Of course Rude was the one who wanted to come here, mainly just to stare at the waitress, who also apparently owned the place. Far as he was concerned, the woman was more than likely a slut, I mean look at the way she dresses! He had heard something about martial arts, when Rude was talking about her, but he doubted it was true. He knew that she would never go for Rude, though. Rude never even talked with her! He almost felt sorry for him, almost. Girl like that would probably just be trouble anyway.

"Hey Tssseng!" Said Reno, through the immense amounts of alcohol he had been drinking. "You heard anything about that....that....you know....the....brunette?"

"The Ancient you idiot." He said quietly. "And try not to blurt out classified orders in a bar, Huh!?"

"Sooorrrry. Man this stuff is pretty......" Reno stumbled again, now obviously completely drunk.

"Good." Said Rude.

"Huh?" He replied, looking at him with one eye closed.

"The word you are looking for is "good", This stuff is pretty good." Said Rude, with the usual, almost emotionless voice. Tseng decided to turn himself away from whatever conversation would develop there, and turned toward Elena, who tried to sip her drink, like a civilized woman. Course it was all an act. Tseng knew that Elena, despite her good intentions, was a rookie, and probably wouldn't be truly civilized until she got more comfortable in the suit.

"What you been up to Elena?" He asked. She almost jumped then, surprised at the intrusion into her attempts.

"Me.....? I been....Well, I been looking into reports of some temple on a southern continent." Tseng banged his hand into his forehead. Elena had done things like this before.

"Elena. I told you not to look into that without me there, you remember Heidegarr's orders?" He said, referring to the Turk's Boss at Shinra.

"I.....I'm sorry sir, I thought if I did it myself I might...." Tseng waved it off then, He wanted to relax tonight, and listening to the latest tale of how Elena screwed up her latest perfectly simple job could wait for another night. They both jerked around then, to see Reno, more tipsy than they had ever seen him before standing up and pointing at another customer.

"You listen pal! My mother was a saint! If you or your &%$*ing pal want to talk like that, when can go outside!" Reno started to pull his electro-cane from his belt, but Rude stepped up and blocked him from the two confused customers.

"Reno, they didn't say anything about your mother." He said, trying to get his partner to sit down. "I was listening. They didn't even use the word "mother."

"Bull-shit man! I heard 'em say it loud and clear." Tseng got up then. And pushed Reno back into his seat.

"Hey! No fighting in here! If you want to fight, go outside." Said the waitress voice from behind the bar. Rude looked over and saw she was talking with some guy with spiky blonde hair, and some huge sword on his back, he looked away and back to Reno then. Reno was starting to calm down. For some reason he was now crying.

"Ah, man! Why they gotta talk about Mom like that?" He said through the alcohol inspired tears.

"Reno! Listen to me." Tseng said trying to make sure he heard every word. "They were not speaking about your mother. You are hearing things."

"No I'm not. I heard 'em say it." He said, still crying. All of a sudden the tears stopped, and he called out to the waitress "Hey! "Nother...r...round up here." The waitress looked less than please to give "another" drink to Reno, she noticed the other three hadn't even finished their first ones, Reno had already gone through seven!

"I think you've had enough." She said, trying to sound concerned.

"I'll tell yah when I've had enough you sorry Bi...." That was all that got out, as Rudes hand quickly covered his partner's mouth, while Tseng sighed and said, "That'll be all." The waitress returned to the bar. He noticed then, that when Reno had started to badmouth the waitress, the man with the sword grabbed it's hilt.

"Awfully protective, that guy. Probably her boyfriend." Tseng though. He looked over and saw Rude had probably figured that out to, he looked away again. Rude was an okay guy really, a little rough sometimes, but okay, and he was probably the only one out of the current Turks he trusted completely. The last one he could say that about disappeared in Nibleheim, back when Hojo and Ghast were working there. What was his name? Vincent?

"Uuuuhhh." He looked and saw Reno rub his head, the starting of the large hangover he was going to have tomorrow. Tseng shook his head in a pitying way, and took a small sip from his drink. He had never been much on Alcoholic drinks, 'course Reno ordered for everyone before they could speak. It really wasn't that bad, but, unlike other employees of Shinra, he didn't enjoy getting drunk.

"Hey Tseng?" Elena whispered over.

"Yeah?"

"*Have* you heard anything about that ancient?"

"She has a name." Tseng did not like it when people refered to her as just "that Ancient." He had once been close to that girl, in some ways he still was.

"Oh right, Aeris. So have you?"

"Nothing new, nothing old." It had been the same story for weeks. It's not like the whole task was that difficult! They had to recruit Aeris into Shinra, an order that came down from above, President Shinra himself. Tseng shuddered slightly, not at the mention of the president, but at the thought of what they might do to Aeris. No, of what Hojo might do to Aeris. He knew that Hojo had something to do with Vincent's...disappearance, and he hated to think of what might happen if Hojo got his sick little hands on *her*.

"Hey, Tseng? You alright?" Came Elena's voice, cutting into his thoughts.

"Huh? Sorry, just thinking."

"About what?"

"Private things." He said, in a tone that screamed "drop it." She got the picture.

"Oh."

"Why did we come here again?" He asked.

"You know why sir." Elena said, subtly pointing at Rude, who's gaze had gone from the drunken Reno back to the waitress, who was still chatting with that blonde guy. That guy. There was something familiar about that guy. Something Tseng had seen before. He looked him over carefully, making sure he didn't see him. Then it struck him. His eye! There was only one type of person whos eyes where like that, he had Mako eyes, the eyes of a member of SOLDIER. This guy didn't dress like it though. He dressed in a black/blue armor type suit, with one shoulder pad, not SOLDIER style. And the sword, while at least as big as the type members used, was not the style. He'd seen the kind he had before, it was called a Buster Sword, not incredibly powerful, but good enough for Midgar citizens trying to protect themselves.

"Hey Elena? You see that guy? What about him looks familiar?"

"Well....I had a cousin who liked that hairstyle once." She said. Tseng sighed again, and thought 'I'm surrounded by incompetents.'

"Look again." She looked closer this time.

"Oh....He's got the eyes!" She whispered, gasping right after.

"Good, So that means he's obviously from....?"

"SOLDIER."

"Very good. Wander what he's doing out here in Sector Seven? All of the SOLDIER barracks are in Sector One." Tseng asked.

"I don't know sir. Want me to ask?"

"No I don't. Just watch him a bit."

"Right."

Tseng turned back to where Reno was lying against the back of his chair. Singing softly to himself. Rude continued to stare subtly at the waitress. Tseng got up then and went to the pinball machine against the wall. Might as well, not much else to do.

"Wait a minute!" The waitress suddenly said.

"What's the matter?"

"That pinball machine is broken."

"There isn't any sign up." Tseng countered.

"I've been meaning to get one, but it really is broken." She said. Tseng finally sat down. As he did so he heard the waitress and her friend say something unusual.

"Well, you saved us there." He said quietly.

"You expected anything less?" Odd choice of words there, he wondered what they meant by "saved?" Aah! It's not like everybody doesn't have a few secrets here in Midgar it wasn't like this was secretly AVALANCHE's base or anything. He sat back down again. He was worried about AVALANCHE though. They had been striking at various mako reactors all over town lately, not shutting them down, but slowing them down. Soon they were going to try something big, Tseng could feel it in his bones.

"Look pal! I tol' you to stop talking about 'bout my mom!" Reno bolted up again, this time directing his rage at a red-headed man across the bar, with the words "Johnny" emblazoned on his jacket.

"Reno! That's enough!" Tseng yelled, forcing Reno into his seat again. It was almost time to leave, Tseng could tell they better get Reno out of here, before it got any worse. He slumped over his chair toward Rude suddenly.

"You know Rude, I don't get why you don't just talk to that....girl...up there." He pointed wobbily at the bar.

"Reno...." Rude said, softly but dangerously.

"I mean, it's not like a girl like that doesn't sleep with a man every night of the week." Reno continued. Rude looked over and saw that she and her friend had heard, the man was starting to look angry.

"She's bound to get with a guy like you." He said. Rude now looked both angry and embarrassed slightly. Tseng could see his fist tightening as it laid on the table.

"Watch, I'll show you." Reno clumsily got up, and Elena stepped up to try to stop him.

"Reno, I think you should just sit down."

"Out of my way. I just gotta show Rude something." Reno pushed her out of the way, and walked toward the bar. He leaned up lazily against it.

"Hey baby." He said to the woman. "What say you and I blow this joint and head upstairs?" Tseng could see the man from SOLDIER was this close to drawing that blade of his, and at that range, Reno was in no position to fight him off. All of a sudden, The waitress put her hand in front of the SOLDIER guy, and he calmed down, as Reno continued his propsal.

"Look, I got plenty of cash here." He took out his billfold and revealed some gil. The waitress was smiling, but it was a devious smile.

"So I figure you and me can go get down tonight. If you know what I mean." Reno smiled then, and it was probably his death knell. The waitress did not lean over, or even move for that matter. After a minute of Reno's smiling she suddenly kicked his stool out from under him. He landed chin-first on the bar, and she suddenly put her hands down on top of his head, pressing it into the wood. Her friend with the mako eyes was chuckling slightly. She leaned down and spoke.

"Listen pal. I don't know where you go usually. I wear this because it gets people in here, no other reason! I got to make a living somehow you know?" Reno nodded slightly. "A girl can't live off bread and water. But despite what your friend over there thinks, I am not a slut! I am not for sale!" With that her fist came down on Reno's head, knocking him cold. He fell to the floor then, completely out of it. Tseng put down his drink and got up.

"Come on, its time to go." Rude and Elena both got up, and went to help drag Reno out. As they did, Tseng spoke to Rude.

"You know Rude, I'm starting to see what you like about that girl." Tseng turned around and looked at the bar once more.

"Seventh Heaven." He shook his head, and they walked off.

THE END.