AUTHOR'S NOTES: Had some great ideas where I wanted to take this, so no time like the present-here is Chapter 6. I hope I'm not going too fast!

The last couple of chapters have been pretty talky ones, but this has some good action. Get ready for "On RWBY Wings'" first car chase!

Nysa, Poland

11 September 2001

As the sun began to set, Jinxy Peddler headed back towards the hotel. He took his time. He still had about thirty minutes before he would meet Monika Bylinkar. It would be an easy snatch and grab. They would go to the restaurant, rendezvous with Monika, and she would surreptitiously put a few drops of kerasine into each girl's drink. The drug was odorless and colorless, and once it got into their system, they would start to feel rather good, then sleepy, which would be put down to the heavy food. They wouldn't be quite as pliable or subject to suggestion as an injection would—an injection of kerasine made the subject willing to do literally anything under hypnotic suggestion, including kill themselves. Even the small amount in their system would keep them aware of their surroundings, but unable to do much about it, as if they were very drunk. The Russians would carry them out of the hotel, into their truck, and be on their way. Jinxy supposed that the Russians would have to tie them up or find some other way of preventing Ruby Flight and Little from escaping, but that was their problem. Salem would pay $50,000 for each pilot, plus the bonus $50,000 for Ruby Rose's silver eyes. He wondered what that was all about, but either way, he would make a quarter of a million dollars off of them. That was more than enough to buy passage out of Poland if he wanted to, get a false identity, and return to the United States—or remain in Poland and carve out a nice little chunk for himself.

So why do I feel so damn bad about it? he thought. This was his golden ticket, the way to wealth, what he had always done. His parents had died poor, and Jinxy was determined he would not go the same way. $250,000 wasn't enough for what he wanted, but it was a huge leap in that direction.

The problem was, he didn't want to do the exchange. He liked the four girls. He admired Ruby's willingness to risk radiation sickness to rescue her friends. He liked Yang Xiao Long's friendliness and her laughter. Even Blake Belladonna had something of a wry sense of humor about her, like she knew she was the only sane person in the flight, but called them friends all the same. As far as Weiss Schnee went, Jinxy found her attractive—though he wasn't sure if that was just the family name and wealth—even if she was young enough to be his daughter, and he respected her desire to be more than just another Schnee, making money and stepping on anyone in the way. Little was just a kid, but she was still willing to risk her life too, for strangers she barely knew.

Dammit, Jinxy cursed to himself as he entered the hotel. He had lied to the girls; lying came easily to him, part of what he considered business. Now he was about to resort to drugging them and handing them over to someone who was likely going to torture them. He leaned against the elevator side as it went up to the third floor. Why couldn't they have been uppity bitches? Why do they have to be so damn likeable? And what are you, Jinxy? What are you doing but stepping on anyone in the way of you making money? His conscience—Jinxy was surprised to find that he had one—tormented him as he walked down the hallway. He finally made a compromise: he would hand over Ruby Flight, but not Little. The Polish girl wasn't worth any money anyway, and he knew what happened to young, attractive girls who disappeared in these parts. He'd have Monika drug Little into unconsciousness, then take her back home and tell her that Ruby Flight had gone on without her. Under the kerasine, Little would believe anything she was told.

He knocked on the door. "Come in!" It was Weiss Schnee's voice.

Jinxy opened the door and walked through. Sitting on the bed was Weiss, clad only in a towel. He stopped for a moment, which was all that was needed. The door shut behind him, he felt the cold metal of a gun barrel pressed against the side of his head, and the click of a safety being thumbed off. "Hi, asshole," Yang snarled.

Jinxy raised his hands and turned slightly. Yang had the AK-47 pointed at his temple. Behind her was Blake with the revolver. Weiss got up and went into the bathroom, where Little and Ruby were. The latter walked towards Jinxy, her Beretta in her hands, but not raised towards him. "Well," he said with a weak smile, "what's with the surprise party?"

"We know what you were going to do," Ruby said. Blake left her position and went to the window to check outside. "Kidnap us? Drug us? Sell us to Salem? $50,000 for my silver eyes, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." It sounded lame even to Jinxy.

"Oh, come off it!" Ruby snapped. "Little and I were on the other side of the hedge. We heard the whole thing. You and the Russians."

"Didn't know you spoke Russian."

"Stop. Just stop." Ruby's lips curled back in a rictus of hate. "You were speaking English. We were going to go to dinner, and this Herbalist friend of yours would drug us up. Then you'd carry us out of here, you get your damn money, and Salem gets us."

Weiss came out of the bathroom, fully clothed now. Jinxy realized she had been a distraction; they had been waiting for him. She had the PPK out. "Your one chance is to start telling the truth," she threatened. "What did you lie about?"

Jinxy sighed. There was no way out now. Part of him actually felt relieved. "All right. I didn't lie about the bridges over the Oder being closed. I did lie about the roads into the Czech Republic being closed—NATO is actually holding them open for any more refugees. There really are still some aircraft flying out of Wroclaw, being escorted by NATO fighters…though I heard today that's ending tonight. No lie there."

"And my house?" Weiss asked.

"As far as I know, it's fine."

Ruby stepped back and reached into a pocket of her flight suit, pulling out Weiss' survival radio. "We had a look at this. There's nothing wrong with it, other than it's been sabotaged. You did that too, right?"

"Ayuh."

"You lied about all that so we would think our only way out was you. You had this planned from the start," Ruby said.

"Ayuh," Jinxy confirmed. "Salem's been offering bounties for NATO pilots since the war started. You're all worth a quarter of a million bucks."

"I say we fucking grease him," Yang hissed. She shoved the barrel into his forehead, starting a little trickle of blood. "You're dog meat, asshole."

"Look," Jinxy said, his mouth dry. There was no sympathy in anyone's eyes, not even Little's. "I can still get us out of here. I make a call to Monika, and she delays the Russians—hell, maybe she even gets them killed. We know people in the Polish Army. We can be across the border tonight. I drop you off, we call it even." He nodded towards his right front pocket. "My keys are in there. Honest."

"Little, could you get his keys?" The mouse Faunus reached into the pocket and pulled out the keys.

"Ruby, what do we do?" Weiss wanted to know.

"We leave him for the Russians. We shoot him and the noise will carry." Ruby surprised herself; the sound of gunshots was what she was worried about, not that they were about to leave Jinxy to the tender mercies of Salem's people. "We'll tie him up. Look around for something."

"It's going to have to wait." Blake pointed out the window. "A truck just pulled up in the alley behind the hotel, and a bunch of guys just climbed out. A jeep, too." She moved away from the window. "They're not Poles."

"Salem's men," Jinxy supplied. "They're early." He laughed wryly. "Bastards. They weren't going to pay me at all."

Ruby holstered her pistol. "Yang, do something about him." Yang reversed the AK and slammed the butt into the side of Jinxy's face. He went to the carpet, dazed. "Let's get the hell out of here."

"They'll be coming up the fire escape," Blake said. Luckily there hadn't been any luggage. She opened the door, and checked the hallway; it was deserted. She flattened herself in a doorway, watching the far end, and motioned the others out. Ruby, Weiss, and Little went first, with Yang bringing up the rear. "What about Jinxy?" she asked.

"What about him?" Weiss replied.

Yang spared Jinxy one last look. He stared up at her from the floor, and smiled. "Good luck," he said.

"Fuck you." Yang shut the door, and the five women ran down the hallway, Blake and Yang watching the far end of the hall, where the fire escape was. Yang couldn't hear it, but Blake could distantly hear combat boots on concrete. "Hurry," she whispered. They reached the elevator and crowded into it, Ruby hastily pushed the button, and the doors closed just as they heard the far doors crash open.

The elevator went to the first floor, and the doors opened in front of a elderly gentleman, who suddenly found himself facing three pistols and one assault rifle. "Sorry!" Little apologized, and they ran past him. They walked briskly through the lobby; the front desk clerk spotted them and ducked down. "Call housekeeping," Yang told him, "you're going to need it."

Ruby was thinking they were going to escape when suddenly a man dressed in a uniform stepped in front of them. The uniform wasn't Polish, but dark green with no rank collars; he wore no hat or helmet. He did have a radio in one hand and a pistol. His eyes rounded as he saw them and he raised the radio to his mouth. Weiss didn't even break stride. She raised the PPK and shot the man in the chest.

"They're going to hear that!" Blake warned, and now they raced for the HMMWV.

"I'll drive!" Ruby called out.

"You can drive stick?" Weiss asked.

"I can drive anything!" Ruby climbed into the driver's seat, Yang executed a perfect slide across the hood to take shotgun, and the rest squeezed into the back. Blake spotted men coming out of the elevator. "Ruby, gun it!"

Ruby started the HMMWV, put it into gear, and peeled out onto the street—or would have, if she hadn't missed a shift. Instead of roaring away, the vehicle moved sedately out of park, slow enough for one of Salem's men to throw himself on the hood of the HMMWV. He held on for dear life as Ruby accelerated, holding the windshield wiper with one hand while the other scrabbled for a pistol. Ruby couldn't remember if the windscreen was bulletproof. "Hold on!" she shouted, and slammed on the brakes. Yang banged up against the glove compartment and swore sulphurously; Little screamed and ended up between the seats. The Russian took the worst of it, flying off the hood and into the streets. Ruby shifted and stomped the gas; she didn't check to see if the man rolled out of the way or she ran over him. "Which way?" she yelled.

"Turn right, then left!" Yang shouted back.

Weiss, rubbing a sore forehead from hitting the back of Ruby's seat, looked at her. "Are you sure, Yang?"

"Yes, dammit! I memorized the map!"

Blake, who alone had managed not to hurtle forward, spotted movement in the rearview mirror. "There's a jeep coming up behind us!" Then she held on as Ruby swerved through two turns, nearly ran over a motorcycle, and skidded onto a wide street.

The jeep was faster than the HMMWV, and pulled up alongside; it was an enclosed version, and one window came down. Blake yelped as AK-47 rounds slammed into the side of the HMMWV and starred the window. A second burst penetrated it. Ruby nearly wrecked the vehicle as a bullet somehow missed her shoulder, her hand and the steering wheel to smash into the instrument panel. "Oh shit!"

Another round had come entirely too close to Yang. "Blake, kill that motherfucker!"

"Top hatch!" Weiss shrilled, and Yang abruptly remembered that the HMMWV was equipped with a top hatch, where normally a heavy machine gun would sit. She undogged it and tried to get it open; she had succeeded when Ruby had to dodge another car coming out of a side street. The hatch banged down, luckily on Yang's metal fingers.

Blake twisted around and shoved the Python's barrel through one of the holes in the side window, took a guess at the right angle, and pulled the trigger thrice. The report of the heavy revolver sounded like a howitzer in the confined space; through the starred window, Blake couldn't see if she'd hit anything, but the jeep swerved out of her line of fire behind them. "Yang, hurry up!"

"What the fuck do you think I'm doing?" Yang finally wrenched the hatch open. Little yowled as Yang stepped on her back, then got her top half through the hatch with the AK. The jeep was trying to get around. "Ruby, hold her steady!" Yang sighted down the barrel and cut loose with a full burst, emptying half the magazine. The jeep's windshield practically shattered, there was a spray of blood, and the vehicle veered off the road to crash into a parked car. "Tell Salem that Ruby Flight whipped your ass!" Yang shouted, and dropped back into the HMMWV; Little managed to extricate herself and fell into the back seat.

Weiss saw the crash through Ruby's side mirror. "I doubt they heard you, Yang."

"Who cares, Weiss? Made me feel better." Yang pushed the AK-47 down. "Whew! As much running and shooting as I do, I ought to just join the damn Army. You okay, Rubes?"

"Um…" Ruby pointed ahead. There was another Polish Army checkpoint. A soldier was stepping onto the road to stop them. "Fasten your seatbelts!" Ruby shouted, and leaned on the horn.

"Mein Gott!" Weiss shrilled, and quickly belted herself in; Blake was already doing so, and both of them grabbed Little. Yang scrabbled for hers, and got it snapped into place a second before Ruby hit the metal pole across the road, the soldier diving out of the way. The pole was there for show, not to actually stop anything, and the HMMWV smashed through it with ease. No shots came, and the HMMWV sped off into the deepening night.

"We're on the wrong road?" Weiss yelled.

"Stop yelling, Weiss!" Ruby shouted back. Both Little and Blake covered their ears, while Yang spread the map open as best she could on the instrument panel. Weiss mumbled something unprintable in German and held the flashlight on it. They were pulled over on the side of the road, which was deserted in the darkness. "Okay, Yang, what highway are we on?"

"This one—Highway 41." Yang sighed. "Dammit, Weiss is right. We're on the wrong road." She traced her finger back up the highway to Nysa. "Oh crap. We should've turned right, then right again. That would've gotten us on Highway 46…we could've crossed the border at Goscice."

"Which way does this highway take us?" Blake asked.

"Um…to the border, at Vysoka." Yang pushed the map up a bit higher. "Yeah, let's not go that way. That highway heads to Ostrava. That's where that nut the Red Prince lives." She turned the map around again. "Let me figure this out."

"Oh God," Weiss moaned. "We're at the mercy of the Xiao Long-Rose sisters' navigation, Blake."

"Would you relax? We got this. We're fighter pilots; we don't get lost." Yang got the map oriented the right way. "Oh, there we go. Okay, Ruby—we go down the road a bit to Prudnik, cut west on Highway 40, and cross into Czech land at…Little, what's the name of that place?"

Little leaned forward. "Mikulovice."

"Sounds like something out of Dracula. Anyway, that should be in Czech-controlled territory." Yang folded up the map, and Ruby pulled back onto the road. She looked at the gas gauge, which had miraculously escaped damage; she was guessing her speed, as the speedometer had a 7.62 millimeter bullet buried in it. "We're going to have to gas up in Prudnik. All that high speed driving must've used up a lot. I mean, we still have a little under half a tank, but it doesn't look like there's any gas stations from Prudnik to the Czech border."

They drove along in silence, half expecting to see lights come up from behind them. If it was the Polish Army, then Ruby figured they would happily surrender; she wished she had thought of that before ramming their barricade. If it was Salem's troops, that would be more problematic. Yet there were no other lights on the road but theirs, and nothing moved in the starry skies above, at least not that Ruby could see.

This time, they stopped to make sure they were turning onto the right highway, and drove into Pudnik. It was nearly ten o'clock, but there were no lights on, not even streetlights; Ruby wondered if the town had blacked out for fear of GRIMM. Then she spotted two things in quick succession: a gas station, and what looked to be a city park. Parked next to the latter was a BTR-60. "Oh, shit," Ruby whispered.

"Maybe it's Polish Army," Blake said. "They don't look like they're looking for anyone." There were troops around it, but they were smoking and chatting.

"Drive casual," Yang instructed Ruby, who pulled into the gas station. All of them got out of the HMMWV. Yang leaned against the vehicle, making sure the AK-47 was on display, while Weiss and Ruby went to the little hut of the gas station. It was closed, but Ruby spotted a house behind it. They went around and knocked on the door. They knocked three times before someone came to the door, an older man. "Good evening," Ruby said. "We're sorry to disturb you, but we need to gas up." The man stared at her, clearly not understanding a word.

Weiss gently pushed Ruby aside. "Sprechen sie Deutsch?"

The owner nodded. "Ja." Weiss repeated what Ruby had said, and pulled out a credit card. Despite being practically shot down, wrecked, irradiated, and nearly killed, Weiss had managed to hold onto her ID card and her credit card. He squinted at the name, and rattled off some German. Weiss smiled and nodded. "Oh, ich verstehe!" He smiled back. "Ja, ja. Einen moment, bitte." While Ruby wondered if they were about to be shot at, the owner came back with his shoes on, led them back to the gas station, and unlocked the hut to turn on the pumps.

While Weiss handled the transaction, Ruby went back to the others. Blake had the Python out and was reloading it from the loose rounds Yang had carried. "They do anything?"

"Nope," Yang answered. "Just staring at us. One of them waved, but that's it."

Little decided to take matters into her own hands. She walked a short distance towards the BTR, and waved, saying something in Polish. One of the troops shouted back, and Little nodded, said something else, then went back to the HMMWV. She was not smiling. "They aren't Polish Army," she informed them. "They're the Red Prince's troops."

"Oh fuck," Yang said.

"I told them we were American Army. They probably didn't believe me."

"Maybe they did." Blake pointed. The troops were loading up, back into the BTR. A moment later, it started up and drove off into the night, down Highway 40 to the west. "I really hope they're not planning on ambushing us down the road."

"Not much we can do about it," Ruby said. "We've got to go that way. For all we know, Salem's troops aren't too far behind us."

The four of them watched both sides of the highway as the owner began fueling the HMMWV. He and Weiss carried on a conversation in German. There were several bullet holes in the side of the HMMWV, but Weiss said something and the owner nodded. Once he was finished, he grinned at the girls, said "Good evening!" in heavily accented English, and headed back into the hut to shut everything down.

They climbed back into the HMMWV and pulled out. Ruby drove a few miles, then pulled onto a side road and shut the lights off. "Let's eat something. I want to let that BTR get ahead of us. If Salem's guys are following us, they might lose us this way."

They broke out the picnic basket and ate a quick dinner. "Weiss, what did that guy say at the gas station?" Blake asked.

"He said that the Red Prince's troops have been running patrols onto this side of the border. It's not bad, though—they don't interfere with anyone, cooperate with the Polish Army, and pay for everything they get…though they pay with the Red Prince's money, which is basically worthless. Still, he said they act correctly."

"Well, that's good," Yang said, munching on a cold chicken leg. "How did you pay for the gas?"

Weiss patted a pocket of her flight suit. "My credit card. I never leave home without it."

"Did it go through?" Blake wiped her mouth and motioned to Ruby, who had cherry pie filling on her chin.

"Of course. Why wouldn't it—" Weiss stopped. "I see. If we had been declared dead, my cards would've been cancelled. That is good news."

They finished eating, then pulled back onto the highway. It was six miles to the border.

They made it three miles before Ruby noticed the BTR parked on the side of the road. "Uh oh." She slowed down to pass it, but the lights came on and it turned, blocking the road. "Not good." There was a small turret on top of the APC, with a heavy machine gun in it, and it came around to track on them. Ruby got ready to gun it, hoping she could outrace the turret by going backwards and then swerving into the fields.

"We've got bigger problems." Blake pointed out of the window. Lights were coming over the ridge, and even with the windows rolled up, they could feel and hear the helicopter before it got close enough. "It's a Huey." None of them asked if it was friendly.

The UH-1 flew towards them, keeping the searchlight on, then settled behind the HMMWV at a distance, sideways at first. Ruby's heart sank as she looked in the mirror: the Huey was a gunship, armed with stubwings carrying rocket pods and machine guns. The HMMWV wouldn't have a chance.

"You in the car!" said an accented voice. "Step out and surrender, or be shot! This is your only warning!"

Yang grabbed the AK-47 and met her sister's eyes. "Blaze of glory? We might surprise them."

"No," Ruby ordered. She wasn't going to lose anyone else. She opened the door and stepped out, hands raised. The others did the same, and Yang, with a curse, tossed the AK onto the road.

The troops piled out of the BTR and quickly surrounded them; the helicopter rose upwards and backed off, but kept the searchlight trained on the HMMWV. One man, wearing the cap and sidearm of an officer, walked up to them. "Who is in command here?"

Ruby stepped forward. "I am. Captain Ruby Rose, United States of Canada Air Force."

The officer looked a little surprised at that. He stepped closer and peered at her flight suit. "Ah, I see." He came to attention and saluted. "I am Captain Antek Lukas of the Royal Red Army."

Ruby returned the salute. "Captain, we don't want any trouble. We were shot down a few days ago and are trying to make our way back to our lines." She thumbed back at the helicopter. "We certainly don't rate that!"

"Perhaps not, Captain Rose, but when we saw your vehicle in Pudnik, we radioed it in. You see, his highness is rather interested in NATO troops these days. Not for any nefarious reasons," he assured her. "You see, he's worried about having this Salem creature a little too close to his northeast border, so he wants to negotiate with NATO." Lukas looked a little embarrassed. "I don't make policy, Captain, no more than you do."

"We'll put a good word in for him," Yang spoke up.

"I'm afraid that's not good enough, Miss…?"

"Captain Yang Xiao Long, also Air Force. I lost my flight suit somewhere along the way."

"Indeed so." Ruby noticed Lukas' speech had a bit of a British inflection, betraying where he'd learned the language. "In any case, you are now our prisoners. You will be treated decently and correctly, though we must confiscate any weapons, of course. One of us will drive your vehicle back to Pudnik. If it is his highness' wish to return you, then we will do so and you can be on your way." Again, there was the embarrassment. "My apologies, Captain, but I don't think he's going to return you. Not this way."

Weiss unholstered the PPK, but she did not hand it over, instead raising it a little. Four AK-47s centered on her. "If you're going to sell us to Salem," she warned, "then we'd prefer to die here, and take a few of you with us."

Lukas shook his head. "That I can assure you will not happen—sorry, I didn't get your name either."

"I didn't give it," Weiss replied.

"Your choice. In any case, that will not happen. The Red Prince is, ah…eccentric, perhaps, but he hates Salem." His voice took an almost desperate inflection to it. "All of you, you have my word that you will not be harmed. My Prince merely wishes to negotiate with NATO, and he feels he can do that if he has, er, a few guests that can take his proposals to your chiefs."

"Hostages," Blake said.

"It is you that has said it," Lukas said diplomatically. He sighed. "You can look at this any way you like, perhaps, but you are coming with us. We'd prefer if you did so willingly. I should also remind you that the Prince does not need all of you…should you resist." They understood what he was saying: the Prince wouldn't mind overmuch if Ruby Flight was missing a few pieces when they came before him.

"Then I guess we'll go peacefully," Ruby said. She unholstered her Beretta and handed it to Lukas. A soldier stepped forward and took the Python and the PPK, then all five girls were quickly, politely, and professionally patted down for extra weapons. The troops then started searching the HMMWV, which reminded Ruby of something. "Wait a minute!"

Lukas barked an order in Czech, and the soldiers stopped. "What is it?"

"The Prince likes gifts, doesn't he?"

"Yes," Lukas said guardedly.

"Then I have something he would like." Ruby moved past one of the soldiers, reached into the back—feeling the AKs on her—and pulled out the towel. She got out of the HMMWV and unwrapped the Desert Eagle for Lukas' inspection.

"It's a pistol." He looked at her strangely. "A Desert Eagle, I believe. One not in great condition. The Prince has one of those, I think."

"Not this one, he doesn't." Ruby held it up with both hands so the soldiers could see it as well. "This pistol belonged to a very skilled pilot. One of the best that's ever lived. She was touched by magic, and gave her life for thousands. She took a message of hope to the stars, and saw the world through better eyes." Sorry, Penny, Ruby added to herself, you deserve better, but maybe you can save us one last time. "Take us to your Prince, and allow us to present this most precious gift."

Lukas nodded slowly. "Good words. Repeat them to the Prince—he will be impressed." He wrapped the towel back up, and let Ruby keep it. More orders were given, and the five girls were marched to where the helicopter now landed. "Ruby, are you sure about this?" Blake shouted over the noise of the Huey.

"We don't have a lot of choice!" Ruby yelled back. "We'll have to follow that captain and hope for the best!" She dropped her voice to where not even Blake could hear her over the helicopter. "And stop pretending we know what we're doing."