She looked like a pixie, but he knew if he said that she was likely to break his nose, or steal from his bank account. The fact that he could admit to himself that she looked like a pixie made him wish that he was the one in the bar getting drunk, rather than sitting in the car across the street simply as backup.

He was watching her in a monitor. She wore an actual outfit that made her look like an actual girl instead of her usual uniform which just made her look like another goon. Tseng's voice in his ear was sharp and direct, "Has she made contact?"

"No." Reno replied sullenly. "Frankly, I don't know why I'm not in there."

"Because you'll get drunk." Tseng replied. "And because as far as we know, the target is straight. Assuredly you would not appeal to him."

Reno sat back. "I'm watching her, back up off me. I can't hear the monitors when you talk."

Tseng went silent and Reno turned his attention to Elena. Rude looked at the monitor, adjusted his glasses and remarked, "That dress makes her look like she actually has breasts."

Reno turned, half in shock. "Rude. Did you actually make a dirty comment towards Elena?"

Rude went silent and looked back towards the bar. Reno went back to watching the monitor. She was wearing a small black dress, and she was playing with her margarita, casually sipping from a dainty straw. Reno took a drink of water and wished that it was a beer, and wondered how she could drink that sludge. Cocktails, in his opinion, were for wusses and cunts. Guys like Rufus drank cocktails. The Turks should only drink beer and hard liquor, unless at one of those fancy ShinRa Christmas parties where the bar tab for the Turks wasn't being picked up by Rufus.

Elena was being hit on by some guy. He was bigger than Rude; he looked like a bouncer. He looked damned stupid.

She didn't hit back. She tried to get him to go away because he wasn't the target. The target was watching closely. Elena stood up, barely coming up to the guy's pecs. She wispily tried to pass him, but the guy dropped a heavy hand on her shoulder. Reno was about to stand up and go in as backup when Elena moved, and a scream echoed through the slum.

Reno stared at the screen. "She broke his wrist!" He cried. "I didn't think she could do that!"

Rude snorted. "She's a Turk."

"She's a hacker." Reno pointed out. He settled back into the chair as the target ran to her aid. He saw Elena fake a pretty decent cry. "Why is she a hacker again? She's a damn good actress."

Rude shrugged. "Because computers break when I touch them. And you don't like sitting down."

Reno wiggled in his seat. Elena was talking to the target, getting him out the door. The waitress, however, had other plans. She stopped him, said something, and he turned on Elena. She looked as innocent as she could.

"Shit. I think there might be a problem." Reno said, digging his arms into his coat. Rude opened the door and stepped out into the street.

Elena's voice rang through the street. "Don't touch me!"

Reno moved casually through the street. He opened the door to the bar and announced, "Random inspection, so sorry."

Tseng's tinny voice rang through his ear. "What the hell are you doing? Get out of there!"

Reno pulled his nightstick out of its sheath and casually set it over his shoulder. "I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the lady."

The waitress stared in fear at Reno. "You're Turks!"

The target released Elena's arm, and Elena spun on Reno. "What are you doing?"

"Saving your hacker ass. Nice boobs, by the way. Makes you actually look like a girl."

Rude was the only one who managed to do anything. He grabbed the target and knocked him out, backhanded the waitress and grunted for them to leave. They packed him in the trunk of the car and Elena started yelling at Reno. "I had it under control, Reno!"

"Nah." Reno replied lazily.

Rude drove silently, Elena's voice echoing through the car, "I was about to have him out, why did you have to burst in like that? We almost lost the hit!"

Reno turned, "You wouldn't have gotten out the door. Sneaky stuff like this is stupid, anyway. Not my style."

"This wasn't your mission, Reno." Elena said quietly. She pulled out her cell phone.

"Who are you calling?" Reno asked. "Tseng?"

"Rufus, dumbass. I'm telling him we're on our way." Elena replied. She made the call, and the rest of the ride was in silence.

Rufus was waiting for the three of them. Tseng was standing behind his chair as he sat, his fingers crossed, his hair unusually messy. "This him?"

"Yes." Rude dumped the blubbering man on the floor.

Rufus looked at him, stood up and said, "Stealing mako is illegal, you know."

The man blubbered something about knowing, and Rufus shook his head, disgusted. "Just kill him."

Reno dragged him out, grinning. Elena chased him and slapped him across the face. "This is my mission!"

Reno stroked his cheek and snarled, "That hurt, you fucking bitch."

"I don't care."

"You don't?" Reno tossed the man at Elena's feet. "Kill him, then. Right here."

Elena went silent and she stared at the man. Reno watched her, watched her hand reach for the gun strapped to her thigh. She was almost trembling.

The man was babbling about money, his family, ShinRa. Reno ignored him and kept his eyes on Elena. He knew for a fact that she had never killed anyone directly before.

Her hand was visibly trembling. He egged her on. "Go ahead, Elena. Kill him. Those are orders, aren't they?"

She snapped, "Shut up, Reno!"

"Why? It should be easy, this is your mission, isn't it?" Reno looked up at the stairs that led to Rufus' office. Rufus was standing in the doorway, watching, his blue eyes calculating. "Kill him, Elena."

Elena screamed once, and the gunshot echoed up the stairs. The man's cries went silent. She sat back on the ground, her knees akimbo. "The blood is staining the carpet." she muttered.

"Your panties are showing." Reno snorted, and stepped over the body.

Elena stared back up at Reno. Her eyes were wide and almost so green they reminded him of when he was fourteen and he had rolled his first joint. He licked his lips and walked up to Rufus, who turned back to his office.

"She'll get it, boss." Reno assured him.

Rufus turned to look at Reno. There was something in his eyes, something that made Reno think of dangerous things. "Weren't you watching?"

"She's still soft. She's probably puking her guts out right now." Reno said.

Rufus sat on the sofa near the door. "Doesn't matter." He went silent, thinking. "You're a good tutor."

"I'm not here to teach her how to be a Turk, Rufus." Reno said, dropping to sit next to Rufus. The sudden casual behavior wasn't commented on – a true sign that Rufus was too amused to be serious.

"Didn't look like that from where I was standing." Rufus smiled a rare, honest smile. It disappeared as quickly as it had shown up. "I'm going home. Tseng is coming with me. Make sure Elena gets back to her apartment."

"You almost seem like you give a shit about us, boss." Reno snorted and leaned back against the sofa. It was the second time he had been surprised that night.

"As you so charmingly put it, Reno, I do 'give a shit.'" Rufus replied, the humor seeping back into his voice. "Just remember, employee relations are against company policy."

"Yeah, yeah. I remember." Reno responded, standing up and walking out.