Here we go.
Chapter 7
Butcher's street was a small and mostly abandoned road buried deep within the residential sector of Vale. Once-upon-a-time it might have been called that because it had the main butcher's shop there or something, but time and expansion had rendered that a moot point, and now it gave way to houses and homes with not a storefront in sight. Several of those homes were boarded up and abandoned, and like many houses which had been, the windows had been smashed by bored youths with rocks.
It was one of those houses Jaune awkwardly made his way up to. He paused at the entrance and looked around, but any passers-by made conscious effort not to meet his eyes. Most of them had hands in their pockets and heads pointed down. Butcher's street wasn't a nice neighbourhood. He could tell that already.
The wooden board on the entrance gave way easily, already weak and more leaning on the door than anything else. As he entered, the rank scent of vomit and alcohol assailed his nostrils, and he wondered if it had been taken over by some homeless people. The fire pit and empty cans said otherwise, as did the lack of any life inside. More likely young kids who should have known better were using it to drink and do drugs in, and leaving it in a state afterwards. Jaune shook his head and stepped inside, balancing the wooden slat behind him.
His feet took him past ruined furniture and slashed couches, down to a door that would have led into a cellar. It was thick wood reinforced with metal, and looked to have several dents in it where people's curiosity had gotten the better of them. None had broken in, however. Next to it was a keypad with a code lock. They weren't unusual in Vale houses, though mostly on safe locks and posher residences. This one had a smashed screen and some of the wiring had been pulled out, probably by some enterprising thief who figured he could hack into it.
Jaune ignored it entirely. His finger touched the brick below it, and then dipped a little lower. One, two, three, four – the fifth brick. That was what the message had said. Kneeling down, he pushed in one side of it, and was rewarded as it rotated and came loose. He pulled it out with a scraping noise and peered inside.
A clean, fully functioning code lock faced him.
"Just like they said… I guess this place held out after all."
The door clicked open when he entered the code, and then faced him with a stronger – far less subtle door. It was solid steel and brand new, with a scanner placed in the middle. By this point, someone would have guessed something was up, but it looked like no one had made it this far. With a shrug, Jaune pressed his palm against the scanner and waited for the machine to read him.
"Access granted. Welcome, Agent."
The door slid open, and Jaune was instantly faced with a black mask.
"Glad you could make it," Oobleck said, his voice a little tinny from coming out the mask's speakers. "Magician and Vanguard already inside, but safehouses like this are dotted throughout Vale. There are lockers with equipment to the side there. Suit up and meet us in the main room for the briefing."
Jaune glanced to the indicated lockers and then back to Oobleck. "Aren't you going to tell me what this is all about?"
"In the briefing, Rat." Oobleck stepped away, but paused to turn back. "You did make an excuse to your team for your absence, correct?"
"I told them my sisters had come to Vale to take me clubbing as celebration for passing initiation."
"A good enough excuse, but you'll need to be careful to keep such a facade. It wouldn't do for you to claim you enjoy such activities and then never do it again. You might even need to take your team out clubbing once or twice just to keep your cover."
He knew what Oobleck meant, but the thought of Blake and Ren wanting to go out to a nightclub didn't quite work in his head, and even Pyrrha would stand out like a sore thumb – especially since she didn't want to be overly recognised as famous. "Yeah… I don't think that'll be a problem. My team aren't exactly the most sociable of people."
Oobleck chuckled. "Perhaps not. Very well. Get ready and meet us inside."
Jaune nodded and moved over to the lockers as Oobleck departed. There was already one with his name on it, or at least his irritating codename. He was relieved they hadn't seen the need to draw a picture as well. To his left was Magician's, and beyond that Vanguard's – along with several other lockers that filled the room. There had to be at least thirty in total, which was both more and less than he'd expected.
Maybe this just means there are thirty agents active in Vale. There are probably more abroad, and others that work in roles that wouldn't require safehouse equipment.
The codenames were varied, from card titles like Jack and King, to mythical creatures like Phoenix. There was even one called Wolf, who had obviously had a luckier time with the naming than Jaune had. Either way, he only knew Vanguard and Magician, and since there was just the code names, it wasn't like the lockers helped give him any clues as to their identities. With a shrug, he opened his up by pressing his thumb against the code lock, and quickly changed into the dark uniform. The mask fit snugly over his face, and quickly sealed itself in place. There was a light hiss as the vents opened and fresh air wafted in.
A second later, it felt as natural and unobtrusive as a pair of sunglasses. They really were amazing things.
Vanguard looked up as Jaune entered the room. His mask gave nothing away, though yet again Jaune wondered at the strange upside-down triangles under his eye slit. "Well look who scurried out of his hole. Nice of you to join us, Rat."
"Be nice," Magician said, punching the larger man's arm. Her mask turned in his direction, and he could almost imagine a smile in the way she tilted her head. "It's good to see you again. You seem to be fitting into Beacon fairly well."
"You've seen me?"
"Oh, of course."
"The Director asked us to keep an eye on you," Vanguard said, gesturing to Oobleck. "Well, he asked Magician."
"I asked you, too," Oobleck said.
Vanguard shrugged helplessly.
"As stubborn as ever… no matter." Oobleck shook his head and turned to a screen behind him. He pressed a button on a remote and turned it on. "Take a seat, Rat. We'll begin the briefing now."
"It's just the three of us?" Jaune asked, sitting down next to Magician.
"This is an introductory mission for you, so a larger group seemed like a good way to keep you out of trouble."
This was a large group? He'd kind of meant it the other way around, and now felt even more nervous for the future. Were they going to send him out on solo missions? "It's the four of us, then?"
"Four? Oh no, it will be the three of you."
"The old man needs to rest his bones," Vanguard said.
"The old man," Oobleck echoed, "has his own mission in store. It relates to this one, but deals with a far less excitable aspect of it – namely a diplomatic meeting." He looked to Vanguard. "If you want, I'm not against swapping roles."
"No, no, it's fine…" Vanguard sounded almost sick. "I hate diplomatic missions."
"I thought so. Anyway, if the three of you can remain silent for a moment, I'll explain the situation and why I've called you here today. To note, this mission is not related to your assigned tasks at Beacon, but as the closest team, you're all we have to work with. It's nonetheless important to not only Vale, but Atlas as well."
"They're involved?" Vanguard asked, leaning forward. "Are we working alongside the ASF?"
"Not today, and not tomorrow either if we're fortunate. We're dealing with a rather familiar problem here, and I'd rather they not get involved."
"They've made a mess and need us to clean it up, don't they?"
"I did say it was a familiar problem," Oobleck laughed. "I'll explain for the sake of Rat, since you're not familiar with them. I've mentioned before how the ASF are a relatively new organisation after the revolution that changed Mantle to Atlas. Their technology and resources are far greater than ours, but when it comes to the skill and expertise of individual Agents, none can compare with ourselves."
"We're the oldest and the ones with the longest history," Magician explained. "It makes sense that we know better how to train Agents. The ASF aren't bad at what they do, and some of them are actually quite skilled. It's just that the average over there is lower than it is here."
"Which means we're forever mopping up their mistakes," Vanguard groused. "What is it this time?"
Oobleck pushed a button and brought a new image onto the screen. It was a schematic of some kind of large machine, and if the silhouette of a man by its feet was any indication, it was huge.
"This is Atlas' new prototype anti-Grimm weapon – the Paladin."
Vanguard snorted.
"The pretentious name aside, it is a bipedal combat machine suited to movement over rough any and all terrain, and is even capable of short bursts of flight to let it cross rivers and uneven ground. It has numerous armaments, or it will when it's completed. This is merely the chassis and frame, which would be capable of movement, but has no weapons attached."
"Looks dangerous," Vanguard said.
"It is. From the limited information the ASF were willing to provide, its specifications are far beyond anything we here in Vale can produce. It could revolutionise the way people fight against the Grimm."
"Then what's the problem?"
"It has been stolen by the White Fang."
Magician and Vanguard groaned. It wasn't a distressed sound, nor a frightened one. If anything, it sounded more exasperated… as if it were something they'd half-expected, yet hoped wouldn't be the case.
"Isn't that bad?" Jaune asked, far more worried. "I mean, if it's that powerful, the White Fang could cause real damage with it."
"Yes, and that is why we need to move quickly." Oobleck turned to the screen again and this time changed it to an image of a flaming train wreck. "The Paladin was advertised as being shipped by sea, with four different military containers sent out. In truth, this was a ruse, and the prototype was being transported by rail. That it was attacked and the ships were not has led the ASF to believe there are spies within the Atlas military."
"Say it isn't so!" Vanguard cried sarcastically.
"More spies than expected," Oobleck amended. "Obviously, they know they have spies in their ranks, but they never expected that the White Fang would be involved. Even so, the only ones who knew of this were particularly high up in the chain of command, which has made this a bit of a problem for Atlas. There is a lot of blame being thrown around at the moment, and things could get a lot worse if the White Fang start to use these things – especially since intel suggests they've brought them to Vale."
Magician sighed. "I can already see the headlines; Killer Atlas robot massacres Vale citizens. The words `diplomatic incident` don't even begin to cover this."
"Quite… that is why the ASF have requested we get involved. Their ranks are already compromised, so they fear acting against the White Fang will push them into hiding, and with the risks involved, they can't afford to mess this up."
"And they came to the professionals," Vanguard said. "And if we mess it up, we're the ones to take the fall."
"Atlas would still come out of this badly. It would be best for both sides if the machine could be retrieved without ever seeing the light of day."
Jaune nodded, but couldn't quite hide the panic growing inside of him. For an introductory mission, this didn't sound quite as easy and painless as he'd imagined. The White Fang were terrorists, for crying out loud, and they'd stolen some kind of killer robot. "Is this really the kind of first mission I should be sent on?" he asked. Everyone turned to look at him and he squirmed under their combined gazes. "I'm not saying I won't, or it's not important. It's just that I'm a rookie. Isn't this too much to trust me with? I haven't even really fought against any people before."
"This is an introductory mission, Rat." Oobleck sounded bemused. "You won't be going in to fight these people."
"We won't?"
"We don't even know where they are," Magician said, touching his arm lightly. "Even if we did, we have no idea where the Paladin is being kept, and no means to transport it away. We gather information before enacting a combat mission. We don't go in blind."
"Magician is correct," Oobleck said. "Your mission here is to gather intel and scout out a potential storage unit for this. Even if you should see the Paladin, you will return to report it. You can't exactly carry it out, and having it walk through the streets of Vale would somewhat defeat the purpose of the mission."
"Killer Atlas robot walks through Vale streets," Vanguard mocked. "That's still a diplomatic incident. The big thing Atlas want to keep hidden is that they lost it in the first place. Do you want to imagine the strongest military in the world losing high tech experimental weaponry to supremacist terrorists?"
No, he didn't – and the fact that was exactly what had happened left him feeling a little ill. Were Atlas really that carless? Probably not… this had caught them off-guard, and like Oobleck said, they'd taken all sorts of precautions with the movement of it. The White Fang only found out because of a traitor in their midst.
"The mission is simply to scout a location one of our agents within the White Fang has revealed to us, and ascertain whether the machine is there – or whether it could potentially be there in the future. Ideally, no combat would occur."
"We have spies in the White Fang?"
Vanguard and Magician stared at him, and he could just feel their expressions.
"Rat… we're a spy agency," Oobleck said kindly.
"Oh yeah… right…"
"Moving on, the long-term goals of the operation will be to mount a combat mission to reclaim the Paladin prototype and ship it back to a storage warehouse we have prepared for it. The ASF will then be contacted, and arrangements for it to be shipped back to Atlas can be implemented."
"After our engineers look it over, right?" Vanguard asked.
Oobleck nodded. "Naturally…"
"Wait, what?" Jaune looked up, eyes wide. "We're going to steal Atlas' technology?"
"Not at all," Oobleck said. "That would be a poor way to repay our allies. We're going to recover their stolen technology and give it back to them."
"And if we take a few pictures of the internals and poke around, it's only because we want to make sure the White Fang didn't steal any of the important parts," Vanguard nodded, insincerity dripping from his voice. "We're doing it for them."
The two spies laughed.
Jaune was less amused. "How is this okay, though? They're our allies. Won't they get angry if we start doing things like this to what is a prototype weapon?"
"They might, but they really ought to have kept a better eye on it in the first place." Oobleck crossed his arms. "Make no mistake, Rat. We are doing Atlas and the ASF a huge favour here. The Council hasn't even been made aware of the Paladin's theft, and if they found out, it would mean a huge political headache for Atlas, and potentially repercussions between our Kingdoms. It would be in our best interests to avoid that, but we're not risking our lives and stretching ourselves thin for the ASF without some kind of benefit to us."
"If it helps any, I'm sure they would expect no less of us," Magician whispered. "In our shoes, they would do the same, and I expect they already know we'll copy aspects of it. Like the Director said, this could revolutionise the war against the Grimm. Our knowing how to produce these could save the lives of Valean soldiers."
"I guess… but wouldn't Atlas share it with us anyway once it was complete?"
"Unlikely. They might sell us some units, but at an incredible mark-up, and even then, in low numbers. They'd also keep the best units for themselves."
"Why? We're all on the same side here. We're all fighting against the Grimm!"
"We won't be when the war happens," Vanguard said.
"War!?" Jaune leapt up. "What war?"
"The next war."
"I haven't heard anything about a war!" He paused, realising who he was talking to. If there were rumours of war, the general public would be kept unknowing – and probably by the VSS. He turned to Oobleck. "Is there a war? Are we going to war?"
"There is no war," Oobleck said. "The four Kingdoms are currently focused on the Grimm threat, which has kept wars to a minimum."
"Then what war did he mean?"
"The next war," Vanguard repeated. "There isn't one in the works now, but there will be at some point. There always is. What do you think would happen if all the Grimm in the world were finally defeated?"
"We'd be at peace," Jaune said.
"For a little bit, sure. The cities would expand and claim land lost to the Grimm, not to mention all the rich and untapped resources out there. Soon, Remnant would be split in four – or three," he added. "Vacuo is a joke, after all. Either way, there'd be conflict sooner or later, and it's not in Atlas' best interests to let another Kingdom, even an ally, have access to its top tier weapons. They're just thinking of the future."
"A future where they invade us?" Jaune asked. "That's ridiculous. We should all be working together against the Grimm, not be planning hypothetical wars if they're ever destroyed. Is this why nothing ever gets done? Is this why the Grimm still exist at all?"
"Who knows?" Vanguard shrugged. "Maybe it is, or maybe it isn't. That's not our problem."
"Then what is…?"
It wasn't Vanguard who answered, but Oobleck – and his voice was unimaginably stern. "The protection of Vale, Rat. We are the VSS, and our responsibility is to act in the best interests of our Kingdom, as is the responsibility of the ASF to work for theirs. We are allied and help one another, but it is Vale that comes first. Right now, it's in the best interests of Vale to keep this new weapon out of the White Fang's hands. After that, it'll be in the best interests of our military to know how to produce our own."
"Won't Atlas know it was us who were responsible for this?"
"They will. They'll simmer and bluster, and ambassadors will threaten action and shout at one another. In the end, however, there is little else they can do. They lost the machine to terrorists." Oobleck waved his hand. "As far as we're concerned, that means it's on the market. Is that explanation understood, Rat?"
"Yes, sir." Jaune sat down and remained silent, even if inside, his mind whirred. They were essentially going to steal what was already stolen property, and then take it apart to access its secrets. It was dishonourable in the extreme, especially since they were allies – but there was little he could do about it.
They were right… it would save lives, and if Atlas really intended to keep it away from and not let them use it against the Grimm, then they deserved to lose it. People were being killed out there, and his team back in Beacon were going to be risking their lives against the Grimm in the future. If they got hurt, and it was because Atlas refused to make the Paladins readily available to all the Kingdoms, then he would have hated them forever.
He didn't like it… but he could understand where Oobleck was coming from.
Either way, I don't have to like it, do I? All I need to do is stay quiet and follow orders. The only reason I'm here at all is so that they can introduce me to what missions are like.
At least it would be a nice and simple one to start with…
/-/
When it came to how they'd get across Vale dressed in the most suspicious manner possible, Jaune had expected something like disguises, or maybe an underground network of tunnels. What he hadn't expected was a car, even if it had tinted windows that kept them from view. They were still three masked people driving down a busy road laden with weapons.
Subtle, it was not, but maybe that was the point. Who would expect the normal-looking car on a busy road?
"Are you sure you're okay with this, Rat?" Magician asked. She was sat in the backseat with him, leaving the passenger seat empty as Vanguard drove. Her voice was soft but still unfamiliar. He was fairly sure he hadn't met her at Beacon. Then again, she could have been changing it, or the mask could be modulating the tone in some way. "You seemed rather upset back in briefing."
"I wasn't upset," he said. "At last not at what we're doing. I guess I'm just disappointed people would think like that, or how you say Atlas would think. Aren't we all in it together against the Grimm?"
"It's not quite so bad. We are working together, and Atlas are one of the biggest suppliers of military equipment for huntsmen and soldiers. It's not like they're entirely keeping things secret to give themselves an edge…"
"Just that they're doing it a little bit?"
"It's in their best interests, Rat. If Atlas is seen as being safer than the other Kingdoms, then wealthy and powerful people will prefer to live there, which means more taxation. Similarly, if the people feel protected, then they are happier." She sighed and looked out the window towards passing traffic and a skyline of tall buildings. "It's not that they want to see us struggle… they just want to make sure they're seen as being better than us. I truly believe if we were ever in danger from the Grimm, they would mobilise to help us in a heartbeat."
But anything less than that would be their problem. Jaune understood, even if he didn't like it. It sounded like it was fairly common, however, and they were blatantly doing the same here if they intended to copy the Paladin's schematics. Come to think of it, the VSS had probably demanded even more from Atlas. The secrets of the Paladin were something they'd take, but the ASF would still have to give them some kind of reward or payment for services rendered.
That was probably Oobleck's business, and might even have been the diplomatic mission he'd spoken about. Jaune shook his head and turned back to Magician. "I'll be fine, don't worry. I just need to get used to this, I guess."
"I'm sure you will in time, Rat. We were all rookies once."
"Speak for yourself," Vanguard called from up front. "Get ready, you two. We're approaching the operation zone."
"What's the plan?" Magician asked, voice suddenly a lot sterner.
"We'll park the car in an alley several blocks away and desert it. We move in on foot, but stick to rooftops where possible. The warehouse we've been given is by the docks, but I doubt it'll be here."
"What makes you say that?" Jaune asked.
"If they were going to ship it in or out, the docks would be an easy place to store it," Vanguard explained. "Problem is, the docks are too active, and this isn't exactly an easy thing to hide. Vale gets most of its dust shipments by sea and rail, so unless they want to run the risk of interference, the White Fang wouldn't keep something so precious there."
"Of course, it could also be a double-bluff," Magician said. "Hence why we need to investigate it."
Vanguard hummed his agreement.
"What about the spy we have inside?" Jaune asked. "Do we need to be careful not to hurt them?"
"We don't know who it is, and they could be compromised if we acted differently around them anyway. If we come across them, they'll raise the alarm to keep their cover, and we need to treat them like we would anyone else." Vanguard pulled the car off the road and down an empty street. "That means we disable them just like we would any other White Fang."
"Wouldn't that get them captured?"
"We're not here to take prisoners, Rat."
Jaune swallowed nervously.
"We're not here to kill, either," Magician interrupted, touching his arm. "Bodies are evidence, and that would cause panic among the populace. While we can kill them, we'll be better off incapacitating them – or ideally not being detected at all."
"Yeah, ideally…" Vanguard grunted. "Let's see how that goes."
"Don't be so cynical, Van."
"I prefer the term, realistic. As for you, Rat, follow our instructions and stick behind us. You're shadowing us on this one, so don't do anything to stand out."
"I get it. I'll stay quiet."
"Good." Vanguard stopped the car and switched it off. "Switch to encoded channels now, and switch off the mics. You can still talk, but keep the chatter to a minimum, and all of it between us. We don't want these idiots to know who we are and what we're doing."
Magician nodded and flipped a switch on her mask, and Jaune did the same a second later. It wouldn't change anything, at least not to them, but it would mean their voices wouldn't be heard outside of the mask. To everyone else, they'd appear completely silent, which would probably be pretty scary now that he thought about it. He'd look and sound like a silent avatar of death.
He wouldn't be, of course. He could be screaming like a banshee behind the mask… it was just that no one would know.
Vanguard nodded once they were all synchronised, and then stepped out of the car. Magician did the same with Jaune following. The doors slammed shut and the car locked, they ducked low and jogged deeper into the alleyway, away from the main road that still busted with life. Over several buildings, some cranes could be seen standing tall over the surroundings. That was probably the docks, with the cranes used to move heavy containers on and off the cargo ships.
They were still in public territory, though – and dressed suspicious enough to draw attention. Vanguard rushed up to a ladder and tested it by placing a foot on it. He then backed away and nodded upwards. Magician returned the nod, then scaled it with incredible agility.
"You next," Vanguard said. "I'll bring up the rear."
Jaune was less swift with the ordeal, but did his best. Despite his aversion to flying, he didn't have any real problems with heights, but it was still slow going – about the same pace any normal person would use to climb a ladder. I'll have to ask Magician how she did it so fast. Even Vanguard looks like he has to slow down for me, and he probably weighs a lot more than I do.
"Up you come," Magician said, taking his hand and dragging him up the last few rungs. She tugged him along and out the way so their last member could scale up. Vanguard didn't say a word, and instead rushed past to peek over the edge of the building.
"The rooftops are how we usually move," Magician explained. "People call them the thieves highway, so it's not unusual to see people up here."
"And it's not a bad thing if people assume we're criminals, right?"
"You're learning…" She nodded her head, and he could imagine a smile behind the mask. "It would be odd for us to walk the streets, but up here, everyone assumed we're thieves travelling to and fro. The police would almost certainly try to stop us, but we should have no problem outrunning them."
"If class is over, we do have a mission," Vanguard interrupted.
"I'm just teaching him something…"
"He'll learn better by experience. The coast is clear, so get moving." Vanguard took a running jump and leapt from one building to the next. His legs flexed on landing, body crouched low as he stood and waved back to them. Despite the distance, his voice came into their masks as though he stood right by them. "If you don't think you can make the distance, then use your grapple. We shouldn't need them all, and the Director would be annoyed if I let you splat across the pavement."
Jaune rolled his eyes, but realised a second later no one could see it. The jump looked frightening, but it honestly wasn't that far, only about three metres across, and maybe two lower than the building they were already on. It would be like jumping off a caravan roof, and nowhere near as catastrophic as his botched landing during initiation. He took a running jump and held his breath, letting it go as he landed and stumbled on the other side. Vanguard caught him before he could fall, and Magician made the leap after him, landing gracefully with one hand on the roof.
The journey continued like that for five minutes or so, Vanguard scouting out the best places to jump and the two of them trusting his judgment. Only once did he need to use his grapple, and that was to make one that required them to go a little higher. Magician was able to jump across and catch herself on a window ledge, then scale the sheer wall. Vanguard and he were far less able, and cheated their way up.
Eventually, however, the buildings gave way to open ground interspersed with brightly coloured cargo containers. Their final jump was from some kind of office building onto the top of them, and Jaune winced at the loud, metallic sound. The three of them threw themselves down and laid low, waiting to see if anyone heard it.
"Ditch the containers," Vanguard instructed. "We'll use them as cover, but stick low. We stand out now, and we don't want to be silhouetted against the sky."
"What about the noise we just made?"
"Kids, late night workers or animals. So long as we're not here when someone comes to investigate, they'll make up their own excuse."
"No one expects us here," Magician said. "If there are any guards, they'll have been doing this for weeks or months already. Unless the enemy is on high alert, you can usually expect a certain degree of laxity in their actions."
"Expect, but don't count on it," Vanguard warned. "That kind of thinking can get you killed." He nodded ahead and took them through several twists and turns in the containers. A warehouse in the distance started to come closer, and Jaune quickly figured out what the target was. "We enter through the roof and make our way down," Vanguard said. "In the event of an escape, our exfiltration point if the roof again. If things get hairy, use your grapple as a zipline to get away. If you hit a container, you can ride it down to there."
He nodded, but hoped it wouldn't come to that.
"Guards on left," Magician whispered. "Two, neither looking this way. Move across and I'll cover you." She paused by a container and slipped something out from her sleeve. It was a gun of some sort, but much smaller than the ones he'd seen Nora and Ruby use. In fact, it was little more than a silver handgun. He didn't get a chance to see much more as Vanguard took hold of his arm and dragged him out into the open.
"Don't hesitate," he hissed. "The moment there's an opening, we take it. If you pause for even a second, you're dead. Always keep moving." The large man hauled him across the open ground, then tossed him back so that he slammed against one of the concrete walls. "Clear," he reported. "Make your way over now, Magician."
"Roger that."
There was barely time for him to catch his breath before she was over and to them, and she was much faster than either he or Vanguard were. She held the gun in her hand, but paused when she saw him looking. With a soft laugh, she flipped it over so that it spun around her finger. With a flourish of her arms, she opened her hand, only for the gun to have vanished.
"Impressed?" she asked. "I'm called Magician for a reason."
"Save the flirting for later. We need a way up."
"There's a drainpipe over there."
"Do Rat and I look light enough to scale that?"
"Well, you could both stand to lose some weight then." Magician laughed, but quickly dashed over and started to climb the metal pipe. She handled it easily, but Jaune had a feeling had he or Vanguard tried, it would have collapsed. Once she was at the top, she vanished over the ledge of the building, but a moment later, a spool of rope fell down. Vanguard grabbed it and tugged a few times to make sure it was secure.
"Have you ever climbed a sheer rope before?" he asked.
Jaune winced. His silence was probably answer enough, as embarrassing as that was to admit.
"Ugh, typical. Fine, hold the bottom for me while I get up, then get a good grip and I'll pull you myself. Get yourself to a gym, though. I won't be around to do this all the time."
"Can't we use our grapples?" Jaune asked.
"Too loud. There could be White Fang inside." Vanguard placed one foot on the wall and pulled himself up so that he was walking sideways. "Here, grab the rope and keep it taut."
"Whoah!" Jaune almost stumbled in his rush to catch it. He had to admit, it was impressive how fast such a big man could scale the wall. There was a certain terror, however. If anyone were to look this way, then the faunus' night vision wouldn't even be needed to see them. They stood out like sore thumbs.
How is no one noticing this? I feel like we're being so obvious! They'd arrived in a car, parked it in an alley and then jumped across buildings to reach here, none of which seemed like anything the guys in the movies would have done. Then again, the movies always seemed to skip that, didn't they? Apart from the usual over-the-top thing with an agent in a secret jet plane or a missile, they never really covered how to sneak in.
With the airspace being completely clear, either of those things would have just drawn more attention. Maybe this was the best way…
"I'm up. Grab hold of the rope, Rat."
"I've got it." He wrapped it around his wrist and held tight, then placed a foot on the wall like Vanguard had. When the rope started to tug up, Jaune walked up the wall, assisted by the burly man above. "Hey, this isn't so hard."
"Because I'm doing half of it for you," Vanguard huffed. "You can climb on your own the next time." He grunted and dragged Jaune up the remaining few feet, then drew up the rope and dumped it by the edge. "We'll use it again if we can, and it's not like we'll need it if we're spotted. There's no way to trace it back to us."
Jaune nodded and panted for a little bit, drawing breath into his lungs as Magician and Vanguard scanned the roof and tested the doors. As expected, they were all closed and locked. "We could break or pick them," Magician explained, "but that would be an obvious entry point. If they have guards inside, they'll be watching the doors." She turned to him and crossed her arms. "Do you see any other ways in? Might as well give you a little test."
A test, now!? He'd have complained but he was too busy catching his breath. Instead, he looked around the roof for anything that stood out. There was a large, metallic structure that pumped air.
"The ventilation system?"
"Straight from the movies," Magician chuckled. "Sadly, no, it's not a good idea. The metal used for it is lightweight and weak, all the better to save material when all it's used for is funnelling out air. Even if it could hold our weight, we'd be walking or crawling on metal, and I don't need to tell you how loud that can be."
Ah, that was a good point. With that in mind, they'd be best avoiding any metal floors at all, since those would make their footsteps echo. He glanced around for a skylight, but there didn't seem to be any. The warehouse was just a squat, square building with a flat roof and a single access door.
"I give up," he said. "What do we do?"
"It's a trick question," Vanguard grunted, knelt by the door. It clicked open a second later. "We go in the obvious way."
"But didn't you just say that was a bad idea?"
"I said it would be an obvious entry point that might be guarded," Magician defended. "I never said we couldn't deal with those guards, or that we shouldn't. Individually, we are better trained than any White Fang guard." She paused and looked at him. "Or two of us are…"
Ouch. Not untrue, but still…
Vanguard led them into the building, code name suiting his actions as he scanned the corridor left and right, then waved them down. The floor beneath them was stone and concrete, though off to the left, there was a mezzanine walkway that led over and into the main warehouse. Magician shook her head at it, and Jaune nodded as he noticed it was made of rusted metal. They'd be heard the second they stepped out onto it – and that was if it didn't collapse altogether. They took the other route instead, which skirted around the interior wall on the second or third floor.
"The lights aren't on," Jaune whispered, activating his night vision. "Are we sure this is the right place?"
"White Fang likes to keep their safehouses dark. Anyone who asks for a light to be turned on is probably a human spy, and if the police do show up, they'll be at a disadvantage."
"Not much of a safehouse if we know about it."
"Don't be mistaken, Rat. This place is unknown to the authorities." Vanguard waved them into another corridor and past a staircase. He glanced down it and shook his head, then pushed himself up against a door on the other side of the corridor, listening through it. He nodded a second later and tested the handle. It was open, and the door swung quietly open.
"Overseer's office," Magician whispered, sliding in. "Looks unused, but should have a good view of the entire warehouse."
"Is it safe to stand at the window?" Jaune asked, a little worried since the woman was peering through it. "Won't they see you?"
"It's all but impossible to see through if there's not enough light to refract it, and they've got everything turned off. Besides, they're not going to look up here." She hummed to herself, and Jaune walked up with a shrug to look through as well.
He winced at what he saw.
"Well, it definitely looks active," Vanguard said. "I guess the Director's intel was spot on. Looks to me like it's a distribution centre. They probably ship dust in mixed among commercial transports, then steal it from the docks and shuttle it deeper into Vale. I wouldn't say think this is where they're keeping it."
"No sign of the Paladin, either," Jaune pointed out, looking for any unusual shapes. There were none. "Does that mean this was a waste?"
"Not necessarily. We cut out a location, and we confirmed the White Fang are active." Vanguard pointed down to two uniformed soldiers who were securing the top of a wooden crate. "They're busy little bees, huh? Looks like something is going down."
Jaune agreed, even if he wasn't sure what it was. There were rows and rows of boxes and crates, and given that these guys were terrorists, he very much doubted they were filled with cuddly toys and chocolate bars. "What's going to happen to this place?" he asked. "Now that we know it's a White Fang base, I mean. Will it be raided?"
"Doubtful," Magician answered. "Oh, don't worry – we won't let this go on. The Director will probably have the place bugged, or assign someone to watch over it. If we shut this down, however, then the White Fang will only move it elsewhere. It's best to milk it for all the information we can get. If he has the shipments followed, we might be able to find all the safehouses this place delivers to." She turned to face him and he could tell she was smiling. "That might mean the VSS can alert the police, and then shut down several outposts at once. A good profit for a single night's work, eh?"
It was – and Jaune felt both relieved and proud to know it. He hadn't really done anything himself, but their actions tonight might make a serious dent in the White Fang's operations, even if that meant holding back for now. Come to think of it, they'd probably have to hold off until they'd secured the Paladin, otherwise the White Fang might panic and try to hide it – or worse – use it.
"So," Vanguard said. "Not bad for an introductory mission, no?"
"It wasn't," he said. "It was actually pretty easy. I take it not all missions are like this?"
"Depends, really. More often than not, they are. There wouldn't be much of a life expectancy if every mission was a shit show from the start. You get dangerous ones, too, but that's usually when something goes wrong." He pushed off the window and stepped away. "This one seems fairly clean cut. You're recording this, Magician?"
"Yep. We have what we need," Magian nodded. "The Paladin isn't here, but the White Fang are. We should leave and report this back to the Director. He'll know what to do."
"Understood," Vanguard replied. "Rat, make your way back to the upper floor an-"
"Vanguard, wait!"
Magician's voice was filled with urgency, and silenced the larger man in an instant. Their eyes were drawn once more to the scene below, where a much larger member of the White Fang armed with a chainsaw was walking beside another man.
A human, that was. But why would the White Fang work with their sworn enemies?
"Torchwick," Vanguard growled. "What the hell is he doing here?"
"He couldn't be working with the White Fang, surely. They despise humans, and he must represent the worst of them. Wait, Vanguard, do you think he could have had something to do with the raid on that train?"
Vanguard was silent for a long moment, but eventually nodded. "It's possible. He would have the resources and the skill to pull it off, and I'd believe Torchwick having agents in the Atlas military long before I would the White Fang."
"Should we leave?" Jaune asked nervously. "Oobleck needs to know about this, right?"
"He'd rather know what Torchwick does."
"He might know where the Paladin is," Magician agreed. "He could well be visiting here to arrange for its transport."
"Then we report that back," Jaune tried, almost desperately. "Guys, this is getting pretty dangerous for an introductory mission. We're supposed to be avoiding risks!"
"The mission's changed. It happens a lot." Vanguard moved, and Jaune was left with no option but to follow, keeping his head low. "Take it as a learning experience, Rat. This is a golden opportunity for us. We need to hear what Torchwick is saying."
"Do we, though? It's not like he's going to up and tell them where it is!"
"No, but he might hint as to why he's working alongside them," Magician whispered. She kept her voice calm and soothing. "He is more than just a petty criminal, Rat. If he's working with a dangerous organisation like them, it can only mean bad things. It would be in Vale's best interests for us to know why, and what they intend. I'm sorry, Rat," she added. "We wouldn't suggest this otherwise, but the knowledge we gain here might save lives."
Yeah, and cost him his. Jaune bit his lip, but knew there was nothing he could do. Sure, they might agree to let him leave early, but he had no idea where to go, and Oobleck would no doubt have words. Besides all of that, a part of him didn't want to leave. It was dangerous and he was afraid, but if he couldn't face that to try and help the people of Vale, then how could he expect himself to face the Grimm as a huntsman?
He couldn't. Fear was fear, no matter the cause.
"Fine," He gritted out. "I'm in."
"That's the spirit," Vanguard drawled. "Either way, this op is now beyond your level. I want you to sit back and stay hidden in this room. Leave the rest to Magician and I."
"Don't worry, Rat," the girl said, nodding her masked face at him. "We've done missions like this before. We'll be fine."
What else could he say? Jaune nodded and watched as the two slipped from the office, their footfalls all but silent on the concrete walkway. They vanished into the shadows a moment later and were gone. Being left alone in an overseer's office in the middle of a warehouse infested with dangerous terrorists wasn't exactly how he'd planned to spend his first weekend in Vale. It also wasn't what he imagined his team assumed he was up to.
With a put-upon sigh, Jaune moved quietly over to the desk and sat down on it, then – to give himself something to do – rooted through the drawers for any incriminating documents. Financial reports, some stuff about targets and deliveries, but it looked like the previous people who'd worked here and not Torchwick. What had he expected, that criminals would keep detailed paperwork and accounts?
There was no chatter from Vanguard and Magician, which probably meant they'd moved to a private channel, rather than that they weren't talking. The silence was smothering, especially when he could still hear the occasional bump and raised voice from downstairs. It's fine, he told himself, I just need to wait until they finish with everything. There's nothing to worry about. It was five minutes of relative silence before Vanguard's voice came back, and it was with something he didn't want to hear.
"Jaune, move!"
The command was so sudden, he surged to his feet, but his mind was addled and he fixated on the wrong thing. "Wait, you used my name-"
"There's no time. You have to move!"
"Why?" Jaune asked, but the raised voices and oncoming footsteps answered his question long before Vanguard could. They were just outside the door and coming closer. His eyes widened and he looked about, but apart from the window, there were no other exits from the room.
He was trapped.
"Because Torchwick is coming straight for you," Vanguard groaned. "Shit."
The door opened.
"Well, well, well," Roman Torchwick drawled. He twirled his cane and leaned on it, even as the White Fang with him recoiled in shock. Weapons were raised a second later, and Jaune took a step backwards. "What do we have here, hm? You didn't tell me we had a guest."
"Because we didn't invite one," the huge faunus growled.
"Then I see your security is as lax as ever. I suppose we'll have to get the answers straight from our friend's mouth, hm?"
"The mission is compromised," Vanguard snarled, his voice coming through the mask and only to Jaune's ears. "Magician, go loud!"
Loud…?
"Roger that. Rat? Brace yourself."
"Wait, brace myself for what!?"
She didn't answer with words, not that he'd have been able to hear her if she had. Instead, there was a loud explosion that shook the room, sending not only him, but also Torchwick and the White Fang to their knees. People screamed and the world shifted, even as the vibrations from the explosion robbed him of sight and sound temporarily.
A second later, the concrete floor beneath their feet gave way.
Oh, Jaune thought as he hurtled towards the ground below. That's what `loud` means…
The first mission, and, of course, this being a fic, it goes wrong. This chapter came with a little exposition as well, important to explain something of the political situation (or at least as I see it from what we've been presented with in the show). After all, Atlas doesn't seem to share their technology with Vale, and there have been wars in the past.
Makes sense that they would have their own agenda in mind – as would Vale.
Next Chapter: 10th September
P a treon . com (slash) Coeur
