"You have five minutes Cardin, make it count," Blake ordered sternly.

Cardin had insisted that he only wanted to speak to Mina; he'd said that it was nobody else's business, but Blake wouldn't hear of it. Mina was her business, whatever Cardin wanted, so regardless of his objections, Blake had come out into the hall with Mina, shutting the door to Team RWBY's dorm and followed Winchester to the common room on that floor, vacant at this hour.

"Look Belladonna," Cardin shot back, "I don't need your permission to-,"

"Four minutes and forty seconds,"

Cardin growled, but eventually muttered, "Fine," he turned to Mina, "I need your help..."

"You've already said that," Blake cut in impatiently, "What for?"

Cardin shot her an angry look, but otherwise ignored her as he continued to address Mina, "Russell's got himself into trouble…"

"Oh?" Mina raised an eyebrow, an expression of purely academic curiosity showing on her face, "How unfortunate…"

"This ain't funny Carfax!" Cardin snapped, "My team and I were in Vale earlier, checkin' backstreets for some ammo wholesaler that Dove heard about when we went past some dudes in suits and a guy in a white coat arguing' about you,"

Blake's blood ran cold, Don't tell me…

"How do you know that they were talking about Mina?" Blake demanded.

"The name 'Carfax' was kinda a dead giveaway," Cardin replied dryly, rolling his eyes, "and last I checked, 'Blue Eyes' fits her pretty well too."

"Still, that doesn't prove-,"

"Bat ears and fangs also came up," Cardin finished, jerking a thumb at Mina, "You know anyone else like that? 'Cause I don't."

"Indeed Mr. Winchester, I would agree that you have rightfully concluded that these men were referring to me," Mina spoke up, to both Cardin and Blake's surprise, "But the question remains to be answered: what happened?"

Cardin snorted, "What happened? The dumbass went over to 'em and told 'em off for bad-mouthing you! Can you believe that? Ya blow him off completely and he still sticks up for you to a group of shady strangers!"

Blake got a sinking feeling, "I imagine that these men took exception to that…"

Cardin laughed bitterly, "Damn right they did! They beat the living crap outta him!"

"And where the hell were you?"

"Tryin' to save his stupid ass!" Cardin barked angrily, his usual smugness gone, "Sky and Dove ran like hell though, cowardly bastards…"

"Then how did you get back here alright?" Blake pressed skeptically.

"I saw two of the jerks in suits draggin' him off after that dude with the white coat; I think they were gonna beat whatever he knew outta him, but the rest of 'em came after us – well, me – and yeah, maybe I'm an ass, but I'm not stupid enough to take on a dozen men by myself,"

Only a dozen? Blake thought, continually disappointed with Cardin, "So you want our help to rescue him?"

"No, Belladonna, I want hers," Cardin pointed at Mina again, who seemed somewhat contemplative about what they'd just been told, "It's partly her fault anyway, and besides…" Blake could tell that he didn't want to add the next part, but gave him some credit for doing so, "And she's better than me…" He sighed, "Look, he's an idiot, but he's my partner, and my friend, alright? I just want to bail him out of this, but I can't… I can't do it alone, alright?"

Jerk or not, we can't just leave him to Torchwick… Blake fretted, glancing over to Mina, but if we help…

"Very well Mr. Winchester," Mina spoke up again, rousing yet more surprise from both of them, "I will help you; Mr. Thrush is a sweet boy… if not particularly intelligent… Do you know where we are to look?"

Cardin seemed somewhere between confusion and relief, "I'll… I'll tell you on the way; right now we gotta catch the last ship out…"

Blake hadn't bothered to go back to let the others know where they were going or why; this wasn't her fight, and it shouldn't have to be theirs. As for Mina, she had arrived at the same conclusion, Blake was sure, if by a simpler line of thinking; she wouldn't think to ask help of anyone, and that was why Blake had insisted on coming along. She didn't expect Cardin to pull anything on Mina; he knew that he wouldn't get away with anything, and he'd seemed surprisingly genuine in his contrition earlier, even if he'd tried to save face first with his usual rudeness. No, it wasn't Cardin that she was worried about, and certainly not the possibility that Mina had some feeling for Russell. Blake almost laughed at the thought as their airship set down, back in Vale just after eleven o'clock; it was one of the peculiarities of Mina's thinking that she didn't much care for others save those of her own choosing, regarding all others with the same mirthfull indifference. Only Blake herself had Mina's love, Teams RWBY and JNPR, Clara, and some of Mina's other co-workers had the only claims on Mina's friendship, but curiously, Russell Thrush seemed to have earned her pity, and it was this that Blake wasn't sure that she understood. Whatever it was, Blake was sure that it was progress of some kind; she'd have been lying to herself if she claimed that she didn't enjoy being the center of Mina's world, but it had never felt quite right to Blake that she herself should be all of it.

Still, Mina's decision was puzzling nonetheless. It had not escaped her attention, and Blake was sure that Mina had noticed as well, that Cardin had insinuated that the present predicament was somehow Mina's fault. The idea of it was a preposterous chain of blame that even Blake, who had once personally condemned Weiss for the oppression of the Faunus without taking the time to examine the heiress' side of things, and since learned better, would accept it, and she knew that Mina, with no real yardstick for right, wrong, or guilt but such as Blake provided her, certainly wouldn't fall for that. The question then remained though, that if Mina acknowledged no moral obligation to Russell or Cardin, why had she agreed? It was true enough that, no matter how much Blake disliked the members of Team CRDL personally, she wouldn't feel right leaving them to Torchwick and his goons but-

But that's just it, isn't it? Blake realized as Cardin led her and an equally silent Mina down a street leading in the general direction of the harbor, She doesn't actually give a damn about Russell Thrush… I mean, it isn't like she hates him… I don't think that she's actually ever hated anyone but… She's smart, and if I'm her moral compass… She just made the decision that she knew I would have…

"This is where I last saw him," Cardin spoke briskly, gesturing a street corner with a boarded-up convenience store on the edge of the city's warehouse district, "Never did find that damn ammo wholesaler…"

"If he wasn't just a rumor, then he was probably a smuggler, Cardin," Blake muttered as she examined the scene. There were indeed signs of a struggle; a chipped piece of a poor-quality sword over by the stoop of the abandoned store, a chunk of the curb smashed by what could only have been Cardin's mace… Blake looked back at him with a raised eyebrow, "you made it sound like you just ran away…"

"That's what I wound up doin' isn't it? Sure, I knocked a coupla thugs' teeth out first, but I wasn't enough,"

"What direction did they take Mr. Thrush? Please point," Mina asked in a tone of clinical calm.

Cardin gestured west, towards the harbor.

"And this gentleman with the white coat, did he carry a cane?"

"Yeah, not like he needed it though; he wasn't some kinda geezer…" Cardin wasn't quite following.

"Indeed not Mr. Winchester; he was Mr. Roman Torchwick,"

Blake had been trying to avoid thinking about that, but Cardin simply gaped, "You mean that Torchwick? The criminal?"

"I know of no other," Mina answered impassively.

"Cardin," Blake ordered, forcing herself to remain calm, pull up your scroll and see if you can't get a ping on Russell's scroll-,"

Mina shook her head, interrupting, "Whatever character flaws one may ascribe to Mr. Torchwick, stupidity is not one of them Dearest; he will have shut off or destroyed Mr. Thrush's scroll upon the discovery that he does not have my contact information or yours,"

Blake gritted her teeth. It made sense, and in this case, Mina would know better than she would; Blake had left the White Fang before this strange arrangement with the smug crime lord, "Then what do you suggest?"

"Follow me," Mina ordered starting forward with purpose, "I think I know where they would have taken him,"

"Mr. Torchwick keeps a number of warehouses in this district under assumed names," Mina explained as they moved through the darkened streets making every effort to be discreet. Cardin's heavy footsteps weren't helping.

"So you think that Russell was taken there?" Blake asked for confirmation.

Mina nodded, waving them on to follow, "This way; the nearest and most likely is just a block away."

"And what if he's not there?" Cardin demanded, although to his credit, his voice also betrayed some concern, and he made an effort to speak softly besides.

"Then we shall check the others," Mina stated matter-of-factly.

As it happened, checking the other warehouses wouldn't be necessary; as the one which Mina had indicated was perplexingly well-guarded, provided that one knew what to look for. There were security cameras at the structure's every visible corner, four men meeting Cardin's description posted at the main entrance, and Blake could make out others milling about in the shadows and alleys. No Faunus though, as far as Blake could tell; they must be Torchwick's own hired thugs.

Mina stepped back from the mouth of the alley from which they'd been observing the warehouse and urged Blake and Cardin to do the same, "So, Mr. Winchester, do you have a plan?"

Blake stared at Mina incredulously, "What? You're asking him?"

Mina shrugged, "His friend, his op. And he is the only team leader present…"

Blake shot Cardin a dirty look as if to say, 'don't get too full of yourself jerk,' but said nothing.

Cardin hefted his mace, "Alright then….," He glanced up at what they could see of the building's roof from where they stood, "Can you two sneak onto the roof and get in through one of those skylights?"

Blake nodded, before glancing skyward, "No moon, good; our shadows won't attract much attention… But then, what are you going to do?"

"Me?" Cardin rested the head of his mace on his shoulder with a smug smirk, "I'm gonna charge the front door and raise hell. I figure four of them shouldn't be too bad, especially if I take 'em by surprise,"

"A diversion? Hmmm… Yes… I do think that could be useful…" Mina agreed, giving each of the Sanguine Heart's wires an experimental tug to see that they were in order.

"That's the idea," Cardin nodded, "I'll start just as soon as you two signal me that you're in position,"

Moments later, Blake and Mina had climbed to the top of the building behind which they'd been hiding, and made a successfully silent jump to the slanting roof of Torchwick's warehouse. There were four such skylights or the roof in total, and through them it was apparent that the place was piled with stolen Schnee company crates through the gloom, but only one corner of the structure's interior was actually lit. Through the window over this section Russell Thrush could be seen, hands bound behind his back, and tied to a cheap folding chair besides. Closer to the edge of the lighted space was Roman Torchwick himself, making grandiose gestures and no doubt speaking with his usual condescension, though Blake couldn't make out exactly what he was saying.

Blake turned to Mina, "They're right below this window; do you want to drop in on top of them, or try to slip into one of the darker sections?"

Mina tugged at the housing for the roof-mounted window before shaking her head, "The only way in will be to smash through the glass; either way they will know we are here. We might as well signal Cardin now, and have him begin his distraction; it won't mean much if we cause the first trouble,"

Blake nodded, sending Cardin a text message on her scroll – he'd given his number before they'd split – before putting the device away and drawing Gambol Shroud, "Alright, but be careful in there; he's after you after all,"

"I may be the priority target, Dearest, but take care and remember why; Adam wants you as well,"

Blake nodded, conceding the point, but offered no answer as Cardin could be heard roaring into the guards at the front gate, "That's our cue,"

Whatever Blake thought about Cardin Winchester, and she did indeed have plenty of choice words for the jerk, now wasn't the time to think about any of that. This was the time for action.

"look kid," Roman lectured the idiot teenager whose name he hadn't bothered to ask, "You got a crush, I get it; been there myself. And I'm sure that it's sweet of ya, to want to protect her, but you've gotta ask yourself boy, is she really worth it? I mean, to each his own on the ears and fangs – that ain't what I'm talkin' about here; what I'm getting' at, kid, is baggage. She's ex-White Fang kid! You know what that means? Means that the cops and those animals are both gonna want her on the rack! And even setting that aside, didn't you mention that she shot you down cause she's taken? I mean seriously kid, what better revenge than handing' her over and walking' outta the deal a couple thousand Lien richer eh? I know she's a hot piece of a-,"

It was right at that point that the overhead window shattered and Blake and Mina dropped in. without missing a beat, Mina moved to cut Russell loose and Blake positioned herself behind Torchwick, blade at the ready.

"Oh for f-," Torchwick sighed, "Déjà vu much, Kitty-cat?"

"Shut up," Blake ordered, "And drop the cane,"

Surprisingly, Torchwick complied, tossing the weapon aside as if it meant nothing while Mina helped Russell out of the folding chair, "You know, I probably should've known better than to think that the ruckus at the front door was just some hoodlum… thanks for keeping me on my toes, Kitty; it keeps the mind agile," Roman said dryly, "Ah! And Blue Eyes! Fancy seein' you here! A few mutual acquaintances have been lookin' for you two…"

"I said shut up," Blake repeated, pressing Gambol Shroud ever so slightly harder against the man's throat, "I man it,"

"Tut tut, you kids these days… so rude..."

"Are you hurt, Mr. Thrush?" Mina asked, ignoring Roman completely.

He shook his head, "N-not really… Not bad..."

"Good," Mina nodded, "Then gather your arms and go help Mr. Winchester outside; we can discuss anything that Mr. Torchwick may have told you later…"

"It's all true kid!" Torchwick called after Russell as he moved to obey.

"Call off your men," Blake ordered sternly.

"Like Hell-!"

"Call them off now and we'll call the police-,"

"You do understand how bargaining works, right Kitty?" Torchwick remarked, unimpressed.

"Or," Blake continued, ignoring the interruption, "We'll deal with you here and now,"

"Scary," Roman rolled his eyes, "Not sure that's legal though…"

"You're a thief,"

"And I don't pretend to be anything else," Torchwick conceded, "As for you, Kitty-cat… you really shouldn't make threats that you don't plan on following through…"

"You think-,"

"He's stalling, Dearest," Mina cut in, "Who does the silent alarm notify?"

"Silent alarm?" Torchwick grinned, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Blue Eyes,"

Before either of them could respond to this blatant lie, the front doors were thrown open on the far side of the building and Cardin could be heard calling, "Yo Carfax, Belladonna! Thanks for bailin' Russell out; we're all good up front!"

Torchwick frowned as Cardin and Russell approached from across the darkened space, "Impossible to find good help these days…"

"Save it Cardin, we're about to have company," Blake snapped turning her attention back to her captive, "The question is, who?"

Over the sound of approaching bullheads and the sudden shattering of the building's other windows, Torchwick chuckled, "You could say that I rang the pound,"

Author's Note: Hello all, and sorry about the cliff-hanger; I just wanted to post something today, so I figured, what the hell, I'll make the rescue a two parter – it's gonna be long enough… Next chapter will have more action though, so if you'll just kindly bear with me, that should be out early next week, as I have to split my time between other hobbies and life stuff. Also, the fact that I've started work on "The Diary of Glynda Goodwitch" does not in any way mean that I'm done with this, so no worries. As always, I hope that you enjoyed, and feel free to leave your thoughts.