"So let me get this straight, just to triple check that this is not in fact a joke; three of your men decided to go on patrol through the city in the middle of the afternoon." The boss demanded.
"Yes Sir, y'see they heard –"Johan stuttered.
He was overruled by the boss, whose usually glib manner was replaced by outrage. The boss did not appreciate being woken at 6am at the best of times – never mind before one of the most crucial days of work. Johan watched as the human Machiavelli struggled to regain his composure.
A smile slowly spread across the cheeks of The Boss – composure seemingly restored he leaned over the desk and stared right into the Faunus' eyes; "Remind me Johan; what is your job here?"
"I am Dispatch Officer and…" The lizard Faunus lisped.
The boss threw his hands in the air in mock desperation; "A dispatch officer! A man who is responsible for the movements of a set number of subordinates! Of course, how could I forget?" He slapped himself in the head – grinning like a madman.
"Now then, Johan – tell me again why 3 of those subordinates decided to leave this lovely underground and secret" He stressed the two words through gritted teeth;" base to patrol a city that is literally crawling with Grimm?"
Johan opened his mouth but a cane slamming onto the table at which he was sat silenced him immediately. "More concerning is the fact you've forgotten about the incident last week; y'know the one where Ursa minors invaded our base resulting in many of your friends dying horribly." He sat opposite Johan, whose eyes never left the cane. The Lizard Faunus' jaw was set but the boss saw fear in his eyes.
"Not ringing any bells? Didn't that lady friend of yours get hurt by one of those Ursas? Little cow thing wasn't she – Daisy, I always called her. Stop me when this is familiar to you Johan."
The teasing smile on the Boss' face could not have been further from Johan's expression – teeth clenched, red faced and shaking he managed to respond: "I remember. Sir."
"Good, because I'm sure you remember that I had to step in and deal with those Grimm and the guards who lead them to us. I got blood on my new jacket Johan! Now I'm in this old ratty thing again!" He indicated the exquisitely tailored white jacket with repulsion.
"But here I am again; dealing with yet another case of guards leaving the premises and potentially leading Grimm towards us." The boss took off his bowler hat; bright red hair falling about his face, The Boss' hair had not yet been combed and as such the usual grace of the gesture was lost.
"Now it appears that the problem is not with the guards, but their Dispatch Officer. Johan, apparently Daisy's fate was not enough for you to learn your lesson about sloppiness." The Boss stood and pointed his cane at Johan who fell back off his chair.
The Faunus crawled away as The Boss advanced round the table slowly.
Roman Torchwick offered his million lien smile; "I'm sorry Johan, but since you didn't learn your lesson from the untimely death of your loved ones – I'm afraid I have to let you go." He squeezed the trigger and Melodic Cudgel thrummed a sparkling dust bolt into the Faunus' sternum.
Roman nimbly jumped backwards to avoid any potential viscera and a frown decorated his face as he raided his emergency cigar stash. His fingers made a makeshift comb as he tried to arrange his hair into something halfway respectable, before he delicately crowned himself in his hat.
Releasing a deep breath, Roman sat on the table and lit up Mistral's finest export, determined not to let this ruin his day.
Outside the door stood a small Faunus, slight of build and athletic; the kid couldn't have been more than 15. He was currently engrossed in finding a way to wear both glasses and his mask simultaneously. Roman liked the cut of his gib.
"You, kid." He gestured with Melodic Cudgel vaguely in his direction. The kid looked terrified for a split second before snapping of a salute.
"Y-Yes Sir?" He asked, Roman noted he was tapping his foot from nerves.
"Runner's build and kinda flighty, might be a horse." He mused as he let the kid stew.
"You've been promoted to Dispatch Officer. Follow me and I'll fill you in on what you're doing." He ordered with a nonchalant wave.
"Th-Thank you Sir." He began but Torchwick plowed right on through.
"Get your scroll out because you will need to remember this and I'm not repeating it kid." Roman inspected the White Fang as he passed, noting a distinct lack of actual progress on bomb deployment. The huge cavern which had been his home these past 3 weeks stank of a hundred different barn animals and he hated every second of it. He had found his amusement where possible and Neo was always able to brighten his day - but leadership was beginning to wear him down.
"What's your name kid?" Roman asked, offering the kid a cigar and a light.
"Perry Sir." Perry replied instantly. He took the Cigar and pocketed it – a curiosity which piqued Roman's interest. He rwarded the kid with a single raised eyebrow.
"Either he's one of those monk types or he's too professional to indulge at work. Promising"
Roman smiled genuinely, for some reason he had a good feeling about this kid, maybe he would last more than a day; "Perry, I'll be sure to remember that. Now you're going to be in charge of making sure everybody goes where they're supposed to. It's a tough job, but it means you are second only to me."
Roman made sure the kid had kept up with notes. He handed him the introductory pamphlet he made for new Dispatch Officers, he had gone through too many to do orientation for each one.
"Now if you'd have someone clean up Johan, I'm going to sleep." He finished with a flourish and began heading towards the ruined cabin he'd claimed as a bedroom. Perry turned and was about to trot off to work before curiosity got the better of him, he suddenly shouted back to the kid, "Hey Perry, what kind of Faunus are you?"
The echo interrogated Perry multiple times before the kid yelled back, "A horse Faunus, Sir!"
Roman chuckled at the confirmation of his hunch; An exaggerated point and a winning smile accompanied his quip; "Bet the ladies love you, Kid!"
He entered his bedroom with his first genuine smile not caused by Neo thinking that maybe today wouldn't go as badly as he feared.