Chapter 22

Shift

William saw them off the next morning. Both teams.

CFVY was taking a flight out towards Vacuo, while Victoria, Leo and Sandra were following them out to the airport, before heading out into the countryside where Leo's mother had a summer home. Leo had assured them that it would be empty, since his mother refused to go to it after his dad died.

The address felt familiar. A tickle in the back of his mind, which didn't quite make sense. Roman never had him memorize or remember any addresses, even if he remembered a few of the safehouses by sheer repetition. The house was different. It tickled at older memories, but William couldn't be sure.

"Take care." He called, waving as the shuttle doors closed, watching Victoria and Yatsuhashi waving fingers disappear behind the doors.

He watched the transport pull away. He's checked it before they boarded, talked to the pilot, walked the deck a few times, checked the outer hull. He hadn't seen any tampering, and the pilot wasn't on Roman's payroll. They should be just fine.

William drummed his feet, flexing his toes in his boots.

"So, you sent them off."

William recognized the voice from the news feeds and the public broadcasts. Rough and deep with a hefty helping of authority scrubbed into the chords like salt.

"I did." William didn't turn around, instead shoving his fingers in his pockets. "It's safer for them away from here."

"But you're not leaving." It wasn't a question.

"No. I have a job to do." William replied. "And I'm sure your master told you not to arrest me before I do it, so why are you here?"

William didn't need to look behind him to see the tension ripple across Ironwood's shoulders or his jaw flex as he gritted his teeth. He could feel the shift in the air, practically sense Ironwood's reaction.

"I can do what I please. Ozpin does not command me." He replied icily.

"All the same. Why are you here." William pivoted, turning to face the man. Ironwood was taller and broader than he was, a few inches on him, and several pounds of muscle. The man was built like a soldier, stick-up-his-ass and all.

"To see who's side you're on. If you're working with Roman, why are you sending your team away. And if you're working with Oz, why not disobey Roman and leave him rotting in that cell like he should be." Ironwood snarled the words, eyes narrow and suspicious.

William held his gaze. "You don't understand."

"There are lives at stake here boy."

William snorted. "I'd sell your life for half a soggy corn chip. But someone on my team?" He shook his head. "You couldn't pay me enough to hurt one of them now."

Ironwood, to his credit, took the soggy corn chip retort without remark, but took a step back and clasped his hands behind his back. "So it's for your team." He concluded.

"Sandra Carmine has an explosive chip in her neck. And I have debt to pay back to Roman from my father. This last mission settles both of those matters. Most importantly I can deactivate that chip, and Sandra Carmine lives."

"And who dies?"

"No one that I'll care about." William replied easily. "I'm not a protector Ironwood. Never was, never will be. I'm no Hunter. And I'm not one of your soldiers. It's your job to protect this city. And it's my job to protect my team."

The general stared at him, gaze unwavering as it bore into William's sea green eyes. William didn't falter, just shoved his hands into his pockets, waiting for the eventual rebuttal.

Instead, Ironwood just nodded, turning on his heels and leaving him with the passing reply of, "so it would seem." William watched the man leave, judged the weight in his steps and…

Found himself disappointed.

There was something disturbingly hollow about Ironwood. Like a man that wasn't all there, just a shell living in the moment. Obeying orders.

William shivered, shaking his arms as he turned his gaze back to the horizon. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, other senses crackling to a uncomfortable sharpness as another person crept up.

They walked quietly, steps measured and controlled, but he could hear the shifting of fabric, the sway and rasp of clothing as the person walked, hips swaying. Female then. And he heard the soft rustle of cloth accompanied by metal on leather as something cleared a holster.

"Hello Solemn." William greeted calmly. His Aura rippled as he slid it off. Then wires danced across his fingers, weaving into a Cat's Cradle as William brought his hands up. "I see you have some questions."

"You lied to me."

William considered it as he twisted his hands, one finger checking the tension as he unwove the pattern. "How did I lie to you exactly?"

There was an awkward pause, as if she'd expected him to admit his wrongs and own his mistake, confess all his sins to her even. He could hear her gloves flex as she adjusted her grip on… hm. Pistol? Or musket?

"You said it was an ex. It was something criminal."

"Point." William acknowledged, gaze never leaving his weaving as he turned on his heels. A glance at her told him everything he needed to know.

Also, his first guess was correct. Solemn's sidearm, a heavy framed revolver was aimed at him, the gun steady even if the girl wasn't. She seemed shaken, eyes a bit too wide to be focused, stance a bit too narrow to be solid.

"What's going to happen?"

"Nothing good." William replied. "So, it might behoove you to get out of Beacon."

She stared at him a long time. "Why shouldn't I pull the trigger? You're threatening my family. You're threatening my team."

William stared at her, measuring her weight and stance. Then he smiled. "I wouldn't let you." He replied.

Her finger tightened on the trigger just as his wires looped around it, locking the trigger to it's guard. She snarled, but there wasn't any use. William had closed the loop, pulled it tight, and as long as his mind was remotely focused, the wire wouldn't budge.

"So now what?" William asked. "I'm not going to let you kill me. And you're not going to let me go, are you?" She glared, but didn't react or reply.

They stared at each other, one with apprehension and fear in her eyes, the other with apathy and discontent. Solemn moved first, jerking her hand off the revolver and somersaulting back. William whipped the revolver back into his hand, aiming and firing as Solemn's musket slid from her back into her waiting hands.

The Aura bullet slapped into the muzzle of the musket, and Solemn, caught unprepared, couldn't keep hold as her weapon clattered out of her hands. She froze, eyes on her musket, a foot or so away and pointed away from William. Slowly she turned her head, eyes focusing on him.

Unlike her grip on the pistol, tentative and uncertain, William's grip was steady, tight enough to hold, but loose enough to let the gun rock just a bit with the recoil. Textbook even.

"Don't." William warned.

She stared at him, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at him. The space in front of William flickered, her semblance sparking to life as the light between them vanished, leaving William with nothing to aim at.

He fired anyway.

He heard Solemn yelp, and the sound of wood and metal spinning away across pavement. William took a few steps to the side, the darkness fading back to morning light as he cleared Solemn's semblance.

"Your semblance creates, or rather consumes, the light in an area." William informed her. "Your brother's is the opposite. It creates light. You're a very interesting pair, but you're not very creative in its use if I'm being honest."

Solemn was on her knees, both scrapped, and her hand clenched tightly to her check. William wasn't concerned about it, an Aura bullet, even if he was trying, wouldn't puncture her Aura. Her musket was a dozen feet away, too far out of her reach for any reasonably attempt.

"Solemn." William said, and her eyes snapped up to meet him. He stared at her, then flipped her revolver over, setting it on the ground. "I'm going to leave now. You should leave too." He watched her, then walked around her and back towards the doors.

"Why?" She snarled.

William glanced back at her, but she hadn't moved, even if her gaze was murderous. He shrugged. "It's my team. And if you want to weigh the world against that." He shrugged and smiled. "You'll find out I'm a selfish bastard, but that doesn't mean I'm trying to kill everyone."

"Just the people that get in your way." She concluded.

"Just the people I have to." William replied. "And not a soul more." He left her there, ever away that if she tried, she could get one, maybe two shots off into him before he got to cover.

She didn't.

And he was left wondering why.

So sue him.

He was expecting a certain pizzazz starting this plan off. A dramatic start or reveal. It was Roman's plan after all, and the man was nothing if not a showman. It was kind of obnoxious.

Today, William thought he might appreciate it.

But he didn't get it.

Instead he got a one-word text from Neo that said, "Now."

He met her at the port, dressed in his combat gear, his coat pulled out into the long cloak. She pulled up, not a word or a gesture, not even a side-eyed glance at him as she pulled the air bike to a stop.

She patted the back of the bike, where a folded coat had been put. It was clean, pressed, and obviously military based on the white and gray trim. So much for wearing his own coat. He slipped it off, bundling it up and tossing it to Neo. She didn't bother catching it, just leaning back and letting it fly over the edge.

"You know I kind of liked that coat." William muttered as he pulled the other one off, shaking it out. It looked about his size, and even if the cut was weird, and more likely than not going to show off his hips and butt, that wasn't his call.

And he certainly hoped it wasn't Ironwood's.

He shook it out again, shrugging his shoulders until it sat comfortably on his frame, then slid onto the bike. Neo revved the engine, glancing back at him for the first time.

It occurred to him that it was the first time he'd ever seen her look uncertain. Not scared, but a mixture of different colors in her eyes that he wasn't entirely familiar with.

William wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that. If Neo was anxious, scared even, then what else was this mission going to do that William didn't know about?

William glanced around her, watching the ship's coming closer. Ironwood's ships. They were headed to the command, the one with Roman in it no doubt.

"Engines, Navigation, then bridge?" William asked.

Neo nodded, seeming to have deemed a response beneath her as they approached. The comm on the bike chimed, and she input a code that William didn't quite catch.

"Cleared to enter. Please to have you aboard Officers."

"Officers?" William asked softly.

Neo shrugged, either not caring, or not knowing why Roman, or whomever, bothered to certify them as officers. William figured it must have been the coats. Regular soldiers didn't have fancy overcoats, and they certainly didn't carry personal weapons.

Neo eased the bike into the hangar, sweeping it past personnel to park between two transports. William dismounted, dusting his coat off and cracking his neck as two soldiers ran up, both armed with a clipboard and pen.

"Sergeant Faolan," the man greeted. "Just a sign off for the bike." He extended the clipboard, looking expectantly at William.

William glanced back at Neo, who naturally didn't reply, but busied herself with opening and closing the bike's storage compartments, looking for something. William grunted, and took the pen from the man and signed off.

"How were the outskirts?" The man asked, no doubt making casual conversation as William checked off notes on the form.

"Getting harder to see, activity out there is increasing, but easily manageable. Might want to send another squad out in an hour or so to check on the men out there and relieve them." William replied without a thought.

He could nearly heard Neo's head whip around, her hair swishing aggressively as her sights turned to him. He'd just slipped in a clever warning, and they both knew there was nothing she could do about it.

"Yes sir. I'll let dispatch know." The man replied, seeming uninteresting, but noting it down all the same.

William signed ff on the last few boxes, then handed the clipboard. "Right. I'll be back for it, don't scratch it." He assumed he'd be back for it. It was a pretty nice bike, and if he was going to go after his team later, he was going to need something that was a little faster than his feet.

"I was told to escort you to the bridge first sir." The man said, taking back the clipboard and tucking it under his shoulder.

William glanced back at Neo, who shook her head, instead walking around the bike and offering the man her hand. "She'll be going in my stead. I'll be taking a quick survey of the conditions of the ship. If General Ironwood thinks tonight's going to be messy, I want us sorted for it." William supplied, turning away from the man and leaving him in Neo's hands.

If he was lucky Neo would just choke him out and shove him in a broom closet. If he wasn't, William just hoped there were enough broom closets to put all the pieces in.

Either way, not something William could control. He needed to get to the main engines, make sure that when Roman overrides the ship, it doesn't shut down. Then he needed to get to the nav system, to make sure the firewalls didn't catch up and fix the hack. After that, he was home free.

He smoothed out his lapels, straightened his shirt collar, and squared his shoulders as he set off down the hallway. Rank was designated by insignia and titles, but authority was all in how a person walked. And William had seen more than enough authority figures to know exactly how to mimic it.

Ship members swept out of the way out of habit, slipping against the side of doorways or out of his path and into others as he walked. It was near magical the difference it made.

He had a good idea where he was going, but that didn't stop him from looking around. There was always the chance that someone would check back and wonder if he was really inspecting, and if they caught his hurriedly walking to one singular point on the ship, it would be suspicious, no matter how good Roman's fake profile was.

One moment William was walking down crisp clean white hallways, the sterile smell of cleaning solvents and recycled air in his lungs, and the next he was padding bare foot across a hardwood floor streaked with blood.

He blinked, staggered a half step and shook his head, and the vision was gone, replaced again by the ship hallways. An ensign stopped and stared at him uncertainly.

"Sergeant, are you alright?" He ventured.

William gritted is teeth and shook his head. "Fine. Tired." He dismissed the vision, furrowing his brown and digging in his heels. The ensign jerked, momentary fear flashing across his face as he backed up, rushing down the hallway and away from William's possible wrath.

William shook his head again, reaching up and rubbing his thumb into his right temple. Damn. Now he had a headache.

He took the next corner and the foot traffic nearly disappeared. A door at the end of the hallway read 'Maintenance Area- Engine' and William headed straight for it.

There was a scanner, and he checked his pockets, frowning. It would be such a ridiculous thing if Neo forgot to hand him a –

Badge.

Front left pocket. He felt the hard-plastic slide into his palm, and he slid it across the interface, waiting impatiently as the light flashed green and the lock disengaged.

He pushed open the door, stepping into a compact little room, noting the positions of the three other people in it. They were all in jumpsuits, obviously mechanics. None of them looked up at him as he stepped in. Two of them were busy looking at a monitor while the third seemed to be adjusting a control element in the back of the room.

"Sergeant Faolan." William announced himself. "I have a favor to ask."

They paused, looking back at him as he dropped his hand onto the hilt of his sword. He cocked his head as the one in the back straightened.

"Sergeant?" The one in back asked, cocking his head. "You're not authorized for this area."

William shrugged. "And I'd rather not have this authorized area slathered in blood. But here we are, unless you fine gentlemen agree to do me a favor."

They stared him down, and William took the time to let his Aura slough off him, coiling loosely in a heap of wires on the floor. They shifted, anxious at that reaction. None of them noticed a series of wires snaking out of the bunch, slithering away to hide behind the nearest console.

Finally, someone thought it through. "You're not a real officer."

William considered that. He considered responding in disbelief or rage, or anything else. Instead he shrugged and smiled, "It was worth a shot." He muttered.

The two in the front charged him, and the one in the back went scrambling across the room for something in a case. William's wires didn't need to move though, simply snap tight, tripping up all three at once and sending them to the ground.

A separate series of loops and wires had nooses around their neck, pulled tight across the soft skin of their neck.

"Alright. So how about a deal?" William proposed. "I don't splice your necks open, and you three gents don't mess with the engine power."

"What do you want?"

William let the silence soak in, instead stepping over them to check the individual consoles. He scanned the corners of the room, but there weren't any camera inside. Likely incase there was a tap or bug. Ironwood wouldn't want anything getting out, but that created a hole.

A hole William could exploit.

"I want you to wait in this room for fifteen minutes, not touch anything, and then run to the hangar." William replied after a moment. He paused, "and I want you to do it without letting anyone know why."

That should trick them. They seemed simple enough.

The seemed to look at each other, but it was a motion that William pointedly ignored as he scanned the menus and consoles. They hadn't been changing anything, but rather running routine maintenance to ensure the engines were in stable conditions with the dust charges.

"Just… wait. Fifteen minutes?" They asked.

"Sure." William replied, taking that moment to put a plug a USB stick into one of the consoles. "I'll be monitoring the engines. I don't really feel like murdering three people tonight anyway."

William could feel their gazes turn to him, examining him as he tapped away at the console. The USB was empty. But that didn't mean they had to know that. They just had to believe he controlled the engines in such a way tampering would but their lives in danger.

Self-preservation was often an easy emotion to manipulate.

"Alright."

"Yeah. Deal."

William smiled. "Perfect." He adjusted his wires, moving them off their necks and instead wrapping them around ankles and wrists. "I'll be restraining you for fifteen then. And then I'll be letting you go." He pulled out his scroll, setting a timer. "And if anyone knocks, and you alert them…" William trailed off, tightening the wires on their wrists a bit harshly. They hissed but didn't respond.

"Glad we understand ourselves." William stepped over them, and back out of the room, shutting the door.

William flexed, testing out his semblance. He didn't use it with range. Never had except with arrows. The locks around their wrist probably wouldn't last fifteen minutes. They might not last five once William got far enough away. But it gave him time. And it gave them a chance.

He pursed his lips and took a breath.

Hopefully that would be enough.

It had to be.