A/N: Oh god, oh fuck, oh god. I got a bit distracted and the next thing I know it's already 2021. I know that I really messed up but let's not crucify me just yet. I'd hate to go to hell before I can finish the story. I'll do better next time and you won't have to wait for the next chapter half a year. I hope.

Also, another reason it took me so long to publish this chapter is the fact that I got hooked up on Genshin Impact. Hard. I'm in love with the characters, and want to marry all 30 of them. Especially Tartaglia. I'm not gay but I'd let him take my gnosis.

As a result I was thinking of writing a Genshin Impact and World Of Warcraft crossover. Basically, I wanted to transport all the playable characters to WOW universe and then focus on all of them individually as they find themselves in an unfamiliar universe. That said, that idea is still up in the air: I'm not sure which time period of Warcraft history to take, and whether I should even take Warcraft and not some other universe. If anyone is interested I'd like to hear some suggestions.

But all of this aside, I still want to focus my attention on this fic, so don't worry about it being abandoned.

And again, huge thanks to everyone. Enjoy.

Roman

It's been a week since their little planning session, where they'd made up a general plan of action to sustain their criminal empire against Cinder and the police. A week of sitting inside their base and waiting for something to happen, for someone to make the first move. So far, there was nothing. Police continued their investigation, but they were not rushing things. Instead of taking some bold head-on approach, cops decided to play it safe. It was their first real chance to take down Vale's most wanted in a long time and they didn't want to squander it. The progress moved slowly, but steadily. Almost all available detectives in the department worked tirelessly to connect all the evidence they had gathered so far to a single person, place or something that could lead them to Roman. The amount of patrols on the streets has doubled. There have also been rumours that the VPD wanted to hire huntsmen to assist them. There wasn't any proof yet, but it was a realistic and alarming possibility.

Police also took extra caution to not let anyone sabotage the investigation. All cops were now under surveillance to find anyone working for Roman. Soon after, almost all cops on his payroll cut the ties with him. This seriously hindered their ability to get information and somehow affect the police's decisions. Now they would have to take more direct and violent actions to slow down the police's progress, much to Roman's dismay and Neo's joy.

And even though the police's actions seriously hindered his organisation's abilities, and could potentially lead to him being captured, Roman couldn't help but feel a bit flattered, seeing how much effort they put into this investigation. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall the last time he'd seen the Vale PD this determined to arrest someone. Roman even had a fleeting urge to give them some small piece of evidence to stimulate them a bit more, but decided against it.

As for Cinder, they haven't heard anything of her. She just vanished into the thin air. There were no sightings of her, no intel on what she may be up to. So far, it worried Roman far greatly than everything the police had done. He couldn't really fight the enemy he knew nothing about.

And so here they were, waiting for any intel on Cinder or recent activities of the boys in blue. A week of anticipation for some action that just wouldn't come. Roman couldn't even count how many times Neo complained to him about this. Each time he just smiled and assured her that there soon would be more action than she could ever hope for.

And so, one day, as Roman was smoking a cigar, he watched Neo on a catwalk's railings above him. As expected of his partner, her high heels did little to hamper her agility as she moved like a professional dancer. Roman couldn't lie, the sight was mesmerizing. He could spend his entire day just standing here and watching his partner, and he knew for a fact that Neo would be all to happy to continue the performance all day long. Alas, that was not to be.

"Hey boss, there's some news for you."

Ash's voice pulled Roman out of his hypnotic state, much to Neo's annoyance.

Roman looked to his right and saw his lieutenant approaching and asked him:

"What is it? It better be important, or you'll have to answer to Neo for interrupting the show."

With that he pointed at the girl, who jumped down to their level and pulled out her trusty parasol and rested it on her shoulder.

Ash was already used to Neo and her antics, so he didn't feel that threatened. But at the same time, because he was used to her, he knew better than to show disrespect.

"I'm sorry, but it is important. We received a word from Aurelia. She thinks she has found a lead on that fiery witch. Some crook told her where we might find some intel on her."

Now this got both Roman's and Neo's attention and their previous annoyance was all but forgotten. It looked like the days of waiting finally came to an end. Roman felt anticipation and excitement building up in him, and he was sure he wasn't the only one.

"Well, quit stalling. Where can we find it?"

"Junior's club, boss."

A moment of silence followed, and then Roman heard a very exasperated sigh from his left. As expected, Neo wasn't too excited over the prospect of going to Junior's. Not only did she dislike Junior personally for a multitude of reasons, but his so called 'establishment' was just as bad. Apart from the most glaring issues she had with it, such as tasteless decor and obnoxious music playing on ear-shattering volumes, there were countless others.

As for Roman, he wasn't too disheartened. He found toying with Junior pretty funny. And it was high time to pay him a visit anyway. There wasn't much opportunity for that lately. Junior was probably bored without Roman around anyway.

"Well, then Junior's club it is. Come, Neo."

Turning his head, he immediately noted his partner's sour expression and was quick to cheer her up.

"Don't look so down, think of all the new friends you will make there."

She couldn't argue with that, and allowed the smile to come back to her face. The red head criminal knew that the only interesting thing his partner could look forward to was people. And Junior's club had never had shortages of people she could have fun with.

"Ash, if you could manage things here while Neo and I are going on our little errand, that would be great."

"Sure thing, boss."

"Great. Let's go, Neo, we have a party to crash," he said as he started walking, Neo following close behind.

The pair made their way towards the old garage, turned into a motorpool. When they got close they could see a group of casually dressed men and women standing around, talking. Those were the drivers. Roman pointed at one of them and said: "You. You will take us to Junior's place. Pick some regular, unremarkable car. C'mon, move it."

The guy nodded and bolted off towards the cars. Just a minute later they were already in the car, watching night Vale pass by outside the windows.

From her past experience Neo knew that it would take around 15 minutes to get to the club. With the excitement building inside her after all those dull days, she just couldn't sit and wait patiently. Naturally, it was now Roman's task to occupy her.

The girl quickly typed and sent a message to the man sitting right beside her: "what kindof info are u expecting from junior? do u think that witch is a regular in that hole?"

A quiet ping informed Roman of a newly received message. The man pulled out his scroll.

"You never know what you might hear in that hole. Junior's place is a magnet for all sorts of rumours and information... among other things." he replied after reading the message.

"yeah but dont u think our whatever-his-name-is informant would be able to find all the info there was already? i doubt drunkards at juniors place would be any more reliable"

A chuckle escaped Roman's lips. "Have a little faith. The intel came from Aurelia. If she says that we will find the information we need there then all we need to do is just ask politely. Junior won't deny his old friend's request, that would be just rude."

The petite girl chuckled silently as if she'd just heard a good joke.

"bold of you to assume he sees u as a friend)"

Roman couldn't help but chuckle as well. "True, but whatever he may think of me, we need intel and we will get it. You'll help me if he proves uncooperative, won't you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a playful curl of his lips.

She gave a sinister and playful smile of her own in response.

--

The moment the pair stepped out of their car in front of Junior's club they knew something was wrong. Firstly, there were no bouncers outside. Secondly, the sounds coming from the inside were more akin to a violent firefight, rather than music.

'But then again, the stuff they usually play there can hardly be called music anyway.'

"Well, what do you know Neo, it seems we aren't the only visitors today."

The girl nodded excitedly. She was practically bouncing on her feet. 'Looks like someone's eager for action.'

"I think we should check up on Junior, see if he's still alive. Otherwise this whole thing was a waste of time. Anyway," he said as he approached the door. Opening it, he gestured inside.

"Ladies first."

She just smiled, bowed mockingly and went in.

It was usual practice for Neo to go first into potentially dangerous areas. Roman wasn't an idiot. He knew that her combat abilities far surpassed his own. So it's only fitting that she would be the first into the fray. It was a sensible thing to do from a tactical standpoint.

Straightening up he went in after his partner.

As he entered, a part of him expected to find Cinder there, which would be bad news. But, if things went south, they could bail, courtesy of Neo's semblance.

Ultimately though, his worries were in vain as there was no sign of the witch. Instead he saw a blonde girl wiping the floor with Junior's mooks and his bodyguards-twins.

"Well, that isn't something you see every day."

A/N: Oh god getting back into writing after such a break was pain. But now I know better and I'll try to not be an ass and update the story more frequently.