J. A. Criminal Consultant
Chapter 2
Vomit, Bullets, and Bears… Oh My
By quijibo7609
Hei Xiong hit the wall just as the door jamb exploded in a spray of splinters and dust round fragments. Aura saved him from the cuts that should have been caused by flying debris, but that didn't make the huge man any less pissed though. He was even angrier than when that blonde bimbo grabbed him by the dick. Mostly at himself.
Junior should have known someone would try something. Three weeks ago, Blondie had done a number on The Club. Admittedly, no one wanted to tangle with a Huntsman or a Huntress if it could be avoided. These were men and women who stood toe to toe against the darkness which infected Remnant. That meant they were insanely powerful people with more than a few loose screws. Blondie though had grabbed him by the dick and then slugged him in the face. In his own club. The Red Axes would not let that slide… but they should have. They really should have. That bitch had smashed through a huge chunk of his crew, mostly because she could. Many of his guys had never come back afterwards, and Junior had trouble blaming them. Fuck, even his DJ was still laid up at home. Any ganglander would have smelled the blood in the water. Add to that farce the mounting losses caused by Torchwick's heists, and someone was going to assume he was ripe for a takeover.
The Snick-Snick of dust rounds being pumped into a shotgun sounded in the hall. Not a pleasant sound when you weren't the guy holding the gun. It was still more comforting than the mad giggles of the crazed idiot wielding the damned thing. Fuck, how had he let himself become this hideously vulnerable? So vulnerable the Gods-damned-idiotic-dust-addicts in the Bowery Boys thought they could make a move. So vulnerable, it looked like they weren't going to be proved wrong on that score.
If this happened at any other time, Junior would have been standing over Duncan's corpse in about five minutes. Bertie 'Slim' Duncan was a simple stain by underworld standards. He was grossly annoying, hard to get rid of, and ruining something expensive by his mere existence. However, that stain had hit Junior at the worst possible moment.
At night The Club was still a fortress, in the broad daylight though? Well around this time, most of Junior's crew on hand were exactly what they seemed. They were waiters, barmen, janitors, etc. The people that Junior needed for the place to operate. Yeah some had guns, a few had axes, and they all wore their suits, but they weren't muscle. A guy who broke legs for a living was usually shit at anything else. They even made terrible bouncers since they were prone to excess. Junior's real muscle, were busy doing other stuff during the day. Some were with Torchwick, as he explained their next heist, but most were outside keeping the neighborhood in line. The Red Axes needed to be seen since too damned many were sitting in the VPD (Vale police Department) lock-up. Naturally, there were still a few in The Club as well, but since Mel and Mil were here (they were worth ten goons each), Junior had cut a few corners. The Blondie inspired exodus had them spread damned thin after all.
Too thin. Thin enough Junior was probably going to end up dying to a bunch of dust freaks spun out of their gourds. Who would have thought these idiots had even heard of a scroll scrambler?
The shotgun wielding Bowery Boy grinned like a maniac flying high on dust injections. Doubtlessly because the fucker actually was a maniac flying high on dust injections. He leveled the gun. He was still grinning when Miltia ripped straight though the plaster wall behind him and gutted the shithead through his spinal column. The Bowery was dead before he even hit the ground. Bastard probably never even felt it. More's the pity. Miltia flicked blood and worse off her claws. She snarled with satisfaction, but Junior saw a bit of hopelessness in her expression. She knew the odds, same as him. She fully expected she was going to die, the only question was how many assholes she dragged into the afterlife with her. Junior used Millie face to fuel his hate. Hate made you strong.
"You good Mil?" Junior saw a nasty cut over her right eye that wasn't closing. She was obviously almost out of aura.
"Fucking peachy Hei," she growled, making for the corner and the cover it provided. She wouldn't make it.
A rabbit faunus, his ears poked out through his ludicrous top hat, pulled a submachine gun. He drew a bead on Miltia who was now caught too far out in the open. She did the only thing she could, try and close on the bastard and hope her aura held out long enough. Most bosses would use their bodyguards to sneak off. Junior wasn't most bosses, not when it came to the twins. Junior, all seven feet of him, roared and he charged. He wouldn't lose Millie to a twat wearing a hat that stupid.
The crazed faunus, as dust fried as any Bowery Boy could ever hope to be, giggled at Junior. Using the SMG, he tried and spray them both. Junior took one in the leg that his aura just couldn't quite stop. Miltia took one in the head and went down like a house of cards. Junior screamed his rage. Millie's Top Hatted killer squealed in glee at his kill, barely noticing seven feet of Hei 'Junior' Xiong bearing down on him. He did flash Junior a smile, which caused Junior to briefly wonder what the dust freak was seeing in his drugged out haze.
The dust addict tried to spray Miltia's body with more rounds, Gods only knew why, Junior crushed the Bowery's wrist in his grasp. Didn't really faze the fucker who kept on grinning, but it felt cathartic to Junior all the same. He then grabbed the SMG and proceeded to make a general mess of things. The bastard's blood ended up splattering all over the wall. At least five feet in any given direction.
Junior ripped the reloads of the dead rabbit's belt, reloading the gun. It was a cheap thing, for a cheap thug. Junior thought of his beloved rocket launcher. Really should have called it 'Last Call,' he lamented. It would have been fitting. Would have been much cooler to go out holding a rocket launcher. Junior could hear Duncan's Vacuan drawl, the cowardly bastard was that close, but still out of sight. The leader of the two bit gang kept bellowing orders at the morons who worked for him. Good luck with that, getting a bunch of spun out dust freaks to do anything with any coordination was even less easy than it sounded. Still, the Bowery's had the numbers tonight, and sling enough dust around, eventually they'd put Junior down.
Millie moaned and Junior sighed. It might have been kinder if she had died right there. She crawled to her knees. When she looked at him, Junior reconsidered. Kinder to the Bowerys. Junior had seldom seen such homicidal rage.
Well, only one thing left to do. Since Junior was going to die tonight, he might as well take that fucker with him. Miltia's expression silently agreed.
Five Minutes Earlier
The blond idiot was probably experiencing his first ever hang over. It looked every bit the joy one would expect from a lightweight who had tried to drown his sorrows in alcohol. Melanie wasn't particularly impressed. Probably because nothing about this noodle of a boy was particularly impressive. What had Junior been thinking? What had he been drinking?
Vomit-Boy retched yet again.
Well okay the amount of vomit he was pumping into that bear head was pretty impressive. That idiot DJ, who called himself W.E. for some reason, wore the stupid thing while doing his shtick on stage. Bastard was still at home. Come one, it had been three weeks already. What's with leaving other people to pick up the slack? There was no way in hell that Melanie was going to get that thing cleaned up. Should make for a memorable return when W.E. finally dragged his ass back to work. Mel smiled, served the jerk-off right for milking it. Vomit-Boy might not be as completely useless as she suspected after all.
"You almost done, Vomit-Boy?" Melanie asked as she informed him of his new nickname.
Vomit-Boy was too distracted to answer the question directly. He said something rather tempting instead. "Somebody please kill me." More wet glopping sounds. Not the most pleasant of noises. It was tempting, it really was tempting.
"I'll consider it, but Junior wants to talk to you about something before it comes to that." Melanie shrugged, "I'll be sure to mention you asked though." He looked at her, though Melanie was pretty sure he couldn't see anything with his eyes streaming tears like they were.
A man on his knees, eyes full of tears, and begging for death usually put Melanie in a good mood. Instead she felt pensive. At first she thought it was the vomit, but it unfortunately came with the territory in this business. Then Melanie recognized a familiar popping sound, and that became the focus of her attention. There were a few more faint pops. Mel cocked her head. Vomit-Boy didn't notice of course. The Club had gone silent. The Club was never silent.
It was a bit past noon. Much too early for the Club to be open. A lot of the crew was already here though. There was plenty to do since they were understaffed. Most of those that didn't have a criminal record, and thus could get a job elsewhere, had decided to do so after that Blonde Bitch ripped through The Club. The fewer people meant the prep staff had to start earlier. Right now Melanie should be hearing the sound clanking dishes, food being prepped, cleaning, deliveries, etc.
Here now, the Club had just gone silent. Mel suddenly realized why. The silence was that of everyone hearing a noise they well understood, trying to discern where it was coming from, and then quickly exiting in the opposite direction. Which meant the popping sounds were being leveled at The Club. Which meant someone was making a play.
More popping. Melanie pulled out her scroll. No signal. They were being jammed. Melanie nodded slowly as she stood up. Well, at least she had her dancing shoes on.
Jaune was having a miserable… he looked at his scroll… noontime. He just kept throwing up in… he glanced at his chosen receptacle… bear head? What the actual heck? All while some crabby girl dressed in white insulted him. For whatever reason he had a sense of déjà vu. The girl was cute though… maybe he should ask her out. Dad said all you needed was confidence. Hey there angel!
He got a whiff of the bear head and suddenly felt like he was going to blow again. He tried to back away slowly from it. He was sitting in a corner, so the plan didn't work out so well. The crabby girl became agitated for some reason. She was obviously listening for something. When she suddenly spun and went down, it didn't look intentional. Which was weird.
About that time Jaune heard something explode right beside him. Jaune was a little out of it and was a lot hung over, but even he knew what he just heard. He spun as a tall guy stormed into the room. Guy was huge, at least half a head taller than Jaune, and much broader in proportion.
"Hey Boys! Found the white one!"
Jaune watched the cranky angel spring back to her feet. There was a smoking hole in her blouse. Was she shot? Was she okay? Wait! If she got shot, where was the blood? Maybe she had a vest on.
"Peewee Duncan," Crabby growled. "So where's your little bitch of a brother hiding?"
"Cousin darlin'," the guy drawled. "Slim ain't my brother."
Crabby shrugged, "Eh, my mistake. I just assumed your family tree didn't have many forks in it." Crabby eyes were hard, "Where's he at?"
The tall dude leveled two large revolvers, each in fists the size of small hams, at the poor woman. "Oh ya' know, he's not one for the fightin'. Me now, well I like punchin' holes in things," he waggled his mono-brow, "If ya get my meanin' and just want to come back quiet like."
Crabby looked at him, "Punching holes in things? That's the best rape innuendo you could come up with? You really are a special class of stupid aren't you?"
Peewee Duncan shrugged. He then thumbed back the hammers on his revolvers. Suddenly, his face disappeared in a cascade of vomit as a backwards facing bear head was dropped on him. It was a toss-up who was the most surprised Jaune, Peewee, or the crabby angel who had just been shot. But, Crabby sure reacted first. She ran straight at the big man.
Peewee wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Unlike most guys on the dull side, at least he knew he was slow on the uptake. He got his place working for his cousin by being mean, nasty, and fearless. So that was what he did for his cousin, be mean, nasty, and fearless. He had noticed the kid in the hoody. The kid was wearing armor of all things, so he stood out. The guy triggered a zero on his threat meter though. Peewee had seen kittens with meaner faces. The Malachite sister though? Well that was all kinds of dangerous. Which was why he called more Boys to back him up.
Then the foulest smelling thing ever was dumped over his head. Peewee wasn't exactly sure what it was, although puke was definitely part of it, but it turned the lights out sure enough. He knew how badly he messed up. First by letting the kid drop this, whatever it is on his head. The second mistake was to immediately reach to pull the thing off his head and then shoot the jerk who put it there. Moving his hands had spoiled his aim, so when he heard the tap of steel tipped shoes charging him, his guns weren't still pointing at the Malachite. He fired blind anyways, you could always get lucky after all, but it just wasn't to be.
He felt one of her shoes rip his knee apart. Hurt like hell. Wish Slim had been able to find a guy to unlock their auras. Would have helped. He had always heard it felt really nice too. He already knew he was never going to find out. Something passed under chin, her other shoe probably. His chest got hot and damp. That was that. He knew it.
Wonder what that kid in the hoodie dropped over my head. Then he felt himself topple, but he never landed.
Jaune watched the girl in white kill the man. One second the huge guy had been standing there, threatening something awful that Jaune could not let stand, then Jaune had dropped the bear head on the man. The guy still tried to shoot her, despite obviously not being able to see, but he missed. Then she just killed him. One foot flicked at his legs, and then she completed the pirouette, and her other foot passed under the guys chin.
Blood fountained in both places. The guy hit the floor, twitched a few times, and then didn't move. Jaune gaped. Someone else howled. Three other guys, all armed with guns, burst in. They were shooting, and thus Jaune dove behind the door. The crabby girl didn't. Her face was filled with manic glee.
She danced and spun around all three men. Two guys went down in less than fifteen seconds. Jaune knew they weren't going to rise again. The third knew it too. Jaune now realized, somewhat belatedly, Crabby's shoes had knives on them. Her knee high boots were now stained red from the calf down. She suddenly looked more like a cloven-hooved demon than an angel to Jaune.
The last man standing was panicking. He tried to retreat, but the demon in white was not going to let him. She trapped the guy's arm, yanking on it and pulling him forward. Off balance, the guy could do nothing against the devastating spinning kick she landed on his nose, which exploded so violently Jaune thought she had stabbed him in the face. She hadn't though. Jaune was soon to find out why.
The kick had completely laid the man out on the floor. Slowly, deliberately, she jammed a bladed heel into each of the guy's shoulders. He screamed. Her smile did not waver. Jaune incidentally wondered if she realized something important. With her standing over him like like that, the guy could obviously see up her skirt. Maybe it didn't matter.
"Unfortunately for you, you don't look very high right now." Jaune and the violently bleeding man were both confused by Crabby's words.
"What?" Jaune asked. The demon looked at him, winked of all things, and then went back to guy on the floor.
"If you had shot up, this wouldn't hurt nearly so bad," the demon lifted her foot out from one shoulder, then drove it through his bicep. "But you didn't, so you really can feel this moment. You know?" She pulled out her other boot, and drove it through his other bicep. Her smile was frightening. "Now you're going to tell me where that Slim is hiding, or you're going to die wishing you had. Your choice."
The now violently bleeding man, "You're just going to kill me anyways." The demon smiled like she agreed. She started to shift her weight. That was a stupid mistake in Jaune's opinion.
Jaune spoke for the demon, "No she won't." The demon and the bleeding man looked at him confused. Jaune felt a sense of calm enter his mind. He saw the answer, he could help both parties reach common ground. In a very real way, they could both get what they wanted. Because of this Jaune continued. "If you tell her exactly what she wants to know, I will personally carry you out back, dial the local hospital, and leave you with the phone so you can tell them where you are. I won't promise you anything else, but that is what we are willing to offer for your cooperation." The man blinked, not sure how to respond, so Jaune reminded him of an important fact. "You have ten seconds to start talking, and please bear in mind you are already bleeding rather badly and time is of the essence."
The guy nodded, and started speaking. Quickly too.
Junior suddenly heard Slim cussing up a storm. There was a loud thud, and then Junior heard the man start screaming in panic. Slim was even closer than Junior would have guessed, probably hoping for a chance to stare Junior in the eyes before the death blow fell. Stupid move, from a stupid man. Gods bless you Melanie he thought. That girl really was something special. How she located the bastard this quickly was a mystery, but Junior knew it couldn't be anything less.
The jabbering idiots that had him pinned, started growing much more sporadic in their fire. They knew someone was behind them now. Dazed and bleeding, Millie nodded wearily at Junior. From her vantage point, she had a better view. She made the call. Junior trusted her and didn't hesitate. He just moved. Miltia opened up with her last clip in the SMG. Junior, now holding two cheap dust pistols, little better than pop guns, fired both weapons dry as he charged. One of Miltia's rounds took a shooter in head as he stuck it around the corner at the wrong time. Another waited a second, knowing Hei's bulk would keep him from getting supporting fire for very long. Then the smarter of the two stepped around the corner, unloading a blast with a sawed off shot gun as he did so. Junior had just enough aura to weather the first shot. However, the crackle around him told Junior he had nothing left and the bastard still had one more barrel. He fired with glee. Click. Junior could not believe his good luck, or maybe it was the Bowerys bad luck, but either way Hei wasn't going to question it. He reached the fucker who had very nearly killed him. Hei gleefully wrenched the gun away from the Bowery, pulling the bastard's arm straight out of its socket while doing so. Even a dust fiend could feel that. That was a comforting thought as Junior split the Bowery's head open with the butt of his own shotgun.
Unfortunately when he looked up, there were two other Bowery Boys pointing their weapons right at him. Junior knew they had been encircled, but hoped the circle wasn't really enforced. Oh well, at least it sounded like Mel was going to get Slim. That was something.
"Junior?" Slim's nervous voice carried from just beyond the corner. He did not sound like a man who was having it all go his own way. He sounded like someone who was two seconds from shitting himself to be honest.
"Yeah Slim? I'm guessing you just met Mel."
Junior could hear him swallow from here, Junior drew power from that sound. Slim didn't answer, Mel did. She was breathing hard, but her voice was clear. "Yeah we just met, things are a bit tense. Is Miltia okay?"
Millie heard the concern in Mel's voice, so she answered. "Been better. You?"
"Same. Sorry, I didn't get here sooner. I did kill that dipshit Peewee on the way though. I hope that counts for something." Junior winced, Mel really sounded like she was in pain.
Slim gurgled, but if Slim was letting people talk to each other, then Mel had him dead to rights.
"What's the situation Mel?" Junior asked, twitchy drug fiends were pointing guns at him after all.
A new voice answered for her. "Mel? Your name's Mel? Don't look at me like that! I was just asking!" Junior blinked, who the fuck was talking? "Anyways Mel took a blast to her chest and probably has bruised ribs or something so let me fill you in. Mel and I were together when the attack started. After dealing with this big guy named Peewee, she and I climbed out a window to a fire escape. She said the scroll jamming didn't extend outside, so she got through to a couple of guys and help is on the way. However, she said couldn't wait around since there wasn't much between you, her sister, and the umm… fuckers attacking you. Sorry, her words. So she attacked… Slim I think… from behind. I was busy carrying a guy to a safe place so he could call an ambulance, so I missed what happened next, but I think she killed two of his guards, one of which shot her before he died, and then beat Slim up pretty good. Mel, right now, has a rather sharp heel at his throat." Junior smiled, damned he was proud of her. The voice continued, "Unfortunately she was interrupted and there are now… one-two-three-four… seven more guys in the room who are planning to kill her if she kills their boss. I think that just about covers it. Is your situation any better?"
Junior decided this wasn't the time to bluff. Men on the way was good, but probably too late. Still it was one more thing for all to think about. "Not appreciably, no. We're pretty much surrounded." Junior answered with a sigh.
The voice sighed loudly. Really loudly since he had to project that sigh down the hall. "That is a disappointment, but I figured. I kind of think there is only one way out of this."
Mel asked something Junior couldn't make out. Then she howled, not a real good idea given the circumstances. All the freaks were twitchy enough. "You're doing what?!"
"Calling the police." The other voice was almost too soft for Junior to hear, but he knew Mel would likely be able to hear it just fine.
"Are you crazy?" Junior yelled.
"No. This seems like the best option."
Junior was aghast, "How is everyone going to prison for the rest of their life a good option?"
The voice was infuriatingly calm, "I did not say it was a good option, just the best option." The voice took a moment, "the other option, the one you seem to prefer, means a whole lot more people die."
Junior blinked, when put like that, the voice kind of had a point.
Jaune was hunkered down behind some tables. Almost casually, more like it was an expected thing to do than because it offered him much protection. Jaune wondered briefly if he had gone insane. He was covered in blood, chiefly from carrying a rather heavy man a rather long distance. Jaune really had no idea why he went back inside. Maybe it was just morbid curiosity. His life, or the one he always wanted, was basically over before it had begun so it wasn't like he was risking a lot. Jaune smiled at his mental gallows humor.
Following Mel had been relatively easy. There were only two turns from where she re-entered the building and both had been marked by a very dead man. Jaune thought they were in some kind of VIP room. Jaune guessed that because the furniture was nicer and dance floor smaller. Across from him, a bunch of armed men and one very violent woman stood on that smaller dance floor. Everyone knew he was here, but no one really seemed to care so it must be okay. They had her surrounded, and she had their boss literally a step away from death. At least everyone was talking, so there was that.
Jaune was pretty sure he was in shock. He wasn't sure how shock worked, but he's seen a few movies and he guessed this feeling is what they were trying to portray. It explained why he was keeping calm instead of falling apart.
Jaune breathed deep, reinforcing that calm. He focused on the fact that he knew he was right. He saw an answer. If they listened to him, no one else was going to die. He could be a hero.
"First off, Mel called you Junior. May I?" Jaune shouted politely down the hall.
A pause. "I guess."
"Thank you." Jaune breathed deep again, there really was something soothing in the action. "So I'm pretty sure you were attacked in your home by people carrying guns. I'm not a lawyer but that seems like self-defense to me. I imagine the fall out won't be pleasant, but I'm almost positive whatever charges stick to you won't be related to this. More likely the charges will be related to the subsequent investigation as the police comb through the headquarters of a well-known gang." There was strangled noises from down the hall, that didn't sound like Jaune had convinced him, but he wasn't trying to yet. "Mr. Slim though would probably go to prison. There is a lot of dead people and he was in charge after all. I imagine, you'd make sure he wouldn't last long inside." Jaune had seen a few documentaries on prison, so he felt some confidence in making this guess.
"Damned straight!" Junior roared from down the hall.
"Like I'm just going to lay here and wait for the cops!" Slim shouted from his place at Mel's feet. Jaune thought Slim sounded weak. Probably so did his men. That helped, it meant Junior was the only one who really needed to be convinced.
Jaune spoke to Slim, "You might want to reconsider that statement. If you do, you could probably turn over evidence on Junior. I imagine you have history if you're willing to go through all this. That history and you testimony might get you protective custody in prison. A cell all to yourself, where Junior can't reach you. You'd be able to catch up on your reading. Won't do your men very much good. Junior will probably be pretty vindictive about this and take steps wherever he can, but it would give you a fighting chance to live out your life out in isolation at least." Now Slim's men eyed their boss wearily. Well the ones who weren't whacked out on drugs anyways.
Jaune let the doubt settle before making a play, "At least 'the everybody goes to prison option' is a little better than 'everyone dies right now option'… of course there is option three…"
Slim and Junior asked at the same time. "What's option three?"
"Well we need to eliminate Junior and Slim from the picture, then this can all be resolved fairly simply." Jaune answered simply.
Slim and Junior again answered in chorus, "WHAT!?"
"I am proposing that Slim and Junior each leave the building." Jaune smiled at the elegant solution he had come up with. "Slim will first order the scroll jamming to be ceased. Mel can verify he does this. Junior can then order his reinforcements, using his scroll's loudest speaker setting of course, to let Slim pass because an agreement had been reached. Slim's men can verify that. Then Junior puts down his scroll, and immediately exits out the back. As an aside Junior, please don't kill the man bleeding in the alley, he and I have a previous agreement. The bleeding man does have a scroll, so Slim is going to have to be quick with the next part. Once Junior steps outside, Slim leaves through the front door. I'd honestly start running immediately. You see, I'll shortly be leaving myself. I promise you all exactly five minutes to work it all out, then I will call the police from a scroll I got from this dead guy who no longer needs it. Everyone should be able to scatter before they arrive."
Junior shouted, "No deal!" Jaune sighed, he hated holdouts.
Jaune asked the obvious, "Do you have a better option? Mel seems pretty competent. Pretty sure she knows what to do if you were ever raided. Five minutes is a long time. I mean this place will close while there is an investigation, probably have the police come calling and take you in for questioning, but you have lawyers and no one reliable is going to place you here."
Junior shouted, "There are bodies! The investigation will take months. This place might never open again!"
Jaune again said the obvious, "You will have the chance to rebuild though. This solution costs you, at most, a building. Not too high a price tag for both your life and your freedom if you ask me. Granted, this has cost you big, I know that, but there is no way to resolve this problem without costing you something more. A building is practically a bargain when you think about the alternatives." Jaune thought of something, "I know times look tough short-term, but I'd also highly recommend giving Mel a raise as soon as you're able to. Her quick thinking led to these negotiations being on favorable terms for your organization." Jaune felt giddy. He felt like he was channeling one of those legal shows his mom always watched. Also, he was stopping more people from dying. This really was heroic in its own way. Right?
Slim then said, "If Junior walks away from this, he's gunna come for me."
"Damned right" Junior yelled from down the hall. Jaune sighed, Junior was too angry to negotiate properly.
Jaune told Slim what anyone with common sense would. "Duh." Slim gurgled at him, but Jaune explained using small words, "You just tried to kill him in his home. It was succeed or bust, and you didn't succeed. You may have cost him some business and hurt his reputation, but you were never going to win unless you killed him. You can't do that now and stay alive." Slim's face hardened, but Jaune saw it as a bluff. An easy one to see through and Jaune explained why, "Your men don't really want to die for you, and by my estimation, Mel will kill at least four more before she goes down." This was straight bull since there was no way Jaune could determine how it would go down, but Jaune guessed neither could Slim or his men. "There is an excellent chance that if you give that order, they'll decide living is the better option and the only one that dies would be you. Now, in the future, there is also an excellent Junior will come to kill you. What I offer is a very slim chance of evading that. That chance centers on the fact that Mel made it sound like you were a pretty small fish. I've certainly never heard of you," Jaune was from Ansel and had never heard of Junior either to be honest, but that wasn't something Slim needed to know. "Junior though, is someone that will generate headlines. Because of that, Junior is going to be the first and primary target the police will be gunning for. That should give you a decent head start." Jaune thought for a moment, "If you want one more recommendation, I'd go back to Vacuo if I were you. Your accent won't stand out as much and it will be awhile before Junior can reach you there. Plus when he starts trying, Junior's goons will stick out like a sore thumb there."
Jaune breathed deep again, then addressed the room at large, "If you let Mel and her sister go about their business, I promise they won't be looking for reprisals. Pretty sure anyone who tried to shoot her is dead or in a lot of pain, guessing her sister is much the same in this regard, so it wouldn't be personal. Plus they're going to be busy shoring up their defenses for a little while anyways." Even the addicts looked hopeful with that last tidbit. "You agree Mel?"
She looked at him and winked, "Deal."
Jaune breathed deep again, it really did fell soothing. Slim's guys almost completely relaxed. Jaune smiled for the room. "That's the options as I see them ladies and gentlemen," Jaune nodded to Mel, who nodded back. "I'll be leaving now. The call will be going out in five minutes. I look forward to learning about your decision while watching the news report."
Three hours later Melanie, Miltia, and Junior were holed up in one of Junior's warehouses. The room was filled with hope and tragedy. The air people breathed when they know they had escaped with their lives, but were mourning what they had lost.
At least Junior's alibi was pat. Officially he had been ocean fishing with a half dozen guys. All day too, since it was one of his good friend's bachelor parties. Said bachelor had indeed been doing just that since early this morning. It was perfect, although Junior had never heard of a bachelor party without strippers. The alibi was contained and airtight.
The bachelor was on Vale's zoning council and owed Junior for convincing pesky residents to bow to rules of imminent domain without Vale having to go through the expensive legal hassle. Several residents. Nearly two hundred all told. This favor would square both their ledgers nicely. All Junior had to do was meet the guy, Richards, at the docks before anyone found him, then willingly surrender to Vale Police, and keep his story consistent after he 'learned' of the tragedy. Mille and Mel were planning to surrender later that evening, the wounds on a healthy percentage of the bodies were too consistent with their known weapons. They were pleading self-defense. Junior had his lawyer already setting the groundwork for their surrender, and Junior was willing to grease whatever wheels he could to keep them out on bail. If they stuck through this with him, he'd bring them up as partners. The kid was right, both girls had done one hell of a job and they deserved a real shot at leading.
With Junior's alibi set, the twins' legal defense taking shape, Junior would have a solid chance to rebuild. All he had to do was keep his head down and his nose clean during this next stretch of heat. There was one rather large problem though.
Junior's chief client had a say in whatever Hei did next.
Junior doubted Torchwick was going to be happy. Junior didn't know the details, but Roman was running ragged trying to get whatever dust he could scrape together. Which doubtlessly meant the thief was facing a deadline. Given Torchwick's edginess (Pyscho or not, Neo had never felt the need to flex on the twins before last night), and the fact the thief had started smoking again, Roman's deadline was probably a literal thing. Nothing worse than a capable and violent person backed into a corner. Because, you know, someone had to be capable of backing said violent person into that corner in the first place.
Junior was done hesitating and made the call. Roman picked up on the first ring. "Hei my friend. I see you had a little trouble today." Junior could tell he was on speaker. That complicated matters, since Hei doubted Roman would be volunteering the names of whoever was listening in on the call.
"More than a little." Junior paused as he set down the scroll, putting it on speaker himself, then he continued. "Let's just say we're reshaping our organizational structure and certain commitments aren't going to be met."
"Shh… Neo, stay calm. Don't worry, I'm sure he doesn't mean us. I KNOW he doesn't mean us." Junior watched Mel and Mil stare daggers at Junior's scroll. Junior calmed them with a look. He had almost lost those girls today. Almost lost himself. It was the kind of thing that made a man examine his priorities.
"Roman, all payments for unfulfilled services will be refunded immediately of course." Hei meant it too. He'd find a way to clear any debts with Torchwick immediately. His organization was in trouble, and really needed the lien, but Torchwick wasn't a Bowery Boy. He also had a psychotic who could make illusions at will. If Roman decided to make examples of them, Junior didn't think there was anything that could stop them.
"That's sweet Hei. And I appreciate the sentiment. I really do. I also can appreciate the pickle your in." Roman sighed theatrically, "Problem is it really is on your end of things and not mine. I'd normally work with you, I'm not a monster after all, but I'm on a tight schedule and all that. So regretfully a refund just isn't going to cut it in this case." Roman's voice grew hard, "We're still on."
Junior almost panicked, what saved him was a completely absurd idea. How an idea so ridiculous could spring up between Junior's ears was anyone's guess. An idea truly born from desperation. It centered around the kid. The kid that had seen stuff Junior hadn't been able to. That kid somehow got the twins and him out of a no-win situation with their lives, and not in the back of a police car either. Junior's lawyer had all but assured him he would never be charged. The lawyer was also pretty sure the twins would be able to plead out to lesser charges. Leaving the scene of a crime for example, and probably a few other things like weapons charges, violating their aura licenses, etc., although much of that would admittedly hinge more on what the investigation turned up. Five minutes had been helpful, but so would have twenty. Of course if Hei had twenty minutes, Slim would be dead.
Anyways, since the twins were both seventeen, and technically minors, they could very well just end up on a probation skid which would then be sealed in their juvenile record. That kid had performed a miracle today, maybe he could do it again.
"Roman," Junior licked his lips, "I understand your position. Given my situation, would you allow me to bring in another asset until our business is concluded."
Roman had a thoughtful pause, "What kind of asset?"
Junior searched his brain for a label that would apply. "Let's just call him a consultant." It was the best term he could come up with.
That same afternoon, Pyrrha Nikos was launched off of a cliff by a catapult. Evidentially it was a tradition at Beacon. As she flew through the air, the four time champion considered her choices. She had come to Beacon looking for something she had yet to define. A fresh start maybe? Perhaps a fresh outlook? Maybe it was just someone who wouldn't fall over themselves just to shake her hand.
Pyrrha seized on that idea. Yes! What she wanted was a friend. A real friend. Someone who wouldn't care who she was. Who wouldn't think she was perfect. Who would never, ever place her on a damned pedestal.
As Pyrrha descended, she lifted Akoúo to guard position. The catapult had flung her with enough force that her momentum was strong enough to snap off several treetops. Her shield arm barely felt the successive impacts though, since she held the shield firmly in place by using her semblance of polarity. She even gave it a subtle tug to make landing on a large bough look effortless. She raised Miló, currently in its rifle form, to check for threats. These things weren't strictly necessary, but Pyrrha was used to playing for a crowd and did them almost sub-consciously. Pyrrha was rather surprised when she ended up waving her weapon in the face of someone with dark hair and red eyes. Someone who seemed to be standing on a black snowflake of all things.
The red-eyed girl pushed Miló out of her face with a frankly jovial expression. "Damn am I happy to see you. I was terrified I'd end up with that spastic little fucker in the cape." Pyrrha blinked. The girl on the dark snowflake flicked her black hair away from her face as she stepped on the bough. The bough creaked a bit, but was stable enough to hold their combined weight.
Eventually the girl continued, "Bleiss Schnee," the girl stuck out her hand and a bemused Pyrrha took it. "Sup my bitch. Guess we're partners now."
Burkion made me do it. All I have to add.
