Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Who's John ShinRa? ❯ Who's John ShinRa? ( Chapter 34 )

Chapter 34: Who’s John ShinRa?

The stale stench of liquor and sweat permeated the confines of the small bar. It was a mixture of stress and exhaustion poured out into each glass that people drank to forget. But the group of Turks weren’t here to drink their worries away after a hard day at work. They were here in a celebration of acceptance, because that night the Turks were at their strongest ever.

“So this one time I took three shots of tequila, the next morning I woke up with a cat in my bed,” Clubs said teetering on the edge of becoming completely plastered.

“You mean a pussy?” Reno asked.

“No, no. I mean like a cat, cat. You know, that goes meow. So anyway, I wake up with this cat in my bed and I don’t know where it came from and the next morning I start calling people up asking, ‘Hey, why did I wake up with a cat in my bed?’”

Spades interrupted Clubs with a tired drawl, “Why don’t you just get to the point and say that you stole one of your neighbor’s cats and found out your neighbor was a hot babe and ended up with more than just one pussy cat.”

“Man, I wanted to tell that story!”

“So you and the babe still together?”

“Hell yeah boss-man! I got a picture,” Clubs scrambled through his pockets to show everyone.

Reno practically drooled at the picture. “Nice rack.”

Elena rolled her eyes at the comment. “Men. You guys are all the same.”

“What, a man has got to appreciate the goods. I won’t complain if you check out my goods, if you know what I mean,” Reno winked.

“You are such a pig. I can’t believe you are going to be the one shaping the future of the Turks from now on.”

“Sorry to say Elena, but things haven’t changed in the many years I’ve been a Turk,” Walter interjected.

Elena looked at Walter flatly. “So I’m going to have to put up with things like that for the rest of my life?”

“Afraid so.”

“Hey! I’m not a pig! I’m like, a total gentleman.” Clubs said as he fumbled through his shirt. “Here, look at the rock I’m gonna give my girl!”

Reno whistled in appreciation. “That must have cost a pretty penny.”

“You’re actually going to propose? Do you think she’ll say yes?” Spades asked.

“Of course she will.”

Walter watched the exchange with a concerned look on his face. Rude and Elena also gave Reno worried glances. Reno merely watched the new recruits talking animatedly about their personal lives with a stoic look on his face. They were thinking of Turk Code number 53: no personal attachments.

Elena took a deep breath and smiled apologetically at Clubs. “Hey Clubs, I hate to break it to you, but there’s a rule in the Turk Code.”

“Fuck the Turk Code,” Reno interrupted, slamming his hand down on the table.

“You know the rules Reno. What are you going to do about it?” Walter asked curiously.

Reno pulled out a copy of the Turk Codebook and doused it with heavy liquor before replying, “this.” Reno flicked his lit cigarette on the book and watched it crackle and burn in finality.

Elena watched the scene in disbelief, “You can do that?”

“He is the new leader of the Turks,” Rude said.

“I take all that I said back about you being a pig. You’re okay.”

“Does that mean I get to pet your pussy cat?” Reno leered.

“Ew, no!”

The new recruits watched the exchange in confusion and puzzled over the burning book. Diamonds was the only one who had sobered up enough to say anything. “Um, I know that you guys are talking about something important here, so what did we miss?”

“Nothing that you young-uns need to worry about. You all can keep on talking about marrying your pretty girlfriends and planning on how many kids you want to pop out,” Walter said with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

“Are you sure, cause I thought Elena was going to say something about the Turk Code. And you know, since we’re now Turks, we gotta know the Code, right?”

“I know two of them. Rule number 29: Turks always come prepared. And rule number 1: Turks always stick together.”

“Hey not bad for a new recruit. Looks like we found someone who actually talks more than Elena does and someone who’s willing to listen to what she says,” Reno pointed to both Clubs and Diamonds.

“Reno!”

Walter looked at the group with fondness, remembering the days when he was a young recruit. He couldn’t recall off the top of his head the number of years he had served as a Turk, but it was much longer than Reno had been alive, that was certain. Walter had seen the organization grow and stagnate with the traditions that were seeped into the codebook from a different time and a different world. Those sorts of restrictions were obsolete now, especially given the tragedy of Meteor and the Weapons. It was comforting to know that Tseng has put the Turks in the right hands. As rough around the edges Reno was, he symbolized the changes that the organization needed. One could argue that it was ironic how a group that specialized in the darker shade of life desired personal liberties. That things should be black and white; murderers had no morals. But there was always the grey. And no one knew grey better than a Turk.

“Crass! Thank god you’re safe!”

Walter turned with a shocked look as he faced the speaker. “Sol? What are you doing here kid?”

“Nick, the guy’s crazy. He killed Bidge and dumped his body in the ocean. Not only that, but the Turks are after us now. I saw them killing a bunch of the new recruits that Nick and Knarls rounded up. We have to get out of here and tell someone what happened. My sister can help us, she’s got connections.”

“Sol, calm down. We don’t have to do anything right now,” Walter said uneasily.

“No, we have to get out of here Crass or we’re going to get killed. I saw them, I saw . . .,” Sol paused as his eyes landed on two men. One with blond hair wearing a blood-stained Turk suit and one with black hair who had the same passive look on his face when he put a bullet through a man’s head. “Oh shit.”

Rude put his hands down harshly on Sol’s shoulders. “Loose end?”

“Afraid so,” Walter replied with remorse. “So Reno, what should we do about the kid?”

“Man, I’m too drunk to do this right now,” Reno said as he rubbed his temples.

A shrill ring from Elena’s phone interrupted the conversation as she took the call. The call did not look pleasant as her face paled. “Reno, you’ve got a call and it’s from Reeve. He sounds pissed.”

“Reeve, pissed? Now I know I must be drunk off my ass. What’s he want?”

“I think you better hear it for yourself,” Elena said as she handed him the phone.

Everyone sat the table quietly watching Reno. His expression gave nothing away. The only sounds that could be heard were Sol’s heavy breathing as he watched on in panic. Reno shut the phone off and then rose from his seat to stretch. “Well, that sure sobered me up.”

“What’s the situation?” Rude asked.

“Someone leaked info on John ShinRa.”

There was a steely silence before Clubs interrupted it with a simple question. “Who’s John ShinRa?”

“Rufus ShinRa’s body-double and also half-brother,” Elena answered.

Clubs looked on confused. “So, that’s bad?”

“Of course it is you idiot,” Spades said as he smacked Clubs over the head. “Who would want to trust the government who has so many cover-ups, scandals and corruption in it?”

“The worst has yet to come. In a few hours millions of people are going to wake-up reading about it in the newspaper. I’m sure it’ll be hot fodder in the news too.”

Elena gave Reno a worried look. “Who leaked the information?”

“Can’t say for certain who leaked it, but I’m sure the reporter who wrote the story can tell us. Rude, think you can find info on a chick named Autumn Noval?”

“No need to do that,” Walter said standing up and putting a hand on Sol’s head. “Folks, meet Sol Noval. Younger brother to Autumn Noval, reporter for the Junon Star,”Sol swallowed hard trying to keep a brave face, but it was difficult doing that when there were eight Turks staring at him. “So are you just going to kill me now?”

“Can I do it?” Hearts asked sluggishly raising his hand.

“If we need to I’ll be sure to keep you in mind. But right now we’ve got to keep the kid alive, right Walt?” Reno smiled.

“Yep. Looks like we have a bargaining chip now. If it’s okay with you Reno, I want to handle this one.”

“Hey, seniority rules. Newbies! I want you guys to watch a master at work.”

“Sweet! We get to do covert stuff!” Clubs said as he stumbled out of his chair in excitement.

“Well, Clubs really has your enthusiasm Reno,” Elena mused. “Oh My God! Clubs is like if you looked like Cloud Strife. It’s almost as if you two had a kid!”

“Dad!” Clubs said as he opened his arms out to Reno who was hitting his head on the table in a mixture of laughter and horror.

“And Hearts looks like Reno, but acts like Rude. He’s like your love child.”

“Hear that Rude, we have a son!” Reno pointed at Hearts who was looking at Elena as if she had grown a third head.

“And Diamonds is like if Tseng were twenty years younger, but with a huge stick-up his ass.”

“Hey! I resent that!” Diamonds paused for a second before adding, “I mean, only the stick-up the ass part.”

Elena continued. “And Spades is like a mini-Vincent Valentine, but even more emo.”

“Whatever,” Spades replied taking a drag out of his cigarette.

The Turks all laughed over Elena’s observations. The only one in the group who wasn’t laughing was Sol. The poor kid had no idea what the Turks were going to do to him. Whatever it was, it was not going to be good.

* * *

The cat was out of the bag. She was certain that everyone on the planet who subscribed to the Junon Star were waking up to some startling news. It was a definite scoop and the accusations were wild, but not without precedence. Good news came from the things you least expect and the best news came from the impossible. They were catalysts for change and beacons of light signaling that life was in motion. At least, those were the thoughts running through Autumn’s mind as she sat waiting for the inevitable. She was steeling herself for a confrontation she did not want to have. But she was only doing her job; no one could fault her for that.

“What is this?” Thomas seethed as he ran into her tent and slammed a newspaper on the table. The makeshift table cracked under the pressure as her coffee mug tipped over and spilled over the headlines. The words ‘Who’s John ShinRa?: ShinRa conspiracy to cover-up that Rufus ShinRa still alive?’ blurred, mixing with the bitter liquid.

“It’s the morning paper,” Autumn said flatly, trying to hide her trepidation.

Thomas threw the paper on the floor. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“My job. I’m a journalist, I report the news.”

“Do you have any idea what sort of chaos this might cause? We’re in a volatile situation Autumn, we don’t need to add any more fuel to the fire.”

Standing up to face Thomas, Autumn raised her voice in anger. “Well, since you’re one of the higher-ups in ShinRa, maybe you can tell me whether or not there was a conspiracy to hide the identities of some of Augustus ShinRa’s heirs? That it’s possible that Rufus ShinRa, the sole surviving heir to the ShinRa empire, might still be alive? Of course, unless there are more illegitimate children out there? Tell me what right does the current government; does President Reeve have to give out orders as he pleases? Tell me!”

“My job . . . our job, as ShinRa is to provide the best we can to the people. Make no mistake that we have our flaws, who doesn’t? But that gives you no right to slander the hard work that we have put into trying to save as many lives as we can after Midgar was destroyed. The people don’t need this kind of news now. We’re living in enough chaos and strife as it is, we can’t handle anymore.”

“Tom, you’re looking at it as if covering up the truth is a good thing. How can that be a good thing?”

He shook his head with a sigh. “Cover-ups are never a good thing Autumn, but now is just not the time. There’s an old Wutanese proverb that says, ‘The biggest fish are the ones that should never be caught.’ I think you should have heeded those words.” Thomas turned his back on her and started to walk out of the tent. “You know, I thought you were different, that you were here because you cared about what happened to these people. I was wrong.”

“I do care Tom. I do care,” Autumn replied weakly.

“Not the way I see it.” And with those parting words, Thomas walked out of Autumn’s tent with a slump in his shoulders as if a great weight had been added. Gone was the light step in his gait or the ghost of a smile on his lips.

Autumn knew she may never see him on good terms ever again, but she didn’t want to think that their relationship couldn’t be repaired. People had disagreements all the time. She told herself that after a few days and the buzz of the news died down, then she and Thomas would be back to their casual flirting. That’s what she hoped. That’s what she kept telling herself. Though something deep down told her she had shattered her chances into a thousand tiny pieces, floating hopelessly into nothing.

The shrill ring of her phone startled her as she pulled out her phone to answer it. “Hello.”

“Is this Ms. Noval?” a male voice asked from the other line.

“Speaking.”

“Ms. Noval, it has come to our attention that you’ve written some incriminating things against ShinRa.”

“Nothing that wasn’t far from the truth I assure you. This is about my article, isn’t it?”

“What else would it be about.”

“Listen, if you’re trying to scare me into shying away from writing about ShinRa business, you’re talking to the wrong journalist,” Autumn said still angry from her conversation with Thomas.

“Am I? I think there’s someone else on the line here who would think otherwise.”

“Oh what? Is the President going to order me to stop writing?”

“Um, hey Sis,” Sol said meekly.

“Oh god,” Autumn whispered. “Sol!”

“Do I have your attention now Ms. Noval.”

“What the hell are you doing with him?”

“He’s safe for now. But I’m sure you know that his safety is in your hands.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Recall your article, recall all the facts and details. Tell the public that what you wrote was written based on false information. Tell them that everything was a lie. Then give us whatever evidence you have proving the facts in your article; the names of your sources and lastly, John ShinRa’s dog-tags.”

“But, what I wrote was the truth! Don’t people deserve that?”

“Miss, there are some things that are kept a secret for a reason, this is one of them.”

“Basically, you want me to sacrifice my career for my brother’s life?”

“Long and short of it, yes. It’s your choice.”

“I still don’t understand why the government still feels like they need to keep these dark secrets? Why do you all feel like you have to defend ShinRa’s mistakes?”

“You may not see it now, but you will. Trust me, you will. A hurricane is coming and you my dear are the source.”

“Fine, I’ll recant my story. Now please release Sol.”

“We will release your brother after the article that your pretty little hands will write is on the front page tomorrow morning and we have whatever evidence you have in our hands, then and only then will we release him.”

“Where will you release him? Or are you going to just drop him off in the middle of nowhere hoping that something eats him?”

“If you fulfill your end of the bargain, nothing like that is going to happen. We’ll meet you in Kalm and make the exchange. You have my word that we’ll keep him safe. Just do your part and we’ll do ours.”

“Okay, you win. You win,” Autumn sobbed.

* * *

Walter flipped his phone shut and looked over to the other Turks. “It’s done. She’s going to recall the article and we’ll get what we need.”

“So, what do we do now?” Clubs asked.

“Simple, we go back to our rooms, sleep the rest of the day away and take a chopper to Kalm tomorrow morning,” Reno said as he stretched. “How long have I been awake again?”

“Too long,” Rude answered.

Walter faced the new Turks. “Hope you all learned a few lessons. But you guys should probably follow Reno’s lead and get some shut-eye. I can keep an eye on the kid.”

“Great Walt! We’ll catch you later. Wake me if the world is going to end, again,” Reno half-joked.

Everyone sluggishly meandered out of the temporary Turk headquarters stationed in Junon. The only ones left were Walter and Sol. The young teen held the handles of the chair in a death-grip as he stared at the man who he had thought was only a harmless old, harmonica-playing Army washout.

“So, why did you join the Army Sol?” Walter asked to break the silence.

Sol shifted uncomfortably under Walter’s gaze. “To be honest, I thought it would be cool. But, it didn’t turn out that way.”

“If not the Army, then what would you have been?”

“A writer, I guess. I knew I couldn’t make a living out of that, so I had to do something to get some money,” Sol shrugged.

“Was that what you were writing in that journal of yours all the time? Stories?”

Sol tensed and touched his back where the journal was tucked safely away. “Um . . . yeah. I was writing stories. Lots of stories.”

Walter smirked. “You know I can tell when you’re lying Sol so why not cut the bull and hand over the journal.”

Sol hesitantly pulled out the journal and handed it over to Walter. He tried to sink even lower into his seat while mumbling, “If you didn’t want to kill me before, you’ll want to now.”

Walter heard the boy’s mumbling but chose to ignore it for now. He studied the contents of Sol’s journal and what he read surprised him. The kid had sharper eyes and ears than he led on. “So you were observing us the whole time.”

“Yeah. I sort of wanted to try the investigative journalism thing. My sister Autumn peaked my interest.”

“And it looks like you’ve mentioned a few of these things to your sister too. It would have been quite embarrassing to the Turks if news of Nick King’s rebellion were first reported from the press. I bet you never thought that I was observing you all too.”

“No, I thought you were just some crazy old man. No offense,” Sol chuckled nervously.

“None taken. Though I have to admit. I’m impressed with your skills kid. You’d make a good spy, did you know that?”

Sol’s face brightened up. “Seriously!”

“Yeah, if you weren’t caught up in Turk business.”

That statement deflated the teen. “Oh.”

Walter watched Sol react in amusement. After reading the kid’s journal, his opinion of him changed. Walter hadn’t seen such raw talent in his field in a long time. It would be a pity if that talent went to waste. “Sol, you’re a good man. Deep down, I know that all you want is to do the right thing. I know why you called your sister because you were scared and you’re too inexperienced. You probably think we’re going to kill you right?”

Sol nodded his head.

“Well, one thing that most people don’t know is that the Turks do have mercy. And I’m going to show you that mercy. You know why? Because I know that you’re a good man and I’ve never liked seeing a good man die much less killing one. But we’re not going to let you off that easy. You don’t belong in the Army; you’re too smart for that.”

“What can I do?”

“Become a Turk.”

“A Turk!?! I could never do that. I’m hardly Turk material,” Sol said in shock.

Walter held up Sol’s journal. “That, my boy, is where you’re wrong. This journal proves you’ve got what it takes. Being a Turk isn’t just about shooting guns and blowing shit up. It’s about sleuthing and espionage. You’ve got the sleuthing down since you’ve been giving little reports to your sister. We’d just need to help you work on stealth and maybe a little bit of shooting guns. What do you say kid?”

Sol gaped at Walter. “I don’t know what to say. I’ve never thought about it. I always thought Turks were the bad guys.”

Walter laughed. “We’re only the bad guys from a certain point-of-view. In our line of work, there is no good or evil kid. Only what needs to be done and what should be done.”

Sol shifted in his seat, thinking about Walter’s offer. “I don’t really have much of a say in this, do I?”

“Perceptive as always. That’s why I like ya kid. Though we’re going to force you if necessary, it’s always nice to know you’re a willing victim.”

“So I become a Turk, just like that? Don’t we have to ask Reno, go through some sort of training or something?”

“Reno will agree with me after I talk with him. He still respects his elders. And I’ll take care of training you after we take care of the business with your sister. I’ve been meaning to retire. I’m getting too old. So you in kid?”

“Yeah, I’m in,” Sol said with a smile, relaxing for the first time in a while.

* * *

Her belongings were already packed up in her jeep. There was one pile that was to go to the Turks and one pile to be returned to her former place of employment. Autumn stared at the paper lying on her lap. The bold words were glaring back at her coldly as if she betrayed them. In a sense, she did betray them. Her career was shot, her reputation: broken. But it was going to be worth it because family was more important than anything in the world.

Now she was sitting on top of her jeep near one of Kalm’s marketplaces waiting for the Turks to bring her baby-brother back. She didn’t even get a chance to say good-bye to Thomas. She didn’t think he would appreciate her company, even if he had read the paper this morning. At least that gave her time to think about what she was going to do for the rest of her life. No one in their right mind would hire her as a journalist. She briefly wondered if June needed an extra hand over at Bone Village.

“Excuse me, Miss?”

Autumn turned to see a group of middle-aged women facing her. “Um, yes?”

“You don’t happen to be Autumn Noval, do you?”

“Yes, I’m her,” Autumn answered cautiously.

“See, I told you it was her,” the woman said to her friends before facing Autumn again. “My friends and I were curious. We read your articles and we wanted to know the truth.”

“The truth?”

“Yes. Did ShinRa really have a huge cover-up or not? I mean, a girl with your intelligence couldn’t possibly have made that story up like you said you did today.”

Autumn was uncertain about how to answer the woman. If it were any other day and if her brother’s life wasn’t on the line, she would have said ‘yes’ in a heartbeat, but that wasn’t the case. “Well, it’s complicated.”

One of the other women in the group spoke up, “See, I told you that the article was a fake. All of that can’t be true.”

“Oh come off it. We’ve got the woman who wrote it, I’m sure that the proof is in the pudding, right dear?” The first woman said sympathetically.

“Um . . . well,” Autumn hesitated.

One of the women started shouting down the street, “Hey! We’ve got that girl who wrote the article on ShinRa here!”

Before she knew it, a large crowd had begun to gather around her jeep. Men, women and even a few children were gathered around her wanting to know what she knew. Apparently, she had peaked enough interests in her articles that people were beginning to question the truth. Sadly, now was not the time she wanted her journalistic skills to be doing their job. Autumn sat and stared as thousands of questions were lodged her way.

“Was it true that the man who died in the ShinRa Tower attack was some guy named John?”

“Is Rufus ShinRa still alive?”

“How many sons did the late-President father?”

“Who’s John ShinRa?”

“Were you telling the truth or not?”

The sight of Thomas and his bodyguard Private Pete was the glimmer of peace in the entire crowd. “Autumn, what’s going on?”

“Tom! What are you doing here?” Autumn yelled over the crowd.

“I just got out of a meeting with the Mayor of Kalm. But what the heck is going on?”

Autumn did her best to ignore the shouts of the townsfolk and focused only on Thomas from on top of her jeep. “I recanted my article from yesterday and issued a statement in this morning’s paper that everything was a lie. Now everyone here is asking me what the real truth is.”

The crowd shifted, pushing Thomas and Private Pete into Autumn’s jeep. The movement nearly knocked Autumn off of her perch as the crowd became more irate as none of their questions were being answered. The presence of Thomas and Private Pete only incited more tensions.

“Stop harassing the poor girl you ShinRa jerks!”

“Is this another ShinRa cover-up?”

“We just want the truth!”

In what would be called the worst case of timing, strutting up to the crowd in all of his obnoxious glory was the Leader of the Turks, Reno. “What the hell is all this happy-crappy?”

The presence of the Turks only excited the crowd more, stoking the brewing fire. Shouts were all mixing together to form a loud buzz. But Autumn wasn’t concerned with those things. She was frantically searching the sea of people for her brother. Her eyes landed on Sol who was standing a safe distance away from the crowd next to an old man. When she saw Sol waving at her with a smile and giving her a thumbs-up, relief washed over her body. Sol was going to be safe.

Autumn felt someone tug at her jeans and looked down to see a blonde-haired female Turk holding her hand out. “Oh, the evidence.” Autumn quickly handed the woman the bag of all her evidence: the pictures, the written testimonies, her sources and John ShinRa’s dog-tags. She didn’t care what happened to them anymore. They weren’t worth a person’s life.

When Autumn finally turned her attention back to the crowd, even more people had gathered around her jeep. Thomas and Pete were trying to push people away from the vehicle while Reno seemed to be in a heated argument with a few men. Several other Turks were doing their best to either calm the crowd or pull people out to safety who realized that the little gathering was turning into a riot.

“You Turks are nothing but bad news. You guys never do anything right,” a burly man said to Reno jabbing his finger in the Turk’s chest.

“That’s not what your mother said to me last night,” Reno sneered.

It was in that statement where all hell broke loose. Reno and the burly man were grappling with each other. Women and children were screaming and Autumn’s jeep was rocking precariously to the crowd’s unpredictable movements. Private Pete was doing his best to keep Thomas out of harms way. But since they were both part of ShinRa, they were both targets of the crowd’s ire. Out of the corner of his eye, Pete saw a flash of metal pointing at Thomas’ back. The rest was pure instinct.

One shot was all it took. One lone shot from an angry man who was bitter over everything that had happened; everything that was happening. Looking back, the man wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, but he did. He wasn’t trying to incite chaos, but he did. He only wanted to scare a few people so they could feel his pain: to understand him. He was frightened of the unknown and that fear lead him to shoot a man who was only doing his job.

“Pete!” Thomas shouted as the crowd around him ran in panic. Thomas barely managed to catch the soldier as he fell.

The red stain of blood was growing larger and larger on Pete’s shirt as he clutched his chest in pain, wheezing with each breath. “Hey, I took a bullet for you. Not too shabby if I say so myself.”

“Don’t talk. We’ll get you a medic and they’ll patch you up,” Thomas tried to say calmly. “Doctor! I need a doctor here! There’s a man hurt!”

Thomas tried to call for help, but there was too much chaos around him. People were running and screaming through the streets. The Turks were trying to pacify the crowd and keep anymore injuries from occurring. Thomas thought he could hear Cid’s loud cursing coming his way, but he couldn’t be certain.

And at the center of all the chaos, Autumn sat on top of her jeep staring in morbid fascination. Sol was safe now and she would never regret saving his life. But she now finally understood what the Turk was telling her about hiding the truth. Because the truth could drive people mad.