Chapter two: The runaway and the captain
A/n- A little fun fact for you guys, the original name of this series was Jaune Valentine: Vale Detective
The woman's eyes widened as she stood, reaching towards her hip. I saw Ren reaching into his jacket out of the corner of my eye, but I held out a hand, stopping him. "Not yet." I whispered towards him. He grunted, standing back up straight, but keeping his right hand in his jacket, ready to draw. "How do you know my name?" Blake asked, glaring daggers at the two of us. I looked over at her, taking her in. She was a pretty girl, around my age maybe, though she looked much more mature. She was dressed in a form fitting black dress, hugging her curves in all the right places, stopping around her mid-thigh, showing a little bit of cleavage. Beneath that she was wearing fishnet stockings and black high heels. Her hair was loose and flowing, resting on top of her chest, black and near perfect. Her eyes were sharp, quick, but afraid. The eyes of a runaway if I'd ever seen them. They were pretty eyes though, a brilliant shade of amber. Though her most notable feature had to be the black bow on her head, and based on the way it twitched when we confronted her, it hid quite the secret.
"Junior told us." I said, jerking my thumb over at the bartender. Blake proceeded to glare at him, to which his only response was to look away, whistling incredibly off-key. She turned back to me, amber eyes meeting blue one's before she sighed, "What do you want with me?" she asked. I smiled, holding up two hands in a gesture of non-aggression. "All we want is to find Yang Xiao Long. We heard you know her?" I asked. I saw the spark of recognition in her eyes. She knew her alright. "I don't know. She… the last time we met things… didn't go over well…" she said, looking off to the left, her mouth twisting into a frown. I took a step forwards, my eyes showing sympathy, something I'd become rather good at recently. "What happened Blake?" I asked, frowning at her. She seemed to buy the sympathetic act, mostly since it was only half an act, and complied. "I don't know why I'm telling you this but, we had a bit of a falling out over my… recent, decision." she said, looking away from me, seemingly very interested in a random person to our left.
"Why did she get so upset?" I asked. She turned back to me, her eyes sparkling with sadness, and if she were anyone else I was almost certain she'd be crying. Though, I saw something else in her eyes, a kind of inner strength and hardness you could only get from a hard life. "This isn't a good place to talk about this, the walls have ears." she said, glaring over her shoulder, seeing a man with red sunglasses looking at her. Of course, the moment she turned to look at him, he turned around, trying, and failing, to look inconspicuous. I nodded, "There someplace we can go to speak more privately?" I asked. Blake looked around, as if thinking, then an idea seemed to hit her, her eyes darting over behind me. "Yeah, follow me. One of you." she said. I looked back at Ren, cocking an eyebrow in an unspoken question. "You're up Jaune." he said, walking back towards the bar.
I looked at Blake, nodding, "I'm with you." I said. She smiled, standing up and walking over to me with a cat-like strut. "What's say we get out of here huh?~" she said, putting a seductive tone to her voice, leaning in towards my ear. "Play along, anyone watching can't know about this." she said. I nodded, smiling up at her, "Yeah, let's go doll." I said, grabbing her hand and standing up. She started walking towards the staircase, me following silently behind her. I gave a quick glance over my shoulder, seeing Ren scanning the crowd. This was our standard routine, someone doesn't want us both, then one goes with them, the other hangs back and makes sure no one interrupts. I turned back ahead, following behind Blake up the stairs, up two flights before we turned in. She opened a door, walking forwards slowly, the clacking of her black heels hitting against the floor the only sound I could hear, the music from the below fading away, the thumping of the base the only thing telling me it was still there.
She stopped at an unassuming door, just a small one in the long hallway, one of four similar doors. She reached a hand into her cleavage, quickly producing a key. "Why did you-" "My dress doesn't have pockets." she interrupted, glaring at me, her smile and seductive manner all but vanishing now that we were alone. I nodded, not speaking again until she opened the door, quickly locking it behind us. "You gonna talk now Blake?" I asked, frowning at her. She nodded, meeting my frown with one of her own. "Yeah, but take off the trilby and the jacket." she said. I glared at her, but complied anyway, "It's a fedora, and a trench coat." I said bluntly. She shrugged, walking next to the door and slipping off her high heels, revealing two, perfectly maintained feet. "Whatever, just lay them on the bed." she said, pointing towards the small, single mattress.
I compiled, haphazardly tossing my signature hat and coat onto the bed, then I looked back at her. "Why so much secrecy?" I asked. She walked towards me, standing only a few inches away, ready to pounce at me at any second. "My whole goal here is to blend in, hard to do that when a detective's talking to you." she said. I looked up at her bow, then back at her. "The bow's not really helping your case sweetheart." I said somewhat sarcastically. She growled at me, but not a second later she reached up, undoing the bow and holding it in her right hand. She tossed it on the bed, putting a hand on her hip as she glared at me, "Better?" she asked. Beneath her bow was, as I expected, two faunus ears. Cat one's more specifically, a bit of pink felt exposed beneath the black fur. I nodded, "Why not just wear a hat? Be easier to get away with than a bow." I asked, gesturing towards my own fedora.
She sighed, "I just… I like the bow okay? Besides, how many women wear hats? How would I blend in then?" she asked. I chuckled, "I don't know, be less gorgeous?" I said, giving her a small smirk. She scoffed, then she froze up, her ears going rigid. "Sit down on the chair, now." she said, pointing towards the armchair behind me. I gave her an odd look, but complied anyway. Not a few seconds later I heard her doorknob moving, someone trying to get in. I blushed bright red as I saw Blake walk over, sliding her stocking-covered legs over my own, sitting in my lap. I felt her arms wrap around my neck as she tilted my head up, amber eyes meeting deep blue one's again. "Wrap your arms around me." she whispered. I complied, wrapping my arms around her back, pulling her a bit closer to me. A few seconds of awkwardness later, the door opened.
Blake pulled off the surprised girl act flawlessly, turning around with a shocked expression. "J… Junior! What're you doing here!?" she asked. I just froze up, completely motionless. The tall bartender looked between the two of us for a few seconds before he turned around, "Put a damn sock on the door next time Blake." he said, shutting the door and, if the small knob on the side was anything to go by, relocking it. Blake sighed, pulling away from me. "Picks the worst times…" she said, looking back at me. I just sat there, my mind trying to comprehend what the hell had just happened. She blushed, "It's not a big deal! Don't make it one! This'll keep him from coming back." she said. I shook my head, snapping myself out of my daze as I stood up, grabbing my trench coat. "Well… if he won't come back I guess that's fine." she said, looking at me oddly.
I turned back to her, "Anyway, are you going to answer my questions now?" I asked. She nodded, walking over to the chair and sitting down. She pointed to another chair, this one simply made of metal. I got her meaning, grabbing the chair and swinging it around in front of her, making it so that I was slightly to her right, looking at it from the door anyway. "If I say so, bury your head in between my thighs, got it?" she asked. I blushed bright red as I looked around, "Why?!" I asked. She sighed, "So it'll look like I took you up here for a good time and not to answer questions. Nevermind that, you wanted to ask questions? Go ahead." she said.
"You said things didn't go over well with Yang, how did that go might I ask?" I said. She sighed, looking off to the right as I saw the strong, confident persona crack a little. I saw why she kept it strong, since without it, it was painfully obvious how scared she was. "I told her I was a faunus, that I used to be in the White Fang. I told her about Adam, I told her everything about me." she said, a look of regret on her face. I nodded slowly, "The White Fang, maybe they're mixed up in this?" I thought. I decided to ask another question, about something else she'd said. "You said she was angry about your decision, what was it?" I asked. I saw her right arm grip at her left elbow, her skin turning white around it as she looked down. "I told her I was leaving her." she said quietly.
I didn't speak for a moment, absorbing the information for a few seconds. "So… you two were a thing?" I asked. She looked at me for a few seconds, tortured amber eyes meeting my own, before she nodded. "Yeah. She said… she always said that I was her little kitty." she said, getting a small smile on her face. That smile though, was quickly extinguished by the frown that came after. "She asked me why, and I told her, about everything. I'd been keeping it a secret from her for almost a year now, I just… I just couldn't do it anymore. I didn't want her as a part of my old life… but she wouldn't give it up." she said, her eyes swimming with tears at this stage. I gave her a sympathetic look, "She was stubborn wasn't she?" I asked. Blake nodded, not speaking as a small smile found it's way onto her face. "But she didn't know, she didn't know…" she said, her sentence pierced with strained sobs.
I couldn't take it anymore, and I moved my chair closer, placing a consoling hand on her shoulder. "It must be hard but… I need to know everything you can tell me about Yang, especially about her whereabouts." I said. She sniffed, reaching over to a nightstand and grabbing a tissue, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I told her about Adam… about my daughter and my… problem. She told me not to worry… she told me she'd make it right. She said she was going to see someone… the Ice Queen." she said, clearly struggling to keep talking straight. I nodded, standing up before I leaned down, wrapping my arms around her. She froze in shock for a moment, but then she melted, leaning in and wrapping her arms around me. "I'm so sorry for bringing this up Blake." I said, patting her back as I felt her quietly sobbing into my shoulder.
It was a few minutes later when she stopped, looking back up at me. "Why are you asking about Yang anyway?" she asked. I frowned as I grabbed my fedora, putting it back on my head. "She's gone missing, and her sister hired me to find her." I said. The moment I said this her eyes went wide, she stood, hastily grabbing the cloth and tying it back into a bow. "You shouldn't have come here." she said quickly, slipping on her high heels and placing a hand on my back, guiding me towards the girl. I looked back at her, my eyes widening, "Woah! Woah! What the hell?!" I asked, but then, I saw the look in her eyes.
It was a look of sheer terror.
"Don't tell Ruby I talked to you! Don't even mention my name!" she said, pushing me out the door and slamming it behind me. I looked at the door oddly for a few seconds, "What did I say that got her so scared? Was it Ruby?" I thought. I thought back to my meeting with the girl, the adorable clothes, the innocence in her eyes, the child like voice and awkward aura she seemed to give off. "No… couldn't be that. Probably just… stayed a little too long." I muttered, turning and walking towards the door. When I opened it, I found I wasn't alone in the stairwell. Someone else was walking up. This someone revealed who they were when they spoke, even in the slightly dim lighting of the stairwell. "Jaune, we've got company." Ren said, two magenta eyes looking back at me. I looked down, seeing him holding his weapon, 'Stormflower', he called it.
What it actually was was an automatic pistol, a MAC10 more specifically. Thirty one-bullets in the mag, one in the chamber. Fully auto and painted dark green, Ren's signature color. I pulled out Crocea Mors, which was really just a standard issue Smith and Wesson model 31, and gripped it, feeling the familiar weight settling in my palm. "Who're we dealing with?" I asked. He looked back down the stairwell, aiming his weapon at the door. "You're about to find out." he said. Not a second later I saw the door near the bottom burst open, two men rushing in. It wasn't hard to recognize them, what with the uniform's and all. They had on patched-up three piece suits, trilby's on their heads. They were both carrying Tommy guns, both slowly aiming up. When they aimed at us, I figured out instantly what gang they were in.
After all, who else wears those ugly ass masks?
"AHH!" I heard a voice yell from upstairs. "Blake." I thought as I turned around, Ren opening fire on the two thugs as I felt the ringing in my ears. I rushed through the door, seeing one man carrying a struggling Blake from her bedroom, still in her dress. I aimed at the one with the gun pointed at her, who'd yet to notice me. I fired once, it was all it took. He flew back, his mask shattered, bright red now, and landed on the ground, sprawling out, motionless. I aimed at the other man, firing two bullets, one into each hand. "GAH!" he yelled, falling back as he let Blake drop to the ground. I was going to finish him off when Blake leaned, grabbing the small pistol off the man's waist.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
She fired three shots, her eyes filled with a fury I would've never thought possible for the normally stoic faunus. Even after the three, when the gang member was obviously dead, seriously, you couldn't even see his face, she kept shooting, firing off the whole mag. I dashed over to her as she fired the last bullet. I grabbed her arm, but she swung out, thrashing against my grip. "No! NO!" she yelled. I grabbed both her hands, holding them to her sides as I leaned down, my calm gaze meeting her panicked one. "Blake! Blake! Stay with me! It's me! Jaune!" I said. She blinked a few times, her chest slowing its' rapid movements as she seemed to calm down. "Jaune…" she said, her cold front removed and her expression more afraid than I'd ever seen it.
"Get what you can, we're getting you out of here!" I said quickly, the sound of Ren shooting Stormflower travelling down the hallway. She nodded, dashing into her room as I aimed down the hall, the only direction anyone would come from, unless they got past Ren. It was maybe thirty seconds later that Blake ran out, her outfit the same, but changing the high heels for a pair of black slippers instead. She had a backpack on, filled to the brim. "I take it you were preparing for this?" I asked. She looked over at me before she nodded, reaching into her bag. My eyes widened a bit when she pulled out a small pistol, a Colt M1911. "Yeah, I just didn't think they'd find me so soon." she said. I nodded, reaching out and grabbing her wrist. "Come on, Ren can drive us somewhere safe." I said.
I felt a bit of hesitation from her, she held fast against my grip. "Why are you helping me?" she asked, her eyes narrowing. I gave her an odd look, "Does it matter? I mean, it's come with me or get killed by these mask wearing freaks." I said. She shook her head, her eyes hardening. "It does matter, you want something. What is it?" she asked. I groaned, "Look, we can hash out the details later, right now, we need to go." I said. She opened her mouth, only for the door behind her to break open, two White Fang grunts walking in, both with Tommy Guns. "THERE SHE IS!" one of them yelled, firing at us. "Get down!" I yelled through the hail of gunfire, pushing Blake down, holding her down with my left hand as I kneeled, quick drawing my pistol and killing the two grunts, both falling back, holes where their faces used to be. Blake looked up, my hand still between her ears. "Okay fine, not like I have much choice in the matter." she said, muttering the last phrase.
I smiled as I stood, helping her up before gripping her wrist again, rushing towards the stairwell Ren was blocking. I burst down the door, seeing Ren still standing there, four dead grunts at the bottom of the stairwell. Ren was just reloading, his eyes cold and hard as he did so with practiced movements. "We need to move now, before more show up." he said, giving me that familiar look. I knew what it meant, that this was the only opportunity we'd get to run. I nodded, moving Blake in front of me, "Come on, let's get going." I said. Ren nodded, grabbing Blake's hand as I let go. I spun around, aiming at the door behind us as I backed down the stairs. I heard a door opening, so I spun around again, "Man, this is making me dizzy." I thought as I saw what had caused the sound.
Ren had opened the door, revealing there to be a club full of bodies, the scent of blood permeating the air. There were a lot of bodies, some of Junior's security, but a lot more White Fang corpses. I saw Junior's customer's cowering beneath the tables, many of them with their heads in their hands, sobbing under the tables. I looked towards the exit, Ren doing the same, his eyes angry. I could see why, considering there was a tall grunt right in front of it, aiming his gun at us. "Time to die!" he yelled.
BANG! BANG!
The grunt fell, landing on the ground in front of us. I saw a black boot stomping on his back. "Remind me why I keep letting you two in here?" I smiled as I saw Junior standing on top of the fallen grunt, a cigar in one hand, a double barrel shotgun in the other, and both were smoking. Ren gave Junior a small smile, "We're good customers." he said simply. Junior chuckled, taking a puff of his cigar before exhaling, a cloud of smoke in the air. "Hehe, yeah, guess so. Get the kitten outta here, cleanup crews are working overtime tonight." he said. I nodded, grabbing Blake's hand and walking past the bartender, Ren following behind as we walked towards his car. He reached into his jacket, putting Stormflower away as he unlocked the car, allowing me and Blake to slip into the backseat as he got in the driver side.
"Take us back to the office." I said, stowing Crocea Mors back in my trench coat. He nodded, buckling up before he backed out, driving down the road, and easily going over the speed limit. Granted, we were in a hurry, so I was hardly one to complain. I pulled out my lighter, grabbing a cigar from my inside pocket. "Need to get more, only got four left." I thought. I flicked the lighter, the end of my cigar catching fire as I breathed in, looking out the open window and watching the smoke roll out of my mouth as I slowly exhaled. "You got anymore of those?" Blake asked, looking over at me with a vague interest. I shrugged, grabbing another one, "Long as you aren't pregnant, go ahead." I said. Her faced turned a shade darker as she nodded, placing it in her mouth before grabbing a lighter from her bag. I saw her trying to flick it on, once, twice, three times, nothing happening. "Dammit." she muttered, a frustrated expression dominating her face.
I leaned over, our foreheads almost touching as the tips of our cigars met, mine lighting hers. Her eyes met mine as her face got a bit more red, her backing away and holding her cigar. "Thanks." she said simply, exhaling a smaller cloud of smoke from hers. "Must have weaker lungs." I thought. I leaned back in the seat, stretching my arms out along the back seats headrests, content to sit like that, smoking my cigar and occasionally blowing smoke at the ceiling. Suddenly I saw the roof slide back, the gray sky exposed. "If you're gonna smoke in my car Jaune, put the damn top down." Ren said, glaring back at me. I nodded, puffing another cloud towards the sky as Blake did the same. "Right… always forget that." I said.
It was a few minutes later when I saw the office come into view, and I noticed immediately that a few things were off. First off, I didn't drive to work, I didn't own a car. Velvet didn't drive to work, she didn't own a car. Only Ren drove to work, and we were in his car. And there was a car right in front of the office. It wasn't just that that got my attention, it was the type of car it was. Normally I'd think it was a client.
Then again, how many police officers would come to me for help?
When we pulled in I got straight out, "Blake, wait in the car." I said, nodding to Ren. He got my meaning, setting the top back on the car and rolling up the windows. "See anyone coming, get in the floorboard." Ren said, looking towards Blake. She nodded, taking a last puff of her cigar before putting it out in the small ashtray Ren kept in his car. "Why does he have that again? Oh… right." I thought, remembering he had two smokers that normally rode in his car. Ren locked the car, shoving his keys in his pocket and reaching for his gun. "Keep it on standby." I said. Ren nodded, the two of us walking the rest of the way up in near silence, me with my hand on my cigar as I opened the door.
When I walked inside, the cluttered reception area greeted me. The only difference was that there normally wasn't someone sitting in that area… other than Velvet. Said faunus was behind the desk, staring at the person in the seat in fear. Granted, Velvet was a faunus, probably didn't have the best experience with the police. The person sitting in the seat, whoever, was exactly the opposite of what I had expected. What I'd expected was the guy that usually showed up when my agency had 'done something wrong' or was 'sticking our noses we shouldn't'. Big guy, tough and built like a house. This one was different. In honesty, I wouldn't have been surprised if the figure in front of me was a model or a movie star.
It was a woman, one of the few in the police force, with long, flowing crimson hair. It was pulled back into a ponytail, running almost halfway down her back (still smaller than Ren's though). Her skin was like mine, if a bit paler, and her eyes were sparkling green, filled with a sort of determination I rarely saw in Vale. She was dressed in the typical female police officers uniform, light blue shirt with dark blue pants, a belt containing the standard gun and mace can. Granted, the shirt looked a little small for her large chest, as she had the top two buttons undone, exposing a bit more cleavage than the more flat chested officers I'd encountered in the past. She had a badge over her right breast, but I didn't get time to read it before she uncrossed her legs, standing up. She was maybe an inch shorter than me, but still she radiated a commanding aura about her, even with the small smile on her face.
"Mr. Arc, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." she said. I nodded, extinguishing my cigar in the nearby ashtray and tossing it in the trash. When a cop was in front of you, you didn't just smoke a cigar, especially indoors. "You act like it's hard to find me. That door's always open." I said, jerking my thumb over my shoulder at the door behind me. She gave me a slight glare before going back to the smile, "Well, sorry I missed the message. I've been trying to contact you for days now. Your secretary just keeps telling me you're out, and that I'd have to wait. I got tired of rejection, so I waited this time." she said, walking over towards me. I looked down, she was wearing bright red lipstick. "What do you want officer?" I asked. She shook her head, "I don't want anything Mr. Arc. I've just been looking to speak with you for a while. You're just so damn elusive." she said. I cocked an eyebrow, looking over at Velvet, who just shrugged. "Who might you be anyway?" I asked. She giggled, "Where are my manners today?" she said, just before she placed a hand over her badge.
"I am Pyrrha Nikos, Captain of the Vale City Police Department."
