Blake sped through Vineyard Road, the Walk of Fame on both sides of her, the theater on her left bustling with tourists. She made her way to the freeway and sped off north. The green hills gave way to rugged, sandy ground and small dunes. She road off a curving exit ramp and parked in the lot in front of the maximum security facility. She walked over to the gate, a familiar face greeting her. "Hey, Blake, long time no see. Here to see your mom?" a black man with a handle bar mustache asked.
"Well, Antoine, they haven't locked me up yet, so yeah."
"Alright, you know the drill, empty your pockets and follow the guards."
Blake dumped her phone and keys into a bin the man held out, two guards appearing before her as the gate slid open. She slowly trailed behind them, observing the fenced-off court filled with inmates. She was ushered into the cell-blocks, walking past cat-calling inmates and into a secluded room made of blue walls, a blue tile floor, and a blue cement ceiling. "Take as much time as you like." one of the guards said, shutting the door behind him.
She sat in silence, staring at the long pain of glass with a few holes drilled through for her to communicate with her mother. The seconds of waiting became excruciating, minutes seemed to be hours. Finally, the door on the other side buzzed open, a bald woman looking like an aged Blake stepping through in an orange jumpsuit, schackled at he ankles and wrists. Blake's hand covered her mouth as she saw the top of her mother's head, two sets of stitches sitting where her second set of ears should have. "Mom..."
"Easy, just what those asshole Cull members think they can do to me. They'll get theirs, soon enough."
"Are you okay?!"
"Never better now that my baby girl is here. How are you, you worry about me far too much."
"I'm...I've been better. I lost my job with Cinder, but I may have an even better paying job coming up, if my boss figures some things out."
"That's great honey, I thought that Cinder was a bitch anyway, from the way you described her."
Blake laughed briefly at her mom's comment, continuing, "It's good to see you again."
"You've grown so much, any suitors serenading you at your door step yet?"
"Mom, please, I only hang around Sun and he's an idiot."
"Oh, so there is a man."
"Boy, he's now man, mom. I'd become a dike before I let him touch me."
"Watch your mouth, young lady."
"Okay, mom."
Blake's mother leaned towards the glass, her joyful visage giving way to a stern one. "Alright, Blake, I need to talk to you in a very serious way."
Blake's smile slowly sunk away, her mother stating, "Those Cull bastards cut off my ears in the shower. They shoved them in my mouth. They paid off the guard who had to watch us with the promise he could rape me when they were done. Luckily, the other guards heard my screams and came. Those bastards are going to pay. That's where you come in, Blake."
Blake became more concerned as her mother continued, "I need you to get word out to the White Fang about what happened. They'll flip shit and any members outside will rally for me. I'll get pardoned because of the national pity I'll get and then we'll wipe The Cull from the face of the earth."
"Mom, this isn't like you, what happened?"
"Oh, grow up, Blake. I was in the White Fang..."
"You said you got arrested at your first meeting and falsely charged."
"I lied, Blake, you were young and the last thing you needed was to get involved in violence. But, that's all we faunus ever get, nowadays. Anyway, I was at the top, I ran that company like a fucking well-oiled machine. Then, one little whistle blower ratted out where we met and I got the only sentence. Twenty-five fucking years, Blake! I've still got 18 more to go."
"What, you want me to incite a riot?!"
"Exactly. Not just in here, but outside, Blake. I can tell you all you need to find the White Fang leader in my place, Adam Taurus. He lives on the Vale River, heading towards the Vale military base on a dirt road. Just tell him who you are..."
"No."
"What?"
"No, I'm not."
"What did you say?!"
"I'm not doing this mom. I'm not helping you."
"You ungrateful little shit..."
"Ungrateful? Where have you been my whole life!"
"I secured your future, I earned you enough money to get you through college and earn you a legit life away from what I was wrapped up in. But, as soon as I got booked, they took every bit of money I had and spent it on adds for politicians who favored the FIB's interests. Decades of work to sustain myself, and then a few short years for you. The, bam! All of it, gone in the blink of an eye and the swipe of a hand. This system in Vale is corrupt, Blake. Open your eyes! The faunus are left in the ghettos to go nowhere while the humans live in the hills and look down on us all while they sip a glass of fucking champagne in their fucking hot tubs!"
"You're wrong."
"Am I? Where have you gotten in life, Blake? Have you experienced no discrimination whatsoever?"
"I...got nowhere. My boss took advantage of me being a faunus to undermine labor and wage laws. Now, I won't be able to work unless this latest development takes hold."
"What's that?"
"I don't know yet. The woman I met seems like you, she knows crime and how to pull stuff off in shitty situations."
"What, you're getting involved in a life of crime?"
"I don't know, maybe?"
"Normally, a child taking over their parent's business causes pride, but I'm disappointed and afraid, Blake. You won't last, you don't have what it takes."
"Excuse me?"
"You won't last, you're just a kid."
"Just a kid? I've made it this long with a nagging aunt, a jailed mom, a dad I've never met, and an idiotic friend convinced he is the embodiment of the streets. I've been in The Herd for four years now. I've killed people, I've stolen cars, and I nearly got killed by that woman just two days ago. Now, I'm in the driver seat to destiny."
"Do you know what this life will do to you, Blake?"
"I think I've already been told."
"Well, stop me if you've heard this. You'll put everything on the line, your family, friends, even your life, just in the pursuit of the almighty dollar. Sure, you may be good, Blake, but nobody gets away forever. Look at me. I had it all. I had guns, money, and all the drugs I needed to keep this kingdom under my thumb. I could pay off anyone. Then, your father knocked me up at a smoking party and then I got sloppy. I didn't pay off the right people when they asked. I left too many clues and public interest in me grew too strong. They called for my arrest, the government had no choice but to finally take me in to prevent a massive rebellion. Sure, you may pull off one, maybe two big jobs. But, someone will slip up, and you and your friend will be sitting here with me, just waiting for someone to slip into your cell and slit your throat while you sleep."
"I was told something different. You have to screw over everyone you love was what stuck out to me. Would you say that's an accurate statement, based on what you did to me?"
Blake's mother fell silent. "Answer me!"
"Yes, it is close enough to the truth, I left you in a bad spot. I'm sorry."
"Well, mom, after every biblical thing Glynda's told me, I think it's time I honor eye for an eye. Goodbye mom."
"What, what are you doing?!"
"I'm leaving you."
"That's it, you're just leaving?"
"Yes, I'm not talking to Adam, I'm not coming back and I'm never coming to get you when you get out, screw you!"
"Fuck you, you little shit! After how I made these choices for you, this is how you treat your own mother?! Fuck you, I hope you die out there, you hear me? I hope they stab you in the back, rape your paralyzed body, and cut you up into small pieces for the fishes. I pray they kill you! Better yet, I hope you find the man of your dreams and marry him. I hope he knocks you up, but he meets some pretty alley cat and chases her tail off and leaves you with the crippling finances to support a child. I hope you end up like me!"
"I'd wish the same, but you're funeral isn't that far off, it seems. Even if you don't die here, you'll wish you did. Cause if you make it out of here alive, you'll realize you have no family, no friend and nothing to go back to. You're already dead inside, I can tell. Now, you're dead to me, mom. Goodbye."
Blake stood up and stormed for the door, her mother shouting, "Fine, get! I don't need you anyway, you cunt! I busted my ass for you but I don't need to lose another night of sleep over you. I hope you get abandoned with a child just like me! I hope you are as miserable as me! I hope God forgets you, just like he forgot me!"
Blake's face twitched involuntarily in anger, she had never been so disgusted in her life, nor so betrayed. She stormed ahead of the guards, ignoring the calls of the inmates on both sides of her, and got to her car. She sat down, the inside incredibly more hot than the arid desert outside. She didn't care if the sun roasted her, or if her leather seat burned her, or if the AC was busted, she was completely apathetic, comfortably numb. She sat in her car for some time, her hands gripping her steering will with constant, white-knuckle intensity. Her trance was broken by the rap beat of her phone, the number of her new acquaintance lighting up the screen. "Hello?" she answered.
"Hey, Blake, just saw my car and daughter are home, where are you?"
"Something important came up. It's nothing now, I'll drop by later...once I get my head straight."
"Jeez, you sound horrible. Are you sure..."
"It's nothing, goodbye."
The phone rang dead on Ruby's end, quickly end her end of the call, muttering, "Bitch."
She walked out into her back yard, a pool and jacuzzi before her as she yelled down to the tennis court, "Neptune."
"Yeah?"
"I'm gonna take the kids out for a while, you know, bonding and quality time."
"That's great, babe, don't be too late, tonight's taco night!"
"Can't wait."
Ruby walked back into the house, shouting for Nora and Penny, but got no response. "Shit."
Ruby went to her garage, her personal vehicle sitting before her, a black Tailgater. She got in, turned up the classic rock and headed up onto Vineyard drive, hoping to catch another classic on the silver screen before she had a sit-down with Blake.