Late again with the update. Life and I MAY or may not have been preoccupied with Breath of the Wild. As always, thanks a bunch for the continued support of the story. It means a lot more to me than you know. Anyway, let's get to it.

Italic: Thoughts/Letters/Journal Entries/Flashbacks/

Winter stood against the wall, arms crossed as she leveled the notorious criminal with a harsh stare. The man returned it with a simple, sly grin that only infuriated her. She held her tongue and remained silent, opting to let Sergeant Doyle play his hand after their success with Shadow.

She was not one for being able to read people well and would only begrudgingly admit it, but she knew this was not her area of strength. With how easy Shadow cracked after they implemented the waterboarding technique and how compliant he had been, she was sure that the boy had told them everything he knew that was true to his knowledge. However, until they had confirmation from the man sitting at the table in front of them, it was only suspected intelligence.

"So, what do I owe the pleasure of talking with you wonderful Atlas specialists this time?" Roman leaned forward resting his chin on his hands.

Sergeant Doyle said nothing and kept eye contact with the redhead. This only made Roman raise a brow in mock interest.

"Oh, not talking for once? This is definitely a new and wild move on your end!" He continued turning his gaze to Winter. "You too, Ice Queen? No chit chat? No witty retort? My, I'm just speechless."

Cold air graced her nostrils like a rush of water as she took a sharp breath. It took everything in her power to exercise restraint and refrain from biting at the crook's words. That was what he wanted and had succeeded in doing whenever she tried anything with him and it always worked in his favor. Not this time, though.

"Look Roman, I don't know how to break it to you, but Shadow broke and told us everything," said Doyle.

Roman merely rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, kicking his feet up on the table.

"Did he now?" He asked. "What'd he say?"

"A little of this. A little of that, but I can say that it was more than enough to make a move on your friends."

Roman laughed and shook his head. He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.

"Ah, that's rich. My friends, huh? Let me tell you a little something about the business here," he said as he rested his feet back on the floor.

He made sure that Doyle and Winter were listening closely before continuing.

"Black market criminals like me have no friends. We're nothing but rats trying to survive and become top dog. It's a game, and I'm very good at it."

Doyle shrugged and folded his arms.

"Not good enough if you're here," he said offhandedly.

"Hey, I got my fair share of enemies. The Breach was a means of insurance on my end."

Doyle shook his head and his brow creased into a firm glare.

"You mean to tell me that you are the real mastermind behind the Breach? You said the same thing to General Ironwood when we first caught you, but I know you're full of shit," he said.

The crook smirked back at him and leaned back in his chair. He placed the cigar they brought him in his mouth and lit it with the lone match that was on the table. Embers glowed at the tip and the smell of smoke began to fill the room. He took one long puff and blew out a small stream of smoke.

"That's right. I'm not exactly the most liked person in the market, and with good reason. I've screwed over just about every lowlife rat in this town and there's a lot of them that want nothing more than to see me dead in a gutter. What better way to save my own skin than to willingly let Atlas take me into custody?"

Doyle just shrugged lightheartedly.

"Maybe I'd believe it if Shadow didn't convince me otherwise. You're Queen's bitch, that much is certain."

There was a small shift in Roman's eyes. It was subtle, but they grew sharp at the remark.

"Don't affiliate me with that woman," he answered back with a puff of smoke.

"Why not? I know it's true." Doyle stood up.

He stretched for a minute and pulled out his pack of cigarettes and picked one from it. His fingers brought the death stick to his lips and he fumbled in his pocket again to fish out a lighter. It clicked open and a flame ignited the tip of his cigarette and vanished as the lighter snapped shut.

His footsteps echoed around the room as he walked to Winter, keeping his back to Roman. He was now thinking of how he could trap Roman into confirming some of the information Shadow said before they proceeded with future operations.

"You may be an expert thief, but you scumbags excel at something more than that," said Doyle.

"Enlighten me, Professor!" Roman clapped from his chair.

"Self-preservation. You will fight those of your level or you can take down with ease, but the second you are outmatched or trapped, you will take the extreme option to make sure you survive. So, tell me, what is Queen holding over you to keep you in line?"

Winter silently watched her staff member turn around and pull his cigarette out to release a breath of smoke. Her eyes then trailed to Roman to see if he had been rattled at all. What she saw caught her interest just a bit.

The man had always been mocking and condescending in the previous questioning sessions, but now he had no words to offer. Instead, he found solace in taking a long drag from the cigar they gave him and a long glare.

"We know you were the middleman for Queen before we caught you, so what leverage does she have over you? What power does she have to keep you in check?"

Roman blew out more smoke from his cigar and the tip of it burned orange once more as he took another drag. He held his breath and released another stream after a few seconds, this time from his nose.

"Enough."

Doyle scoffed lightly and shook his head. Not much, but it was a start. The man was not denying his affiliation with Queen, but he had yet to spill what they truly needed.

He scratched the growing stubble on his face and trudged over to Roman as if he were ready to cuff him and return him to his cell like so many times before. That was until he straightened his arm and a small syringe fell from his sleeve and into his hand. His hand was a blur and it found its mark in Roman's neck.

The sudden poke made him stiffen and his eyes widened in surprise. He turned his gaze up to Doyle's and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Roman's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell out of the chair. He hit the floor with a hard thud and his cigar rolled away.

"What do you think?" Winter got off the wall.

Doyle looked back at her and then down to Roman.

"I think he needs a bath," he answered with a puff of smoke.

He bent down and sat Roman up before turning his gaze to the door. A sharp whistle shot from his lips and it opened to reveal Sergeant Green and another MP. The MP hurried over to help him carry Roman out of the room.

"I'll try waterboarding him when he wakes up. Why don't you see if Shadow's up so he can point out those hideouts on the map?"

Winter nodded back at Doyle, turned on her heel and departed the room with Sergeant Green to her left.

The two of them kept on their trek to Shadow's cell, simply enjoying each other's company and the calm silence. They rounded a corner and started down another long hall in the labyrinth of the cell block.

From the corner of her eye, Winter could see Green sparing her a glance every now and then.

"What is it, Sergeant?" She finally asked, making the man perk up.

"Nothing, ma'am. I just couldn't help but notice that you've changed a bit," he replied.

She quirked an eyebrow at his words and stopped in her tracks. The comment had been one of the last things she expected to hear from the man. Sure, they had offhanded conversations from time to time, but most of their talks had been business related. His remark about her attitude was a quick attention getter and her curiosity had risen.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Green offered her a small smile.

"Well, you're not as wound up as you used to be. You're more relaxed and open. You definitely seem more approachable and forgiving when it comes to mistakes."

She blinked at his response and her mind drifted for a moment.

Had she lightened up like he claimed? She was usually too busy to notice much of a change in herself. It had been the same routine day in and day out.

"I think that Blackburn has had a bit of an impact on you," he continued.

She shook her head and snapped to attention at that last remark. Her eyes cast down and her mind drifted to the man. It was almost hard for her to believe the words that came out of Green's mouth, but she would be lying if she denied that.

It was odd. It had been almost two whole months since she met Blackburn that night. She had been introduced to his courage and character from the get go when he defied her order to surrender and instead fought her. Their fight had been one sided, but she found his resolve to fight to the end like a warrior was admirable. She had been humiliated when he managed to hit her during their fight, and he did not even have Aura. As much as it infuriated her, it intrigued her at the same time.

From then on, their entire relationship had been based around petty arguments and fights. It could have been anything from personal stances on missions, or even something miniscule as an offhanded comment. Through those fights she learned quite a bit about him and a little about herself. The epiphany she came to was that it was not his personality she disliked, it was the opposite. She liked him because of it. It was a foil to her as her polar opposite.

She was used to structure, order and professionalism. It was not just from growing up under her father, but a part of military lifestyle. He was more laid back, risky, and tenacious. Even though he was in the military himself, he didn't let that completely dictate his actions, no matter what it brought. He challenged her and she challenged him, much like soldiers do regardless of their rank. She as his superior had standards for him in his training and pushed him to succeed, and he had challenged her with her decisions by questioning them and making her adapt to deal with his personality.

It was similar to her past relationship with Sergeant Silva, only more dynamic.

"I see…" she finally said.

Green immediately stiffened as if he had accidentally crossed the line and looked ready for the verbal lashing. She was almost taken aback by his quick reaction to her words, but smirked inwardly.

"Don't be so quick to judge," her words were sharp and fast, "I'm still me. By suggesting such a thing, it tells me I need to rectify my behavior, Sergeant."

"Right. My apologies, ma'am." Green nodded back, a thin layer of sweat began to sheen on his forehead.

Her face immediately softened and her shoulders shuddered a bit as a giggle escaped her.

"Ma'am?" Green looked at her utterly confused.

"Forgive me. I couldn't resist," she said with another giggle.

Green's posture relaxed and a look of relief washed over him and a small smile spread across his face. He shook his head and chuckled a little bit.

"You scared the crap out of there, ma'am," he said as they started walking again.

They rounded another corner and moved down the hall.

"So, what would you call Blackburn now?" He asked her.

She smiled again as they slowed to a stop outside Shadow's cell.

"A friend."

Winter's eyes stared at the blown up image of the map on the monitor.

She and Sergeant Green had escorted Shadow to the main deck with two MPs ready to restrain him or take him back to his cell if he had a change of heart. General Ironwood entered the room and the door sealed shut behind him.

"Room, attention!" She called out.

Every soldier snapped straight up as their commander was announced.

"As you were," Ironwood dismissed them.

He strode over to the console and stood beside her.

"Is he ready?" He asked, referring to Shadow.

"Yes, sir. I was waiting for you to arrive," she said with a nod.

He turned his eyes to the MPs and motioned for them move him to the map.

"You said that the White Fang had outposts that you knew of with key shipping points. I want you to point out exactly where they are on the map," said Ironwood.

Shadow nodded and walked up to the map. One of the MPs held out a pointer for him and he took it with some difficulty with his cuffed hands. Once he had a good grip, he looked up at the map again and his eyes scanned it as he got ready to point them out.

Winter was ready to highlight the area on the map he indicated and glanced at the list that Sergeant Green had made when they questioned him the other day. Four locations. Two on the border of Vacuo and Vale, one on the far northern end of Vale itself near the ports, and the last was on the west coast of Mistral. It was time to see if the boy was true to his word.

He finally lifted the pointer and shifted it to the border of Vacuo and Vale.

"One's here," said Shadow.

She circled the gridded section and plotted a number beside it to keep track of them. When she finished, she followed the pointer to the next one on the border. This time it was closer to the sea. She circled the area and marked it like the previous one. She did it again for the last two locations and did a check with what was written on the piece of paper to make sure nothing had been changed.

Shadow remained true to what he said, and if they could only get Roman to shed light on it for confirmation they would be set.

"And you're sure this is where these outposts are?" Ironwood towered in front of the boy.

Shadow's body immediately tensed and he nodded slowly, struggling to make eye contact with the general.

"I swear on my life," he quickly answered back.

"How long has it been since you've been to any of these locations?" Ironwood continued his questioning.

"I was at that one there the week before you captured me." He pointed to the location on Vale's northern end.

Ironwood nodded and sent a quick glance to the location and then back to Shadow. It was useful, but it was outdated. His capture would have guaranteed that the White Fang would have relayed it to their cells in those areas. If they knew they were compromised, there was a high chance they cleaned house and shifted any useful intelligence or supplies to a secondary location.

"That lieutenant you mentioned, Banesaw," said Ironwood, noting the boy's stiff state at the man's name. "How efficient is he at his job?"

Shadow's face was pale and he swallowed before opening his mouth to speak again.

"Very. He's Lotus' second in command for a reason. You fuck up, he makes an example of you. He's a strong, crazy psychopath that has little care for how a job gets accomplished. So long as it's done, he doesn't care who gets hurt or what is lost."

"I see. Then would I be correct in assuming that he would have alerted these outposts of your capture?" Ironwood replied.

Shadow's brow furrowed as if he was in deep thought for a moment and then nodded.

"Probably. Something goes wrong, he's quick to try and fix the mistake."

"Damn it." Ironwood clenched his fist.

"I hate to break it to you, but those locations I gave may be abandoned now."

Ironwood said nothing as he gave a hard stare at Shadow.

"For your sake they better not be," he said in a low tone.

With that, he dismissed the MPs who guided Shadow out of the room and back to the detention block. Ironwood turned to look up at the map again and crossed his arms as he thought about their options.

From her perspective, Winter could only see two. Inaction, which was not an option and the other would be to take the risk of using outdate information and try to get a lead. However, with that came the logistical issue.

They had four target areas and they could not divert much of their manpower due to their security role in Vale. The mission itself would take a few days and would require thorough searches to find any form of valid information.

"Permission to speak, sir?"

"Go ahead, Winter," Ironwood said turning to look at her.

"Would I be correct in assuming that we need to search these areas regardless of the chance?" She began.

"Yes, but that's not the problem."

"It's the manpower."

Ironwood nodded back and walked over to her. He was waiting to hear her opinion on the matter since she was the acting commander for the field missions.

"Since we can't deploy our forces, I don't think we have much of a choice. We need to ask Professor Ozpin to help us," she said.

"Go on," he answered back.

"If we can get four of his best teams for the job and some of his staff, we may be able to make this work."

Ironwood nodded at her proposition and cupped his chin.

"This still poses a problem. There's only three professors that can be sent into the field at a time. If you will be heading one of the teams, we would need one more person to lead the final one."

She bit her lip and looked down at the floor. As much as she would have liked to have Professor Goodwitch or Professor Peach tasked out to help, they had their hands full with additional duties to the school. She would be able to get Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port, but there was still a need for one more.

A sigh escaped her and she met Ironwood's eyes once more.

"There is one I can think of, sir," she said.

"Who is it?" He raised a brow.

"Blackburn. I know you and Ozpin barred him from missions after what happened on the last one and part of that was due to my complaint, but the fact is we need someone who can go. He's done things like this before, so it's only natural to have somebody like him leading one of the teams."

The general's face softened a bit as he mulled over her decision. It was doable, but he would not be able to give him the go ahead alone. There was also the risk of him leading a team against an enemy he knew little about. He was also not experienced in leadership, having confirmed that he was getting prepped to be an NCO.

"Before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to call Ozpin and tell him everything. He has to be the one to clear everything before we can even think of acting," he said.

"Understood, sir," she said as she pulled up the contact roster.

She dialed Ozpin's office line and they waited patiently. Once the line picked up, Ozpin's face appeared on the main monitor.

"James," Ozpin greeted with a small nod.

"Ozpin." Ironwood gave a nod of his own. "We have acquired some information pertaining to our ongoing operations against the White Fang."

"Do tell."

"We managed to get Shadow to talk and he revealed four locations that are areas of interest to acquire intelligence. I've got Lieutenant Schnee sending you the map now."

Winter was fast with Ironwood's statement and sent Ozpin the file containing the plotted areas Shadow gave them. She watched the man's eyes shift on the screen and scan the file she sent. After a long minute, Ozpin turned back to them and folded his hands.

"How credible is this information, James? You and I know how fast things change," said Ozpin.

Ironwood grimaced and let out a sigh.

"It's outdated. What you're looking at is two weeks old. Shadow told us that his capture more than likely made those cells change location," he answered back.

"Hmmm." Ozpin looked off the screen again. "What are you asking me?"

Winter took this as the time to stand up and speak for the general herself.

"Professor," she began after stepping out from the console and garnering his attention, "I'm requesting permission from you to have four of your best teams be tasked to us so we can search these hideouts. In addition to that, I would like to have Professor Port, Doctor Oobleck and Professor Blackburn to act as team leaders. I would be leading the fourth team myself. That way we will maintain security presence here in Vale."

She stood tall and proud. Her message was clear and confident and all she had to do was wait for him to give her the go ahead. And should he challenge her stance, she would defend it with everything she had.

"While that's a feasible plan Miss Schnee, I must ask, why do you feel it's important to search these locations? To my knowledge any time your team has received outdated intelligence, it has come up short when you had your teams search. What would make this time any different?" Asked Ozpin.

She felt the corner of her mouth twitch at the reminder of their searches coming up shorthanded, but the man had a point.

"Sir, with all due respect, I know this does not seem worth it in your eyes, but I can assure you it's of vital interest. Shadow told us that these spots in particular are stockpiling supplies that was stolen from the SDC. He said that there are White Fang locations all over each kingdom that are preparing for something big that would make the Breach look laughable, and I believe that these hideouts are a big part of that. If there's even the smallest chance we can intercept these cells if they have not abandoned these locations yet, it may bring us closer to exposing who Queen and Lotus are."

Ozpin's brow creased and he leaned forward on his desk.

"Is this personal to you, Miss Schnee?" He asked.

"Sir?" She tilted her head.

"Your father's company having its property stolen. Is this playing a role in your motivation to seek out these potential cells? I want to know that this is indeed a matter of continued operations and not a conflict of interest on your end."

She vehemently shook her head. This made Ozpin's eyes narrow a little as if he was trying to read her posture. Her quick denial may have set off an alarm in the old man's head, but if it did, he was quick to dismiss it.

"Very well. I will be willing to assign you some of my students, but there's one last thing I want to know before I do so," said Ozpin.

"Of course," she replied.

"You have requested Professor Blackburn to be one of your team leaders, yet he disregarded your orders and ours to ensure the last mission was a success. Are you confident with him leading a team of students in this mission and making the right decisions?"

"Yes, sir."

She wasn't sure why, but a knot formed in her stomach. It was not in regards to whether or not she wanted Blackburn on the mission, but with what she felt the headmaster was going to hit her with next.

"Even if it was your sister's team?" He lowered his hands.

Her eyes widened and she looked up at Ozpin. His face was stern, and she knew right there that he was dead serious with his question. It did not take her long to see where this was going. This would be the linchpin in his decision whether or not her suggestion was worth the trouble. He was going to bargain with her, but he would have the final say.

"Sir?" She broke the silence.

"Much like I asked you before with the SDC. I want to know if this will be a conflict of interest for you as well. Your sister's team along with teams CRDL, JNPR and CFVY are the ones I would task out to you, but I would not want you overseeing your sister's team."

"I…"

"Miss Schnee, your sister made the decision to choose this profession and I'm sure she knows the risks that come with it. If I were to let you watch her team, my concern would be that you may not be willing to take that step to ensure success in fear for bringing her harm."

"I… sir."

"If you agree to my terms I will grant you your request, but if you don't then I will have to deny it."

She cursed inwardly and felt her knuckles pop as her fists clenched tight.

Was it worth it to run the mission if it came at the cost of Weiss getting hurt? She was well aware of the potential her sister had and she was well skilled. She was impressed to hear that it was in fact her team that foiled Roman's plan during the Breach and it stood as a big mark for her budding resume as a Huntress.

The thought of Blackburn leading her team on the mission scared her. Having seen his aggressive approach and decision-making process, the last thing she wanted was for him to get her hurt, or even captured which would be something worse than death given her blood as a Schnee.

Could she truly trust him with a task like this?

"I need an answer, Miss Schnee," said Ozpin.

Her dry throat made her answer die when she gave it, prompting Ozpin to ask her again. Taking a deep breath, she regained her composure and made eye contact with the headmaster again.

"I would trust Blackburn to watch over my sister and her team," she said as firmly as she could.

Ozpin leaned back in his chair and fell silent, not once taking his eyes off of her. He eventually cast his gaze to James and then nodded.

"Very well. James, you and Miss Schnee will have your assets available whenever you're ready to conduct the mission. I shall inform the desired teams and professors of the tasking," he said.

"Thank you, Oz," said Ironwood.

With that, the call ended and Ozpin vanished from the screen. In that second, Winter let out a shaky breath she barely realized she had been holding.

"What have I done?"

She made a start for the console to change her mind, but stopped when she felt the firm hand of Ironwood on her shoulder. Her eyes met his and she could see a look of pride shining in them.

"I know that was a difficult decision for you, but you did well. As a leader you're going to make a lot of tough decisions in your career and a key part of the job is putting your trust in others," said Ironwood.

"I already regret making that one," she said with a shake of her head.

"It's done now. You and Blackburn may have different leadership styles, but something tells me he may surprise you."

She shook her head and took a deep breath.

"I hope you're right, sir. I would never forgive myself if something happened to Weiss."

I don't know about all of you, but it's about time we get some action chapters in, so expect the next couple of chapters to have some fighting. That being said, I really am trying to keep up with those deadlines, and I know I've been failing meeting them. So here's the deal. I've made it a point to check my schedule for when I have drill to make sure that doesn't disrupt the flow. I'll try to stick with the two week update, but as of now, I'm giving myself some more time between chapters so I don't drop the ball. I owe it to you all for sticking by the story and supporting it. Check out the info below, and I'll see you next time.

Statements:

1.) Next projected update is April 8th. Maybe sooner if I can sneak it in before drill.

Story Shout Outs:

"My Turn" by Le MAO XVII updated: 2/17/17

"Solipsism" by wahs96 last updated: 4/16/16

Review Responses:

Boyy2k: Thanks for the review. Well, sorry to break it to you, but Shadow and Blackburn aren't going to have any interactions from here on out.

AG1193: Thank you for the review. That was just a taste of his music collection. He's got more that will come into play later.

Dr . equinox: Thanks for the review. Uh, yeah, he got waterboarded. If that offends you, I'm not sorry.

TopHatGuy: Yeah, we got an enhanced interrogation technique in place, but I'm not going to touch down on it much from here on out.

wpago: I sent you a PM regarding your review, but otherwise I'm glad to know that the last chapter was more to your liking than the one before.

Goldspark1: That would have been a little contradictory to give him a dagger for a weapon, solely because he has a combat knife in his small arsenal. While it's true it takes a lot of hits to bring Aura down in the show, in my eyes I kind of view this concept is flexible. When I say that, I'm making Aura in this story more susceptible to certain areas. Example being, say you have full Aura and you get hit in an otherwise very fatal spot like a headshot, the amount of Aura lost equates to the otherwise lethal attack. So it would be a near shattered state depending on the user and how much Aura they have. To add to your follow up on the ranged combat, he does have it down. He hit all of his targets, he just had a defective target that didn't go down for the full count in his match against Coco. Thank you very much for the continued reviews for the story.

Guest: Winter's not nasty. She just has a unique sense of humor.