Chapter 8
As she began to gain consciousness she could hear a soft tapping. It sounded like somebody tapping their finger against hard plastic. She brought her hand up to her face as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, as well as her fringe which had once again gone wild. As she opened them her blurred vision quickly focused onto Winter. She hadn't moved an inch from her chair as she tapped repeatedly against her scroll. Her gaze turned to Yang upon the realization she was waking up. "Good morning Miss Xiao Long" spoke Winter, her tense and professional tone had returned.
"Just Yang" came the suggestion as she sat up in her bed, stretching her one arm above her head. "You been awake all this time?" she asked.
Winter nodded once, "One night of no sleep rarely impacts my performance in the field. I'm rather accustomed to it you might say" she replied before looking back to her scroll and tapping out a few more messages.
Yang touched her midsection as if to gauge the pain. To her relief she barely ached at all any more. "I'm feeling a lot better" she confirmed.
"Good, we need to move" responded Winter.
"What? Right now?" asked Yang, she hadn't expected that Winter would begin their work with such urgency.
The woman narrowed her eyes slightly, as if not used to having such questions asked. "Yes, now. We have a scheduled meeting with Hei Xiong and I would much rather not be late. I have already told my men that we are on our way so hurry now. I'll be waiting outside" she answered, standing up to her feet. She pocketed her scroll and waved a brush of her hair as she made her way to the exit of the room.
Yang glanced around for her things in a hurry, she felt that making Winter wait any more than a second would have dire consequences for her. "Just- Give me like two minutes!" spoke Yang in her rush.
"One" snapped Winter before opening the door and leaving the room.
Yang continued to struggle with putting on her grey jacket as she stepped outside of the hospital. Winter had been waiting for her and upon noticing her predicament approached her. "I can do it myself-" began Yang but it was too late, Winter had moved behind Yang to help her put the jacket on. She knew Winter was only being kind but she didn't like being treated like she was unable to do certain things, even if they were annoyingly difficult for her.
"We are already behind schedule" spoke Winter before tapping Yang on the shoulder as she passed her, making her way towards the street. Yang followed while continuing to make slight adjustments to her attire.
Steadily the blonde woman started to notice they were walking towards a very fancy looking motorcycle. It was almost as bulky as her own but the colour scheme was white and sky blue. It had a sleeker design too, being a product of Atlas no doubt. "Is that yours?" asked Yang, looking to Winter in front of her with some surprise.
"Weiss told me you had one yourself? I assumed it wouldn't be an issue in that case" responded Winter, eyes locked forward as she walked, halting in front of the vehicle.
Yang shook her head as she stopped next to Winter. "No, not an issue. It's just... Well... You're..." she paused as Winter narrowed her cold stare at her. "You know... Schnee-ish" finished Yang as she dreaded the reply.
Much to her relief however Winter simply smirked. "Stop wasting time, it is an efficient piece of a machinery" she answered as she straddled her motorcycle. She pulled out her keys and started the ignition as the bike began to make a low humming sound.
Looking at the bike in hesitation Yang spoke, "I don't have a helmet" she said.
"I assure you, I'm a far better driver than you are" replied Winter who didn't have a helmet herself, opting instead to reach into one of her pocket and pull out a pair of mirrored aviators and putting them on to protect her eyes from the wind a little better. Still looking unsure Yang reached into one of the pockets of her jacket and pulled out her own aviators before sitting on the back of Winter's motorcycle. There was a silent pause for a few minutes. "Well?" asked Winter, glancing back at Yang.
"Well what?" asked Yang in response, she knew full well what Winter was waiting for.
Winter sighed heavily, "What are you? Twelve? And sit closer, you are practically asking to fall off. I'm being serious, this vehicle is swift" she added. Awkwardly Yang complied, shuffling closer to Winter as her body pushed lightly against her, she then wrapped her arm around her waist. Once confirming Yang was in a safer position Winter revved the bike as it started to accelerate and pull out into the empty street. The sound of the bike was nothing like Yang's own one, which sounded far more volatile and booming. This one seemed more tame, smoother, but its power was undeniable.
Since she lost her arm one of her biggest regrets was that she couldn't ride her bike any more. Unable to feel the wind rushing through her hair, the heat of the engine, the smell of the fumes. This was as close as she had been to that experience since the incident and some part of her felt that she should thank Winter for it. She felt almost normal. The buildings rushed by as the bike sped down the street. As usual there were barely any other cars about which gave Winter almost full reign of the road. She slowed down as she turned a corner. The sky was without a cloud today, allowing the sun to shine on down freely upon the city. Yang imagined this to be a welcome respite for the citizens of Vale.
The bike came to a halt at an intersection, Winter simply stopped in order to check her scroll. Yang peered over her shoulder at the device. "Ah, good. The sniper team is in position should the negotiations go awry" said Winter as she closed the scroll, putting it away as she gripped the handles of her motorcycle once again.
"I feel safer already" muttered Yang as she held tighter onto Winter as she accelerated again.
As the motorcycle pulled up to the pavement the familiarity of the part of town they were in hit her. Just around the corner was Junior's club, or more specifically the back of his club. The realization dawned on her and she couldn't help but cringe at the fact Junior really did use his own back yard for negotiations. "Well?" came Winter's voice as she peered back at Yang.
"Well what?" asked Yang in return, getting a sense of deja vu.
Winter tapped the arm wrapped around her waist, the other woman quickly noticing that she didn't need her arm around her any more. Yang swiftly pulled her arm back and stumbled off the bike. "They are waiting for us around the corner, you should know that Neo is present" noted Winter, stepping from her motorcycle and removing her aviators.
Yang grit her teeth at the mere mention of the name, "Great. Can we beat her up?" she asked, removing her own aviators as well.
Winter shook her head, "We need the negotiations to go smoothly. A brawl is a last resort but I need to know that you will remain unprovoked and calm. Can you do that Yang?" she said, finally calling Yang by her first name. It sounded a little strange coming from her lips.
As if unsure of herself Yang paused in thought. "I... Yeah, sure" she confirmed, it seemed Winter had her doubts with the look that she glanced her with.
"Then let us not keep them waiting any longer" spoke the taller woman as she moved into a walk, Yang following close behind. Coming up to the corner they turned right and entered a wide parking space behind the club, it was lacking any cars however. Stood in the centre right in the open day light were Junior, the Malachite twins on his right and Neopolitan on his left. He had brought out his most capable bodyguards for the meeting it appeared.
As soon as Neo spotted Yang she smirked at her before slowly turning her head left to coincidentally show off her tattoo on the left side of her neck that spelt out Yang's name in bold letters. Neo's eyes seem to shift to Yang's own neck who instinctively attempted to pull up the collar of her jacket to hide her own tattoo. This only made Neo grin more.
Winter came to a halt in front of Junior's group, Yang stood to her left behind her slightly. Junior watched the two with a curious stare. "You join the military, Blondie?" asked Junior.
Yang didn't respond as Winter took control of their side of the discussions. "Focus on the reason we are here, Mr Xiong" she said in a manner that seemed to exude her militaristic personality.
Junior's eyes looked to Winter. "Yeah yeah. You're the one that called me out here, so how about starting with why?" he demanded.
With an idle brush of her fringe Winter replied. "We are to believe from a very reliable source that you possess a large quantity of stolen dust obtained through the White Fang, which as you might know is a terrorist organization. Hardly the kind of business a respected club owner should be partaking in, would you not agree?" she answered.
For a moment Junior glared back at Neo, who returned it with narrowed eyes. The man looked to Winter and Yang once again. "Oh I agree. Here in my club we abide by the law and its values for the safety of our loyal customers. I don't know where you heard about the dust from..." he stated, looking to Yang. "But I'm sure we can come to some... arrangement".
Winter smiled, "That we can Mr Xiong. I will put it as simply as I can. Where are you next scheduled to meet with the White Fang? We aim to bring down their operation with the undisputed might of the Atlesian military, so you needn't fear for your safety with regards to them. So long as you co-operate that is" she answered, folding her arms beneath her chest.
Yang's lilac eyes glared over the distance into Neo's mismatched set. The smaller woman was smirking at her in her usual fashion as she blinked, the colour of her eyes swapping. She idly took out her scroll and with a single tap placed it back into her pocket. Suddenly Yang's scroll vibrated within her own pocket. She pulled it out and saw that she had a message... from Neo. The picture Neo used for herself was the one of her and Yang in the hospital, immediately it irked her. She opened the message only to have her anger spike up again. An image had been sent to her, the one Neo had taken in the apartment complex. Yang looked at herself during that humiliating moment and darted a dangerous stare towards the woman. She felt Winter pat her upon the shoulder which caused her to restrain her emotions for now. Neo seemed to take note of this.
Junior spoke out towards Winter, ignoring the shenanigans from Neo. "How do I know you'll actually get the job done?" he replied.
"You will just have to trust us" retorted Winter.
The man still looked unsure, he paced back and forth as he pondered before he came to a halt. He glanced to the Malachite twins and nodded once before turning to look back at Winter. "How about I give you something you want in exchange for your word?" he asked.
To this Winter raised a brow, "What could you possibly offer?" she asked.
Junior shook his finger at Winter, "Not you" he began as he then looked to Yang. Without warning the Malachite twins had grabbed Neo's arms from behind as they restrained her. Neo looked confused and she tugged at her arms against the two girls weakly but appeared unable to break free. She shot a murderous glare towards Junior. "If you give me your word you'll take care of the White Fang... I'll give you Neo. If I'm honest she's become a pain ever since her obsession with you started. And I'm sure you're really wanting some revenge right?" he asked with a grin.
Yang continued to glare at Neo, Winter looked between the two before leaning towards Yang and whispering. "It would be beneficial to have her arrested, take it."
Listening to Winter she nodded before looking back to Junior. "Okay, you have my word" she answered. Junior nodded at the result and gestured for the Malachite twins to bring Neo towards Winter and Yang. The three stopped in the middle between them.
"White Fang will be at the warehouse tomorrow at midnight. I'm pretty sure the Ice Queen here knows which one" spoke Junior, fulfilling his side of the deal. Just before the twins were about to continue delivering Neo the tables turned. The smaller woman tugged her arm down sharply once more, but this time there was far more force behind it, pulling the head of Melanie down with her arm before sending her knee straight into her face. Melanie lost grip on Neo as she fell back onto the ground. "What are you doing!? Get her!" yelled Junior to Winter and Yang as Neo now free from one of her captors made short work of Miltia, snapping her across the chest with a swift kick and also sending her tumbling to the floor. Winter unsheathed her rapier and darted towards the smaller girl who turned to face her. As the rapier connected with her shoulder she shattered, reappearing some few feet away in front of Junior. He attempted to defend himself but before he could even bring out his weapon she had jumped up and slammed her heel down upon his head, promptly causing him to face plant the floor with a hard thud as she landed on his back.
Neopolitan turned around, still stood upon him. She gave Winter and Yang her signature lopsided smirk before in a wide motion she gestured at the three unconscious people now left in her wake. Winter paused, narrowing her eyes. She held out a hand to halt Yang who was ready to charge. "Wh- What are you doing!?" yelled Yang, she thirsted for her revenge against Neo. In silence Winter stood up straight, staring at the smaller girl before raising her hand and clenching her fist. As soon as the signal was given two shots fired from the building behind them with a loud resounding bang. They pierced Neo in the head as she shattered. She had long since departed the scene it seemed. Yang clenched her fist at the fact she had got away, grinding her teeth.
"That semblance is truly... bothersome..." began Winter before looking to the twins and Junior upon the floor. "Though it appears she was willing to trade herself for these three, and honestly I dare say those terms are... more than gratuitous" she said, pulling out her scroll before typing out another message.
"Sh- She's getting away though!" yelled Yang, glancing around for any sight of Neo.
"She got away" snapped Winter.
She was understandably frustrated that her rival had escaped. But now it seemed she was going to be more of a danger to her than before seeing as she had just so simply broken her ties with Junior. She wasn't on a leash any more, who knows what that mean't. Yang turned around as she saw Atlesian soldiers approaching quickly to secure Junior and the twins. At least they got information on where the White Fang would be next, perhaps a step closer to Blake. Since she lost sight of her in the alleyways Yang felt that the mere idea of Blake had almost turned into a myth. It had been so long since she had talked to her now. If only this trail of leads would move faster...
A military truck approached the scene as soldiers restrained the unconscious criminals before loading them into the vehicle. Winter approached Yang, looking down at her. "Do not be sour, I have no doubt we will be seeing her again. And Miss Belladonna is another step closer. If we can ambush that meeting and take them into custody we will have ample time to extract information from them in regards to her" she answered.
Yang kept glancing around, as if Neo would return any second now to kick her in the head or something. "I don't like the idea of her being out there. She's too..." she began.
"She excels in infiltration, yes. But look to the positives Yang" spoke Winter. She then looked to the club. "Though... I dread to close this place down... It might be an idea for me to find suitable bodies to run it in Mr Xiong's absence..." she added, her mind trailing off in thought. She stopped to look back at Yang. "Are you staying anywhere?" she asked.
Yang was still frustrated as she looked up to Winter. "What, I can't stay with you?" she asked.
Winter smirked softly, "Flattering" she stated.
"Not like... Ugh. Just- Yeah I have a place" responded Yang, caught off guard by the sudden jest.
Taking a final look at the crime scene being dealt with, Winter started the walk back to her motorcycle with Yang following behind, ever cautiously looking to her surroundings.