Chapter 12: Intelligence Gathering
Weiss walked the empty halls of Beacon early in the morning. She was dressed in a simple workout attire. A white crop top with blue shorts and a pair of white sneakers. Of course, the SDC logo was plastered on her top, lest the people of Beacon forget she is an heiress. It had been about three months now that she had entered Beacon and formed a team with Jaune, Pyrrha and Ruby. It had been an...interesting three months to say the least.
Jaune had certainly made many improvements over that course of time from the bumbling buffoon he'd started out as. He's by no means close to being on par with say herself and Pyrrha, but by now, he could handle average opponents in their year. With those improvements, came more time for herself to train and workout now that they weren't focused on training Jaune everyday like they used to. It was a relief quite honestly.
It was early in the morning. Roughly 6AM. Weiss knew that most of the student body didn't begin to pack the halls until at least 7AM. Meaning that she most likely had the gym to herself for a time. She wasn't a fan of having people ogling her while she stretched and did her exercises. As she approached her destination, she heard grunts coming from inside. Seems like someone had the same idea as her. No matter, one person was easy enough to avoid. She heard a different voice this time. A woman's voice.
"Come on, you can do it! Just one more!" It said.
The voice was familiar. Extremely familiar. Sure enough, as she entered the room, there was Pyrrha, spotting Jaune as he was bench pressing. He looked to be struggling mightily. His face was almost as red as Pyrrha's hair, sweat was dripping from his arms and face, and his breathing was labored as he lifted the bar once more. He let out a roar as Pyrrha helped rack the bar and Jaune's arms fell limp to the side.
"Great work, Jaune! That's a new record for you!" The redhead applauded.
"Weight training now, are we?" Weiss commented, leaning against the door frame.
Jaune shot up immediately, eyes wide. "Weiss? What are you doing here?"
"I would assume that would be obvious." She said as she walked into the room. "I'm here to work out. What else?"
"Oh, yeah, good point. I'm just not used to seeing you in here." He said, wiping the sweat off his neck with a towel.
"Wait? Not used to? How long have you been doing this?" She asked curiously.
"About a month." Pyrrha chimed in. "We've started our morning jogs earlier and started weight training afterwards."
"I see. Well then, good thinking, Pyrrha." Weiss said as she began some arm stretches.
"Actually, it was Jaune's idea." Pyrrah corrected.
Weiss looked to Jaune and raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh? And what prompted this sudden change in routine?" She questioned her leader and partner.
"Well, I've gotten used to the jogging routine and my stamina's never been better. So I've decided to spice things up a bit." He said while flexing one of his arms for emphasis. "If there's one thing I learned from my fight against Cardin a couple months ago, it's that I'm lacking in the strength department."
A sound reason. She was encouraged to see Jaune adding to his regiment without being asked to. As he stood to stretch, Weiss couldn't help but notice that he'd definitely toned up. His arms were slightly bigger and his chest looked firm. Since he's always wearing clothes that cover up those areas, she must not have noticed before. She had to admit, it was becoming of him.
Her face flushed at that last thought and she violently shook her head to purge it, her normally perfect hair now looking a bit more disheveled. This didn't go unnoticed by her teammates.
"You alright, Weiss?" Jaune asked.
"Perfectly fine." She lied.
"You sure? You look a bit flustered." Pyrrha added.
"Yep, nothing wrong here!" She pushed back. "Welp, time to get to work. You two have fun!"
"Well, since you're here, why don't you join us?" Jaune asked. "We could make it a team activity!"
"That's a great idea, Jaune!" Pyrrha agreed
"Curse you, Jaune." Weiss thought to herself, knowing it would be difficult to refuse since both of them thought well of it.
"Very well." She said, turning to face them.
The next hour was spent working on various machines, most being upper body to give the other two's legs a rest after the jogging. Weiss was impressed, even dumbfounded at the amount Pyrrha was able to lift, Jaune didn't seem as affected, but she was sure he thought the same thing when they first started working out together. She wouldn't say it was difficult to keep up with them, but the lack of true exercise and regular workouts began to show after a while. She knew that she'd have to make this a normal routine for her to get back into proper shape.
As Weiss was doing sit ups while Pyrrha held her legs for support, she caught Jaune stealing some glances her way every time she would come up. They were brief and, at first, she wondered if she imagined it. But it was clear after he became more bold and began staring longer, clearly not seeing he'd been caught. When she came up for another rep, she stayed up this time, addressing her partner.
"Can I help you with something?" She asked.
"Huh? No, I don't think so." He said innocently.
Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Oh, my apologies. I suppose you were just ogling me for no reason then.
Jaune nearly choked on his water he was drinking. "Og-what?! I wasn't ogling you!"
"Don't play dumb with me, mister. First off, you do that just fine without playing." She started,
"Hey!" He protested.
"Secondly, I caught you staring at me multiple times. Or are you gonna try and play it off and say you were staring at Pyrrha instead?"
"W-Weiss?!" Pyrrha stammered, blushing heavily.
"I wasn't staring at either of you! Well...not on purpose at least."
"Oh, so your eyes just accidentally wandered towards me over and over again?"
"No! It's just, I've never seen you in an outfit like that. You're just more...toned than I imagined."
The heat in Weiss' face was evident and she got flustered again. "W-what kind of comment is that?!" She shouted, covering herself with her arms.
"Now now, Weiss, I'm sure he didn't mean anything bad behind it. I was also quite surprised at your physique." Pyrrha interjected before things got worse.
"Yeah! What she said!" Jaune said, latching on to the safety net that was cast for him.
Weiss stared at Pyrrha who's smile didn't waver. She looked over to Jaune who seemed like he was about to panic. Finally, she sighed. "Very well. I apologize for accusing you like that, Jaune."
"And I'm sorry if I was making you uncomfortable." He said. "I'll go over there and work out while you girls finish up here."
The two watched as Jaune walked off to the other side of the room and began doing curls with some dumbbells. Pyrrha turned to face her with a sly smirk. Weiss didn't like that look one bit.
"You know, it was pretty rude of you to call him out like that when you did the same thing to him earlier." She whispered.
"WHA-" Weiss covered her mouth before she finished shouting. When she saw that Jaune hadn't noticed her little outburst, she continued. "What are you talking about?" She hissed.
"I saw you eyeing him when you walked in earlier." Pyrrha explained. "You were probably thinking the same thing he was, weren't you?"
"I- that is- I wasn't." Weiss couldn't even form the words she wanted to say.
Pyrrha giggled. "Trust me, Weiss. A girl just knows these things."
Weiss lowered her head in shame at being discovered. She guessed her display after entering the room was too obvious. At least, it was to Pyrrha. Jaune didn't seem to be any the wiser. Thank goodness for that.
She raised her head and looked at Pyrrha with a pout. "I suppose...you're right."
"Don't worry. I won't tell him." She winked.
"Good, I'd have to kill you if you did." Weiss threatened.
Pyrrha laughed and soon, Weiss joined in. The two girls' fits of giggles and laughter caught Jaune's attention.
"What's so funny over there?" He called out.
"Nothing that concerns you." Weiss said, still laughing.
"Girl talk." Pyrrha simply said.
Jaune shrugged it off and continued his curls. The laughter soon died down and the girls eventually finished their workouts. They all returned to their dorm room for showers and to prepare for their day.
"So, remind me why we're going on this trip to Vale?" Jaune asked his partner?
"Must I repeat myself again? We're here to look for more clues as to the recent robberies at the local dust shops. This particular shop was hit just two days ago, so I want to gather any clues I can while they may still be fresh."
Classes were done for the day and Weiss out of nowhere asked (forced) him to accompany her to Vale immediately after the final bell rang. Not that he minded, but it was rare for her to ask him anywhere with it just being the two of them.
"Aw, and here I thought it was gonna be a date." He quipped, knowing it would get a rise at her.
Sure enough, she gave him an icy glare. "Listen here, mister, the ONLY reason you're here with me instead of Pyrrha, even Ruby, is because they're focusing on partner training exercises. So don't read anything into this. Having a semi competent backup is better than none at all."
"Wow, semi competent? That's a nice complement, even for you." Jaune responded sarcastically.
Weiss let out a noise best resembling a grunt combined with a frustrated sigh. "Please don't make me regret bringing you along more than I already do."
"Alright, I'll stop." He complied, adding a "for now." under his breath. "So, how has your investigation gone to this point?"
Weiss sighed. "Sadly, not well. I spoke with my sister about the problem and assured her I could handle things on top of my studies. But I underestimated how difficult it was to juggle both."
"I'm just glad you finally decided to ask for help. I could tell this was weighing on you for a while." Jaune consoled her.
"Is that so? I don't remember showing any signs of fatigue." She said, feigning ignorance.
"Call it partner's intuition. You haven't always seemed 'there', if you know what I mean. And your moves haven't been as sharp in sparring matches lately."
"A bold statement. Even if I'm not at my best, I could still easily defeat you with a hand tied behind my back." Weiss shot back, not appreciating Jaune's analysis.
"Look I'm actually being serious here. I'm worried about you. I know you've been staying out past curfew to investigate because that's really the only time you have besides weekends to do so. You're fighting exhaustion throughout the day and you're barely able to focus in class. I know that this is something important to you, so I've stayed out of it as best as I could. I'm just glad you came to me instead of it being the other way around."
Weiss was silent. It would seem that he may have slightly penetrated that ice cold armor she always wore with his concern.
"Well...thank you. I'm sorry to have worried you." She said, looking away out of embarrassment.
Jaune smiled. "No problem."
He didn't dare disturb the peaceful silence that was spent during the rest of their journey. After another ten minutes of walking and enjoying the sights, they arrived at their destination. A dust shop whose sign read Vale Dust Emporium. It almost spanned an entire city block.
"Wow, I didn't know they made Dust stores this huge!" Jaune commented in amazement.
"It is the largest Dust shop in the city. Only major cities around the world have this large of a store. They're pretty rare." Weiss explained.
"Well then, shall we go in?" Jaune said as he politely held the door open for Weiss and gestured his arm for her to enter.
She rolled her eyes. "Such a gentleman." She sarcastically commented as she walked past him and into the store.
Jaune followed behind and was dumbstruck at the interior. There were shelves of Dust lined all across the shop. It had the same layout of a grocery store, but specifically for dust. He wondered how all the smaller shops were able to stay in business considering there was a one stop shop like this around. After randomly perusing some of the wares, he was made aware why that was the case. The Dust here was much more expensive.
"Holy crap, this is like, five times more expensive than the other shop we went to!" He blurted out.
"This Dust emporium has much more refined products than the other, smaller shops around the city. Or so I've read at least. It's to be expected that this dust would be priced higher. The customers at the smaller shops are usually businesses that use Dust in their products or used to run their machinery. It's more cost effective for them and they still get a good quality of life out of them." Weiss explained.
"So this Dust is mainly used for hunters and huntresses I assume?" He asked.
"Correct. When it comes to matters of life and death, it's imperative to have the best available."
"I see. But if that's the case, why didn't we come here the first time, or even the second time we needed Dust?"
"The first time was because we were severely short on time before initiation and that other shop was the only one you knew of. The second time was because, being first year students, we're not subjected to much field work against actual Grimm. So the less refined option would suffice for the time being."
"I see. You have an answer for everything, don't you?"
"As the heiress of the SDC, I must know anything and everything when it comes to Dust. Lest I shame my family name."
"Forgive my ignorance, your highness." Jaune said as he mock bowed to her.
"Ugh, you're insufferable, you know that?" She said pushing past him.
"You remind me constantly." He quipped as he followed behind.
They approached one of the check out stations. There was a man on the other side of the counter. He wore a brown shirt with an apron which seemed to be the store employee's attire based on the others he'd seen walking around. The man was on the bulkier side with short black hair and a small beard to match. He looked bored out of his mind, chin resting in his palm and leaning against the counter. His eyes closing and reopening with a startle each time. Based on Weiss' expression, Jaune could tell she was about to let the guy have it. Poor dude didn't know what was about to hit him.
As if on cue, "Excuse me!" Weiss all but shouted.
The man behind the counter jolted upright, arm slipping and almost sending his head plummeting into the counter before saving himself.
"Ah, um, y-yes? How can I help you?" The man stammered.
"Oh, I doubt you'll be much help at all if that's how you conduct yourself in a professional setting." Weiss said, spitting proverbial fire at him.
"Ugh, just what I need. Another Karen." The man mumbled under his breath and rolling his eyes.
"What was that?!" She inquired as she stepped closer to get in his face. Or as best she could given their size difference and the counter between them.
"Look kid, I have better things to do then be lectured by you on professional etiquette. If you don't have anything to buy, then move along."
Jaune face palmed. "Bad idea, dude." He said.
"Is that so?" Weiss started. "Obviously you have no idea who I am, or I'm sure you wouldn't be taking that kind of attitude with me."
"Don't know and don't care, kid. Like I said, if you don't have any business here, get lost."
Jaune almost felt bad for the guy. Almost. Weiss's silence was beginning to make even Jaune uncomfortable. After a few more seconds, Weiss spun around.
"Do you recognize this symbol on the back of my jacket?" She asked while doing her best to point to it with her thumb.
The man leaned forward and squinted. "Looks familiar, yes."
She turned back to face the man. "It should. It's the Symbol of the Schnee Dust Company. The very company that supplies your store."
Jaune could see the gears turning in the clerks brain as his eyes slowly widened upon realizing who he was talking to. Weiss continued.
"The very company that I, Weiss Schnee, happen to be next in line to take over. And finally, the very person who could fire you with the snap of my fingers should I so choose" She finished, raising her hand and sticking her fingers together for effect.
"W-WAIT, PLEASE!" The clerk pleaded as he jumped over the counter and fell on his hands and knees. I AM SO SORRY, MS. SCHNEE! I HAD NO IDEA IT WAS YOU, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" The man all but cried, causing multiple heads to turn their way.
"Oh, so just because you now know who I am makes your previous behavior acceptable?" She asked commandingly, crossing her arms to make herself more intimidating.
"N-no, absolutely not! My previous behavior was unbecoming of a person of my position regardless of who I may have been speaking to."
Weiss squatted down to the clerk's level, but still hovering just enough so that he had to look up at her. He was sweating and shaking in his boots. The fear this small girl could instill in others was both fascinating and also frightening to Jaune.
"Give me one good reason I shouldn't have you stripped of your position right this minute." She said, glaring daggers at him.
"I-I-I have nowhere else that will take me, I'd be on the streets without this job." Tears began to well up in his eyes. "The manager was being mugged and I saved him, so he gave me this job when no one else would."
Jaune believed the man, but Weiss didn't seem entirely convinced until the manager approached.
"He's telling the truth. I'd have been robbed or worse if it weren't for him. I know he doesn't have the best of attitudes, but I hope you can forgive him, Ms. Schnee. I'll take full responsibility for this incident."
Weiss looked up at the manager who stood firm in defense of his employee. He was a much smaller and thinner man. Clean shaven, short red hair and glasses. Based on his looks, the story seemed believable. This man would be hard pressed to stand up to a mugger. She looked back down at the clerk whose head was buried in his arms, on the verge of a breakdown. She closed her eyes, sighed and stood up.
"Very well. I'll let it slide. But just this once."
Jaune let out a breath of relief he didn't realize he was holding in. The manager smiled and the clerk raised his head, tears flowing from his eyes.
"T-Thank you, Ms. Schnee! I promise that I'll change! Starting right now!"
"You best do so. I will not have you tarnishing the SDC any further. What is your name?"
"It's Grey." He choked out.
"Grey, you better hope I don't see your name pop up in any reports or negative reviews going forward. I'll be looking. One foot out of line and I won't be as merciful."
"Thank you so much for your kindness!"
Weiss turned her attention to the man who came to Grey's defense. "So, then, I take it you're the manager?" She asked sternly.
"I am, yes. My name is Roan."
"Very well Roan, I have questions I'd like to ask you. Would it be possible to talk in private?"
"Of course, Ms. Schnee. Please follow me, we can talk in my office."
Roan led them through the store towards the back. As Jaune was taking in the sights of Dust, he noticed another employee in the same aisle they were walking down. He looked to be organizing the shelves, but, he could have sworn that the clerk was stealing glances at them multiple times. He seemed nervous. Maybe he heard what happened to Grey and didn't want to catch an earful from Weiss. Although, he hadn't done anything to indicate that he'd need reprimanding. Still, Weiss could be pretty intimidating in her natural state, so he wrote it off as nerves.
They passed through double doors that led to the employee area in the back. A little more walking and they reached what looked to be Roan's office. He closed and locked the door behind them to ensure their privacy.
"So then, what can I help you with?" Roan asked politely, gesturing that they could have a seat if they wanted.
Weiss refused to sit and began her questioning. "It's come to my attention that your store was robbed two nights ago. Or at least, was attempted to be robbed. I heard that the Vale police were quick to respond and minimal product was taken."
"Yes, thankfully they got here quickly or we would have been in a much bigger bind. You see, we're running low on stock until the next shipment comes in from Atlas. We know that president Schnee would not want our doors closed for long, lest we lose business, but if the thieves made off with more than they did, we wouldn't have had much of a choice. And that would have put all of our jobs in danger."
"Yes, my father can be quite unforgiving when it comes to matters of lost business. It's unfortunate for some of the other employees across the other stores in the city that weren't so lucky to come out unscathed like yours. The police response was much quicker than it has been recently when it comes to smaller shops around the city. Any idea why?"
"A few different factors. We have a silent alarm at each checkout counter and back here in the employee area. As soon as things started to take a turn, one of our clerks hit the button to call the police. Since this is a big target, we had been under heavier surveillance, making it easier for them to respond to our SOS."
"That makes sense. This most certainly is a high valued target for dust thieves. Did the police apprehend anyone?"
"Unfortunately, it seems they were all able to get away. They were well coordinated by a man wearing a white trench coat and a bowling hat. He knew exactly where to go to escape. I'm sure they'd been planning this heist for a while."
"So Roman Torchwick himself was leading the thieves was he?" Weiss pondered aloud. "He's been difficult to apprehend, so it's no surprise they were able to get away with relative ease. I'm not sure if that speaks well to his cunning, or the incompetence of the Vale police force. In any case, did they say anything during the robbery? Did any of them let slip any information or give away any sort of clues that could help us track them down?"
"I'm sorry, I wish I could be of more help, but I didn't hear anything and there isn't much else I know currently. None of them spoke except for that Torchwick guy. And even then, he was just giving them orders."
Weiss sighed. "I see. Well, thank you for the information you were able to give us."
"Of course, it's an honor to have you here, Ms. Schnee. I'd offer you some dust as a gift to take with you if you are in low supply, but until we receive our new shipment, I'm afraid that all I can offer is my gratitude."
This raised a question in Jaune's mind. "Hey, you say you're expecting a new shipment soon. When exactly?"
"Well, we were expecting a new shipment in a few weeks. Despite my earlier statement, we still have enough to survive for now, but given the current circumstances, the SDC is expediting shipments to us. We usually receive new shipments on the weekends. So I suspect about three days from now. It can be assumed that it's the same for all the other Dust stores as well."
"Three days...so Sunday." Jaune pondered.
"What's on your mind, Jaune?" His partner asked.
"Well, if they've already hit all the stores in Vale, they'll all need to resupply, right? If these guys are still robbing places, especially like this, then that means they still need or want more, right? So wouldn't it be easier to steal directly from the source? The stores are running low, so they could just take the shipments that are going out to each one if they know the delivery schedules." Jaune explained.
Weiss looked dumbfounded. "Jaune, that's actually a brilliant deduction! Roan, your shipments come from the docks, correct?"
"That's right. From there, the crates of Dust are packed into trucks and delivered to us."
Weiss struck a thoughtful pose, trying to process the information she'd been given up to this point. "So if we can pinpoint the exact time the shipments will be going out, we can attempt to intercept them and put a stop to their plans."
"Unfortunately, I can't give you an exact time, but we always receive our shipments between midnight and two in the morning."
"Thank you, Roan, that is still useful information. We'll have to check with the other stores and see if it's the same for them as well." Weiss deduced.
"I'm happy that I could be of assistance, Ms. Schnee. If you require any further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask." Roan said as he bowed in respect.
Weiss nodded at him in acknowledgement and turned to Jaune. "Alright, I think we best revisit some of the other shops to find out their shipment schedules."
"Right, let's go."
As Jaune turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of something behind the window of the office. It was slight, but it looked like someone's head peeking in. Sure enough, when their eyes met, the guilty party took off running.
"Weiss, someone was spying on our conversation!" Jaune yelled as he ran for the door.
"What?!" Weiss shouted.
As they breached the door and ran into the hallway, they saw the perpetrator turn the corner at the end of the hall. Jaune ran off as fast as he could to catch up when he saw Weiss flash past him with blinding speed, no doubt thanks to her glyphs. She rounded the corner and, shortly after, Jaune heard a yelp.
"P-please don't hurt me!" The voice echoed.
As Jaune turned the corner, he saw the guilty party sprawled on the floor with Weiss pointing Myrtenaster at his head.
"Who are you and why were you spying on us?"
After approaching the two, Jaune recognized who they were. A man on the taller, lankier side. Medium length Auburn hair and pale skin, although it was hard to tell if the pale color was natural or due to having a sword to his face.
"Hey, he's an employee here. He looked to be watching us as we walked through the store, but I thought it was just nerves."
"As you can see, it was much more than that." Weiss said pointedly. "Now then. I'll ask you again. Why were you eavesdropping? If you're truthful, I'll consider a lesser punishment. You have my word as a Schnee."
"I- I can't say!" The man stammered.
"You're not off to a very promising start." Weiss said as she inched her sword closer to his face, eliciting a small squeak from the man.
It was at this time that Roan had rounded the corner as well. He seemed surprised to find that his employee was the one on the ground.
"Hugh, what's going on here!?" He asked.
"Roan, please help me!" His employee begged.
"The only way you're getting help is if you talk!" Weiss interjected.
"Please wait, Ms. Schnee! Hugh is a good employee! He must have a reason for this!" Roan pleaded with her.
"Good employee or not, his actions are suspicious. How do we know he's not secretly working with the enemy?" Weiss countered.
"He would never do that! Hugh has been one of the longest tenured employees under my management! Way before the robberies started happening in town!"
"Length of tenure does not always equate to loyalty. You'd do best to learn that bit of business knowledge." Weiss once again rebutted.
Seeing as how he didn't seem to be getting through to her, Roan turned his attention back to Hugh. "Please Hugh, just tell us why you were spying. I can't help you unless you give us a reason."
Hugh looked nervously between all three of them, teeth chattering. Jaune could tell he wanted to say something, but he was holding back for some reason.
"If you don't speak now, I'll make sure you never work under the Schnee name again. Or anyone for that matter." Weiss continued to press.
"Weiss, it's clear that he won't talk like this." Jaune said as he approached. He knelt down in front of him, slowly and calmly so as not to come across as intimidating. "Hugh, was it? I'm Jaune. Whatever it is, it's something pretty embarrassing if you can't say, right?"
"N-no, not embarrassing." He said.
"Well, that rules out stalker at least. Figured that wouldn't be the case, but can't jump to conclusions. Weiss is famous after all." Jaune thought to himself.
"So if it's not embarrassing, then the only other reason I can think of is someone's threatening you. What other reason could there be?"
Hugh was silent, fear still in his eyes. His silence was a good enough answer for Jaune though. He turned to face his partner. "Weiss, put your weapon away." His tone was soft, yet commanding.
Weiss hesitated for a moment, but relented and sheathed it. "My apologies, Hugh." She said genuinely.
Jaune stood and offered the man his hand. Hugh took it and was pulled up with relative ease. "Come on, let's go sit in the office."
Hugh nodded and walked along with Jaune. Roan and Weiss followed behind. Hugh sat in one of the chairs and Roan brought him a cup of water. He took it and took a prolonged drink. Once he finished, he spoke.
"No point hiding it now I guess. I'll tell you what happened, but only if you can promise me protection."
"You have my word that you'll have the highest detail of protection the SDC can offer." Weiss promised.
Hugh took a deep breath and a moment to gather himself. You could hear a pin drop as Jaune and the others awaited Hugh's explanation. The ticking of the clock was prominent in their ears.
"The night of the robbery, I was towards the back of the store taking inventory. Those guys barged in and started ransacking it right away and taking hostages at the front. I immediately ran into the back storage area to hide. I made sure to hit the silent alarm just in case the employees in the front couldn't. After that, I hid behind a stack of boxes in a corner."
He paused to gather himself further. Roan spoke to calm him. "Take your time. I'll get you some more water." He said as he took Hugh's cup to refill it.
After Roan handed it to him and taking another gulp, Hugh continued. "Three of the robbers came into the back and started going through the boxes. One of them was their leader. While they were doing it, the two henchmen talked about a big score. Something to do with stealing an entire shipment of Dust from the harbor. The leader whacked them and reprimanded them about talking so freely about their plans."
"Looks like you were right, Jaune." Weiss said congratulatory.
"As they got closer to my part of the room, I tried shifting my position to hide better, but I ended up knocking over the boxes and they spotted me."
Hugh paused after recalling the event. He took several deep breaths to calm the shaking of his body before continuing. "The leader held me a gunpoint. A guy in a white trench coat with a cane and a bowling cap."
"Sounds like Roman Torchwick to me. Seems like that's all people know how to describe him as though." Juane deduced.
"Yeah, that was him. I honestly thought I was gonna die at that moment. After all, I heard their big plan. But instead, he thought I could be useful. Filter him information from the store if anyone got wise to their plan. He threatened to kill me and my family if I let things slip. He wasn't bluffing either. He was able to get my information from the company database in an instant. So that's why I was spying on your meeting. To see if you were able to come up with anything."
Hugh put his head in his hands and started crying. "Please! You have to protect my family! I don't care what happens to me! Just keep them safe!"
Jaune was about to console him, but Weiss stepped up and did so herself. She knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, eyes bloodshot from the tears. Weiss had a gentle smile on her face.
"You've been very helpful, Hugh. I meant what I said. You and your family will have the best protection provided by the SDC. Is there anything else you can tell us?"
Jaune was impressed. He had no idea Weiss could be this...gentle. And her smile was absolutely beautiful. His thoughts were interrupted by Hugh's continued testimony.
"There is one more thing. When they were talking about their plan before they caught me, one of them mentioned a decoy robbery. A place where a small number of them were going to hit to lure police forces there and away from the docks. It sounded like he was gonna be a part of that crew."
Weiss' eyes widened. "A decoy robbery!? Did they say where?!"
Hugh shook his head. "I'm sorry, but they didn't. I don't know much more than that."
"It's still vital information, you've been extremely helpful, Hugh. From the bottom of my heart, thank you." Weiss said.
Hugh smiled for the first time during their encounter. The smile immediately faded and, if his skin was pale before, he looked as white as a ghost when his phone began to ring. Everyone noticed this shift in tone.
"Hugh, what's wrong?" Jaune asked.
With shaky hands, Hugh took out the phone from his pocket and looked at the number. His fear was realized. "It…it's him. It's Roman Torchwick. He checks in with me to see if I've learned anything new. The calls are random. Never at the same time during the day."
Jaune could see the hesitation by the other two. Weiss was surely worried about blowing his cover after promising his protection. Roan was just a normal person, he had no idea how to handle this situation. Jaune wasn't in any better position, but he was the one to act. He knelt down to Hugh's level and looked him in the eye.
"It'll be alright. Weiss promised to protect you. I will as well. Take some deep breaths and answer the phone. He'll get suspicious if you don't, right?"
Hugh nodded. His body was still shaking, but he tried his best to calm down, taking the breaths like Jaune instructed. Jaune placed his hands over his to stop the shaking. He kept eye contact with him and wore his best smile to calm the tension of the situation. He'd never been in this position, so he had no idea if this was working. But it's all he could think of.
Hugh's breathing steadied and he let out one final sigh before answering the phone.
"Hello?"
"You sure took a long time to answer the phone, something the matter?"
Hugh looked like he was about to panic, but Jaune gave his hand a firm squeeze to keep him checked into the situation. Hugh's eyes met Roan and an idea popped into his mind.
"I...I was talking with my manager. I had to convince him that I had to take the call because it was family. My family would never call me at work unless it was important. Then I had to move to the back and make sure no one was around to hear."
Jaune gave him a thumbs up. It was a good cover story. The silence on the other end didn't seem promising though. Even he was nervous at the long pause. The tension eased up a bit though.
"Excellent work! I commend you on your quick thinking and thoroughness. Unlike my incompetent henchmen. You know, I could use someone with your common sense on my team. One of two spots is open now, if you catch my drift."
Roman could be heard laughing from the other end. It was despicable. Jaune knew exactly what he meant by that.
"So, whaddya say? Wanna work for a real winner?" Roman asked.
Hugh looked panicked. He didn't know what to say to such a request.
"Kidding, kidding of course. You wouldn't want to work for me. No job security, terrible benefits and don't get me started on the 401k plan. Or lack thereof. Not a great situation really, but hey, some people just need the work. Know what I mean?"
"Uh...yeah." Was all Hugh said.
"Glad we're on the same page. Oh and speaking of family, you should really compliment your wife when you get home. That dress is *chef's kiss*. That red color really works for her. And you son, by gods is he adorable! You're a lucky guy."
Jaune could see the mix of emotions swirling through Hugh's eyes. Fear, anger, worry, they were all there at the mention of his family. Torchwick had them in his sights. One wrong move, and they'd be killed. This situation suddenly got a lot more real for them.
"Anyway, let's get down to business shall we? Any news?" Roman continued
"No, nothing to report...well...actually, there might be one thing." Hugh said.
He hit the mute button and quickly asked "Do you trust me?"
Jaune looked back to his partner. He knew his answer, but it was ultimately up to her. She nodded, giving the confirmation Hugh needed to continue.
He unmuted and continued his train of thought. "I was in the back of the store earlier when I heard shouting at the front. Apparently, Weiss Schnee from the SDC came to ask the manager questions about the robbery the other day." He finished explaining.
"Ah yes, the princess of the wondrous Dust empire. I've heard rumors she's snooping around looking for answers. She's harmless honestly."
Jaune could tell by the way Weiss' jaw tensed that she took exception to that comment, but held out his hand to silently stop her from doing anything to jeopardize things. Her jaw relaxed and she closed her eyes to calm herself.
"Still, it's good to see you're holding up your end of the bargain. Anything else I should know?"
Hugh gave them a look that essentially repeated his previous question. He got the same response of nods as before. He continued.
"Well, they went to the manager's office to talk. I was able to sneak back there and eavesdrop on the conversation, I couldn't catch everything with the door closed, but I got enough to know that they didn't get anything new. I had to leave as they were wrapping up the conversation so I wouldn't get caught."
Roman could be heard whistling and clapping on the other end of the phone. "I've got to say, I'm impressed! You're going above and beyond! You must really love your family."
"Yes, I do." Hugh said with the only amount of confidence he's shown the whole conversation.
"You're a good husband and father. Keep that up and it'll stay that way. That'll do for now. I'll be in touch."
With that, the phone clicked and the call ended. The entire room was filled with a collective breath being let out. Apparently, they had all been holding one through the conversation. Hugh's breath was hitched as he tried to keep calm. The shaking had returned and he showed just how much of a wreck he really was. Jaune did his best to console him.
"You did great, Hugh. You really did."
Weiss joined in. "Exemplary work. You were so strong.
Roan as well, "I'm proud of you, Hugh."
Hugh finally broke down. The only thing keeping his wails from reaching those in the main part of the store was the closed door and privacy of the room. They all waited and let him get it out of his system. Roan offered to handle things now that Hugh seemed to calm down. With that, Jaune and Weiss said their goodbyes to Roan and Hugh. They had a lot on their minds as they walked back to the Bullhead station to return to Beacon.
Most of the trip was spent in silence. Jaune could tell that Weiss was determined though. She had a fire in her eyes he'd never seen before. She was going to see this through and get justice for both her company and Hugh's family. It lit a fire in him as well. He would be there for his partner and fulfill his own goal. The whole reason he wanted to become a hunter. To protect those who can't protect themselves. He'd let Weiss handle the protection of his family. His job was to help put the one responsible for their situation behind bars so that he can't do it to them or anyone else again.
The time to prepare was short. Only three days until the operation. He knew, and most importantly, Weiss knew that if they were going to have any type of success, they'll need help. Luckily, they both knew a few good hunters and huntresses in training for the job.
To Be Continued