Chapter five: Cloak and Danger
A/n- Eh, figured the pun title would work here.
"What I'm getting at is that you smuggle people out of Vale and into the other kingdoms. Is that about right?" Ren asked, leaning towards Coco. She simply nodded, standing up and grabbing for a filing cabinet behind her. She quickly opened one of the drawers, pulling out a folder before laying it on the table. On the side of the folder was a name, "Yang Xiao Long. The 17 year old brawler. Codename: Sunny Dragon. Last confirmed location was my office. She asked for specifics about our only current White Fang operative. Codename: Chameleon. Don't know much else about them, other than they're a faunus that hates the White Fang." she said, opening the file. Inside was a photo of Yang on the top right-hand corner, the rest of the page filled with information. Her birthdate, her relationships (there were so many it said more were listed on the back of the page), and her credentials and operations. It said she'd worked in operations 'Red Glare', 'Tea Party', and 'Cat outta the bag'.
"You say they're the only current operative in the White Fang, are there others, or… were, there others?" I asked. She nodded, a frown flickering across her face for a moment before she reached beneath the table, grabbing a bottle. "Drinking the pain away huh?" I thought as she produced a shotglass from seemingly nowhere, pouring herself one before knocking it back. "Yeah. One got away, you've met her already, Blake. The other… God…" she said, and I could've sworn I saw a tear drop down the side of her face. "The other didn't?" Ren finished for her. Coco nodded, wiping at her eyes as she poured another shot, tossing it back before she coughed. "Nah… she was my job, I was getting her out and… bastards… Bastards! ALL OF 'EM!" she yelled, throwing the shotglass at the wall, it shattering, right against a picture frame. In that picture frame, I noticed something… odd. There were three people, one the man from earlier, one a ridiculously tall man, and Coco. They were all crying, right in front of a gravestone. What chilled me was what it read…
Here lies Velvet Scarlatina.
"Jaune…" Ren whispered, his eyes widening as he saw the photo. I nodded, "Don't say anything… yet." I whispered back. We turned back to Coco as she took off her sunglasses, wiping away at them with a nearby cloth before grabbing another shot glass from beneath the desk. "Sorry… she was a friend. I… I failed her. Nevermind that," she said, tossing back another shot. She was about to pour herself another when I grabbed her hand, "I think you've had enough Coco." I said, frowning at her, my eyes concerned. Even if she was of age, which I doubted she was, three shots was pushing the limit to getting her drunk. The last thing we needed was the only person who could help us to end up completely wasted on the floor. She nodded, corking the bottle and putting it away, setting her shot glass back down. "Right… yeah. Anyway uh… what was I saying?" she asked.
"Yang?" I said. She nodded, shaking her head, likely trying to rid herself of the booze-induced fuzziness she was no doubt experiencing. "Right right. Yeah, anyway, Yang went out looking for Chameleon after she escorted Blake to our nearest safe house, the club downtown." she said. Me and Ren looked at one another, then we turned back to Coco. "Yeeeeah… I don't know if that 'safehouse' is safe anymore." I said. She gave me an odd look, opening her mouth to speak. Though, as if reading her mind (which I was sometimes convinced he could actually do), Ren spoke. "The club was attacked by White Fang members looking for Blake Belladonna. They knew she was there." he said. Coco sighed, leaning down and looking at Yang's file, swaying slightly. Whether that was from the alcohol, exhaustion, fear, or a little bit of everything, I couldn't tell. "Dammit. We're running out of hiding places. We'll be down to just running them straight to Mistral at this rate." she said.
"Sorry but… we're still trying to fing Yang. Can you tell us anymore that could help us in the case?" I asked. Coco shook her head, falling back down into her chair. She pulled off her sunglasses, rubbing the bridge between her nose as, for the first time, I noticed just how tired she looked. There weren't bags under her eyes or anything like that but, her eyes just seemed… haggard was an understatement. She looked like she could sleep for a century if she could. She looked so… vulnerable. "You can keep the file but… best thing I can tell you is talk with Blake again, ask what she knew about Chameleon." she said. I nodded, standing up as Ren did the same. We both turned to walk away, "Jaune. I normally don't ask this but… you wanna make some easy money?" she asked, giving me a small smile. I turned around, raising an eyebrow. "If it involves anything remotely sexual… no." I said.
She laughed, "No, nothing like that. Anyone in my bed is there by choice. I mean… would you mind being a caretaker?" she asked. Ren and I looked at each other, the same question running through our minds. We both turned and, in unison, asked, "What do you mean by caretaker?" She smiled, likely at the way we both talked at the same time. "Beacon has different jobs. Escapists get the runners out. Caretakers keep the runners safe for awhile. Then escorts take the runners from the caretakers so they can be shipped somewhere safe. Then you've got the heavy's and leaders but, that's really all you need to know." she said. Ren spoke before I could, which, in and of itself, was unusual. "How much lien are we talking?" he asked. Coco gave us a small smirk, reaching beneath her desk and grabbing out a few cards. She tossed them down, and of course I quickly picked them up. "Almost 1200 lien?! The hell?!"
"There's double that for you if you agree. Paid for every runner or heavy you keep in there. That office of yours used to be an apartment building right? Means we can fit more people in there, which means more escapees for us, more money for you, and less crime in Vale altogether." she said. I pocketed the lien next to what Ruby and Pyrrha gave me for the cases, then I looked at Ren. He gave me that 'do it moron' look again. I mean, we could always use the extra money. "Alright Coco… you've got a deal." I said. She clapped her hands, walking over before clapping one on my shoulder. "I figured we might. Only one more thing. You two need codenames." she said, thumping two fingers on my chest. She had a surprising strength behind it, as Ren actually had to hold his hands out to keep me from falling on top of him.
"What are they?" I asked. Coco had her mouth open, about to speak, but then shut it again, looking down, her brow scrunched up in thought. "Let's see… Ah!" she said, nearly slamming her fist into her outstretched palm, her eyes likely lighting up behind her sunglasses. She pointed at Ren, "You'll be Ninja and you'll," she pointed at me, "be Jaundice." she said. I blinked twice, having to hold back a sigh, "So he gets to be named after a warrior and I… get to be named after a skin disease." I said. Coco shrugged, walking over to us and opening the door. "Hey! You try coming up with nicknames on the spot for people you barely know! It ain't easy!" she said, lightly pushing us out. "Now, run on back to Blake. I've got work to do." she said, shutting the door behind us. Though, I immediately heard the sound of glass breaking coming from inside. "WHY DO I NOT JUST BUY PLASTIC ONE'S!?" I heard Coco yell.
Ren and I both walked away, heading towards the man at the door, said door now being closed. He was just staring towards the same general area, off in front of him. Me and Ren walked right in front of him, and he didn't move a muscle until I pulled the door, finding it wouldn't budge. He suddenly shot up, sliding open the top slide and looking out. "The hell you doin' here? We're closed!" the man said. Ren tapped on his shoulder, causing him to jerk around. "Oh, it's you two. Hehe, didn't hear you comin'. Go on out." he said, pushing open the door. "Oh… right." I thought. How did I forget something that obvious? Ren and I walked through, Ren looking back at the man for a moment before the door shut. "He was… strange." Ren said. I shrugged, reaching into my pocket and pulling out my last cigar. I quickly lit it, inhaling the muddling smoke before letting out a puff. "Well, you'd be acting like that too if you were blind." I said.
Ren sighed, "Can you explain how you figured that out Jaune?" Ren asked. Though his voice was annoyed, he couldn't, or just didn't, hide the shadow of a smile dancing across his face. "He didn't react to the sight of us, only the sound of the door's pressure. Even then he thought it was someone trying to get in, not out. We didn't make much noise walking towards him, so he didn't know we were there until you tapped him on the shoulder." I said. Ren shrugged, smiling slightly as we walked towards the doorway that lead outside. I stopped, grabbing Ren's shoulder, "What's wrong?" he asked, looking back at me. I let go of Ren, pulling out my gun and aiming it at the door. "Keep it down. We left the door open remember? Who the hell closed it?" I whispered. He nodded, drawing stormflower and standing right beside the door. I nodded to him, motioning for him to open the door with my left hand.
When he opened it… I couldn't have been more surprised. There, standing in the rays of the evening sun, (hard to believe it'd been only one day) was Pyrrha. She was dressed as she always was, in her police uniform and all that. Though, this time, her eyes were wide, her hands up. "Woah! Woah! Don't shoot Jaune!" she said, keeping her hands where I could see them as me and Ren both walked forwards. When we got outside, I noticed her cruiser parked next to Ren's car, a few noticeable bullet holes in the side I hadn't seen before. "What're you doing here Pyrrha?" I asked, setting my gun back in my jacket. She nodded, giving me a small smile. "I could ask the same of you, except for the Pyrrha bit, what're you doing here?" she asked.
"I asked you first." "I asked you second." I sighed, looking towards Ren, my eyes hoping he would give me some kind of advice. When he looked back towards me, he just nodded, telling me to answer her. I turned back to Pyrrha, "We got a lead on Yang and traced it here. Now we're heading back to the office." I said. She nodded, combing her fingers back through her ponytail, assumingly trying to fix it. "Well, I suppose I owe you an explanation. I was looking for you." she said. I cocked an eyebrow, Ren doing the same. "Wait, didn't you just ask what we were doing here?" I asked. She looked away, her face tinged light red as she lightly scratched her left cheek with her index finger. "Eheh, umm… well, I knew you were here, I just… didn't know why and I was… well, curious." she said. I nodded, looking back towards Ren. He sighed, "Unless you've got something important to ask or tell us, get out of the way. We've got some business to take care of." he said, looking back at me. I had a feeling the 'business' he was talking about wasn't Yang or Blake. That 'business' would more than likely be why my secretary was supposedly dead.
Pyrrha nodded, stepping out of the way, "Listen. I want you to know that there's been an assault, an attempted murder. It's the Torchwick case." she said, her eyes suddenly serious. Me and Ren walked out, looking around for any possible danger, as was our normal procedure. "Who?" we both asked. Pyrrha gestured behind her, at her police cruiser. "Thankfully I was nearby and chased off the killer. She's Torchwick's other daughter. I've tried talking with her but, she appears to be in shock. She hasn't spoken a word." she said. I walked towards her police cruiser, my eyes widening a bit when I saw the girl in the backseat. She was dressed in what looked like a long, pink sweater, likely homemade. Long, pale legs were held up beneath her, her arms wrapped around them as she slowly rocked back and forth. From what I could tell she sweater, and maybe some underwear, were the only clothes she was wearing.
What got me the most was her hair. Long and three different colors, white, pink, and brown. It was shaggy in places, and you could see the drying tear stains on her face, along with the subtle way her body was shaking. "I drove her straight here after I scared off the killer. Guess they caught her while she was going to bed." Pyrrha said, opening her door. The girl jerked up, her eyes wide and pale white, scanning around. The moment they rested on Pyrrha they relaxed a little, but she kept shaking and rocking. "Follow me, I've got a place she can lay low for awhile." I said. Ren looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "Uhh, Jaune? Are you sure we should be housing so many targets?" he whispered, low enough Pyrrha couldn't have heard it. I nodded without hesitation, "We've got plenty of room, don't worry." I turned back to Pyrrha, "It's probably for the best if she comes with us, just incase the killer's tracking your car." I said.
Pyrrha opened her mouth to protest, but then shut it a moment later, sighing. "You have a point…" she said, opening the back door. The girl backed away when she saw us. Pyrrha held out her hands, "It's okay Neo, these men are here to help. They'll keep you safe until we can find the man that attacked you." she said. The newly named Neo looked up, still shaking, her eyes gazing over me and Ren. I smiled at her, giving a little wave, "Hi Neo." I said. This seemed to calm her down a little, as she stopped shivering, only rocking back and forth at this point. Neo, with encourage from Pyrrha, slowly got out of the car, standing up straight in front of us. I couldn't really tell how old she was, since she was tiny. I mean, she was like five feet tall, at most.
"Don't worry Neo. We'll keep you safe." I said, smiling as I crouched down, getting to her height. Neo gulped, nodding as she looked at Pyrrha. Said officer just smiled, motioning towards us. She slowly walked towards us as I held out my hand, which she took. I guided her to Ren's car like she was a child, helping her get in the backseat. I shut the door quickly, removing my cigar and letting out a slow puff into the air. "One helluva day…" I muttered, looking towards the sunset. It was hard to believe that, in just one day, I'd taken in two people, been involved with two of the biggest crime families in Vale, and discovered a secret organization. Not to mention I became part of said organization. I got in the car, Ren getting in a moment later. I looked back at Neo, giving her a small smile, "Hey, buckle up okay? We'll be somewhere safe soon." I said. She nodded, putting her legs down and buckling up. Though I hadn't really been looking, I couldn't help but notice she was wearing pale pink panties.
I turned back around, not wanting to feel like a pervert by staring, and just let out a puff of smoke through the window. Ren put up the top, mostly since we didn't want Neo to be seen. "You know where to go." I said. Ren just nodded, burning rubber out of the lot and through the emptying streets. I just looked out at the world, occasionally blowing a puff of smoke out the window. I absently looked through the mirror, but my mind was quickly snapped out of it's daze as I saw what was in the mirror. It was a car, long and black, the lights were off, despite the evening light. What got me were the people inside. The driver was big, tough looking, and with long, black sideburns down the sides of his face. The passenger, on the other hand, was a tanned woman with pale green hair, her eyes bright red and, seemingly, staring right at me. I wouldn't have given much mind to the odd pair… if it weren't for the tattoo on the man's shoulder.
"We got White Fang!" I said, quickly grabbing my gun, pulling it out and setting it on my lap. Ren looked in the mirror, his eyes widening as he pressed down a bit more on the accelerator. "Where now?" Ren asked. We both knew that we couldn't risk leading them to Blake. I frowned, "Take four right turns, see if they're following us. If they're still following after the last one, gun it down the road." I said. Ren nodded, turning on his turn signal and quickly taking it. They followed. Took another one, they followed. We took the third, they followed. "Get ready…" I said. Ren took the next turn somewhat slow, but the moment he straightened, I had to hold on from the sudden whiplash. I looked back, seeing the woman slapping the man on the back of the head, likely shouting at him to go faster. "They don't know where the office is." I thought. That was at least one comforting thought.
I looked forwards, watching Ren darting past red lights, green ones, and even two stunned police officers. I heard the sirens as they started driving after us. "Ren! The trainyard!" I yelled over the wind and the sirens. He nodded, smirking. Ren knew that place like the back of his hand, if we could lose these guys anywhere, it was there. Ren took a sharp left, cutting through cross traffic with ease and, for a few seconds, driving down the wrong side of the road. "Truck!" I yelled, seeing the large dump-truck barreling towards us. Ren nodded, breaking through a chain-link fence. He drove through what I guessed was a parking lot, between the rows of cars. I looked back, my eyes widening as I saw the car from before gaining on us.
We burst out of the parking lot and back onto the main road, the trainyard was right ahead of us. Ren drove right past the train tracks, just before the bars went up. I looked back, seeing the other car busting right through the bars a moment later. "Oh come on!" I yelled in frustration, aiming my gun out the window. I took a breath, shutting my left eye as I aimed for the driver. I fired a few rounds, one hitting him in the shoulder, the rest just shattering the windshield. I shut the window a moment later, holstering my gun. I looked back, seeing Neo ducking down, covering her ears. "REN!" I yelled, pointing straight ahead. He turned, his eyes widening as he slammed on the brakes. I saw a train heading right past us, just a few inches away. I got out of the car, ignoring Ren's warnings and questions as I saw the car barreling towards us. I looked down, cracking open my revolvers cylinder. "Two bullets, better make 'em count." I thought as I propped my arms on the roof of the car. I squeezed one eye shut, taking a breath.
BANG! BANG!
I opened both eyes as I saw the car careening into the side of a stationary train car, the occupants likely either dead or injured. I looked down at my gun, the two bullets still there. "Who the hell fired?" I thought as I looked around. I thought I saw a brief flash of red on top of the nearby warehouse, but just as quickly as it came, it was gone. "JAUNE! GET IN!" Ren yelled, one of the few times I heard him sound angry. Then again, he was just probably just nervous about getting shot at… for the second time today. I looked at the warehouse for a moment before I got back in the car, still looking back as Ren headed for the office.
I giggled as I reached down, biting into a cookie I'd brought. "Naughty naughty Emerald~" I thought, swinging my rifle over my shoulder. The girl was becoming a pain in the ass very quickly. I couldn't help but think, what would she look like if her hair was bright red? Oh, it would suit her just fine. "A few bullets from my baby and you'll be right as rain~" I said, trailing my hands down crescent rose, my favorite rifle. I walked up to the side of the roof, smirking as I saw Ren's car driving away. "Find Yang already, I hate waiting." I said, never losing my smile as I walked back towards the stairs, skipping over the dead guards, both with holes in the sides of their heads. "Just wait Yang…" I thought as I happily skipped down the stairs.
"I'll put a bullet in that traitorous little head of yours soon enough~"
