Chapter 7
Expectations
Weiss Schnee was standing outside her father's door and listening to the discussion inside. The heiress was hesitating to put her hand on the doorknob.
A snide, higher voice was scolding someone with, "I'm not talking about the good of my company; I'm talking about the good of Atlas, our entire Kingdom!"
"That is a load of garbage, and you know it," General Ironwood scolded.
Weiss opened the door and peered in as the conversation began to get heated.
"I beg your pardon?!" Jacques asked
"Jacques, will you please, just hear me out? Ironwood questioned.
Jacques placed his glass down on the table roughly and said, "You are a trusted friend and ally to this family, James, but what you're suggesting is absurd!"
"You are blowing it out of proportion," Ironwood assured him.
Jacques's gaze hardened as he said, "The council will never agree to it!"
"You forget, I hold two seats on the council," Ironwood reminded him.
Jacques pointed at him as he stood up, saying, "Your Dust embargo has already cost me millions! I can promise you; I have not forgotten!"
"So this is about you," Ironwood stated coldly.
Weiss came into the room, and as she watched two men awkwardly, the door shut behind her. She startled at the sound while James and Jacques turned and looked at her.
Ironwood bowed and said, "Miss Schnee! My apologies. I should have been gone by now."
"It-it's okay," Weiss assured him.
Ironwood turned to Jacques and said, "We'll continue this at another time."
"Indeed. Klein can show you out," Jacques offered.
"Don't worry, I know the way," Ironwood assured him.
Weiss steps aside so that Ironwood can reach the door. He turns and looks at her father.
"Until next time, Jacques," Ironwood said as formally as he could
Jacques solemnly nodded back at Ironwood, who then turned to Weiss.
"Please know, you'll always have a home at Atlas Academy, Miss Schnee. We'll be back in session before you know it." Ironwood reminded her in a genuinely happy voice.
As soon as the door shut, Jacques scolded Weiss with, "Did you forget all of your manners while you were away?:
Weiss gave an annoyed scowl, but it was gone before she turned around,
"No, Father. I'm sorry," Weiss apologized.
Jacques sighed and said Can you believe there are still people in the world that blame Atlas for what happened to Beacon? To Vale?"
"Well, they weren't there," Weiss reminded him.
The CEO of SDC sighed and said, "regardless, to show we are on the people's side, the Schnee Dust Company will be holding a charity concert to support the rebuilding of Vale city, and there is a certain role; for you…"
Ironwood arrived on the bridge of the Resolute to see the Mason twins waiting patiently for him.
"About what happened with Emerald…." Charlie was cut off by Ironwood holding out his hand with a sad look.
Ironwood sighed and said, "Look, it's been a rough few months, and I think we all have been stressed; what is the mission Connor Malcolm gave you."
Kelly nodded and said, "we have some evidence that Jacques Schnee has committed a massive list of crimes that would send him to prison for the entirety of his life and several times over."
Ironwood raised an eyebrow and asked, "you have proof?"
"Yes and no….Malcolm's insight into the past has found many….many crimes, but we require hard evidence, which we know how to obtain," Charlie admitted.
Ironwood nodded and replied, "I don't even try to begin to understand the powers Connor Malcolm possesses, but I have always had my suspicions about Jacques; what is your plan?"
"We will infiltrate the Schnee manor, then my brother's hacking skills will do the rest," Kelly began.
"That won't be enough; Jaques has enough rich friends and sways to get away with anything you can find" Ironwood cut her off.
"Which is why we will be revealing this information in a very public way….when the time is right," Charlie clarified.
Ironwood nodded and replied, "ok...what can I do to support you?"
"Nothing but conduct business as usual; we simply wanted to inform you, trust is important," Kelly replied calmly.
"Trust is hard to give, but in these times, we need allies, and I hope we can work together," Ironwood stated firmly, trying to be as nice as his military demeanor would allow.
Charlie held up his wrist comm; then the screen projected a hologram of the black queen emblem and lines of code saying, "I was going over one of the deactivated Atlesian Knight when I found the code of the virus, then when I was looking over some of the computers I noticed a similarity, so when I compared them side by side, well."
Ironwood's eyes widened as the current security code appeared next to the virus "it's nearly identical to our security code!"
Charlie nodded and said, "You may want to look into a turncoat or scientists who didn't like the military."
Just then, there was an alarm; the two screens on the center console showed Emerald and Mercury's cells, where two portals were opening.
In the blink of an eye, the two ran into the portals, disappearing without a trace, leaving both Ironwood and the Mason twins in complete shock.
As Emerald and Mercury arrived in Salem's castle, they were shocked to see a new figure in a black robe waiting for them.
"Who are you?" Mercury questioned.
"An ally, per Salem's request, I have retrieved you two; she has instructed that you two will train here and await further orders; that is all for now," Lupin explained.
Then, in a fraction of a second, the collars around Emerald's neck and head were broken and fell to the floor; Lupin had slashed them off so fast the duo didn't even perceive the motion.
"thanks…" Emerald said meekly.
"Not a problem, my dear, and Mr. Black, Arthur has a set of legs waiting in your room; he made some upgrades he thinks you find quite...beneficial," Lupin said with a motion to the hallway where the duo's quarters were.
Mercury gave a smirk and said, "about time…" before walking away without even a glance at emerald; he was ready to ditch the useless stilts the Atlassian military gave him.
Emerald, however, just stood there in silence….
Author's note-getting more stuff in place for the finale, leave a review!