I owe the honor of this visit?” Black Adder spat.

 

He hoped that Reno and Rude wouldn't notice him reaching behind his back for the knife. He knew he didn't have a chance to kill both men, but taking at least one of the Turks with him would let him die satisfied.

 

“What? Rude and I can't check up on an old friend who nearly got us killed? Sure, I mean it's not like Rude has forgotten how you murdered his old partner and tried to get him,” Reno said sarcastically.

 

“What I did was no different than what you do for a living,” Black Adder smirked.

 

“Don't fucking compare us to you!” Rude snapped as he kicked Black Adder in the gut.

 

The assassin keeled over and clutched his stomach in pain. He almost had reached for his knife but the sudden kick from Rude threw him off balance. Black Adder's eyes widened in fear as he looked up to see Rude taking off his sunglasses. No one had ever seen the Turk take his sunglasses off while he was working and lived to tell the tale. The Turk's glowing obsidian eyes glared at the fallen man as he bent down to grab Black Adder's face.

 

“Yes, we do kill women and children, but unlike you, we don't enjoy it,” Rude spat as he roughly held Black Adder's face.

 

“What's the difference, we're all murderers. Hell's the last place we're going to,” Black Adder gasped as he frantically reached for his knife.

 

“Yeah, but you're going there first,” Rude said as he pulled back his fist.

 

The Turk was about to make contact with Black Adder's face when the assassin pulled the knife out of his clothes and stabbed Rude in the arm. Reno saw his partner get hurt and almost pulled his gun out to kill Black Adder, but knew that Rude wanted to finish the man himself.

 

“Come on, show me what you got! I'll cut you again,” Black Adder said frantically as he waved the knife in front of him.

 

The assassin was slowly walking backwards away from the two Turks towards the trashcans where his rifle was. He hoped he could keep them at bay long enough for him to get to his rifle and then kill them both. He saw Reno with his hand itching for the gun in his jacket while taping his nightstick against his leg. Rude was taking his jacket off and ripping a piece of his dress shirt to tie around his injured arm.

 

Black Adder knew that Rude would recover quickly and bolted for the trashcans, diving down into the corner where his rifle was kept. He could hear Reno cursing as the sounds of the Turk's footsteps echoed louder and louder. Black Adder scrambled and grabbed his rifle, putting his finger on the trigger before turning to fire.

 

The rifle was pointed straight at Rude as Black Adder smirked and squeezed his finger. The smirk was replaced with a frown as no bullets fired out of the rifle. The assassin looked down and found that the clip he had attached to the rifle had been removed. Before Black Adder had time to think, Rude pulled out a pistol and fired two bullets. It was the last thing the assassin saw and ever would see.

 

Rude stared at the dead body lying behind the trashcans. Smoke slowly rose from the silencer attached to his revolver. Reno ran over to inspect the damage and whistled proudly as he looked down at the bullet holes in Black Adder's head. The Turk grabbed a white cloth and draped it over the dead man's head.

 

“That's some pretty good shooting considering you used your left hand,” Reno said as he grabbed some gloves from his pocket and put them on.

 

Rude silently nodded his head as he put the gun back in its holster and searched in his pockets for his materia. As he reached in his pocket and found the small polished marble, a green glow was already surrounding his right arm and Rude looked up to see Reno holding up his own cure materia.

 

“I could have done this myself,” Rude replied as he began fishing for a pair of gloves.

 

“Yeah, but you killed the guy and even got injured in the process while all I did was stand off to the side as back-up.”

 

Rude didn't answer as he helped Reno lift the body up and throw it in the dumpster near the trashcans.

 

Reno threw all of Black Adder's weapons into the dumpster, but he made sure to keep Black Adder's personal computer and notes off to the side so they could see if the assassin left any information about the ShinRa-King Organization. Satisfied that all of the assassin's belongings were either in the dumpster or by his feet, Reno helped Rude throw any extra trash into the dumpster to help cover up the body.

 

“So why did you shoot him anyway? I thought you had a grudge against this guy and were going to punch your fist through his chest and rip his heart out,” Reno asked as he tossed his gloves into the dumpster.

 

“He wasn't worth the time or the effort,” Rude simply stated.

 

Reno laughed as he pat Rude on the back.

 

“At least you got your revenge for Derek.”

 

“Yeah,” Rude nodded. “He was a good kid. Should have never become a Turk.”

 

“But he was the best damned sniper since Vincent Valentine. Come on Rude; let's get to Elena before she talks the head off of Reeve's wife. And next time we go drinking, I'm paying. You deserve a few beers for today's stunt.”

 

“You better, I need to buy a new shirt,” Rude said as he smiled a rare smile.

 

* * *

 

Elena stared attentively at the painting as the brown-haired woman described its meaning and the medium used to paint it. The woman's daughter was daintily decorating sugar cookies with sprinkles and icing on the coffee table. Normally, Elena wouldn't have a problem keeping up a conversation due to her affinity to talk, but today she was worried about her co-workers.

 

The Turk politely sipped her tea while listening to the woman describe her painting. Elena's eyes would occasionally wander to the window or the door hoping that she would catch a glimpse of her comrades.

 

“So, do you think the museum would be interested in displaying something more contemporary like this painting?” the woman asked suddenly.

 

“Oh, I assure you Ms. Anderson that they would. The Board of Directors wouldn't have sent me over here to your house if we weren't interested,” Elena faked a smile as she tried to act professional.

 

“Have they really noticed my work?”

 

“Yes they have Ms. Anderson.”

 

“Oh, please. Just call me Melissa,” the woman beamed excitedly.

 

“Well, Melissa, I'm sure you know that the Junon Academy of Art is interested in displaying most of your works in their museum,” Elena began speaking until the doorbell rang and interrupted her speech.

 

“Oh, please excuse me Ms. DeWitt. I'll just be a moment,” Melissa said as she headed for the door.

 

Elena quickly rose and followed her, worried that the person at the door could be Black Adder.

 

“Oh, don't worry Melissa, let me help you get the door,” Elena said trying to hide her nervousness.

 

“You don't have to worry Ms. DeWitt. You're a guest in my house so please sit back down,” Melissa said while eyeing the door as the doorbell kept its constant ring.

 

“I insist. I love to answer doors. It's some sort of obsessive-compulsive trait I have,” Elena said as she walked ahead of Melissa and headed for the door.

 

“Um, sure Ms. DeWitt,” Melissa said raising her eyebrow at Elena's strange behavior. “I'll wait right here.”

 

Elena scanned the door to see if there was a peephole, but couldn't find one and frantically tried to think of how to figure out who the person behind the door was without opening the door.

 

“Who is it?” Elena said sweetly behind the door.

 

“It's us Elena now open the door,” Reno spat back.

 

Elena breathed a sigh of relief as she opened the door to see Reno standing smugly as usual and Rude with his jacket zipped up unusually high.

 

“Did you get him?”

 

“Yeah, Rude took care of him. But after looking through his personal belongings we found out that he's not going to be the last one creeping around here. We need to get Reeve's wife and kid out of here and on a boat to Junon,” Reno said as he and Rude walked into the house.

 

“Um, Ms. DeWitt? Are they . . . are they . . . Turks?” Melissa said with wide eyes.

 

“I can explain everything Ms. Anderson, you see, they're . . . they're . . .,” Elena struggled to find a reasonable explanation for Rude and Reno's appearance.

 

“We're Turks,” Rude said abruptly.

 

“Wha—what are Turks doing in my house?” Melissa asked Elena.

 

“It's going to take some time to explain, but the long and short of it is that we're here to protect you,” Elena replied with a heavy sigh.

 

“Protect me? Why?” Melissa asked as her eyes nervously scanned the trio.

 

“Your husband has been made President of ShinRa, Inc. and some enemies to the company are trying to assassinate you and your daughter. We're here to protect you both and relocate you to Junon where it'll be safer,” Elena said trying to reassure the woman.

 

“Di—did you just say that someone is trying to kill my daughter?” Melissa asked frantically.

 

“Yes Ms. Anderson. That's why it's imperative that you cooperate with us,” Elena pleaded.

 

“He . . . he never told me that Sara and I would be in danger. He just said that he needed to help the people of Midgar,” Melissa said shocked.

 

“Well, technically he didn't know because he's stuck under Midgar trying to get everyone out. We found out about the assassination plot against you and headed out to protect you without his authorization. In other words, he wasn't told that your lives were in danger,” Elena said thoughtfully.

 

“He's under Midgar? Is he okay, I mean . . . are there any assassins after him or anything?” Melissa asked frantically.

 

“Elena, I wish you would just shut-up sometimes,” Reno huffed as he walked over towards Reeve's wife. “Ms. Anderson, I assure you that he is safe and sound. Right now our main concern is to get you and your daughter to Junon where you can be protected, do you think you can do that for your husband?”

 

Melissa merely nodded, as the worry for her husband wasn't abated by Reno's sincere words.

 

“Let me tell my daughter and then I'll pack my things,” Melissa said softly.

 

Reno nodded his head as he watched the woman walk over to her daughter. He had heard that Reeve and his wife had separated, but judging from her reaction, Melissa Anderson still have feelings for the man she married. Reno knew that his new boss would have become a broken man if his wife and daughter were killed. The Turk had oftentimes seen Reeve pull out his daughter's picture from his wallet. One thing that Reno also found interesting was how the man also kept a picture of his wedding photo tucked behind the picture of his daughter, but always tried to hide it. Reeve didn't even try to hide the fact that he still wore his wedding band on his left hand.

 

“I don't want to be around when she and boss-man get reunited,” Reno muttered.

 

“Huh? What did you say, Reno?” Elena asked.

 

“Nothing. But why don't you help Ms. Anderson with the packing while Rude secures the house. I'm going to make some calls to get us our boat to Junon,” Reno said with authority.

 

“Reno, you amaze me sometimes. Why can't you be so authoritative all the time?” Elena asked.

 

“Because then you wouldn't love me for who I really am,” Reno winked.

 

“I should have never asked,” Elena said rolling her eyes as she made her way to the kitchen where Melissa was talking to her daughter.

 

Elena watched as Melissa helped her daughter pack all the cookies they had made into some Tupperware. The bouncy little girl's innocent eyes revealed that she had no conception of the how she and her mother's lives were in danger. Elena was certain that Melissa had no intention of telling Sara about it either. The girl was probably only seven or eight years old, still too young to be tainted by the horrors of life.

 

“Did you need any help getting your things together?” Elena asked Melissa.

 

“Yes, could you take Sara to her room and help her get packed. I need to take care of a few things down here and then get my stuff,” the brown-haired woman replied nervously.

 

Elena nodded as she bent down to pick the little girl up.

 

“Are we going to Junon because you really liked Mommy's pictures?” the little girl asked with bright brown eyes.

 

“Yes we are dear. Now let's go up to your room so we can go on a nice trip to your new home, how does that sound?” Elena said sweetly.

 

“Like fun. Can I bring the toy Daddy made for me?”

 

“Of course!” the Turk replied as she carried the child up to her room.

 

Melissa Anderson watched as Elena carried her daughter upstairs to her room. She snapped the Tupperware container shut and put the cookies into a picnic basket before heading up to her room to collect her things. Her eyes wandered to the two Turks standing in her foyer as one talked on his phone and the one with sunglasses kept his eyes glued to the window.

 

Reeve had mentioned the Turks and what they did for ShinRa, but she never thought that she would ever meet one or even three of them in one day. He had promised her before they separated that he wouldn't bring his work into her life again. It annoyed her to no end to think that he still put his work over his family, but then he was the President of ShinRa, Inc. and that was a job that required much more responsibility than Melissa could comprehend. The gravity of his position quickly eliminated all of the annoyance she had harbored for her husband and turned it into worry.

 

Trying to get her mind off of that, she quickly pulled out a suitcase and began filling it with clothes and various personal belongings. Opening one of her dresser drawers, her eyes fell upon a framed picture of her and Reeve when they were getting married. He was smiling so brightly and lovingly at her as she had her arms wrapped around his neck. Neither of them were staring at the camera because they were too preoccupied with each other, but they couldn't hide the love they shared from the camera lens.

 

Melissa smiled as she let her fingers glide along the glass frame. Unconsciously, she reached for her necklace and traced her fingers along the chain until she reached the wedding ring that hung along her neck. She found herself grabbing her wedding ring more and more after she spoke with Reeve a few days ago. She had been praying for his safety and cried with relief when she heard that Midgar was spared from Meteor's wraith.

 

She knew that he was alive, but a disconnected phone line to his old work number didn't help to reassure her. Melissa wished that she had his new PHS number, but her own stubbornness had kept her from asking for it. At least she knew that he was safe, but she wasn't sure for how long.

 

Grabbing the wedding photo, she quickly stuffed it in her suitcase and scanned the room once more to make sure that there weren't any other keepsakes or necessities that she needed. She left the room as Elena and her daughter were walking down the stairs followed by the little robot Reeve built for her daughter.

 

“Reeve must really love Sara for letting her have the Cait Sith prototype,” Elena said to Melissa as she watched the little girl tote her backpack and punch a few buttons on a remote to make the doll follow her.

 

“Yeah. He always dotes on her whenever he's home,” Melissa smiled as she watched Sara play with her toy. “Sara actually named the doll Kate Sith because she thought it should be a girl.”

 

“Well, I'm glad that Kate is only the size of a small dog unlike its counterpart. That stupid robot of Reeve's pissed the hell out of me,” Elena said as she readjusted the tote bag full of Sara's belongings. “Did you get everything you needed?”

 

“Yes, I just need to get the cookies in the kitchen and then we should be all set. Sara honey, did Ms. DeWitt help you get all your stuff packed?”

 

“Yes Mommy,” Sara nodded obediently.

 

“Oh, Melissa?” Elena asked.

 

“Yes?”

 

“You can just call me Elena,” she said with a smile.

 

“Ok . . . Elena,” Melissa nodded.

 

“Alright, you ladies ready to get this show on the road?” Reno said boisterously.

 

“All their belongings are packed and I take it Rude made sure to pack my suit somewhere so I don't have to wear this pink dress the whole time,” Elena asked.

 

“It's in the alley,” Rude simply stated.

 

“It better not be dirty,” Elena said as they left the house.

 

The three Turks tried to walk causally as they escorted Reeve's wife and daughter through the alley and towards the beach. Rude had picked up the bag with Elena's clothes in it and slung it over his shoulder as the group made their way to the docks.

 

They finally reached a commercial boat that was headed towards Junon. Reno handed the man collecting boarding passes a business card and waited as the man read it through. The man nodded at Reno and handed him two keys before motioning for them to board.

 

“Elena, go ahead and get them to the cabins. We're at cabin 806 and 805. I need to speak to Rude really quick and then I'll catch up with you,” Reno said as he handed Elena the cabin keys.

 

“Got it!” Elena said as she escorted Melissa and Sara to their cabins.

 

Reno waited until Elena was out of earshot before he turned his attention to Rude.

 

“You think you two can handle it okay out there?”

 

“We'll be fine. Worried about you though,” Rude said.

 

“Hey, somebody's gotta report to the boss. Besides, I have an idea who's behind the ShinRa-King Organization, but need to do a little research. Make sure you get in touch with those geeks who are helping Reeve and call me if you get any more leads on Black Adder's computer,” Reno added.

 

“Affirmative,” Rude said as he began to walk towards the cabins but paused after a few steps. “What should I tell Elena?”

 

“Tell her that I'll meet her in Junon later after everything's calmed down in Midgar. Right now her mission is to protect the wife and kid.”

 

Rude nodded as he watched Reno give him a mock salute before walking back towards town. He shook his head as he made his way towards the two cabins they occupied. The door to cabin 806 was slightly ajar and Rude could hear the noises of Elena's laugh. He knocked lightly on the door before entering and saw Reeve's daughter making her toy Kate Sith do a forward roll on the floor.

 

“Isn't that so cute Rude?” Elena laughed.

 

Rude only raised an eyebrow as he watched the toy roll forward again and again.

 

“Do you have the key to 805?”

 

“Yeah, here it is,” Elena said as she tossed the key to him. “Where's Reno?”

 

“He's reporting back to Midgar.”

 

“He's what! That little fucker!” Elena screamed.

 

“Uh oh, she said a bad word Mommy,” Sara giggled.

 

“Sara, behave,” Melissa said sternly.

 

“He'll meet us in Junon. Right now orders are to protect Reeve's wife and daughter,” Rude said stoically.

 

“But why the hell did he leave us?” Elena screamed as she grabbed Rude's right arm.

 

Rude winced as he felt her strong grip dig into his wound. The cure spell had helped heal most of the knife wound, but it was still tender. Rude hoped that Elena didn't notice his pain, but he knew that she did.

 

“Rude, did you get hurt when you went up against Black Adder?” Elena asked angrily.

 

Rude merely nodded.

 

“I can't believe you two! Sara, when you grow-up never work with men. They're so stubborn!” Elena seethed as she shook her head.

 

“Yeah, I think boys are icky,” Sara said as she scrunched her nose. “Daddy's the only boy who I don't think is icky or has the cooties.”

 

“That's a smart girl,” Elena said as she slowly calmed herself down.

 

Rude was about to leave the room when Elena called for him to wait. Half-expecting her to yell at him again, he almost didn't catch the bottle that was thrown his way. He looked at the potion with its iridescent green liquid and smirked as he looked up at Elena.

 

“Go ahead and take care of yourself. I swear if it weren't for me you and Reno would have fallen apart with all the injuries you guys get,” Elena shook her head with a smile.

 

“Thanks,” Rude said as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

 

Elena watched the door as she smiled to herself. Rude was never one to admit he was injured and she should have known that Reno would do something like this. She also knew that one of these days she was going to have to accept his methods. However until then, she was still going to give him hell for leaving on his own.

 

“Elena? Is Reno going back to keep my husband safe?” Melissa asked softly so Sara couldn't hear.

 

“I believe he is Melissa,” Elena said reassuringly.

 

“Good, I'm glad. I worry about him. I hope he'll be alright.”

 

“I assure you that once Reno gets to Midgar, he will be,” Elena said confidently, realizing that Reno's solo mission to Midgar was necessary. “Reno knows what he's doing, even if I don't.”

 

Melissa smiled as she accepted the woman's word. “Thank you Elena. It really means a lot what you all are doing for us.”

 

“I'm glad we could be of service,” Elena beamed.

 

(continued…)