Chapter 17…

"-it's been three days Doctor Polendina!" Ironwood exclaimed to the desk holo-screen, trying desperately to keep his voice calm. "The longer we sit and deliberate the harder it will be to convince Verdant Bulwark that Sage is in his pocket!"

"And I'm telling you that under no circumstance that I will be handing over a piece of my daughter to that man!" Polendina snarled back, his friendly face twisted into an uncharacteristic scowl. "She is my daughter! And we cannot let sensitive technology like this fall into the wrong hands!"

"I understand your anger and your concerns! But you must underst-"

"I understand your want to bring down Verdant!" Polendina interrupted. "But I will not allow this…"

"Do I have to order you around to submit to this?" Ironwood growled, his eyes hardening.

"Under what authority?" Polendina snarled back unflinchingly. "If I remember correctly… one of the conditions for me to stay up in Atlas was near autonomy… are you going to go back on that?"

Ironwood was silent, his head supported by his hands. His sharp eyes were still burrowing into the smug face of Doctor Polendina.

"Because if that's the case… there's a lab back down in Mantle that is readily equipped for me-"

"Enough!" Sage roared, grabbing the attention of the two older men. The faunus boy had pulled up a second chair at Ironwood's desk, sitting in silence for the last ten minutes as the argument took its course. "This isn't getting us anywhere!"

Ironwood sighed and looked down, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled and exhaled. Doctor Polendina reacted in a similar fashion, gulping and letting his face soften.

"I'm going to make a suggestion," Sage breathed, squeezing his eyes shut. "Doctor Polendina… this is the only way for me to get closer to my uncle again."

"I understand that," Polendina muttered. "But you must understand my concerns!"

"I do," Sage gasped out in frustration.

"What about this?" Ironwood offered, bringing himself back into the fold. "Sage can hand over a piece… and I will have a team on standby to monitor and retrieve it."

Doctor Polendina smiled, but Sage deepened his existing frown.

"That's not going to work," Sage shook his head. "My uncle isn't stupid… he'll be suspicious if the piece is recovered right after I give it to him."

"Then we wait for a while," Ironwood muttered. "A few months of monitoring it's travel and then we intercept it!"

"Can you say with confidence that it can be recovered?" Polendina interrupted, a scowl returning to his face. "The black markets here are expansive and secretive… we cannot afford it to be lost."

"How about this then!" Sage held up his hands to frantically prevent another argument. "Doctor… would it be possible to make a replica of one of her pieces?"

Doctor Polendina blinked in confusion. "A replica?"

"Perhaps…" Ironwood mused to himself. "How about a non-functioning replica? Just for show…"

"Lights and sounds!" Sage nodded, turning his gaze away from Ironwood and back to Polendina. "My uncle just wants to sell it… he said himself that it's sensitive technology that his buyers want to study… he might not understand it's a fake!"

Doctor Polendina looked down and hummed quietly to himself, rubbing his chin with his brawny hand.

"That's reasonable," Polendina agreed, giving Sage a smile. "My team and I might be able to do that…"

"You have four days Doctor," Ironwood muttered, leaning back into his chair. "Will that be enough?"

"I'll begin immediately!"

"Excellent," Ironwood nodded, sneaking a hand to the control board located on his desk. "I'll leave you to it then, thank you Doctor."

Sage watched as Ironwood ended the call, Doctor Polendina nodding in affirmation before the holo-screen blinked out of existence. Sage bristled when Ironwood sighed and leaned back into his chair.

Sage moved to stand up and leave, knowing that today's business had been concluded.

"Mr. Bulwark," Ironwood called out, making Sage pause mid-step and stumble.

Sage turned around to face the General. "Yes sir?"

"Stay a moment."

Sage frowned and took his seat next to Ironwood again. "Whats going on?"

Ironwood's face twisted into a thoughtful look before settling into an impassive glance. "How are you… coping with all of this?"

"What?"

"You are in a turbulent and sensitive situation… one that will only worsen," Ironwood explained. "I want to know how you are coping."

"I'm fine," Sage responded, perhaps a little faster then he should have.

"Are you fine?"

Sage felt heat creeping into his throat and cheeks. "Why are you asking me this?"

Ironwood was silent for a moment.

"A long time ago I sent another man undercover to gather intelligence," Ironwood began. "After months of work… I brought him out of that world…"

"What does this have to do with me?" Sage muttered.

"He was never the same after he came back. I had to discharge him after a while, he simply couldn't readjust back to regular life… he was an entirely different person."

Sage laughed in a hollow tone. "Are you afraid I'm going to get pulled in?"

"I've seen some very honest men get pulled in…" Ironwood muttered back. "I'm simply concerned…"

Sage gave Ironwood an incredulous look. "You pulled me into this! And don't pretend you're some paragon of morality! You were going to withhold the help for Beacon and Vale if I didn't!"

Ironwood chuckled and smiled, which made Sage falter.

"You actually thought I was going to do that?" Ironwood chuckled again.

"What?"

"The moment your team arrived in Atlas I began sending troops and supplies to Vale," Ironwood explained. "I never intended to abandon a fellow kingdom…"

"So you lied to me then!" Sage hissed. "I don't have to be doing this?"

"You want to be doing this," Ironwood pressed back. "You could have walked out that door that day I propositioned you and there would be little I could do about it… you agreed to help because you know the danger your uncle poses."

"I helped because you lied about Vale!" Sage nearly roared.

Ironwood smiled in a way that made Sage's blood boil. "Sure you did…"

"Screw you!" Sage hissed out like a venomous snake, blood roaring in his ears. "Why are you telling me this!?"

"Because," Ironwood drawled. "Between me and Verdant… one of us has to be honest with you…"

Sage suppressed the urge to call Ironwood some colorful names. He blasted off his chair and began a brisk stomp towards the elevator.

"You're no better!" Sage called over his shoulder. "You're just another bureaucrat!"

"I'm a bureaucrat who operates in the interests of the Atlas and Mantle," Ironwood shot back.

"You're doing it for yourself so the council will like you better!" Sage yelled out with a sneer, stomping into the open elevator and smacking the "close doors" button to separate himself from Ironwood.

Ironwood watched as the doors closed and the indicator above the elevator began counting down the floors.

Later…

Sage felt his anger begin to leave him as he walked through the atrium, grimacing when he felt Honey's knife slide around inside his coat pocket.

Who the hell did Ironwood think he was? Some example of moral perfection?

'Asshole,' Sage thought to himself, feeling his anger bubble again. Ironwood had confessed the lie to him… and Sage was legitimately considering fleeing Atlas at the moment.

But his team was up here as well… and they didn't have the full story. That, and Sage doubted that Ironwood would be willing to let them leave if they knew sensitive information.

Sage had to stay then…

'Fuck'

The faunus pulled his hood over his head and fit his ears through the holes, relaxing at the shade the fabric provided him. He turned down the hallway to his dorm room and found the appropriate door, twisting the handle to enter the room.

Sage walked in and gently shut the door behind him. He was greeted by a pair of amber eyes that were peeking out from one of the bunks.

Sage felt a wave of anxiety and awkwardness as he and Mauve stared at each other. They hadn't spoken much since their fight before the nightclub mission, neither of them had properly settled their differences.

"Hey," Sage cringed to himself. "Where are Asher and Rust?"

"Not too sure to be honest," Mauve answered, shutting the book about dust mechanics that she was reading. The team leader was once again adorned in multiple sweaters and sweatpants, relaxing in a small nest of blankets and quilts. "They might be in the rec room again…"

"I see," Sage nodded as he averted his eyes. "I'll see you later…"

"Wait!" Mauve exclaimed with surprising force, watching as Sage froze in place.

"Whats up?"

"You know what's up…" Mauve sighed. "You and I need to talk…"

"I'm not really in the mood for talking."

"I don't care…" Mauve muttered coldly. "We don't need to kiss and make-up… but we have to settle this before it interrupts the team dynamic."

Sage sighed and spun around, willing to placate her for the time being. "If you're asking for an apology… you're not going to get it."

"You were right… I was being hypocritical…" Mauve nodded, watching Sage perk up. "It wasn't fair of me to demand something of you when I was keeping secrets."

"So what are your secrets then?"

"It's not my place to say," Mauve shook her head. "It's a problem that Asher has been having… I can speak to him about it… but I don't know if he wants to share."

Sage felt a coil of disappointment inside of him at this information. It was clear Mauve still wasn't going to give him anything.

"Sage, you know I consider you a friend," Mauve closed her eyes and sighed. "We spent a lot of time together at Beacon… we fought in the Vytal tournament!"

"So what's changed?"

"You know the answer," Mauve muttered, rising from her blanket nest to address him properly. "I learned something about you that has left me questioning my ability to trust you… you know that."

"So what?" Sage hissed. "My family member is an asshole so I have to be one too?"

Mauve frowned and looked down at her feet. "Do you know what the Mistral underworld is like?"

"What?"

"Mistral has one of Remnant's biggest black markets… and an expensive criminal network," Mauve explained, meeting Sage's eyes again. "Every day I heard about corruption, murder, extortion… unspeakable crimes… I used to fight in small local tournaments, the payout was lousy but I gained good experience as a fighter. Looking back on those competitions… a lot of them were probably funded by organized crime… do you understand where I'm coming from?"

"Oh I understand!" Sage chuckled coldly. "You think I had something to do with all that? You think that I was involved in bad business..."

Mauve looked expectantly at him, awaiting an answer. Sage felt the anger rising up again at Mauve's nosiness. The rage was coiling in him like an angry snake, writhing and moving to add venom to his voice.

"You want to know more about me?" Sage hissed, watching Mauve perk up. "I'll tell you a bit about me… I was born to a mother who spent all of our food stamps on booze and a father with a chip in his shoulder and a violent inferiority complex. When they weren't working in the dust mines they were beating me like a fucking drum-"

Mauve faltered and stepped back.

"-and one day… when my father was going to stomp my brain out my semblance unlocked to save my life. I could have ended up living on the streets after that… but my uncle took me in and gave me a proper home… even got me into a preparatory school."

Mauve looked horrified.

"Yeah… he's not a good person… and I wasn't a whole lot better… but it was the only way. One day… he asked me to do something I just couldn't… so I stole a lot of lien and bribed my way into Beacon… can you trust me now that you know the truth? Are you fucking satisfied, Mauve?"

Mauve had a mortified look on her face, her eyes wide in shock and her hand covering her mouth.

Sage left her like that… he stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him. He felt Honey's knife shift in his pocket again… it was time for some peace, quiet… and solace…