Perched on top of the warehouse waiting. A lone security van occasionally driving through, probably an honest guard thinking he served an honest clientele on a cool fall night. She picked at her skin tight black outfit her hair and face mostly covered. Turning slightly at the sounds of soft footsteps to see Adam's silhouette. Outside of his normal clothes she suppressed a giggle he was wearing black jeans and hoodie. Probably the best he could do this short notice.
"Did you really need to bring the mask, Adam?"
Ignoring her, he drawled, "here you are out late on a school night."She frowned, it was a lot harder as a 16 year old to go without sleep. She'll manage with her ridiculous taste in coffee, she didn't remember black coffee ever being so bitter. Adam helped her open a roof door to a thin maintenance ladder to the inside edge of the building, "I'm surprised you cased the place so fast."
Ruby shrugged"Been keeping an eye on it. Fortunately, Torchwick just robbed a warehouse, they wouldn't have had time to empty the truck."
"Easy strike." His thumb pushed the hilt of sword.
The slight movement made her voice hardened, "Adam, the goal is to be in and out with the truck. These guys serve Cinder out of fear, just like the white fang did."
His blue eye rolled under the mask, "I broke free."
Poking him hard into the chest, "You're relying on me to let you know your opportunities for freedom." Ruby was grateful that Adam wasn't as feral as Blake led her to believe. She wondered if being under Cinder's thumb made him snap from a good leader into the violent Faunus terrorist. "Don't kill anyone." Maybe she interceded before he hit a point of no return?
He nodded, hand on hilt. Wincing at her smiling brightly before shimmying down the ladder. She was adorable and dangerous.
Like a kitten with claws.
Shaking his head, he leapt down into the warehouse. He could feel Red's glare on him. He looked up and gave her a two finger salute, she was such a skinny thing dressed in that cat burglar suit. Yet she held her own against him, with someone else's weapon none the less. Then she was on him pushing him against the wall with a hiss, "someone's coming." He angled his head so his hood covered the white of his mask. his heart skittish under her fist. This close she could see the ruined eye under the slot of his mask. He took her by the waist and hid them deeper into the shadows. At least Adam wasn't going out of his way to ruin her budding relationship with Junior's gang, by moon slicing everything.
They held a collective breath, hearing a goon call back that he must've been hearing things. She looked up to the Faunus ready to level another set of eye knives against him when he mouthed sorry.
Not giving herself a moment to be surprised, she slinked out of his space and down hallways. Pouring chloroform she so hoped she didn't need into a cloth. And then tossing the canister to her temporary partner. She was a little surprised that Adam Taurus couldn't walk with complete silence. Occasionally she'd grab his sleeve and pull him behind a wall, a shelf, as they crept towards various offices. Fortunately Neo's and Roman's methods of securing a warehouse was similar to Junior's. She wouldn't have been able to pull a heist this quick without the foreknowledge. Adam squirmed and flushed under her grip, understandable. She was a human and apparently sneakier than him.
Shoving him into an open crate, "Haven't you infiltrated and robbed before?" Ruby took the moment murmur. The hilt of his sword dug into her thigh and gritted her teeth because she couldn't afford to make any rusling noises.
His mouth close to her ear and so quiet she barely heard him. "Forest camps and trains."
Ah he never needed to be quiet. He shifted up and hearing the click of sharp shoes, her arm looped around the Faunus's neck pulling him down against her.
She blushed furiously realizing it wasn't his weapon drilling a hole in her leg. Adam looked away, his own blush threatening to erupt them flames of embarrassment. She wanted to say something, but she did trust her young untrained voice. Instead her hand rested on the drying cloth hoping it was still potent enough in case the grunt saw them.
Footsteps were heard moving away from them. Adam rather quickly peers over the edge, before gracefully hopping out. Rewetting his cloth before pouring some liquid on hers. Chin gesturing for her lead, she found keys. "You can drive a semi?"
He nodded.
"Good my feet barely reach the pedal. I'll stay with the goods." Ruby slipped into the trailer seeing crates upon crates of Dust. Just as she predicted, a new horde. One Roman or Neo would have just lifted from the store house. The engine started and a flash of orange shot up out of surprise.
"Red? What- hmmmph!" She was on his back, like a monkey, clipboard fell from his hand as he sagged down. Gently Ruby cradle the unreasonably tall boy in her arms and laid him down in the warehouse. Knowing the truck was moving away at a terrible speed. Junior's grunts hesitate before they shot at her, her Aura flashing at impact, she gave them a deep bow. Then launching herself into the truck's trailer. Rose petals in her wake. She didn't want to be she had to use her semblance.
Adam managed to get them back to the windfarm he opened the door and Ruby winced at the light, seeing a multitude of white fang ready to move the dust. Adam, now wearing a blindfold, held out his hand to her, she took it as she jumped down.
"There is a start of an inventory there. Alot of electricity dust."
Adam growled, "I'm not selling that to the power plants."
"It be fast cash, but undermine your windfarm."
"We'll fight with it and sell the other types of dust." His gestured to his men to start working through the crates. "Tea Red?"
Her mouth twitched, suddenly curious who inspired who to love tea. She nodded and followed him into an office he converted into a sleeping space.
"Thank you." He muttered as he heated a pot of water on a hot plate.
A evening of surprises, "you're welcome Adam."
His back stubbornly facing her, "I'm sorry about my reaction."
Ruby blushed a little, "our bodies have unusual reactions to adrenaline rushes. We wouldn't do what we do the way we do it, if it wasn't a little thrilling."
he looked over his shoulder She felt his eyes wander over her form, and she was painfully aware of how skin tight her clothes were. She had a few years to fill out, but she wasn't dumb, She was attractive.
He opened his mouth and Red knew when a man was about to make a fool of himself, "I don't like rose petals in my tea." She made herself sound her age, maybe a little younger. And that curious gaze shook itself out of Adam's eyes. "What happened to your mask?"
Rubbing at his blindfold that he must've tied on while driving, "In the side mirror I saw you laying out Torchwick and using your semblance to get back to the truck."
Her hands to her heart, "You threw out you mask to cover for me and so Cinder knew you took it." She was touched he'd try to take the heat off of her.
Adam poured her some tea, "I want her gunning for me sooner rather than later."
Ruby frowned, "we forget it's more than just her and so I need time. Cinder still has Junior under her thumb. You have an army and technically so does she."
Snapping "An army paid with fear of death she didn't even try to buy loyalty."
She wander over to an worn futon her fingers running over a chess set, "I've an idea, but I need two suitcases of electricity Dust."
He chewed his lip, even if it was directly sold to the SDC it wouldn't make a difference in prices or electric grid costs. Right now it was the highest priced dust because of Torchwick's aggressive thieving exploits. "You earned it Red."
"Thank you and when Cinder comes, I need all the heads up I can get."
"More time means more resources can be utilized." He took a sip of tea.
"That's a beautiful chessboard."
"Yes it was a gift from Ghira."
"Belladonna?"
"Are you sure you're not a Faunus? You seem rather informed for a 16year old."
"I have friends! And well I use have a little part time job, and I was affronted that my Owl faunus coworker has a different minimum wage that me." She was honest about that, and she thought she'd work it longer than she did, but then admission to Beacon took over and then we'll life continued on in a very demanding and lifey way.
Adam rubbed at his blind fold as he set up the set, "well Red, I am grateful." This thumb ran over a dark walnut rook piece. "When Cinder killed my men, I thought-" he cleared his throat. "Human collateral damage meant nothing to me. And with Cinder I thought I would have to kill every human of power just to keep my people safe."
Ruby cupped his hand in hers, take the piece and finished setting the board. Traditionally white goes first, and Adam intended on giving her that privilege. She moved her pawn, opening her king immediately to vulnerability. "Adam we may appear to be on opposite sides. I'm trusting you to work beside me."
His grip tightened over hers, "To protect anyone from those who wish for division."
Adam might be a rogue, but his trust became precious and she would hold it with care.
Xxx
Ruby gasped excitedly the next day, oh Kerry! You fast moving son of bitch! He was now her favorite goon. Oh how she wished she could have found it in hard copy. Scroll news would have to suffice. Skipping excitedly across the hall ignoring Pyrrha groaning it was to early for a sugar rush. Ruby sombered before knocking on her sister's door. Jaune opened up and she walked right past him. To Weiss who was combing out her hair.
Ruby setting her scroll down so Ice bitch had to look at the news picture. "Thank you."
Weiss stared at team CRDL all four laid out shoulder to shoulder with a pale blue kerchief spread out on their chests. Tears fell from the older girl's eyes, "I didn't. I didn't want this."
Blake gripped her friend's shoulders, "whether your father wants you here or not, it would make sense if he kept an eye on you."
Jacques didn't, the father didn't care, but Weiss still held out the faint belief that her father would love and protect her.
Ruby taking the comb and gently brushing the white hair, "it was a great evil to drug someone and steal their choices away."
Weiss, "B-But they didn't deserve to die!"
Ruby her hands impossibly gentle as she pinned up the heiress's hair the way Weiss liked, "No they didn't. People like that deserve to have their choices taken away too." Ruby purred, basking in her venom.