Chapter 12: Extensions and Couriers
Tseng stood with his back to the doors of the elevator, his brown gaze looking out of the glass, looking out to the dark, smog filled city. As the lift made its slow ascent to the top of the Shinra building, the Turk leader held back an irritated huff at being pulled from his office. He knew that Shinra was going to ask again on the status of the search, which he had just given a status update on less than an hour ago.
The chime caused the Wutain man to turn, his hands clasped behind his back as he walked off the lift. The young, beautiful blonde haired woman sitting at her desk stood and bowed respectfully. Shinra's secretary gave him a small, sympathetic smile.
"Good Morning, Mr. Tseng."
Tseng nodded his head in greeting. "President Shinra has summoned me."
"Yes, he's waiting for you in his office." She said and moved from behind her desk and led him up the staircase. She bowed once again to the President, announcing Tsengs arrival before quickly making herself absent.
Tseng narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw that the president wasn't the only person in the overly large office. Hojo stood in front of a plush, leather seat, his arm crossed over his chest and there was a look of irritation on his face.
The balding, round man behind his desk, reached into a box and removed a cigar and it, taking a long puff from the damp end between his lips. Once a cloud of smoke billowed from his lips. "I want the status of the search, Tseng." He leaned back in his chair and watched the man before him.
"All but five of those involved have been captured and the suspects are being kept in the high security cells on the 58th floor. They are being interrogated as we speak, and we now have descriptions of three out of the five rebels."
The president's eyes narrowed slightly at the Wutain man standing before him. "And what of the five that did manage to escape, Tseng?"
"We are currently in the process of locating them, sir. They have not left the city. I have Soldier members manning the checkpoints and guardsmen lead by first or second class Soldier have been searching the slums and the plates using the information we've acquired."
Hojo decided that he had been silent for long enough. While he did acquire seven new research specimens with the capture of some of the men, but his most prized possession, the one he wanted the most was still missing.
"And what of the Ancient? Have any of those in the search parties located her? She is to be in my possession so I can begin my experimentation." The volume of his voice increased as he continued his query.
"The ancient also has not been located. We have confirmed through the surveillance video at the checkpoints that she has not passed through any of them. One can deduce that she can only be here in Midgar, either on the plate or below it."
Shinra looked at the two men who stood before him. One stoic as ever and the other glaring daggers at said stoic man for having yet to locate his new plaything. He knew that the project that Hojo had developed would be a tremendous benefit to his company in the long run, right now he had to focus his manpower on to the matter that was currently on his desk.
"At the moment, Hojo, she is not our priority," He held up his chubby hand, forestalling the man's imminent protest and turning his attention to the Wutain man to his left. "However, you will continue to have crew watching for her. When the last criminal is caught, we will look into dedicating a group to commence the search for her at a later date. She is not our current priority, am I clear?"
"Yes sir." Tseng said with a nod.
Hojo remained silent and gave a sharp nod, clearly unhappy with the outcome of this meeting.
"You're both dismissed."
The Turk leader turned on his heel and left the president's office nodding to Rufus Shinra before stepping into the elevator to take him back to his floor. Inwardly, he was glad that the rotund man had yet to ask about Reno's status.
'Thank Leviathan for small blessings…' he thought as he contemplated the fate of the two now in Kalm. He knew that if Aeris was to come back, the guards at the checkpoint would have no choice but to take her into custody. While she would be in disguise, the risk of bringing her back and risking capture was still to great.
A faint smirk caused the corner of his lip to upturn slightly as he ignored those he passed in the hall, the gears in his mind turning as a plan formulated in his mind.
He stepped into his office and closed the door with a soft click before activating the electronic scrambler that was installed in his office. Anyone attempting to listen in would hear nothing but the sound produced by a computer keyboard, giving the impression that the user was silently working. He knew never to trust Shinra and had instilled this into his trusted subordinates.
A drawer on his desk was pulled open and a card stapled to hospital discharge papers was promptly removed. The number on the card was dialed and after a moment, someone answered.
"Midgar Hospital, how may I direct your call?"
"Yes, Doctor Jonas Daniels. Tell him that Tseng wishes to speak with him." Tseng said, leaning back in his chair causally.
"Right away, sir! One moment please." The woman said swiftly and with respect.
There was a few moments of orchestra music heard on the line before the doctor's voice interrupted the melody. "Greetings, Mr. Tseng. What can I do for you today?"
Tseng heard the nervousness clear in the voice of the doctor, but was not phased by it in the slightest. "Dr. Daniels, it is in my opinion that Reno is not well enough to resume his duties to Shinra incorporated. I believe he shall require an extension of his leave. I believe that you will agree with this as well, correct."
The sound of shuffling was heard as the doctor unlocked his desk, pulling out the file of the red haired Turk who he had seen for an overdose not long ago. "A-ah yes! Mr. Reno. I've been reviewing his file and I wholeheartedly agree that he is in no condition to return to work."
"I assume that the reason for your consensus is clear in his hospital records? And also in the follow up appointments that you have had with him over the phone in the last few days?" Tseng guided the doctor along.
The doctor obviously understood what the Turk leader was doing and as he glanced down at the medical record, he immediately picked up a pen and in addition to the two that he truly had with Reno, he added dates for three false conversations, documenting his own assessment of his patients declining physical condition and unchanging mental state. He knew that he was going to have to produce the false lab work to show that his kidneys and liver were declining in function and needed more time to be stabilize. "That right sir, I believe that he will not be able to come back for two another two weeks after his three week leave is over."
"Are you positive that two additional weeks will be enough?"
"Ah…Hmm…no, I don't believe so. I project that it will take at the very least another four weeks for him to be an asset to his employer once more. A-at this point, he would be a liability to himself, health wise and to Shinra Inc. I can have the extension faxed to you within the next hour with the all of the necessary documentation and lab work for you to submit at your discretion."
"No fax. I will have one of my subordinates pick up the information. Please have it ready when he arrives, Doctor."
"Yes sir, Mr. Tseng. Please call me if you require any further updates on his condition."
"Thank you." Tseng said and hung up the phone.
o-o
On the other end of the line, the doctor slumped in his chair, his head tilting to the ceiling as a whoosh of air escaped his lips. Even dealing with trauma patients was not as stressful as the conversation that he just had with the Turk had been. He played it off well, he knew.
He took an oath to do no harm and truly, sending the red head back into his line of work, in his eyes, would be detrimental to his health. If he had to 'exaggerate' a few notes in the Turk's chart, then he would do so gladly for he could only imagine the things that he had seen or done.
With that, the man switched pen's and altered his handwriting a bit before entering the last and final fake follow up into the chart, mentally noting to call the young man again within the next few days to check on his health.
o-o
Tseng allowed his eyes to close as he thought about the red haired Turk and the young Ancient with him. 'It's obvious that he wants to protect her, it was clear in the church before the funeral. I know that he does not want her to become a possession of Shinra and Hojo and he will do what he can to stop that from happening. I don't think that his feelings for her will last as simply a friend for long.'
A sigh escaped his lips as his eyes opened once more and he reached for his keyboard, typing in his passwords. Despite his dislike for the job, there was work that he needed to do. A faintly sad smile traced his lips as he began typing.
'He reminds me of myself,' he thought as he typed. 'When I first met my Kaida…'
Tseng paused mid-keystroke before reaching into an inner pocket of his jacket PHS and dialing a number. The phone rang for a few moments before a gruff 'technology department' was heard from the other line.
"I require use of your unique skills."
"Uh…Mr. Tseng? What do you need me for?" The man asked.
"I require a piece of equipment…"
o-o-o-o
Elena straightened her suit jacket and ran her fingers through her shoulder-length blonde hair before leaving her office, heading down the hall. She had just received a summons to come to Tseng's office and didn't stall in meeting his demands. With a short exhale of breath, she lifted her hand and knocked lightly on the partially closed door, only entering when she heard his deep, rich voice.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" She asked, clasping her hands behind her back as she stood before his desk.
Tseng straightened his tie and leaned back in his chair. "At ease, Elena. Have a seat." Tseng unzipped the laptop bag on his desk and removed the thin notebook, placing it on the desk before her.
"This laptop needs to be encrypted and freed of any tracing devices, keystroke loggers or anything that may compromise the security of any user on this device." A drawer was opened in the bottom of his desk and a small tool case was removed and placed beside the laptop. I want you to tell me your steps as you go and what you detect on this computer before removing them. Consider this an review of your skill level, Elena."
"Yes sir." She said with confidence before starting her work. She enjoyed working with computers for it was her forte. "Sir, may I ask if this is going to be for Reno? If so, I can make some modifications that will give him a stable net connection almost all the time. The only time he may have signal variance would be if he went to the Northern Continent."
"Yes, this will be for Reno." A knock with a definite pattern resounded on the door interrupted him. "Come in, Rude."
The bald man nodded his head in greeting before taking the seat that Tseng gestured to. "As I was saying to Elena, this computer will be for Reno's use. From the meeting that I had with Shinra, we are to continue the search for the terrorist and the Ancient. She will stay in his custody until it is safe for her to return to her mother and there is a chance that they will on the move in the near future." The two nodded in understanding as Elena booted up the computer and their boss continued. "Fortunately, the desire to capture those who wronged Shinra and escaped overrides the obsession that Hojo has for the Ancient."
"But isn't Reno's leave going to be up in a couple weeks?" The young woman looked up to the Wutain man with concern in her eyes.
"I have rectified that problem and he will have another four weeks on top of the existing time remaining." Tseng didn't fail to notice the slight smirks that traced his subordinates lips.
"Maybe this would be the best time for him to go to the cabin I offered to him in Costa. There's plenty of room for the two of them and its safer than being so close to Midgar." She said with Rude nodding in agreement.
"You are correct, Elena. When the remaining fugitives are captured and our focus is redirected to Aeris, we will have to go through the motions and direct the guardsmen and possibly a few Soldier in search for her. We all are aware that there is a possibility that the search could expand to locations around Midgar. The search for Aeris will die down. It always does, but until that time she will stay with Reno."
"Good. Is that all, sir?" Rude asked and received a nod and made his way towards the door but paused. "Open communication with him?"
"Yes, when he initiates contact first." Tseng confirmed. With Reno initiating contact, the risk of any messages being sent to him would surely go to him. This prevented contact with civilians in the slim chance that the device was stolen in transit. He watched as Rude nodded once and left the office.
The Turk leader turned his attention to the young woman before him. "You may begin, Elena."
o-o
Ninety minutes later, Elena had finished with the encryptions and not surprisingly, she did find seven embedded programs and for pieces of hardware that allowed Shinra to tap into the laptop remotely. Lines of code were entered into the operating system and after a quick trip to her office, a few new protection programs were also entered.
Tseng nodded in approval of her work, impressed with some of the things that security protocols that she had added. Her prowess with computers and electronic devices was one of the skills that had made her stand out from the rest of the potential Turk candidates. She was an excellent marksman but her hand to hand needed improvement. That was something that was easily worked on, for he had seen to it that she was further trained in the one area where she was lacking.
He made a mental note to have her update the devices belonging to himself, Rude and Reeve in order to make sure that the their systems were secure as well. "Well done, Elena." He stood and donned his suit jacket once more, having removed it during his young subordinates programming.
A blush bloomed across her cheeks as she looked up to her handsome boss. She tried to push it down, but knew that it was clearly visible to the older man. "Th-thank you, sir."
"I need you to create screen that will pop up when the laptop his started. One that will prevent the computer from booting until the message I will give you is read and a passcode is entered."
"Sure!" The woman began typing once more as Tseng too Rude's vacated seat. After a few minutes, she pushed the computer in front of him. "Type the message here," she pointed to one area before moving her fingernail down the screen to a small bracketed field. "Enter the passcode that you want Reno to enter here."
Tseng nodded and quickly typed the coded message and then entered the passcode that he knew Reno had been conditioned to enter when he saw the message. When done, Elena saved the prompt and powered down the laptop, packing it back into the black shielded laptop bag then packed up the tools.
"Am I correct to assume that you have not had lunch?" Tseng asked and wanted to smile when her eyes went wide and she shook her head. "Come. There's someone I want you to meet."
o-o-o-o
The pair left the Shinra building and went to lunch at a small diner on the sector four plate. After their meal was finished, Tseng drove to sector five and parked in front of a business, turning off the engine. With the laptop bag slung over his shoulder, they entered the small business, not bothering to stop at the main desk.
Elena followed Tseng into the back and down a short hallway to an office. They entered the open door and closed it behind them as the rooms only occupant stood and gave a nod of greeting to the two blue suited visitors. "Tseng, what brings you to my humble business?" The man in his thirties asked with a slight smile.
Tseng reached into his pocket and placed an envelop onto the table. "Elena, this is Renji. He owns this courier service and will be delivering this to its destination personally." He said, his chocolate eyes locking with the green ones of the crimson haired man.
"Of course." He picked up the envelope and reached to his desktop, removing a note pad and pen, handing it to the Turk. The entire transaction, including the brief introductions, took less than five minutes before they left the shop. Once both car doors were closed, Tseng started the engine, yet didn't pull away.
"Renji will have the computer there within a few hours. He has been an associate for years and he knows that it is in his best interest to be efficient with any items that I bring to him for delivery. He has access to information that can prove to be valuable at times." As the blonde nodded, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket.
"Rude."
"We have a mission."
"We'll be there shortly." He said and hung up the phone, the engine revving as they took off towards headquarters.
o-o-Author's Note-o-o
I'm so sorry about the update delay. I would type more but right now, I'm exhausted. After writing 50+ review replies for 3 stories, working all day on one 6500+ word update, and fighting with ff net's 'challenged' document manager since fricken 10 pm, I'm done.
Thank you for reading and reviewing in advance.
Love ya all!
Ezzy
10/14/07