Chapter twenty-seven: Sugar Sloth Crash
"Nora?"
I looked around the strangely quiet apartment, May standing at my side, gun at the ready. She could sense it to… something was off. Normally they'd be at the door, ready to greet me (however hostile Nora would be) before discussing what I needed. This was different. Couple that with the fact that there were no guards near the entrances? This had 'trap' written all over it. "Stay close, and keep quiet." I said, looking down at the sniper. She nodded, slowly cocking her gun as I took out my revolver, gazing about the room before I walked towards the back room. I crept up to her bedroom, holding revolver in one hand, other gently palming the doorknob. "May, get ready to shoot." I said, slowly twisting the unlocked knob. Second sign something was wrong, Nora never left her bedroom door unlocked unless she was inside. Given the state of the apartment, that seemed highly unlikely.
I pushed open the door slightly, eyes widening as I froze. I saw the slight line behind it, the familiar wire I'd just broken. There was only one reason that would be there. "Run… RUN!" I yelled, jerking May's arm as I dashed towards the open front door. We were maybe five feet out the door when-
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
That happened. I felt myself leave the ground, my body tensing as I felt the jarring impact of the concrete, May skidding off to the side next to me. She sat up, gritting her teeth and rolling her shoulder back as I sat up, ignoring the fire in my side and looking instead to the fire before me. I saw a pillar of black smoke rising from the burning building, most of the upper floors caving in, the wind showering us with embers and drywall. "Holy shit… what just happened?" May asked, one eye gazing at me. I looked around, reaching out and grabbing her glass eye (suppressing the urge to vomit as I did so), handing it towards her. She looked down, reaching up to feel her eye socket with one hand before letting out a quiet yelp, yanking the glass orb from my hand and shoving it back in her eye.
After she was done putting her eye in, I turned back to the wreckage. "An emergency failsafe. Ren told me Nora had this place rigged to blow years ago… all she had to do was set the trap to do it. The one I just tripped." I said, grunting as I stood, a dull pain in my hip. May stood as well, staggering over and leaning against my shoulder, her eye gazing towards the remains of the building in disbelief. "Why'd she set the trap?" she asked. I didn't answer, but instead turned around, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her towards Ren's car. She didn't hesitate to walk with me (likely since she'd probably be struggling to do so on her own), but still gazed at me, that question burning in her eye. It wasn't until I'd started the car, pulling away from the Rexford and towards my office that I spoke. "Someone finally came knocking. She and Ren would've used the ladder to get to the roof before hoofing it to my office… well, that was Ren's plan if this ever happened anyway." I said.
May gazed around the area, as if looking out for any threats. I didn't really blame her; I'd be doing the same if I didn't have to watch the road. Still didn't stop my eyes from gazing about the area, looking for any suspicious characters… scratch that, characters somewhat more suspicious than usual. I kept driving through, taking the most obscure turns and shortcuts I could think of to keep anyone from following us before finally parking at a building almost a ten minute walk away from my office. I got out, opening the door for May before locking the doors, guiding her out onto the sidewalk. "What now? Without Nora we've got no men to-" I turned her around, pressing her again a nearby wall, laying a hand behind her neck. She looked up at me, her face tinging red as she squirmed. "This is gonna sound weird, but kiss me." I said, eyes darting over to the right in hopes she understood.
She had to turn her head almost completely to the right to see it, her eye widening when she did. She saw the two men walking towards us, both looking around absently. The reason I was suspicious? The rose tattoo on the taller ones arm. Not to mention the gun carelessly thrown into his jacket. They were hitmen, looking for someone. No clue who it was, but I didn't intend to find out if it was me. May nodded, leaning up and gently pressing her lips against mine as I did the same, shutting my left eye, trailing my other hand for my revolver. When I saw them walk past, sure enough I saw both looking away, walking a bit faster as I leaned over May's shorter stature, trying to make it look as real as I could.
When they turned the corner I pulled back, both me and May panting. "Mind explaining?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me, her face putting her hair to shame. I nodded, turning away and quickly walking towards my office. "Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable, it was to keep them from recognizing us." I explained, turning the corner, seeing no sign of the two men. Maybe they weren't after me but, I wasn't about to take any chances. We walked the rest of the way in silence, May still blushing by the time we finally managed to get to the office's front door. I opened the door, jumping back as I heard the familiar sound of a blade whistling through the air. Opening the door again, I saw what looked to be a kitchen knife stabbed into the wall, just a few inches right of the handle. I looked over, holding up my hands as I saw Ren holding another knife in one hand, his gun in the other.
He let out a sigh of relief, nearly slumping over the desk as Velvet peaked her head up from behind, her hands shakily holding a small pistol. As soon as she saw me her ears curled in slightly, laying the pistol on the desk and smiling at me. "What happened?" I asked, turning my eyes to Ren. He was silent… okay well, that was normal but, this seemed different from the Ren variant of silence. "A raid, a big one. Nora took a bullet through her arm and lost most of her crew. Five of them are upstairs resting… the rest are sleeping in the ruble." he said, his eyes angry, as well as something I'd never seen in Ren. Years of being my partner, and not a single time had I seen the emotion present in his eyes:
Fear.
I nodded, May walking with me as I laid a hand on his shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look. "We'll get them Ren… we'll get them." I said. He just nodded, sitting back on his stool, hidden behind the filing cabinet with his gun in his lap, a small, brown bottle of beer on the floor, accompanied by multiple empty ones. "Can't say I blame him… I'd need a drink too after all that… well, maybe a cigar actually…" I thought, walking up the stairs behind the cowering Velvet, May in tow. When I opened the door, I didn't necessarily question the pressure around my back, against my chest. I just wrapped my arms around it, looking down to see the familiar black hair and bow. "Did they come for you?" she asked, sparkling Amber eyes gazing up through puffy red lenses.
I smiled, leaning down and pressing my lips against hers for a brief moment. "No… I don't think they did." I said. She looked up, letting out a sigh of relief before kissing me in earnest, only for her eyes to sport a confused gaze. She pulled back, looking me up and down for a second. I raised an eyebrow… what was… uh-oh. "You taste different…" she muttered, squinting up in suspicion as I fought down a blush. May -unfortunately- didn't have the luxury of my training in that regard, her face a brilliant red as she dashed past. Blake took one look back at her before glaring up at me, "You're hiding something." she said. I didn't bother to shake my head or deny it. If I were in her shoes, it would be pretty obvious… maybe she didn't notice but, no point lying to her.
"I saw a few assassin's for the Rose family on the way back and I… well, I kissed May to make them look away from us. I wasn't going to risk it." I said, feeling a sudden, nervous stab in my stomach, as if I'd just admitted to murdering someone in court. Blake glared a moment longer before leaning up, kissing me again. This time it wasn't gentle though. No, this time, there was a sort of animal ferocity to her actions, an anger even. She pulled back, eyes glowing with a sort of primal urge to them. "I love you Blake, never forget that." I said, both to reassure her… and to hopefully convince her not to kill me. She looked up at me, leaning her head onto my chest before wrapping her arms around my neck, eyes gazing up through her hair. "Jaune…"
I held her as close as I could, meeting amber eyes with blue ones, "I mean it Blake, I really do." I said, smiling down at her. She turned, rubbing against my chest in a display of her faunus nature before she sighed. I barely thought about it as I reached up, untying her bow and rubbing behind her ears with one hand, the other still holding her to me. I heard the somewhat restrained purring before I leaned down, kissing her forehead. She looked up at me, a small smirk on her face, "I believe you. I just wanted you to pet me." she said, rubbing against me, purring unrestrained as I kept going. I couldn't help but laugh as she stopped, pulling away from me. She raised an eyebrow, her eyes asking a question I gladly answered: "If you want me to pet you, just ask next time okay? Nearly gave me a heart attack." I said, tapping against my chest, only to hear what sounded like paper crinkling.
I raised an eyebrow, reaching into my coat and pulling out a nearly blank envelope with the words Jaune Arc on it. "Oh… huh, guess I never opened it." I muttered, the memory of Ruby giving it to me earlier that day coming back. I turned, walking towards my office as I opened the letter, unfolding the piece of paper. "Dear Jaune Arc, you are cordially invited to attend… blah blah blah, more flowery bullshit… this friday huh?" I thought, sitting down in my chair as I saw Blake walk over, leaning on my shoulder slightly as her eyes skimmed the letter. I handed it to her a moment later, having finished it myself, pulling out and lighting a cigar. "Another party… want May to go with you this time?" she asked, giving a small smirk towards me as I sighed, setting my hat and Blake's bow on the table and running a hand back through my hair.
"You're never gonna let me hear the end of this are you?" I asked, giving a small smile as she shook her head, setting the letter aside and leaning on my shoulder. I reached past Blake, grabbing the phone and dialing the all too familiar number. "Blake, whatever they say, don't say a word, okay?" I asked, looking over to see her nod. I took a breath, holding the phone up to my ear, where even without her advanced hearing Blake could probably tell what the woman on the other end was saying. "Who is this?" I heard a brash voice say on the other end. Ilia. I just let out a low whistle, the code the white fang insisted I use whenever I was calling from an unsecure line. I heard her turn and yell something, only for the sounds of breaking glass and moving furniture resound from the other end.
"Miss me so soon Jaune?" I heard the familiar voice of Sienna purr over the other end, Blake's eyes widening as I held up a hand to her mouth, motioning for her to be quiet. She nodded as I spoke to answer Sienna. "The Sugar Sloths are almost gone Sienna… we need something from you for this to work." I said. She seemed to be mulling it over for a minute, a few discrete hums coming in from the other side, her barking orders to some people (assumingly telling them to clean the mess she'd made to answer the phone) before speaking again. "Can you do it this time next week? We'll be able to… 'distract' a few people that day." she said, speaking in code. Blake looked at me, her eyes begging the question I knew she'd ask: Are we seriously going to work with the group that had cast her out? Where one of her members killed her daughter?
"Yeah, we can." I said, eyes flashing towards Blake, letting her know Sienna wasn't the only one I was talking to. She gave me a slight glare before she leaned back, grabbing her bow and expertly undoing it, leaving a simple piece of ribbon. I heard Sienna giggling on the other line, "Alright honey, start at five okay?~" she said, a seductive purr to her voice. I saw Blake wrapping the ribbon around her hands, stretching it taut as if to keep herself from shouting at the feline on the other side. I nodded, "Can do. I'll call when it's done." I said. I didn't bother waiting for the no doubt innuendo-esque reply she was going to give. I didn't want to give Blake any more reason to break the phone than she already had.
I looked over, seeing her pulling on her hands, her ribbon stretched between her fingers, her fists trembling as she gritted her teeth. "If that vipercat bitch comes onto you, I'm putting a bullet in her head." she said, glaring towards the phone. I stood, laying my hands on her shoulders in the most reassuring manner I could. I gave her my most reassuring smile, juuuust to be on the safe side. "Blake, I can assure you 100%, that if she ever seriously comes onto me, I'll be the one putting the bullet in her head. Don't waste your ammo." I said, pecking her lips again. I looked down at her hands, raising an eyebrow as I noticed she hadn't really moved her fingers. "Is that cat's cradle?" I asked, gesturing to the ribbon between her fingers.
She glared at me, "I'm just saying that's what it looks like okay? I'm not making a pun for once." I said, holding up my hands in a gesture of innocence. She glared for a moment before she sighed, reaching up to undo it. I stopped her though, grabbing the ribbon ends in both hands. I had a sudden feeling I was going to regret this later, but I also had the sense I'd never get this opportunity again. I pulled the ribbon back, looping it around her hands and tying it below her wrists before she could stop me. She tried moving back, her eyes widening as she realized what I'd done. "You… okay, very funny Jaune. Now untie me." she said, giving a faint smile. I turned, sitting down in my chair, pulling my hat back on my head.
Blake walked over, giving a slight glare, "Okay… seriously. Untie me." she said, holding up her hands. I nodded, reaching over and pulling out my switchblade. The second I got it near the ribbon, she jumped back, glaring towards me. "What? You want untied or not?" I asked, giving a faint smile towards her, flipping the blade up in the air. She glared at me, nodding a few times, "Untie it! If I didn't want the ribbon intact I'd just break it myself!" she said, still glaring at me, her face tinted red. I just shrugged, setting the blade away and opening up a few drawers, knowing what would come next. She walked over, still glaring as she laid her hands down on the desk in front of me. I simply ignored her, shutting a few drawers before I pulled out one of my many notebooks.
I heard a growl of displeasure come from her, "Jaaaune!" she said, now simply frowning at me. I (pretended) to ignore her, opening the book and writing a few things in it. Things I'd meant to write down a long time ago, but had never really gotten around to it. She stepped back, moving around and sitting on my desk, both her legs on the side of my chair. "Jaune!" she said, her voice suddenly irate. I leaned back, trying to look as relaxed as I could while holding down the laughter at my girlfriend's current situation. Trapped by me in a technically easy to break ribbon, yet impossible to untie by her. She kept glaring at me before she stood, getting on her knees and laying her hands on my stomach, as if in prayer. "Jaune please untie me? Is that what you wanted? Pleeeease!?" she asked, pouting up towards me in one of the more pitifully adorable looks I'd seen from her.
Fortunately for me (and unfortunately for Blake), being the effective uncle of Ton-Ton had rendered me all but immune to the infamous 'puppy eyes' technique as I called it. It took her awhile to notice it failed, but when it did I saw her eyes practically burning holes through my skin. "You could get someone else to untie it." I said simply. I knew her answer, but I also knew a different reason. The knot I'd tied it in was used specifically by the Arc clan, to ensure that no captive could ever find a way to untie it. Of course, Ren could probably figure it out eventually but, I knew that wouldn't be Blake's reason in the first place. "You did this, you untie it!" she said, gritting her teeth as she loomed over me, all the while I was just smoking a cigar and writing in a notebook. Not the reasoning I'd expected, but it all worked out in the end.
She leaned back, glaring at me from the desk as I continued to act unphased, as if I'd not heard her or noticed the death glare she had directed at me. Eventually she stood, leaning over my shoulder, her head against mine. "Jaune… I'm not leaving this room until you untie my hands." she said, laying her hands on my chest. I just shrugged, as if to say 'that's okay' before I returned to my notebook, writing a few more things before setting it aside, picking up another one. She glared at me, trying to slap the notebook from my hand. With only hers stuck together that way though? Barely even felt it. She fell back, sighing as she let her back hit against the wall, sitting on her legs. "Can I at least have a drag?" she asked, pitifully gazing at me. That request, unlike the others, I obeyed.
I held the cigar to her lips, letting her take a breath before I pulled it back, doing the same as we both exhaled the smoke. She leaned back, looking up at me for a second as I figured something, laying a small bobby-pin near the edge of my desk and clipped it right to her hair, between her cat ears. She looked at me for a second, raising an eyebrow as her ears started twitching. I just waited, watching out of the corner of my eyes as her ears twitched more, her shaking her slightly to try and get it off. Eventually she reached up, pawing at the space between her ears to try and get rid of it. I just watched, quietly enjoying what I'd brought to pass thanks to Blake's own ribbon and Sienna's phone call. When she finally got it off she looked up at me, "What do I have to do to get you to untie this?" she asked.
Again I gave no answer, simply writing in my notebook as Blake slumped over, her eyes deep in thought as she tried to come up with some kind of plan. She seemed to come up with one after awhile, smirking as she stood, walking over to the door. I didn't need to hear the click to know she'd locked it, or the sound of padding to know she was walking over. I looked up, seeing her lean on the desk, giving a seductive smirk towards me. "Would you please untie me, honey?~" she asked, putting as much of a purr as Sienna, holding out her hands. I set the notebook down, giving her a small smile. She looked at me, hopeful… though, only until I opened my mouth. "Did you really think that would work? Even as pretty as you are, I'm not going to break for that." I said simply, going back to my notebook.
Blake frowned at that, only to stand up, walking back behind the desk before she reached up and (with great difficulty) unbuttoning a few buttons of her black button-down. Just enough to expose her bra. She leaned over, tilting my head down to look at her cleavage. "What about now?~" she asked. I just shook my head, giving a slight smile before turning back to my notebook. She grunted, stepping back and pacing around a bit, her face tinted slightly red. She walked behind me, my eyes widening when I heard what sounded like a zipper and button behind undone, what I had no doubt were Blake's pants falling to the floor. I looked up to see a long, slender leg on my desk. Tracing it back revealed Blake's black underwear and a mostly unbuttoned shirt, a smirk on her face. "I can take off more… but not with my hands tied.~" she said, holding them out.
As tempting as it was (and oh, it was tempting), I still shook my head, going back to my notebook. Blake slammed her hands on the desk, "Oh COME ON! THAT wasn't enough!? What do you WANT from me!?" she asked, glaring down at me. I turned my eyes back, giving her a small smile before I pulled back from the desk, her (without hesitation surprisingly) pulling herself into my lap, her barely-covered crotch over my completely covered one, her face red with both fury and embarrassment (it was honestly hard to tell which was more at this point). She stayed there for awhile before she sighed, "Jaune… just tell me already. I'm already half-naked trying to guess." she said, frowning down at me.
I just reached over, pulling her off my lap and standing us both up. She looked up at me, "I don't care if it's to bend over your desk at this point just, just tell me something already." she asked, her face tinting red as she looked back towards the desk, getting more and more red as she no doubt imagined what it would be like. I sat down, reaching over and unbuttoning the last few buttons on her shirt, reaching down and, before her disbelieving eyes, pulling her panties down to her ankles. She looked back, "I… I was kidding about the, the desk… if… if you, wa… want to… though…" I shook my head as I pulled her back, unclasping her bra, letting it hang from the straps around her shoulders, pulling the edges out past her shirt before I pulled her back on the ground, the same way she was sitting a minute ago.
"Just sit there for a bit, let me finish my work. Then we'll see about getting that ribbon off you." I said, giving a small smile as I leaned forward, working in the notebook again. Sure enough, Blake sat there, a burning red face as she looked straight ahead, eyes occasionally flicking over to the door. Once I finished the notebook I laid it back inside the drawer, giving Blake a faint smile. I pulled my chair out from beneath the desk, grabbing Blake's shoulder, "Go beneath the desk, and when I come back, I'll untie you if you want." I said. Blake glared at me, her face burning even brighter before she complied, crawling beneath the desk as I subtly snagged the underwear from her ankles. She looked back at me, "If anyone else sees me like this…" she trailed off, still glaring at me. I just nodded a few times, leaning in and kissing her neck, patting her ass with one hand and lightly toying with her hanging bra with the other.
She glared at me, her breathing picking up slightly as I pushed the chair in, walking over and picking up Blake's clothes (what she'd taken off at least) and setting them in the nearby closet, hidden behind a box. I walked over to the door, pulling it open before using my key and locking it behind me. Blake may not have been serious about her threat but, I wasn't about to find out. I turned off to the right, heading upstairs towards the familiar door of the clinic. The second I walked into the upstairs hallway though, I could tell exactly what had happened without having to consult Nora.
A massacre.
The five men and women still left of the sugar-sloths were in bad shape. As in, some of them were missing limbs bad shape. They'd had recently patched over arms, legs, one guy was missing an eye. I walked past them, all eyes (eye in the case of that one guy) on me as I opened the door to the clinic, shutting the door behind me before turning to face Nora. There she was, the mighty leader of the sugar sloths, laying in bed nursing a bullet-wound to the arm. She looked up, flashing me a smile before she winced, holding her arm again. I sat down nearby, just looking at her. "Got something to say? Or just coming to visit your partners wife?" she asked, giving a small smirk. I returned it… the bullet hadn't hit her funny-bone at least.
"Has Ren told you about the heist?" I asked, dropping the smile. It was time to talk business, not pleasantries. Nora nodded a few times, glaring at the wall behind me before she gestured to her arm. "Yeah… I can't help though. Most of my crew can't either. You wanna do this… you're on your own Jaune." she said, leaning back on the bed. I just nodded, standing up and walking towards the door. She looked towards me, raising an eyebrow as I prepared to leave. "That it? Leaving so soon? Here I was prepped for a full on debate…" she said, giving me a faint smile before gripping her arm again. I smiled right back before I turned, walking out the door. I took a breath through my cigar, blowing out a bit of smoke before I walked towards the stairs.
"Should've seen that coming… can't wait for them all to heal. Need a team and a plan in a week…" I thought, walking down the stairs and back towards my office, taking out my key. I opened the door, shutting and locking it behind me before walking to the desk, pulling the chair back and looking down. Sure enough, Blake was just as I'd left her, still glaring at me. "How you feeling?" I asked, sitting down across from her, my hand on my chin in the most irritatingly casual pose I could. She nearly growled at me, moving around a bit as she leaned back against the desk, her face still burning. "Untie me." she said flatly, her voice and eyes telling completely different stories. I was almost afraid to untie her at this point. Though, I had promised her I'd untie her when I got back. I leaned over, untying the Arc knot before setting the ribbon aside, only for Blake to stand up, glaring up at me.
"Okay… now tell me why you tied me up." she asked, glaring at me as I saw her -surprisingly- toss her bra aside, her only coverage being her unbuttoned shirt. I decided to chance it, wrapping my arms around her. It could go one of two ways… and given the fact she'd wrapped her arms back around mine, it went the one that ended well for me. I let one hand linger down, toying with the edge of her shirt as the other caressed her face. I smiled, "I thought you'd look cute like that… didn't realize I'd have a sexy, stripping kitty in my office when I did it." I said, giving a faint smile as both our faces tinted pink. She glared at me for a moment before leaning up, her chin against my chest. For a few seconds we just stared, as if daring the other to make the first move. Eventually I did, lowering my hand and cupping her rear. Her face burned as she responded, capturing my lips again as I leaned us down, nearly bending her over the desk.
She pulled back, shrugging her shirt off (for what little cover it actually gave) and leaning down on the desk, pulling me down with her. "You tied me up, I stripped down, and all you do is pat my ass and kiss my neck… I want more." she said, her eyes holding a familiar hunger in them. I just smiled, not bothering to resist as I felt her toying with my belt, shoving my coat off of me. "Then more you'll have, my horny little kitty~" I said, smirking as I saw her face explode with a blush grenade. She stood, turning around and behind over the desk, gripping the edges. I trailed a hand along her back, smirking as I felt her shiver. I slipped off my own clothes, one thought going through my mind as I did so.
"Hope no one needs me for he next hour... maybe two."
