"Miss Schnee?" She ignored the man beside her, paying attention only to her work, her glove clad hands gliding across the control panel in front of her. "Miss Schnee." The voice came again, it annoyed her. Who does he think he is? Interrupting my work! Her fingers stopped moving as she reluctantly stopped her work, turning her head to face her assistant.
"What is it, Mr Ten?" The anger in her voice wasn't hidden at all, unlike heated debates in the Schnee Co complex, in her personal lab she didn't have to put up the calm and cold façade. "I'm not exactly free to chat at the moment."
Lie Ren had learned long ago that his Boss would probably never remember his name, even when he first became her personal assistant months before, she couldn't get his name right. Whether she genially forgot it or she purposely did it to show her superiority, he would never know. "You have various reports to fill out" He indicated with his left hand that held a small S.C.R.O.L.L, text flashing on its screen. "A sudden change of plans has delayed the return of your sister, so her meeting with our buyers is now your meeting"
A dark smirk reached the snow queen's lips, a short (And elegant!) chuckle at the news. "Good, it's about time I got a chance at proving myself" Though after speaking she fought to keep the smirk, a slight frown tugging at her lip. So, this is the third week Winter had to postpone her return… And she promised to go to- Nevermind.
"And of course, your coffee is ready" His right hand held the small cup of steaming black liquid, which she took with a slightly nervous face. Coffee, urg. I prefer tea. Why did I even order this!? "Finally, your Father wishes to talk to you"
Weiss didn't resist to frown at the final statement, turning back towards the computer as if ignoring it. The machinery on the other side of the lab churned back to life, various mechanical arms moving around the room at the mercy of her fingers. All the arms took materials from assembly lines on either side of the room, before taking them over to various spots in the room where various machinery stood, the materials stuck onto the machinery and wielded onto them.
"Your Father wishes to talk to you" Ren repeated, though this time it didn't fall on deaf ears.
"I don't care. I have to run HIS company, I don't exactly have time for him to come out of nowhere for a talk!" Her anger was visibly rising, increasing her pace on the computer controlling the machinery.
Ren held the small Scroll up to look through it "He also said 'Then make time'. If you're really that busy, Miss, you could simply ask him to resch-"
"Success doesn't ask" Her hand shot up to tear off her goggles, dropping them to the floor with a sigh. "And neither do Schnees"
Jaune could tell that she was following him since he left Dust 'till dawn. He could hear the extra footsteps that accompanied his with every step, he could hear her failed attempts to keep her breathing quiet.
His thoughts ran wild with the various reasons someone would choose to follow HIM of all people. Is she a mugger? Did Junior send someone to make sure his job went well? Is she pissed that I was staring at her back at the shop? What if she's a cop!? The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to lose the girl, the various actions she could be capable of terrified him. I'm scared of what a girl that doesn't even reach my shoulders could do to me…She's probably only fifth teen and she has me scared. I'm overreacting here, I should just calm down an-
Her phone went off, causing Jaune to scream suddenly (Her ringtone 'put that cookie DOWN!' in the background) snapping to look directly at his pursuer with his eyes flooded with panic. Ruby for the most part, was embarrassed. Not only had she been spotted by the person she was attempting to stealthily follow, but it was because SHE forgot to turn off her phone. Frak…Frak…Frak. It's okay, Ruby! Just stay…calm…Flash him a smile and say something…SAY SOMETHING! STOP LOOKING LIKE A COMPLETELY DERANGED STALKER!
"…Hi" If my brain could sigh, it would. She stood straight now, her hands behind her back as she gave him an inhumanly large smile. Tone down the smiles, you're gonna creep him out…More then you already have.
"Uh…Hi?" Was his simple response, both individuals seemingly frozen in place like they were caught in the midst of a crime (Though in Jaune's case, that was exactly what it was). "Were…Were you… uh… following me?"
Shizu! He's onto us! Make up an excuse. "No, I just coincidentally went the exact same way as you at the exact same time from the exact same location" You're an idiot, Ruby. AN IDIOT!
"Oh, really? I… guess that makes sense" Jaune lied, not willing to aggravate his pursuer. Like I said, you're a genius, Ruby. A GENIUS! "I thought you might have been a mugger or something" He gave off a fake chuckle.
"I thought you were one too!" That's suspicious! "I mean, of course I didn't because I've never seen you before!" You talked to him at the shop "I was joking, I have met you before, but…Uh…Hi?" So this is why Yang calls us socially awkward…
"Is there something wrong?" His eyes displayed both hesitation and confusion. "Because to be honest I can't understand what you're saying…" Dear Omn, I'm starting to turn into Nora…
"Oh no, I just…Sorry. I'm not that good with other people" She sighed, her head hanging in embarrassment as she mentally continued to slap herself.
A chuckle came from Jaune, an actual one this time as he looked at the innocent girl. Yeah, you're paranoid Jauney-boy. Because when looking the girl over and how she acts, all his thoughts of the horrors she could be capable of faded away. Just look at her, if she's out to mug me, she's certainly good at pretending not to…
"It's fine, I'm not exactly the best with people myself" He explained, sticking out his hand towards Ruby with his head turned away, still a bit nervous of over stepping his bounds. "I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it"
"Do they?" The response was one that never failed to appear every time Jaune introduced himself. "I mean, I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose! Sorry if I scared you, I was just coming to tell you that Flynt didn't mean to be so…rude back in the shop. He's a really nice guy!" Good excuse, but you were following him… "But when I got here, I couldn't work up the courage to speak…so I waited until I did" Nice save! Ruby quickly took hold of Jaune's hand and gave his hand a more forceful shake then she should of.
Jaune didn't complain, but he did get to realise that the girl had a grip of iron. "Ah! It's nothing, really. I wasn't offended or anything, though I was kinda scared for my life"
"Flynt? Scary?" Ruby laughed, she didn't mean to insult Jaune or Flynt, but he's never been scary before. Though he was really tall. His Old Man though? Now that is one scary dude! He'll fix you with such a disappointed look.
"What can I say? He's taller than me…" Jaune attempted to defend his 'honour', though it didn't help that his voice has fallen to an ashamed squeak.
Good work, Ruby. Next you can tell him how scrawny he looks! She immediately rushed over to pat the man on the back, deathly afraid she was indirectly insulting him "W-well, you just don't know him. When you know him like I do, you'd know he wouldn't hurt a fly!"
The small insect let out one last cry of 'No regrets!' before Flynt's hand slammed into it, a relieved sigh coming from him as the fly went flying off of the bridge of his nose. The setting's sun golden gaze streaming through the window beside him made it a bit hard to spot the fly, but a lucky shot had the insect lying dead on the counter top.
"WHAT IN THE BLAZES ARE YOU DOING DOWN THERE!?" The withered yell came out louder than intended, but that was par for the course for Flynt, the yell followed by a trail of footsteps moving through the ceiling.
"Nothing, Gramps! Just swatting a fly" Flynt replied in a much quieter tone, though loud enough for the old man to hear him.
The footsteps feel to a low thumping rhythm, the old man making his way down the stairs. Though as he got closer, Flynt's eyes wondered towards the envelope that still sat on the counter. Biting his lip, a brief panic in his eye, Flynt slid the envelope off the counter just as the door began to open.
When the old man, grey hairs, bald spots and all stepped into the room Flynt had managed to stuff the envelope into his pockets. Beady eyes stared at Flynt suspiciously, to which Flynt simply gave a 'Totally-not-nervous' cough.
"A fly?" The man questioned, approaching Flynt with his suspicious gaze still intact, cautiously looking around Flynt for anything noteworthy. His nose wiggled before he stepped back a little, a look of disgust on his face. "They're probably attracted to that stink you call deodorant! This is why you should be showering five times a day!"
Flynt chuckled, fully pushing the envelope in his pocket before reaching over to pat 'Gramps' on the back. "Words of wisdom, I'm sure" One thing that would be immediately noticeable to anyone when looking at the two is that neither shared any physical traits with the other, there was really nothing that made the two look even remotely related.
Gramps crossed his arms and fixed Flynt with a stern scowl "You're mocking me, aren't you? I thought I told you to respect your elders"
"I think that ship sailed a long time ago"
The old man nodded in agreement, scooting in between Flynt and the counter with a cloth in hand to wipe away the remains of the insect. "Don't get smart with me, the customers already do that enough!" The store owner's voice was loud, something which Flynt had gotten used to over the years.
"What customers? We've barely had any this month" Flynt crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, a sigh coming from the old man as he moved away from the counter and towards the nearby closet.
"Here we go again…" He opened the closet and retrieved a small wooden broom from within it.
"We're a business, we need business to survive" Flynt pointed out, following the older man as he began to sweep the floor.
"I know that! But what do we do? We can't compete with Schnee Co" He shook his head, sighing.
"Hey! They may be a global success and gross billions a year, but they ain't go what we got" He moves over to the dust canisters and tubes, patting them with a single finger. "They don't got natural dust. They lose the soul when they pump it out daily" He leaned against the canisters. "Besides, when have you ever wanted to compete?"
"I didn't mean it like that, I just…I'm just stressed and these old bones can't take it, with Schnee representatives knocking on our door every week..."
"Hang on, what do you mean they're knocking on our door?" Flynt crossed his arms and advanced upon the man, who in turn looked to the floor.
"I shouldn't of said that…"
"Gramps, if something is going on-"
He placed his hand on Flynt's shoulder "It's nothing to worry about, my boy. I shouldn't have said anything"
"But-"
"It's nothing, Flynt" The man looked up to Flynt with a face of slight regret "Trust me"
"I do trust you, but you don't trust me!" Flynt turned away from the old man, stomping towards the front door.
"Where are you going!?" Gramps dropped his broom, hastily following Flynt to the door. "It's going to be dark soon!"
"I'm going out" That was all Flynt said before pushing through the door and slamming it shut, leaving the timid old man staring regretfully at the retreating form of his 'son'.
Ruby sometimes had to really step back and wonder how she got herself into these situations, she was never the most socially adequate person. She was the kid that would have her head stead in fairy tales while others 'talked' and 'bonded' with non-family (Nora was basically family at this point). So, with that, she again had to wonder how the hell she ended up in a diner, sitting across from another person and actually conversing.
"So, you're new to town?" The currently blushing girl asked, stretching out her words in a slow tone to try and sound more… normal. Though she wasn't doing herself any favours as she stared intently at her milkshake glass, half of the pink liquid inside was already gone.
"Yeah, I moved here about a month ago. It's been a tough time, the city is Big" Jaune sat opposite her in their booth, his head leaning on the window beside them with his blue eyes staring off into the strange mixture of stone and steel that made up Vale. "It's easy to get lost"
Ruby took to glaring at her milkshake, blaming the product of milky goodness as the sole reason for her being in this awkward conversation. The two had been talking on the street when Jaune had suggested they take the conversation into the nearby diner, at the prospect of milkshakes Ruby's mind had gone blank causing her to only nod.
And now here she sat. "Yeah, I know all about that. If I didn't have Nora, I probably wouldn't have found my way back to my apartment when I first came here" The small girl rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. "I found myself needing Nora a lot to get around!"
"She's your roommate, right?" Jaune seemed to be the calmer of the two as they conversed, much more easily bringing up topics. Though Ruby wondered if he was experiencing inner turmoil as well and was merely a very good actor, considering that she was tailing him for possibly being a criminal, there was a good chance that Jaune realised what she was doing and was attempting to put her in a false sense of comfort.
"For three years now" She explain, looking up from her milkshake with a small smile, before mentally berating herself. Don't tell him too much, Ruby! You'll only endanger Nora if he's more then he lets on, change the subject! "How about you!? Live with anyone?"
Jaune's shoulders went noticeably limp and a sigh escaped his lips, making it hard for Ruby not to feel sorry for bringing it up. But the sympathy washed away as she continued to remind herself that he's a criminal, well, she at least thought it was washed away.
"No, I came here to live on my own" He gritted his teeth. "To prove to myself I can make it on my own" His gaze was then drew to his wrist, where for the first time Ruby noticed that he wore a bracelet around his wrist. It looked homemade, out of twigs, leaves and beads. The bracelet didn't look like that much, but the way he stared at it and ran his fingers over its misshapen form seemed to indicate otherwise.
Ruby downed the rest of her milk shake to distract herself from the silence that fell over the blonde haired boy, this only managed to make her feel more for the boy, hoping that she hadn't over stepped a boundary and asked the wrong question. "You know, you don't have to answer if y-"
"No, it's fine!" He interjected with a genuine smile "To be honest, this is the most I've ever been able to say to a person in one go. Usually by now I run out of things to talk about"
"I know that feeling" She giggled, looking back to her times back in school, where she used to be quite the stutterer. "What do you do for work?" While she actually did find herself enjoying the conversation, she still had to remind herself to remain focused on getting info from Jaune.
"Kind of… It's a very demanding job, but it pays enough to put food on the table. Especially with this week being so crazy"
"Crazy?"
"Yeah, just a few days ago, something amazing happened" He was about to continue with his statement, but seemed to decide that it wasn't worth it. "Nevermind, you wouldn't believe me"
"Try me"
The boy pondered on Ruby's request for a short while, before giving in and leaning forward. "Okay, so I was uh… minding my own business one night, just walking down the street. When I suddenly heard people yelling at each other, and when I looked towards the source of the yelling because I'm curious; I see two groups of armed criminals arguing. A bulky, hairy guy and some guy that looked like he walked straight out of a mobster movie"
Ruby's eyebrow raised slightly as she realised where this was going. He was at the deal! "So, I'm just watching, slowly walking away. Because I don't wanna get mixed up in that. But I stopped when suddenly, from thin air, appeared her. At least I think it was a her, it has a girly voice"
"So the amazing thing is that you saw a girl?" Ruby inquired while raising the pitch of her voice slightly, hoping Jauen didn't recognise her voice at all.
"No, no. This wasn't just a girl, this thing wasn't human. It didn't even have legs! Just a scarlet cloak cast over nothing, I couldn't see it's face. Without any warning, it whipped out a damn scythe and started cleaving up the gangs"
Ruby coughed quietly, just now noticing how much red she was wearing as she sunk under the table. "A scythe? So, the Grim Reaper?" OOO, maybe I should call myself the Grim Reaper! That would make those criminals wet themselves… Or maybe Angle of Death? No, to long. Crescent Rose? Nah. Maybe…
"No, it was more like a spirit… A wraith. It was a Red Wraith!"
"THAT'S IT!" Ruby unintentionally stood up and cheered her words, scaring the hell out of Jaune who now fell backwards into his seat.
"Huh?"
The young girl froze with a completely embarrassed expression plastered over her face. With a akward smile and giggle, she slowly sank back down into her seat. "Uh, I mean. I think I saw that thing too. Like, the other day… At night… at a church…"
"Oh, you saw it too? It was a small thing…"
Ruby frowned at Jaune, resisting the urge to yell "Uh, no. You must have been looking wrong because she's actually pretty tall. Well, not too tall, but not short! Average, she's average"
"Uh, okay…"
"And as her cloak billowed in the wind, I could tell that she was a creature of mystery, bt intruige. Who had the grace of a cat"
"Actually, it was quite clumsy while it sprinted around waving the scythe…"
"Well, you try lugging around a heavy scythe while your long cloak constantly gets in the way of your feet!" The supposedly innocent girl shot back at Jaune
The boy in question was currently taken aback, her words making him want to back away slowly as she seemed almost offended at what he said "You're getting a little defensive"
"Well of cou-….. Oh, am I? S-s-sorry, I just really admire people who honour the colour red…" Ruby laughed as loudly as she could, looking almost exactly like a uncuffed mental patient. Ruby, this is your brain. I'm officially applying to be transferred to another person. Ergo, YOU'RE AN IDIOT!
"Riiiight…" Jaune gulped nervously, slowly shuffling to the side away from Ruby, now seeing her as if she was a bomb waiting to explode.
"I'm sorry, I-" Again, the familiar ringing of Ruby's phone swept through the room, seemingly coming as a relief to both. "Oh, look, a distraction. Let's talk about this, never again!" Grabbing her phone from her pocket, with a single press of a button she realised that the caller d was Nora's. "I have to take this… You might want to cover your ears"
As soon as Ruby hit the answer button, a voice louder than an orchestra exploded from the phone. "Ruby! Where have you been? I was so worried about you when it had been twenty minutes and you weren't back and I really needed some dust and the pancakes were burned an-"
"NORA!" Ruby screamed into the phone to interrupt the energetic red head that obviously had skipped her class on punctuation. "Calm down! The apostaphe is not your enemy!"
"What the hell was that!" Jaune gasped from his place on the floor, having fallen off his chair in surprise at the sudden explosion of sound.
"Who's that!?" Nora gasped "Have you been kidnapped!? Are you being mugged!? Break his legs!"
"I'm perfectly safe, Nora. Remember who you're talking to here!" Ruby gave the phone a smug smile… before realising that Nora could not see the smug look. "Anyway, this is Jaune. I met him at Dust 'Till Dawn"
"OOoOOOoo, a new friend? Quick, this is our chance to change our names!" Nora practically squealed "Hello, Jaune. I'm Von'pancake and I'm a queen!"
"Nora, I already introduced you"
"Von'pancake."
Ruby sighed "Okay, Von'pancake…"
"Now, Lady Muffin-"
"No! You are not calling me that!"
From his spot on the floor, Jaune looked up at Ruby with a completely confused look. He was not sure whether to run away, continue staring or just laugh at the insane conversation the two were having. Fortunately for him, the beeping of his watch made the decision for him. Unfortunately for him, the watch was beeping to tell him that he was going to be late, he was supposed to report straight back to Junior as soon as he delivered the package to Flynt.
Admittedly this was something he should of expected after completely side tracking himself and taking Ruby to the diner. Really, he should of just left Ruby on the street after confirming she wasn't attempting to harm him. But, alas he simply could't after finding out how pleasant it was to talk to the girl. As... strange as she was, he felt good finding someone who was so easy to talk to, it had been a while since he actually held a mutally happy conversation with soon who wasn't his family. And even then, his mother was very strict and not even approachable to his father.
"Look, I sort of have to go" Jaune announced, getting back up to his feet and pulling his fallen chair upright. "It's a work thing'' Ruby looked up from her argument with the phone, Jaune hearing a small snippet of her current name being the 'Strawberry Dutchess'. "It was good talking to you" He quickly began to gather up what things he had, before reaching into his wallet and pulling out a few lien, placing the coins on the table. "For the milkshake"
"Oh, well. If you really have to go, see ya!" Ruby tried to sound positive, but a bit of desperation was obvious in her tone. No, no! He's my only lead on this Torchwick guy AND he's nice, I can't lose him! "Wait!" Thinking fast, Ruby did the one thing she had never done before, write down her own phone number. Well, first time writing it down for someone else, Yang was the one who got Ruby her phone and Nora didn't ask for the number, she just took the phone.
Holding out the small slip of paper she ripped from her notepad, she offered Jaune a simple smile, hoping that this wasn't considered creepy or strange. "I'd love to meet up again!" Jaune didn't reply, he only took the paper with a nod and exited the diner. Ruby looked back to the phone. "Alright, so you were saying, Gingerbread head?"
Weiss didn't like her father. She didn't really know why but ever since she was little he talked down to her, he never looked her in the eye, most of the times he was facing away from her while giving her a full lecture. There wasn't one moment she remembered when he didn't treat her like an incapable employee, where he actually treated her like his flesh and blood.
She always planned to snap at her father, to stride over to him and let herself yell at him. To inform him of just why he never got a 'Father of the year' mug, why she never added sugar to his tea (Even the tiny twinge of annoyance that would flash in his eyes was worth it). Like many times before she was going to push through the double doors into her father's office and let him have it.
And like those many times before, she only got halfway towards him before all her planning was shattered. Her eyes became interested in the expensive rug as the warmth of the fire licked her cheeks, all of her anger, all her courage and all her stubbornness faded away. All replaced by fear.
The man had a way with people, he was whatever he needed to be at the time he chooses. With clients, he's charismatic and professional, to the staff he is clear and straight to the point, with everyone else? The way he avoided looking at the person, the way he always seemed bored at the very presence. It had a way of shaking you and making you feel worthless. That was the schnee way, there is no mercy in success.
Gone was her know-it-all attitude, her cold gaze and ego-fuelled walk, in the presence of her father she had been reduced back to that scared little girl. Who still had to cower in fear of offending her father.
"You're late" No greeting, no name, no eye contact. Just a critique. "Tardiness is unbecoming of a Schnee" Just beside her father's chair, she spotted (To her disgust) her father's favourite hired gun, in all his scraggily glory. His name is Wolf for Ohm's sake!
"I-I'm sorry, Father! It was my assistant, he, uh…forgot…" Throwing one of lesser standing under the bus was a common strategy for Schnees, something that aided her for years in this business, leaving any regrets and sympathies she had at the door.
"You hired the boy, his failure to perform his job is your responsibility to deal with" Then came that demeaning sigh, that sigh that practically yelled 'Messed up again, how expected'. "But, on to the business at hand. Were you at least told of Winter's prolonged return?"
"Yes! I have- Uh… Sir!" She stated with a hint of pride, though her voice held a slightly sad edge. Prolonged…again… "Which means that I will still be taking over her duties?"
It felt like he was about to add an 'Unfortunately' to demean her, but he merely continued on. "Yes, you'll be in charge of meeting with our private benefactors in Atlas and… 'thank' them for their continued service and loyalty"
Weiss brought up a hologram in the middle of the room, an image that displayed sets of metal crates being carried by other Schnee Co workers. "They will find themselves VERY pleased with what we've made for them" Pride flooded her voice at the sight of her personal creations capturing the interest of her Father.
"What's inside the crates?" Wolf's constantly smug voice questioned. With a wave of her hand, Weiss made the hologram zoom in on the crates and causing another image to pop up. One particular image caught Wolf's attention, the 'camera' moved around to display each and every part of a large scythe, it's crimson steel handle holding various mini compartments and hooks, while a small trigger joined the blade end to the handle, some of the steel extending past the back of the blade and formed what looked to be a gun barrel.
"This is one of my personal designs, a high tech, dust fueled scythe that can give even the hardest of metals a run for their money" Weiss had her hands on her hips, a large smile plastered over her face. "It can also morph into a high calibre, high precision, grade 3 Sniper Rifle. It fires dust rounds at mock 3, using the user's aura to balance its own weight with the us-"
"What?"
"It's also a gun"
"Nevermind that" Mr Schnee's voice boomed, silencing Weiss before she could go back to monologue about her design. "I leave this matter in your hands, I trust that you will conduct yourself with the grace and cunning worthy of a Schnee" Weiss still stood confident, ecstatic at the chance to handle an important job in her father's eyes for once. "And as a precaution, Wolf shall be accompanying you"
It took all her concentration to not immediately swear or lash out, a brief gaze thrown towards the smirking Wolf. Of course he sends Wolf. He just can't resist sending along someone to undermine me. "Wouldn't it be best for my assistant to accompany me? A mercenary isn't exactly good for our image, Sir".
"This deal is not a simple press conference or meeting. These benefactors are coming from Atlas, if anything goes wrong, you'll need an experience body guard" Weiss wanted to ask why a simple transaction of appreciation could be that dangerous, but the man's glare made her think twice. Besides, this isn't about protecting me. He just doesn't trust me to handle it. "If anything happens, you will do what ever Wolf tells you to do. Am I clear?"
"Of course, Fath-... Sir"
Flynt felt a mix of both anger and fear weighing down upon his feet as he plodded along the side walk of the now darkening street, the dimming sun reflecting his own mood as he closed his eyes, gripping the bridge of his nose. He was angry, not at Gramps, but at himself. He knew it wasn't a trust issue, Gramps just didn't want him to worry. But being in the dark only increased his fear.
It was plain for him to see that the store was in a financial hell, while Gramps cleaning efforts kept the store shiny enough for customers not to notice, Flynt could tell that the shine was only a façade. The way Gramps acted before made Flynt suspicious at first, but soon the decline in the amount of customers they got was noticeable. Flynt didn't know the exact numbers, but he'd bet his lucky fedora that if Gramps didn't hide everything from him, he'd find that paying the bills was becoming a struggle.
As the street started to be drained of life and the sky started to be covered by a grim blue blanket, Flynt thought about just what he could do to help. He already knew the answer. Schnee Co utterly dominated the dust market, so much so that even when rumours of misconduct, shady deals and mistreatment of their own staff started to spread like wildfire; they weren't even bruised.
There wasn't anything he could do and he knew it. Maybe that's why Gramps wouldn't let me know, I would just waste time worrying about something I can't do anything about.
But before he could dwell on the matter any longer, he was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts when his hand came into contact with the familiar end of a car door. Opening his eyes he realised that he had just bumped into the open car door of a very expensive looking limo, from his position he could see just a bit inside, where two freshly polished shoes sat on the crimson car floor right next to the foot of a cane.
"Uh, Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going" He attempted to turn, but a familiar voice made him freeze.
"There's no need to apologise, we have a lot to talk about" The voice was as smooth as silk, with a tone as venomous and slippery as a snake.
"N-No, I really have to get ba-"
He felt a hand push him down into the car from behind, placing him on the soft crimson floor right in front of the pair of feet, the image of the shoes were soon joined by the glowing white coat and a black fedora upon a sea of ginger hair. With that, he stared into the smug face of Roman Torchwick. "I insist"