Chapter 4
"Here we are." Loden said, unlocking the door. Aurum followed the Huntsman into the small apartment, previously belonging to Redmond and Iris Dovetails. The young Faunus couple had gone missing two days ago and Team ASHS's mission was to help find either the Dovetails or what happened to them.
To say the apartment was small was an understatement. It consisted of only two rooms, both of which seemed to serve dual purposes. The first room was a modified kitchen/office. A table for two occupied the space, its surface adorned with filled boxes. Two narrow spaces had been carved out for the Dovetails to eat at. Packed into the corner were an oven, sink, and a microwave balanced atop a shelf. Packets of food lined what little wall space there was.
Aurum looked into the next room. A single unmade bed flanked by two dressers resided there. The two dressers were full to the brim, multiple drawers kept open because they refused to be shut. Aurum opened what he had mistaken at first to be closet to find it was not a closet but was instead a cramped bathroom.
"What do you think happened to them?" he asked Loden.
"The same thing that is causing all of our problems." Loden weaved his way around the table of boxes. Opening one, he began to sift through its contents. "White Fang."
"But they were Faunus. The White Fang doesn't target Faunus."
"They're hitting a lot of people who shouldn't be targeted," Loden muttered darkly.
Team ASHS had been greeted by Loden and his Huntress partner Ivory (Ivy as she insisted on being called) upon landing in Residential District of Vale. The two were the last members of Huntsmen Team LPIS, having lost one team member to the Grimm and the other they refused to talk about. The two made quite an odd pair; Loden in his armored vest, green watch cap and assault rifle, and Ivy in her green cloak, boots, and dual swords.
Upon landing, Team ASHS had been split up for jobs. Currently, Slate and Silvia were at the police station reviewing records, trying to see if the Dovetails had had any prior connection with the White Fang. Henna had gone with Ivy to visit Redmond Dovetail's employer, a factory owner in the
Industrial District. Loden had brought Aurum to the apartment to see if they could find any new leads there.
Loden had filled Aurum in on the known details of the Dovetail's disappearance. It was Redmond's employer who had reported it to the police. The factory owner had been trying to contact Mr. Dovetail because he had failed to report for any of his shifts, but neither of the Dovetails returned his messages. After multiple tries, the factory owner was ready to fire Redmond but knew the Faunus community would lash out against him for it, or worse the White Fang would pay him a visit. Knowing it would look better to at least try and meet with Mr. Dovetail before firing him, he sent an employee by the apartment to speak with them in person. When the employee reported that no one was home and that none of the neighbors had seen the Dovetails for the past week, the employer got the police involved. So far no one had been able to locate the Dovetails and they had found no leads.
The police had already inspected the apartment and Loden and Ivy had already made a trip out to look at it themselves. Everyone agreed that there had been no signs of a struggle in the apartment, something Aurum could confirm looking at the apartment. The Dovetails had packed all of their possessions into the tiny apartment, precariously stacking boxes and breaking every fire code; if there had been a fight, all of the boxes would have been knocked over and their contents strewn all over the two rooms.
"All books," Loden said as he looked into another box. He opened the cover of a book and read the inside label. ""Tukson's Book Trade.""
"Didn't the owner of that place go missing as well?" Aurum asked. He remembered seeing it in the paper.
"That's the official story. The police don't want people to start to panic when everyone is worrying about why the Atlas fleet is here, so they haven't told the public that Tukson was found dead in his store." Loden picked up a few more books and began to check their covers as well.
"You think the White Fang killed him?"
"Most likely. We think he was a member but got cold feet and tried to leave." Loden set down the book he just checked and picked up another. "And it looks like the Dovetails were loyal customers of his."
"So if he was in the White Fang, they were probably were as well."
"That's what we're assuming. Both the Dovetails and Tukson were Faunus, so it is very likely they were involved to some extent with the White Fang. But it's all guess work until we get some conclusive evidence."
Aurum picked a box and began to go through it. He found quite a few books from Tukson's Book Trade along with a travel bag of toiletries, empty plastic containers, plastic water bottles, and canned food. Placing the box on the floor, Aurum pulled another one towards him.
This box contained photo albums. Aurum opened one and began to flip through it. The Dovetails smiled up at him, sometime by themselves or with friends. They did not seem to have any regular human friends, only Faunus. Redmond Dovetail must have been more of the photographer of the two, because the majority of the photos were of his smiling wife, Iris Dovetail. Aurum found some of their wedding, which from the date in the book was just two weeks ago. Iris Dovetail looked like she had been expecting a child prior to their marriage, but must have had a miscarriage because there were no photos of them with children.
Moving to another album, Aurum was greeted by an older photo of Redmond with his arm around Tukson in front of the book store. Both were grinning ear to ear.
"They must have been good friends," Aurum said, handing the photo to Loden.
Loden glanced at the photo and slide it into his pocket. "Do you have any of their friends or family, anyone who might know about what happened to them?"
"This whole album is full of them with other Faunus." Aurum slide the first album to Loden. Loden flipped through it quickly, a smile slowly stretching his trimmed beard as he progressed through the album.
"If we can find any of these people," he said, tapping a photo of the wedding reception, "one of them could tell us if the Dovetails were White Fang. Might even be able to catch some of those terrorists while we're at it."
Loden put the album separate from the rest of the boxes. "Let's see what else we can find before we chase this lead. A diary or journal would be pure gold."
They did not find a diary, journal, calendar, or any record of the Dovetail's daily life. Loden pulled out all of the photos of the Dovetail's friends from the album and tucked them into his pocket. He locked up the apartment behind him as they left the building, nodding to the police officer stationed outside the apartment.
"So what's our next move?" Aurum asked as they set off down the street. Neither Loden nor Ivy owned a car, so they had been using public transportation to get around. Loden claimed it was cheaper this way, plus they did not have to keep replacing their old car. As Loden put it, "Grimm don't understand how much insurance costs."
"We give these," Loden patted his pocket with the photos, "to the police. They can handle looking through them. Until they locate these people though, I have a lead on an active member of the White Fang. The two of us are going to pay her a little visit, see if she'll introduce us to any of his friends."
"I thought our job was to find out what happened to the Dovetails?"
"It is, partially. Ivy and I are also supposed to deal with the White Fang."
"And if you know this lady is White Fang, why haven't you arrested her?"
"Ivy and I have been a little too busy to do it. Did you hear about that Atlas mech tearing up the highway the other night?"
"Yeah. I heard some Huntresses took care of it though," Aurum said casually as they turned a corner.
"Junior Huntresses," Loden corrected him. "Even though they took out the robot, we still don't know how the White Fang got their hands on a piece of Atlas weaponry that isn't even in the field yet. General Ironwood has launched an investigation, but Ivy and I have been busy conducting raids on every suspected White Fang hideout we know."
"So why don't the police arrest this lady?"
"Because they don't want to be anywhere near the neighborhood she's in; very strong pro White Fang area. They prefer we do it, and now it looks like the two of us will have to."
"How long have the two of you been working on this job?" Aurum asked.
"Close to two months now," Loden replied, shielding his eyes from the harsh sun as he read a street address. They turned onto yet another street, heading towards the closest bus stop. "After the White Fang's raid on the Dust shipment at the Docks was foiled by those young Huntresses, the police realized they weren't trained enough for these thugs. Professor Ozpin called Ivy and me in to be the police's hunting dogs: they point us in the right direction and we take down the prey."
"Professor Ozpin called you in to help the police?" Aurum knew Ozpin was more than just the headmaster at Beacon, but it was still surprising to hear about how involved he was with Vale's government. Sure, the Huntsmen in Mistral worked with the authorities, but Aurum had never heard of Haven Headmaster ever calling in specific Huntsmen to help the police.
"Yep. Ivy and I are old graduates of Beacon. We try to stay in touch with Professor Ozpin. Oz occasionally contacts us whenever he needs a specific job done."
They took a seat on the bench at the bus stop. Since it was the middle of the day and everyone was still at work, they were the only ones waiting. Loden pulled out his Scroll and typed in a number.
"Hello?" he said after a moment. "Burns, it's me, Loden. Listen, one of the junior Huntsmen and I may have found a lead for you to follow…. Yeah, it deals with the Dovetails, but I think we might get some other stuff out of it."
Loden listened for a moment. "How can I get this to you quickly? I was planning on going to visit someone and can't swing by the station… It's in Acribus Quarter… Okay, we'll drop it off with them. Catch you later."
"There's two officers near where we'll be going," Loden told Aurum. "Detective Burns says we can leave the album with them and they'll bring it to the station."
A bus pulled up. The driver tipped his hat to them as they took their seats; the people found it comforting to see Huntsmen at work. Loden lead the way to the back of the bus, exchanging small smiles with the bus's few occupants.
"Let your friends at the station know where we're going," Loden said. Aurum fished out his Scroll. "Always a good idea to keep everyone informed in case things go south."
Aurum opened up his Scroll and was greeted with a group message notification. It was from Yang and Ruby.
Yang had written:
Just got done with class. How's the mission going?
Aurum quickly sent the rest of Team ASHS a message about where he and Loden were headed before replying.
Ok. We're off to talk with someone from the White Fang.
Aurum put his Scroll down and barely turned to watch the buildings go by when it was buzzing. Ruby had responded first.
Srsly?! Tell us everything they say!
I don't think I'm allowed 2. Police stuff and all. Aurum typed out.
Aww…. Plz?
Do it anyway. Not like the police will know. Yang had rejoined the conversation.
Guys, I really don't think I can.
"That's a long message you're sending," Loden remarked conversationally.
"Oh, I'm contacting some other people now," Aurum said. He glanced at his Scroll to see another message from Yang (Of course you can!). "Is it okay to message someone not related to our job? I won't tell them what we're up to."
Loden thought it over as the bus stopped to pick up more people. "Now it's okay, but later I'll need you to be fully focused. Acribus Quarter can be a nasty place if you're not careful."
"Got it."
Aurum, we kind of really need 2 know about the White Fang.
Why?
TOP SECRET REASONS, THAT'S WHY.
"This is our stop," Loden said, getting up.
Gtg. And I'm not telling U anything until you tell me why U want 2 know. Aurum typed quickly before following Loden off the bus.
"The officers are just a block over," Loden said. He once again led the way, Aurum close behind.
The two police officers were waiting next to their squad car. They both knew Loden from working with him. Loden introduced Aurum and handed over the album. After talking for a bit longer and telling Aurum to be careful ("not that you'll need it kid. You're with Loden), the officers drove off and Loden and Aurum walked the next few blocks to their destination.
Acribus Quarter was by far the sketchiest part of Vale that Aurum had seen yet. The buildings were hemmed in, alleys forming a checkerboard between them. Every building had something wrong with it. Some it was just peeling paint but others had boarded up windows, unnaturally chipped bricks, broken outside lights, or the walls were completely covered in graffiti. A far few had condemned signs on the doors, but Aurum saw one lady walk into one like nothing was wrong. Vale's usual spotless streets also did not apply in this neighborhood. Bits of trash lined the buildings, piling up on the curb, and clogging up the gutters. Judging from the looks of the neighborhood alone, it was no wonder the police had officers shied away from Acribus Quarter; Aurum had just entered the worst part of Vale.
"Stay vigilant," Loden advised as they entered what Aurum assumed was an apartment building. It was hard to tell from the outside due to how similar it was to the rest of the buildings on the street, all worn down and in need of being fully demolished. There was a failed health inspection form taped to the front of the building.
Aurum was shoved aside as a woman with fox ears pushed her way out the door. A ram horned man pushed him back into place as he chased after the woman, yelling profanities. Aurum looked to Loden for an explanation, but the Huntsman was already ascending some stairs, ignoring the spectacle. Aurum quickly followed, shooting a worried glance at the door.
They passed more Faunus on their way up the narrow staircase. Everyone they encountered gave them a wide berth, some avoiding eye contact while others openly glared as they passed. Aurum saw no regular humans in the building.
"Is everyone here a Faunus?" Aurum whispered after they moved past a large wolf-tailed man on the fourth floor. The wolf man lounged against the doorframe to the fourth floor, idly sharpening a knife. He scowled as they passed.
"This entire neighbor is made up of Faunus," Loden said, mounting another flight of stairs. Aurum looked back but the wolf man had slipped away. "These people have experienced the most hatred and persecution, forcing them to live here. Because of their treatment, the majority no longer wants equal rights but instead want more."
"Sounds like they're all White Fang."
"The majority of them are."
"So why don't the police do something?" Aurum asked.
"The main reason is that these people would fight back if the police did try to do something here. But politically, if they cleared out this entire neighborhood, any remaining Faunus would protest and probably join the White Fang, who could claim to be victims of police brutality." Loden stopped on the fifth floor landing. "This is our floor."
Loden slung his assault rifle off his back, fitting a magazine into place.
"Didn't you say we were going to talk to this White Fang person? Not kill them?" Aurum asked as he followed Loden down the narrow hallway.
"They won't want to talk to us, trust me. Might even try to fight us. But we need information so they'll have to."
Loden stopped at a door and knocked. Footsteps sounded as someone approached from the other side, but the door remained shut. Loden knocked again, a little more forcefully this time.
"Go away," a muffled voice said through the door.
"We're Huntsmen," Loden looked into the spyhole. "May we please come in?"
"No, go away," the voice repeated.
"We are here about the Dovetails. Do you know anything about them? Anything about what happened to them?"
The silence that descended was eventually broken by the click of the lock. A gap appeared in the dark doorway, filled by the scared eyes of a young doe eyed woman. Her eyes shifted from Loden's rifle to Aurum's hatchets, then back to Loden's rifle.
"Come in," she said, peeping into the hallway quickly before retreating into the dark apartment.
Aurum went in first, pushing open the door with one hand while keeping the other near his hatchets. The apartment was shrouded in darkness, only faint shadows from the tightly closed curtains marking where any of the furniture was.
The door clicked shut behind Loden.
"This way." The woman's whispered from the next room. Aurum felt his way over, almost knocking over a box. What was with all Faunus keeping boxes of stuff in their houses?
A lamp flickered to life, illuminating the room from its perch on a coffee table. The doe-eyed women sat down on a squashy old couch, pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapped tightly in a blanket. Aurum shivered: despite being a warm summer day outside, the dark room still had a chill to it. Didn't this woman have a thermostat?
The woman stared wide eyed at them, the flickering light dancing over her freckled face. She nervously parted her brown bangs. "Are you both real Huntsmen?"
"I am," Loden reassured her, taking a seat in the chair opposite her. Aurum elected to lean against the doorway behind Loden. "My partner here is a visiting student from Mistral."
The woman nodded absently, not taking notice that Aurum wasn't technically a Huntsman yet.
"What do you know about the Dovetails?" Loden asked. When the woman did not respond, Loden pressed on. "I know you and your husband are a part of the White Fang, so-"
"Were," the woman corrected him, a faraway look in her eyes. "We both tried to leave."
"Tried to?" Aurum asked. "What do you mean you "tried to"?"
"Can you get me out of Vale?" the woman said hurriedly. "I'll tell you everything I know if you get me out of the kingdom."
"We can do that," Loden said with a nod. "But first tell me what happened to the Dovetails."
"You don't understand," the woman said. "You need to get me out of here now."
"First I want to hear about the Dovetails."
The woman hugged her legs as her eyes began to tear up. "They did the same thing to my husband," she gasped. Aurum had a feeling "they" wasn't referring to the Dovetails.
"What happened to your husband?" Loden leaned forward. He undoubtedly felt the answer coming like Aurum did.
"We both wanted to leave and were already packed when they found out," the woman said in a whisper. "We had heard about what happened to Tukson and the Dovetails, but Sable thought we could make it. He left the house yesterday to buy us tickets on the next boat to Vacuo."
The woman burst into tears. Aurum started forward, not sure if to help by comforting her but Loden waved him back.
"He hasn't come back and he isn't answering his Scroll," the woman sobbed. "They got him, they got my Sable. Please, get me out of here!"
"We will, but we need to know who got Sable," Loden said, pushing the lone tissue box on the table to the woman.
"I don't know. Someone in the White Fang." The woman took and held a tissue tightly in her fist, dabbing at her tears. "But whoever they are, they got Tukson and the Dovetails, and they're after me too. No one leaves the White Fang."
"Okay, why did you leave?"
"Can you really get me out of Vale?"
"Yes," Loden said. Aurum felt the same confidence from him that followed Yang around; Loden could and would get this woman to safety.
"Sable and I heard what their plan is," the woman said, glancing around the room as if someone might have snuck in. "And we can't support something like that."
Loden leaned forward. "What is the plan?"
"It's-"
CRASH.
The window burst into shards, shredding the drapes. Light flooded the room, causing Aurum's eyes to burn. He barely made out Loden's shadow as the Huntsman lunged forward in the bright light, reaching desperately for the woman.
More shots rang out, tearing through the apartment wall. Aurum ducked into the next room, drawing both of his hatchets. Aurum peeked around the doorframe back into the room and wished he hadn't.
The woman, the one Loden had promised to protect, lay in a rapidly expanding pool of blood, her eyes still open in a state of shock.
