"...I don't have any need to talk to you two." Yang finally spoke, swiftly realising that she wouldn't be able to stay in stunned silence the entire time. Crossing her arms, she leaned against one side of her doorframe, blocking the entrance into her apartment. "I don't know what you came to Junior about before, but I've got nothing to do with any of it."
"Ah, but you and I both know that is a lie." Glynda never raised her voice, speaking as calmly as if she was simply chiding a child into being honest. "Might we come inside and talk further?" She waved a hand to the room behind Yang that could be seen over her shoulder. "I doubt you'd want to have everything done out here in public like this, where any of your neighbours could pry." The walls here in the rundown building were on the thin side, but they would allow them some privacy. Especially with most of the tenants still at work for the day.
Reluctantly, and not wanting to get arrested over something arbitrary, the blonde pushed herself off of the frame and walked back into her apartment, not especially wanting to let the cops in but having no reason not to. It wasn't like Junior asked her to hold drugs, weapons, or anything else illicit here for him. All she did was fight in his basement, and they couldn't prove that without actually catching her there, could they now?
The flat was cramped and tiny, the front door leading into the miniscule living area of the apartment. It was also untidy, discarded clothes lying all over the place, whether they were draped over an old couch that had holes springing up along it, hanging off the banged up coffee table that was stained with mug rings, or just abandoned onto the threadbare carpet that covered the floor. Up the back of the living room was the kitchen, the only separation from the two areas being a long counter, a pair of chairs that looked almost ready to fall apart dragged up to it. There was a pile of dirty dishes stacked high in the sink, a window above it letting in sunlight to glimmer on the cold water covering those actually in the metal basin. A few empty boxes of Chinese takeaway that she hadn't gotten to chucking into the bin yet were scattered along the counter. To the left of the living area was a closed door, leading off to Yang's bedroom and the bathroom adjoined to it.
The girl made no apologies for the mess as the police walked in and closed the door behind them, noticing how the silver haired one raised the corner of one lip into a disgusted sneer as they looked around, choosing to stand instead of risking getting any filth on her. Goodwitch, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice, nor care, about how the place looked, opting to gracefully sit down on the couch, ignoring a dirty t-shirt hanging off the back right next to her position. Yang, wanting some space to herself, dragged one of the chairs by the counter over towards them, straddling it instead of sitting on it properly, propping her arms up on its back.
"So." She made sure to say it loud enough to catch both of their attentions. "What was it you wanted to talk about?" The sooner she could get them out of here, the better. Junior wasn't about to take away her chance for the tournament with her being his strongest contender, but if she too late tonight then she would miss a chance to earn some pay between now and then.
"Feels a shame to start off the conversation without properly introducing ourselves." The detective said, dodging the blunt question. "Maybe you got my name when we met at the bar, but I'm detective Glynda Goodwitch, and this," She waved a hand towards the still standing officer, who had proceeded to cross her arms. "is my partner, officer Weiss Schnee."
"Schnee?" That distracted Yang for a while. That couldn't be right. Why would there be an officer with that name? "Like the name of that giant company, the Schnee Corporation? You're of them?" Weiss sniffed at the question, the narrowing of her eyes showing off her displeasure as she fixed the other girl with a glare.
"It's my father's company, but yes." She confirmed. The blonde paused for a moment, almost not believing the situation she had here. This was ridiculous, and it eventually got to her, leaning back to let out an exasperated laugh. One eyebrow on Weiss's face twitched as the sound irked her. "And just what is so funny?"
"Nothing, princess." Yang answered as the laughter died away into mere chuckles, smirking as the officer grew more irritated. "Just didn't think that times were so bad that even a heiress like yourself had to get a job just to survive." One of Weiss's hands clenched into a fist, though she strove to not rise to the bait.
During the little goading, Glynda had been busily studying from afar some papers that had been left folded up on the coffee table in front of her. The letterhead to one of them bore the name 'Schnee Medical Aid'. They had been kept from unfolding thanks to a picture frame that had been propped up on top of them, a photograph of the blonde holding a smaller dark haired girl in a head lock with one arm, using the other hand to mess up the other's hair even as it looked like they were yelling. The grinning and carefree face that Yang displayed in the picture was a far cry from how she seemed now, serious and cynical.
"I'm guessing that this is your sister in the photo with you?" The detective asked as she wrapped her fingers round one side of the frame, lifting up to herself for a better look. Despite her apparent attention focused on the picture, she didn't miss the sudden rising of Yang's shoulders when she saw what the woman was doing. "Funny, this seems to be a one bedroom apartment, and there doesn't seem to be any sign of another person living in here with you..." The unasked question was left hanging in the air, though there was enough for her to figure out exactly what was going on. The building was only two blocks away from a hospital, after all.
"That's none of your business." The answer came out as a growl, even if Yang had not been intending to do so. Every nerve in her body was demanding that she march over to the couch and snatch that frame out of the woman's hands, even though the rational part of her knew that would only make things worse. Then again, they had no warrant, or any other official piece of paper saying they had the right to be in here whether she liked it or not. She could make them leave any time that she wanted to. "And you still haven't answered my question. What did you come here to talk about?"
"I suppose we've done enough small talk for now." Glynda gently placed the photo frame back where she had picked it up from, bringing her hands back to fold them together neatly in her lap. "We know that you're involved in what goes on in the basement of Mr Xiong's club." Yang scoffed openly at the statement, waving a hand to one side as she let off some steam. That was what this was about?
"I don't have anything to do with the fighting, you're wasting your time here." If they did have anything, anything at all, then not only would she be in jail for taking part, Junior and the rest of his men would be in there with her for setting the matches up. As it stood, they were just poking their noses around the bar, trying to get a whiff of anything suspicious that they could use as a foothold.
"I never said that it was fighting that went on." Yang froze at the words, a chill slipping down her spine as she realised too late what a mistake she had just made. "And yet, that's instantly what you thought we were talking about." Those bright green eyes hiding behind a pair of spectacles had turned sharp as they gazed at the younger girl, all facade of friendliness gone. "Of course you would though, you do take part in those fights nearly every other night, don't you?" It was barely phrased as a question, the intonation on the sentence making it sound like fact.
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Yang blustered, desperately trying to backpedal from her mistake. The panic was clawing away inside of her, even as she fought to keep her cool. She couldn't afford to be taken in by the police for more questioning. If Junior even got a whiff of that having happened, she would be out of the tournament, and out of any regular fights at all! And then everything else that the girl had worked so hard for, Ruby's treatments, the apartment, it would all crumble out from underneath her. "It was just a guess! I could have very well said that there could be drugs or prostitution going on down there!"
"No, it wasn't." There was no room for argument, not with that cold tone. And this time, it was coming from Weiss. "We've had an officer manage to get in for a couple of weeks now. From his reports, we know exactly how many times they have matches down there, and even what days this week you've been fighting. Which would be..." She raised a finger to her temple, as if needing time to bring up the details. "...last night, Monday, and also Thursday." Her smirk grew as Yang's mouth dropped open. "Tell me if I'm wrong."
Yang wanted to scream, to flee from the room as fast as she could. But doing that would only confirm what they knew, and give them a chance to outright arrest her. Wait. The word stilled her, taking in a breath as she rolled it over in her head. If they knew all this, then why weren't they already arresting her? They knew that there were illegal matches in the basement, that Yang took part of them, even had the days she did it on. And yet, no handcuffs were appearing in either one's hands. The panic died back as she used her brain.
They wanted something from her. Something that they couldn't get with her rotting away in jail.
"And what if that's true?" She spoke up. It was with some glee that she noted the smirk fading off Weiss's face, though she kept that inside. This was the time to be careful, not to push her luck. "You seem to know everything already, so why not chuck me in the back of a police car and take me to the station?"
A pause, to be met with no answers. So they didn't want to arrest her, even though they had the opportunity to do so.
"No, you came here for something else than to simply arrest a brawler." Her arms crossed once more, she drummed one set of fingers along the other arm, her purple eyes fixed firmly on the detective sitting on her couch. "What do you want from me?"
Glynda held the gaze between them for a handful of seconds as the tense silence stretched on. Before long though, she broke it off, choosing instead to glance back at the picture in front of her.
"What we need, is an informant." One of Yang's eyebrows rose up as she let the woman continue. "We know of the tournament coming up. The department has always known of the annual flexing of power that takes place in the criminal underground. They've just never been able to prove it exists, and any attempts to do so thus far have always ended up with the officers investigating found dead and dumped out by the docks."
Well that was a great way to make someone say yes to playing spy for them. Tell them that anyone else who'd tried had been found out and killed. They be jumping to their feet to join up after that! Yang squashed those thoughts that she was tempted to turn into words coming out of her mouth, listening further instead.
"That's why we need someone who has already been trusted and working for one of the leading figures for a while. Someone who won't be questioned on how they got in." Glynda stopped looking at the picture frame, straightening up as she returned her gaze to the girl still watching her. "We didn't have anyone that could fit the bill, until we found you." And had a weakness that could be exploited, but that was something that was best left implied instead of outright stated.
"So, while the matches are going on, you want me to snoop around for you, see if I can find any information that you might be interested in. Is that the drift I'm getting here?" Yang asked as she tilted her head to one side.
"Yes, that is the basis of it." The detective agreed with a nod, pleased that this seemed to be going well. "There are specific details that we wish to find out, but those can come later once it gets closer to the date it starts on."
"Okay, so we've sussed out what you get out of this deal. But what about me?" Yang was growing bolder, feeling safer with the knowledge that she had something that they needed from her, the chance to get inside the most secretive event of the underworld. "What do I get in return?"
"How about not getting thrown in jail and put on trial?" Weiss interjected irritably before Glynda could make her own answer. "Shouldn't that be good enough for a cretin like you?"
"Sorry princess, but when someone asks me to stick out my neck for them, I expect more of a reward than not getting punished." Weiss's mouth pulled into a tight line at the nickname, wanting to go off at her for insulting her. But, as Yang knew full well by this point, they needed her. "So unless you have something more to offer, then you can just throw the handcuffs on right now." She may have looked confident, but inside her stomach was contorting itself into knots, unsure of if they would actually give her something for her troubles, or just decide it would be too much effort to convince her to do their dirty work for them.
"...There would, of course, be full shielding from the fallout that would happen once the tournament is over and we get all the information we need, such as moving you and your sister into the witness protection program if need be." Glynda added, though this was something that was given to all informants of worth anyways. "But I suppose, we can come up with something else to make it worth your while. I'm sure there should be room in the budget for some monetary reward or otherwise to send your way, especially if we get something worthwhile out of this exchange."
"Alright." A grin grew across Yang's face. This was a dangerous game she was about to enter into. But if she pulled it off, she would reap not only the money from the fights, but benefits from the police as well. She stood to lose anyways if she said no, it was either do or die from this point onwards. "Let's talk about what you really want me to get during the tournament then."
Her fist slammed into the young man's temple, sending him stumbling backwards and into the rope behind him as he fought to keep conscious and stop his vision from spinning around on him. Bouncing back on her heels to gain some room, Yang grinned cheerfully as he tried to push himself up onto his feet, slipping instead and falling back onto the rope. This was almost too easy, like stress relief after what had happened earlier today.
The crowd around the ring was either cheering or booing at this point, though their sounds faded into the background to her, used to it by now. This was to be her last match before the tournament was due to start, she had found out when she had shown up an hour prior. The sooner the better, the blonde thought. With her nerves pulled taut by the visit from Goodwitch and her partner, she needed to get it all over with as soon as possible, before her courage could start to waver on her and make her question if she could actually pull this all off. Make it to the finals, and listen in on the underworld leaders that were certain to show up to the tournament? It was a lot that was expected of her, and what a weight on her shoulders it was proving.
Still, it was nothing that the feeling of her knuckles crashing into flesh couldn't relieve her of, if only for a while anyways. The man had gotten back up while she had waited, the crowd either taunting him or inciting him to go on the attack. Unable to back out if he wanted to save face, he lunged at her, the sloppy right cross striking only thin air as Yang simply leaned to the right and out of the way.
Sensing it was time to finish this after having added in some showboating to pad out the fight's time, and with him barely able to swing straight, she brought her left fist up from her side into an uppercut. It was a solid hit, smacking the other fighter under his chin. His eyes rolled back in their sockets as his head jerked backwards, collapsing onto the canvas with a loud thump. When he failed to move or even twitch within ten seconds after hitting the ground, the match bell rang out loud and clear.
"Winner by knockout yet again, ladies and gentlemen, the Dragon!" Junior called out above the clamour as people ran to collect their bets or groaned over the loss of their money. There had been a beaming smile on his face as he had watched the night's brawl. With a fighter like this on his hands, he was bound to get results this time around at the tournament. And maybe some respect to go along with it.
Panting from the exertion of the fight, Yang raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her brow. Her eyes glancing around the people still in the room, her gaze connected with another's. Amber eyes observed her quietly, the girl they belonged to leaning against a wall. Long, wavy, black hair cascaded down to the middle of her back. The most that Yang could see over the heads of those in front of her was what was on her upper half, a half buttoned up black vest, with a white undershirt showing clearly through it. A small obsidian scarf was wrapped around her neck like a collar, and while both arms had dark straps wrapped several times around each forearm, only her left had a similarly coloured sleeve covering most of it, a silver band going across it near her shoulder. And the one thing that Yang couldn't miss, a pair of dark furred cat ears perched on top of her head.
A faunus? Wasn't she a long way out from safety? The area near the docks was also known for infamous incidents of racial violence taking place here, and yet here this girl was, out at night, in a club filled with drunks and other people that would be itching for a fight, and her animal attributes out in clear view.
Noticing that the fighter now had her sights fixed on the other, the girl blinked once, before heading towards the stairs out of the basement. Yang watched her go, still confused as to why she had come out to watch a fight in such dangerous territory for her kind, and a little bit concerned over what might happen to her as she left. Hesitant to just let her leave like that, without anyone else with her, Yang took a step towards the steps to follow.
"Yang!" Her head whipped back to look at Junior, who was waving an thick envelop up at her from the ringside. "Come down and get your pay already! Don't you normally like getting home early?" He chuckled as he added that, surprised by that habit of hers not showing tonight as promptly as it had on all others.
By the time she had turned to look back at the stairs, the girl was gone, swallowed up by the crowd with no trace left behind. Dammit. There was probably nothing she could do now. An uneasy twinge going through her, the only thing she could do now was slip down under the rope and collect her money. Despite thinking that the girl was bound to run into trouble, Yang couldn't help the idea that they would see each other again in the future, even if she had no clue why.
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