Drunk & Disorderly
Chapter 1: Winter Schnee
City of Vale, The Republic of Vale
1:46 AM
Downtown Area
The streets were empty. That much was to be expected. Past midnight, most of Vale's residents were sleeping in the comfort of their own homes. Safe behind locked doors. From what she'd heard, few would risk wandering downtown unaccompanied these days. Even fewer at night. Perhaps that is why her contact had chosen such a time to meet, and in such a place.
A lonely street corner. Away from prying eyes.
Winter Schnee stood in an alleyway, wearing a white trench coat long enough to hide her rank and her status. Long enough to hide her origin.
The dim, orange glow of a nearby street lamp flickered briefly. She made sure to stand just outside of its light. Inconspicuous and hidden. With the streets illuminated, she had a perfect view of what was in front of her. Granted, that view was thoroughly empty.
No sign of her contact.
No sign of anyone.
She looked at her watch. 16 minutes past the scheduled meeting time.
Winter frowned. Could she be in the wrong location? No, that wasn't it. The street signs confirmed that this was the exact spot given to her prior to arriving in Vale. The same was true for the time. Could it be that her information was wrong?
Her unease grew as minute after minute passed by on the empty street. Winter's eyes darted between every corner and every window. She half expected to see her contact and half expected to see something much less pleasant. Had they been compromised? Commissioner Ironwood had warned her of such a possibility. Bribery, corruption, espionage. Those same suspicions were the reason for the lengths that the Commissioner and his counterpart in Vale had gone to when arranging this meeting.
Two agents, one from each department. Exchange intel and, if situation requires, collaborate on the investigation. Utmost secrecy, known only to a select few individuals. If this meeting had been leaked then she would have to report to the Commissioner as soon as possible. They would need to act swiftly to deal with the mole.
Winter listened to the sounds of the city, searching for clues, or warnings. For the most part the night was quiet. A quiet disturbed only by the sound of cars in the distance and the occasional barking of some canines.
A quiet that made the sound of shattering glass ring out all the clearer.
Winter reached into her trench coat with one swift movement and drew her firearm in another. An Atlas-issued H&K USP semi-automatic pistol. The sound was coming from somewhere on the other end of the alleyway.
Danger? An ambush? Winter aimed down the alley, waiting for the enemy to strike. Yet it became soon became clear that there was no one there.
She lowered her firearm.
This isn't my city, nor my duty.
She knew that.
I have a mission to complete.
Her grip tightened.
I should investigate.
Winter stuck to the shadows between the buildings as she advanced towards its source.
A block away she found a convenience store with its glass door shattered. Winter crouched low and slid under the storefront's windows. She peeked inside.
"C'mon man, just get the Lien already!" A voice yelled from inside.
"Shut up and keep an eye on the old man!"
Two hostiles. Both male. Faces covered. One of the hostiles, wearing a red bandana around his face, stood behind the store counter. The other man wore a green bandana. He was skinnier than the first man and stood next to the refrigerators near the entrance. Merchandise was strewn about the room. The man behind the counter was searching frantically through the shelves and drawers.
"Green" was pointing a handgun at a figure lying prone on the ground. An older man, balding, wearing a red apron and a green shirt. He had his hands on the back of his head. There was blood on his head but he appeared to be alive.
Two hostiles. One hostage. Both hostiles had their backs turned towards her. Winter brought her firearm up. Two clear shots, low chance of collateral.
Line the shot. Pull the trigger. Neutralize the hostiles.
She took aim at Green.
Two dead hostiles. Two dead Vale citizens. Killed by a agent from a foreign power. Cover blown. Uproar. Diplomatic crisis...
No. Unacceptable. It would be better to disengage. Report to the proper authorities and...
The older man raised his head from the ground. His eyes met hers. Pleading.
Damn it.
Her body moved on its own. A silent dash into the store, towards Green. She was behind him in a moment.
"What the-AHH" Green yelled when Winter kicked his hand, sending his firearm into the air. He turned to face her and swung his fist, but Winter was faster. She blocked the strike with her forearm before grabbing hold of the man's wrist. She twisted the hostile's arm behind his back and shoved him into the store shelves. With her free hand, she pointed her firearm at the second hostile.
"Halt!" Winter shouted.
"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" Shouted the squirming man she had restrained. Winter ignored him
"Red" had a gun pointed at her. He held his gun with one hand and that hand was shaking. "Who the fuck are you?!"
"Put down the weapon and step away from the counter with your hands behind your head." She said each word loud and clearly, instilling as much authority as she could muster. Winter had made her choice. Her best chance now was to get Red to surrender peacefully.
"What? Are you some kind of fucking cop?!" Red was almost screaming now. As if he wanted to alert more people.
"Put down the weapon," Winter said. "I won't repeat myself again." Did the words sound as empty to him as they did to her?
She twisted Green's arm. "Arrgh! Shit, Jack! Just put the gun down!"
"Shut up!" Red, or Jack, screamed back at his companion.
"Listen to him, Jack." This wasn't going well.
"I'm not leaving here without this Lien, you hear me?!"
"Stand down!"
"Fuck you!"
The door behind the counter slammed open. A man in a ski mask with a duffel bag over his shoulder entered the room. He pointed his own gun towards her.
Winter shoved Green away and dove onto the old man as Jack and the new hostile opened fire. Candy bars, bags of chips, and packets of gum exploded into pieces. Bullets ricocheted off the shelves. The refrigerator's glass doors shattered, spraying soda, alcohol, and shards of glass onto them.
Five seconds later the firing stopped.
Winter opened her eyes. A loud, ringing sound filled her ears, making it hard to hear. She took a moment to make sure she had not been shot. She took another to confirm that the old man was still breathing underneath her.
"You shot me! I can't believe you shot me!"
"We got to help him!"
"Leave him! Grab the Lien and run!"
Winter looked up just in time to see two figures running out the store.
Green was now bleeding from his left shoulder. His bloody hand clutched the wound. Her firearm was the next thing she saw. On the ground, just between the two of them. Green looked at her, his face contorted in pain and fear, then looked at the weapon. A look of sudden realisation.
The man crawled towards the weapon. A frenzied and desperate rush. He reached it, but not before Winter's foot connected to his face. The man made a wet, muffled groan before slumping on the ground. She pushed him over with her foot. Unconscious.
Winter picked up her firearm. She ignored the stinging cuts on her face and hands. The old man was huddled in the corner, shaking, in need of medical attention. She then looked towards the door and bit her lip.
"Citizen, get rope, anything you can use to restrain this criminal. Then proceed to call the authorities."
The old man looked at her. "Huh...?"
"Citizen! Comply!" She bellowed, sending the old man scampering to the back of the store. Hopefully to complete her order; she did not have time to supervise him.
Winter exited the premises and searched for any sign of the two remaining hostiles. Another loud sound, this time metal, drew her attention to another alleyway. Left side of the street. She ran towards it and followed down the path.
The alley was dark. She heard sound of footsteps ahead, shouting, sounds of objects being turned over. She kept chasing after them.
There was a fence at the end of the path, blocking the way. Someone was trying to climb over it.
"Stop!"
Winter ran to catch the target. She knew she could catch him, reach him before he climbed over.
The target was in her sight. Only a few more seconds. She was so caught up in the chase that she failed to notice an object swinging at her until it slammed into her stomach.
"Gak!" She croaked. The impact of the hit sent her tumbling into the ground. The air was knocked out of her. Her training kicked in, sheer will forcing her ignore the pain.
Movement to her left. Danger. Firearm still in hand.
Winter rolled onto her back and fired. Three shots echoed through the alleyway. The last shot knocked the handgun from Jack's hand.
"Arghhh, you bitch!" Jack roared. His hand was bleeding.
Jack kicked a garbage can towards her but Winter dodged just in time.
She tried to aim at Jack again, but the man jumped on her, reaching for her firearm.
"Give it to me!" The man growled. He grabbed hold of her weapon and began to force it towards her. She struggled to wrest it away, pulling and pushing but to no avail. It was a game of strength that she was losing.
The gun was almost pointed towards her head.
*CLUNK*
The top of a garbage can smacked into Jack's side. He yelled in pain. His grip loosened.
Her firearm spoke twice and Jack collapsed onto the ground next to her.
Winter sat up to catch her breath. She brushed her hand on her cheek before looking at it. Blood. Her trench coat was stained red. There was a lot of blood that wasn't hers.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
She looked at Jack, a pool of blood spreading under now the other target had probably already escaped.
Reckless. Amateurish. Rookie mistake after rookie mistake.
She clenched her fist.
"Those were some nice shots you made." A voice said from the shadows.
Winter sprung up, weapon ready to speak once more.
Someone was walking towards her, arms raised. She kept her weapon on them.
The newcomer came into view. A man, wearing a beige trench coat. Spiky, black hair. Red eyes. The smell of alcohol. Winter's face hardened. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"It's...you."
A grin on the man's face. A grin that made her want to punch it off.
"Well, look who we have here."
Winter lowered her firearm. "Qrow Branwen."
The man's grin widened.
"Ice Queen."
Author's Note: Hey everyone! Catlover18 aka snickering here. Was having some difficulty writing the next chapter of my May Zedong fic (I'll Watch Your Back; you should totally check it out) so I decided to write up an idea I've had for a little while now. Please favorite and follow if you liked this story and want to see more!
Leave a review too! This is a new kind of story for me and I want to know what you liked, what can be improved, and what you want more of!