Here we go.


Cover Art: Mysterywhiteflame

Chapter 20


Going from high-stakes espionage on the weekend to boring classes through the week was a bizarre experience, and Jaune likened it to what the teenage spies in movies and TV shows must have experienced when the main camera and plot wasn't on them. Though they were transfers, Beacon couldn't really leave them wandering around disrupting classes or causing a fuss in Vale, so students from Atlas and Mistral were grouped together, while Vacuo and Vale shared similar classes. Some of the transferred teachers from those schools took over their own classes as well to help out, and he'd already heard from Penny that Team RWBY were full of complaints at Winter's teachings. Well, Team RWBY minus Weiss, of course, who adored her sister.

There was a sense of cultural exchange to it all where even though their own teachers were there, the joint Mistral and Atlas classes were predominantly taught by Valean and Vacuan teachers, and vice versa the other way around. The goal must have been to cross-teach and expand horizons, or something like that. Jaune would have to say his and his team's experience with the teachers was mixed. Port was boring to everyone but Penny, who lapped up his stories like a child being tucked in for bed. Oobleck was knowledgeable and clearly passionate but just too hard to follow. He didn't just go on tangents but full-on expeditions that deviated from the course material so much that they left having learned something, but that something being nothing related to what they were supposed to.

Glynda Goodwitch was perfect. The woman might as well have been Atlesian for how little nonsense she accepted. Spars were one-on-one, which was a missed opportunity, but she was exceedingly critical and her advice hit home like a laser-guided missile. Jaune had the feeling he would have hated her before Atlas Academy. He appreciated the criticism now.

The odd part was the students from Mistral. They were competent, he'd give them that, but they were so… loud. Jaune had long lived in Vale and had the stereotype that Atlas was the most arrogant nation – and it was true in some ways. Atlas liked to think of themselves as the best because of their advanced technology, their large army, and their wealth. And in many ways those were reasons to feel superior. Mistral, on the other hand, liked to boast and shout about how they were the best despite not having much evidence of that at all. It was weird. They were boastful, confident, outgoing and loud – and it must have been a cultural thing because almost all the teams were like that. The only difference was a team led by a dark-haired woman with golden eyes and even then she wore such a smug and condescending smile that the only difference in arrogance was volume.

That said, they weren't bad people. Team JCKP had been partnered once or twice with Team SSSN, mainly because of Sun Wukong recognising them from the docks and deciding they were friends. Or, in Jaune's case, that he was a bro.

Penny predictably didn't understand.

"You are related?"

"Uh. No. We-"

"I can see it. The hair and the eyes. And Jaune also has abs and pecs not dissimilar to yours." Penny nodded sagely. "I have seen them when he gets changed at night."

"Penny, that's not-"

"Yep," said Sun, swinging an arm around Jaune's shoulders. "He's my brother from another mother."

"You know she's going to take that literally-"

"Ah, so you are stepbrothers with the same father. I understand. It is inspiring that you were able to put aside any differences over the re-marriage of your father and remain good friends as well as brothers."

"Penny, that's…"

"That's exactly how it is!" laughed Sun. "But I'm the cooler brother. Just so you know."

There really was no changing Penny's mind afterwards, and she made a point of saying hello to Sun every time she saw him. He didn't see any harm in it, and Penny was actually making more friends than him at the moment. Not that he minded. His teammates were enough for him, and he had Ciel as well as a sort of friendship with Ruby's team. At the very least Team RWBY were thankful to them for having helped at the docks, and made a point to hang out with them. When they weren't serving one of the many detentions they'd picked up for the docks in the first place. Jaune felt a little bad for that since he was sure the severity of their punishment was as much for "getting Atlas involved" as it was for breaking the rules. Politics was never fun, sadly, and Team RWBY weren't even aware of the politics going on.

After dinner, they retreated back to their dorms and conducted a spot check for listening devices. There were none, and the odds Beacon would bother installing any were incredibly low. It didn't hurt to check, though. Once they had that sorted the four of them sat around Jaune's scroll in the middle of the room like they were performing a séance, except that this time the dead actually spoke back. And weren't dead.

"We've gone over the information gathered over the weekend and have been monitoring news and tracker movement through the week as well," said Warden. "We have confirmed the place of residence of one member of the White Fang – likely the owner of one of the getaway vehicles. We also believe we have identified one of the warehouses used by Roman Torchwick's crew, though this could be a false lead. The second vehicle tagged by Flynt Coal has visited it four times this week. That likely means the stolen dust has been shipped out already."

"What of Torchwick himself?" asked Neon. "Are we going after him?"

"Intelligence suggests Torchwick has training comparable to that of a huntsman. He's also been seen in the presence of a smaller figure highlighted to be at least of huntress level. Fighting him will be less politically problematic than fighting the White Fang but it would still draw attention to you. We shall be avoiding that if possible."

"And if not?"

"Then do what you must. Prioritise your own survival first, however."

"Yes sir," said Jaune. "What are our marching orders this weekend?"

"Friday – tomorrow night – we want Arc and Katt watching the suspected White Fang member's property. We need confirmation of him or her leaving, and video evidence. You will then be confronting them during Saturday hours in their home to pressure them into compliance."

Jaune grimaced. Fighting, he could do. Watching a place, he could do. Going into someone's home and confronting them over terrorism was something much harder, and he wasn't sure he had the confidence to pull it off. Neon didn't look much better. He didn't think Flynt or Penny would be any better either, so there really wasn't a good option. In that case it was the leader's responsibility to stomach the unpleasant job. "Understood. Any advice?"

"We'll send you through some reading material. Keep in mind you cannot arrest them as you can't be seen as actively hunting the White Fang. They don't know that, however. For all they know, you have the full backing of Atlas and Vale to carry out whatever action you deem fit."

"What will we be doing?" asked Flynt.

"Coal and Polendina shall be collecting the antennae from the warehouses placed before and moving them to the ones we now know to have White Fang activity. If all goes well on Saturday with the mole, we should have a way into the White Fang that evening, so you'll receive new orders then. Until that point stay low, stay out of trouble, and make sure to have alibis where needed. You may have avoided suspicion the last time but that doesn't mean Headmaster Ozpin and his staff won't have been told to keep an eye on you. They have to follow the orders of their Council, after all."

/-/

Watching a shop had been boring.

Watching a suburban apartment was worse.

At least it was two of them instead of him being alone, and while the first half hour was spent in tense silence they soon realised how fruitless that was and started chatting, then started playing games before that, too, got boring and they decided to take turns watching while the other read a book on their scroll, or checked out videos online.

"So," groaned Neon, bored of even that. "What do we know about this guy?"

"His name is Perry. He works as a veterinarian's apprentice. Faunus, obviously, and he was kicked out of university under what look like very flimsy pretences. Atlas has them flagged as racially motivated."

"Oof. No wonder he turned to the White Fang."

Jaune was forced to agree there. Having read up on a lot of material about the White Fang – better to know and understand your enemy – he'd come to realise that there were two types of members. The first, and easiest to deal with, were the fanatical human-hating faunus that espoused everything violent the White Fang stood for. The second were those who were forced into it, often as much by human hands as White Fang recruitment. They felt the White Fang was the only way to make a difference, and they were reluctantly roped into joining.

What made them complicated was how varied they could be. The fanatics were predictable, always fighting the good fight and quick to anger. The more reasonable members could act in any one of a thousand different ways, and that made dealing with them complicated. Figuring out how to approach one was going to be a challenge because they had no idea how far, how deep, or how entrenched this guy was into the White Fang. He might flip the second they applied pressure, he might take his secrets to the grave, or he might pretend to flip and set them up for an ambush. At least with a fanatic you knew where you stood.

"Do you think they chose me to pressure him because I'm a faunus?" asked Neon. He'd had the same idea but it felt somehow racist to say it. "They want me to be the good cop while you're the bad or something. I understand, but it feels like they're saying I'd have more sympathy for a terrorist just because I'm also a faunus. I hate the White Fang. I'd never join them."

"I'm sure they know that; they're just hoping Perry doesn't."

"I hope they know that. I'd hate to think everyone back home is looking at me like that. I don't want to be pushed into undercover ops. I couldn't do that." Neon pressed back so she was leaned on the lip of the building's roof. "I couldn't just pretend to be a part of them and watch on as they hurt someone, you know? Undercover cops are told they can take drugs and even commit crimes if it's to catch the bad guys. I don't think I'd be able to."

"Then say that if anyone ever asks. Say you can't do it."

"It's not that simple. Faunus who don't…" Neon grimaced. "You have to try harder to fit in if you're faunus. Got to prove yourself harder – prove you're not White Fang. There's this immediate barrier of trust to get over, and refusing to do a job you're literally biologically suited to isn't a great way to go about that."

Jaune set his binoculars down and turned to her, an ugly feeling rising in his gut. "Is it really that bad?"

"Bad? That's the nicer parts. There are some places that won't even hire you. Atlas military is pretty inclusive but that doesn't mean the people who work there are. Only takes one sergeant with preconceptions to screw you over. It's easier as a huntress, I'm told. That's why I signed up for the program. Hard to throw a fit at my tail if a Beowolf is coming down on you. Others have it bad, though. You look at figures in the police and faunus are disproportionately used for dangerous jobs, especially undercover. Even when it's not against the White Fang that's like saying a faunus drug dealer is more believable than a human drug dealer."

Subtle racism. Or even unconscious. Jaune sighed. Ansel was too small to have many faunus, and too small to have much prejudice as a result. Or maybe it had been bad and he'd just never noticed. If no one felt the need to show their true colours then how would you know? There might be a very good reason faunus didn't come to Ansel. He hoped not.

"The Specialists should be better," said Jaune. "We can stick together as a squad, too." He knew what she was really asking. "And I'll refuse if Warden asks you to go undercover. They might know the job better than me, but I know my team better than they do."

Neon breathed out quickly. "Thanks. I was just worried."

"I don't blame you being worried. Will you be alright tomorrow?"

"As good cop? I'll try." Neon shrugged, as uncertain about it as he was. "I'm not sure I'll be able to pull it off but I'll try. Will you be okay as bad cop?"

"Honestly, I really don't know, but I guess we're going to find out." Jaune groaned unhappily and activated his call. Neon sighed, just as annoyed, and brought her camera up and over the ledge. "Warden, this is Arc. We have confirmation of suspected individual leaving home and entering van. White Fang masks documented."

"Good job. Retire for the night. You'll be paying him a visit bright and early tomorrow."

/-/

It was ten in the morning when Jaune rang the doorbell to Perry's apartment. They'd seen the van parked outside in a reserved spot, and made sure his neighbours had set out for the day. Since he'd been up all night, it wasn't a big surprise Perry would be in his apartment until midday. He and Neon were dressed in their casual clothes, but both had shades and Winter had dropped off some equipment for them, smuggled into their possession as missed paperwork they needed to sign from Atlas. Least of all included in that were wires and recording equipment on their clothing, but there were other little helpful bits and pieces as well, including an advice booklet the two of them had pored over since waking up.

Jaune didn't feel any more confident than Neon did but they pushed the doorbell in all the same, holding it down as the musical noise played inside the apartment. There was some shouting too, presumably for them to stop ringing and that he was coming. Jaune kept the button pressed down all the same.

The door was yanked open. "What?" snapped the man inside. He was wearing glasses. "What is it? And who the hell are you?"

"Perry, is it?" asked Jaune, pushing his foot in the door. "May we have a moment of your time?"

"No, now-" The man was cut off as Jaune pushed the door open and sent him stumbling back.

"That wasn't a request." The apartment was small. Messy. Lived-in. Jaune couldn't spot any weapons but he could see plenty of textbooks on animal health. "My name is James Orca. This is Noah Catelyn." He flashed a badge that had the faunus paling. "We're with Atlas Military Investigations division. I will ask again. May we have a moment of your time?"

The faunus shook as Neon slid in and closed the door behind her, locking it with an audible click. The badges were essentially real, with only their identities being fake. They couldn't very well use their real names here, and AMI couldn't operate within Vale for political reasons. Of course, those reasons wouldn't be known to someone in Perry's position. Jaune knew he had to keep the pressure up either way – both to keep this going, and so that he wouldn't crumble under the pressure himself.

"W-What do you want? I-I haven't done anything."

Jaune drew his badge back and brought up a printed photo that had Perry whimpering. "Then this isn't a photo of you entering a vehicle crewed by members of the White Fang?" He gave no time for an answer. "We have concrete evidence of your involvement with terrorist forces within Vale. You have several counts of robbery on your record already, with more that can be added up to and including terrorism, treason, and conspiracy to commit murder."

"N… No… I… I haven't…"

"James," said Neon, voice firm. "A little less force. Mr Perry. Would you care to take a seat? You look unsteady." The faunus stumbled back and collapsed onto his sofa. Jaune remained standing as Neon gently set herself down in the armchair opposite. "You'll have to forgive my partner, Perry. He hasn't had the best of experiences with faunus like us." She let her tail flick behind her for emphasis. "Now, Perry, I'm not going to lie to you and say this isn't bad. You've been caught red-handed. And, unless I miss my guess, your reactions tell me you're not high up in the organisation. You're a local recruit, aren't you?"

The man nodded, eyes down, hands between his knees. Hus thumbs played over one another and he was shaking. He'd already given up. In all fairness, this was a man caught in his home without a weapon and without any hope of beating them. He had no allies, no support, and no one would be coming. It was one thing to commit crimes in a mask surrounded by people who'd stick up for you, but now he was alone and vulnerable.

"The White Fang aren't going to help you in a situation like this," said Jaune, voice hard. "The best thing they can do is cut you loose and use you as an example to the rest about why you should never be caught. Trying to help you just risks others being caught, and quite frankly – you're not important enough to them for that to happen."

"James isn't wrong there. I think you understand that. Don't you, Perry?" The man nodded to Neon's question, utterly terrified. The courts weren't exactly kind to faunus already, and terrorists least of all. He'd heard the prisons were worse. Barbaric in many cases. "You're in a bad spot, Perry. I'm sorry if this sounds frightening, but I think it's best to be honest at a time like this. You've made some bad decisions – or maybe you've been convinced to make bad decisions. Those decisions were always going to have consequences."

The faunus' eyes clenched shut. "W… What's going to happen to me?"

"That depends on you," continued Neon. "We can take you away now, arrest you, and you'll be interrogated. Depending on how much you know, your sentence might be reduced. But it's not going to go away unless you know a lot."

"He doesn't know anything," said Jaune. "He's of no use to us."

"The alternative is that you work with us."

"Work-?" Perry looked up, his eyes wide. "You… You mean betray them? Become a mole? I… I can't!"

"Then it's off to prison you go," said Jaune, shrugging. "The courts will be happy. They're looking to make an example of terrorists at the moment to try and scare others away from joining up. It'll probably make the news – if it's not completely televised. Your name and face will be everywhere." He shrugged again. "It shouldn't be too big a sentence, though. Maybe. Depends if they trump it up to try and frighten others. I'd say ten, maybe fifteen years."

Perry made a wet sound and his body shook; it took Jaune a second to realise the man had just been sick in his own mouth out of fear. Jaune looked away, both to avoid seeing it and to stop the faunus seeing how guilty that made him feel. Did the faunus deserve this? Yes, in a sense. That didn't make it any easier.

"Perry, please," said Neon softly. "Think carefully about this. You have a life ahead of you, opportunities. Family. Do they really want to hear about what's happening to you? They'll be heartbroken. It isn't too late to fix this, but I'm going to need some cooperation on your part. I can't convince James and the agency to help you unless you'll help me."

He was crying. The man was crying behind his glasses. "A… And I'll go free…?"

"We can wipe this off your record," promised Neon. "It'll be like you never existed in the White Fang at all. And if you ever are charged then we can say you were an undercover agent for us." Neon reached out to place a hand atop his. "We're not asking you to do anything dangerous, Perry. You won't have to fight or risk your life. We just want you to tell us what is happening, when and where, and to help us prevent a tragedy."

"Tragedy…?"

"The White Fang are stealing a lot of dust, Perry. And the Vytal Festival is coming to Vale. What do you think that dust is going to be used for?"

His eyes widened. "What? No! They… They said…" He swallowed loudly and forced himself to continue. "They said that what we're doing won't effect Vale. They said it's to support faunus elsewhere. To sell the dust."

Jaune snorted.

Neon gently petted his hands. "If that's true then you don't have much to worry about, do you? The worst you'll be charged on is a little bit of theft, and we can make that go away. But if they are planning more – and if they've lied to you – then what would you do? If they really were planning to plant bombs at the festival and kill hundreds, or even thousands, of people, then would you accept that?"

"No. I… I'm not a killer. I'd never do that. I just… I wanted things to be made right. For the faunus. For me. It's… It's not fair how we're treated." We. Warden's methods might have been questionable but there was no doubting Perry was leaning into Neon's race. "You understand. Right?"

"I do understand. Things aren't always fair for us. You seem like a good person, Perry. Good people make bad decisions sometimes." Neon tilted her head down to fix him with a firm look. "But being a good person isn't going to be enough to make these charges go away. We need you to do more than simply say sorry. You need to help make things right. Are you prepared to do that?"

Perry took a deep breath and considered his options. There wasn't much to consider. Agree and have a chance or disagree and go to prison. So young, it might as well be the end of his adult life. He wouldn't get out until he was middle-aged. "Can you provide assurances? H-How can I be sure you'll honour your word?"

"Any evidence we give you could be found by the White Fang to put you in real danger. I can offer you my personal assurance you'll be let go. Your crimes are minimal in the grand scheme of things, and you're obviously not a fanatic like some others are. What we can offer is a guarantee that we'll get you back into your university, or another of your choice, for your co-operation." He flinched, and Neon chuckled. "Yes, Perry, we know about that. We are Atlas Military Intelligence after all. We can make those spurious charges against you disappear."

"Can… Can you spare another too?" he asked.

"You're asking a lot," said Jaune.

"She's a friend of mine, and she's not bad. She's been roped in by all the talk but she doesn't have a violent bone in her body. I joined partly to look after her and… and… she's in over her head. We both are. If you can promise to let her off as well then I'll do it."

"We can promise to let her off conditionally," said Neon. "Those conditions being that she doesn't try to harm one of us, and that she doesn't return to terrorism after. It'll also be your responsibility to make sure she surrenders, Perry. I hope you understand that."

"Y-Yes! Of course! I just… If you can promise not to harm her? J-Just to capture her. D- She isn't trained or anything. She can't even fight."

"Then I'm sure we can manage that if you give us a name and a face. And we'll make sure you aren't in any trouble because of this – either from us, or from reprisals by the White Fang. We'll do our best to look after you, Perry, but you have to look after us as well."

"Or we'll be visiting again," threatened Jaune. "And next time Noah won't be here to speak on your behalf." Jaune stepped forward and pressed a scroll into the faunus' hands. "You will keep this on you at all times. You will let us know of any communications from the White Fang. You will keep our meeting today to yourself. Understood?"

His head might as well have been on a pendulum. "Yes, sir! I promise, sir! I… I even know of a meeting tomorrow. I… If you want it…?"

"That would be great, Perry." Neon was all smiles. "And you're already proving your worth. Tell us where this meeting is. We'd also like you to attend it, but have your scroll set to record when you do. Don't worry about footage – audio is fine."

"You… You're not going to attack during it, are you?"

"We won't risk you needlessly like that, Perry. And if we were going to be there to listen in then we wouldn't need to ask you to record it. Would we? If you have any questions then feel free to send a message to my contact on that scroll. It's listed as sister on the contacts. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have or offer advice if you're nervous." He was nodding along, desperate to appear cooperative. There was no guarantee he wouldn't go straight to the White Fang with this, but Jaune doubted it. He looked much too afraid. "You can do this, Perry. We're not going to ask anything impossible of you. And if all goes well then this should only take a week or two. Then we can get you back to your studies."

Neon stood, stepped back from the sofa, and to Jaune's side. Perry watched them, still afraid, and still unsure if they'd really leave or not. For all he knew there were police vans outside waiting for him. For all he knew, they might have planned to kill him right here, or whisk him off for torture disguised as interrogation. He looked like he'd burst into tears the moment they left.

"This is a new chance for you," said Jaune, voice cold. "Don't make us regret offering you it."

They hadn't even closed the door behind them when Jaune heard Perry throw up on the carpet.

/-/

"Well, I hated that," said Jaune, wiping a hand down his face. "I really hated that. He looked like he was about to cry. I know he's a criminal and all, but I felt like we just bullied him."

"Oh, to hell with that," said Neon. "Did you see what I had to do? Oh, poor baby. You've made bad choices. Bad choices? You know what's a bad choice? Leftover curry is a bad choice. Dating Mitch Stevens because you felt sorry for him was a bad choice. Drinking on a weeknight? That's a bad choice. Joining a terrorist organisation is not a bad choice that good people make. Bah." Neon spat to the side and shuddered. "And I had to hold his hands, too. Brrr…"

"I feel like we should have pulled a one-eighty on our roles."

"Wouldn't have worked. You're not a faunus and he needed someone he could relate to. Because sure, me being a totally loyal and good faunus who has never committed any crimes and who hates the White Fang is obviously relatable to a criminal. Why? Because I have a tail. Wonderful. Truly wonderful."

"Again, I'm sorry."

"Bah." Neon waved her hand dismissively. "If you want to make it up to me then buy us lunch. I'd kill for a steak right about now."

"I can do that."

"And tell me about the date with Ciel."

"I can't do that."

Neon shot him a grin. "Weren't you saying you wanted to make it up to me?"

"Not that much. And we just went out for a meal. Like we're doing now. Is this a date?"

"If you want it to be, hot stuff." Neon's wink made it clear she was joking. "I only perform as big spoon, though."

"You couldn't spoon me if you tried. You're too short."

"It's not about the size of the spoon; it's about the quality of the spoonage."

Their bickering was at least a little lighter as they headed for lunch. Let Warden decide if Perry could be trusted or not; they were the ones who would have to keep the promises the two of them had made. A small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things. I hope they do let him go if he performs well, thought Jaune. He knew Neon wouldn't agree and kept it to himself, but he did feel a little sorry for the guy. Maybe it was a cultural thing. Atlas wasn't the most "forgiving" of kingdoms, and Neon had more reason than most to detest the White Fang for the poor rep they'd landed her species with.


Next Chapter: 25th February

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