"What does she want that money for, anyway?" moaned Roman, banging his head on the kitchen table. Neo sat opposite him, making little piles out of the coins. She puffed out her cheeks and crossed her eyes.
"Yep. That's Cinder all right," laughed Roman, looking up from the table. Neo bowed extravagantly, sweeping the coins from the table with her arm. The ash tray went with them.
"Neo!" exclaimed Roman, as he dived to catch the ash tray. Neo shrugged apologetically, as he overshot and smacked onto the floor. The ash tray landed with a crash on the floor, overturning its contents. Roman groaned, cradling his nose. Neo patted him on the head and reached for her whiteboard.
"Forget the snide remarks, help me up!" complained Roman. Neo rolled her eyes and pulled him upwards. She sat him down in one of the chairs and gave him a tissue for his nose. Then she kissed him on the forehead and walked out, leaving the whiteboard rattling on the table. Roman slowly reached for it and then paused. "Bet I know what this is going to say," he muttered, pulling it towards him.
Poor sweet baby.
"You know Neo," he said, in the direction of the door, "There's only so many times you can use that one before it gets old." He rubbed his nose ruefully and stood up. "Let's see…" he muttered, patting his pockets, "Cinder's To do list… steal more dust, ugh, talk to the White Fang. Double ugh." He screwed the list into a ball and tossed it over his shoulder. "White Fang…" Suddenly he stopped. "Neo!" he shouted, running over to the door. He craned his head through the doorway. "Neo?"
Neo's head poked round the living room door, Roman's hat perched jauntily atop it. Roman rolled his eyes and rested his shoulder against the doorframe. "Come here for a moment… and give me that! That isn't a toy." He grabbed the hat off her head as she pushed past him and into the kitchen. "Neo. The real reason I called this meeting was not to get my hat back-"
Neo interrupted by tapping her whiteboard.
Honey, you barely even called a meeting. You shouted "Neo, get your lazy butt over here"
"I did not," protested Roman, as Neo rubbed the board clean. "I asked politely. Which is about the best you're going to get out of me for the time being, to be frank."
Neo shrugged, walked over to one of the cupboards and began to rummage inside.
"Neo, don't spoil your appetite. We'll be eating soon. Now… where was I?"
Neo held up her board again, while pulling out a packet of chocolate chips.
You said something about getting your hat back.
"Yes. Thank you Neo. Remember what we saw in the alley way? Little do-gooder Red handing over dosh to the White Fang?"
Neo nodded thoughtfully, stuffing a handful of chips into her mouth.
"Well," continued Roman, "We could use that to extort money from her. We just need…"
Evidence?
Neo held up her board. Roman nodded and clapped her by the shoulders. "Yes Neo, my love. Undeniable evidence that will send little Red quaking in her boots. Evidence that is solid. Evidence that is incriminating. Evidence that… that we don't actually have. Why didn't I think to record that?" He let go of Neo's shoulders and sunk down into the chair, head in his hands. "Why Neo?" he moaned. "Why can't anything go my way?"
Neo tried to hand him the whiteboard. He pushed it away. "And enough of that 'poor sweet baby' stuff. It gets old after the third time."
Neo responded to this by thwacking him over the head with the board and shoving it into his hands.
Well you're in luck. Good thing oneof us has enough brains to know a profit opportunity when shesees one.
Roman looked at the board and then back up at Neo, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Neo," he started, slowly handing the board back to her. "Neo, do you have evidence?"
Neo winked and pulled out what looked like his broken scroll. Although the screen was shattered, a video flickered across it.
"B-but that's Ruby in the alleyway!" Roman spluttered, peering closer at the screen. "How did you? We were behind there the whole time! You can see the top of my head behind that crate."
Neo took the scroll back and proudly presented her board.
I set it up across the alley before you got back. I was originally intending to make some nice movies so I can remember you when you're dead (which is bound to happen the way youlive your life) but apparently it actually came in useful.
There was a pause as Roman took in what she had written. "Neo…" he started, grabbing her hands looking her in the eyes.
"Neo, have you been filming me without my permission?"
…Maybe? But I got some funny ones of Cinder fighting with a puppy. The puppy won. And I have some of you at about three in the morning. You look cute. Like a little… dead thing. But most importantly, I have the evidence we need to get some dough of Ruby Rose.
Roman clapped his hands together and stood up suddenly. "Neo," he exclaimed, "I could kiss you."
There's time enough for that later, lover boy, but right now we have work to do.
She threw the board over her shoulder and it landed neatly on the countertop. The couple headed for the door, Roman fixing his hat on his head and Neo closing the scroll and slipping it into her pocket.
As they were about to leave, Roman paused.
"Wait… photos of me at three in the morning? Give me that!"
He tried to extract the scroll from her pocket, but Neo cuffed him about the ear, settling the argument. As they continued down the corridor, with sudden bursts of conversation like: "Wait… dead? I'm not going anywhere soon!" and "Was the puppy in question wearing galoshes" and "Neo you don't have any other… videos of me do you?", Emerald detached herself from where she had been hiding behind the door. She shrugged and helped herself to the packet of chocolate chips that Neo had left on the table.
"I may have to get hold of that scroll at some time," she pondered, tracing circles on the table cloth with her finger. "Cinder fighting a puppy? Now that's something I have to see."
"Okay Neo," announced Roman, as he stood in front of the large whiteboard. "What is the first thing we do?"
Neo, who was sitting opposite him, raised her own board in answer.
We write a ransom note.
"Exactly," replied her partner, flourishing his pen. He wrote the suggestion down. "We write, not a ransom note exactly, but a note saying that we know of her dealings with the White Fang."
Neo raised her hand.
"Yes," said Roman, pointing to her. "The beautiful woman with the colorful hair."
Neo smiled and shook her head, holding up her whiteboard.
What if we say something like, 'We KNOW what you were doing in the alleyway behind the cinema.'
"Nice," replied Roman. "Mysterious. Chilling. To the point of the matter."
Neo bowed and wiped her board clean. "Yes," continued Roman, un-capping the pen again. "We write little Red a nice little note. We demand money. We say that we'll 'tell the others' about her activities."
Neo applauded.
I like it!
"I know you do, sweetheart. I am a master criminal, after all."
Neo rolled her eyes and walked up to the bigger board.
Give me a boost Romeo?
Roman sighed and hooked his arms around her waist, lifting her up so that she could reach the board. She patted his head in thanks. Then she took her own pen and started to write down the note.
Ruby Rose.
We KNOW what you were doing in the alleyway behind the cinema.
You wouldn't want the rest of your little team to find out, would you?
Money. Lots of it. In the crate in that same alleyway. Tomorrow.
Or the rest of your buddies find out.
We'll be waiting.
Oh- and no funny stuff.
The police find out about our little 'deal' and your friends find out to.
We know you won't let us down.
Neo capped her pen and patted Roman's head again. He put her down and dusted off his hands. "A master piece Neo, my Ice Cream," he exclaimed, as Neo took her seat again. "The sooner we get this copied out, the better. But first, let's find out who our faunas friends really are. That will give us another Ace in our hand. How's your penmanship Ice Cream?"
Neo held up her board.
Flourishing.
"Good. If you can write down that note, we can leave it somewhere for Red to find."
Neo interrupted by tapping him on the shoulder.
Maybe if we wait in that alleyway again…
"You're a genius Neo!" exclaimed Roman, picking her up and whirling her around. "And we might get more evidence against her."
Neo whacked him over the head with her whiteboard.
Put me down, you soppy idiot.
But she was smiling. Slowly Roman put her back down and then sat down heavily into a chair. The chair, unaccustomed to this sudden influx of weight, buckled beneath him and, for the fifth time that day, Roman Torchwick found himself thrown onto the floor.
