A/N: Hello all! That's right, I have another chapter for you lovely readers today!
I recently had a pretty tough few weeks that culminated in me quitting my job. So, since I had nothing better to do, and because writing always makes me feel better, I ended up pounding this one out. I'm not a big fan of how the first part came out, but that might just because I'm not currently in the proper head space for writing good fluff. Luckily it's not very long, then we get to some nice, juicy plot that I really hope I did justice as quite a bit happens both literally and between the lines.
Anyway, as usual thanks for reading/following/favouriting and extra special thanks to the lovelies who leave comments telling me their thoughts, predictions, inferences, and the like. They really help me become a better writer.
Now, on to the good stuff!
The clinking of bottles being tapped together in celebration filled the safe house as Weiss and the unlikely band of criminals she had come to call her friends congratulated themselves on a job well done. She looked around the room and smiled at the happy faces of her cohorts.
Blake and Yang were smiling, more to each other than anyone else, as they sat with their heads together. Ren was reluctantly still keeping Nora company as they continued to dance to the upbeat music coming from the nearby stereo long after everyone else had sat down, exhausted. Pyrrha was on the phone with someone, chatting happily, and Weiss watched as she tossed the device to Yang, who nodded as she caught it before standing up and walking out of the room, speaker already pressed to her ear.
Shrugging to herself, Weiss dismissed the blonde's behaviour just as her eyes fell upon the one person she just couldn't seem able to keep from returning to.
Red sat casually in the seat right next to her, their thighs pressed together, looking at her laptop. She had a deck of playing cards in her hands that, even unconsciously, she manipulated with the skill and sleight of hand that rivaled even the best magicians and street hustlers. The sight of the deck as the brunette's hands expertly shuffled, concealed, split, cut, and revealed it around themselves was like some sort of captivating dance. It was so entrancing, in fact, that it nearly kept Weiss from witnessing something even more wondrous.
Once again, she was granted the opportunity to see the incredible, mysterious young woman who resided beneath the many enigmatic layers that formed the criminal savant Red. Only this time, instead of coming out during some heavy-handed, emotional revelation, she was treated with the sight of the woman behind the con reclining lazily next to her. Her relaxed smile accentuated the youth and simple beauty of her face, while the bright glimmer in her argent eyes banished all signs of the ghosts that usually resided there. Weiss felt herself smiling fondly as she watched the younger woman examine the web of past, current, and predicted events that, for some reason or another, linked some cyber security mogul's revolutionary new software, to black market activity in China and Russia, to a series of droughts stretching as far as Dubai, and the disappearance of a freighter suspected to be smuggling countless, priceless treasures.
Things were looking up for their motley crew, and -as was happening more and more- Weiss found herself looking to the future not with trepidation, but with a sort of excited anticipation. For once, she felt she could face whatever came her way, and, so long as she had this rag-tag group of scoundrels with whom she was starting to feel she belonged, she knew she would make it through to the other side, if not unscathed, then in one piece and better for it.
*(OoO)*
They spent a week waiting for the heat from their latest heist to die down before arranging any sort of meeting with Adam –who, according to Blake, was getting more and more anxious the closer they got to the suspected date of the auction. Meanwhile, Ruby opted to spend almost all of their borrowed time pouring over the stolen files, trying to decipher them.
Eventually, the time came for the inevitable handoff, and Ruby was focusing on remaining calm.
"I still don't like this." Yang grumbled next to her as they squinted at the road before them for any approaching vehicles. The rising sun making the pale gravel increasingly harsh to look directly at.
"You know, you've been saying that a lot recently." Ruby quipped. "Besides, I said you didn't need to come. Blake and I could have handled this just fine on our own."
"It was this or helping Pyrrha and the princess on whatever pet project it is you have them looking into for once you're done with this one. Not to mention, last time I let you 'handle it', you walked through the door sopping wet with a bullet in your shoulder, and don't get me started on letting Blake come here with him."
Ruby shrugged noncommittally as she turned and crouched to inspect the collection of rusty propane tanks used for fueling the gas lamps within the aging mine sitting desolately next to the tunnel's entrance. "Minor setbacks."
"Why are we even meeting outside some old iron mine, anyway?" The brawler asked impatiently. "There isn't even any cell reception out here."
The younger of the two sisters sniffed, the almost permanent layer of crushed rock particles around the mine entrance, and the damp smell of water and rocks coming from deeper within mixed with the crisp, morning air in her lungs. "Probably a trap."
"Y'know, Rubes, you're not helping a whole bunch with easing my concerns."
"Don't worry." Ruby placated. "We just need to give him what he wants, so he'll tell us what he knows about Torchwick. Then we're free to never see him again for as long as we live."
Yang paused. "You really think he'll keep his end of the deal?" She asked uncertainly.
Not likely. Ruby thought to herself. Though she didn't get where she was without accounting for the inevitable betrayal that many of the people she dealt with were guilty of. She had to be especially careful when making exchanges for information, as it was only too easy for the client to give her bogus Intel. But there's not a lot that can be done when there's only one source for the information. And it's a homicidal sociopath to boot.
She kept her thoughts to herself, though, not wanting to unnerve her sister so soon before a meet. Instead, she merely replied, "We're about to see." She nodded toward the road where a sky blue van shone like a beacon under the morning sun as it made its way toward them.
"Well, here goes…" Yang hesitated in her muttering as the van pulled up in front of them, and tilted her head in consideration. "… Everything, I guess."
It finally came to a stop about twelve feet from them, and they watched as Adam hopped leisurely out of the back, followed by a Blake who looked like she wished she was anywhere but there (or preferably twelve feet away, in the arms of her girlfriend), while one of his thugs (the one who's hand Ruby put a knife through the last time she saw them, if the bandages were anything to go by) hopped out of the passenger seat to take up position on Adam's right.
Once more the leader of the White Fang was outfitted in a tailored, three-piece suit. This time it was a rich, creamy white, with a blood-red vest, and a skinny, obsidian necktie.
Ruby adjusted her designer shades and called out to him as he came to a stop just over six feet from her and Yang. "Aww, Adam! I'm flattered, but I thought we agreed you didn't need to dress up for little old me."
She watched as Adam's attention shifted briefly to her sister, who was doing a decent job of looking confused as to why Blake was standing next to him, before turning back to her and smirking.
"Well, my darling Blake here convinced me it was a special occasion." His smirk grew as Yang visibly tensed next to her. "Tell me, Red. How is that arm of yours doing?"
It was Ruby's turn to smirk now as she effortlessly rolled her shoulders, not even allowing herself to register any of the lingering pain in the still-healing burn. "It's doing great actually. How's your face healing up?"
The smile vanished from Adam's face at the mention of the stitched-up scar marring his brow. "Fine." He growled.
"That's good to hear." Ruby replied jovially. "I'd hate to have ruined that pretty face of yours. I hear your resources are already limited as is."
Adam's scowl deepened and she could almost feel the raw anger in his expression. "Enough pleasantries. Do you have what I came for, or not?"
"You mean the top secret files on a revolutionary new power source the American government was researching that could power an EMP strong enough to knock out the entire eastern seaboard of North America?" Ruby offered. "That depends."
"On. What?"
Ruby paused as if thinking it over before answering. "On whether you can tell me what I need to know."
Adam shook his head. "I don't think so, Red. You hand over the files, then I tell you about Torchwick."
"And why, exactly, would I do that?"
In a flash, that damn smirk was back in place. "Because I can sweeten the deal."
Ruby arched an eyebrow skeptically. "How so?"
"I happen to have information that links Torchwick and a man named Gregorovitch to one Augustus Schnee."
Yang gasped and Ruby narrowed her eyes in Blake's direction at the mention of not just Weiss's father, but the man most likely to have new information on Ruby's mother as well. The air itself seemed to stand still as she and Adam stared at each other, both locked in a silent battle of wills, until, finally, with a small sigh, Ruby reached into the satchel draped across her shoulders and pulled out a hard drive.
"Fine," She muttered just loud enough for him to hear as she tossed it to him. "Here."
Adam's smirk stretched into a full-blown grin as he deftly caught the drive out of the air. It widened even more as he reached behind him, pulled out the same gun with which he had shot Ruby, and, without so much as a sidelong glance, pulled the trigger, and BANG! put a bullet in his lackey's brain.
"Fuck!" Yang shouted while Blake yelped loudly in fear.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ruby yelled, outraged.
Adam's sadistic simpering was unfazed as he threw the hard drive to the ground and crushed it underfoot before wrapping his free arm around Blake's neck and pointing his gun at her temple.
"Did you really think I was stupid enough to fall for that?" He half-demanded, half-laughed.
"Adam, what are you talking about?" Ruby asked in a forced calm, her hands outstretched in front of her.
"Oh, don't play coy with me, Red! I've been a step ahead of you this whole time." He laughed sinisterly. "I mean, did you really think I would believe Blake here's little double-agent act?"
Ruby narrowed her eyes angrily, her mind working a mile a minute on getting Blake to safety. "Fine. You got us." She acquiesced. "But that's no reason to get all trigger-happy."
Adam's faced morphed from sadistic glee, to a visage of disgust as he glanced down his nose at the bleeding corpse at his feet. "He had already outlived his usefulness."
"So you just execute him?!" Yang accused loudly.
Adam shrugged, as if he left his bathroom light on before going out, as opposed to slaughtering one of his own men in cold blood. "More evidence for Interpol to pin against you three when they get here." Ruby's eyes widened and the victorious, Cheshire grin was back on his face. "Oh, that's right, Red. I knew you had contacted agents at Interpol. Just like I know that hard drive you gave me was rigged with a tracking program so that I would lead them right back to all the big players when I sold it. Lucky for me, I know how to make deals too." He paused and chuckled to himself. "I mean, really, with an attitude like yours, it's no challenge to find someone with something against you."
Ruby eyes widened in realisation. She cursed under breath. "Yatsuhashi." She muttered.
"Oh, not bad." Adam replied condescendingly. "Not only was it easy to get to Agent Daishi through his old Triad contacts, but once I told him I could give him 'The Infamous Red' on a silver platter, he was practically jumping to do whatever I asked."
Faintly, they could hear the sound of sirens start ringing through the air. "In fact, that must be him now. So, if you would just be so kind as to give me the original hard drive, I'll be on my way."
"Don't do it, Red!" Blake shouted only to be quickly silenced when Adam smacked the pistol across her face, snapping her head to the side.
"You son of a bitch!" Yang hollered. "I swear to God I will kill you for touching her!"
"Anytime now, Red." Adam demanded. "I'm not a patient man."
Ruby looked between the two women she had come to know as sisters over the years, and sighed in defeat. She reached into her bag and pulled the original micro laptop she had downloaded the files onto in the first place out of her bag. "Here." She growled as she tossed it to him.
Adam reached out for the drive, freeing Blake to run over and get engulfed in a bone crushing hug from both sisters, and smiled as he made his way back to the van. He opened the passenger side door and paused before turning back to face them. "Oh! Not that it'll do you any good where you're going, but seeing as I am a man of my word I guess I should tell you: I did meet Torchwick. He hired my men to torch some research facility in the Amazon. Said it would help me build rapport with some big company or group or something. Anyway, have fun living the rest of your lives in some pit where no one can find you."
They then watched as he drove off, though Ruby's chief concern was the health and wellbeing of a certain raven-haired cat-burglar.
"Blake, Yang," Ruby murmured, "I am so sorry. I didn't think he would be so… volatile."
"It's okay, Ruby." Blake replied, her words muffled by the brawler's arms that continued to encircle her. "Right, Yang."
It took a moment for Yang to respond, and Ruby only felt guiltier. She knew how deeply her sister and Blake cared for each other, and yet she had been willing to risk them both without a second thought.
What is wrong with me?
She was shaken from her deprecating thoughts by the feeling of two sets of arms wrapping around her and the sound of her sister's voice speaking gently in her ear. "Blake's right. We all knew what we were getting into when we adopted these lifestyles. What's done is done. There's no use dwelling on it."
Ruby felt tears threaten the edge of her vision and burrowed further into her big sister's embrace. The tender moment was broken, though, by the sounds of ever approaching sirens. The three women separated and Ruby turned to see how far away the police were.
"Well, it certainly seems like we're in a bit of a situation." Blake commented.
"You can say that again." Yang added as they both turned to Ruby expectantly. "Well, Boss. What do we do?"