Chapter 35
With her immediate tasks out of the way, Weiss moved from her temporary office to a waiting room near the surgery department to await word on Ruby. Pyrrha sat by her side to provide what comfort she could. It was there that Nora met them. She was her usual happy-go-lucky self, excitedly chatting with Ren, who had obviously not told her anything more than she had already known. Weiss hated to put an end to her good cheer, but there was no way around it.
"Hey Weissy!" Nora called, waving as she approached.
Weiss did her best to force a smile. "Hello Nora."
"So where's Jauney?" Nora asked after scanning the room.
"He's just being evaluated for a possible concussion." Weiss replied. "He should be out soon."
"Did he fall down the stairs or somethin'?" Nora inquired, tossing a bag filled with Jaune's change of clothes onto a nearby chair. "Probably tripped over his shoelaces again. I told him to double knot them so they don't keep coming undone, but he never-"
"No, he didn't fall down the stairs." Weiss interrupted. "Nora...you should probably sit down."
"Oh gods...is it that bad?" Nora gasped.
"Jaune's fine...mostly." Weiss shook her head. Nora sat as instructed, her smile suddenly gone. "There was...a bomb, meant for me, it exploded in the lobby of my floor. Jaune received some light shrapnel wounds, nothing serious, and fell and hit his head on the ground."
"Oh, so he's okay." Nora breathed a sigh of relief. "I was so worried for a second there."
"Ruby...was closer to the explosion." Weiss continued. Nora's relief drained away. "Her legs have been badly hurt and...she lost a lot of blood. I haven't heard anything from the doctors yet."
"Oh that's…" Nora trailed off, never finishing the thought. She sat in uncharacteristic silence along with the others for quite some time.
After some time, Jaune finally emerged. His right forearm was bandaged near the elbow, his left hand wrapped as well. His shirt and pants were caked in dried blood, and his face bore a thousand yard stare. Upon spotting Nora he did his best to force a smile. "Well...a little good news, no concussion." He did his best to be positive.
"Jaune, I'm so glad you're alright!" Nora leapt up, racing to Jaune and wrapping him in a tight embrace. She did not fight back the tears that welled in her eyes. "When Weiss told me what happened I was so worried about you, and Ruby...and…"
"I know Nora." Jaune returned the hug. "I love you too."
After watching the tearful reunion, Weiss wanted to send Jaune home, but that was not going to happen. The investigation was just starting, and the police would want to speak with him as the only available witness. She doubted he would be able to provide any useful information, just as she had nothing worthwhile to offer. It only added to a growing sense of helplessness. All Weiss could do was sit and wait, hoping things would turn out alright. That was not her way, she was a woman of action, one to rise up and take command of a situation. Not being able to do so, particularly in a crisis of such personal importance, was painful.
The police did indeed want to speak with Jaune, and Weiss as well. As expected, both had little to say, but that did not mean the conversations were unimportant. Weiss, for one, managed to make an agreement with the authorities. In return for letting Penny access evidence as it was gathered, Weiss promised to give the police access to confidential business and military databases that were relevant to the investigation. The police would have an ally in finding those responsible, and Weiss would get to keep an eye on their progress, maybe even assist.
Almost as soon as Weiss had finished her conversation with the detective in charge, Pyrrha met her to inform her that Sun and Blake had arrived. They had been delayed by traffic caused by major road construction, turning a twenty minute trip into one that took over an hour. That had surely not improved their moods. Weiss still feared what Blake might do, but when she arrived to speak to the pair, Blake was focused but reserved. Weiss hoped that would not change when she learned the details. For his part, Sun looked like a nervous wreck, borderline shaking with worry.
"Is Ruby going to be okay?" Sun blurted upon spotting Weiss.
Weiss sighed, walking up to the Faunus. "I don't know. She's still in surgery and I haven't been told anything yet."
"What happened?" Blake asked. Her voice was calm and steady but almost whisper quiet. It was as if she knew the answer already.
"There was a bomb." Weiss replied. "It was meant for me, disguised as a package, but Ruby dropped it and it went off prematurely."
"Maidens…" Sun groaned.
"What are her injuries like?" Blake inquired, still calm, almost monotone, more looking through Weiss than at her.
"Her legs were...seriously damaged." Weiss answered. "Her left was amputated and her right...it was hard to tell. Beyond that, I don't know."
Tears welled in Sun's eyes. "I need to sit down." His voice wobbled. He sat down nearby, covering his face with his hands.
Blake still had questions. "How did this happen? How did a bomb get through security?"
"I don't know." Weiss slumped. "All incoming packages are x-rayed and tested for chemical traces."
"The Fang did this." Blake suggested.
"I can't think of any group more likely." Weiss noted. "But no one has claimed responsibility." Blake closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. There was obviously a lot on her mind. The way her muscles had tensed, fists clenched with nails digging into her own palms, said she was screaming inside, ready to lash out, but she remained overtly calm. "I'm sorry...I...I don't even know...just sorry."
Blake nodded at the apology. For a moment it looked like she was about to say something more, but was interrupted. "Ms. Schnee." A doctor called from the door to the surgery ward.
"Yes." Weiss spun around.
"Is Ruby going to be okay?" Sun leapt from his chair.
"Um...you're-" The doctor started.
"Family, adopted." Blake lied.
"Ah, alright." The doctor responded. "Well, I have relatively good news. The surgery was successful, and I expect Ms. Rose to recover. Her vitals are stable and strong, and it doesn't appear she's suffered any serious brain damage. Unfortunately, we were unable to save her left leg. As for her right, we did our best, the team is still working on saving what they can."
"When can we see her?" Blake asked.
"Once the surgery is complete and she's transferred to recovery." The doctor answered. "She won't be conscious however. As a precaution we've put her in an induced coma. If her brain wave patterns look good we could start waking up her in as soon as a day or so, but it could take significantly longer. That said, when she wakes up she should be cognitively healthy, and her injuries are confined almost exclusively to her legs. Aside from her legs, I'd predict she'll make a full recovery."
"Thank the gods!" Sun exclaimed. Blake remained silent and tense, but seemed to relax at least a little.
"I'll inform her fam...the rest of her family." Weiss declared. "They'll be relieved at the good news."
"It's a good thing she got to us so quickly." The doctor noted. "This could have been a lot worse."
"Thank you for saving her." Sun stepped forward, grabbing the doctor's hand and shaking it frantically. "I can't...she's gonna' be okay, she's gonna' be okay."
While Sun joined the others in cheering the good news, Blake pulled Weiss aside. "We need to talk about this." The Faunus insisted.
"I know." Weiss nodded. "As soon-"
"As soon as Ruby's awake and okay." Blake finished for her. "She's my only concern right now."
"I wish the same could be said for me." Weiss sighed. "I've got a call to make, and an investigation to monitor." Blake nodded and Weiss started to walk away.
"Weiss." Blake called after her. The CEO stopped and turned around. "Don't blame yourself."
Weiss smiled, her first genuine smile since the incident. "The same to you."
Weiss was happy to finally deliver some good news that day. Summer answered the call once again. Taiyang was apparently still at work, not wanting to disrupt his students' learning, while Yang was hastily packing for the trip to Atlas. Summer brought Yang over, and the pair were elated to hear the news. After being informed that Ruby's life was no longer in serious danger, and that she would likely be unconscious for a few days, Summer and Yang decided to delay the journey. They would depart after Taiyang finished teaching on Friday, giving them more time to pack and otherwise prepare.
After that rather pleasant call, Weiss turned her attention to a more difficult task. Penny already had some preliminary conclusions from the investigation and Weiss wanted to hear them immediately. She retreated to her temporary office and set up her laptop to interface with the AI.
"What do you have for me Penny?" Weiss asked.
"Based on a review of the security footage, and chemical evidence provided by the police, I believe I have identified the explosive used in the bomb." Penny replied. The screen switched from her avatar to security camera footage, Ruby stepping out of the elevator with the box on her shoulder, tripping…
"Stop!" Weiss shouted, slamming the laptop shut. "I do not want to watch my friend get blown up."
"Neither did I." Penny spoke. When Weiss opened the laptop the screen had shifted to a chart of some sort. "The size and speed of the explosion, combined with the chemical traces, indicate Project 5572-1 is most likely the explosive used."
"I've never heard of it." Weiss admitted.
"It is a top secret compound, developed by Fall Armaments and tested by the Atlesian military." Penny explained. The screen shifted to a number of official reports. "The military rejected it as having too low a yield compared to its weight and cost, but referred the project to the Clandestine Intelligence Service. They considered it more suited for use in sabotage and assassination operations, as the explosive is undetectable by all standard methods."
"That explains how it got through." Weiss sighed. "How did the package get past the x-ray inspection?"
"Judging by the size of the blast and the debris produced, the box did contain laptops as stated." Penny replied. "The quantity of explosive required to account for the focused, directional blast produced would be exceedingly small, easily compact enough to hide within the package. It would be extremely difficult to spot given the other metal and electronic components contained within."
"So Fall sold the explosives to the Fang, and they produced a bomb perfectly designed to evade our safety measures." Weiss suggested.
"Fall Armaments reported a burglary at one of its warehouses a few weeks ago." Penny noted. "Among the stolen items, the company reported a container of 'top secret material.'"
"They're no doubt using the so-called burglary as cover for the sale." Weiss growled. "Is there anything else?"
"Based on records and security footage, it seems the labeling, construction and documentation for the package all match company standards." Penny added, the screen displaying several still frames of the box. "There would be no way to easily distinguish the package from normal intra-company mail."
"That's...how?" Weiss balked. "How could the Fang be so perfect?"
"I cannot answer that." Penny admitted.
"They've got to have someone on the inside." Weiss concluded.
"That is not the only possibility." Penny cautioned. "Perhaps it would be wise to discuss this with the investigators, or someone with an intimate knowledge of White Fang operational procedures."
"Blake offered her assistance...in a manner of speaking." Weiss noted. "Perhaps she'll be able to offer some insight when she's ready to talk about it."
"That is an advisable course of action." Penny agreed. "In the meantime, should I share my findings with the authorities?"
"Yes, send them everything you've got." Weiss confirmed.
"Very well." Penny agreed. "Have I been of assistance?"
"Yes Penny, you've done well." Weiss praised. "And thank you for saving Ruby's life. Without your help I don't know what would have happened."
"I will do whatever it takes to help my friends." Penny declared.
Weiss nodded, smiling at Penny's determination. In times like this she almost seemed human. Weiss decided to return to the others as they waited for the completion of Ruby's surgery. She wanted to see the girl as much as any of them. Before Weiss got to the door she hesitated, stopped and turned back to the laptop. "Penny?"
"Yes Ms. Schnee?" Penny responded.
"If I had opened the package as intended, what would have happened?" Weiss asked.
"The explosive device was designed to explode upward." Penny stated. "If you had opened the package, the full force of the blast would have struck your head and upper torso, with a near certainty of fatal injury."
Weiss shivered at the thought of so narrowly escaping death. "So Ruby saved my life?"
Penny was silent for a moment before answering. "Yes, it seems so."
It was easy enough for Weiss to excuse herself from Ren and Dr. Oobleck - the doctor now overseeing Ruby's care. They were deep in discussion already, and she did not even need to lie. She was a busy person with a lot to do after all. Her temporary office was only a few minutes' walk away, the glass windows fogged for privacy. It was here that she allowed herself to crumble, if only a little. The ache in her shoulders dragging them down into a slump, she circled her desk and fell into the chair. It was barely cushioned, with hard plastic arms, a horrible shadow of her expensive, custom made office chair. It brought her no comfort, just more thoughts of her real office.
That office was currently blocked off by a crime scene, where Weiss had almost lost her assistant, her friend, Ruby Rose. She was an innocent girl, fresh out of school, now lying in a hospital bed, missing a leg, all because of her, because the Fang had tried to target her again. And failed again, at terrible cost.
The Fang ruined many lives, killed Weiss' distant relatives, attempted to assassinate her mother, to kidnap her, had succeeded in capturing Winter...but all of them were at least targets, specifically marked for torture and death. Collateral damage was not usually part of Fang operations, at least not in Atlas. They were either desperate or...sending a message...and Ruby had suffered for it.
If she would even be Ruby when she awoke. Weiss' entire life had changed after the kidnapping attempt, and Ruby had nearly died. The image of her friend, surrounded by her own blood, crying, pleading for for sister, to make the pain stop...that pain might have burned away any recognizable Ruby Rose from existence. Would she be angry? Would she blame Weiss? Would she refused her presence? She had every right to do so. Ruby had placed her safety in Weiss' hands, worked happily in her presence, only to be handed certain death, perfectly packaged for her execution.
It was all Weiss' fault, all of it. She had failed. She had almost died and she should have. No one deserved this, least of all Ruby, so young, so bright, so kind and understanding, a good friend, and now her life very likely ruined, because of Weiss, her blood staining the tiles of her office, staining her very hands, and no amount of scrubbing and tears would ever see them clean.
Movement startled Weiss violently, her hands falling from her face to hover over her desk as Pyrrha shut the door behind her, clicking the lock. "Weiss." Pyrrha sighed.
"Pyrrha, did something else happen?" Weiss asked, attempting to stand, only for Pyrrha to lay hands upon her shoulders, forcing her back down, before cupping her cheeks.
"Weiss, you need to rest." Pyrrha insisted.
"Rest?" Weiss laughed mirthlessly. "Rest, you want me to rest more than I already do?" She asked rhetorically, looking down to avoid Pyrrha's gaze. "Sitting in my tower, in my comfy leather chair that costs more than most Faunus make in a year, going back to a home with inches thick windows to protect from the terrorists that want me dead, that want you dead, along with everyone I've ever cared about? You want me to rest while Ruby Rose, our colleague, our friend lies maimed in a bed, and her blood dries on my office floor? How can I rest Pyrrha? What would even happen if I did? You weren't there, you didn't see it, the sounds she made, the blood...the blood…" Weiss choked, slapping a hand over her mouth as a sudden wave of nausea overcame her. She barely saw the wastebin shoved beneath her before the bile forced its way past her lips, as she vomited violently into the container. The sour scent soon helped distract her from the memory of copper and dust, but nothing could lessen the sight of teary silver eyes slipping shut, and the reality of her nightmare coming true.
"It's going to be okay Weiss." Pyrrha soothed, her hand firmly rubbing circles on Weiss' back. "We're all going to get through this, but you need to take some time to rest, to be at your best for the days to come." Weiss spat into the bucket, risking lifting her head to reach for the tissues on her desk, only to realize there were none. "Here." Pyrrha slipped off her lab coat to offer. "I have a spare."
Sighing, Weiss moved the bin from her lap and accepted the garment, wiping her hand and her lips of what remained from the contents of her stomach, before balling it up and tossing it aside. "I apologize-"
"Oh shush." Pyrrha cut her off. "You need to vent Weiss. You need to vent more often than most, and yet you bottle it up until you burst." She chastised.
"I don't like venting, I don't like losing control." Weiss insisted.
"You don't have to lose control to vent Weiss, you simply need to realize when your emotions are running high, and find a healthier release for them." Pyrrha suggested.
"I just wanted to spend a few moments alone." Weiss resisted.
"To overthink the situation?" Pyrrha pressed.
"I wasn't overthinking…" Weiss could barely say it with a straight face.
"Weiss…" Pyrrha sighed.
"What if it was you?" Weiss asked.
"There is no sense in considering what if's Weiss-" Pyrrha started.
"And what if it was me?" Weiss continued. "Would you be so calm if my face was splattered all over my office ceiling?"
Pyrrha closed her eyes at that, grimacing. Weiss immediately felt a pang of regret, guilt at lashing out at her friend, at her lover. Pyrrha remained calm, taking several deep breaths before responding. "There is no sense in considering what if Weiss, only what is, and right now you are alive, I am alive, and Ruby is alive, there are realities to face." She dropped to a knee, cupping Weiss' face and holding her gaze steady. "And we will face them together understand? You are not alone in this. You are not the only one fending off grief. Ruby is my friend, and you were the target. I almost lost both of you, but I didn't. So much could have been worse, but it isn't, so take joy in what we retain, and move forward, one step at a time. Understand?" Weiss nodded, the lump in her throat threatening once more to spill over, until Pyrrha wrapped her arms around her neck, pulling her into an embrace. "We're going to get through this together, I promise."
Weiss buried her face in Pyrrha's shoulder as fresh tears stained her skin, and let her grief flow freely with them.