Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY
AN/ I'm back, who's ready for some action? And by action, I mean business. And by business, I mean grand theft. Anyways, I'm really enjoying the reception I'm getting for this story, I came into this expecting a lukewarm reception at best, but from what I can tell you all really do enjoy this story, so I want to thank you all for sticking with me through this, it means a lot. Anyways, on to the chapter!
Ruby sighed as Ilia stared her down, unsure if she was being challenged or mentally stripped.
"Take a picture Ilia, it'll last longer." She heard Blake speak up, whether it was supposed to be at her expense or Ilia's, she wasn't sure.
"Anyways, we're closing in on our date, less than a week, does everyone understand the layout, the plan?" Ruby asked.
"Red, you've drilled it into our heads last week, if we forgot already, we have brain damage." Kirmizi groaned.
"Considering the lack of faith, you've had in this plan, I had to make sure. We have a two-hour window in the east wing before anyone important should be there, after that we move on to the west wing to make our escape and grab anything else of value on our way out, understood?" Ruby asked, waiting for an affirmative response.
"Understood. And what if we're discovered?" Slate asked.
"Then we grab what we can and run. Ilia, I want you to be the first body at the exit, I want that door already open for us when we arrive." Ruby ordered, receiving a nod from the chameleon faunus.
"And where will we be dumping everything?" Mordecai asked.
"There will be a box truck stashed in an alley nearby. Blake, you and I will be the first to dump our things, that way we can give everyone else a distraction. After that, we scatter, I pick up the truck, everything gets fenced, and you get your cut." Ruby stated proudly.
"You might be insane Red, but hearing you explain that, makes me feel just slightly better about this." Mordecai praised.
"Insane makes it fun. Go on, rest up for the next couple of days, meet me back here at midnight, showtime is at noon." Ruby dismissed the group. As the five faunus left, Ruby's eyes lingered on Blake as she disappeared through the door.
"What's on your mind Ruby?" Neo asked as she revealed herself.
"I get the feeling that I'll see Blake again, and not on friendly terms." Ruby stated.
"I'd say that's just paranoia, but that's oddly specific." Neo responded.
"Some help you are. I can only imagine what Roman will say after all this." Ruby said as she fished out some jerky.
"He'll be proud no doubt. Celebratory shopping trip when you're done?" Neo asked.
"I could use some new clothes, kinda done with skirts if I'm being honest." Ruby admitted.
"Aw, but you look so cute." Neo joked.
"But I don't want to be cute, name one cute criminal." Ruby dared.
"Easy, you." Neo responded before laughing to herself.
"I supposes I walked into that one. Come on, I'm hungry." Ruby said as she walked out of the warehouse.
"Roman had a roast going today, should be done by the time we get home." Neo said, following behind the young faunus.
"Ooh, my favorite. Leftovers for days!" Ruby cheered. The walk home was spent in comfortable silence between the two. Ruby's thoughts drifted back to Blake. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen.
*The day of the heist*
"You're certain most of the valuables are on the second floor?" Ilia asked as the team prepared to enter.
"One hundred percent. You would be surprised how easy it is to buy the help." Ruby joked.
"Alright, ladies first then." Ilia shook her head at Slate. Climbing the brick wall, Ilia hid herself with her camouflage, avoiding the security cameras outside the building. Making it up to the window, Ilia peered inside, looking for any signs of life. Seeing nothing, she cracked open the window and climbed inside.
"Alright, she's in, Mordecai, your semblance please." Ruby asked. Suddenly a small bird appeared in his hand. A canary, if she had to guess. The bird looked around before suddenly flying towards the one camera and landing in the view of the lens, blocking it.
"Alright, everyone in, it's showtime." Ruby ordered, gesturing towards the window. As the group stepped out of their hiding spot, a rope fell from the open window. Climbing it one by one, the faunus made their way inside.
"Alright, we're in. Voices down, step quietly, check your corners." Ruby ordered as she opened her duffel and began searching the room. The room they were in was a small office, small things scattered about, likely meant for guests. Ruby heard the others open their bags and follow suit. Most of what was found were small clocks, not worth much.
"Rooms a bust, split up, if you need help with something, wait and we'll come back to it as a group." Ruby ordered as she cracked the door open. Peering into the hallway, Ruby saw no guards. Stepping out, Ruby motioned towards the other rooms as she walked to the door opposite her. Stepping into the room, Ruby was almost blinded by how white it was.
"Alright, clearly someone's bedroom, let's see what they have." Ruby said to herself as she began digging through the drawers. Finding small jewelry, Ruby cheered silently. However, this room was clearly a guest room. Checking twice over, Ruby sighed when nothing else of value came up. Pulling out her map, Ruby checked which rooms were hers to hit. With her direction set, Ruby put her ear to the door, listening for the heavy footsteps of security. Hearing nothing, Ruby slowly opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Seeing Blake also change rooms, Ruby spoke up.
"Mine was a guest room, yours?" She asked.
"Same. Slate and Mordecai have already moved on, Ilia is still working on hers." Blake explained.
"And Kirmizi?" Ruby asked.
"Working on a safe, otherwise his room was worthless." Blake added.
"Right. All of the bedrooms should be in this wing, we'll eventually find the good ones." Ruby offered.
"Right, let's go." Blake said, leading the wolf faunus down the hall. Splitting off to enter their respective rooms, Ruby was surprised by what she saw in hers. Gear racks lined the room, hunter memorabilia decorated the walls. A guest room intended specifically for huntsmen and huntresses. Wiping the drool from her mouth, Ruby set to work.
"They always leave behind some interesting things. Like an easily replaced scroll." Ruby spoke to herself as she pulled a lost scroll from under the bed. Turning it on, she sighed in relief when it came up blank, having been forgotten about long ago and everything transferred.
Searching the drawers, Ruby had managed to find a rather expensive looking watch, as well as a cross necklace. Hoping the necklace was made of something valuable, Ruby made sure it stayed in her bag. Running over the room once more, Ruby found nothing more.
"The next set of rooms are the largest, so hopefully that means more stuff." Ruby said to herself. Stepping out into the hallway, she saw Ilia and Kirmizi comparing their bags.
"So Red, what have you managed to find?" Ilia asked.
"Not much, guest rooms are unsurprisingly empty, just some jewelry, a scroll and a watch so far." Ruby explained.
"Managed to crack a safe, just a bit of loose lien and a gold bar though." Kirmizi explained.
"Mostly loose jewelry for me too, the larger rooms are coming up though, right?" Ilia asked.
"That they are, you two hit the master bedroom, Blake will join you, Slate and Mordecai will get the youngest two, Winters room is mine." Ruby explained.
"You got it Red." Ilia left with a wink, Kirmizi shaking his head at Ilia's antics. Turning towards the room she had labeled as Winters, Ruby steeled herself as she opened the door. Something she refused to tell anyone was why she made sure only she was searching this room. Something was calling her here. Opening the door, Ruby took one look before confirming her guess. It was a large room, sparsely decorated and meticulously cleaned.
"Definitely Winter. Let's see what it is you're hiding here." Ruby said before immediately rifling through the drawers. Finding far more jewelry than the last two rooms, Ruby sang inside her head. Her bag quickly filled with the expensive accessories one would expect of a Schnee. Finishing with the drawers, Ruby then turned to the bookshelves and small display stands. Finding rare books and records, Ruby began wondering how she was going to empty the room.
"So much stuff here, and all of it valuable." Ruby cheered. Discovering she still had some room left, Ruby turned towards the large closet. Feeling that pull again, Ruby opened the door. Walking into the closet, Ruby was dumbstruck by the amount of expensive clothing. Deciding to have a bit of fun, Ruby grabbed a handful of dresses and walked towards the connected bathroom. Dropping the dresses in the tub, Ruby turned back towards the closet.
"Hope you like wet clothes." Ruby sang as she stepped back into the closet. Walking further back, Ruby saw what appeared to be a display case, fogged over from time. Pulling the glass off, Ruby was dismayed to see that it was empty, but confused as to what it was supposed to hold.
"A display hand? And only a right hand? What would've been put on here, all of her jewelry was in the drawer." Ruby wondered aloud. Turning back to the bathroom, Ruby returned to the tub and began running water. Not too much, she wanted time to leave, but enough that the clothing would certainly be soaked and the tub close to spilling over. Leaving the room, she saw Ilia standing outside the door to the master bedroom.
"Good, you're here, we found something." Ilia said, dragging Ruby into the room.
"What did you find?" Ruby asked as she was led into a small office.
"A display case. We wanted to get your opinion if we should open it." Ilia explained, gesturing towards Kirmizi who was inspecting the case. Pushing the man aside, Ruby stopped cold.
"We're opening this. Now." Ruby ordered, leaving no room for debate.
"What's so valuable about that?" Kirmizi asked.
"It's not about how valuable it is, it's about who that belongs to. Kirmizi, you said you had some loose lien in a safe?" Ruby asked as she inspected the stand.
"Yeah, why?" Kirmizi asked.
"I need three of those cards, now." Ruby demanded.
"Ok, can I ask what for?" Kirmizi asked.
"See this key hole? Display stands like this will always trigger an alarm if you don't deactivate the system first. But there is always a catch, and even the best systems have flaws. These ones have three sensors to detect if the glass has been lifted, but they aren't the most sensitive in the world." Ruby explained as she began to wedge one of the cards underneath the glass.
"So, are those cards for?" Ilia asked.
"I need you two to hold them down once I find the sensors, then we can lift the glass. Just make sure you keep pressure on the cards, otherwise we'll need to run early." Ruby ordered as she took the cards from Kirmizi. Wedging one under the glass, Ruby ran it along the side, feeling for the bump of the sensor. Finding the first one, Ruby set about, finding the other two. After the cards were in place, Ruby sighed.
"Alright, Ilia, you're holding those two, Kirmizi, you're holding that one, and helping me rock this this thing open, understood?" Ruby asked, ready to claim her prize. Receiving a nod from the other two faunus, Ruby began to lift the glass up. With Kirmizi's help, Ruby was able to grab what was inside and dropped it into her bag. Setting the glass back down, Ruby pulled the cards out.
"And that's how you defeat pressure sensors." Ruby said triumphantly.
"Alright, let's find the others and go." Ilia said, zipping up her bag.
"Not quite yet. Start grabbing clothes and dump them in the bath tub, let me know and then we can go." Ruby said as she began to wonder where to leave the card. Watching as the two faunus emptied the closet, an idea came to her. Grabbing a pen, Ruby noticed Ilia walk over.
"Alright, any reason you wanted us to do that?" She asked, confused as Ruby searched her pocket for something. Pulling out her borrowed lighter, Ruby stood in front of the bath tub. Opening the lighter, Ruby touched the flame to one of the dress shirts on top, watching as it set fire.
"Now we can go, check on the others, make sure they're good. Ilia, the exit please." Ruby asked, dismissing the two. "Damned Schnee's."
Exiting the room, Ruby saw Blake adjusting her bag, with Slate and Mordecai ready to go. A silent nod was all Ruby gave before they began their trek into the heart of the manor. Turning back towards the door, Ruby pulled out her calling card and stabbed it into the heavy wood with the pen. Turning to catch up with her team, Ruby began a light jog.
"So, which way?" Blake asked as Ruby caught up.
"This way, towards the library. The sisters should be heading towards the east wing now, the guards are rotating their patrols that way as well." Ruby explained.
"Right, and cameras?" Slate asked.
"Should be easy to avoid, otherwise Mordecai will have to use his semblance again." Ruby shrugged. Ruby was becoming rather worried. Something should have been noticed by now. Sure, there were no cameras in the rooms or that specific hallway, but a guard should have shown up at least once. Leading the group towards Ilia, Ruby listened for anything that would indicate they were being followed. Suddenly, a voice sounded from around the corner.
"Weiss, why do you challenge father." An older voice sighed.
"I don't know what you mean sister." A younger voice responded.
"Weiss, you're fifteen, and yet you have done everything in your power to get around what father has demanded of you." Winter spoke.
"And so have you. Or was joining the military not a stunt to get away from him?" Weiss asked, challenging her sister.
"Perhaps there is hope for you yet." Winter stated proudly. The sisters kept talking as they walked away from the group, blissfully unaware of the intruders.
"Be on the lookout, where they are, guards are sure to follow." Ruby said quietly. Leading the group out of the small room, Ruby looked around, attempting to find the library.
"We must be ahead of schedule then if they're still here." Blake commented.
"Better for us then, more time to escape before the fanfare starts." Slate added. Ruby kept silent as she walked. Something was up, Ruby could feel it. Nobody breaks into a building with a Schnee in it without alerting someone, and there was of course the rotating guard, which they still had yet to see.
"You're thinking." Blake stated, leaving no room for an argument.
"Something is wrong. Don't you find it suspicious that we haven't run into anyone? By now we should have come across a patrol." Ruby reasoned.
"All the more reason we should leave now then." Slate responded. Heavy bootsteps filled the hall in front of them.
"Quick, in here!" Ruby hissed as she dived towards the nearest door. Shutting the door after everyone followed, Ruby put her ear to the door.
"How many?" Blake asked as she looked around the room.
"Sounds like five or six, hard to tell." Ruby whispered.
"How much further to the library?" Mordecai asked.
"Should be in the next hallway over, but with a patrol now walking by, and not MOVING, we're kinda stuck." Ruby complained, keeping her voice down enough to not alert the guards outside the door.
"Great, any secret paths here towards the library?" Kirmizi asked.
"Nope, every secret passage leads out. And the library is still the closest to us. They're moving, get ready to go." Ruby silenced the group. Stacking behind Ruby, everyone checked that their bags were secure. As Ruby opened the door, she sighed in relief. Their destination set, Ruby led the way.
"Ilia is supposed to have the door already open, right?" Kirmizi asked.
"If she values her life and a paycheck, yes. Keep your guard up, something is going to happen, I can feel it." Ruby warned as they rounded the corner. The library in their sight, Ruby sped up her pace. Entering the library, Ruby looked around for Ilia.
"There you are. What took so long?" Ilia asked as she exposed herself from her hiding spot.
"A patrol and the Schnee's, nothing too bad." Blake explained as she stepped into the passage.
"I'm not going to lie, I thought you would have run off by now, good job. All of you go through, wait for me, I'll close the door behind us." Ruby ordered. Watching as her hired help disappeared through the passage. Closing the door behind her, Ruby never noticed the figure in white watching from the door.
AN/ And that's a chapter! So, I'm planning something, but tell me how I did, and take a guess at what Ruby found, it's not quite what you think, I swear. Also, what do you think of the heist so far? Good? Bad? Lackluster? Tell me how I'm doing. Progress was slow this week because of spring break and needing to get caught up on homework, still not quite done, but I'm definitely getting there. Anyways, until next time, have a great day!