"So you found nothing?" Blake asked, running a hand through her hair. Pyrrha looked back at her on the screen above her desk, grimacing apologetically.
"Sorry, Blake. The villagers around here don't know anything, and if the trains were getting robbed, we'd hear about it."
Blake sighed and glanced out the window. Students were walking back and forth across the campus grounds. They knew as much about what was going on as Blake felt she did. She winced and closed her eyes as the sun reflected off a student's weapon and stabbed into her eyes.
"What about the caves?" she asked, turning back to Pyrrha.
The red-haired Huntress shook her head. "We tried, but it's just too expansive. Nora and Jaune are still searching, but there are just too many branches that all seem to go on forever. If there's a cache of stolen Dust in there, we'll never find it."
"Damn it," Blake swore. "This was the only lead we had, Pyrrha."
"I know. I'm just as disappointed as you, trust me. But the sooner we get back, the sooner we can search for other leads."
With a resigned sigh, Blake nodded. "Alright. Once Jaune and Nora get back, come on home. We'll… I don't know. We'll sort something out."
Pyrrha nodded. "How're you doing?" she asked, concern in her voice. "You look tired."
The Faunus shook her head. "I'm fine. Just trying to keep up with all this."
"Don't let it turn into a Torchwick thing again," Pyrrha said with a frown. "Make sure you get some rest."
"Thanks, Yang," Blake laughed. "I'll make sure to finish up early tonight. We've got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow."
"Sounds good," Pyrrha said with a reassured smile. "We'll see you soon."
Blake nodded and hit a key on her scroll. The screen cut to black as the call ended, and the import records she'd been perusing reappeared. She leant back with a groan and gazed up at the ceiling. They really were getting nowhere, and fast. They'd been searching for days, and were still just as clueless as they were to begin with.
The wheels of Blake's chair squeaked as she pushed it back and got to her feet. She opened the window and breathed in as a cool breeze flowed into the room. Someone laughed outside her office; Blake crossed the room and opened the door, curious. The door to Kelly's office across the corridor was open, and Raud was sitting across from Kelly—with his back to Blake. He held a glass in one hand and had the other resting on the neck of a bottle of scotch sitting on the desk. His axe was on the floor, leaning against the side of the desk.
Blake stood in the open doorway and crossed her arms. Kelly was giggling into her hand, but stopped suddenly when she saw Blake. Raud cocked his head in what Blake guessed was confusion at the sudden change in attitude and turned around. His eyebrows raised as he recognised Blake, and he swung his chair around ninety degrees.
"Hey," he said, taking a sip of scotch.
"Hey to you too," Blake replied, eyeing the glass in his hand.
"What's going on?"
"Do you always drink in the middle of the day?"
"Only when I've got nothing to do. And until the knucklehead gets back, that's exactly what I have to do."
Blake raised an eyebrow and stared at him for a few seconds. Then she sighed and walked back into her office, grabbed a chair, dragged it into Kelly's office and slumped into it.
"Pour me one too," she muttered, defeated. He grinned and picked up another glass; he half-filled it and handed it to her before topping up his own glass. He held the bottle out to Kelly, who merely glanced between it and Blake with a hint of fear. It wasn't until Blake raised the glass to her lips and took a sip that Kelly took the bottle, filling up her own glass.
"That's more like it," Raud said with a broad grin. "Nothing like a drink amongst pals."
Blake lowered the glass and raised an eyebrow. "Pals, huh?"
"Of course!" Raud laughed. Kelly smiled over the rim of her glass before taking a small sip.
"We've known you for—what—three days? Four?" Blake asked. "And we're pals already?" Despite the banter, Blake took another swig of scotch. It burned her throat on the way down and sent a shiver through her body, but the pleasant warmth in her stomach was a comfort.
"Aww…" Raud gave her a mock frown. "Do you still not trust me?"
"Well you still haven't given me a reason to… though I have to admit that this helps," she added, holding up her glass.
He laughed. "Well, have I given you a reason to not trust me?"
Blake hesitated, then took another sip. "An excellent point."
"I thought so." Raud swirled the scotch in his glass for a second before downing the whole thing. Blake winced at the sight; the glass was more than half-full, and the small sips she was taking was enough to burn. He grimaced a little and shivered. "Damn!" he exclaimed. "They didn't tell me that you made such good scotch in Vale."
"They?" Blake asked. "Your 'employers'?"
"Yup," Raud replied, topping up his glass.
"So what exactly do they 'employ' you for? What do you do?"
He shrugged. "Whatever they want me to do."
"What, like some kind of mercenary?" Blake asked with a hint of scorn.
"Pretty much."
"Huh?"
"I am a mercenary."
Blake froze, the glass halfway to her lips. "And you just forgot to mention that?"
He shrugged. "Mercenaries aren't exactly respected nowadays. I figured it was just one less hurdle to have to jump over."
"Then why tell me now?"
"Because you're already searching. If you want me gone, I can go. As long as you're looking for the Dust, my job is done."
Kelly was glancing back and forth between the two of them, her glass held to her lips with both hands. Blake glanced at the girl and raised her hands in exasperation. The lock of green in Kelly's hair swung free as she shrugged.
With a resigned sigh, Blake turned back to Raud. "Fine. Whatever. Just… Is there anything else you'd like to share?"
Raud shook his head. "Nope. I can't tell you who I'm working for, and I'd guess that would be your next question." Blake frowned. He was right. "And since I can't tell you that, there's really no point in getting worked up about this anymore. So drink up!" He raised his glass and eyed them both expectantly. Blake and Kelly both glanced at each other. The Faunus sighed and tapped her glass to Raud's. Kelly followed suit a moment later.
"So have you heard from the knucklehead?" Raud asked as he set his glass on the table.
"I was just talking to Pyrrha. They couldn't find anything. They'll be back later today, and I guess from there we just start from scratch again…"
"Really?" Raud frowned. "They didn't find anything? Did they search the tunnels?"
"They tried but apparently the caves are too big for the three of them to search…" Tunnels…? "I guess we could get a squad of troops to scour through it, though we'd have to risk people finding out about the search." They're close enough to Vale that it could work… theoretically.
"I'd rather avoid that," Raud muttered.
"Exactly," Blake said over her glass. But there's no way we wouldn't notice them mining through like that…
"Why can't we tell anyone?" Kelly asked, sipping gently from her glass. "Surely getting more help could only be a good thing…"
"We don't know who could be involved," Raud answered bitterly. "The whole operation in Vacuo is being aided by, or even controlled by, members of government. The more people we tell, the higher the risk of conspirators in Vale finding out."
"But surely we need to let someone know," Kelly said. "This much Dust vanishing has to be cause for concern. What if it's getting into… undesirable hands?"
"Like who?"
"Well… The Black Talon has been pretty quiet lately, by their standards. What if… I don't know… they're getting ready for some big operation."
"They could take down Vale with the amount of Dust that's gone missing over the last few months…" Blake muttered.
"And those earthquakes wouldn't help either," Raud muttered. "Who knows when another one of them is going to hit."
Oh gods… the earthquakes.
Blake shot to her feet. "I'll be right back." She dashed across to her office and swung into her chair. Pyrrha's name was flashing on the screen and Blake swallowed down a sense of foreboding.
She answered the call. "Pyrrha?"
The red-haired Huntress looked panicked. "Jaune and Nora just got back. Blake, the caves—"
"Go into Vale?"
"Yeah… How did you— Never mind. One of the caves at least comes out into the sewers under the city. We don't know how many others, but it could be any of them."
"Did you find any Dust?" Blake asked, trying to hide the fear that was burrowing into her chest.
"I…" Pyrrha frowned. "No. No Dust."
"So either they've taken it somewhere else…" Blake muttered.
"Or it's already in the city," they said in unison.
"Dammit…" Pyrrha swore. "We'll be back as soon as we can."
"Yeah…" Blake trailed off, thinking.
"Blake?"
The Faunus blinked. "Sorry. Thinking. I'll see you soon."
"Okay. We're heading out now." Pyrrha ended the call.
Blake trudged back into Kelly's office and slumped into her chair. She grabbed her glass and downed the rest of it in one gulp, earning an impressed look from Raud.
"Miss Belladonna?" Kelly asked, her voice filled with concern.
"Those earthquakes we've been having… Someone's been mining under the city through the caves in the forest."
"Oh no…" Kelly whispered.
Raud frowned and swirled his scotch. "So what does this mean?"
"I don't know," Blake sighed. "It could mean anything. Maybe they're smuggling the Dust back into the city. Maybe people are sneaking in—maybe the Talon. Or maybe Grimm are about to attack."
"Or maybe all three," Raud chuckled, shaking his head. "Damn… This is bad."
Blake hung her head back and looked up at the ceiling with a sigh. She held her glass out to Raud. "I'm gonna need another one of these."
"You and me both," the mercenary muttered.
They all slumped back in their chairs with matching sighs—though Kelly waited for Blake before following suit. Light streamed in through the window and Blake closed her eyes as the filtered warmth of the sun washed over her. A pleasant buzz filled her head; she set her glass on Kelly's desk and smiled contently.
For all they knew, the world could be coming down around them, but now that Blake had this moment of relaxation within her grasp, she was determined to take it. Yang would be proud of me, she thought with a light chuckle. A draught tousled her hair, blowing a lock across her face, but she made no move to adjust it. The scent of Yang's shampoo filled her nose. It was a habit of hers: whenever Yang was away, she would use her shampoo. So when Blake thought of her wife during the day, and felt lonely, she could smell her hair and feel at least a small measure of comfort.
The Faunus breathed in. Yang's face appeared before her eyes, smiling affectionately. The image faded as she breathed out.
"You guys planned a party and didn't invite me?"
Blake's eyes shot open and she turned to the door. Yang was standing in the corridor, wearing an amused smile. The Faunus shot out of her chair and wrapped her arms around the blonde Huntress.
"Woah!" Yang laughed. "Hey! I wasn't gone for that long."
Blake pulled back and planted a kiss on Yang's lips. She remembered why Yang had left a moment later and pulled back, searching the hallway for Ruby. Their red-haired leader was nowhere to be seen. Yang answered Blake's confused, questioning look with a grin.
"I dunno what happened," Yang said with a shrug. "But when I found her, she seemed… better. Like, completely better. Back to good old Ruby." Blake felt an eyebrow raise on its own. "I know," Yang added, raising a placating hand. "I didn't believe it at first either. But on the flight home… she convinced me. She's better, Blake," Yang choked out, her eyes brimming with tears. "She's all better."
Blake smiled. If Yang was convinced, then it had to be true. Ruby wasn't that good a liar—especially when it came to Yang. "So where is she?"
Yang dashed away the tears and grinned. "On her way to Mistral."
Blake gasped and clasped both hands over her mouth. "She's going to see Weiss?"
"Yep. They talked during the flight. Who knows, maybe the old gang is getting back together."
Blake smiled. It might be too soon to tell for that, but at least there was hope now.
Yang clapped her hands together. "So, about this party…"
Raud grabbed another glass—how many did he bring?—and half-filled it. The scotch bottle was less than half-full now. Blake had to check it again before she believed it. They surely hadn't drunk that much…
Yang downed it all in one hit and—after she finished cringing—handed the glass back to Raud and waved a hand. "I'm good," she wheezed. "Just the one. Damn that stuff is strong." The mercenary grinned and downed the last of his glass. "Right," Yang continued. "Next point of business. I got a message on the way here: apparently the two guys I captured with Nora were moved into the holding cells last night."
Blake felt a rush of excitement, and mentally kicked herself. The prisoners had completely slipped her mind. While there was no guarantee of a connection between the captives and what they'd been investigating, but any potential leads now were like a gift.
"Oh damn!" Kelly swore. "I knew I'd forgotten something!" They turned to her as one, making her blush. "One of the orderlies came by last night—after you went home, Miss Belladonna—and mentioned it. He asked me to let you know, but I guess he messaged you as well, Miss Xiao Long."
Blake smiled. "It's fine, Kelly. Though…" She frowned. "Why were you here after I left? I told you to go home."
"Sorry, Ma'am." Kelly bowed her head. "I had some paperwork left to fill out. Miss Violet's transfers took some shuffling around of other schedules," she added at Blake's raised eyebrows.
The Faunus gaped at the woman. Then she chuckled. "Only you, Kelly, would keep working on things like that with everything else we're dealing with going on as well."
Kelly frowned. "There's no reason to fall behind on the paperwork, Ma'am."
"Of course." Blake shook her head as she chuckled. She got to her feet and turned towards Yang. "Come on. They might know something that could help us."
Yang nodded and turned down the hallway. Blake glanced back into the room. "Are you two coming?"
Raud and Kelly both looked to each other before responding. Kelly nodded, Raud shrugged and grabbed his axe, then they both got up and followed her out of the office.
There was a female guard at the locked door that led into Beacon's small block of a holding cells. The door was made of steel and had one small window at head height, blocked with vertical bars. The guard frowned slightly as she saw them approaching and slowly got out of her chair as they arrived.
"What can I do for you today?" she asked.
"There were two prisoners brought in last night," Yang replied. "I'd like to talk to them."
After a moment, the guard tapped a few keys on her scroll. A list appeared on its screen. "Name?" she asked, glancing up at Yang.
"Yang Xiao Long."
Another moment passed before the woman nodded and pressed a button on her desk, unlocking the door. Yang nodded her thanks as the guard sat back down and opened the door.
Beacon didn't have many holding cells—it wasn't a prison—but it had a few in place for temporary prisoners, or people deemed to have an important connection to a Huntsmen's business. There was one corridor, with five cells on each side, and one more at the far end. The doors were all the same as the one leading into the block—heavy steel and one small window—but they were all numbered, going from cell number one on their left all the way around so cell number eleven was to their right.
Yang glanced back towards the window. "Five and seven," the guard said without looking up. Yang nodded again and led the way to the end of the corridor.
Their steps rang out on the bare, grey concrete floor. Someone groaned in cell number three. Blake avoided looking in the window. It was a dismal place. The corridor was illuminated by two fluorescent lights on the ceiling, which cast everything in an even drearier light.
Yang stopped at cell five and looked in the window. The steel rang as she knocked her fists against the door. "Hey! Get up!"
There was no response.
Blake glanced towards cell seven, but no sound came from there either. Yang knocked on cell five again before crossing the hall and trying cell seven. Still nothing. Blake frowned and looked down, tapping her foot impatiently. A scuff in the floor caught her eye. She glanced back the way they'd come. The floor was completely level and free of any marks, except for this one. It looked as if a small chunk of the concrete had been neatly sliced out.
What the hell are you doing, Blake? She thought with a groan. Those drinks were a bad idea. Her head was still buzzing lightly—no doubt the cause of her distraction.
"Hey!" Yang yelled through the window of cell seven. "Screw this," she swore after a moment. "Hey, can you open up seven?" she called to the guard. There was a buzz and a click, and Yang pushed the door open.
Blake stepped into the room after her. The cells were plain. A single bed against the wall, a toilet and sink, and a small desk and chair. Light streamed in through the small window in the wall—even smaller than the window in the door—and there was a small fluorescent bulb set in the ceiling. A man—Yang's prisoner presumably—was lying on the bed, facing the wall.
Something metallic drifted into Blake's nose. She sniffed and shuddered. There was a dark stain on the floor near the bed. Yang reached out to grab the man's shoulder.
"Yang, stop!" Blake called. But it was too late. The blonde Huntress grabbed the man's shoulder and rolled him towards them, revealing the puddle of blood soaked into the bed sheets and staining the wall. The prisoner rolled limply; his head hung back and the fluorescent bulb shone a pale light on his slit throat.
"Oh gods!" Yang staggered back, covering her mouth and nose.
Raud looked in. "What is it—" He trailed off into a stream of curses as he saw the dead man. Blake stepped around him, back into the corridor. The guard was standing at the door to the cell block, looking concerned.
"Open up five!" Blake called as the woman opened her mouth.
The guard vanished and, a moment later, cell five unlocked. The Faunus dashed into the room and could smell the blood immediately. Covering her nose, she stepped back into the corridor and shook her head at Raud's questioning look. The mercenary swore again and stepped into cell five, turning the man over. Another stream of curses issued from the cell.
"Damn it!" Yang hissed. "What the hell!? How did this happen?"
The guard ran down the corridor, stopping a metre away. "What happened?"
"They're both dead!" Yang yelled, throwing her arms up. "How the hell does someone kill two prisoners inside Beacon!"
"I… I don't know," the guard muttered.
Raud stepped back into the corridor, shaking his head. He noticed a smudge of blood on one hand and idly wiped it on his pants. "They've been dead for hours," he said. "Must've been killed sometime last night." He shot a questioning look at the guard.
"I started at dawn," she said in response to the glance. "No one mentioned anything happening during the night."
"Who… who could have done it?" Blake asked of no one in particular.
"I don't know," Yang muttered. "But I have an idea…"
Blake looked at her wife; she was glaring at Raud. The mercenary caught the gaze and scoffed. "What? Me? Are you serious?" He seemed somewhat amused by the implied accusation. "How the hell would I have found out they'd been moved? How would I have gotten in? Not to mention the fact that I have no reason to want to kill them in the first place!" he roared the last. All traces of amusement were gone, replaced by a sudden fury.
"Where were you last night, then?" Yang asked him. She stepped closer, so their faces were inches apart.
A vein pulsed in Raud's forehead as he glared right back at her. "I don't see how that's any of your business."
Yang raised an eyebrow and hints of flame licked at her hair. "So help me, I will beat you down right here and throw you in one of these cells myself."
The mercenary sneered. "Wouldn't it be fun to try."
Blake became painfully aware of the collapsed bracelets of Ember Celica around Yang's wrists, as well as the axe handle sticking out over Raud's head. Any second now, she knew, this could explode. She stepped forward, trying to get in between them.
"He was with me!"
All three of them froze and looked at Kelly. The woman had been standing in the middle of the corridor, avoiding looking in the cells, and now she looked angry.
"Just stop!" she said. "There's no point to this. He was with me, alright? After I finished off the last of the paperwork, Raud and I went out. He wanted to see more of Vale."
Yang turned back to Raud. "So he was with you when you heard about the—"
"No!" Kelly cut her off. "He was waiting for me at his hotel. I was only here until ten o'clock, and then after that neither of us were anywhere near Beacon."
Yang paused for a moment, and then stepped back. She sent a look at Blake. "What do you think?" the look asked. The Faunus hesitated for a moment, and glanced at Kelly. The woman looked shaken, but determined. She glanced at Raud, remembering their earlier discussion about trust.
"I believe them," she said with a sigh. "As much as I hate the alternative, I don't think Raud did it."
Raud nodded at her, but still seemed angry. His face was red, and Blake could see blood vessels fit to burst in his eyes. He walked to the far end of the corridor, near the entrance, and sucked in a deep breath. Blake watched him for a moment, concerned, but turned back to Yang once he waved her away.
The blonde Huntress was still eyeing Raud, but she smiled and nodded at Blake when she met her gaze. "Okay," Yang said as she wrapped her arms around Blake. "If you believe them, I do too. I just… I don't trust him…"
Blake patted Yang on the arm. "I'm not entirely convinced either, but I trust Kelly."
Yang nodded and kissed her lightly on the forehead before pulling away. Blake immediately missed Yang's warmth, but restrained herself. She turned to the guard, who looked utterly confounded. "Go to the infirmary," she said. "Get a nurse. We need to move these bodies out of here. We'll stay here while you're gone."
The guard hesitated for a moment, glancing at each of them, then nodded and dashed past Raud and out the door. The door clicked shut with a sense of finality, like a coffin closing.
"So now what?" Yang asked.
"Now," Blake muttered. "We're in trouble."
"Big trouble," Raud added.
Yang frowned and glanced towards one of the cells. "Do you know who did it?" she asked.
Blake shook her head. "It doesn't matter. If no one here killed them, then that means one thing: someone in Beacon is working against us, and got to them first. Which means someone is definitely up to something in Vale, and it goes up high. We're not just dealing with some petty criminals, or the Talon. There are people at Beacon trying to stop us from finding out what these men knew."
"Ah…" Yang grunted. "Trouble."
In a sudden flash of realisation, Blake remembered the member of the Black Talon Jaune and Pyrrha had captured. "Oh damn!" she hissed. "I'll be right back." She dashed to the door and wrenched it open.
"Where are you going?" Yang called after her.
"To check the other one!" Then Blake was running down the hall. The infirmary wasn't far from the holding cells. The guard was running back with a nurse when Blake arrived. The guard looked confused to see her, but ran past without a word.
Thankfully, there was another nurse nearby, and Blake put a hand lightly on his shoulder. He jumped slightly at the sudden touch, but turned with a welcoming smile.
"How can I help—" he began.
"There's a man in here somewhere—a Faunus—with aura shock. Where is he?"
The nurse was surprised at the intensity in Blake's voice, but collected himself quickly. "Umm… In Secure Ward Two. Follow me."
He led Blake through a series of corridors until they came to a heavy door, similar to those in the holding cells. The nurse unlocked it with a key and let Blake in. She ran to the still form of the Faunus prisoner and yanked back his covers.
Blood. The stench hit her like a fist, and Blake retched. The Faunus' throat was slit from ear-to-ear, just like the other two prisoners.
Damn it… That settles it, Blake thought. Someone knows all about us. She sighed in resignation. Hurry back, Pyrrha. We're going to need all the manpower we can get now. Things are only going to get worse.