It started in the center, where everything in Midgar started, in the massive building – almost a city in itself – that towered over the streets below. In a crisp, freshly pressed dress suit, she met them in the lobby, and that was the first surprise.

What she had expected were professional men, like any other in ShinRa’s vast corporation. Instead, she found... these, who looked as if they belonged on the streets. The only reason she knew they were for her was that they recognized her – one tugged at the other’s sleeve, and they approached her languidly and stiffly, respectively. The first, a man of light complexion and shocking red hair, appraised her up and down, and whistled shortly. His companion may have done the same more discretely, but she couldn’t tell what lurked behind those dark sunglasses.

"Reno," the redhead introduced himself shortly, and thumbed back at his companion, "Rude," and extended his arm to the glass doors, and the nondescript black vehicle outside, "Car."

Elena took a deep breath, and tried to introduce herself, "I’m El-"

"Yeah, I got your name," Reno waved her down and shrugged, already walking away from her, "C’mon, we’re going to be late."

Soon after, she found herself crammed into the back of a car between the men. Her first instinct was correct – they looked like they were from the street, they moved like it, and they reeked like they belonged in the slums.

These were the Turks. They were the high and the mighty, and as much as she was supposed to be one of them, she wondered whether there had been some oversight that allowed such... people count among ShinRa’s most elite. She forcibly hushed the little voice inside, which sought to remind her, They let you in, after all.

"So you know where we’re going?" Reno was asking; she replied softly and with a shake of her head, "No."

The man quirked an eyebrow at her, and grinned, "Well, that’s okay. I sure as hell didn’t, my first day. Rude, did you know?"

"No," Rude said flatly, and she looked to him, only to have her attention torn back to Reno as he continued,

"See? No one ever does."

The passengers fell silent, and Reno began humming. He stared at her, long and happy, and it made her uncomfortable until she cracked. But he grinned and put a hand to his ear; she realized that was what he wanted, "I’m sorry?"

Between gritted teeth, she answered, "I said ‘where are we going?’"

"The full tour. Sector One, Sector Two, Sector Three...." He traced the back of the driver’s seat as he spoke, drawing a full circle. "All the way to Sector Eight. Hopefully, you’ll have picked up a thing or two by then," he added, and noting her controlled, frustrated sigh, he laughed, "Don’t worry. You happen to be with the best in the business; we’ll put some creases in that suit before the end of the week."

By now, she was putting it together in her mind. This was a test. So long as she played along, everything would be fine.

By the end of the week, Elena had had her fill of cheap hotels and dingy alleys. It didn’t help that there wasn’t much to keep occupied – people either shunned or ignored them, and there was no real trouble to speak of. Not that she wanted a fight, per se, but there had to be more to it than... this.

They didn’t even talk to her much. Reno was a flirty one, to the extent that it was always his personal joke; Rude seldom spoke at all, and never to her. She didn’t even have a guess at what she was supposed to be learning, aside patience. It was all cigarette smoke and ShinRa news.

Maybe she was missing something. Maybe it was something important. Maybe they didn’t like her, and were biding their time away in order to give her a bad scan. ... Or maybe there was nothing here, and she was merely going paranoid.

Turning away from view of the city streets, she turned her attention to the scene beyond the grimy sliding doors. To her surprise, she found them talking. Rather, Reno was talking, and Rude was nodding heavily, albeit his eyes were still glued to the newscast. They probably talked a lot, when she was out of earshot, and she never noticed. Sighing in frustration, she admitted that the little details tended to slip through her fingers.

"Wake up."

It was only when she stumbled past Reno, lacing up his boots, and pausing to cheer her on with a casual, "Rise and shine," that she realized that it had been Rude, not his effervescent partner, who had woken her up. It had been the first time he’d actually talked to her, to start with, and it was... unnerving.

Elena watched them through the bathroom mirror while she brushed her teeth. Although she was unable to hear their conversation, she still recognized it was more subtle than normal. Something was up, and it was starting to make her nervous. It terrified her – nervous people made mistakes.

Bending over the sink to rinse her face, she worked to calm herself. It didn’t help that Reno snuck up behind her. His reflection grinned brightly – it was all an act – and she worried.

"Ready for Sector Eight, baby-girl?"

The Sector Eight Slums. She wasn’t sure what it meant – she knew of the slums as a general whole, and she knew most people avoided them – but the mood of her escort and the caste of the people... It was different, and it set her on edge.

They had walked in, with no sight of their car or its driver. Albeit he still moved cocky, Reno was subdued. He led the way, while Rude was Elena’s silent shadow. The residents were somehow more alive, in a way unlike those beneath the other plates. Instead of waiting, watching from the drizzling underpass or niche in the wall, their path led to a bawdy bar.
 

"Don’t look so conspicuous," Rude warned, although she wasn’t sure what he meant. How she could look conspicuous while everyone else wasn’t even paying attention.... shocked, she stood still while they seated themselves.

"Is that one of Ignacio’s?" Reno asked, staring at a particularly less conspicuous man, or so Elena thought. The world seemed to be spinning slightly faster too, and as if she missed Rude’s reply, his partner followed through quietly. "Damn..."

"Sit down," Rude growled, almost too late as the waitress appeared out of nowhere, startling Elena from her trance. She didn’t catch the hint, and the woman turned to her.

"Are you with them?" she asked curtly, but before she could answer, Reno had dragged her down onto his lap.

"Yeah she’s with me, if you get my drift," he beamed at the waitress, struggled to keep the young recruit restrained.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded as he ordered over her protests. The woman left without batting an eyelash; Elena didn’t notice, but redoubled her plight. This had nothing to do with ShinRa or training or anything-

"Why did you join the Turks?"

It was a question out of nowhere, with no flair, no dishonesty. Simple, and bittersweet.

"To make a difference."

Her only answer was all bitter and hurt rejection. Reno smiled faintly, and caught his breath as he noticed something over her shoulder. It was something she couldn’t see... something she hadn’t learned how to see.

"Definitely Ignacio’s." Rude saw it, too. A man with a limp, moving through the shadows of the room. He was gone in a flash of light, through the back door.

"That’s our cue." Reno let Elena go, and she bounded up indignantly. He stood up sharply after her, and dashed off through crowd. She didn’t know what to do but follow his lead into the dusky, lamplit afternoon. The alley was shallow, and when it opened into the street, he turned and addressed the man behind her.

"Get her out of here."

Rude’s hands were in his pockets, but before she could protest, he had grabbed her shoulder to hurry her off. Over her shoulder, she noticed a flash of metal in Reno’s hand as he moved to confront... whoever he was after. People were gathering in the wake of the impending fight, but they gave him space.

It was stupid and it hurt, getting tossed aside for a moment of glory. The Turks were nothing like she thought, and they took her into their danger anyway. A liability... that’s what she was, or what they thought she was. She ought to have left quietly, quickly, but-

There, so bare a possibility, out of the corner of her eye.

In the split-second she had to decide, she was already in motion, ducking out from under Rude’s arm and reaching into her coat.
 

Neither of the veteran Turks had noticed the gunman. Reno only came face-to-weapon with her in the instant the report sounded; the ‘waitress’ lurched forward, and over his defensive hand, he found Elena – still shaking, gun expertly poised. He looked to Rude, who shrugged. Never one to ignore a prompt opportunity, he took advantage of the situation.

"You see that?" he demanded of the gathered crowd, "Even our rookies are lethal! And you," he prodded one of the fallen men with the business end of his rod, causing him to jolt violently, "Can tell Ignacio we’ll be back again if he thinks he can get away with the likes of this."

He sauntered towards his companions without a backward glance. "Alright, he got the message. Let’s book." Glancing to Elena, he smiled lightly. "You alright, baby-girl?"

"Stop calling me that," she spat, fed up with the nickname, the subterfuge... everything. The whole week had been a disaster, along with this whole idea of growing up, being something more. Her hands were shaking, and her gun, half-cocked, proven lethal, and passionately jabbed in his face, did little to dissuade Reno’s mood as he pushed her hand aside.

"Fine, fine. Sweetheart," Ignoring her irate glare, he threw his arm around her shoulders and led her toward the familiar black car that pulled up and parted the thunderstruck crowd. "That’s our ride. C’mon. I want the honor of buying you your first drink on the company tab."