Chapter 84

'Only my father would turn a hostile takeover into a fluffy PR move.' Weiss said, scoffing at the invitation clutched between her fingers. She let the letter fall into her lap, nodding in agreement to the disgusted look Jaye and Kamina had plastered over their faces.

'On the news he said he just wanted to break bread and hash thing out.' Ruby said, shrugging at the girl in a vain attempt to look at the positive side of the situation. 'Maybe it won't be so bad. We do want the General to start opening up to these people, right?'

'Yeah, but on his terms.' Oscar said. 'Ironwood's going to be locked in a room at his rival's own dinner party. I know Jacques says he's happy to moderate but all that really means is he'll be the one controlling the conversation.'

'Not hard to imagine how that's gonna play out.' Blake muttered, and Jaye shook his head.

'The man's as corrupt and decrepit as they come.' He said. 'Ignoring what everyone else says about him, as far as I'm concerned, he shot my best friend and shipped him off to a dust mine to die. That's as good as any reason to hate a man. I'd kill him for free.'

'Ignoring the fact that he shot me and shipped me off to a dust mine.' Kamina butted in. 'The man has some serious ties to the Faction. One of the many reasons why there was never a hit on him, and ironically why we had to do a few missions to cover up his misdemeanors.'

'I still can't believe he won.' Weiss grumbled. 'Robyn was supposed to be the people's champion, wasn't she?' She sighed heavily. 'There's just too many coincidences.'

'You really think your dad might have something to do with Salem?' Yang asked, and the ex-heiress grimaced heavily.

'I think my father would do whatever it takes to win.' The girl said. Ruby glanced at her partner.

'And we should do the same.' She declared, earning confused looks from the rest of the girls.

'Meaning?'

'Well, no one knows your dad better than you, and out of everyone going tonight I'd say you're the only one who could snoop around the house and not be questioned.' Ruby said. 'If Jacques Schnee is up to something, I think we should know what it is.'

'We could do it too. We busted into your house plenty of times and didn't get caught.' Jaye said, and the ex-heiress raised an eyebrow at him. 'Well if we were running a job requested by him, we needed some way to get in touch.'

'So, you're saying you've broken into my house numerous times for criminal reason?'

'Pretty much, yeah. I never broke into your room though if you're concerned about that.' Jaye grinned at her. 'I did break into Winter's room when we were preparing to assassinate Ironwood. The one in the Atlas base I mean.'

'You know you could have just kept that to yourself and no one would be any wiser. But you just had to bring it up, didn't you?'

'Eh, Winter might tell you, so I'd rather you hear it from me. I'm sure she's aware we broke in; I mean I hacked her computer for the General's schedule and stole her access credentials. Even if she didn't know for sure I bet she had her suspicions.'

'Well veto on that, you two.' Ruby said, rolling her eyes. 'Even if we do get evidence, we'd have to present it to them and prove it's real. If you two got it illegally then we'd have a few problems on our hands when they ask us where we got it.'

'Aww, they'd never know! It's just a little crime, that's all.'

'No.'

Schnee Mansion

The procession of cars pulled to a stop in front of the gaudy mansion, opening to allow their passengers to alight. Qrow swung the door shut behind him almost contemptuously, glancing up at the mansions with a manner of distaste. Ironwood stepped out from his limousine, eyeing the security devices plastered across the heights of the mansion.

'Suppose we should smile for the cameras?' He muttered, and the eldest daughter of the business mogul rolled her eyes internally.

'Sir with all due respect you'd have to pay me.' She said, leading the way into the belly of the beast. Weiss started after them, faltering in her steps a little as she spotted the familiar doors. Jaye pulled into the driveway in the car behind the pack, having sent the driver into the back seat in favor of driving himself. The boy exited the vehicle with his team of assassins, raising a distasteful eyebrow at the house.

'Can't believe you used to live in that thing.' He shook his head at the ex-heiress, who was regarding the house with an equal level of distaste as the boy. 'Must be a pain in the ass to clean.'

'Please don't remind me.' Weiss groaned. 'It's bad enough having to come back here.'

'I could wreck the place if you want?'

'I would very much like that if it weren't for the fact that my mother still lives here. Besides, wrecking the place would only cause trouble for the maids.' Weiss pondered. 'Though if you could somehow destroy his assets then I think we're in business.'

'I'll find a way.' The boy chuckled, patting the girl on the shoulder. 'Well then, let's get moving, shall we?'

Ironwood rang the doorbell, standing back up to full height with as much poise as he could muster. All well, as the door opened to reveal a tiny moustache-less Jacques Schnee, which they could only assume was Whitley.

'Good evening everyone.' It greeted, revealing the fact that it was not, in fact, an exact clone of the corrupt businessman, but just a very close likeness.

'Oh good, the little shit's here.' Jaye muttered, earning himself an elbow from Blake again. Weiss raised an eyebrow at her brother.

'Where's Klein?' She asked, and Whitley's face remained impassive.

'What an interesting way to say, "Hello dear brother, how have you been?".' The boy crossed his arms over his chest. 'I'm afraid you won't find him here; he was let go. I can't imagine why?'

'I'd love to let you go off the edge of the mansion roof.' Kamina chirped, eating elbows from both the cat girls at once. 'Just saying.'

Whitely ignored the fox boy. 'General, exactly how large do you think our dining room table is?'

'I happen to know it's enormous.' The General replied smoothly. 'But most of my guests will be on standby in case the Council requests additional eye-witnesses. Until then I'm sure they'll be happily celebrating your father's victory.'

Whitley gave the General a smug smile, letting it drop from his face a second too soon before her turned his back to them. They followed the pompous brat into the immense hall, decorated on all ends with everything Schnee, and Jaye fought the overwhelming urge to freeze everything in sight. Kamina was undergoing a similar struggle, flexing his fists against his claws as he caught sight of the giant Schnee emblem lasered into the marble floors. Whitley gestured at the door to the left.

'For those of you joining us in the dining room, please follow me.' He said, and the group broke away to pass through the doors. Qrow and Clover exchanged a broseph moment, flinching back as a random porter appeared with a tray of wine.

'Care for a drink sir?' The faunus porter asked, and Qrow waved away the tray with some difficulty.

'Uh, no, no thanks.' He said, pacing awkwardly away from the waiter. 'I think I'll just stick to patrolling the grounds.'

'Words out of my mouth.' Marrow grumbled, pacing off to find a door to stalk out from. Harriet addressed the group of new huntsmen.

'Right, well, don't wander off, don't break anything, and be ready in case the General calls on you.'

'Try my best.' Jaye grinned at the rabbit girl, earning himself a glare. 'Cross my heart.'

The Ace Ops stalked off, hands mostly bound by legality, while the rest of the new huntsmen and assassins gathered in a circle. Yang raised a finger in the air.

'Counterpoint; how about we do wander off, consider breaking things, and then all that other stuff?'

Weiss gestured to her radio. 'I'll be in touch.'

The girl made her way to the massive staircase in the middle of the hallway, pausing as a pompous brat promptly made his way down them and infuriatingly stopped the girl in her tracks.

'Dear sister! I was hoping we could use this time to catch up.' The boy scoffed, grinning as if imagining his torment of his elder sister. 'I have to know; why did you go through so much trouble to leave home, only to come crawling back?'

Weiss rolled her eyes at her pompous brother, unable to do much but to entertain him for however long he wished to "catch up". Jaye raised an eyebrow at the pair.

'Well that's a bust. Come on Mina, twinsies you too.' They made their way off to the outside of the property, clearly looking for a more covert way to obtain access to the upper floors. 'We'll be back before dinner is concluded. Someone else find a way to quietly kill that brat yeah?'

'Still remember where that son of a bitch's office is?' Mina asked, peering around the corner as a waitress passed them by none the wiser. Hidden in the shadows, the four were akin to ghosts as they passed between hiding spots easily. With most of the servants downstairs entertaining the guests, they had little to contend with in way of discovery. Watching the waitress make her way down the hall, Jaye slipped away from the group as they waved him off, striding silently down the hall until he reached the room he was gunning for. Kamina teleported himself behind a nearby pillar, peering around the corner and keeping watch while the boy worked. The twins kept the stairwell covered, bows drawn and nocked with stun arrows just in case. The boy nodded to his covert team, opening the door just a crack and peering inside. He flinched as he felt a presence on the other side. Knowing it couldn't be Jacques Schnee, he figured it was likely a servant doing some cleaning and opened the door anyway. He slid it shut behind himself, coming face to face with the stunned visage of Willow Schnee.

'Evening Mrs. Schnee.' He said courteously, shaking himself out of his stupor. 'How have you been?'

The woman gave him a look of terror, backing up until her knees hit the coffee table behind her. The bottle in her hand slipped from her grasp, and the boy lunged forward to catch it before it hit the floor.

'Woah there, you need to be careful. Can't be making a scene here.' He said, the veiled implication sliding almost venomously off his tongue. Raising the bottle to her again, he sniffed it inquisitively. 'Bourbon huh? Bit of a strong evening drink.'

'Niflheim.' She breathed, nearly collapsing against the table as her knees threatened to give way under her. 'What a… pleasant surprise. To what do we owe the pleasure?'

Her eyes drifted past his back, then to his waist and then his gauntlets, almost confused at his lack of armaments. Jaye sighed at the woman.

'Please Mrs. Schnee, don't be alarmed. I'm not here for… what you think.' He said as genteelly as he could, and the woman's eyes widened at the boy. He raised an eyebrow at her, before realizing that she wasn't looking at him. The woman glanced behind her, where her daughter was standing by the desk. Jaye caught her eye, the surprise evident on his face. 'Weiss, I didn't know you were here.'

'Weiss!' Willow Schnee pushed past the coffee table, running to her daughter and standing protectively in front of her. Weiss made a sound of surprise, making a sound of confusion as her mother spread her arms across the girl. 'Please, not my daughter! She won't tell a soul you were here; I swear!'

'Mom? What're you talking about?'

'Darling, please.' She whispered frantically, and Jaye raised a hand to try to calm the woman. 'Take my life if you will, but please not my little girl!'

'Willow!' Jaye barked, lowering his voice immediately as the woman flinched in terror. 'Relax. I'm not here to kill anyone. Weiss, could you please?'

'Mom it's okay.' Weiss placed a hand on the terrified woman's arm. 'He's not going to hurt you. I promise.' She turned angrily to the boy. 'And what are you doing here? And scaring my mother to boot!'

'Hey, I've been nothing but pleasant this entire time okay. She just went and scared the life out of herself!'

'Please, it was the very sight of your face that set her off.' Weiss scoffed, slapping the boy on the arm. 'What do you have to say for yourself?'

'I'm terribly sorry Mistress, I regret what I've done. I beg for your forgiveness.'

'Very well. You are forgiven.'

'Pompous brat.'

'What're you talking about? Whitley's nowhere near here.' Weiss grinned at the boy, turning back to her mother. 'Mom don't worry. We're teammates; if he does anything, I'll just tell Yang.'

'Darling?' Willow said, still a little unsteady, and Weiss tried her best to give the woman a warm smile.

'Relax mom, he's on our side. I trust him.' She placed a hand on her mother's arm. 'He won't hurt anyone. Well, maybe father, but I think we'd all like for that to happen.' She raised the scroll in her hand to the boy. 'Found something.'

'Nice work. Guess I didn't have to sneak up here then.' The boy grinned bumping fists with the girl. 'What is it?'

'Evidence. Something that might help us implicate him.'

'Brilliant. Let's arrest a bastard huh?'

'Why would you want to be arrested?'

'Shutty.'

'I'm not hiding anything.' Ironwood said, doing his best to weather the storm that was the Schnee celebration dinner. Robyn, not helping the situation at all, stalked over to the General.

'Let's put it to the test then.' She said, holding her hand out to the man. 'You're all aware of my Semblance. Let's settle it here and now, General Ironwood.' She kept her hand outstretched, the implications clear. Her ability to visually deduce truth and lies would put the man on thin ice, particularly while withholding the truth about Salem's existence. 'Here and now.'

'Wait!' The double doors burst open, revealing the white-haired newly minted huntress. She stepped in through the doors, letting them fall closed behind her. 'I know who's been framing Ironwood, who rigged the election.' She alighted next to the business mogul, letting her gaze fall onto him with a cross between contempt and satisfaction. 'And my father does too. He's been working with him.'

She placed the scroll on the table, projecting its screen up for all to see. Jacques Schnee's eyes widened in shock, glancing rapidly between the members of the council seated around the table. One of the councilwomen squinted at the screen, making a not so inconspicuous sound of shock. 'Is that Arthur Watts?'

A round of shocked gasps erupted from the council. 'That's impossible! Dr. Watts dies in the Paladin incident years ago!'

General Ironwood got to his feet slowly, eyes still locked on the white-haired man now nervously fidgeting in his seat. 'Play it.'

Weiss tapped the screen, running the video as her father watched, horrified, fiddling with his rings as the incriminating evidence played.

'That bastard is costing me more money every day with this embargo. I'd lay off every employee in mantle if I wasn't trying to get their damn votes for this Council seat!'

'Well what if I said you could have your cake, and eat it too?'

'What did you have in mind?'

'James Ironwood never recognized my genius. After everything I gave him, he still disgraced me. I simply wish to return the favor.'

'What's in it for me?'

'A seat on the council. All I need is your login credentials to the Atlas Network. You promise to make Ironwood's life a waking nightmare, and I will guarantee you victory at the polls by giving the voters down in Mantle a little… digital push, if you will.'

'I always knew you were a good scientist, Arthur, but I never knew you were such a good salesman.'

'Enough.' Ironwood commanded, and the ex-heiress paused the video with a flair of what could only be described as intense contemptuous satisfaction.

'That. That is-! I can explain that!' Jacques Schnee blustered, getting up from his seat and anxiously fiddling with his tie as he tried to come up with an explanation where there really wasn't one. 'That… isn't real.'

'Jacques. Take your seat.' The councilman commanded, and without a second thought the usually dignified Jacques Schnee turned tail and darted for the door. He pushed it open with a gasp, coming face to face with the spectral figure of Weiss's summon. Flanking it on either side, Jaye and Kamina grinned shite-eating grins at the man, while the twins perched on the massive armored knight's shoulders looked identically unentertained. The man turned back to his daughter.

'Weiss!'

'Jacques Schnee. You're under arrest.' Weiss held up her Huntress license to her crooked father. She glanced at the General. 'Can I do that?'

Jaye scoffed from his spot next to the summon. 'Real smooth Weiss.'

Chapter 84 end.