General Ironwood was a man whose presence was able to awe even the bravest of the daredevils. Weiss, in front of that stout man with the black beard, shivered just looking at his tired but determined eyes. Winter stayed inside the office and joined the General.
"Weiss," he said, "I know you don't like this but you need to listen to me. Ever since I saw you at that party, that your slacker father organized, that I knew you were a smart girl. You gave further proof of your prowess when you proved your father's guilt. You've proven to be sharp, cool and highly professional. You are the only Schnee, besides your sister, that I consider worthy of esteem. However your friendships have ... got you in trouble, if you want to put it mildly."
The girl was still standing in front of the door, away from the desk and ready to escape at any moment. The man's words were sincere, but he wasn't uttering them without second intent.
"What do you want from me?" Weiss asked, worried.
"Nothing you can't do," Ironwood replied, smiling.
"What is this supposed to mean? Do you want me to betray Ruby?"
"Perceptive. But I wouldn't call it 'treason', I just want you to help me to persuade Ruby not to continue this fight against Atlas and me."
"Why should I do such a thing? Ruby is my friend."
"Friendship is of enormous importance, but being friends doesn't mean being subjected to someone, right? Your friend acts wrong, she believes that we are the enemy but she doesn't realize that the real enemy is Salem. It's not me."
"You're both the enemy."
"Weiss!" Winter exclaimed in a reproachful tone.
"Excuse me, sister, but I've no intention of staying here and accepting General Ironwood's criticism."
The girl approached the desk with a quick step and clenched fists. Her fiery gaze didn't fear confrontation with Ironwood's cold eyes.
"General, perhaps it's easy for you to claim that you're on the good side but your actions speak for themselves… it's clear that you don't care about anyone and that human life doesn't matter to you. You're leaving Mantle, you're leaving innocent people because you believe you're right… but all you do is become a killer just like Salem. You look at us from top to bottom as if we were children unable to understand the actions of adults; you judge and criticize us for our choices assuming that we act and choose based on our young age. But you're wrong. We know what's right and what's wrong."
"Weiss, that's enough!" Winter exclaimed again.
"No, Winter! It's you who must stop taking orders from this man who just wants to control your life!"
"Still with these absurdities ?!"
"They're not! You never wanted to be a Winter Maiden and yet this man wanted to force you to take on a responsibility that was too big for you!"
"Little insolent!" Winter yelled, furious. "What do you know about what I can or cannot do? You've spent most of your life being pampered by our father and now, that for the first time, you're a little more independent, do you think you can judge my choices? General Ironwood trusts me and I trust him. Being chosen to defend the world, being chosen to be the hope of a peaceful world is the best thing that has ever happened to me. This man gave me the chance to protect Mantle, Atlas and the rest of the world like a true hero! This is proof of his trust in me!"
"But-"
"No! You can't think that any relationship with an authority figure is necessarily oppressive. It's these statements of yours that make me understand that you're still only a child ..."
"Winter," Ironwood interjected, "you're sweating with rage. Maybe it's better if you take a breath of fresh air. Take it easy. Now I'll take care of it."
"Yes, maybe it's better. I apologize for the reaction."
"No problem. Just take your time."
Winter left the office. When the door closed Weiss was still stunned by her sister's words. General Ironwood seemed calm and was the first to speak.
"I know what people think of me, but I don't care. They say everything bad about me, I'm vilified by my enemies and my friends ... but I don't care. Even if it hurts me, I keep going on because it's my duty to win wars and personal feelings are obsolete in a conflict."
"I want to go back to my friends ..."
"So you won't help me?"
"I'll never betray Ruby."
"All right. Then you can go. We finished."
Winter was walking down the aisle still infuriated by Weiss's immature attitude, but partly felt guilty for overreacting. She didn't want to scream, she didn't even want to argue with her sister, she just wanted to be of help.
It had always been like that, after all. Even when Weiss was still under the control of her father, Winter wanted to help her escape and become an independent woman ... and Weiss had never thanked her for that.
Winter entered the room where Watts was being held. The man was still busy following Penny's movements and when he saw the girl enter he said, with an ironic tone:
"My face didn't require any more punches, I'll call you when I need you."
"Shut up," she said coldly.
"I'm working for your General currently, if you need anything you can always visit me in jail."
"Hasn't General Ironwood told you anything about what you did?"
"Mm? What are you talking about?"
"The drones."
"Ah, those … by the way, you should thank me, you know? If it wasn't for me, those little girls would still be around."
"You're a dangerous man, I know. You're perhaps one of the most dangerous criminals I've ever met, especially here in Atlas."
"All these compliments make me blush-"
"And that's why I don't agree with General Ironwood's choice. I would've already had you killed, but the General still thinks he can use you to reach Penny."
"Well, then we've nothing more to say to each other."
"You can be as presumptuous as you like, in the end I will-"
A soldier entered the room and interrupted Winter to say, in a low voice:
"We have commandeered all the prisoner Scrolls. They've been placed in safety in the room next to the prison."
"We can use them to track down the others ..." Winter stopped talking, turned to Watts who was clearly pretending not to listen and then left the room with the soldier to continue talking to him in private.
But it was too late. Watts's attention had already been captured. He knew that the best way to hack Penny and gain control over her without being hindered by the military was through a handheld device like a Scroll. Scrolls, after all, weren't all that different from small computers, and someone with Watts's talent and intellect would've no problem hacking that robot via a Scroll. The problem would've been not to be noticed by the military, but if Watts had managed to escape he would not have had that concern.
The man scratched his mustache and reflected on which course of action would be the least risky. Certainly it was a titanic undertaking to try to escape from Atlas without being shot, but with the Winter Maiden at his side he wouldn't have had those problems.
However, there was a problem: How to reach the Scrolls?
Watts just couldn't move freely in a camera-controlled building. If he had run from the room he was in to the prisons it would've taken him about ten minutes. Turning off the cameras for such an extended period of time would surely set off an alarm.
The flickering of the light above his head, however, reminded him of a brilliant idea.
"Tell me," he turned to the soldiers who were standing guard "with all this technology, aren't you worried about blackouts?"
One of the soldiers laughed.
"Each floor is isolated from the other. It's impossible for the whole structure to lose power at the same time."
"And tell me ... how is the 'electric girl'?"
"Who?"
Another soldier replied:
"Are you talking about the one who blew up the door downstairs?"
"Yes her."
"Our doctors are treating her by order of General Ironwood."
"I would advise you to be careful when she wakes up. With a Semblance like hers it would not be difficult to cut off the electricity to two or three floors of this building."
"Why this concern?"
"Because I don't want my job to be ruined because of your incompetence."
"Don't worry, prisoner, we have everything under control. When she is taken to the prison, she will not be able to use her Semblance."
"I trust you, then."