More than one way to protect you

by Z-ro

It were the huntsmen who told him, his spirit was willing, just not able. What else is a thirteen year old kid supposed to do? Jaune did not know what a patrolman was, but it was his only chance to be someone that could protect people. Picture by Perfilles-Studio.

8. Chapter 8 Adjust

Jaune stared at the map and wished he at least had a coffee on hand. Miss Xiao Long had taken the second day's break easier than the first, but she was still extremely weak. Jaune was in the middle of explaining why he would always start aura breaking with a kidney blow when he had received the morning call. Now that he was in Roselink's nearly sterile clean office, he felt like he had to change the days plans.

"How long have those rails been closed?"

"Sixty-some years. But the fact remains that the barricades have not been reinforced much less checked in the last twenty. I need a group of huntsmen to investigate the barriers. I almost forgot these even existed. They are not shown on any maps since the massacre." Roselink answered. His face was furrowed as he tried to remember the last checks.

Jaune pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up to the men surrounding him. "I'll get a group of ten huntsmen. How many tunnels are we looking at?"

"Just the one. They all funneled down to this one. They were made for two way transport of goods to and from Mountain Glenn. They were never meant to connect to anything but the central hub."

"Which sits buried under downtown. Lovely." Jaune pulled up his scroll. He did not want to waste any time. It was still early. Early enough Jaune was not sure if Midori would answer.

"Yeah Jaune?"

The patrolman sighed in relief. "I got a job if you know a few teams. It's to be done immediately. Just a survey, but the location has been abandoned."

Midori raised an eyebrow that went into his teal hair. "Where's that?"

Jaune just grimaced. The group formed quickly. It helped that Jaune had a few teams volunteer to stay in the city at all times. A few thanked the patrolman for the small vacation, blissfully unaware of why he asked for them to stay in the city. Others had assumed It was because of the new exercises he was running the thirds years through. A few who thought themselves in the know had winked at him and hinted they would be happy to raid one of the families when he was ready.

The patrolman was flattered they thought he could pull that off so quickly.

"Moji how's the ceiling looking up ahead?"

The brown haired man gave Midori the thumbs up. "Strong. They made these tunnels to last, that's for sure."

"You can complement the architects later."

Jaune ignored what else Midori said in favor of looking further down the tunnel. It looked like the team up ahead were able to restore power to the over head lamps. Jaune did not imagine he would spend his weekend underneath the city. He did not actually know there was an underground to the city until this morning. Jaune watched as Midori gave orders to the huntsmen. Jaune had asked for two of Roselink's men to inspect the tunnels and rails for tampering. They seemed comfortable enough in the tunnels while they pointed out things the huntsmen would have missed.

The patrolman inhaled deeply as the burst of fresh air hit him. He looked back and thanked Roselink for the foresight. Behind the groups, a small rail cart with a large slow revolving fan. It was pulled by a car with wheels retrofitted to run on the rails. The fan was to help speed up the air flow in the tunnel. Roselink was not sure if the air would be breathable after being sealed for so long.

"We're clear up to the junction." Called a huntsman who ran back to inform Midori of the progress.

"Thank you Ciel. We'll push the cart further but hold your position at the junction. No sign of anything?"

"Nothing. Not even tracks. The filth here is thick enough further up ahead. No air currents either. Honestly this is the easiest scouting job I've had in months."

Jaune laughed. "Don't jinx us please. Midori, I am going back to inspect the seal. Lake, Rye, you two follow Midori's orders. I want to see how stable this tunnel is after all these years."

The two inspectors agreed and continued to walk further ahead. Jaune looked up at the ceiling lamps. He was amazed they still worked after no maintenance. Just as he said that, one of them blinked out a ways down the tunnel. "I should stop jinxing myself."

The base seal to the old terminal under the city was strong with thick walls of concrete and stones rolled into place. It was designed to keep grim from walking into the city. If there was one thing he didn't like… Jaune looked up and realized he must have been under the southern district. "This tunnel goes right under the residential district. If the tunnel collapsed I wonder what the top would look like. Would it just be a sinkhole or would it still stand up given how deep into the earth the tunnel is."

Jaune already knew he wanted several new seal points for the tunnel. Vale has grown exponentially since the collapse of Mountain Glenn. He started to head back out to meet the huntsmen. He needed a map.

If Jaune had walked a mile in the tunnel, it felt like tens of miles. With the tube of concrete straight and unchanging, it was hard to judge how far they had traveled. Thankfully the huntsmen had been keeping track. They were now three miles beyond the city walls and well away from any roads that may sit above them.

"You sure about this Jaune?"

Jaune looked at the map and the 'X' that laid in several areas after the initial junction. "Do you think we'll ever use it again?" Jaune asked amused.

Rye shook his head. "It's more of the fact we are about to destroy Vale property." He answered while he nervously looked at the giant scars cut into the stone and metal supports made by the Huntsmen. The tunnel supports continued to creak at the lost of strength in their beams.

"Roselink already had an idea we were going to make new seal points. He just didn't have a demolition team. I'll be taking responsibility. I want these tunnels closed off and we have little time before I need to move on. Vale needs to have more than one point of failure for this tunnel. Masks on! Midori when you're ready." Jaune said around his own muffled mask and goggles.

The huntsman lowered his hand and eight Huntsmen with sniper rounds fired down the tunnel. The light of the rounds disappeared into the dark before the walls lit with hot molten metal. Several rows of supports slid down the walls and the first CHINK was the only warning they received before a gust of gravel filled air hit the group. Jaune and the two inspectors lowered their heads against the rail cart for protection as gravel pelted the car and cart behind it.

The dust took longer to settle than Jaune liked. He constantly wiped his goggles until there was a shout for the all clear. Jaune looked over the collapsed tunnel. The section they broke off was nearly twelve feet deep of tunnel. When he looked up, he noticed that there was no opening to the sky above. "Just like a sink hole it seems. Good job. Let's make the next one and get out of here."

The teams made their retreat back down the tunnel to make the next collapse point.

"I hope the rest of the day goes as easy." Jaune pulled up his mask as Midori made another warning call they were about to fire the next round.

-o-

Jaune would admit to First Lieutenant Schnee that he knew very little of how the Schnee Dust Company works. He did not know how true the allegations of abuse were inside the SDC. Jaune only knew that the President had not directly addressed the accusations. The screen came on and the same receptionist from yesterday answered. "Atlas Department of Military Education. How may I direct your call?"

"Patrolman Jaune Arc to speak to First Lieutenant Winter Schnee on a secure line."

The man paused and the screen flashed before it went blank. A few minutes later, the first lieutenant answered. "Good morning Patrolman. What can I do for you?"

Jaune felt relieved at the warmer reception than the last call. "I spoke with my witness yesterday and have come to a few conclusions and possibly a way to destabilize the White Fang. But I need more information first."

"Regarding the White Fang?"

Jaune shook his head. "About faunus in Atlas. The strongest faction in the White Fang are survivors of the mining incident from the Schnee Dust Mines. But they are not the majority of the White Fang. Many would need a very good reason to leave Atlas. It is likely not all of the White Fang are aware of the overall plan in Vale." Jaune had her attention and explained the behavior of the White Fang leading up to the witness' defection. The White Fang was a compartmentalized organization where the parts would rarely see the bigger picture until it was over.

"The White Fang has had internal arguments when they changed their focus to non-Atlas targets. I plan to focus on that. But I need your help."

"You wish to know how the employees in the SDC are treated?" There was an annoyed tone that made Jaune wary.

"Among other things. I don't just assume you know how the business was run because your father is the president First Lieutenant. But I am asking you because you are the only one that I can ask."

The Schnee's furrowed brow did a dance as she took a moment to decide what to do. Eventually she exhaled. "I am not the best person to consult Mr. Arc. My grandfather was the first of the few companies that started to hirer faunus during the relief and recovery efforts after the war. But that has put a strain on the family ever since. My family have been estranged from parent to every child. But I can say that mining is a dangerous job and equipment for the mines has been replaced regularly every six months for the last few years. I am aware there is a phasing program where the most dangerous jobs have been passed to droids. All employees and their families are checked regularly by a doctor for any birth of aura. Any family member with someone that has aura is released. No questions asked. Aura near the mines is suicidal. But it is also true we are the largest employer of the faunus people in Atlas. And the faunus people are reluctant to come forward and lose their job if they unlock their aura. Accidents happen."

Jaune wrote this all down. From around his pen that he resisted to put in his mouth, "Please excuse me Miss Schnee, but I have heard rumors that the SDC have exploited the faunus."

The woman scowled. "Try the whole country Mr. Arc. Slavery was abolished less than seventy years ago. That kind of imprint doesn't magically disappear. But this is as far as my knowledge of my father's' company extends, I have never stepped foot into a mine or a business office of the SDC. I can make an educated guess that if there had been an active roll to help the discriminated, and I am being charitable here, that could easily be circumvented by a few racists hired into leadership positions on the mining sites."

Winter Schnee sighed. "I'll be frank Mr. Arc. Atlas lost the faunus war, but that does not mean we were really affected by it with how isolated we are. The outlying settlements are more kind to faunus, but we still have heavy segregation within the city. This is a societal issue not just an issue within the SDC. The White Fang forget this. But there have been plenty of peaceful groups in Atlas that have not. They have been a very vocal group this past year with the absence of the White Fang. A few even named themselves in public without the fear of assassinations."

Jaune looked up from his notes.

"Yes Mr. Arc, it has been that bad."

Jaune nodded and looked down at his notes. The heading of each note seemed to tease him.

WHITE FANG

ATLAS

SCHNEE DUST COMPANY

WF GOALS

Jaune pulled up the new note list under them all.

CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

Jaune listened to Miss Schnee as she went on, "The largest activist group call themselves Blue Peace. They are a new group, but they have had the most progress with legislation within the country. There have been several attempts to quiet the protest groups, but they have been making headway with focusing on educating students rather than adults. It's progress, but all it takes is for one person who is angry enough to interrupt the protests to push back their small victories."

Jaune wrote another note for everything the First Lieutenant said. He added it to the list right below Civil Rights Activists. He held his finger on the sheet for a moment as he tried to put himself in the activists' shoes. Without looking up to the first lieutenant, "It would still be dangerous for them, wouldn't it? Coming to another country to voice their problems then going back to Atlas."

Winter Schnee paused but simply nodded and added, "It would. When they return, they will be targets for both political agendas and the violent groups that may want to lynch them."

Jaune pushed the new note to the top and pushed the Activist notes to the side. He had already given up on the idea along with any plan to ask Miss Schnee for help in Vale. It was time to start forming a new one. He glanced at his notes again.

1st lieutenant Schnee

Atlas

Schnee dust company

WF GOALS

Eventually he discarded Atlas and Schnee dust company.

Jaune's finger played with the notes for WF GOALS and dragged it to the top. "We don't need a civil rights event… Miss Schnee, when is that engineering ship leaving for Vale?"

Winter Schnee looked at the clock. "In seven hours."

Jaune tried to hammer out the idea while he stared at:

WF GOALS

1st lieutenant Schnee

"Would you specifically be willing to come to Vale? I have an idea that may work."

Winter Schnee folded her hands in front of her. "I am listening Patrolman."

Jaune pulled most of his notes together and placed them in the folder except for Winter's. "Vale needs to start a positive conversation about faunus rights. Something that will get the White Fang's attention. Their goal will test our resolve to stay together. It's only fair we test theirs. Currently there is a sect within the White Fang not fully on board with focusing on Vale. I want to make those dissenters voices louder."

Jaune pulled up his schedule and ran his finger down the list on the calendar. Roselink will be ending his second week by the time the engineers arrived. "People have already noticed that we changed how the trains are allowed to come into Vale. We have Roselink in a new position to cover for that safety procedure. But people in Vale will start to be concerned if they find that there were a bunch of Atlas engineers that have arrived in Vale to look over the new droids. I can create a small press ceremony for the 'new' droids and I can prompt a few questions to ask about the faunus because you are from the Schnee family." Winter lowered her eyes at him in warning but did not say anything further.

Jaune quickly moved on, "It would give a legitimate reason for the engineers to be present in the city and give us the opportunity to start that conversation. Something simple and innocuous in a larger ceremony celebrating Vale and Atlas' continued support of each other."

Miss Schnee gave a thoughtful look, "And it could help styme the protests we usually get when Amity arrives." Winter caught Jaune's confused look. She explained helpfully, "Atlas tends to get protesters for every Vytal festival. Go look at the last one in Vale. There was a peaceful sit in for the use of Schnee Dust just after an incident regarding dust mining work conditions came to light."

"I'll have to look into that then, I missed it when I went through the last few Vytal Festivals. Ozpin had expressed," Jaune gave a wry smile, "his willingness to have me run security."

Winter gave him a sympathetic smile before she frowned when she looked at the clock. She answered cautiously, "I could do it. Provided I get approval from General Ironwood. It will reflect poorly on Atlas itself regardless of what I say. But the questions are coming from a reporter. That's something I have very little control over." She gave Jaune a steady look and Jaune nodded. This whole exchange would need to stay between the two of them.

After a moment of thought Winter said with a more firm voice, "I will do it. You are correct that we need a legitimate reason for the arrival of the engineers, and a short ceremony would do the trick. I have a sister arriving in Beacon the same week. It would be a nice surprise to speak with her before she starts school."

"Thank you. I will send a message to a few people to get the ceremony up and running by the end of next week. Plenty of time for the engineers to arrive and publicize the event."

Winter looked at him for a moment. "Do you think there will be any problems?"

"As long as it is not publicized too early, we should have no problems. I'll keep you updated if things change."

That seemed to be enough for Winter. "I may not get those notices if I'm over the ocean. I will give you my answer if I received approval within the hour."

The screen closed with a blip.

Jaune sighed and rubbed his strained eyes. "I guess it's time to see how much influence the Voice of Vale really means."

Later in his office, Jaune closed his binder and ended the call. Twenty three minutes, it was how long it took to request everything to be pulled together from organizers to the choice of venue. The Voice was more of a Koben term rather than a Patrolman term. It was what he called it when he was given emergency powers in his old settlement before he moved to Anvil. People didn't just reluctantly follow his instructions like Jaune expected. They jumped to answer Jaune when he asked. "I guess that's the difference between a settlement and a city."

It was far and away a completely different reaction than what he felt in Anvil all those years ago. With no clear and present danger, Jaune had expected some hemming and hawing or some kind of fight to get non-Vale agencies to follow his requests.

Not so. Three owners of the local news organizations understood what it meant when the Patrolman gave them an order. And did they take it as an order. Jaune thought to himself as he stood up and shook the stiffness out of his legs. The three way call got them bouncing information off each other. Jaune wondered how often they had to coordinate together even as competitors.

Jaune looked back to the actual duties he needed to do on campus. He was fairly sure he still needed to meet with Ozpin about the freshmen exam field.

-o-

Yang learned that it was not just how hard the patrolman hit her. It wasn't even the speed. It was the combination of the two that made her aura work against her. Yang's aura had been full this morning. Yang was worried it would be more painful than yesterdays' because of it. But Mr Arc explained there was a difference between full aura and strong aura. Her aura shattered at his touch.

When Yang got back to the room she shared with her sister, she felt Ruby's eyes follow her. Yang didn't care at the moment. She just wanted to get back to her bed and nap the weakness off. Breaking her aura for her punishment made her so tired. Or it could have been the fact that Mr. Arc insisted they break her arua at six in the morning. That meant she had to wake up at five to get ready.

Yang woke up several hours later well before noon. She looked around lazily, "Morning sis."

Ruby looked up from her magazine. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"

Yang gripped her hand and felt the lack of strength in her palm. She felt vulnerable all day yesterday because of it. Ember Celica had been heavy in her hands yesterday morning too. She always knew they weighed some thirty pounds, but she never knew what thirty pounds actually felt like. Her muscle and aura had mitigated the weight completely when she used them. She honestly could not remember a time before yesterday where they felt like anything other than a bracelet that sat on her wrist. .

Yang ran her fingers over her returned gauntlets Ember Celica. The weight made them feel foreign to her. When she said as much to the patrolman that morning. He laughed and told her that his girl friends weapon was over two hundred pounds and was the size of a purse. He couldn't even lift it.

She set down her weapon of choice. The Patrolman knew what he was talking about. Everything felt different without aura. The world was different. She could touch things while she had aura, but she never appreciated the weight things carried when she handled them. She had no idea how hard she touched something until she felt the first signs of bruising on her forearm when she caught the door with her arm because her hands were full of bags. She hadn't felt pain like this before. Simple things like aches that lingered for hours. It was a foreign thing for her to understand. Her aura would normally clear aches within moments. She had fallen out of a second floor window before when she was young. Her aura made her hit the ground with a thud but a tearful rub of her head and a scolding from her mom to suck it up made her never question how serious of an injury that could have been for someone else.

Yang leaned forward onto the kitchen table and moaned. She spied Ruby over on the couch with a comic book. Yang was pretty sure her sister had re-read that same comic five times since yesterday. Yang's only comfort was that her dad did say he would bring some of her things tonight. Yang grumbled as she stood up. "Ruby I'm going outside for some air. This place is driving me crazy."

Ruby just carelessly waved her hand.

Yang sighed, put off by her sisters behavior. Yang knew Ruby was handling her new lot the best she could. Ruby always dreamed to start her huntsman training early. Ruby seemed to have a problem with how she got in. Ruby knew her early enrollment was handed to her. Not earned.

Yang watched her sister huff and turn the page. Ruby had a slight frown and zoned out while she looked at the same corner of the page as the minutes passed by. Yang decided to let her sister think on it more. They both needed something to distract them both.

-o-

Junior was as good as his word. Granted it was the mercenary group he mentioned before, but he informed Jaune of the new group entering Vale. Jaune accepted the invitation to the social gracefully and donned his hood and jersey.

Jaune took his time to fully equipped his gear for the night. The small case at the side of his hip tugged on the band that held it against his waist. When Jaune had looked at himself in the mirror before he left he was surprised how much he carried with him. The hip pouch for cuffs, and hand ties, his modified shoes were better off labeled as boots now with the added weight from the steel toes and heels. The forearm guards were worn underneath the long sleeves of the hoodie. They had several uses, but the biggest one was protection from dust projectile fire. Koben had sounded so trusting of them when he said they had saved his life. Jaune sighed at the narrow bands of metal. He would have to be very fast and optimistic to think those would save his face from a shot to the head.

Jaune felt the extra weight of his gear when he took his seat. Only a few of the families had seen him and he wanted to make sure they had the right impression with just the jersey and hood. Jaune looked around to the floor below him. Sundays were reserved for special events at Juniors'. Jaune had ignored the few annoyed students that were turned away at the door. Only a few of them realized who it was under the hood and blue jersey when he entered the club.

Jaune noted many of the families sat on the bottom floor. When Jaune moved to the second floor, he was surprised that he had the whole place to himself. Melanie sat at the bar a few tables down. Apparently he was the only one she would be serving tonight. Usually none from the families would deign to go to the lowest floor, but it seemed that the prospect of a new mercenary group in town was enough of a draw for them to come down and judge the group for themselves.

Thanks' to Tai's daughters', there had been some movement of alliances lately. The Cin family had been ousted from their contract when they violated Junior's rules. The group had been down on their luck for the last three years due to an arms deal that fell through. Junior confirmed it was thanks to the investigation that started in Anvil. Jaune decided to keep that feather in his smug cap for helping with that one. This year was their last chance for the Cin family to deliver their tithe. They were not out right killed, but most of the family was being absorbed by other groups. It was never outwardly stated, but the fact that Jaune was able to get the Cin's family name proved that the family were falling out of favor.

If Qrow was not able to get actual names on the other companies that ran the place in the last ten years, Jaune felt he had little hope to get them unless they were spoonfed to him.

A crowd shuffled around the entrance. The man with the red hair and the bowler hat was new. Judging by how Miltia was waiting for the man's arrival, Junior knew him. Was this the new contractor? Jaune wondered.

Melanie walked up to the edge to join him. She took a seat and sighed. "It will be easier running the place now that there are a few mercenaries keeping the families in line."

"I have been reluctant to ask, what happened to the last mercenary group?"

Melanie scowled. "The Cin family happened."

Jaune passed her a card loaded with cash. "A drink for the both of us." Melanie winked at him and tucked it into a hidden pocket in the strap of her dress.

She looked back down as the group mingled with the families. "You didn't hear this from us, neutral and all that, but the Cin had an operation that went south. The mercenaries protected the family head on that trip. They were all killed in an attempt to get the head out of Nomad Bay. The Monopoly did not like that Cin was undercutting them and had prepared a trap to kill the Cin family head as an example."

Jaune had heard of The Monopoly only because Gordon had a story from Nomad Bay when he first started his life as a huntsman. Gordon also said he was pretty sure his daughter Linda was born there.

"So the Monopoly killed them?"

Melanie nodded. "The Blau Mercenaries were all wiped out along with most of the Cin family. The current head is actually the second cousin of the original head. The poor kid has no idea what he is doing either. The Torchwick Mercenaries will help bring some much needed equilibrium to the power vacuum. Like the Blau Mercenaries, they will never fight against their own. So the most they will ever do for the families is protection."

Jaune could make out the details of the man's entourage, or lack thereof. Usually people of his supposed wealth would have a massive escort. The lone cane and the one guard were all that stood at his side as his only protection. That is very little protection... Jaune smiled at the unintended pun. She WAS small, petite and dangerous. "Thank you for telling me." Jaune murmured absently.

Melanie looked at the group with a sigh. She quietly excused herself as she made her way down stairs to help her sister with the guests.

Jaune barely noticed. His eyes were locked on the mercenaries. His narrowed his eyes. It was her.

The mercenary Neo looked around curiously at the club. Her hair was that unmistakable brown and pink. She walked in with a swagger that made him forget how small she was. Her grin was more predatory rather than gleeful when she saw something she liked below the patrolman.

Jaune slowly looked away from her.

"Well ain't this a little problem." And a little disappointing. Jaune thought to himself. If Neo was apart of the mercenaries, there was little chance he would ever be able to arrest her. Jaune was told the mercenaries seemed to be a must for the city to function.

Jaune mulled over the problem as the two along with the larger families followed the group to the elevator and presumably the fourth floor to speak.

-o-

Junior had trouble not staring at the girl. Hei kept an eye out for all of Arc's targets. Not only were they profitable, but they also seemed to be in something bigger than they led on. Junior smiled at Torchwick. "Accommodations have been made for you Mr. Torchwick. Was there anything else?" He asked. The meeting had concluded as soon as the families had departed. It was now just Junior's group and Torchwick's.

Torchwick smiled as he took out his cigar from its case. He kept it in his mouth but refrained from lighting it in the room. "That is all then Hei. Thank you very much."

Junior smiled. "You may have a few families inquiring about your services sooner than you think. Our patrolman suggested you last week."

"Really? That is kind of him. I'll be sure to thank him when I see him. If you need anything feel free to call us."

"That is usually my line Roman." The two man shared a greedy smile. "We look forward to doing business with you."

Junior watched the group go. "Before you go," Roman stopped and turned half way. His stance expected some kind of attack judging by his hand as it rested on his cane. Junior ignored the threat display. "If I may ask a question to the Miss?"

Roman looked amused and gestured to the girl. The girl smiled wanly.

"Do you go by the name Neo?"

Roman raised his cane with a hollow pop of its barrel. Junior put up his hands and signalled his men to do the same. "I just have a message." He offered.

Neo patted Romans' cane until it moved away from its leveled position facing Junior's head. She simply gestured for the man to continue.

"A Patrolman said he was still looking for you."

Neo suddenly grinned. At Roman's confused look, she winked at him and fanned herself. Neo looked back to Junior and mouthed out the word, 'Where?'

Junior laughed. "It will cost you."

-o-

Jaune sighed in boredom. He could do that at least. No one was around except for Melanie. He watched one family after another leave the elevator for forty minutes. He was ready to leave if they did not come out soon. He wanted to approach the mercenaries himself once the families were gone. It always helps to introduce yourself

to your local frenemy. And the mercenaries would likely help as much as be a hindrance with his work.

Jaune spotted her as soon as she walked out of the elevator. His eyes followed her until she glanced around. Eventually she found him by his hooded head and vest resting on the balcony across from her.

Neo's smiling eyes matched her grin.

Jaune pinched his finger to his thumb and spread them apart before he tapped two fingers to his wrist and then the same two fingers to his eye and away. She tapped the redhead man's elbow and gestured she was stepping away before her body flickered from her semblance. Jaune barely felt the rush of air as she stood next to his table.

Jaune remembered the last meeting better than he thought he really should have. As odd as it sounded to him. He had never been afraid of her. Helpless? Most definitely, but never afraid. Neo always looked too happy to see him to think that.

Neo loomed over him with some kind of pent up energy that shook her. She still had that same fond smile. "Join me?" Jaune gestured to the chair across the table. She promptly took a seat next to him and grabbed the drink menu. Melanie had started to come over as soon as she saw the petite woman join him. Neo greedily pointed at a drink. Melanie frowned at the girl but took the order.

"I'll pay for it Ms. Malachite." Jaune offered. That seemed to perk the woman up. Apparently the new contractor didn't pay for their drinks at all this visit.

Neo's smug smile made Jaune nearly give a very Coco like huff. Neo crossed her hands once and put her wrists out and forward, then slashed her hand across her face with a smile. Now Jaune huffed in annoyance. Neo never did get that bounty he wanted to post. There was just too little evidence for a foreign girl who could change what she looked like.

"I didn't. So far, I got nothing on you." The woman grin turned nearly shit eating levels of smug. "It doesn't mean I'm giving up on it. Might have to now though. I'm actually a little miffed at that."

Neo gave a silent giggle. When the drink arrived she took a long sip with a silent delighted sigh. Once she was satisfied she simply drew a question mark with her finger in the air.

Jaune wondered how to convey what he wanted to say to the silent girl. There were still no one on his floor aside from Melanie. But there were other floors where people could still see them talk. His hand made a quick line across his chest where his vest rested then crossed his wrists. He quickly brought his hand to his mouth and raised to fingers before he pointed at Neo then her boss below them. The man seemed amused that Neo was chatting with some stranger.

Neo did not seem bothered by the request and nodded. She stopped herself and gestured to her drink and relaxed in her chair.

Jaune gave her a polite nod and a raise of the glass. One she returned. It was another moment in a series of surreal moments. Neo treated him like a long lost friend as they chatted. As much as Jaune could tease out the meaning of what she said with her hands, he kept replying verbally. She seemed delighted with every exchange.

Neo had been a mercenary for years it seemed. The ships they had stolen were long gone and under the control of a pirate Jaune had never heard of. At the very least Jaune knew for sure she was hired on as muscle rather than part of that gang. Jaune watched the woman that, was at one time, was almost his murderer. A thought did begin to bother him as they continued to chat.

"I did mess up a lot of your plans with that investigation. Did you ever regret not killing me?"

Neo immediately shook her head. She tapped her wrist and moved her thumb over her shoulder. Neo raised her glass and pointed at the ground and simply sank further into her chair. She downed the sweet drink in a long swig and exhaled a satisfied sigh.

Jaune grunted, "I guess a job's a job."

Neo nodded before she looked at her empty drink. Jaune raised his hand to get Melanie's attention at Neo's expecting look.

"I have to ask, were you a patrolman?"

Neo's drink appeared almost as quickly as she ordered it. Melanie gave him a glance that made him realize that she wanted Neo out of here as quickly as possible. Neo seemed willfully oblivious to it all and took the new drink with a sip and smiled at Jaune. After a thoughtful look she answered his question. She taped her throat twice with two fingers and made a thumbs down.

"I guess losing your voice would make the work impossible to do." Jaune thought aloud. Neo gave a reluctant nod before she returned to her drink to sip it slowly.

Juane looked down to the floor below him. The red headed man seemed to be patiently waiting, but they had been talking for a while. "I suppose I should meet your leader. It's why I stuck around."

Neo inhaled sharply with a shocked look and shook her hand before taping her chest.

"You're not that special Neo." was Jaune's sardonic reply.

Neo smiled and disappeared to her boss the drink still firmly in her hand. Jaune stood up and passed another card to Melanie, "Thank you for the drinks Miss Malachite."

"Later Jaune." There was caution in her voice that made him give her a reassuring and grim nod.

Jaune made his way down the stairs to the lower level. While he could jump off the edge and land on the lower floor and not hurt himself. He didn't like the odds of him landing on something or some one.

Hands in his pockets he walked up to an amused Neo and a very patient redhead. "Good evening Mr. Torchwick, my name is Patrolman Arc."

The man smiled as he puffed his cigar. "Good evening Patrolman. I take it you have had a run in with Neo before."

"A few times. I know she had fun running me into the ground."

The man shook his head and looked to his partner, "Neo, Is this was the guy you talked about?" The woman nodded as her eyes flicked in alternating colors. The man raised an eyebrow at the reaction. "Was there any other business you had with me?"

"There is one thing. But I rather we not speak of it here. If you have some time in the next few days, I would like to speak with you in private. You are welcome to choose the location."

Roman frowned but agreed. "I have taken a residential house that serves as our barracks until we have a larger facility. I need to fill out my roster with the Beacon graduates. This last year had run down our staff."

Jaune didn't need to be reminded what that really meant. Roman handed him a physical business card. "Thank you. It is a matter of state security, and I thank you for your willingness to speak with me. I will reach out to you Monday evening."

"Of course." Roman replied as he placed the cigar back in his mouth.

Jaune glanced to Neo. It was almost an honest answer when he said, "It was good talking with you Neo."

Neo smiled and tapped her eye with her finger before she pulled her thumb and index finger close and mouthed out, Jaune.

Roman laughed. "I see why she likes talking to you."

Jaune shook his head as he walked away from the group.

Melanie actually gave Jaune an idea and it was something he really should not have overlooked. Especially with the First Lieutenant set to arrive in town at the end of the week. He decided to ignore Neo for now and focus on his job.

He would need to amend the security detail.

-o-

The start of the new week came sooner than Jaune wished. He was only briefly able to talk to Coco over the scroll. Her teammates were not happy that he had kept her up late into that evening. Jaune paid them no mind. He felt he had earned it now that his sweep plans were finished. Jaune was satisfied whenever he went over the route he wanted the student huntsmen to sweep through the forest. They would start close to the emerald forest on the Beacon side cliffs and push outward.

Fifteen miles. That's how large Jaune wanted to clear the grim. Fifteen miles east and twenty south as it followed the mountains. The deeper the teams made the sweep the more important it was for the teams to be able to communicate with each other.

Which is why he took extra time to go over his plans with the staff then the students who congregated in the courtyard. He looked over his packet, then to the third years. A few were surprised he was younger than they were, but at least half of the third years knew who he was from lectures last year. That avoided any unnecessary arguments when one or two felt annoyed when he began to lead them.

"Keep your packets with you at all times. It is your rotation schedule. You can't rely on a scroll working in the field. Day one huntsmen have your assignments." That got their attention. Most of the students in the third year were students that had some independent training already. Come the summer before the final year, most huntsmen were encouraged to put their name out there to be taken into senior groups for the all perked up when Jaune barked orders.

"I'll see you at the docks in half an hour, Teams One, Four, and Eight. Four hours to set a pace, and we will have the other teams take that pace or adjust to a slower pace accordingly. This is not a race. This is a thorough sweep for the safety of Vale. Safe hunting Huntsmen."

One team leader smirked at their friend. "I'll do my best to keep it slow for you Chia."

Jaune ignored the by-play between teams and walked off the platform. The students needed a little time to break up into their teams. The sweep would take nearly two weeks to complete and will be maintained with three to four groups every week for the rest of the semester. Or until I find the White Fang. Jaune thought to himself.

Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. "Team Orchid, Navy, Cloud, with me. We have a schedule to keep!" Jaune boarded the bullhead with each team taking their own.

"Good morning Glynda."

Professor Goodwitch sighed as she looked away from her scroll. "Morning Jaune." She kept the voice cordial but Jaune grimaced as she walked ahead of him into the ship.

The bullhead's engines roared to life. It only made the silence between the two staff members more awkward. Glynda held her pad and shook her head. Finally she added, "I am going to be behind if I don't keep working while we are out in the field. The first years will be in next week for the entrance exam and I am still going through the roster to see who will even be accepted to attempt the exam."

Jaune gave her a sympathetic frown as he took a seat and the ship lifted off. It would be a short one with the tree line only a few miles away.

The day moved as slow as Jaune had expected. The students have been on missions for the last two years, but this was a first that several teams were working together. He mentioned as much to Glynda who frowned.

"I will start addressing this. The teams tend to either group up and not communicate or they spread apart and don't know where they are in relation to each other." The initial sweep for grim ran the whole length of the forest going north and south before they set down flags to point how far they had searched. Jaune watched as Glynda ordered the teams to take north, south or east.

Glynda spoke calmly into her scroll. "Don't just look around, sense them. They will come to you the more you use your aura. Decide who will take point to bait them out and go over your area again. After another sweep we'll move further east." There was a round of 'Yes ma'am.'

The professor sighed and closed the communications line and opened the roster list. Jaune stood next to her and scanned the forest line for grim that may flee west. The silence still seemed stifling. Eventually Glynda huffed. "I am annoyed with you at the moment Mr. Arc."

Jaune looked up surprised from his map, his voice only held the bare hint of indignation, "What did I do?"

"You have given me more work. Already I see I will need to address a few things about this years senior class that I did not anticipate. And possibly the other grades as well. I would have thought the mission experience would be enough for the groups to coordinate on their own, but that is not the case."

Jaune allowed himself to calm a little and shook his head. "Sorry for the added work. But better they learn now though right?"

Glynda gave a thoughtful 'hm' in agreement and closed the roster list. "Finally. Done. You are right of course, but you have inadvertently given me more work since you arrived. The roster for example." She tapped her closed scroll. "Your admission for the three girls set a new precedent. One I can not ignore and I had to go through the applicants to see if anyone else would have qualified under these circumstances."

Jaune nearly tilted his head in confusion. "Such as?"

Professor Goodwitch huffed. "Accepted based on combat ability alone, students seeking refuge or asylum, and check to see if any students were turned down based on criminal history. I had to review quite a few applications. Really, you have been making me adjust policy for a while now." The woman looked ahead and scanned the line of the forest for her students. There was a flash of light to the south where Team Navy was fighting some grim.

Jaune resisted the urge to do anything while she spoke and only after a minute or two to think about it muttered out, "I'm sorry. Let me know when it happens again. This is a much different role than working with Vale. I did not think how those decisions would affect Beacon as a whole."

The woman moved her hands behind her back. "You were not expected to. It is a new position and we are all having growing pains at the moment. So I apologize if I had been off putting this morning."

"Thanks for letting me know about the school side of things. I'll bear that in mind in the future."

Glynda gave a smile of approval as she started to walk ahead to meet one of the teams. Team Orchid had finished their sweep.

-o-

Jaune was thoughtful the rest of the day. He only really stopped thinking about what Glynda had said when he returned to his apartment. He was thankful to the professor. He had not thought how Beacon would need to change to accommodate him. It did not help that Ozpin seemed to be willing and encouraging the changes to happen. Hearing how the changes are affecting others was enlightening.

Jaune turned on the news and started to cook something for himself. He was in the middle of chopping an onion when he heard,

Indeed, the ceremony will be hosted by councilwoman Coral Soek. But already protesters of Atlas interference in Vale security has risen from the move. Several activist groups pointed out numerous times our dependency on Atlas for our borders.

Protesters from the Faunus Immigration Coalition have decided to do a peaceful sit in at the ceremony in protest of the use of SDC dust. As the company's number one importer of energy propellent, Vale has long been criticized for indirectly contributing to the abuse of minorities in Atlas.

Coral Soek commented on this afternoons' protests: "Vale and Atlas have had a long standing friendship that preceded even the color revolution. We have supported each other for hundreds of years. The Council of Vale have expressed our concerns to Atlas regarding the inequality and the impact it has had on our relations with them."

Jaune laughed, "Read: We're pissed that they moved to Vale."

Councilwoman Soek's statement was met with criticism from both sides of the bench. The Industrialist Party have brought up the request again to increase exploration of the northern ranges to….

Jaune frowned at the screen of Coral Soek. "So that's her name." It was the woman who was the spokesman for Vale and the one that assigned him the job to find the White Fang. Jaune watched the news broadcast and changed the channel to find another news station covering much of the same.

Jaune opened his scroll. This was already catching on bigger than he liked, but it was too late to stop it. He just had to make it all work.

"How can I help you Jaune?"

"Ozpin, did you see the news cast this evening?"

"Just a small bit. Your hand?"

"Yes and no. It's taking a life on its own. Can you gather seven, five-man teams for the day of the event?"

"You already have ten patrolling the border at that time, but I will give you the names and numbers of the team leaders that I know are free within the hour."

-o-

Jaune shifted uncomfortably in front of the Torchwick Mercenaries base late that night. The meeting with the Council barely happened at all, but he got pretty much what he needed before he spoke with Roman Torchwick. It took the council an hour to deliberate, but they agreed with his requests. Even with emergency powers there were only so many things you could do without drawing too much attention. And he needed to get permission for what he was going to offer Roman tonight.

Jaune looked at the building. It was a simple city home that was converted to a business office. It sat tall and narrow. The office space was lined between two other such homes that made up most of the city block. He knocked on the front door and waited patiently. A tall man in his mid twenties opened the door in a smart business suit and slicked black hair.

"Jaune Arc to speak to Mr. Torchwick at his earliest convenience."

The convenience part seemed to be agreeable to the older man as he welcomed the teen inside. "You may wait here in the lobby. I will inform Mr. Torchwick that you are available to speak to him." The man seemed used to these kinds of requests and did not bat an eyelash at the idea of a teen who made a request for a meeting with the president of a mercenary company.

Jaune was thankful that the wait was not long. Barely a few minutes. Neo walked out of one of the rooms and cheerfully beckoned him to follow her. Jaune shook his head at the way she moved her hands in a playful come-hither motion that seemed more of a threat than an actual welcome.

Jaune walked into a room where Mr. Torchwick and several men and women hovered around the leader's desk.

Roman looked to have been expecting him as he offered the patrolman a drink. "Just your cola of choice today. Give me a few years and I'll offer you something more substantial."

Jaune accepted the comment with a slight nod, "Thank you for seeing me Mr. Torchwick. I have wanted to speak with you ever since Junior told me you would be coming to town."

Roman smiled and took a seat next to Neo on a sofa. "I've heard you been up to something but Hei has been tight lipped about it. Are you going to be keeping me busy in the coming months?"

Jaune sat on the loveseat across from them. "In one form or another."

"You have my thanks for that." Roman muttered as he rubbed his chin.

"I have an operation coming up at the end of the week that coincides with an event being held downtown." Jaune lied easily, "Atlas is bringing personnel into Vale to announce the improved the automated security droids Vale has purchased."

"And you think Atlas will be targeted somehow in this stunt?" Roman looked at the scroll and noticed the dates and times for the event.

"Yes and no." Jaune frowned. "My personal resources will not be available during the time period and I don't like the coverage the event is already getting. What should have been a small minor event for a news blurb turned into an event that has every news outlet pining for coverage. Security has been taken care of thanks to Vale PD. But I want to eliminate variables."

"Ah!" Roman said now suddenly enlightened. "Which is why you came to see me. You want to make sure the families will not interfere."

"It is my hope your presence next to the Atlas personnel will dissuade the families from getting any ideas."

Roman frowned. He did not need to see Neo's shoulders move to know she was immediately interested. "Where are all the huntsmen in this?"

Jaune stayed silent before he reluctantly answered. "They will have their assignments."

"There is a lot more going on than you're admitting Mr. Arc. I already don't like what I have heard." Roman's eyes narrowed dangerously. He leaned forward. He set his glass down and steepled his hands together. "Do you want to know what people have said since I first came to Vale?"

Jaune could imagine. "They are uneasy."

Roman laughed. "That is the understatement of the century. The families are nervous. Not just the weak ones. ALL of them. They know something is happening. Hundreds of huntsmen have been recalled into the city. The families are getting paranoid. They suspect one of their own sold out the families to you. They say there is a state of emergency in the council. Unconfirmed. But you would know for sure wouldn't you? Patrolman." Romans hard eyes stared down the teen.

Jaune met the stare with equal intensity. "I need your representation there. What is it you want Roman?"

Roman stared at the young man but found nothing he was looking for. The teen looked like a kid but Roman already knew better. A patrolman through and through. Which is why he admitted, "I want to survive. What do we gain for aiding you?"

"Legitimacy in Vale by the Council. No need to pay to keep things under wraps with the police or try and pretend you can pay me off. You get to house your mercenary company out in the open.

Roman leaned back in his chair and smiled. The money he would save would be enough to keep his company profitable from day one. The patrolman really did come to make a deal. Whatever the kid was doing, it was important enough to make sure Roman was on board. Out loud he said, "Not bad for a disgraced patrolman."

Jaune stared at him and then glanced at Neo. She gestured several hands almost too fast for Jaune to see. Roman just smirked.

Jaune focused all his mind into being a patrolman and answered, "You're very good at that."

"Making people angry?" Roman said with a victorious smile. It died a quick death when Jaune corrected him.

"Keeping people distracted. It's a good way to let them unintentionally give up details. But that is my request. I would like to hire your services as a mere presence next to the Atlas security detail as a sign to the families. That is the extent of my job offer."

"How much?" Roman finally asked now curious how much the patrolman was offering.

"Twenty thousand. Given the threat of the families to yourselves, double if you need to interfere due to fighting."

"How many people?"

"Just one. Again, just a presence."

Roman hum'ed to himself. It was not the best offer for the kind of job given. And what was a job without a little risk? Roman just arrived in town. He did not have any ties if he had to pull Neo out of the country in a hurry.

Jaune seemed to like the moment of silence. "Think of all the graduating class that will see your name out there. Ripe for job requests by the end of the year."

Roman laughed. "That is a fair deal sweetener. Make it twenty five and fifty and I'll hand you Neo here."

Jaune did not even look at the older woman. "Done."

Jaune pulled out his scroll and pulled out an empty card to transfer the funds. "Fifteen upfront. Ten and then some after the job is done. Payable by The Council of Vale." Jaune stared at Roman and nodded as the mercenary got the message. This wasn't paid by the treasury, but out council members own pocket.

"Neo, please meet me on Friday at noon at the city square in front of the courthouse. I will introduce you to the security detail then."

Jaune stood up. "Good evening Mr. Torchwick. You too Neo."

Jaune nodded at the man at the door who opened it for him and left as quickly as he arrived.

-o-

Roman remained seated even after the young man left. He glanced at his empty glass before he leaned forward to pour himself another. Neo moved her hands in a quick 'well?' gesture before she tapped her temple and pointed at the door.

"He's as interesting as you said he would be. And a lot more dangerous. Be careful Neo. He did give us a warning. Whatever he is doing is bigger than he is letting on. Wear the armband when you go. We could use the advertisement."

-o-

Jaune eyed the Atlas air ship as First lieutenant Schnee arrived. Bigger than a transport ship but definitely not a combat ready military craft. It made its descent to little fanfare. The flight deck personnel seemed to treat it as a normal air ship. Jaune was thankful, there was already going to be enough pomp and circumstance that friday. Jaune recognized the First Lieutenant as she stepped off the air ship ramp.

"First Lieutenant." Jaune greeted her. A single guard flanked her with bobbed hair half hidden under the cap of the Atlas uniform.

"Patrolman. I heard you prepared a party for us."

Jaune smiled and apologized, "It's more of a circus. I apologize for that. Local coverage is competitive and has blown it out of proportion. Please follow me and I'll abreif you of the situation as it is now. The engineers?"

"The engineers have already flown out to the field, they will be back tonight to settle in."

"Do they have their own security?"

"Yes, thank you for asking Patrolman."

"Alright. A councilwoman by the name of Coral Soek will reach out to you tomorrow morning. Any new developments will come from her. I have assigned a single guard to pair with your security detail from Vale."

"That was not necessary but appreciated."

"You will meet them this friday a few hours before the ceremony. I will be in the crowd observing. The police have already set up a plan for coverage three city blocks deep from the event."

"You've been busy." The soldier commented.

"I simply ask, and the city makes it done. It has actually been alarming how fast it happened." Jaune admitted. "I'll be happy to have this over and not worry about the responsibility. I already know I am going to have a serious review with the council about some of my decisions."

"Anything you crossed the line?" The first lieutenant asked sounding surprised.

"No, but I am young. Some of the council have not seen pass that and will probably nitpick. We'll see what happens after this is all over."

Winter Schnee gave a frank, "I wish you the best with that Jaune."

"Thanks Winter."

-o-

Jaune left his office and walked down the halls as students moved to their next class. The second and third years gave various greetings when they spotted him walking among them. The fifth day of school left most of them frazzled. Jaune couldn't wait for this press conference to end this evening. But he still had a patrol to consider first.

"Mr. Arc!" Jaune turned his head slightly and recognized the team. He stopped and greeted them.

"Team TNSY. Good morning. Are you ready for today?"

Tangi grinned and pointed to her team. "You betcha. Blanche and I have a bet which team can get to the tunnels first."

Jaune grinned. "Good. I'll see you all out in the field today. Follow the protocol. Stay safe."

"Yes sir!" She cried as she pulled her partner Nolan behind her. He gave a pained wave goodbye to the patrolman.

Jaune watched the pair go before he made his way to the hangars. It was the fifth day for the sweep. Everything moved smoothly once the first group cleared the opening mile and a half. It did annoy him how little respect the teams gave the job. But they had not run into anything that could trouble them this close to the city.

Jaune frowned as Glynda reminded him just that morning they would change their tune once they hit the ravine. Jaune knew today would be the first day they attempted to clear it. Several of the larger grim were known to nest in large cool places and the largest network of caves sat in the ravine.

The ship listed slightly and lowered down to a flat section of earth. Jaune stood up and grimaced at the short trip. The flight seemed to go faster the more trips Jaune rode regardless how much farther they flew.

"Team Brick, follow north along the line take a dot formation to check for signs of large grim passing by the clear point then collapse back to the bullhead. Team Tansy you will take south. Team Oro has the four corners of the ravine. You are our communications hub. Professor Goodwitch will scout ahead northeast and I'll take Southeast. A simple check, huntsmen. Then come back immediately."

A round of "Sir!" was their reply before they spread out to their jobs. Jaune watched them all go before he nodded to Team Oro. Glynda was long gone to perform her assignment.

-o-

"Call Mr. Arc." Blanche frowned at the markings on the ground. The imprints did not look like any grim or animal. They looked artificial.

Ivory opened her scroll and ignored the local access warning. Team ORRO would help relay the message.

Blanche looked at her partner. "What do you think?"

Rime followed the imprint of one of the feet. "It's definitely some kind of droid. What was it doing out here?"

They tensed when the voice behind them ordered, "Pull back to the bullheads." The patrolman looked to Blanche. "Your shift is over. You will report this immediately to the Headmaster and pass along the map coordinates."

Rime was already marking it on his map before he folded it and stuffed the paper in his jacket. "Why us?"

"The deputy headmistress and I will remain behind." Patrolman Arc looked at the cave entrance and walked around the group to see the imprint. He barked out, "You are dismissed students."

Team Brick shared a look amongst themselves. "Sir." the group said weakly then left patrolman. Several minutes of near silence passed. A soft click got the attention of the team as Ivory closed her scroll. "The other teams are heading back to the bullheads now-..." The team slowed as they saw their professor run by them. The woman ignored them completely.

Ivory nervously swallowed at the serious look the professor had. Professor Goodwitch was always stern, this was different. "What do you think we found?"

Kobi shrugged and adjusted her hip strap for her weapon. "Probably what they were looking for."

Blanche nearly snarled. "Cut the chatter. Don't say anything else until we talk to the headmaster." That shushed the team moments before they arrived at the bullheads.

-o-

Jaune was kneeling when Glynda landed in a leap behind him. He traced just above the earth where the imprint cut into the hardened earth.

"What did they find Jaune?"

"We'll need to praise them, I would have missed this." He pointed to the flat outline near the edge of the mouth of the cave. It was nothing more than a flat cut of solid stone flattened near the wall. It was tiny barely a millimeter edge, but it was definitely there. As if a droid moved to close to the edge to cut the corner going into the cave.

"I see. The students were already at the bull heads. Our ship will be back in an hour."

"Then let's go inside and poke around."

The ravine's mouth was as it was described in an old guide. Smooth walls from flooding rounded the edges over the years and water trickled down several caves out of the ravine and into a stream that led to the lake near Beacon.

Jaune watched for tracks and imprints while Glynda sensed for Grim. Jaune did not think he would find any more tracks. The constant water runoff would guarantee it. The floor was unsteady. The earth was soaked with water. It wasn't completely made of mud, but a good firm push off the ground would sink his foot. Like a mix between sand and mud.

Eventually Glynda took front point while Jaune pulled out his scroll to light the way. A bright light cast their shadows against the walls as they found the cave open to a larger chamber.

Glynda frowned, "This is a nesting area. But it's completely empty. What could have driven the grim out?"

"Not out. Look."Jaune had cast his light over the floor ahead of them. Several more imprints strewn the driest part of the floor in the center. Several large squares sat in the center along with footprints undisturbed by the water and no wind broke apart the faint markings.

"Someone was herding the grim."

"Into cages it would seem. How did they get them out of here? The entryway we came in was not nearly large enough for those size of crates." Jaune got his answer when he moved deeper into the cave. There were several openings that wound from the mouth of the revine to a section half a mile east.

Glynda walked ahead and scanned the cleared forest. Trees were cut and cleared. Obvious signs of ships littered the place. Who ever was here did not even bother to hide they had been there.

"This equipment looks to have been sitting here for a few weeks." Jaune lifted some debris out of the way with his foot and saw old discarded trash near what would have been an aircraft.

"They didn't expect to be found either." Glynda knelt next to a tree stump that was used as a makeshift desk.

"Who ever it was, they got what they wanted and left."

"Jaune, over here."

Juane set down the garbage and walked over to Glynda. Further down the field Jaune spotted what caught the professor's attention. It was the remains of a collapsed field tents. "First Lieutenant Schnee mentioned military supplies were stolen in the last Atlas theft almost a year ago. It was supplies for a full army. I had wondered if they had enough people to use them all, but I guess they are using them as disposable tents." Jaune lifted up the flap of the tent and saw the logo for the Atlas military. "So it was White Fang afterall. Why are they moving grim?"

Glynda and Jaune shared a glance and started making their way back. The walk was slow to navigate the cave. Jaune was not sure who started to speed up first, but soon both teacher and patrolman ran as fast as Glynda could keep pace. Jaune pulled open his scroll as they made it close to the Bullhead landing. "Bullhead?"

"This is Bullhead two-two-three. Just awaiting your arrival before I land."

"We are ready."

The pilot's ship flew around in a single pass before it made its descent. "Glynda I need you to head to the headmaster and have the team's head out to their posts now."

"Jaune if they are moving the grim-"

"I know. We need to start looking in three directions rather than the one. I'll leave Ozpin to defend the north." Jaune exhaled the frustration and pulled open his scroll. "I need to speak with the council. Just tell the teams to be vigilant. If the White Fang have been changing their plans, we need to be prepared to react."

-o-

Jaune waited outside the courthouse. It took him a moment but he found Neo standing alone in a stylized brown and white jacket and capris. Her parasol shaded her as she sat drinking some kind of fruit beverage. It couldn't be anything else with that color.

"Hello Neo."

She twirled her parasol in reply before she stood up and put it away. She tilted her head in a gesture to get a move on.

"Not quite yet. I need to speak to Councilwoman Soek. You'll be along for the ride."

Neo grinned and formed a 'v' with her fingers and crossed them to tap her heart.

"Ha. ha. In a way, we are meeting the parents. Behave. She is the spokeswoman for the city."

Neo threw out her drink in the garbage bin when they walked in. Jaune began to recognize people as he walked chambers. "Patrolman Arc and guest to see Councilwoman Soek."

Jaune moved out of the way of the people behind him as he thanked the receptionist. Neo stood next to him.

Neo opened her palm and moved her finger in a straight line before she closed it and opened it again to draw a winding line across her palm.

"Yeah. It will be up to you if you want to keep going after we speak to Soek. But it just means there's a higher chance of you getting your double pay."

That seemed to satisfy her. She opened her scroll and started to send a message. Jaune was almost amused that she treated it as good news.

Jaune nodded to a slim man who opened the door for them to let them in. Another stood next to Councilwoman Soek. "Thank you for seeing me Councilwoman."

"Of course Jaune. I had not expected to see you already."

"I seem to keep finding new things to plan around. My associate here is Neo from the Torchwick Mercenaries. She will be the guard for Winter Schnee during the event."

The councilwoman nodded at the pink and brown haired woman. "Very good. I can take over and guide her to Winter Schnee myself. I am heading out in a moment so we may drive to the press conference together. You said you had news."

"I have found evidence that the White Fang are changing their plans again. But I am not sure what it means for today. I am taking extra precautions but my huntsmen are already in their posts. So it will just be me and Neo outside of any protection you bring to the event."

Coral Soek nodded. "I have my self covered with these two." The councilwoman looked over to Neo. "Prioritise Miss Schnee. If the White Fang make a move, it will be on her."

Neo smiled and nodded politely.

-o-

Jaune scanned the crowd from the base of the stage. He really wanted to ask why the crowd was so large, but he had a feeling this was more the council's choice rather than the news outlets. The venue was downtown and so it seemed many of the customers that happened to be in the area to shop slowed to watch. The crowd was filled with more on lookers than press. Jaune recognized the foreign press box but noticed the police seemed to be guarding them diligently.

The Chief of Police Oro stood across from Jaune on the opposite side of the rope. The Chief gave him a nod and walked away to Winter as she exited the limousine. Councilwoman Soek walked next to her and paused and waved to interviewers. Behind them the two men flanked the councilwoman. Winter Schnee was followed by two women, but Jaune only recognized Neo. The other guard was wearing an atlas uniform. Neo snapped to attention like the soldier next to her.

Jaune took his time to look around. The police were thorough. Look outs, patrols, stationed officers at junction points.

Thank you for those kind words Councilwoman. Jaune started to pay attention. He did not even know what Soek had said, but it seemed to please the First Lieutenant. The first round of the security training and updates will start at the end of next week. They will run for the next three weeks. I look forward to my time here in Vale.

That seemed to be the indicator for questions. The councilwoman and First Lieutenant took turns asking the questions. Jaune started to walk around the perimeter. He glanced to the podium and was happy to see it wasn't just Neo that was looking for threats but so were the guards for the councilwoman and the other lady that came with Winter Schnee.

-o-

Winter felt the questions lasted too long. She was really only waiting for her prompt but it seemed to never come. The questioned began to slow and Winter knew she would have to wrap this up soon.

"You sir." She pointed to reporter.

"Miss Schnee, several groups have come to this event to protests your involvement in Vale given your countries own civil disputes. Do you have a reply to these protesters?"

"Atlas has had its own sordid history to match any glory it has earned. Atlas is unique in that it is the only country to have a civil war in the last few centuries. We still feel these wounds today. Some are more visible than others. But Atlas as a people have made progress in the last year. Is it slow? Yes. But so was the color revolution, the organization of the huntsmen, the places like Beacon. They were all in our best interest but it took decades for us to see the change as a positive one. When change comes to Atlas it will not be with our current generation, it will be with the next one. And those children, students, young adults are beginning to see that."

-o-

Jaune smiled and expressed a great sigh of relief. Winter Schnee concluded the speech and followed the engineers off the platform and onto the east gates to their secure transport. Neo's job was over, and no incident. Jaune watched as the press took their time to end their broadcasts. Jaune tipped an imaginary cap to Neo from across the venue. She gave him an exaggerated pout and pointed at him snapped her fingers and pointing at herself. She disappeared a moment later.

I wonder what she is going to ask if she thinks I owe her something. Jaune cheered to himself that the ceremony was over. Now he just needed to see if Winter's answers bore fruit.

The police oversaw the crowds disperse out of the choke points. Jaune waited until most were gone before he started to leave the square. A few of the officers placed on rooftops kept a trained eye to survey the area. Jaune turned down to the main street and walked among the crowd. It felt nice getting lost in the crowd. In the club or even back home, people would have given wide berth of his vest when he wore it. Without it he was just a kid.

Jaune turned his body to squeeze between two people as they walked by. There were a lot of people watching the event and they took their time to leave. Jaune took a moment to look over the streets. My part is over. For now, I just have to wait and listen. If there are dissenters in the White Fang I am not sure if we will even-

Jaune swallowed the panic when he heard the click from in front of him. He did not even see how wielded the weapon. Jaune just focused on the barrel as the dust round ignited in the chamber. His hand flew to his stomach where the PING of dust exploded against his leather and metal covered palm. The metal plate there burned hot and the vibration numbed his whole arm. It was stronger than anything he received from Yatsuhashi during practice, never mind Blake's aura enhanced punches from their first day of training.

Jaune looked up to the assailant and realized it was a boy a few years younger than he was. The teen did not even look at the first shot. Instead, he fired a second shot immediately aimed for Jaune's head. Jaune had enough time to reach and grabbed the gun. He lifted it into the air. The assassin screamed as the burning heat from Jaune's glove burned the teen's hands. Jaune felt more than heard the loud crunch as he wrestled for the gun as it fired again into the sky. Jaune punched the the teens stomach. He had no aura.

The crowd seemed to finally reacted as they screamed in alarm. Jaune heard another round from further away fire. "Everyone clear the area, there is still a shooter!" Jaune turned and quickly saw a glowing ball fly toward him. The patrolman raised his hand unsure if he could block the shot that ripped through the air at a faster speed than the downed guys' pistol.

Jaune blinked when the fire exploded in front of him. His ears rang in a long high pitched whine.

Neo glared at the direction the bullet came from. The sniper was already gone. She blinked her pink and brown eyes for a moment before she checked on Jaune.

Jaune exhaled in relief as the VPD were running to him. "Call Oro. Get him to clear the roads." An officer immediately started to send the message even as his partner asked why he was listening to a kid.

Jaune hissed while he looked at his hand. "I didn't think of this." Jaune opened his scrolled and switched it to the team comms. "We got our signal. Ask for the code when you make contact. I'll be in the CCT." Jaune pressed the scrolled against his hip with his good hand. He looked at his left hand. The metal plate had cooled and a weld of a circle was in the center. Jaune knew it was going to be painful to pull off.

Jaune looked around and gestured for Neo to come with him. The teen was handcuffed but he had offered no resistance. He slumped against the officer. He was pale as if he just lost something important.

Jaune glanced at the officer who did not recognize him without the jersey. "If you don't know who I am you'll find out later tonight. Get the kid's hand looked at. I'm pretty sure I broke his wrist. When he is clear, transfer him to Beacon to be incarcerated. Contact Headmaster Ozpin to make the arrangements."

Jaune gave his would be assassin one look before he turned away.

"Do you need medical attention?" The Officer who recognized him asked.

Jaune stood up on shaky legs. That felt too close. "Send one to the CCT. I will be there. Let Oro know too. He may want to come up."

"Neo can you make that jump?"

The woman blinked and her eyes changed from brown and pink to blue. She nodded and clicked her tongue before her eyes reverted to the familiar colors. The two disappeared.

-o-

Juane walked while he cradled his hand. He was not sure if his hand was broken but it was definitely swelling inside the glove. He walked in and passed his scroll over the elevator terminal. "Patrolman Arc. Security floor please." The lift moved.

Neo watched him clutch his hand. She tapped her open palm with the back of her other hand before she gripped it.

"Not broken. I can move my fingers, but it burns. Got a knife?"

She grinned as she pulled her sword out of her parasole. Jaune instantly regretted asking as she ignored the sudden lurch of the elevator and sliced open a small cut into the leather gloves' seams. Jaune started to walk out as he was able to pull the seam further to slide his hand out. The CCT security heard his groan before they saw him. "Patrolman present." he shouted before they responded.

"We have news reports of a shooting."

Jaune grimaced. "Yeah, at me. White Fang were not waiting for an opportune moment to make a statement, they were waiting for me to come out into the open to kill me before their attack. Any word on the teams?" Jaune decided to ignore the fact that Neo was on her scroll sending a message. Word on White Fang were going to get out anyway if that was what that message was about.

"None. We are still assuming trains. Roselink ordered a slowdown perimeter for ten miles entering town."

Jaune grimaced. "That changes if they could move the grim."

-o-

Jaune tried to stay focused and ignore the swelling ache in his hand. Nothing broke but the burns in the shape of a perfect circle was a giant sore welt that had warped the skin in his palm. The glove was a lost cause but he definitely was keeping it as a good luck charm.

"Just keep the salve on it when it begins to dry out. It should heal in a week or so enough for you to use it again. But it will not fully heal for at least two."

Jaune grunted at the instructions. "Thank you doctor. Any word on the kid?"

"His ship should be docking soon. They had to cast his arm. He was transferred to a medical cell in Beacon." The communication operative said as soon as the line to the Police transport closed.

Jaune looked up to see Winter Schnee walk out of the elevator along with her escort and an engineer that was present at the ceremony. Along with a tagalong he was not familiar with.

"Are you alright?" Winter asked when she spotted the bandaged hand.

"I'm fine. Just underestimated my own value. We're waiting for signs of an attack but it has been dead quiet for the hour. I would have thought they would have launched an attack immediately."

"It was why I was delayed. I wanted to see if I had to respond to an attack first. When nothing happened, I headed over. This young one is my sister, Weiss. Weiss, Jaune Arc the Patrolman."

"Hello Mr. Arc." The teen greeted. She was a spitting image of her older sister, just half a head shorter. The future student looked out of her element with the bustling of the communication towers work.

"Good evening Miss Schnee. Winter may I have a private moment? I want to get your thoughts on some developments I found this morning before the ceremony."

-o-

Weiss sat in the corner of the cold office- 'room' was a loose description of the wide hall filled with desks monitors and artificial walls that were used as checkpoints. Her sister dragged her through every check point like a purse and similarly dropped off on a chair like one. She watched as the teenaged boy with the cartoon hoody talked to her like he ran the place. She only vaguely understood what a patrolman did. They were police officers. So why did he have so much authority rather than the police department?

It certainly looked like his authority was higher when he spoke to a councilman, there was no mistaking a politician, he stood out of place as bad as she did in a suit rather than one of the dozens of uniforms everyone else wore. The patrolman would occasionally flex his left hand and touched the bandaged around his palm.

"Are you alright Miss Schnee?"

Weiss looked up to the escort and smiled at the orange haired girl. "I am, ma'am. Just confused at what's going on."

The soldier nodded and admitted, "I was confused at first myself. The patrolman was almost assassinated. The profile fits how the White Fang did such assassinations in Atlas."

"White Fang here in Vale?" Weiss stood up and looked around.

"Apparently. The Patrolman had been in contact with your sister for some time setting up an operation. We are currently in it right now."

That was one question answered. Winter did not leave any room for Weiss to argue about following her. Weiss looked at the group who were on the other side of a semi clear door. Her sister, a councilman someone else she did not know and the patrolman all were in side in some kind of meeting. "Vale doesn't have a military. Do you know why the police are not in this? I would have thought it was something they would do."

"The police protect the city Miss Schnee." Weiss looked up and blushed at the sudden voice. It looks like the meeting ended. When Weiss pushed down her embarrassment she looked up to the Patrolman.

"And you do what exactly?"

The patrolman gave her a grim look as he walked past her, "Patrolmen protect the country."

-o-

Jaune waited like a coiled spring. Nothing happened for the last few hours. Had they decided to pull back after they failed to kill him? Was it just a simple attempt to kill at the earliest opportunity? When he looked to Winter she was watching him. Waiting for some kind of idea of what was going on. He shook his head. The huntsmen were stationed along the railways at check points for trains scheduled or not. Equipment ready to derail them if they did not follow the signal to slow. Ozpin had already notified him that his professors were watching the north and the droids mixed in with fifty huntsmen were following the perimeter of the walls south and east. The ports were locked down. No ships were allowed to harbor.

Jaune looked up, distracted by flashed screen on the next row of desks in front of him. Several people shouted in alarm as their terminals started to flicker. The lights above them shuttered before they fully came back online.

"Sir. Someones trying to override the network! Mian, I need you to pull the database connection cord, Mabu, cut power to the antenne."

Isn't that interesting. That only took the second test for your systems to notice.

Jaune walked to Si's desk. But not before he pulled out his scroll and slid it into his hoodie's pocket with a click. "Where's it coming from?"

Everything Mr. Arc. I've commandeered almost all equipment that is connected to the network. I must say that you have been a fascinating little annoyance. My only consolation is that hand must hurt.

"Antenne's cut!" Mabu whispered.

"They still have control. They are within the city then." Mian whispered next to Jaune.

Jaune glared at the flickering screen. "I'll survive."

Don't be too hard on little Feltch. The boy was doing it for his parents. Sad to say, since he failed, they didn't make it. Please pass along the message of my condolences.

Jaune growled, "Who are you?"

Ah! A face to face would be preferable wouldn't it? The screens went blank and flickered. Several dozen screens displayed a slim man with a brown mustache. He leaned his head forward in a slight bow. "Arthur Watts at my lady's service. But it looks like this side is a failure. Beacon's systems are clean. So I will just ask you instead Mr. Arc. Where is the maiden?"

"You're part of the group that killed Amber." Jaune walked forward and stared at the terminal.

The man just smiled back. "One of our victories. How about a deal. You hand over the maiden, and I will spare your little city." Jaune glared at the man.

"Still no answer? I would have thought if you were not looking for her, you knew who she was already. But that seems to not be the case. Isn't that interesting. She said you would be looking for her right away..." Aurthur Watts stroked his mustache in thought.

"As you can see, I've been busy."

The man laughed. Both equal levels of mirth and scorn. "Is that what you call it? Funny, I thought you were just enjoying the whispers of young lady? I've chatted with her before you know. She is a charmer. Oh what must the council think of you putting so much faith in a runaway girl I wonder? What do you think Councilman Vosk?"

Jaune turned around to the councilman in the room. Jaune immediately understood why Vosk had come. He was one of the dissenters in the council. Vosk eyed Jaune suspiciously. Jaune simply reminded him, "There was a reason I withheld the name. You can judge me after this is over. But judging by how this guy came out in the open to talk..."

The councilman looked around and saw the number of people that followed the patrolman. Atlas soldiers to the terminal operator. He knew the patrolman was nearly assassinated and still was committed to the job. Vosk nodded, "I'll hear you out."

"Well again, disappointing. So much faith in a child. Very well. Let's see how much faith you have by tomorrow morning. You've had your plans Jaune. And so have I. If you have not started looking for her, then I should just eliminate the competition. Beacon and Vale will both fall tonight. If I can't make Vale itself fuel despair. Well…" His voice was smug. "I will have to bring my own supply."

The line went dead.

"Was there something we could trace off that?"

"Nothing. We were admin locked out of everything. He's probably still watching."

Jaune pulled out his scroll and stopped the recording. He called Roselink. "Are there any problems with the trains?"

Roselink shook his head. "Nothing. They have all been following protocol. They are all going slow and two had just pulled in. Another will pull in just a few minutes."

"Inspect them all. I am coming down." Jaune started to stand. Winter followed. "You coming along?"

"Yes. Weiss stay here. I'll return shortly. Private, with me."

The youngest sister looked as if she would protest but a single look by her sister made her sit down silently.

"Neo, you technically earned your double. Still willing to help me out?"

The woman nodded and happily skipped behind them.

Jaune smiled at her. "Thank you." The patrolman opened his scroll and changed the channel frequency. "All huntsmen are to board their bullheads and immediately report to the train depot."

-o-

The screech of metal against metal rattled the floors as the train came to a full stop.

"We're opening the train for inspection. Conductor relay schedules to the tower." Chrys ordered. He looked at his pad and clicked his tongue. The security protocol would push the schedule back by hours.

"Boss, lights are out, I need a flashlight!"

"Lil's go help the lout. Marv, check the next cart."

There was a scream and the two ran out of the cart and off the train. "Boss it's full of dead bodies!"

Chrys heard the sound of someone vomiting as they jumped from the train. "This one too. It looked like something spilled on top of the dead bodies in there."

There was a roar from something down the train. The metal crumbled and groaned as a hole was made from a grim with a snarl muzzled mouth. Black muscles barely began to form around its head.

"This is bay twenty seven. I need huntsmen. We have grim-."

Another cart wall was crumpled as five bi-pedal grim used bone shaped beaks to tear apart the wall. They jumped down and looked around. Behind them a pool of black ickor dripped from the train cart. It quickly spread across the gravel. A monsterous hand rose out of the ink and pulled itself out.

Over the radio Chrys heard, "We need huntsmen on bay seventeen! Grim are-!"

Chrys looked back to the cart near him. "Run to the shelter!" A black mass sulked out of the cart and turned its muzzled head. Its white masked face wheezed once before it jumped on him.

-o-

Jaune felt the ship lurch. The pilot called out over his shoulder, "We have grim flyers. Not many but we can't make a landing here."

Winter walked to the back end. "Open the hatch we'll jump. We'll rally with the huntsmen on the ground when they arrive pilot."

Jaune looked down to the train yard. The floor was covered in a black mass of grim. The only saving grace was that there were so many trains with long carts that they had created a natural barrier to the city.

Jaune announced, "I'll work on containment. Neo can you give me a lift?"

Neo smiled and opened her arms in a hug. Jaune huffed as he walked up to her. "Get us down there near the end of the train yard." Jaune placed his hand on her shoulder.

Neo didn't mind as she hugged him back and disappeared.

-o-

Winter looked at the pair go and shook her head.

"Permission to attack ma'am?"

Winter nodded. "Proceed Private Polendina. There is more grim here than could have fit on the trains. There must be a source."

Private First Class Penny Polendina smiled, "Yes ma'am."

Winter looked around before she chose a place to land. There was a group of huntsmen attempting to hold a line far too close to the center to last for long. They were probably the first responders. She aimed her jump to their location.

Penny took one step back before she jumped out of the bullhead after her commanding officer. She tore off her jacket to reveal a simple t-shirt. With no real weapons she would have to improvise. Scrap metal would have to do.

The girl soldier extended her hand and aimed for the center of the black mass of grim below her. The energy filled shot that built in her palm was not as strong as she would have liked, but she was forbidden to come to Vale fully loaded with weapons. General Ironwood was very specific that the Valian Council may have an information leak and could not apply for permission to bring a weapon to Vale.

The green ball of energy flew towards the trains and burrowed itself into the grim. The green ball disappeared into the morass for a moment before it exploded. Several trains next to the blast were blown over and ripped apart.

"Perfect!" Penny cheered. She landed in the blast crater now free of grim and extended her hands to the ripped metal. Lines of thin strong cables flew from her body and pierced the grim that had already started to fill the crater to kill her.

Penny tested the pull of the carts. The metal lines' thwang echoed over the grim. Metal tore and ripped from the carts in a wide circle. The cords bisected the closest grim and the ones with in range of the scrap metal screeched as whole halves of their bodies were torn out from the jagged pieces.

Penny surveyed the damage and nodded. "There are just a lot of them. Easy." The two metal pieces spun quickly behind her before they started to fly forward.

-o-

Jaune let go of Neo a little too hastily. Neo had a grin that he handily ignored. "Who's in charge?" Jaune called out. Several people were shouting over each other to send directions to pull up the trains as a blockade.

"I am Mr. Arc. We got your message and the huntsmen are inbound in seven minutes. A few of the closest ships have landed already and are making sure the grim are not spreading further, but the numbers keep increasing." The man was not able to keep the tremor out of his voice.

Jaune swallowed and looked around. "We need to create a kill zone. Decouple a few carts and create room four lanes away from here. I'll pull groups in to be wiped out."

Jaune looked over to a huntsmen. "You are in charge of getting the huntsmen on board with this. Start spacing carts apart every three rails." The huntsman nodded and started calling orders. Jaune watched him go and rubbed his hair. It was already damp with sweat in the fading evening light. He looked back to the railway operative. "Get some safety lights on the carts. As many as can cover the first two rails nearest to us. It's getting dark. We don't want grim passing us. The huntsmen will need dust. Contact Roselink and have him to do whatever he needs to do to get it to the huntsmen."

Jaune walked up to the rail. There were no flatbeds on this one and the cart rose nearly thirty five feet into the air. He grabbed the ladder and scrambled up the train cart keeping his injured hand close to his chest. Neo popped next to him and smiled with her hands behind her back.

Jaune sighed at her pleased look and stared straight ahead. The train yard beyond his line was dark. Emergency lights were already illuminating the closest places. The grim had not reached this far yet, but he could hear the snarls of grim and squeal of ripped metal in their attempt to head towards the city.

Jaune looked to the others that stood on the train. Each huntsman looked as nervous as he felt. "Huntsmen, the backup will be on their way soon. I need four kills zones along the trains. I'll pull the biggest ones, choose a leader to call targets. Big ones die first. Conserve as much aura as you can. It's a long night. Fall back if you run low on dust. I requested more to be sent to us."

Neo tapped his shoulder with a coy smile. She pointed back and forth between his eye and hers and gestured to the east side.

"Thank's Neo." Louder he called, "Neo will draw the grim on the east side. I'll take the west."

The plan renewed the men and women's confidence. Jaune smiled as he jumped across the gap and saw the start of the grim's advance. He looked back. Their vigor returned but like him, the huntsmen knew what they were about to go into. "Stay alive. That's an order." Jaune called as he jumped down.

-o-

Winter slammed her sword into the earth. Her summons were picking the smaller grim apart, but they kept coming in waves. She tapped her ear. "Private, report!"

"Two trains have been emitting a substance that are creating the grim. Most of the substance has been incinerated, but the sources remain resilient. Both trains have at least one every other cart. Sixty sources in total. Permission to destroy trains?"

Winter wanted to scream out yes, but this was not Atlas. She could not give that go ahead. Winter looked around. The twelve huntsmen that made up the defense force for the train depot looked tired. They had been making a slow retreat back to the depot but the grim kept sniping at them from below the train carts. They could actually see signs of the other huntsmen fighting. "Permission is denied. We need information soldier. Investigate the sources. When found, destroy them."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Winter heard the line go dead. Sorry Penny.

-o-

Penny closed the line and sighed. The grim began to circle her wearily. It seemed they had started to realize she was to be avoided. It made her job clearing the oil like substance easier. She fired off another wave of energy that combusted as soon as it made contact with the 'substance'.

Penny's systems were unable to analyze the liquid. The train's she wanted to destroy were already in bad shape already. Perhaps she should have said something about their current state. They were nothing more than punctured walls and platforms on wheels. Half of the two trains were no longer on the tracks. The liquid had gone underneath the train carts and grim spawned underneath the train and ripped the metal undercarriage to get out.

Penny sliced four large grim with relative ease. The grim turned into smoke moments later. Penny kept the large scrap metal she used as her blade suspended directly behind her and walked into the first cart. Inside she noticed several bodies. She tried to identify them as personel of the train but found several masks. White Fang. She internally processed.

A Grim pushed a large paw out from the liquid on the floor. Penny severed the arm with a swing of the sharp scrap metal. There was a gurgle of pain before she incinerated the pool. She looked around the cart and ignored the other sounds of grim spawning carts down her.

Winter's order paid off. Penny found the source of the substance.

Penny tried for a moment to study the black object that pulsed the liquid like a wounded organ. Penny raised her hand and charged aura into a pulse. She fired the blast into the source. It screeched a death cry before it shriveled and turned to dust. The liquid was still there in puddles. Penny started to incinerate them all before she moved to the next cart. She had a number she had to work through. Plenty of time to analyze.

"Looks like it's time for another piece of metal. This one is no good." Penny hummed to herself. She tossed aside the weakened bulk of metal and tore off another piece of the train cart to replace it as her weapon. Cart after cart that had a source, she found dead members of the White Fang. Body temperature of most of them were still warm, meaning they had died just recently. Enough time where Penny could reason out they were still alive but gravely wounded when the train pulled into the station.

"Something to report." Penny said cheerfully. She was happy she had something to contribute outside of slaying grim.

-o-

Juanes' breath was a loud wheezing pant. The night was running long and he could feel himself running low on energy. He needed to take a rest soon. Whenever he had a group of grim on him he just thought, The kill boxes were working. It was the only thing that kept him pushing on. The rest of the huntsmen had arrived quickly and opened up more kill boxes for them to slay the grim. Jaune wove through several trains and paused to rest just long enough for the grim to catch up before he ran again. He pulled his scroll open. "Kill box D, incoming."

Jaune stepped on a half destroyed ledge of the train and into the open cart and out the other side. The grim of various sizes and screeches protested as they scrambled up to enter the hole. They poured out into an open clearing. Jaune ran up the far edge by the time the first group that entered were turned to dust. The huntsmen had taken to resting and spend dust for this round of kills.

Jaune let himself slow down and breathe. He looked around and noticed he wasn't the only tired one. They had been going on for hours. Jaune wondered if this is how it felt for the huntsmen back in Anvil on his first lock down.

The hum of the bullheads above him reminded him to watch out above him. There were not many but there were still flying grim. At least it felt like the bullheads were making progress.

"Bullhead two two seven to Patrolman Arc."

"Patrolman Arc."

"Beacon is sending back up now to support your huntsmen. Third wave of huntsmen will arrive shortly."

Jaune thanked the comms before he put away his scroll. "Where did they find more huntsmen?" Jaune felt they had pulled every available huntsmen already.

A heavy stone hit the bottom of his stomach as he recognized who arrived. "Team Brick, Team Oro are you two rested?"

Blanche grinned. "Yes sir. All third years are being scrambled right now. We were already waiting to be called."

Jaune understood what she meant. They probably had a good idea something was happening and just stood on standby.

"There's fourteen kill boxes, Team Brick aid the one furthest east in the rear. Team Oro follow the trains, you are helping support the furthest west in the rear box. Find who the kill box leaders are and follow their orders. Remember your lessons on working together. Stay safe."

The teams dispersed at his order.

-o-

The night chilled the longer Team Brick fought. They had arrived around midnight. After only two hours they had already felt exhausted.

"Team BAIG! Target my lead!" Seven huntsmen fired on the explosion against a massive alpha beowulf that stood twenty feet tall. It nearly broke the line in a single jump. It was only thanks to Baige's leader that they were able to push it back down into the box.

"Team FLRE target my lead!" screamed her kill box leader. She raised the unfamiliar rifle. When they found she had no suitable ranged weapon they had handed her one of their spares. Her favored weapon was ill suited for this work. She only pulled it out when they waited for dust cartridges and had to fight in Melee.

Blanche never thought melee could be so terrifying. She always thought her team could handle any grim they would come across. At times it felt like they were invincible against any grim. There had been more than one time where she wondered how any huntsmen worth their salt could die in the field.

She knew better now.

The noises of the innumerable grim were enough to disorient you in the killbox. More than once, one of her teammates had gone towards the opening rather than the back wall in their retreat. She didn't blame them. The grim moved around in circles trying to get behind the huntsmen and that meant her team also had to move in circles to keep them in front. Someone would call east, and Blanche would not even know what direction it was at times. Only the movement from the older experienced huntsmen gave her a clue.

The Alpha groaned as it collapsed into smoke on it self.

A grim just as large as the alpha tore itself through the metal cart they had used as a choke point. The screech of metal sang in the air as the cart attached to it was pulled off the rail. Several huntsmen swore at the new opening in the choke. Their line had been breached. The giant grim crushed the smaller black horrors below it. The thing with the birds beak roared and shook the air. The silence of the other grim was the only warning she had. Blanche gritted her teeth at the sudden pressure and wave of terror that gripped her. It was like the waves of hopelessness she held back came to the forefront.

"Don't falter! That's the grims attack!" Shouted her leader.

Blanche blinked back tears and lifted her rifle. At a closer look, the grim had a beak and a cracked face mask. It stood on hind legs like a Beowulf but it's arms were shorter and it's body was covered in black feathers. Blanch shuddered. That crack meant it had already survived another team. Had already killed another team.

"Target the mask, don't let the last huntsmen's lives be sacrificed in vain!" Ordered her killbox leader.

-o-

Jaune paused and listened. The unmistakable clang rung in the air. Jaune looked around and jumped up to a flatbed cart and up the ladder to the top of a train cart to see. Several lights of dust exhaust lit in the pitch darkness. In the darkness there was an unexpected form of white dancing against the shadows.

"Winter!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

The woman's hair was in disarray from the prolonged fight. "I got injured." She called across the train roofs.

Jaune pulled his scroll. "Kill box B-team organize a rescue party. Thirteen lines down just in front of you. I have the original huntsmen responders. They have injured."

Jaune jumped down and ran around several grim that straggled between the trains, lost in the maze of scrap metal that was once the carts. He ran up the side of a train before he slowed for the first time in what seemed like hours. "Sorry. Bullheads are still tracking the flying grim. Either you did a good job clearing the grim, or they are slowing down."

Winter looked around. There were definitely less of them now. "They no longer seemed to be spawning. Private Polendina had gone and discovered the source. She has been destroying them ever since."

Jaune frowned and remembered something Qrow had said. "Small black thing that pumps like a heart?"

Winter looked at him startled. "How did you know?"

"I've heard of it before. I just never seen the result be this large."

-o-

Jaune knew he was tired only because the hours blurred together. "Kill box f, I have incoming a large swarm and a pack of bi-pedal grim."

Jaune closed his scroll and jumped up to an edge that barely protruded out of the train cart. The sky was getting a little brighter. He no longer needed to worry about trying to adjust to the light when he ran into the killzone spot lights.

Jaune felt the heat of the aura induced flames that torched the choke point as he ran through. The packs of grim were getting smaller now. But so had the defensive line. Each kill box that was still standing had fewer huntsmen lining the walls when ever he came back to it.

Jaune swallowed some water that was handed him before he ran across the train cart and over the choke point. The patrolman was afraid if he stopped moving he would stop all together.

-o-

Jaune was relieved that most of the grim had been cleared. Daylight would give them time to really spread out and search. But he was happy they had weathered the storm. Huntsmen from other settlements began to arrive to sweep the trains and the region. Seven flying grim escaped but they were killed before daybreak.

Atlas had really come through with Miss Polendina. Winter had explained the girl is a soldier who specializes in slaying grim by her self. General Ironwood had said he wanted to give Winter and Vale as much support as he was legally able. That decision saved Vale. Jaune knew that if she was not there, Vale could have been over run. At best, they could have held the line, but by the time more huntsmen arrived it would just be enough to continue to hold the line. They never would recover fast enough to create a hunting party to dive further into the trainyard.

Jaune drank his coffee and rubbed his thighs inside the train depot office. His legs were sore and when he walked, there was no strength to his steps. Jaune was thankful that everyone held out for so long. But there were a few times he thought they didn't.

Jaune saw the torn sleeve on his arm and sighed. His hoodie was a lost cause. It was torn along with his shirt. The wraps around his chest stopped the bleeding from a few claws that got too close. He was too exhausted to move fast enough to dodge them and he paid for it. Jaune felt lucky it was only scars. He always seemed to have been able to just push a little more when he needed to but just barely. I really need to train harder or I won't know what those limits are.

Jaune was too busy rubbing his legs to notice that someone stood in front of him until their shoes kicked his. He looked up to see a smiling Neo.

Jaune scrambled to his feet. "Thank you for sticking around for the night. Your contracted ended at midnight. You didn't have to stay."

Neo shook her head and looked up to the corner of her head as if to remember something and made a heart with her hands that went over her chest.

"If that made you nostalgic then I am afraid to ask where you trained. Just the same, I'll reach out to Roman as soon as I can. I think I got a Council Inquiry to answer first."

Just the thought made Jaune realize how exhausted he was.

-o-

Jaune was relieved the council wanted to meet sooner rather than later. They had not expected a presentation but rather a report of what happened. They had said they needed to figure out how to spin this. The train system was effectively destroyed and that would affect the city for months. They were concerned the economy would take a hit over all.

"I wouldn't spin this." Jaune said with heavy bags under his eyes.

A few of the councilmen seemed annoyed at his constant opinions. Coral at least seemed willing to listen. "Why is that Patrolman?"

Jaune pulled out his scroll. "I recorded the conversation with the instigator of this attack from the CCT tower. He is looking for a chink in our armor. If we spin this any other way, we are giving him ammunition. Go public. White Fang attacked the city. As far as we know Arthur Watts arranged for them to be mutilated to die a slow death to draw grim. It was only Roselinks efforts in his security procedure that allowed us time to rally a defense. It wasn't my idea to move all incoming trains to the furthest side of the train year near the ocean. That was all his. It saved us here. As far as the White Fang crisis... The White Fang was crippled today by one of their own. We're not even sure if there are any left. Given this, I hereby relinquish my powers back to the council."

Jaune began to loose focus as Coral Soek thanked him. He snapped to attention. "I am sorry ma'am repeat the question?"

A few on the council sighed in annoyance. With the crisis over the ones that held back their doubts seemed to be more willing to voice them. Soek wasn't among them. She responded patiently. "You said there was a recording?"

Jaune placed down his scroll and played the audio he recorded from his pocket. There was a silence among the council before they started their questions. Jaune looked around the room and found a few sly questions on the lips of the council as if they found blackmail or a reason to protest. Jaune closed his eyes for a second to gather the energy to defend himself. Watts was very deliberate in his wording. Jaune knew it was going to be a long morning before he could go home.

The council meeting was the heaviest inquiry Jaune had faced. At one point, Jaune stopped caring. He just felt numb. He felt like he should be angry, indignant… It was Anvil all over again. He would feel something later. Right now he just wanted to rest.

Jaune looked behind him. There was a door that quickly opened. Ozpin walked in with two members of security reluctant to lay their hands on him. "Here you are Mr. Arc. You are needed in Beacon. I have a car waiting for you outside."

Jaune nodded wordlessly, he was dead on his feet and he felt his shoulder slowed for just a moment by Ozpin's hand. "Rest. That's an order. Good work last night."

Jaune allowed himself to relax at that. "Thank you sir." Jaune walked out the door. It closed behind him.

When the door clicked shut Ozpin turned back to the council, a few looked distinctly uncomfortable at him. The headmaster rested both hands on his cane in front of him. His voice did not convey the smouldering anger he radiated at the council. "Now that my patrolman is gone. I confess that I could not help but hear some of what was said while I waited my turn to speak. So, let's talk about the relations between Beacon and Vale. I think this council forgot exactly what kind of neighbor I am."

-o-

Jaune felt it was around noon when he got back to Beacon. He got confirmation that the huntsmen teams at the train yard were being directed by a huntsman he did not know. The teams would spend the rest of the day sweeping the trainyard for residual grim and evidence. Jaune was happy he just did not need to make another decision.

Jaune finally had the chance to address his burning, aching hand. There was a time where he forgot it was even injured during the night only to be painfully reminded as he had to use it to escape the grim among the trains.

Jaune took off his clothes and stood on shaky legs in the shower. No way was he laying in bed with everything the grim splashed on him. It just occurred to him he made his report like that. Jaune rubbed his face. He'll think about it later.

On the bed he pulled out several rolls of clean bandages and started to wrap his chest. The doctor said he was ok, but he would need to keep the wounds covered. Jaune did his best to place the sanitizer gel on several pads and rested them over his back and chest before he painfully unrolled a bandage to keep them in place. He felt one slide off his back but he didn't care.

He really didn't.

-o-

When Jaune awoke the first thing he knew was that he had awoken laying next to Coco in his bed. It did not surprise him. Nor was he surprised that she was cradling his bandaged hand. What did surprise him and made him groan internally was the trail of run mascara that fell from her eyes. Jaune realized he had not spoken to her since the day before the attack.

Jaune held her hands and kissed her fingers. "I am sorry Coco." Jaune looked at the time and saw it was near two in the morning the next day.

Jaune carefully got out of bed. In the back of his mind he felt like he should wake her and order her back to her dorm. But he felt better knowing where she was right now.

Jaune watched her sleep. A slow smile returned to him. It felt odd now. His lips quivered in effort before he went to the other room. Now that he was awake Jaune needed to make sure. He needed to know what he gave away during the conversation with Arthur Watts.

Jaune ate an apple from the bag she had brought and opened his scroll. Jaune found the conversation recording and hit play. Watts was looking for information. Jaune wish he had a video of himself to see his own face. Did he give anything away? Did Watt's suspect Amber's fake death?

Jaune listened to his voice and the conversation. Jaune never did admit it to the Council when they asked, but Watts truly scared him. As soon as the mad man said he was watching him.

Jaune let the audio end, lifted the scroll and hit the play again. Jaune leaned back in his couch and rubbed his tired eyes. He knew it was hopeless listening to this audio log. He knew that in his mind. He could not tell if he gave anything away.

Jaune lifted the scroll and hit play again. The frustration made him bite back tears. Getting nearly assassinated, purposefully pulling himself in harm's way of grim, the knowledge he wanted to personally meet with the families of the people that died last night. Jaune selfishly knew that none of them affected him like the unknown tells he gave away to Watts.

Jaune lifted the scroll and hit play again. He listened for a hint if Watts picked up on the truth. Jaune felt he wanted to go and scream at the council to make them understand during the meeting. They had understood why he had covered the identity of Blake Belladonna. But it was both an infuriating and embarrassing conversation that they believed he had an illicit relationship with the incarcerated.

Jaune hit play again.

"Councilmen and Councilwomen. You missed the point of his questions. He wasn't just saying that to divide us. The first question was directed at me. Watts knew who Blake Belladonna was and knew she had betrayed the White Fang from the beginning, but before that, he knew who I was. The last time I went out with my girlfriend was the day after I arrested Miss Belladonna. I knew I would not see my girlfriend for a while and wanted to see her. Watts had been watching me then. He had been doing it for a long time. Possibly since I arrived in Vale."

Jaune hit play again. Jaune needed to make sure Watts was just watching him. Not Coco.

Jaune hit play again. Watts came to Vale and spoke with her. He was interested enough to speak with her.

Jaune lifted the scroll and hit play. Jaune needed a clue. He needed an assurance before he could sleep. That he bluffed Watts. That he did not give Watts a clue of what was happening. Jaune was desperate to know that Watts was not watching Coco.

Please not Coco.

Jaune hit the play button again.

A/N: Whew! It's done! Thanks for the reviews! A lot happened in this one but it was one of those sections that did not have enough for two chapters unless I really want to drag out the twenty four hours of the end of the chapter.

One more chapter for this story arc. I will post that next week. Think of it more as an epilogue for this story arc than anything else. It was what I was thinking of spinning off into just its own story, likes "Stories from Beacon". But ultimately this story could not stand on its own. And it is kinda important. I'll just keep that spin off idea on the back burner for now.

And it took 6 chapters and 120kwords but we have Neo again! And Penny! Next story arc is going to be fun. Been waiting for these two to enter the story. Back when I was planning out key points I honestly thought the story would have progressed quicker and she would have appeared four chapters ago. Oh well.

And I did decided to keep the name. Mostly because of the epilogue. I appreciated the input you all had for that one.