Turk Floor, ShinRa Building, Midgar, Gaia, Friday Morning

[intraspective]

"Yeah," Ino said, spinning around in her chair. "I've got it. Thank you. Let me know if anything changes, okay? Great! I'll be in touch."

Hanging up, Ino swung her feet up and over until she was lounging sideways in her chair, knees hooked over the chair arm, her back pressed against the other, and she let her smile fade.

Gods, but she had a headache!

No rest for the wicked, though, so she rapped smartly (but lightly) on Tseng's mind—he was mid-phone call himself, after all—and said, "Got a moment? Buzz me, when you do."

Then she picked up some of her neglected paperwork and tried to focus on that while she waited.

[For that boss dude.]

Comments

[ponytailedturk]

"Actually," Tseng said, after a moment's pause, "in a manner of speaking, I do."

Which was one of the other matters he'd been busy with, these past few days.

[intraspective]

Her eyebrows shot up.

"Oh?" Her voice was still light, and easy, but anyone listening closely might notice the edge to it. The edge that said 'if you actually send me off on a garbage job when I could be rescuing Zack I will murder you'. That edge. "Do tell?"

[ponytailedturk]

Yeah, now anyone who knew Tseng could probably pick out the amusement in his tone. He wasn't worried, really, in this case.

"Arrangements," he shared, "for after the current mission has been finished."

[intraspective]

"And a briefing about these arrangements will happen when--?"

Normally that would sound a little less... brittle, but Ino's trust in Tseng was at a record low these days.

[ponytailedturk]

"When are you free?"

Now? Was now good, Iris?

[intraspective]

"I can swing now," she said, dropping her legs off the chair's arms and standing to suit words to action. "Be right there."

[ponytailedturk]

"Good. I'll see you then."

Without waiting for a reply, Tseng hung up, and set to arranging the pair of dossiers he'd drafted up. Iris was definitely going to want those.

[intraspective]

Yes, yes she was.

It didn't take her long to reach his office, though she walked rather than translocated there, since there was no need to make anyone wonder what they were doing that was so important that she couldn't take the few minutes to go the long way.

She knocked once then, without waiting for a reply, entered and let the door fall shut behind her.

[ponytailedturk]

And Tseng was already waiting, standing behind his desk, hands clasped loosely behind his back, a pair of folders sitting in front of him. He'd already checked his office for any new listening devices, and had found the room to be clean. The existing bugs were already conveniently shorting out for a few minutes. Even ShinRa technology failed sometimes.

"Two jobs," he said, simply, as he nodded down toward the folders. "One is yours, one belongs to your target. I'll leave it to you to sort out which is which."

[intraspective]

Ah.

Ino felt relieved.

That sounded like something... acceptable. With a glance up at him that, had she been in a better mood with him might have been flirty (all in good fun) but instead was ice cold, she leaned over to pick up the folders. It didn't take her long to flip through them.

"I imagine I'm not the one meant for puppies," she said dryly.

[ponytailedturk]

"You could be," Tseng replied, tone even. "But then you'd have to explain to your companion exactly why he's being trusted with building a business from the bottom up."

Tseng hadn't wanted to presume that he knew where Iris was going to want to go from here. But Zack? Zack was easy. For the puppy, there would be puppies.

It was as close to an apology as he'd ever be able to give.

[intraspective]

She wasn't even going to tell him that Tseng had arranged it. Ino doubted Zack would take it, if he knew.

Not that she blamed him for that.

"That would be... a thing," she said, wincing slightly. "Definitely better to let me be the one to get creative."

[ponytailedturk]

Tseng doubted it, too. Which was why he was giving her the dossiers, leaving his name out of them entirely. It was for the best, this way.

"Mm. Indeed." He lifted his chin a little. "If there's anything else you'll be needing, let me know. And in the meantime, have you made any more progress on your own end?"

[intraspective]

"Dad's agreed," Ino said, not looking up from the folders. Huh. Her own store. She was going to have to think about what to do with it. "I've sent them what the doctors here know of mako poisoning. He's handling the arrangements on their end. Just gotta show up."

[ponytailedturk]

"And you know where Zack is?" The arrangement they had made had said to meet him in Gongaga, but plans could change. There was no telling what the infantry was up to out there, even in spite of the Turks' best efforts.

They had a bone to pick with SOLDIER at the best of times, after all.

[intraspective]

"I can find him," Ino said, not particularly worried about that. "If there's a deviation in the plan, I can track him like no one else can."

[ponytailedturk]

"Good. Then I'll have Reno fly you in as close as possible without attracting attention," he replied. "You'll have to find your own way from there, but that shouldn't take you terribly long. Your portal will appear at the agreed-upon location at the time allotted in your dossier. If you need the time or the location adjusted, contact me immediately and I'll make the necessary arrangements with Portalocity."

Possibly with threats.

[intraspective]

"Got it," she said, closing the folders. "Anything else?"

No, she wasn't trying to make this easy for him. Ino wasn't going to screw up saving Zack but making it easy on Tseng was something she wasn't quite capable of right now.

[ponytailedturk]

Of course she wasn't.

Tseng would have been far more paranoid, if she was.

"... Have you decided, yet," he ventured, after a long moment's pause, "to what extent you're going to remain involved with the Turks, after this mission is through?"

He probably shouldn't have asked.

At the same time, he couldn't not.

[intraspective]

Something ugly and spiteful bubbled up in her chest as her face tightened. It was tempting, so tempting to tell him she was gone after this, that this was it. She was done.

But despite the lies and the betrayal and everything... they were her family. Her only real family, despite her having called her dad for help. There'd been a distance there that hadn't been before and it hadn't even hurt. She'd left Konoha physically, mentally, and emotionally years ago.

"I'm still a Turk," Ino said, after a moment. "You call me, I'll do the job. I don't know about anything else right now."

Take it or leave it, Tseng.

[ponytailedturk]

Tseng watched the expression on her face shift without so much as a shift in his own. And, when she was done speaking, he nodded.

That was more than he had any right to expect of her. More than he had any right to ask of her. And it meant that he was going to have to conduct himself carefully going forward. If Iris wanted to remain not only in contact with the Turks, but doing jobs for them, they were going to have to work doubly hard to ensure that nothing tied her back to the island.

That nothing tied her back to Zack.

And that, too, was the least he could do.

"Then that will be all, unless there was anything else you needed," he said, simply.

[intraspective]

"Understood."

She turned to go.

"Be seeing you."

She didn't need or want anything else from him right now. He'd done quite enough already.