Merendinoemiliano – Thanks for the feedback. I think that there is as often with RWBY some hints in the show of some potentially interesting character developments within the Ace-Ops and I hope someone does a fan fiction story which investigates their inner thoughts.

Winter was sitting in her office dealing with her paperwork when Clover knocked and entered. "Captain Schnee, please join me in the main meeting room in thirty minutes time. We need to rethink what the White Fang are planning. The good news is that I do not think that they are targeting you, the bad news is that they may be planning to significantly escalate their campaign and the SDC is likely to be the target."

Twenty-five minutes she walked into the conference room to find Harriet glaring at Corkran who was sipping a soft drink and eating a biscuit. Major Magenta was there and greeted her warmly. Two minutes later the Colonel arrived together with two members of the AML including the law professor reservist. Vine shortly appeared with the Ambassador and Qrow Branwen.

Clover coughed and said, "Specialist Elm is currently chasing up a lead for me. We will start without her. As most of you know we have intelligence from Beacon which we have no reason to doubt that Adam Taurus of the SDC is either in or on his way to Vacuo and he and his team ordered some brands with the initials WF on them. Adam Taurus is seen as one of the most hardline proponents of unrestricted warfare within the White Fang. He first came to fame a few years ago when the belladonnas paraded him at a press conference denouncing the SDC for cruelty."

Harriet said, "But he branded himself to cause trouble for Atlas and the SDC. Everyone knows that he and the White Fang were discredited."

Major Magenta coughed, "His story was almost certainly true. Certainly, the Vacuoans believe it and recent events at the De Lagers mine give it some credence."

Colonel White said, "While I only believe it on the balance of probabilities, I agree with the Major's views on the beliefs of the Vacuoans."

Clover said, "There is a human in Vacuo who talks about his brother finding a young bull Taurus in the desert with a branded eye. Mr. Corkran, perhaps you can provide further background?"

"I know the man in question. I spoke t' his brother when I was deciding between the military and the SDC. He told me a story about a SDC bullhead passing overhead and throwing a body out of the side. He found a young Bull Faunus who had been blinded in one eye with a SDC brand. The boy was unconscious but alive. He handed him over t' a local tribe of nomadic Faunus and recommended that they send him t' Menagerie. It made my decision t' join the military easier. I am afraid the man died a few months later in an accident involving a sinkhole. I have no reason t' believe that the sinkhole story was a fabrication."

Major Magenta said, "You may recall that the enquiry referred to a young bull Faunus being injured in a mine accident and dying in a bullhead on the way to a medical centre and chastised the White Fang for exploiting the tragic death of a young Faunus for political ends."

Clover stared down Harriet and the professor who both looked as though they wanted to object, "For the purposes of this discussion, we should assume that the story is true or that a large proportion of Faunus believe it to be true. Assuming Adam Taurus was a young boy who was mutilated by some employees of the SDC and was thrown out of a bullhead, he would seem to have an understandable motivation for hating the SDC, Atlas, the multi-kingdoms and the Schnee family. I should also state that the latest assessment from the Atlas intelligence team studying the White Fang is that it is only a question of time before they escalate their campaign."

Colonel White said, "However, Captain Schnee would be an obvious target for such an escalation. Why do you think she is not?"

Clover replied, "She is far too hard a target. Unless she was killed or knocked unconscious in the first attack, she could escape using her ability to summon a manticore. An IED by the side of the road to Vacuo city would hardly dent her aura and a larger bomb in the sewers in Vacuo would be too great an escalation in the risk of civilian casualties to be authorized by Sienna Khan. Again, for the sake of argument, Sienna Khan should be assumed to be a rational person and has no desire to detach moderate supporters especially those who contribute money for the cause in the pubs and clubs of Vale, Mantle and Mistral."

He checked his scroll and sent a text. "Specialist Elm will join us soon. On the assumption that the White Fang is looking to escalate its campaign, I would like your input on my own analysis."

He paused, "First, any escalation will preferably be seen as incremental and will involve a minimum of civilian casualties. Second, it must be practical of achievement. Unless our intelligence is horribly wrong, the White Fang does not have the infrastructure in Vacuo to launch a major attack so any equipment they use they will either need to buy here or bring in from outside Vacuo. Third, terrorism 101 suggests that they will look for a target which looks tough but is surprisingly weak if some lateral thinking is applied. Fourth, it should preferably cause economic harm out of proportion to the actual attack."

Ambassador Corkran said, "In this regard, the cost of increasing security at the Atlas embassies in Mistral, Vacuo and Vale has been staggering and the security arrangements for embassy staff have quadrupled in the last two years even in Vacuo."

Major Magenta said, "The obvious target given the identity of Adam Taurus is the SDC. The headquarters building here had had a major security upgrade recently, but I suppose we should warn Raddock of the risk of attack."

At this point Specialist Elm appeared and sat down.

Winter said, "If I wanted to hurt the multi-kingdoms bottom line and attack on a mine would be my choice. If a successful attack were made, it would require them to beef up their security precautions at all their mines in Vacuo to at least the level in Mistral."

Major Magenta said, "We have discussed this in the past with the multi-kingdoms and most of the active mines are in remote areas of Vacuo. The ones nearest inhabited areas were exhausted decades ago. Even with local guides a ground attack on a mine is likely to be spotted from miles away. They also do have decent enough security protocols regarding approaching airships and bullheads. That is one of the reasons why we have to give warning about inspections to them."

Clover said, "All good points. Please could you all look at the screen." He clicked on his scroll and a picture of a human with his arms around two young women appeared.

Qrow commented, "Is that the only bar in Vacuo?"

The Professor said, "I have spent three days and nights in meetings with him this week. He is the architect of the SDC's pricing arrangements and from a technical point of view has done an excellent job. The result is in total breach of the spirit and intention of the rules, but technically cannot be challenged. It will be another week before we can draft revised rules to catch what he put in place specifically and we will need to persuade the Council to introduce a general anti avoidance rule to catch all the variants. On the positive side, it seems the other multi-kingdoms were not as careful as the SDC in setting up their structures and I expect we can threaten them with penalties for past breaches."

Major Magenta said, "He came up through the ranks of the SDC with Umber Raddock and Bruce Crimson. They all hailed from Mistral and got their break at the Rising Sun mine."

Vine said, "Are the two young women relevant?"

Mr. Corkran said, "I cannot say for certain. However, both are new in town. They are both Faunus. I spent time with them when I was waiting for our whistleblower to turn up and they were also waiting for someone. It suited all of us to have company. The Fox Faunus was happy to spend time with me, but the Chameleon Faunus was on edge. She could just have been shy. I should mention that the man in question was notorious for his taste in young Faunus when he was here previously."

Clover continued, "A man with a taste in young Faunus gravitating towards some in a bar is not surprising. However, he had only returned to Vacuo after four years absence last week. The two women are newcomers to Vacuo. While they told Mr. Corkran they were waiting for someone they could have been escorts awaiting a customer."

The Lynx Faunus said, "The Fox Faunus certainly gave off that vibe."

Clover hit another button and the screen showed Beige enter the bar. They saw his face light up and he moved towards the Fox Faunus.

Winter said, "That looked like a man who was delighted to see a particular person rather than a man looking out for a hired escort. Still, she could have been his mistress who he had flown in to keep him company."

Qrow said, "Could you play the clip again, Specialist Ebi?"

Clover did so and Qrow said, "That looks like surprise to me. However, one is clearly only around 15 and the other looks like she is 17 pretending to be 21."

Winter could not resist saying, "I will defer to your greater experience in judging the age of underage women in bars, Qrow."

Corkran coughed and said, "In Vacuo the age for drinking and consent is 15 although these are treated as guidelines. It is morally frowned on for anyone aged over 25 to be intimate with someone under 17."

Qrow said, "I suppose you are telling us that those girls are agents for the White Fang and are getting this creep to betray the SDC. Sorry, I can believe that there is blackmail or a payment for service scam going on, but I do not buy that he is going to betray his source of income and prestige for a piece of tail."

The Major said, "Do either of these two women appear on your data base, Specialist Ebi?"

"So far, no. the Fox Faunus does not match anyone we have a record of. We do know of a Chameleon Faunus of around the same age, but we need to speak to the education department and the social services service to see if they have a photograph."

"Do they normally track your dangerous suspects?" asked Qrow.

Winter saw Elm looking a little unhappy. Clover nodded to Elm who said, "One of my sisters was doing teacher training at a school in a prosperous part of Mantle a few years ago when a pupil who was passing as human was discovered to be a Faunus and assaulted her classmates."

Qrow said, "Why she is not in the records of the juvenile correction department?"

A miserable looking Elm said, "The reason she was discovered was that she was distraught after having been told her parents had died in an accident. One of the girls in her class also told my sister that some of her classmates reacted insensitively."

"How old was the kid?"

"Thirteen."

"Is there any record of her being a White Fang supporter?"

Elm said, "My sister said she was a shy girl who was desperate to fit it. She also said that if what the classmate told her was true it was hard to blame the girl for lashing out."

The Major coughed, "What do you intend to do with this information, Specialist."

Harriet said, "Bring them in for questioning?"

Winter saw what the Major had been hinting at and said, "On what grounds and under what authority?"

Harriet started to say something, thought better about it, and looked at Clover.

The ambassador said, "You are not in Atlas, and you cannot round up the usual suspects. The man Beige is a citizen of Mistral and an employee of the SDC, the Fox Faunus does not resemble anyone on your database and, even if the chameleon Faunus is the same girl, all you have on her is that she reacted badly to being bullied after her parents died. You have no evidence connecting either Faunus with Adam Taurus or the White Fang. While no one would object if you detained an acknowledged citizen of Atlas with an arrest warrant open against him, the locals would not be happy about you searching the bars for young girls. They would object to their own government doing that let alone anyone else's."

The Lynx Faunus said, "Both their accents were educated Mistralian."

The major said, "We do not even have the right to demand that the local hoteliers provide us with information in relation to their guests."

The professor from the Atlas legal team said, "Are we being played by the SDC? The multi-kingdoms have been breaking and bending the rules for years and are indignant about being called to account. Starting a terrorist hare running is politics 101 for hushing everything up without doing anything about the underlying problems."

The Colonel said, "It was the reason we let the SDC do their own investigation previously and were told to accept the verdict that there were isolated incidents involving stressed individuals who were in fear of their lives and were singling out troublemakers."

Winter had been thinking about things and said, "So far all we know is that Adam Taurus was heading in this direction and two young women are spending time with an accountant. He can hardly attack a mine with armed guards by himself and with two girls. What about if he is after Raddock rather than me? We can look for evidence that he has brought more people with him."

Clover looked at her and said, "So we warn him to take care?"

The Major said, "The story was that Adam taurus was working at the Rising Sun mine which was where Raddock was in charge and Crimson was head of security. You can warn him that someone may be after him for personal reasons. He is less likely to use the warning to play politics as it would involve dredging up the old story and would imply that there was some truth to it."

Clover said, "I agree. I am happy to talk to him."

Winter said, "Best if it comes from me. Less official and he is more likely to keep quiet especially if he wants to avoid any questions about the past."

"Sounds good. Can we have a word after the meeting, Captain Schnee about the detail of the warning. I still think we need to investigate the possibility of another attack and the two girls."

Mr. Corkran raised his hand, "I think me, Lieutenant Amin and Mr. Branwen may be best placed to investigate matters in Vacuo without raising too many alarms."

"If this involves going on a pub crawl, then I'm your man" replied Qrow ostentatiously swigging from his flask.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" asked Clover.

"In summary, if I ask after the Fox Faunus my insatiable curiosity will be attributed t' my libido, Huntsman Branwen can pose as a tourist thinking about a safari and we can see whether any of the Faunus guides are out of town with new customers. Lieutenant Marrow and I know some of the second-tier accountants at the SDC. I think one of them entered Rick's with Beige. He may be willing to meet with us to see if we let slip any rumours about the investigation. He is at a low level on the ladder and is looking for ways to climb it. He is also a Vytal festival fanatic and will jump at meeting a member of a festival winning team."

The legal man said, "No harm in confirming that the SDC structure looks as though it works, but hint we are seeking specialist advice."

There was a little more back and forth discussion, but the meeting ended shortly afterwards.

The ambassador left asking to be kept in touch and reminding the Ace-Ops that they were not in Atlas anymore. Qrow and Corkran left together to hunt down Marrow. The Colonel and the Major departed to deal with their normal work. The Major had formally given the Lynx Faunus 24 hours leave and was adjusting the schedules for the other scouts to cover the patrol he was due to accompany. The lawyer left to continue working on his report. The Ace-Ops were left on their own.

Harriet asked, "Are we happy about the Lynx Faunus and the drunk leading the investigation? I did not understand why they were even at the meeting."

Clover said, "He knows the city better than any of us and has local contacts the rest of us do not. Huntsman Branwen's demeanour is misleading and leads people to underestimate him. He works directly for Professor Ozpin who is no one's idea of a fool. Anyway, we can order the Lynx Faunus and Lieutenant Amin to wear microphones so we can keep track of what they are up to."

Vine said "The Colonel seemed unusually angry with the SDC and the multi-kingdoms. Do you have any idea what that was about?"

"Hard to be certain. Perhaps the Colonel feels that his trust was abused."

Elm said, "Sir, I think that we will need to arrange for someone back in Atlas to pressurise the social services to respond. They did not give me the sense that they were enthusiastic about cooperating."

"Let me have the details. I will report to the general shortly and ask him for permission to use his name to encourage them to be more helpful."

/-/

Umber Raddock was having a sort of wake for Bruce Crimson with Beige. It was odd thinking back ten years when they had all been in their late 20s and had come to vacuo to start afresh. In retrospect he wondered what they really had in common. Actually, it had been Umber who had been the glue. Beige and Crimson would not have spent the time of day together if it had not been for Raddock. For the first few years in Vacuo, it had been a treble act. Crimson would reluctantly accept that sometimes indirect means were the best way of achieving the desired result and Beige knew all too well that sometimes a fist in the mouth was worth ten hours of logic. They both accepted that Umber knew when which approach was appropriate. The problem was that once they had all got promoted into regional management, it had become too easy for both to exist in their own comfort zones and forget how they had helped each other out in the past.

Beige had transferred to Argus four years ago. The climate suited him better and the fact that it combined the Mistralian and Atlesian attitudes which suited him had made it a no brainer for him and it helped that he did not have to see the impact of his intellectually rigorous analysis on the workers. At least Bruce had worked out that there were limits to what Umber wanted to know about what he got up to. In retrospect, Umber perhaps should have tried to keep a closer eye on him. Beige instead would when inebriated would spout on about economic theory and the attractiveness of young Faunus.

Anyway, his aim today had been to persuade Beige to accept that he needed to stay in Vacuo another week, but with the trade-off that he could have two days paid holiday. His local CFO had come to see him yesterday to say that while Beige had been arguing well the authorities were beginning to really hate him and it was best to allow them time to forget their personal loathing of him before they could accept his arguments when reiterated by less abrasive personalities. It had been easier than expected to persuade him to do both. Apparently, a young Fox Faunus he had met on the Mistral Express was in Vacuo and wanted him to take her on a safari. According to Beige he had struck lucky as she was apparently an only daughter of a well-off Faunus, and she was paying for the trip and had promised him that the cat Faunus he had also met on the train would join them.

It had taken him half an hour before he realised that Beige pitied him. "What do you want out of life? I know I like proving I am good at my subject and messing around with young legal Faunus. I enjoy eating good food, drinking great wines, and having fun. I wish you all the happiness in the world, but you do not know what you want. You really enjoy keeping all the plates spinning, but you are scared stiff of them falling to the ground. You are a risk taker who wants security. Real world, you cross Jacques Schnee once and your career is over. Sorry mate, but the fact Crimson who was your best friend for twenty years tried to kill you should tell you something."

He pretended he needed to relieve himself and decided how to react. He counted to ten and decided that Beige was trying to be helpful and that perhaps to a limited extent he had a point. Umber needed both the adrenalin rush and the sense of power. He returned and said, "Thanks for the advice, I will think on it. Do remember that we have more in common with each other than we have with anyone else. You want to be the most important numbers man in the SDC, you just do not need the job title provided you can live in a jurisdiction with a lower age of consent. However, you have to be a little bit discreet and ensure that no one is out to get you."

"Fine, I have made my choice and have 10 years of spending money in the bank. As far as my superiors are concerned I am a clever nerd who is safer to promote than anyone else. I just want you to realise that there is a time when you have to make a choice as to which horse you ride in the Atlas Cup."

It came as a relief when his PA told him that Winter Schnee was in reception dressed in civilian clothes. He turned to Beige and said "Winter Schnee is on the way up to see me. You will need to go, but I will be happy to introduce you before you go."

"Thank you, Umber. I appreciate that."

Winter Schnee entered and raised an eyebrow at the presence of Beige.

Umber introduce the two, "Winter, Beige. Beige, Winter. Beige is my oldest friend and a talented accountant. Winter of course needs no introduction."

Beige said, "Charmed to meet you. I am just leaving, but it is an honour to meet a Vytal festival winner in person."

After a few formalities Beige departed, and Umber turned to Winter.

"I hope you do not mind me introducing you to him, but I reckoned it would be quicker than me finding an excuse to get rid of him before seeing you. He does know his place. Would you like something to drink?"

"No problem. As you can see I am visiting in a personal capacity. A coffee would be fine."

A few minutes later a coffee pot and biscuits had appeared, and they were both seated.

Winter said, "In order to avoid embarrassment, I will make it clear that I do not expect you to discuss confidential SDC business with me. While I believe that the actions I have taken recently are in the long-term best interests of both Atlas and the SDC, I do not expect my father to agree with me."

Umber said, "Thank you. I can of course pass on requests for information to head office with recommendations for cooperation, you no doubt appreciate the limitations of my position."

"The reason I am here is that we have received reports that a certain bull Faunus is either in or on his way to Vacuo. He believes that he has a grudge against the SDC, the Schnee Family and the old management team at the Rising Sun mine. In the light of the attempt on your life by Mr. Crimson, I am afraid that we cannot rule out the possibility that he has a genuine grievance and that as Mr. Crimson is now dead may wish to take his revenge on you. Our intelligence sources suggest that he is the strongest warrior in the White Fang. They may of course be wrong, but it only seemed fair to warn you and to recommend that you take appropriate precautions. While you and I know that Mr. Crimson kept you and my father in the dark about his activities, it would be understandable for a victim to find this hard to believe."

Umber was not entirely certain what to make of this. He would think about it afterwards, but for the immediate purpose he saw no benefit in doing anything other than playing things straight.

"I appreciate the warning. While a few years ago, I would have sworn a solemn oath that the story was a lie, in the light of recent events I must take it seriously. Would you have any objection if I warned some of Mr. Crimson's subordinates at the Rising Sun Mine about the risk."

"Provided that they are given to understand that no admission of wrongdoing is required from them. After all, as far as the White Fang concern a false but plausible justification for an atrocity is better than a true but implausible one."

"I understand." While this may be a ploy to stop him using a terrorist threat to push back on changes to work practices, she was right to hint that his interests and those of the SDC were not identical. He had to recall that she was her Father's daughter.

"Was your guest with you and Crimson at the mine?"

"Yes, but he was a back-office man. I doubt the workers even noticed him." A lie, but a plausible one. He could always decide later to remember the rumours about beige providing additional rations to the strikers who had young female relatives who were prepare do scratch his back. In retrospect, Beige's ability to be a millimetre behind the line when it came to criminality was a problem. If he decided to whistle blow, the prosecutors would find it easy to say yes to immunity as they probably would not be able to convict.

"While it is your decision, I would suggest that you merely increase security around you. It is not in your interests or the interests of the SDC to suggest that the Belladonnas were telling the truth about what happened in the mine they call they the Rising Sun. Atlas can always say that Bruce and you lied to the Colonel and the Major and make an example of you to show its moral outrage. However, if we can preserve the SDC and the good name of Atlas we will do so."

"Agreed and understood." Umber knew that Jacques would throw him to the Grimm in the same way he had been prepared to dispose of Bruce. Still, it reminded him of Mistral. It did not matter what you did, it was what people had to accept you did that mattered.

"Unless you have any questions, I will return to the base now. Do call me if you need anything else or you spot a potential threat."

"Of course, Captain Schnee."

After she left, he thought about things. He would stay in the headquarters and the penthouse flat. He would tell his security team that an off the record briefing from the military suggested that security needed to be stepped up.

He tried to recall what had happened at the mine those years ago. As far as he could recall everyone who knew the whole truth apart from him was dead and only Beige was a witness to the branding. Ok the Bull Faunus was still alive, but he had told his story and had not been believed.

Should he warn Beige? On balance no. The man was in denial and had pretended to himself that the story about the bullhead crash was true. It was irritating that the security team on the bullhead had thrown the Faunus overboard forty miles before the mechanical misfunction had taken place. In retrospect, he should have realised at the time that Crimson had realised that he had gone too far and was removing human witnesses.

Anyway, it was time to organise the next accident. Luckily, there was one senior military officer who was prepared to be persuaded that a few deaths were a price worth paying to protect the interests of the kingdom and that a payment into an Argus bank account was simply a faire reward.

/-/

Blake and Julie were travelling into Vacuo together to meet with the hired guide and Beige. She had persuaded Adam that there would be no need to kill the guide afterwards, but that instead simulating a kidnapping would be the way to go. Sufficient of the group could pass for human for that to be plausible.

A few hours earlier when the SDC creep had contacted Julie to say that he had been given 48 hours leave and that he wanted to take her on a safari with him and had asked if her cat Faunus friend was now in town. Adam had decided that Sienna would not object to him taking a bit of personal revenge on one of the SDC managers who had been present at the incident. It also was helpful to be able to check his scroll top in case the security protocols had been altered, the shipping schedule changed, or rumours of White Fang activity had started to circulate.

Adam had hoped that the team had been able to pass into Vacuo undetected and that the plan had not leaked. However, he knew that in any organisation such as the White Fang there were bound to be informants and that while the risk of being met in the desert was low, strangers would be remarked on. The odds were that any nomadic tribes they bumped into would not be going into Vacuo before the raid and even then would not be likely to speak to the SDC or the Atlas military authorities.

A deciding factor had been that it was clear that the Atlas authorities were investigating the SDC and the other multi-kingdoms. Adam said and Blake thought he was right that the affair would end with a cover-up and some superficial reforms. However, if in a few months the private files of the SDC were published in the Vale press it was likely that more Faunus would support the White Fang at least financially and the more humans who would be prepared to say that they could understand why the White Fang had escalated their campaign. Being able to demonstrate to journalists that the information was derived from a SDC executive's scroll top would assist credibility.

Blake was slightly worried that the plan was going too well. Adam was becoming increasingly confident. In the past, mild setbacks had forced him to review his plans thoroughly and spot the flaws.