With the Power of an Avalanche
Chapter 9
-Whitley-
Humming to himself, Whitely continued to carefully work on the exceptionally delicate pieces he was crafting. Jaune, meanwhile, was working on the draft of a cookbook what Whitley had suggested the blond make. It didn't use the special recipes reserved for the café of course but his partner was talented in the kitchen. A successful cookbook, and Whitley had sampled enough of those recipes to know it'd be successful; would help provide more funding for their joint ventures and help give the middle finger to Jaune's dad.
Speaking of terrible fathers though, Whitley had to refrain from groaning in frustration as he saw his Scroll ringing and who was marked on the Caller ID. Making sure to thoroughly mask any frustration, Whitley answered the call "Hello father." He kept his tone respectful, the mask he'd had to learn while playing the 'Great Game' of Atlesian politics a skill he wouldn't soon lose.
"Whitley." His father's tone was clipped, somewhere between annoyed and uncaring "I've heard some 'interesting' rumors of your activities at Beacon. Care to enlighten me?"
"That would depend on the rumors in question father." Whitley kept his tone 'socialite calm' even as he resisted rolling his eyes, "Given the speed at which people talk and the outlandish ideas that can spew from the lips of others it could be anything."
"The Winchester family of Vale are claiming that you've been assisting groups openly supporting the White Fang at Beacon." His father's clipped tone showed that Whitley was on thin ice.
"Oh my, that's quite the interesting lie they told." Whitley narrowed his eyes, "I came into the cafeteria the other day to find them physically assaulting another student whose aura had been broken. I caught the assault on video and intervened, merely holding him in place until the staff could come to collect him."
"And who was this assaulted student?" Jacques pressed and Whitley knew what the man was asking.
"An upper year, Velvet Scarlatina." Whitley shrugged, "Nice girl, her team actually invited me and my partner to meet up with them later."
"Is she, or is she not, a Faunus." Jacques stopped beating around the bush.
"She's a rabbit Faunus. Regardless, she's also a huntress in training who was being openly assaulted by a boorish thug." Whitley was careful to make sure his tone only implied disgust at the thuggish behavior in general and his support being a matter of professional principle. Not something his father would want, but one he could grudgingly accept.
"I see." Jacques' tone took forced neutrality, showing Whitley was correct in that the man could accept and see 'reason' in the explanation given even if he wasn't fond of it, "And your businesses?"
"Oh, they're doing quite well." Whitley couldn't keep the genuine pride out of his voice at that, "The café isn't a new concept by any stretch of the imagination, but the recipes are unique and the other two businesses are concepts that haven't been done before. New business sells well."
"That it does." Jacques sounded much happier getting to talk about profits, "Although, I must say I'm surprised. I paid attention to the files about your businesses, as they are still under the Schnee name. They salary your offer those working beneath you is surprisingly 'generous'."
"Yes, I'm aware." Whitley nodded, "You see a thought came to me recently father. That a consumer-based economy cannot function if the consumers cannot afford to consume." The other line went silent as Whitley could easily imagine his father's shocked pause at a concept he never took the time to think about before.
"I…I see." Jacques coughed, trying to regain his composure.
"If you'll excuse me though father, I believe I need to find a solicitor to deal with the Winchesters and their defamation." Whitley took the given excuse to end the call, barely registering his father's agreement before it ended.
"Jackass." Whitley scowled at the phone the instant he was sure the call was completely ended.
"Do I want to know?" Jaune, who'd kept completely silent during the call, looked over with a raised eyebrow which turned into a scowl as Whitley replayed the recorded call for him.
"What as all that at the end there?" Jaune frowned puzzled, "With what you said to him. Why not just flat out state you want your employees to have a good wage or say how what Cardin was doing to Velvet was wrong?"
"Because that wouldn't do anything but set me back on my goals." Whitley shrugged, "Same reason both version of the White Fang haven't had any luck in getting change in Atlas."
"Okay, you've lost me." Jaune set down the manuscript, listening intently. That was something Whitely always appreciated about Jaune, he was willing to just ask when he didn't understand something rather than trying to bluff his way through and risk making things worse.
"Alright. So the White Fang's original peaceful version and the current militant one, neither of them have given any reason for why those in power in Atlas would want to change their laws or ways." Whitley explained, fully expecting what Jaune's response would be.
"But you said yourself the condition of those mines are horrible." Jaune frowned, clearly puzzled but not trying to deny what Whitley was telling him.
"Yes. But those in power don't care." Whitley shook his head, "They get to live comfortably up in Atlas. They never have to go to the mines. They keep making money. And the plight of the miners is something they can put to the back of their mind as a petty concern. The original White Fang tried striking at ethics and morality. The new White Fang tried to instill fear."
"So, what should they strike at?" Jaune was nodding slowly, seeing the points Whitley made.
"The only things that their targets care about. Power and Money." Whitley shrugged, "My comment was to lay the groundwork. Plant the idea of 'money can't be made if the people we sell to don't have money to spend'. Even the current White Fang, their results are a mixed bag. There are admittedly people who have become less antagonistic towards Faunus but only because of Fear; but because they're afraid anything rude they say or cruel act they do will get their homes burnt down. If the White Fang were all captured tomorrow then those people would probably go right back to what they were doing before, if not worse due to 'spite'."
"And that's why it's a mixed bag? Because the results won't last?" Jaune looked like he felt something was off with the statement.
"That, and the fact that others became more aggressive towards all Faunus over the White Fang's actions." Whitley clarified "Thinking they're either untouchable or have nothing left to lose. But most of all, they've hardly had any loss of profit for the SDC. My father gets insurance payouts for every facility that gets hit and since he started having people come to collect the Dust from certain facilities and pay there, he doesn't have any loss of profit on that front."
"So since you know that appealing to morals is a waste of time, you appeal to what they do care about." Jaune nodded slowly.
"Bingo." Whitley gave a smirk as he went back to finishing up the dust infused ring he was making, "I may despise Atlesian politics, but I still have to play their game by their rules if I want to 'win'. Just flipping the board or playing by my own terms would make them write off anything I do." As he finished his explanation and continued his work, neither of them noticed the person standing in the corner recording everything that had been said.
-Ghira-
Sitting in a secure room in his office alongside Kali and Sienna, Ghira watched as the screens before them flickered to life with the faces of Adam and Ilia.
"You said you had something important to report today Ilia?" Sienna wasted no time in addressing the girl, Adam thankfully staying silent.
"Yes, I collected more information about Whitley Schnee. I also acquired the number for Blake's Beacon issued scroll for the Belladonna's." Ilia answered as Kali perked up beaming.
"Thank you, Ilia." He rumbled, doing his best to remain composed even as his wife all but purred beside him.
"Indeed. But what information did you gather about our Person of Interest?" Sienna leaned forward intrigued.
"It'll be easiest to just play the recording." Ilia plugged her scroll into the communication array as the recorded call and following conversation were played out. Ghira at first wanted to scowl at the boy seemingly being another Atlas politician but then the call ended and the kid let his true colors show, someone using the 'Atlesian Game' to benefit their own ambitions.
"I wasn't aware of that change to the SDC shipping protocol." Adam frowned, "Sienna, I'll be rescheduling some of my planned strikes now. No point if that bastard's already been paid. Let me know if you find the Schnee owned facilities themselves."
"I will Adam." Sienna nodded, accepting the halt of certain assaults, "Although the potential lawsuit against the Winchesters will prove interesting. They're essentially the 'Schnee's of Vale. Old money, old prejudice, lots of enemies."
"I'm more curious with what he would do with any court winnings or settlements." Ghira rumbled, stroking his beard in contemplation.
"That's something to figure out." Adam shrugged, "Some of my men were able to get hired at the facilities that Whitley Schnee owns, and they confirmed they're being treated and paid well. Whitley Schnee is getting a reputation for looking out for those who work for him. More than that, one of my men is actually being offered the chance to train to become a manager."
"Really?" That caught everyone's attention. Hiring Faunus was one thing but few who even did that bothered to give those hires any semblance of authority.
"Said he respects efficiency and the current 'manager' is just a temp from a bar that Whitley frequents." Adam nodded, "I did some digging and it looks like he has some loose ties with the Bear of Vale. Nothing illegal but it's still a notable alliance."
"That's all I have for now." Ilia nodded, ending the call at Sienna's gesture of dismissal, Adam doing the same a moment later.
"You two go ahead and head out," Sienna gave them a genuine smile "I can pack things up in here. I know you both want to call Blake."
"Thank you, Sienna." Kali hugged the woman tight before dragging Ghira away, his fingers already punching in the number they were given.
-Jaune-
"So, where did Velvet's team want to meet us?" Jaune asked Whitley as they walked through the streets of Vale, Whitley taking point.
"Oh, that's the fun part." The albino Atlesian snickered, "Velvet mentioned that her team leader apparently found some 'amazing new coffee shop' that didn't harass Faunus and she texted the address."
"It's our café, isn't it?" Jaune sighed in amused exasperation as his partner laughed.
"Yeah, it's ours." Whitley nodded mirthfully, "Apparently Velvet's team leader is really bad with names for people and places, so she tends to use nicknames."
"So, it'll be surprises all around when we meet up." Jaune chuckled as they reached their Café, Velvet standing outside with a group of three that had to be their team.
"Sup everybody." Jaune gave a grin as Velvet eagerly waved them over.
"So, you two're the ones who helped looked after our Velvet huh?" Velvet's team leader, Coco, studied them intently before grinning "Thanks for that. We'd have done the same but were busy turning in some assignments and didn't get there till after Goodwitch was on the scene."
"Hey, no worries. I'm just glad we were able to help out." Jaune gave a bashful grin, still getting used to praise and gratitude.
"Come on, let's head on in." Whitley smirked his way as they opened the door, the staff all recognizing them.
"Ah, Mr. Schnee, Mr. Arc, welcome back sirs." The café manager greeted them eagerly.
"Oh, are you guys regulars here?" Coco asked surprised.
"Ma'am, they're the owners." The manager deadpanned as Velvet let out a shocked squeak.
"Did we not mention that?" Whitley asked with mock innocence as Jaune rolled his eyes.