Atonement: Lincoln Clay
Episode 7: Said a Joker to the Thief
A/N: Sorry if the quality in anyway is lacking, writer's block is putting the squeeze on me big time.
[Guest 1: Sort of.]
[Ronmr: Thanks and now I just have to make it interesting.]
[Disabled-doctor: Thanks dude.]
[Unitedluck: Yeah, that was a mistake on my part that I have rectified. But he has had time to build a reputation...]
[Guest: I agree with you, I love the idea of turning Cinder's own strategy against her. So maybe Oz will Ok it, or Lincoln might not care and do it anyway.]
[Mr. Readmore: Thank you so much, I was actually drawing a blank on that! I salute you Mr. Readmore!]
[Pitsacee: Thanks man.]
-VALE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT: EVENING: 2 DAYS LATER-
Ozpin had arrived at the meeting spot at a small commercial square in the warehouse district of Vale. The area had a few small shops including a cafe that happened to be open late. A normal looking delivery van was parked nearby, opposite the café and a beefy pickup truck was parked in front of the shop. The wise headmaster of beacon approached the shop to see a large man sitting at a table in the back of the café reading a newspaper. A familiar dust covered crow perched itself on a small tree near the shop's door. It cawed watchfully as the older gentleman, who gave the bird a reassuring look, walked inside. He approached the man reading the paper and fondly thought to himself about how old-fashioned some people could be. Even with advancement of technology across remnant thanks to dust, some old methods refused to go out of style. The man turned his newspaper to the next page and the waitress, a bear faunus girl, walked over to the table. She set down a cup of joe and winked to the man who was reading. He looked to her with a thankful smile and handed her a lien card which she promptly had scanned for payment. After that she went back behind the counter and gave another interested glance at the man with his newspaper. Lincoln noticed something about the girl who'd given him the coffee and figured she must be related to the shop girl from mistral. He heard the sound of footsteps coming closer to his table and looked over to see an older man sit down at the same table.
"Is that today's edition of the Vale Tribune? It's a pleasant surprise to see someone still reading print rather than watching a holographic screen, a television, or a scroll." Ozpin commented on the sight of the paper and the modern conveniences that were taking its place.
"Yeah, it is. Lots of crazy things going down these days too. The way I see it, too much technology can be a crutch and a curse so I tend to stick with what feels right. It just so happens that old-fashioned newspaper feels right." The man leaned back in his chair and took a swig from the mug the girl had brought him.
"This is certainly a quaint little shop wouldn't you agree? The coffee must be nice." Ozpin said in a relaxed tone as he sat down at the table.
"It's a good brew and the place is simple enough for my tastes to enjoy." The man in the other seat said coolly.
"I assume you're the mysterious mister 'stone' I was told to meet." The veteran huntsman calmly addressed the man hidden behind the newspaper.
"That all depends on why you're here. For all you know I could be just some random guy minding his own business." The stranger retorted in a cool manner as he flipped to the next page of his paper.
"I could say the same about you. But I digress, I'm here to discuss a mutual problem we have with a third party."
"Then I am, the real name's Lincoln Clay." Lincoln put his paper down and looked his potential ally in the eye with a welcoming look on his face.
"Professor Ozpin, it's a pleasure to meet you mister Clay." Ozpin offered his hand to Lincoln.
"Just call me Lincoln. Now, let's get down to business, you and I have a witch problem that's needs to be solved. She's a tumor and her pets are a cancer." The former crime-lord/US ARMY soldier shook the headmaster's hand and got right to business.
"Certainly, to say she is a handful already is an understatement and your assistance in dealing with her would be much appreciated." Ozpin stated the severity of the problem and thanked Lincoln.
"I have my own reasons for wanting her gone, one ultimately being necessity. She needs to go simple as that." The soldier waved his hand dismissively.
"If you are the same Lincoln Clay who dealt with the Branwen tribe recently, then ran into our mutual foe in Mistral, I certainly understand your other reasons." The wise headmaster told Lincoln what he knew of him so far.
"Tell me what you think they are then, if you know me as well as you say you do." Lincoln challenged Ozpin's intel as he took a drink from the mug he'd been brought.
"Three children were spotted traveling with you and I know about the tavern you own." Ozpin revealed his current knowledge and signaled to the waitress to bring him a cup of coffee.
"You do your homework." Lincoln was slightly impressed by the headmaster's knowledge.
"I have my ways, I didn't get to my position without being clever. Not to mention it's all part of running a school that trains young warriors and defending the world at large. Also, you don't cover your tracks as well as you think you do and you haven't exactly been keeping a low profile either. I will admit though, you certainly made it difficult. There's still so much about you that I have yet to find out, including how you came to be in Vale." Ozpin clearly explained how he knew what he knew so far.
"Until you earn my trust, you never will. At this point, I'm just a concerned citizen and that's all you really need to know about me." Lincoln retorted bluntly.
"You have a right to be with our shared enemy beating at the gates and from what my sources tell me, she threatened your adopted children right in front of you. In your case, I know personal when I see it." The wise headmaster of beacon told the former crime boss what he could see about Lincoln's case from what he knew.
"Close enough, it was a sick psycho who works for her that directly threatened them. Suffice it to say, you know I have a score to settle, so either help me or get the fuck out of my way." Lincoln growled with his fists balling in rage at the thought of Tyrian Callows threatening the three kids he'd adopted.
"I apologize if I've hit a nerve Lincoln." Ozpin noticed Lincoln's fury and attempted to defuse it.
"*sigh*It's fine, so are we together on this or what?" The former soldier took a breath and looked to his prospective new associate in the witch hunt.
"I'd say this is the beginning of a healthy alliance." Ozpin smiled.
"Glad to hear it, I'll be in touch. The coffee is on me, enjoy it." Lincoln said as he got up, set down a lien card, and walked out of the shop. He hopped into the nightcrawler and drove back to the bar. Ozpin finished the coffee Lincoln had purchased for him, enjoying every sip, and eventually left as well. The crow that had perched itself on the tree branch flew away in the direction of the academy. Soon enough the van started up and drove away in the direction of the bar as well.
-THE BAR-
The three children had been given beds to sleep in on the second floor and were peacefully dreaming. Things had been definitely looking up for them with Lincoln as their legal guardian taking care of them. Nora was dreaming to herself of explosives and sweets all thanks to her uncle Donovan. Ren though was simply happy to be alive and slept peacefully alongside the two girls with his bed in between theirs to separate them and prevent arguing which occurred regularly over the past two days. They were going to start elementary school soon thanks to Lincoln's insistence that they do so. Secretly it was to keep them safer and out of harm's way, despite Lincoln being harm's way, while bettering themselves and following the local laws. With Donovan's help, the adoption papers had been expedited since he knew someone in the government who owed him a favor. With that done, it was guaranteed that only in the most severe of circumstances would the children be torn away. If it hadn't been handled in that manner they'd have been dropped into the system, collected by Vale's child services, then sent to an orphanage right off the bat like most other children in their shoes. They knew enough to count their blessings with Lincoln and Donovan protecting them.
The two vehicles that had been outside the cafe reached a garage space behind the bar and pulled in. Lincoln hopped out of the cab of the nightcrawler pinched the bridge of his nose. "How did that guy find out about this place?" He asked Donovan who'd closed the door of the van.
"Beats me, I'm just as surprised as you are. I know no one followed me here in the past, and the only time he mentioned me back there is what I told him to call me." Donovan referenced the recordings he had from the whole meeting.
"Something tells me we have a lot figure out about our new friend." The former soldier shook his head in frustration.
"Yeah he seems off to me. I'll do some more digging when I can. In the meantime, we have some more work to do. I know we're doing things the legit way for now, but it wouldn't hurt to lay the ground work for us to take the city. So, let's hit the back room and I'll give you a dossier I've prepared on a new target." The former CIA operative walked to the door that lead into the bar's interior.
"Sounds good." Lincoln said as he followed Donovan and the two of them went to their back room to do more planning. After taking seats in their respective chairs the two began conversing on the latest info he'd dug up.
"Okay so this is one 'Hei Xiong' but he goes by the handle 'Junior'. He runs the nightclub in downtown Vale. The local scumbags know him as an information broker and he might be one of the ways our new friend found our humble abode. If you want to know what goes on in this town, he's the man to talk to. From what recon I did on the place, he's got his fair share of goons to keep things under control and they serve as enforcers if he loans them out. From his buried police file, he's a member of the Xiong crime family from Mistral. They've got a long history back on their home turf though. He seems like the kind of guy they wanted gone but didn't want to kill, so they must've have put him to work here." Donovan gave his partner the rundown on a possible member of their next crime family.
"Basically, he's their underworld ambassador to Vale." Lincoln coolly surmised.
"Yep, but that's all I've got for now. I say get some sleep, we'll work on it more in the morning." The sly agent started packing it in for the night.
"Alright then, *sigh*." Lincoln breathed as he faced the prospect of another nightmare as usual. It was one of the few things he hard a hard time getting used and probably never would.
"Still dealing with the nightmares?" Donovan asked out of concern for his partner's mind.
"How could you tell?" Lincoln looked to his partner for an explanation.
"You don't make it easy buddy, but I've had my suspicions and I can see it. Plus, you gave just gave it away big time with your reaction when I mentioned sleep." Donovan said with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
"You're an asshole." Lincoln shook his head with a smile.
"Eh, I call it as I see it." Donovan shrugged and put out the dying cigarette bud in an ashtray. On that note the two men went to bed for the night.
-ONE WEEK LATER-
Things had gone on smoothly for the most part aside from several bar fights Lincoln had to resolve. The kids had really been enjoying playing in nearby dirt lot where no one seemed to bother them. Of course Donovan being the watchful uncle figure he is, always made sure to keep a watchful eye on them. Today though, the former CIA agent was manning the bar for Lincoln who'd stepped out to clear his head. He'd known his partner needed it for awhile and was more than happy to run the shop. As he was wiping counter and the kids were inside playing an arcade game he'd gotten his hands on. A few minutes later he was taking stock of the booze on the shelves. While he busied himself with the chore, a new patron walked into the bar, he wore a grey vest, white shirt, cape, black pants and reeked of alcohol.
"Hey bartender, what's the strongest you got?" Qrow called over to Donovan who was taking inventory.
"Welcome to Sammy's bar and grill, we've got white lightning pal, 20 lien a bottle." Donovan said while he was facing towards the rack of liquor and away from Qrow.
"Never had that before, sounds good. Put me down for a few." Qrow said coolly as he set a card on the counter and plopped down onto a stool.
"Well what can I say? We've got the finest shine in town..." Donovan grabbed the bottles and was about to set them down on the counter until he saw who was sitting at the bar. At that moment it finally made sense why Ozpin knew about their home. 'What the fuck?' he mentally cursed.
"What, I got something on my face?" Qrow asked as Donovan quickly chilled out and put on his game face.
"Qrow Branwen, former member of team STRQ, and teacher at signal academy right?" The sly agent said with a relaxed grin of confidence and set the bottles down.
"How'd you-?" Qrow was surprised at the man's knowledge of him.
"Eh, a little birdie told me I'd see you sooner or later. So what's brings you my way" Donovan shrugged and cracked wise at the patron.
"Haha, bird joke. Well if you really want to know, figured I'd meet ya myself." Qrow laughed sarcastically and took a drink, crossing his arms afterwards.
"Cut the bullshit pal. I know about you taking orders from the wonderful wizard who tuns Beacon. You're how he found out about this place, and by extension me working with Lincoln. You did that for him by following one of us back here somehow. All he had to do was put two and two together, there's a lot I can learn in a week." Donovan deadpanned as he pulled out his lighter and lit a cigarette. He puffed the calming stick cloth and offered one to his patron. Qrow just held up a bottle and shook it, politely refusing.
"The rumors told me you don't play around, when one Mistral's best bounty hunters uproots to Vale, well people talk... especially scumbags your name scares."
"I put that gig behind me for now, besides there's a few other players I'm working with that you probably know. See that board back there and you'll know if you don't already." Donovan shrugged and pointed to the bounty board.
"Eh I do, Locus and Siris. Those two are pretty good at what they do. Of course so are you and your buddy Lincoln if you can take on Tyrian. The truth is, OZ figured you could use some extra fire power, aura specifically."
-END CHAPTER-
