Another day, another chapter. This is going better than expected.
Not long after getting back with Crescent Rose, Ruby decided that it was time to address the gang. "Alright everyone, listen up. As you all know, this city is crawling with our enemies. We already know a lot about some of them thanks to past experience, but there are still many we know nothing about. If we're going to take out the big hitters, we'll need to weaken them first. That means we need to get as much info on them as possible, then taking out their operations and associates until they have nothing left. Then and only then, can we strike the truly defeat them." she explained. They needed to cripple the organizations before taking out their leaders, so there would be nobody left to replace them and take revenge.
"I know a place where we can get most of that info, it won't be cheap or easy but it's better than nothing. There's this woman who goes by Lil' Miss Malachite, and she has eyes and ears all over the city." Reese suggested. Lil' Miss Malachite was well known for being able to provide anyone with information about anything, provided they were willing to pay for it. So, she was the obvious choice when it came to getting what they needed. Especially since they had Weiss' wealth backing them up.
"That probably wouldn't go too well, she would try to kill us the moment she saw us. I'm sure she already knows about us, so even if I wasn't there she would still kill you just for being associated with me." Yang responded. Despite the fact they had been in prison until very recently and almost nobody knew of their escape, it was likely that the more well-informed people on the outside knew of the formation of the Huntresses. Lil' Miss was about as well informed as a person could be, so it would be highly unusual if she didn't already know about them.
"She usually tries to stay neutral, since taking sides is bad for her business. So you must have really pissed her off to make an enemy of her." Reese told her. Taking sides would limit the number of people Lil' Miss could make money from, so she didn't do it. She didn't have enemies unless they wronged her in some serious way, which never really happened because she was too useful to risk making an enemy of her.
"I did way more than just piss her off. Right before I was arrested, I killed her daughters. So I'm pretty sure she wants her revenge and she'll kill anyone associated with me." Yang explained. The Malachite Twins weren't close with their mother as far as she was aware, but that didn't mean Lil' Miss would take their murder lightly. There was a chance she wouldn't hate Yang for doing it, but it wasn't worth the risk.
"Shit. Well, it looks like we'll have to find a different source of information, does anyone else have any suggestions? Preferably people who won't attack us on sight." asked Ruby. It was disappointing to hear that they couldn't go to Lil' Miss for information, but it wasn't the end of the world. They would either find someone else with the information they needed, or they would get it themselves. In the grand scheme of things, they had bigger things to worry about than where they got their information from.
Fortunately, someone else did have a suggestion. "There is this bar I used to go to sometimes, it's called SSSN. Anyway, the guys who run it always seem to know what's happening in the underworld, and they're usually pretty willing to share. They'll probably be able to help us, as long as none of us try to kill them when they inevitably start flirting." Velvet responded. The bar in question was where she obtained all of her information before she was imprisoned, mainly because she couldn't afford to get it from the likes of Lil' Miss Malachite.
"Great thanks Velvet. Unless anyone has any more suggestions or has killed the relatives of those people, it looks like we've found our source of information." Ruby replied. She was pleased to have found an alternative source especially since it sounded like the information would come easier and cheaper, she just hoped that none of the Huntresses had done anything to piss the owner off.
"There's always a chance one of us killed someone close to them, but I've never heard of the place so It's pretty unlikely," Yang told Ruby. Combined, the gang had killed so many people, that keeping track of their victim's relatives was pretty much impossible. But while they couldn't be completely certain that they had killed someone close to the owners of SSSN, it was still probably a better option than going to see Lil' Miss.
Ruby nodded "In that case, if Velvet can show us the way. A few of us can pay these guys a visit to see if they can help us." she said. She was now more confident that she wouldn't run into any problems, all she needed was directions and some backup in case anything did happen. She was also quite excited at the prospect of visiting a bar, having never been to one before.
"I can show you the way there. If I remember rightly, it's not too far from here." Velvet told Ruby. It had been a while since she had last been to SSSN, but she was certain she still knew exactly where it was. She was just hoping that it hadn't closed down and that the owners were still as well informed as they had been in the past.
Ruby smiled at Velvet, before addressing the whole gang again. "Okay now that's settled, who wants to come with us?" she asked. It would have been impractical taking the whole gang to the bar, so she only needed a few more people to accompany her and Velvet.
Coco was first to volunteer "If Velvs is going, then I'm too." she said. It was partly because she didn't want to be apart from girlfriend and partly because she wanted to discourage the bar owners from flirting with Velvet.
"I'm coming too, I want to see if they're as good as Velvet says they used to be," Reese said, as she also volunteered to go. She didn't doubt Velvet, but she wanted to see it for herself. She also hadn't been to a bar in a long time, so that was another motivator.
Neon also volunteered. "If you're going to a bar, then you can count me in," she said excitedly. To her, the bar sounded like fun, even if they didn't have any useful information. She went to bars all the times and got in many bar fights before she went to prison.
"Alright then, let's get going. I'm not expecting any trouble, but the rest of you should be ready in case we need backup." Ruby said as she headed to the elevator. She was in quite a hurry, wanting to get her hands on the information as soon as possible.
The five of them were soon in one of their cars, driving to SSSN. Each of them was packing at least one concealed weapon, ready for a fight if that's what it came to. They didn't bother disguising themselves. They could handle pretty much anyone that came after them now, and aware that at least some people were aware of their escape. So there was no reason for putting much effort into staying hidden anymore.
Thanks to Velvet remembering exactly where the bar was, it didn't take very long for them to reach SSSN. As Velvet had said, it wasn't far from their base. It was quite a small place, on a relatively quiet street in the Faunus District of the city. Despite the fact it wasn't a big place, it's signage was so big and bold that the place was unmissable. "It certainly looks the same as it used to, that probably means the same guys still run it." Velvet said as they pulled up.
"What's with the stupid name? I hate names without vowels." Reese asked as they got out of the car. If Velvet couldn't answer her question, then she would make sure to ask the owners about it at some point. If there wasn't a good reason for the name, then she would be far from impressed with the owners. Not to the point where she would risk losing their assistance, but she certainly wouldn't have as much respect for them as she could.
"I believe it's because those are the first letters of each of the owner's names, and arranging it that way makes it sound like Sun. It's not exactly a good name, but you'll understand when you meet them. Oh and just so you know, they will absolutely try to flirt with you. Don't take it too seriously though, they tend to give up once you shut them down a few times." Velvet explained. She felt the need to warn the others again, hoping to avoid a fight or any issues with the owners. Hopefully, both parties could control themselves.
"As long as they're as good as you said, I don't care if they try to flirt," Ruby responded, before making her way inside with the others close behind her. They needed the information in order to proceed with their plans, and she was willing to endure a little flirting it that was what it took. As long as none of her companions had an issue with it, everything would be fine.
When they entered the bar, they found it was only occupied by the bartender. He was tall, blond, and immediately identifiable as a monkey Faunus thanks to his tail. He looked at them and smiled when he heard them enter "Welcome to SSSN ladies, what can I get you?" he asked, clearly excited by their arrival. They didn't respond immediately, making their way over to the bar first.
"We're in need of some information, and I hear you can help us with that," Ruby told him, as she took a seat on the nearest bar stool. She wasn't sure how to go about asking for the information, so she just went with that. It was subtle enough to not be understood if she was talking to the wrong person but clear enough to be understood if she had the right person.
The bartender nodded "I might be able to help you depending on what you want to know, but who told you that?" he asked her, sounding slightly accusatory. It was quite understandable, given what he did. The last thing he needed was the wrong person finding out, and telling the police that he had a load of information on the criminals and criminal activity in Vale.
"It's alright Sun, I told her that." Velvet said to him. In the past when she frequented the bar, she often got information from him. So, of course, she knew his name and was fairly certain that he wouldn't have an issue with her telling Ruby about him. She just hoped that he still remembered and trusted her, because otherwise, things could become a lot more complicated.
He looked at Velvet "Oh hey Velvet, It's been a while. I almost didn't recognize you." he said. The fact he remembered her was a good sign, things would be so much easier that way. Now they just had to hope that he was willing and able to help with what they needed to know since they needed a lot of information on some extremely dangerous and powerful underworld figures.
"It's nice to see you again Sun. These are my friends Ruby, Reese and Neon." Velvet responded, gesturing to the three girls. Then she put her arm around Coco "And this is my girlfriend Coco." she said. If she made it clear that she was close with the others, then he would probably be more willing to help them. Though he would probably also be disappointed to know that she and Coco were unavailable.
"It's nice to see you again too, and it's good to meet you all. I'm Sun by the way," he said to them. It was definitely looking promising, he was being friendly and he'd already admitted that he did know some things. It was probably going a lot better than things would have gone if they'd tried to go to Lil' Miss Malachite for the information.
"It's good to meet you too, now about that information," Ruby responded. She didn't want to be impolite and so far it had been good to meet Sun, but she was trying to hurry things along because her primary concern was getting her hands on the information. The sooner they obtained it, the sooner they could start tearing their enemies apart.
Sun nodded "Right, well I'll see what I can do. What is it you want to know exactly?" he asked, finally getting down to business. This was the moment of proof, could he actually help them or would they be back to square one.
"Alright, I'll just cut to the chase. We need everything you have on Roman Torchwick and his gang, Raven Branwen and the Branwen Tribe, Cinder Fall and her gang, Adam Taurus and the White Fang, and Jacques Schnee and the Schnee family." Ruby told him. There was no point beating about the bush. That was who she needed information on, and he either had it or he didn't.
Sun seemed quite shocked by her requirements, but that soon passed "Hmm, that's a lot more than people usually ask us for. But you're in luck, we have a ton of intel on all of them. They've all been making waves recently, so we can probably give you everything you need." he said, clearly proud of himself. That was all Ruby needed to hear, to realize they'd hit the jackpot.
"Wait, that's it. You're not going to ask for money or anything?" Reese asked him. So far she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Everything had been so much easier and friendlier, than whenever she'd gone to Lil' Miss for information. If he wasn't going to charge them, then she was going to be extremely pissed with herself for wasting so much money and at Lil' Miss for charging her so much for info.
Sun shrugged "Yeah that's it. I couldn't say no to you ladies, and I wouldn't dream of charging you. I just need to tell Sage, Scarlet and Neptune to grab everything we have for you." he responded, slipping in some subtle flirtation. It really was that simple, he had everything they needed and he was just going to hand it over. It annoyed Reese, but it was great for the gang.
As Sun went to get his friends and all the intel they had, Neon spoke for the first time. "I don't know about you guys, but I'd totally fuck him," she said, before falling silent again. She was never the type to keep her attraction to people secret, and she wasn't going to start doing it now. Though nobody seemed to notice, she'd spent her entire time in the bar drooling over Sun.
"Oh you can have him, then maybe he can stop eyeing the rest of us up. It's a good job he's got what we need, I was ready to castrate him if he didn't" Coco responded. She'd been keeping a close eye on Sun, and she could tell that he'd been mentally undressing them the whole time. If he hadn't been so helpful, she would have taken serious issue with it.
"Please don't castrate him, Coco, if his info's good then intend to come to some sort of arrangement with him and we can't do that if you mutilate him. But don't worry, there will be plenty of other men for you to castrate soon enough." Ruby said. She didn't really mind what he'd been doing, it was nothing compared to what Yang could be like. She was seriously considering trying to forge a permanent relationship with between the Huntresses and SSSN, and she didn't want anything to prevent that.
A few minutes later Sun returned with three others, each of them carrying a stack of files. "Here you go ladies, this should be everything. I hope it helps."
I just want to take this opportunity to thank you for all the follows, favourites and reviews. You guys make my life so much better and motivate me to keep writing.