Going to Adam's apartment always ended up feeling like she was throwing herself into a lion's den. Even knowing that she wouldn't be there alone with him, Blake was worried for what was going to come. The presence of Ilia, or Sienna Khan, or the Albain Twins wasn't going to be able to save her entirely from what was to come that day. Adam was able to put her off of her game by just looking at her most of the time.

If she was going to have the whole thing go well for her, she needed to be prepared for anything. She couldn't afford for Adam to throw her off of her game.

In truth, it had been quite some time since Blake had last ended up at Adam's place. She hadn't wanted to go there at all, but since work called and she was going to need to be able to play along with things anyways, Blake had made the decision to go.

The apartment was like she remembered it, severe color pallette intact and the furniture all in the same places as they had been when she'd been living there. It was still kept starkly clean- not so much of a single sign allowed to be there that people actually might have lived there. It seemed like Adam was living there alone, which was odd to Blake since before she and him had partially lived together to save on rent. He must have gotten extra money somewhere to help pay for it.

It left her with a lot of questions, and Blake didn't know that she wanted answers to any of them.

She had gotten Ilia to agree to carpool with her. Somehow that had felt safer to Blake than bringing her bike. Ilia didn't seem worried about what was to come at all, despite knowing enough about how Adam could be. Perhaps it was because she had always managed to avoid Adam's wrath when Blake hadn't been able to. Instead she'd spent most of the ride there telling Blake about who else would be there.

It had been a long time since Blake had last spent time around so many people attached to The Fang. She didn't really know how to feel about it.

But they were there, gathered in Adam's apartment with a map of the SchneeCorp headquarters there on the table in Adam's kitchen. Blake didn't know where they'd gotten the map, because it definitely didn't look that much like the one that she had gotten off of Weiss. If anything, the version that Weiss had gotten was simply much more detailed. One of the perks of being part of the family, Blake figured.

"The Schnee family's little fundraiser is in two days." Adam explained, leaning back in his seat and making himself comfortable there. He had one leg crossed over the other in a way that made it so that he took up as much space as he wanted to. "Me and Blake are going to be going in. We're hoping to play along like we're on the guest list."

"Good." Sienna replied. Blake couldn't even remember the last time that she had seen the woman. She knew that Sienna had worked with her father once, very far in the past but not much beyond that. Her father always made a point to let his history with The Fang lie and focus on the future and a legitimate political career.

Once, Blake had admired Sienna. Once Sienna had been a voice for people, someone that had once worked a legitimate reporting job. Something had happened to make Sienna want to leave that life, and The Fang had been created as a result.

"We're going to be going in formal wear, aren't we Blake?" Adam looked at her and grinned, that harsh smile of his that Blake was entirely too used to and yet hated all the same.

"Of course." Blake said, doing her best not to come off as too wooden. "I've already arranged something, personally."

Sienna nodded, swirling the glass of wine that she'd gotten for herself. "And you are sure that you will be able to get into this without trouble?" She seemed skeptical about the story, if the purse of her lips was any indicator.. "Because as much as I would love to be the ones to break this story, I'm not doing it if it's going to compromise my publication."

"It's not going to." Adam responded. "We got our names onto the list. Or at least fake ones."

"We'll be going using fake names." Blake cut in, needing to be able to take control somehow. She and Adam were at least in agreement on how they'd be making their way in. Not that Adam knew all of the details of it.

"Good." Sienna replied. "You need to have a plan for once you get there, you know that."

"We do." Blake said, blinking and remembering that she couldn't risk making it clear that she knew people on the inside. She needed to keep as many cards in her pocket as possible, even if it would make her position in the job more difficult.

Sienna nodded then looked to Adam, clearly searching for some better, further explanation. Apparently in the time that the two of them had spent apart, Adam had spent some time setting himself up to be in Sienna's metaphorical lap.

"Can you confirm this?"

"I can." Adam responded, his voice still hard and unwavering as always. "We're going to get in under the names that are on the list, and slip away to get to the offices upstairs later on. Once we get what we want, we are going to take what we need and get out of there."

"And if you get caught?"

"We won't." Adam said, sounding a little too confident. It grated on Blake's nerves, because it told her that she wasn't going to be having an easy time moving forward.

Blake rolled her eyes and locked gazes with Sienna, who raised an eyebrow at her. "If we're caught, we'll pass ourselves off as party guests that wandered a little too far away."

"You think that this will be enough?" Sienna asked, still sounding more than thoroughly unamused by the place that they were in. "Because if it is not-"

"It will be." Blake said this time, doing what she could to imitate Adam's tone because despite everything, and all of her misgivings with him, she knew that he had an uncanny ability to command a room. Blake wished that she had some of that for herself, but that wasn't how things were.

Sienna nodded along, but she raised her drink and pointed at Blake and Adam both, her finger moving between the two of them. "I will trust you two with this story, but if either of you screw this up, I will not hesitate to see you fired. The Fang cannot afford either of you creating a mess with the Schnees. We can't afford litigation from them when this could be easily considered a burglary. Am I understood?"

"Loud and clear." Adam said with a shrug.

"Right." Blake said, shrinking back a little bit. She made herself more comfortable in her seat and took a breath, hoping that she'd be able to slide under the radar for the rest of the meeting.

After that, she listened along as the meeting went on and everyone involved simply sank into it. Apparently Adam had been rallying the troops with regard to the story for some time. Blake didn't know how she felt about that, but she wasn't going to go reading into it too much.

In the end, the meeting ended up feeling more like they were at a simple work meeting rather than one that was impromptu or being held at someone's house. Blake sat back quietly, and listened. She listened as Ilia gave a status update on what she was seeing and working on. She listened to the Albain Twins as they discussed a set of photographs and a story that they were working on that would accompany them.

Ilia sat next to Blake, and during a lull in the quiet Blake caught the way that she gave a slight smile. Blake wanted to smile back but couldn't. Not when she didn't know what Ilia wanted, or what she was supposed to do anymore.

The meeting went on for a while, and once it was over, Blake ended up staying behind with Ilia for a little bit. It wasn't that she wanted to be there, but if Ilia was insisting on it, Blake would play along. It had the chance of getting Blake more of what she wanted- that would have to be enough for some time.

Blake wasn't happy with it at all.

She got her ride home, and did what she could to push the evening's events from her mind. All that Blake did as soon as she got home was scribble down a set of notes on everything that she had learned before she picked up the phone and made a call.

The phone rang several times before going to voicemail. Normally, Weiss would have just picked it up, but if she had just let it ring through...

Blake didn't know if she should have been worried or not. Weiss was an adult and could take care of herself, but at the same time Blake knew just how badly being in Atlas seemed to mess with Weiss. It couldn't have been anything even close to pleasant, and Weiss was probably more than well aware of that.

But the call hadn't made it to Weiss, so Blake sat down on her bed and laid back in it. In two days, she was going to go and do the thing that might make or break the way that the entire rest of her life.

The thing was, Blake had realized, that no matter what if she was figured out as having sabotaged Adam's story- and that was definitely the intent, she would probably be removed from the writing staff at The Fang. Sienna wouldn't forgive the infraction, and everyone else there was even less likely to. Ilia would probably even feel somewhat betrayed for it.

As for Adam, Blake expected that she was going to be forced to take everything that she had and she was going to need to run. Adam was far from normal, that was something that she had learned far too long ago. If he saw an infraction against him, or he saw some reason to feel angry, Adam would and he would do so in a way that was over the top and dangerous.

There was a reason that Blake had needed to run from him the first time. There was a reason that she was afraid of him, and afraid to do this job with him. There was a reason that she had been talking to Klein quietly, trying to make sure that she would have a safe way out of the benefit because she couldn't allow herself to be around Adam that long. Klein would do what he could for her, that much had already been promised, but still Blake was worried and afraid.

She was worried for what would happen if Adam figured out what was going on between her and Weiss. She was worried for her friends- for Yang, for Ruby. She was worried for her own safety, and Blake was already thinking about what she would do if she ended up in a situation where the best thing that she could do was run back to Kuo Kuana. Adam probably wouldn't follow her there, and her family-

Well, they were there for her. That was something that Blake could be confident in.

She took a deep breath and reached over for her phone. There was still no sign that Weiss had seen the missed call. Perhaps she was busy with something at the Schnee Manor? Blake couldn't have imagined what, but with Jacques Schnee apparently back in the picture Blake imagined that Weiss' free time and her general personal freedoms had been scaled back a bit.

Blake took a deep breath and dialed a number on her phone. She listened to the phone ring once, before her father's voice was there.

"Blake?" he asked, sounding tired. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright." Blake said, looking out the window and swallowing down the lie. "I wanted to call and see how you guys were doing."

"Well, everything is good here, Blake." Her father explained, but he did sound exhausted. Blake's eyes flicked over to the clock, and she felt a pang of guilt at the realization that it was much later in the night in Kuo Kuana than it was in Atlas. Had she woken her father up? Or was he spending a late night at his office? "Is there something wrong?"

"I don't know." Blake admitted, hugging herself slightly and wishing that she was home instead. "Things are just... messy right now."

Her father hummed. "Would you care to explain what you mean?"

"I'm... probably going to be in trouble at work soon." Blake said quietly, not wanting for Yang to overhear it. "And I just... I need to know that I can come home if I need to."

The silence that Blake heard was really able to speak for itself on some level. She could already imagine what was happening on the other end- her father was worrying and probably leaning forward at his desk. Pinching the bridge of his nose in worry, or taking off his glasses. Blake didn't know which, but she definitely knew what she expected from him.

"Blake." He said, his voice quiet but gentle and warm like it always was. That was all that she wanted to hear. "You know that you're always welcome here, no matter what. Me and your mother love you more than you will ever know."

He wasn't asking her questions, and that was about all that Blake could have ever wanted. She needed to now that she was going to have the freedom to come back, without ending up in a position where she would be judged and interrogated for why she was coming home.

"I know." Blake whispered back into the phone. "I just need to know that it's okay."

"Of course." Her father replied. The sounds coming through the phone were accompanied by him moving around and getting up. There was a quiet rustle of paperwork. He must have been getting ready to go home for the night. "Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

Blake looked back out at Atlas through the window in her bedroom. It was gorgeous out there, with bright lights that made the dark of the night into something. It created a skyline and an outline that Blake had learned to love, despite the many problems that she had with Atlas.

"I won't force you." Ghira added.

She took a breath, closing her eyes and hugging herself. "I don't want to work with The Fang anymore." Blake said, her voice quiet. "I don't think that... it's a place for me anymore. I care about what I've done, and what I've been writing and fighting for, but... I don't think it's right."

Ghira was silent, for too long, and when he finally spoke up again it was with a little bit more grit or gruffness in his voice. "Is there a specific reason for you wanting to run. Blake, if this is about-"

"It's not about Adam." Blake cut him off. Her parents didn't know the whole story about what had happened between herself and Adam, or more than the bare minimums when it came to Ilia. That was for the better, and that was something that Blake prized. She didn't want any part in just how much could go wrong if they knew more.

As far as her parents knew, Blake had simply moved in with Yang because she needed someone to help pay the rent. It had been a nasty breakup, as far as they understood. They didn't know that part of the reason that Blake had moved was because she felt like she was being stalked, or because Adam was insane. They didn't know that Blake had broken things off with Ilia because of reasons that had absolutely nothing to do with Ilia herself.

They didn't know about Weiss, either.

She took a deep breath. "I just... As far as I know I'll probably be breaking things off in the next few nights. I'm going to put out my last story, take my work, and then I'm going to leave Atlas probably."

Ghira was quiet, hesitant. Clearly trying to figure out what he wanted to make of himself. "If you feel like you need to come home, you are always welcome here. No matter what."

"Even if I don't deserve it."

"Even if you don't think you deserve it." Ghira finished for her, softness oozing into every syllable that he said. "We love you, Blake."

"Thanks, dad." Blake replied, smiling softly and feeling a little bit better about where she was. At the very least she had a way out of Atlas, and Blake was going to take it if she got the chance.

There was another thing that Blake didn't want to focus on, though. If she went back to Kuo Kuana, then she wondered if that might actually comfort her a little bit about Weiss. If Weiss decided to go back to Vale, then she would. Blake could go to Kuo Kuana and then she wouldn't feel that guilty for it.

"I have to go home," Ghira explained quietly. "If you think that you still need to talk to me, you know you can always call."

"I know." Blake replied, still smiling. "I love you."

"I love you too." Ghira said before saying his goodbye and hanging up the phone.

Blake pulled it down from her ear and looked down at the little screen. She watched as it went dark, and felt a sorrow in her heart that she wasn't going to be able to shake.

Only a few more days, and then she was going to be able to make her decision and she'd be able to go home. That was all that she needed to do.

She had the plan in place. She had everything that she needed, she had contact with Weiss, she had a way out.

All she had to do was pull herself together and do it.

Everything else could come after.